Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

In the weeks and months leading up to my decision to give up meat, I kept having these episodes that were turning me off meat. One day I was eating a piece of thinly sliced deli ham when I suddenly had a vision of it being some kind of flesh that had literally been ripped from an animal. I don't know where that thought came from or why it entered my head at that moment, but all I knew was that I had to get that stuff out of my mouth before I vomited all over my kitchen. After that particular moment of revulsion, I started thinking about a few other times that this similar thought had come into my head. Where it had come from, I'm just not sure, but it was a very real and disgusted feeling at the thought of having meat from an animal in my mouth. I was also realizing the smells and textures of meats were bothering me. E-Roc would bring home these delectable sandwiches and wraps from the deli, and I suddenly couldn't bear the smell of pork or salami. Or I would pretty m

This is one of the weirdest and best books I have read lately.  It seems like something I should've written.  Damn her for thinking of it first, and very probably, doing it better.

I have been very caught up in my own personal stories lately and have not addressed a serious issue here in North Carolina.  On Tuesday, May 8th you must VOTE AGAINST AMENDMENT ONE.  This amendment wants to create a constitutional ban on same sex marriages.  What you may not know is that such a law would hurt many domestic partnerships including homosexual and heterosexual couples.  In my community, there are a few loud politicians that are working hard to get this law passed.  Do not support these guys just because they are popular.  Do not support these guys because you grew up with them and used to play basketball with them on their parents' carport.  Do not support anything that you really don't know anything about.  Amendment 1 will not hurt your heterosexual marriage.  If you are straight, married or single, Amendment 1 will pretty much mean nothing to you. However, if you are in a same sex marriage or an opposite sex domestic partnership, this Amendment could wre

Do you ever think about the things you loved as a kid? The music? The clothes? The friends? Chances are, all those things have changed over time. You're lucky if you still keep in touch with your grade school friends (even with the advent of FB) and you wouldn't even want to put on the clothes you wore back then! To me, music is something that has always been more enduring. Your tastes might change, but in most cases, you will always love your first love. Boy, do I know about that. E-Roc and I were recently comparing the ebb and flow and changes in the careers of two of our favorite bands: REM and U2. They've both changed so much that sometimes you don't even think you're talking about the same bands anymore. But is that always a bad thing? Take U2 for example..... Their first American single was "I Will Follow" and then of course they had the great unforgettable songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day". T

Food has always been an interesting topic. There is a lot of enjoyment that comes from it as well as a lot of money to be made from it. Don't believe me? Just watch The Food Network sometime. There are shows dedicated to its preparation, its celebration and sometimes even its condemnation. And even though it was more health and body issues that made me choose vegetarianism, I have to say that a few other social phenomena helped point me in that direction. First off, can I just say it? I'm sick to death of the pretension of today's so-called "foodies". Okay. I said it. When I say foodie, I'm not talking about people who happen to know about and enjoy good food. I live with one of those guys and he is a knowledgeable and interesting partaker of food. No. I'm talking about those people that make fun of people for their food choices. The kind of people that just roared in laughter at the elderly woman's review of Olive Garden. People that mak

I didn't send this to Post Secret, but I certainly agree.  I hate when people tell me what I should be reading!

Another great loss to American music this week is that of Levon Helm. His voice was the unmistakable sound of The Band and rings out some of the great songs of Americana Roots Country music. Whenever I hear "The Weight" I just feel the 1970's of my childhood. My favorite was always "Up On Cripple Creek" and saved it a spot in my Top 100 Songs a while back. Film buffs might also remember Levon as playing Sissy Spacek's father in Coal Miner's Daughter , the biopic of Loretta Lynn. Oh, how I loved that movie as a child......and still do! I hope it's on somewhere on cable this weekend. RIP to Levon. A man whose voice probably resounds somewhere in your musical subconscious.....whether you know it or not.

Read the story on CNN .

Oh, my gawd, if you aren't watching Mad Men this season you are missing some good television! It's what, 5 episodes in and every one seems to get better and better each week! I couldn't help thinking last night when the guys got ready to fight and the others all backed up to watch how that would probably happen in my office.....

Actual text I received last night at exactly midnight: Hey this is Ben P****. Its time to move on bro. Its creepy how you still text her and you need to stop. I'm not trying to be an asshole but your creepin Ashley out and your pissin me off. It has been three years it's over. I don't know how old the parties in question here are, but that's actually a pretty mature response to a guy who wants his women left alone. I hope those kids can work it out. Damn....you just can't stalk like the days of Lloyd Dobbler anymore, huh?

Sometimes watching some baby/toddler/dog/puppy videos on YouTube can just do your whole well-being a world of good....

According to the news this morning, some egg hunts have gotten so dangerous with violent and agressive parental involvment that parks and townships are cancelling them. We will stay here on our quiet bridge like it was any ordinary Saturday, thank you very much....

I don't think you can download this for free anymore, but you can still listen here . Such a super cute and happy song..... And here's their Tumblr to keep in touch.

Whenever kids today watch the Nick Kids Awards and scream with joy when Justin Bieber gets "slimed" I wonder how many of them even know where to send the thank you note? Look at this blog here for notes on that great kids show where it all started. I remember watching it when my parents first got cable.....man, I loved that show!

I spent a lot of time thinking about what I should include in my 100th music-labeled post. Should I finally write that comparison piece of early U2 and REM? Wax on philosophically about what music means to me? Naaaaah. I decided to go for the obvious and include, yet another, list. This time? My All-Time 100 Favorite Songs. Now this is a hard list for someone like me to write, as you can imagine. Some songs will go all the way back to my childhood. Some will very clearly come from my adolescence. Many will be from the waaaay back machine and waaaay before my time. But it's a list that will attempt to identify my musical tastes for the right now.......my fave picks in 2012. When I look back on this list in 10 years, no doubt it will be different. But who am I kidding? I won't have time to look back in 10 years.....I'll be too busy flying around in my jet-propelled car! I'm going to try to set one rule for myself because I could see how easily this could become my favorit