VIDEO: Sarah Kay: If I Should Have a Daughter...

I've always been fond of Spoken Word Poetry. Typically, people hear that term and think of rap (which is appropriate), but there's more to it than that. Performance Poetry, to me, is inspiring and entertaining. It's something that needs to be listened to, not just heard. Observed, not just seen. It's an art form, it really is. Sarah Kay is a very talented poet and performer, outstanding in her field. The first three minutes of this video include her performing one of my favorite Spoken Word Poetry performances, a poem she wrote called B. I love poetry, reading it and writing it, but I've never taken my shot at performing it. Perhaps this was the inspiration I needed to make that first attempt. I hope it's just as inspiring to you.

WEBSITE: eggwatchers.com

I can imagine, given the season, you might be considering hard-boiling some eggs soon. You know, for dying purposes. But hard-boiling eggs is such a bother, isn't it? It takes enough time that you can't just wait in the kitchen for them to be done, but it's not like you have time to pop in a movie or something. So you're stuck in limbo. Might I introduce you to eggwatchers.com, a website that not only tells you exactly how long your egg(s) will take to boil but entertains you for exactly that amount of time. A cousin of YouTube, eggwatchers is the perfect solution to this Easter dilemma.

Happy boiling, friends.

And Happy Easter :)

SONG: Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32 by P. I. Tchaikovsky

As a budding musician, once upon a time, I participated in a performance of this piece. It is meant to represent Francesca's descent into hell. And you can hear it in the tone, tempo, and character of the entire piece. IT'S SCARY.

Inasmuch, this piece has become my theme song for Finals Week. The temper of the timpani, the wailing of the high strings, the hopeful cadence of the clarinet, the chilling rumble from the celli. There's nothing I can think of that could better describe the haunting ballad that is Finals Week.

It is quite lengthy, but if you venture to listen to it at all, I would suggest starting around the 8 minute mark and follow it to 16 or so. But only if you want the story to have a happy ending. I can picture the snakes, like fast approaching deadlines, slithering closer and closer while you lay there, helpless. And then tumbling into disarray as you plummet to the bottom of a volcano. Total chaos. But soon comes a sliver of light through the storm clouds. You realize you've made it out alive. And life is good :) You skip along and birds fly around your head and the sky is blue and you sing a song of gratitude that it's all finally over. Or is it? I'll let you figure that one out for yourself. Listen to the whole thing. You won't regret it.

VIDEO: Mommy's Nose is Scary!

Okay, I'm not usually one for "cute baby" videos, but this one is a classic. And I think this baby's reaction to his mother blowing her nose fits in pretty well with the way I live my life. Terror followed by sheer joy in the aftermath. (Granted, I don't have a cool walker like this kid does. ..)

Just watch the video. Remember what it was like when you didn't have to worry about anything. BE HAPPY.

Have a great weekend, everyone.