Adele

If you don't know Adele, I recommend getting to know her. I've been preoccupied with her new album lately. Her song "Rolling in the Deep" is a constant on the pop radio stations and 21 is the number one selling album this week according to billboard.com.

What do I find so appealing about Adele's music? This is as eloquently as I can express it:

The strength and richness of her voice serves as a powerful medium recalling to me the intensity of past relationships that once burned bright and have since passed on into darkness and memory. I find myself lost in remembrances of heart break and devastation...her songs evoke emotions that are raw, pure, untainted by cynicism. They recall to me a kind of clarity found in moments of extreme vulnerability and loss. Though this recollection may sound unpleasant, it is refreshing to be reconnected with a part of my spirit that is unguarded.

It's this that keeps me coming back for more (as if I were once again rooming with Brooke, not caring that it was Adele's voice she had on endless repeat.)

This live performance of Turning Tables is a little slower than the album version. Certainly my new favorite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpz8Ue4701o

Bananagrams

Bananagrams is a new game I discovered. It is a lot like Scrabble with a variation- you can read the instructions here:

http://www.bananagrams-intl.com/instructions.asp

I've always had an aversion to Scrabble. I felt it was too structured and my knowledge of words would have to be vast beyond measure in order to make the game enjoyable. Bananagrams lets you rearrange your intersecting words at any moment.

Play on facebook! http://apps.facebook.com/bananagrams/

Jerry Yoon Wedding Photography

I'm not sure how I stumbled upon this photography site, but it is one of the few photo sites I faithfully check. I'm captivated by the style. Check it out. http://www.blogjerry.com/

“A Way With Words" Public Radio Show

Grant Barrett, co-host of “A Way With Words,” participates in the show’s tapings from a studio in San Francisco.

The linguist in me adores this radio show: http://www.waywordradio.org/

"It feature(s) a topic — language — that’s central to the lives of listeners from coast to coast. It (is) hosted by accomplished, funny word mavens — people who have edited dictionaries and written books about slang. It has devoted, even rabid, fans."

More info:

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/nov/29/national-following-local-words/

Where to listen:

http://www.waywordradio.org/listen/

Give it a listen.

I heart public radio!

Psycho Donuts: California Donut Shop draws Protesters

Padded Cell

Bipolar Donut

Heard of this donut shop in Campbell, California called Psycho Donuts that sells tasty and unique donuts that have names with loud references to mental disorders. Mental health advocates have protested and it's made the news- who would have guessed.

"Psycho donuts seem to be increasing in popularity, in spite of the fact that the mental health advocates are kicking up a furor over these doughnuts and even going to the point of distributing “stigma free” doughnuts outside the outlet. In defense of his unique donut shop, co-owner of Psycho Donut, Kipp Berdianski said that the only thing that might be insulted is the flour inside the doughnuts and that doesn’t make them insensitive to those afflicted with mental disorders." http://www.ifood.tv/blog/crazy_about_psycho_donuts

I think it's brilliant- now I'm passing it on to you.

Check out the donuts: http://www.psycho-donuts.com/home/#donuts

Oh, yeah, and the protesters: ABC News