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I challenge anyone to share a more offensive auto-reply than this one. I'm not entirely sure what message this person is trying to convey, but the message I'm reading is, "I don't mind wasting your time by asking you to read this entirely superfluous email note to tell you that I don't want to waste my time reading what could potentially be an important email from you."

The best/worst part of the email? The sender suggests sending a text message an alternate method of communication in case what you orginally sent was important, but then doesn't include a phone number. 

Bonus challenge: Can you guess what the sender's profession is?

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5. If you could solve one (and only one) of the world's problems, which one would you choose?

4. I missed out on Burning Man. I'm still excited by the thought of going, but devotees talk about how much it's changed. What's going to be the next big shared experience life changing yearly event? I want in on the ground floor, please. I hope it's something involving good weather. 

3. I'm just as keen about exploring the next town over as I am traveling around the world. You don't have to sit in an ashram for three months or sail around the world to learn something new. 

2. What evokes pride in your town? In your community? I'm mostly thinking about this because I'm shocked at how little people seem to care about where they live (where I live, in Philly). What is the relationship between taking care of the community around you (be it taking part, or just not shitting all over it) and education? Arts? Access to basic necessities? What am I missing? How do you fix a problem like this?

1. Would you rather have incredible financial success and remain anonymous or become a big deal, but only make enough to get by? 

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What if we became sweethearts?
After we got back to America

Yeah, I'm totally in love with this song right now. Actually, the whole album from Butch Walker and the Black Widows is a good time, so go get it.

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There's a fire going out

But there's really nothing to the south

I loved hearing about this song on CBC's Q. Justin Vernon said, "When I wrote this song, I'd never been to Calgary, still haven't been. (...) It always seemed like a place that I felt connected to. I don't know if that should be true or not, but the song sort of became about an envisionment about a place. You know when you think there's someone out there that you could be in love with, but you haven't met yet? It sort of became a metaphor for places you haven't been, but you think that you know. You can sort of have that feeling for someone you haven't met, but you think that you're supposed to be with." A pretty nice thing to say, right? 

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Guest post alert! This is a song and a top 5 list all in one, so I couldn't resist posting it. Some fairly keen observations from someone who is currently supposed to be spending all day studying. 

My girl parties all the time...

An oldie but a goodie. I have several thoughts about this video

1. 1980's Eddie loves the over-the-head hand-clap, and 1980's Eddie could pull that shit off.

2. Why the hell are there so many guitars being played in this video when all I hear are synths and drum machines?

3. Was more time spent filming this video or doing enough blow to make this video seem like a good career move

4. Rick James kinda looked like a young Susan Sarandon

5. Further investigation into Eddie Murphy led me to Dickipedia.org, going over-and-above for sarcastic fauxcyclepedia entry with the following: "Eddie Murphy was married to Nicole Mitchell for 13 years, divorcing in April 2006. Very, very shortly after that, it was announced that Murphy’s girlfriend, former Spice Girl Melanie B., was pregnant with his child. Very, very shortly after that, Murphy publicly questioned his paternity. Very, very shortly after that, a DNA test confirmed what everyone knew all along: Eddie Murphy is the kind of dick who actually thinks he’s still cool enough to wear skin-tight leather suits. Also, the kid was his after all."

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Did you know there is more than one verse to Oh, Canada? The lyrics start to get a little uncomfortable somewhere between verse three and four...

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada! Where pines and maples grow.

Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.

How dear to us thy broad domain,

From East to Western sea.

Thou land of hope for all who toil!

Thou True North, strong and free!

Refrain:

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies

May stalwart sons, and gentle maidens rise,

To keep thee steadfast through the years

From East to Western sea.

Our own beloved native land!

Our True North, strong and free!

Refrain

Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,

Hold our Dominion in thy loving care;

Help us to find, O God, in thee

A lasting, rich reward,

As waiting for the better Day,

We ever stand on guard.

Refrain

My favorite line has always been, "The True North strong and free"

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How many people around the world are listening to the same song as you at the exact same time? Not including listening to the radio, of course. 

How obscure do you have to get before you are the only person in the world listening to a song?

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Say you mean it, seal it up
Say you wanna try
Say you haven’t had enough
Say you wanna

DC is studying right now, which means every day I get a nice email in my inbox with a lovely tune attached. Props to him for taking the time to brighten me day! Today, it is Bombay Bicycle Club's Shuffle. After you've heard it once, I really don't think you can do anything but listen to this song on repeat for a while. 

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We had a pretty heated debate around the dinner table the other evening, all centered around this question:

At what point is it acceptable to tell a stranger that their bad manners are disruptive?

I am THE WORST for judging people on their table manners. I notice everything and I think less and less of you the more you offend me. I honestly believe that there are reasons behind everything considered to be good manners (for example: if you place your cutlery together at the end of a meal, people will know that you are finished eating and they can clear your plate. It also make it easier to clear multiple dishes at once without cutlery flying all over).

Since I take manners so seriously, you'd think I'd be up for telling others when they are being disruptive. However, I believe a part of having really great manners is not making other people feel bad about their lack of the same. Maybe it's a cultural difference, maybe it is a lack of education - to be honest, I can't pretend to know why someone lacks manners. Whatever the reason is, it really isn't my place to point it out to them.

After talking about this, it got me thinking about the parallels between coffee shop behaviour and Internet behaviour. Do you go around in real life telling people how to behave? If not, why do you insist on doing it online? There isn't a day that goes by that I don't read something from some mildly-Internet-famous marketing person (usually in the middle of a book tour), pointing out what not to do and what you've done wrong. Why does it matter? Isn't the Internet just as public a space as the coffee shop? 

We often talk about not posting anything personal that you wouldn't yell aloud or tell your mother. That same rule applies for finger pointing. If you wouldn't go up to a stranger in person and tell them something, don't do it on the Internet. It doesn't matter if what they are doing is "wrong" in your opinion, if you tell them, you are the one being rude. Instead, just be the best example of how to do things correctly. 

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I pace the room every time you leave
I fall apart because you're all I need
You make me late for work, you make me late for church
So hard to leave

So bring it on, bring on the weekend

I can't get enough of this song, because I know this feeling. Ain't love grand? A truly enchanting tune. Check out Class Actress and buy her whole album kids. 

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A text from DC earlier today:

"Failure of Fine Arts Education in Philly: Barista to middle aged woman, 'You like opera? have you heard of this new opera call Carmen?' Woman glares in disdain and returns to her conversation."

I'm torn between wanting to make fun of the barista and wanting to applaud her for trying to engage with a customer. At least she is putting in effort!

That text was followed by some back-and-forth. Where's the line these days? Is it socially acceptable to not know anything about opera? Is there a Fine Arts Canon that outlines what every person should know about to be considered cultured and well-educated? Do you only need to have read the books they force you to read in high school to get by in life? Can you grow up in a world without being exposed to music, art or literature?

I constantly hear complaining about how the Arts are dying. How can we expect children to appreciate fine art if we don't teach them anything? 

What do you think? Is important for children to learn these things?

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How long before it's cool to say you don't participate on any social media platforms?

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Fall is currently confusing me. I expect snow at any moment and dress accordingly. It's currently averaging about 30 degrees here, which means my feet-in-socks-in-boots are pretty gross by the end of the day. Regardless, I think fall might be my favorite time of year (if it ever arrives). I think this because I can wear scarves, but still feel my fingers. Also, Fall tastes like cinnamon. How can that not be awesome? It's acceptable to turn on your oven and the baristas stop asking you if you want your coffee hot or cold (seriously, I hate that). Fall, you are beautiful with all of your reds and yellows. This is not a top 5 list for Fall, this is a love letter. Fall, I love you, please come back to me. 

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My mother just came to visit and her stay was unexpectedly (but happily) extended by Hurricane Irene. I love having my parents around, so I'm always confused by people who can't believe I get so excited at the thought of hanging out with them. Anyway, this list doesn't really need much explanation. Your mom is in town, do this with her:

5. Put together Ikea furniture. Mothers are calming. Do frustrating tasks while they are around. My mom gives me reassuring cups of tea while I'm dropping eff bombs and vacuums the carpet where the new furniture will be going (I'm fooling no one, I would never do that, but it is so smart). 

4. Go to that art exhibit you've been meaning to see. It's hard to go indoors over the summer, no matter how great the art is. Having a mom visit is the perfect excuse to head inside and check out what's shaking in the land of art. Bonus: moms like to stop for breaks and ignore you when you get the gigles about naked people.

3. Ask all of your baking questions. I've been having a series of baking fails lately and it was really starting to bother me. I take immense pride in how good I am at making tasty treats. While I'm good, my mother is experienced. She figured out relatively quickly what my problem was. psitwasbadbakingpowderwhichislamecauseitwasnotevenold

2. Talk about every detail of your life. Your mom is practically the only person that truly loves you unconditionally (the good ones, at least). She's basically forced to care about everything you care about, or at least pretend to care long enough so that you can get it off your chest. If you've been bottling stuff up, talking to your mother is your chance to get it all out. I talk about everything from my almost daily existential thoughts to how scrubs really gross me out to stuff that I'm really not comfortable sharing with anyone else. She listens. Sometimes she responds. At the end, I feel better.

1. Stock up on hugs. My mom is so huggable! When she is far away, I look at a photo of her hugging someone with a huge smile on her face and it makes me feel better. That's the power of the mom hug. She says that people are fragile and sometimes you just need someone to help you hold all those fragile bits together. When you hug someone, you are physcially holding them all together. I like that analogy. I like mom hugs. 

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