1. I am not going to be starting a PhD in music theory in fall. I wasn't accepted.
This may seem like a huge shock (it was a huge shock to me). But after a few weeks of thinking about it, I decided I'm better off not doing theory. All this semester I have been growing steadily frustrated with music theory and academia in general. I think a year off will do me good. I'm going to concentrate now on ethnomusicology. I'll apply for the PhD program here at IU next fall. In the interim....
2. I'm going to start making greeting cards and jewelery (and maybe a few other things) as a lil side job. I'll probably start an etsy page this summer. Hopefully this money-making enterprise, coupled with teaching English lessons and working at Macy's, will make me enough dough to pay the bills for the next year. More news to come on this front.
3. I've started a new blog called Amazon Mustard. I feel like I needed a change. I'll be using it mostly to post pictures of new items for sale, but I'll also post interesting tidbits I pick up on teh interwebs, as well as interesting photos I take or other miscellany.
4. I love Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster and Beyonce's I Am... Sasha Fierce. I'm on a pop diva kick, it seems.
To my more faint-of-heart readers: some of the featured tattoos are pretty disgusting, meaning: there are some penises. Tattoos on penises and tattoos of penises. I wish I was kidding.
You Suck At Craigslist: a look at the hilarious and mistifying posts on Craig's List. Stuff White People Like: posts about the interesting and diverse activities and items white people gravitate towards. Since most of the people I know who read this are white, I suppose I should say that you should not take yourself too seriously when reading this blog, or you might be offended. Cute Overload: After living in Japan for two years, I can safely say that I've had enough cute to last several lifetimes. If you have not yet had your fill of cute, this website can provide.
Checkout my blogroll on the right for a couple new and hilarious blogs:
Why Would You Knit That?! Very much in the vein of Cake Wrecks and Go Fug Yourself, this site mocks poorly knitted things and knitted things that are just in poor taste. It's pretty hilarious. I especially thought my mom would get a kick out of it, seeing as she knits (usually tasteful things :P).
Fail Blog: The FAIL phenomenon kind of annoys me, especially when spoken and not written in bold letters over a picture of someone "failing" at something. That said, this blog had the potential to be extremely annoying. What I found when I first visited it, however, was that it was difficult to contain my guffaws so as not to disturb others in the computer lounge.
Cake Wrecks: a website devoted to awesomely bad professionally decorated cakes. The pictures and comments are hilarious.
Gene's Brain: Gene, my friend from Baiko University, is studying English at Indiana State University. She updates her blog in English and Japanese, and includes lots of fun pictures.
First my mom creates her own blog. Then she starts posting on it and re-designing it like mad. Now, she created a blog for MY DOG. It's not that I'm upset about this at all. On the contrary, I think it's hilarious. But it's also just a bit weird to think of my dog having his own blog. It's a dog blog. Hey, that rhymes. Anyway, check it out here.
Go Fug Yourself:This blog is devoted to discussing pictures of the most fugly (fucking ugly. I know it's profane, but it's not bleeped on TV so I'm going to say it) celebrities. Not face fugly-- clothes fugly. The very witty writers also write an online column for New York Magazine.
Japundit: This all-things-Japan website has been extremely instrumental in keeping me up on current events and trends in Japan. Posts include videos of festivals, news articles about recent government decisions, fashion trends, posts about countries surrounding Japan, and even new Hello Kitty products (not even kidding).
Under Blood: A friend from college lets her thoughts dribble out of her brain into a blog. She posts something almost everyday, and it's always interesting.
The Sneeze: Mr. Steve Sneeds hasn't been posting very regularly recently, but at one time he posted almost everyday, and he is HILARIOUS. He just writes about life and his experiences, but in an odd-ball, humorous style. His blog is worth a look. Check out the "Brainwatch Timeline" and the "Steve, Don't Eat It" series'.
Found Magazine: People find little notes or photos, take pictures of it, and send it to this website. It's quite interesting to analyze what someone's grocery list might have meant or why a person would leave a picture of a little girl in a wig, sunglasses, and a tiger-print bathing suit inside a garage sale purse.
My mom has a blog. This is quite possibly the coolest thing she has done in a long while. First she joins Facebook, now a blog, what next? Her own Youtube channel with weekly musings?
Anyway, check it out at this address. I hope you enjoy it. She wrote a couple of posts concerning her time in Japan.
Sometimes when I'm bored, I go to my blogger page and click the "Next Blog" button in the bar on the top of the page, just to see what comes up. Usually I just find a spam site or some teenager's angsty rambling. Sometimes I stumble upon porn sites, so be careful if you try this for yourself. Occasionally, however, I find some pretty interesting blogs, like the following:
The Palomar: a blog about the swing era. If you like swing, you can listen to songs, read bios on famous swing composers and bandleaders, or find links to sites where you can buy CDs. Since the anniversary of Glenn Miller's disappearance was last week, there are several articles about his life, music, and mysterious disappearance during WWII.
Skinny Laminx: her "About Me" states: "I'm an illustrator, writer and designer from Cape Town, South Africa. This is where I record my work and share things that catch my eye." Her work is absolutely wonderful-- creative, modern, and beautiful. She does a lot of work using mod, colorful patterns and prints on tea towels. She also posts pictures of other designers' work that she enjoys.
Organization in Progress: another crafty blog. The author posts photos of a variety of different things she's created, ranging from greeting cards to scrapbook pages to paintings to metal work to photos.
This is my 200th post! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! Honestly, I can't believe I've kept this thing going for that long. In honor of reaching the 200-post mark, I have changed by template. Whaddaya think?
I now have a few videos posted on my YouTube account. You can get to my page through this link. I'll try to post more every now and then, so check back often.
Name: Ruthie Home: Japan About Me: I want to know who God is and what his truth is. I love getting lost in beautiful music and cloudless star-filled skies, especially in the fall. I hate being bored. I like big cities. I want to travel the world. read more
Name: Ruthie