The “Anti-Bucket List” is an idea I got from Holly at travelingfan.net that I’ve been doing for the past few years – things you did that year that you thought you wouldn’t do. This year was tough for me and I’m sure there are things I am missing, but here it is.
2015 Anti Bucket List
2014 Anti Bucket List
2013 Anti Bucket List
Stuart Scott passed away in early 2015, shortly after finishing work on his memoir, which has now been published as “Every Day I Fight”. Not only did Stuart fight against cancer – he even went to the gym after his cancer treatments! He fought to get to where he was in his every day life before the cancer diagnosis as well. I found this book to be very inspiring and thought provoking.
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live.” – Stuart Scott
The fearless, intimate, and inspiring story behind ESPN anchor Stuart Scott’s unrelenting fight against cancer.
Shortly before he passed away, on January 4, 2015, Stuart Scott completed work on this memoir. It was both a labor of love and a love letter to life itself. Not only did Stuart relate his personal story—his childhood in North Carolina, his supportive family, his athletic escapades, his on-the-job training as a fledgling sportscaster, his being hired and eventual triumphs at ESPN—he shared his intimate struggles to keep his story going. Struck by appendiceal cancer in 2007, Stuart battled this rare disease with an unimaginable tenacity and vigor. Countless surgeries, enervating chemotherapies, endless shuttling from home to hospital to office and back—Stuart continued defying fate, pushing himself through exercises and workout routines that kept him strong. He wanted to be there for his teenage daughters, Sydni and Taelor, not simply as their dad, but as an immutable example of determination and courage.
Every Day I Fight is a saga of love, an inspiration to us all.
Headliner: Push Play
Opener(s): Tiffany Giardina
Venue: Westfield Mall
Cost: $11
Setlist:
Thursday night Kate Voegele and Tyler Hilton brought their final show of the 2016 leg of the “One Tree Holiday” tour to the Wolf’s Den at Mohegan Sun. Fun fact – the first time I had seen either of these artists was when they opened for Hanson (4 or so years apart). Rather than have one perform first and the other perform second, both Kate and Tyler were on stage for the entire set, playing and singing on each others songs which was pretty cool! They alternated between Kate’s songs and Tyler’s songs and had a few covers thrown in for good measure as well. One of the covers was one that Tyler did of Elvis’ “That’s Alright Mama” which he had done in the movie Walk the Line. He also talked about how he had used to play in our area a lot, but not so much anymore. Hopefully that changes! Back in college I used to see him all the time and now it is fewer and farther between (if you’re not counting seeing him on my TV since he’s currently on the show Pitch and before that was on Extant – which I only started watching because he told us to and said it was about robots!) After the show I opted to pay $40 for a Polaroid with both Tyler and Kate. I suppose if I knew how much it had cost before I got to the merch table after waiting for about a half an hour I wouldn’t have bothered to stay, but at that point I figured what the heck. Kate told me we had the “best name ever!” and I told Tyler how I went to a lot of shows back like 10 or so years ago and didn’t see any girls I had recognized from back then and I felt like I was getting older but his fans were getting younger and he said “ME TOO!” and how he and Kate sometimes talked about that. Then I mentioned how I had first seen them both open for Hanson and Kate said that was like a rite of passage for the singer songwriter to open for Hanson and how they were such cool guys! They had mentioned wanting to come through this way again and I really hope that they do!
Race Title: Escape from Azkaban
Distance: 25k
Company: Run Long and Perspire
Charity: American Dog Rescue
Terminated for Reasons of Taste is a collection of writings on music. The music was split up by years and there were way too many before my time so I found myself just skimming those until I got to about the 50% part through the book and more artists I was familiar with were mentioned. Apparently with Kriss Kross and TLC being listed under rap, I guess I’m a rap fan. I never would have said that before reading this book! There were some boybands mentioned – mostly BSB. Dream was also mentioned… I was pleased that BSB was mentioned over NSYNC because this book was supposed to be about “losers”.. haha. (The BSB vs NSYNC rivalry is still alive in my fangirl heart)
Overall a lot of stuff about bands I didn’t know much about but if you’re more versed in musical acts than I am you may find the book to be a bit more enjoyable.
I received a free e-copy of this book from netgalley in order to write this review and I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
In Terminated for Reasons of Taste, veteran rock critic Chuck Eddy writes that “rock ‘n’ roll history is written by the winners. Which stinks, because the losers have always played a big role in keeping rock interesting.” Rock’s losers share top billing with its winners in this new collection of Eddy’s writing. In pieces culled from outlets as varied as the Village Voice, Creem magazine, the streaming site Rhapsody, music message boards, and his high school newspaper, Eddy covers everything from the Beastie Boys to 1920s country music; Taylor Swift to German new wave; Bruce Springsteen to occult metal. With an encyclopedic knowledge, unabashed irreverence, and a captivating style, Eddy rips up popular music histories and stitches them back together using his appreciation of the lost, ignored, and maligned. In so doing, he shows how pop music is bigger and more multidimensional, and compelling than most people can imagine.
Chuck Eddy is an independent music journalist living in Austin, Texas. Formerly the music editor at the Village Voice and a senior editor at Billboard, he is author of Rock and Roll Always Forgets: A Quarter Century of Music Criticism, also published by Duke University Press; The Accidental Evolution of Rock ‘n’ Roll: A Misguided Tour Through Popular Music; and Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe.
I typically have a rule against no comic books – they never look right as e-books. This Manga was no different, even though Stitch looked so cute I couldn’t resist. When I started the book it said I was actually on the last page of the book and was supposed to flip it around. I didn’t (couldn’t?) and so I just kind of skimmed what was going on. I’m sure the story was great because Lilo and Stitch always get into so much trouble… the pictures were adorable but I really should stick to my rule!
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
You know and love Stitch’s Hawaiian adventures … so join your favorite alien as he visits a Japanese island near Okinawa, where he befriends a young girl named Yuna who excels at karate. Come along as Yuna and Stitch go fishing, enter a costume contest, and even attempt to bake a cake. You never know what sticky situations they’ll find themselves in next!
Headliner: Seal
Opener(s): None
Venue: MGM Grand Theater
Cost: $56
Setlist:
Race Title: Platform 9 3/4k Year 3
Distance: 9.75k
Company: Hogwarts Running Club
Charity: Carry the Future
With news of Hanson’s 2017 Christmas album spreading around the last week or so, I figured it might be appropriate to post about Zac’s latest “Super Digital Pants” song and clear up what’s going on with the Christmas album. While recording is done – it won’t be released until Fall 2017 (Which is what they had said since they first announced it was coming out) for the 20th anniversary of the release of their first Christmas album, Snowed In. The working title is “Wintry Mix” and they never intended to call it “ooh Christmas” , but don’t try to tell the media that 😉
In order to tide us over to next year and since they release a new Christmas song almost every year for the past few years Zac wrote and recorded a song called “Christmas Ball” that he released for sale to Hanson.net members only on his “Super Digital Pants” album which is a compilation of random Zac songs.
While the title could go several different ways, it is a cute song about having a ball!
Katie 