Have I Got A Story For You….

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Happy Saturday, little darlin’s. Hope the long, cold, and lonely winter is winding down for you. I wanted to post an update here to let you know something: I grabbed a notebook this week, stuck a pen in the spiral, and jotted down thoughts and ideas every day. That hasn’t happened in a long while. It’s a good sign, though. It means I’ll be posting more content here. Working my writing juices into a tasty smoothie of fun. Ewwww, that sounds gross, doesn’t it? Maybe not the best metaphor, but I’ll go with it. I have to thank my buddy Kris for the motivation. He recently asked me to cohost the second season of his podcast, The Peaceful Pirate, and we started recording last weekend. Do yourself a favor and catch up on the first season now. You’ll learn that if you have a passion, you can do something with it. You’ll learn tips on how to do it too. I’m attempting to take his advice. Hence me and the notebook. This update is based on the first thing I scribbled in there….

Stories. Everyone has them. Lately, they’ve surrounded me, coming from friends and strangers. When chatting about podcasting and podcasts in general, several folks suggested The Moth, so I subscribed. It’s been a perfect accompaniment to my work commute. A collection of stories told by people from all walks of life. Some funny, some scary, they’re all over the place. But the coolest part is they’re all true. I’ve been in my car laughing, crying, and enraptured. I imagine I’m sitting in front of whoever is spinning their tale, in a cozy room with a fireplace. My favorite Moth story so far was from the late Taylor Negron. It’s a doozy. Check it out for yourself:

Not long after I became a fan of The Moth, my friend and fellow Mouthy Broad, Deb, founded a monthly storytelling showcase here in the Hampton Roads area. It’s called Tell Me More. It takes place at the wonderful Push Comedy Theater, and it’s super exciting to see how it’s taking off. The first event sold out! My friends and aquaintances have fantastic stories to tell. Check out Laura’s story about shitting herself.. Trust me, it’s awesome. Look around at the rest of the Tell Me More website to learn more about the events.

Finally, I had one more encounter with the telling of stories recently. I met Vee through another great friend. We hit it off immediately. She’s unique, lovely, talented, and strong. She recently competed in a story slam for the organization For Kids, and WON! It’s inspiring as hell – watch:

Pretty amazing, huh? Listening to all of these experiences has restored my faith in humanity. It helps to remind me that we’re all going through something, 24/7, 365 days a year.

 

 

 

Let The Wookie Meet Meri?

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Holy crap, folks – in a few weeks, I will hopefully meet the man who portrays one of the most iconic, tall, furry, badass characters in the Star Wars universe. I’m talking about Peter Mayhew who plays Chewbacca!

Not only is this an amazing possibility (by the way, the event he’s attending is here – ROFCON in Virginia Beach), but we have a brief history. He named a freaking goat after me!!!!

Is that awesome or what? I don’t know what’s going on with Merideth the goat, but I hope she’s happy and being chill, making cool goat noises.

Back to the man himself. What should I say when I meet him? What should I wear? Should I bring a stuffed goat? Where does one get a stuffed goat (I mean like a plush toy, not a taxidermic thing)? I’m legit nervous and excited.

 

UPDATE: I just purchased tickets to the Con’s Star Wars themed dinner, and Peter will be a guest. RIP ME.

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Meri’s Top Ten Songs of 2014

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Hello, legions of readers who have been dying for a post from me! *sarcasm* First of all, I apologize for neglecting this here World of mine. I’ve had no inspiration whatsoever. Everything I’ve considered writing about ended up just a “eh, no one cares about that mess” dismissal, and I went about my business of curling up in various blankets with various cats on my lap (currently Ollivander is on me, making it very difficult to accomplish anything).

Music has been berry berry good to me these past 12 months, so I wanted the comeback entry here to be related to all the songs that made me happy, emotional, dance, and impressed. LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!

10. Turn Down For What – DJ Snake & Lil Jon

I didn’t want to like this one. Lil Jon tends to annoy me most of the time, with his yelling and songs that grate my ears. But this Snake DJ feller eased my pain. I just want to stand up and boogie like a goober every time I hear this.

 

9. Handy – Weird Al Yankovic

Al’s Mandatory Fun album is stellar; there isn’t a non-brilliant song in the bunch. Handy, however is PERFECT parody-wise.

 

8. Fancy – Iggy Azalea & Charli XCX

So  let’s celebrate the tune Al parodied, shall we? I mean, this jam is so catchy, I don’t think I EVER turned it off when it came on. Between Iggy’s rap style and Charli’s super hook, it’s totally the song of the summer. Or fall. Or winter.

 

7. Flawless (Remix) – Beyonce & Nicki Minaj

Are you kidding me? Queen Bey is on a whole different level with this pop/hip hop/r&b thing now. No longer the squeaky clean diva. She gangsta now. When Nicki saunters on the stage in this video, which is where I first heard this version of the song, I knew shit was going to get real. And there was no disappointment.

 

6. Slippery Slopes – Jenny Lewis

There are so many great songs on Jenny’s latest album, The Voyager. But this one sticks with me the most. Its laid back telling of a tricky, drug fueled, possible threesome, along with the lovely nod-your-head beat. Good stuff.

 

5. Lonely Girl – Weezer

A wonderfully solid Weezer album made me excited about them again, and dammit if this tune isn’t pretty much one of their most perfectly Weezer-ish creations. I hope they tour near me this summer.

 

4. Birth In Reverse – St. Vincent

I wish I had discovered Annie sooner – she’s just oddball, immensely talented, and I really wanted her hair this year. I tried to achieve that look in November, but it didn’t work out. ANYWAY. This song is amazing. Love the off-kilter beat, the guitar riffs, and did I mention I love her hair in the video?

 

3. Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay) – Sky Ferreira

I could have picked at least three of the songs on Sky’s album, Night Time, My Time. But I wanted to have 10 different artists’ work on this list. I love the feel of her album; it’s like a movie soundtrack from the 80s. I relate to the lyrics of this song the most, so that’s why it’s on the list.

 

2. Every Breaking Wave – U2

I’m welling up with tears just listening to it right now. This is another in the “I could have picked a million songs off this album” category. I mean, U2 is my favorite band in the world, and they put out their best album since Achtung Baby in 2014. Forget the whole IT’S ON EVERYONE’S IPHONE thing. That really took away from how excellent Songs Of Innocence is. From start to finish. Every Breaking Wave was in my top five from the first listen, but when I saw this performance from the MTV EMA Awards, my heart exploded and it quickly became my most favorite on the album. I mean, Bono hasn’t done a raw, searing, heartbreaking execution like that since I DON’T KNOW WHEN. It reminded me of that Unforgettable Fire making of video, when he’s in the recording booth singing Pride (In The Name Of Love).

 

1. Chandelier – Sia

Basically, Maddie Ziegler’s dance routine in the video for this song is the representation of 2014 for me. The song is a representation of 2014 too. Thanks Sia Furler. 1000 Forms Of Fear was the best thing my ears received this year.

My #HobbitFanContest entry

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Yeah, I have no chance of winning, but I have to try, right? Going to New Zealand and touring all the Middle Earth locations would be A DREAM COME TRUE. And let’s not even talk about how bonkers it would be to see BOFA with PJ.

Quick Book Review – Divergent by Veronica Roth

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I have to admit, my expectations were not high when I started reading this one. The idea of another “teenage girl in a dystopian shit show” story was not appealing to me. I wasn’t super impressed with Roth’s writing style, either. Like some other reviewers on here, the present tense storytelling really irked me. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised overall. It was well paced, the different factions were intriguing, and the unanswered questions were numerous enough to get me to read the next book, eventually. The ending came around so suddenly, though, due to the movie tie-in version given to me. There was so much bonus material, that took up about 40-50 pages, which deceived me into thinking I had a long ways to go. I didn’t realize the climax was the climax! Whoops. Guess I should have paid closer attention to the table of contents.

If you’re into it, check out the Divergent playlist made by the author. The taste is a bit questionable to me, but hey, I shouldn’t be too judge-y. I’ll listen to the songs.

I suppose I’ll have to check out the movie too, huh?

Meri’s Ice Bucket Challenge

Yeah, I did the thing. And I challenged two of my Mouthy Broadcast ladies to do the same. Please donate to ALS, as well as Siamese Rescue and Wildlife SOS, because those are also special causes to me.

 

 

I Need A Favor – Help Me Help Raju, The Elephant Who Cried!!!

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This is going to be quick and to the point, because time is short for this guy. I love elephants. Along with hippos, they’re my favorite animal. so large, majestic, intelligent, intimidating yet adorable, and precious. When I first heard about Raju, the elephant who cried, in a Buzzfeed article, I was incredibly moved. This poor creature suffered decades of torture and abuse, and he was finally being rescued. Sure, those tears were from pain, but I’m sure they were also from relief. Elephants can’t talk, but it is obvious they are social, loving beings, and I’m sure there was a feeling of something good happening in his heart.

So get this, apparently, the complete bastard who kept Raju in chains is trying to get him back – WHAT THE HELL? This can’t happen. I mean, NO. Watch this video and tell me you’d be ok with that (I don’t know what’s with the weird audio – maybe it was google translated or something?).

So do me a favor, folks. PLEASE. Check out This link – it has instructions on how to help stop this maniac from getting Raju back. Sign the petition. Email the government officials. Donate to the legal fund. Whatever you can. And most of all, share this sweet creature’s story. He touched my heart, and hopefully he’ll touch yours too. And others. I love animals a lot more than most humans, but I don’t care to preach about animal rights and stuff too often. But Raju means a lot to me. I’ve sponsored him, so every month, money comes out of my paycheck to help with his veterinary care, food, and such. That’s how much his plight spoke to me. If you could do the same, it would RULE, but if all you can do is spread the word, that is AWESOME too. He’s been through so much, and look at him now – he’s gaining weight and meeting chicks!

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Don’t let him return to a life of slavery and starvation.

 

 

 

What Has Made Me Happy This Week

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You know what? This week has been incredibly depressing. Robin Williams, one of the most gifted and treasured actors on this planet passed away. He gave so much to this world, through comedy and the movies/shows he performed in. Not to mention the fact that he was also a really great human being who did a lot of nice things. In addition to losing a fantastic artist, the news gave us some horrible displays of humanity’s darkness. Racist, abusive police forces in small town America? Check. Clashes in the Middle East? Uh-huh. Some asshole MMA fighter beating the shit out of his girlfriend? Great. Corrupt politicians? Natch. It was too much to take!!!! So here are the things that kept a smile on my face and reminded me how much awesome there is on this ball of life we call Earth……

 

1. Daniel Radcliffe. The boy who was Harry Potter has grown up to be charming, funny, good looking, humble, and adorable. Listening to his episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast made me grin. The fact that he can name every starting quarterback in the NFL is weirdly impressive to me for some reason. I don’t get sports, but hey. I also watched this video of Dan surprising fans after a screening of his new film, What If  – it’s too cute.

Giggity, Daniel, giggity I say.

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2. Lee Pace. The tall drink of water that is Lee has been all over the place lately. On movie screens as the psycho Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy, on the internet (he recently joined Twitter, yay!), and on AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire. I finished the first season about an hour ago (I sure hope there’s a season two, y’all), and damn. It just got better and better, and the ending really left me wanting more. Sure, it’s a great drama about the 80s’ computer revolution, but Mr. Pace is dreamy as all get out.

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3. Andrew  W.K. WTF?! Meri, are you talking about the Party Hard guy? YES I AM. He’s the king of positive partying. We should all strive to be like him. His tweets are majestically uplifting, and he wants nothing in this world except super duper harmonius fun. How can that be wrong? Read his weekly advice column – This is a great one! And if you ever see him live (I did back in… 2001 or 2002?), it will turn you into a Tasmanian Devil of celebrating.

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4. My friends, man, and cats. I got to eat pizza and chill with some of my pals this week. I brought home some veggie burgers and fries so me and my hard working honey could have a fun dinner and watch Twin Peaks episodes. I got lots of snuggles with Isobel & Selina, but mostly this turd (Ollivander):

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What’s kept you from turning to the Dark Side of the Force lately?

Current Music Obsession: Sia

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I kept hearing songs featuring this loud, brave, gorgeous, and a bit sad voice. A random dance track from David Guetta. A tune off the last Hunger Games soundtrack. A hook from an Eminem song. A collaboration with singer/songwriter Greg Laswell. WHO IS THIS LADY? She’s the wonderful Sia Furler, who hails from Australia, and has written songs for Britney Spears, Rihanna, Katy Perry, and is a talented, fascinating goddess. Have you not seen the video for Chandelier yet? It’s haunting. The song is incredible….

 

Recently, Sia performed three songs on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, and they’re great. She prefers to perform with her back to the audience, and let the dancers/performance artists interpret the songs. I dig this. Elastic Heart is featured on The Hunger Games Catching Fire soundtrack, but I’m guessing it’ll be on her new album, 1000 Forms of Fear, too….

She also did Big Girls Cry & Chandelier, but since the performance of Chandelier is sort of similar to the video above, I’ll just post Big Girls Cry….

Now excuse me while I go listen to all of her previous albums and geek out and stuff. I will give a shout out to her cover of Madonna’s Oh Father – it’s great.

 

Got any good Sia related things I should check out? Let me know.