Music I love ... AC/DC

I'm not sure what is going on with me. Usually I listen to the same shit in the Linkin' Park/AFI/30 Seconds to Mars genre. I do deviate, but lately I'm all over the place. A few weeks ago, I don't know why, I decided to make a "hair bands" station on my Pandora and it is fucking awesome. I've been listening to music I remember from middle school like Guns'n'Roses, Motley Crew and Skid Row, and it makes me really happy. But I also have gained a new found appreciation for two bands: AC/DC and Whitesnake.

So of course I recognize most of the AC/DC music, but I never really listened to them on purpose. My coworker told me that it's "devil music." I think she was kidding (she's a little hard to judge sometimes) but either way, I've decided that I really like it. But don't ask me to comment on the whole Axl Rose controversy. Sorry Axl, just ... no. BTW, I'm going to create a new Pandora station called "devil music." We'll see what they play.

I had a Whitesnake poster right next to my New Kids on the Block poster on my wall when I was in middle school. I remember it because my mom didn't like it 'cause those dudes were all chest hair. I had a poster but I did not have any of their tapes (yes, tapes). But they have awesome songs that until recently, I just didn't realize were theirs, like "Is This Love?" and "Here I Go Again." So I'm giving them credit now people. Check it. And don't judge, I'm old.

For real, Pandora is great. So let's all create a new station, be it based in nostalgia or curiosity or devil worship, whatevs (just kidding mom). Just do it. It will make you happy. And seriously, don't you get tired of the same shit all the time?

J. L. Dodd

Definitely devil music ...

"Highway To Hell"

Livin' easy
Livin' free
Season ticket on a one way ride
Askin' nothin'
Leave me be
Takin' everythin' in my stride
Don't need reason
Don't need rhyme
Ain't nothin' that I'd rather do
Goin' down
Party time
My friends are gonna be there too

I'm on the highway to hell
On the highway to hell
Highway to hell
I'm on the highway to hell

No stop signs
Speed limit
Nobody's gonna slow me down
Like a wheel
Gonna spin it
Nobody's gonna mess me around
Hey, Satan
Payin' my dues
Playin' in a rockin' band
Hey, mamma
Look at me
I'm on the way to the promised land

I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell

Don't stop me

I'm on the highway to hell
On the highway to hell
I'm on the highway to hell
On the highway to hell

(highway to hell) I'm on the highway to hell
(highway to hell) highway to hell
(highway to hell) highway to hell
(highway to hell)

And I'm goin' down
All the way
I'm on the highway to hell

Source:

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/acdc/highwaytohell.html

The Love Triangle!! Dun dun dun!

I read a lot of reviews on Amazon. Of books I have read, want to read, want to write, etc. I think of it as research. What I see consistently is in the young adult genre, people say they hate love triangles. I have to disagree. I love me some love triangles. They not only advance the plot, but they allow for all kinds of juicy little moments that I love to write and read about. But they have to be well written. If not, it turns into something predictable and that really bothers me.

Since I'm admitting things at the moment, let's talk about the mother of all literary love triangles: Twilight. Let me start by saying I have not seen all the movies. I only watched part of the first one, and it was horrible. I did, however, read the books, and I loved them (I don't care what all you MFs think about it, I won't take it back!). I actually got in fights with my husband because I was spending all my time (and I mean all of it) reading. Throughout the series, you experience a lovely gut-wrenching feeling as Bella is pulled in different directions. In the back of your mind, you know she's going to end up with Edward, you just know it, even though he's a douche who abandons her for her own good. But when she unexpectedly kisses Jacob, you understand that she also loves him, albeit on a totally different level. So in the end, still predictable, but well-written, I thought.

I love the manga love triangle, which can vary in specifics but usually goes like this: Girl meets boy, girl likes boy, boy remains aloof, enter childhood friend who publicly announces his undying love and generally makes things awkward. Then boy one gets jealous, realizes his feelings, and everyone is happy except for poor boy two who must accept his unrequited love. I wish I could write a manga where the childhood friend wins out. I mean, come on, he's always loved you! It's not his fault he doesn't know how to play hard to get. I think I'm thinking of Kaicho Wa Maid Sama as I write this. Although I love love Usui's character, I really thought the other dude deserved a chance. Hinata. So Usui wasn't exactly aloof, and Hinata wasn't a childhood friend, but you get the idea.

Obviously, Skip Beat takes the concept to a whole new level. If you include the "Beagle" you could make it a love square, although Kyoko actually hates him and Sho. The whole diagram makes for some hilariousness. Last year I splurged and bought every volume of the manga so far. That way I can go back and reread my favorite parts. Awesome.

I have a feeling I have a lot more to write on this topic, so be warned. This isn't over.

J. L. Dodd

'Twilight' passed like a fever through the sophisticated reader and the unsophisticated reader alike. People devoured those books in single sittings, over weekends, with a kind of raw intensity that is rare. Holly Black
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/twilight.html

It is what it is ...

Have you noticed lately that everybody and their dog likes to say, "It is what it is"? It's pretty annoying at times, especially when people use it to excess. Like, "We are out of cereal. It is what it is."

Surprisingly, it's a pretty old phrase. In Wikipedia, the earliest known use is in the Fihi Ma Fihi (Persian literally meaning "It is what it is"), a Persian prose work by the 13th century Sufi writer known as Rumi. It's a trendy way of saying, "Fuck it, I can't change it," which makes much more sense, and is way less annoying. This leads me to the concept of impermanence, which I believe I have discussed before and is one of the main themes in the book I am writing.

From Wikipedia: Impermanence is one of the essential doctrines or three marks of existence in Buddhism. The term expresses the Buddhist notion that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is transient, or in a constant state of flux. The mutability of life, that time passes on no matter what happens, is an important aspect of impermanence. According to the impermanence doctrine, human life embodies this flux in the aging process, the cycle of birth and rebirth (samsara), and in any experience of loss.

In the first one or two years I was writing, I was spending about half of my time researching, and in studying Buddhism and Shintoism, I came across this truly unique concept. It has affected my life in many ways since. To understand and accept that time passes and things change has a very calming affect on me. I have even come to accept that my death is inevitable and that worrying about it is futile. Of course, I feel differently, at least to some degree, about those around me. But I can't tell you how good it feels to put off that anxiety and fear. There was a time a few years ago that I thought I might die. The situation was completely out of my control. But my brain reverted to: "If it's my time, I will die," and that's how I got through it. Since then, if I'm driving with my Dad in his truck (or his boat), I just tell myself the same thing, and I can get through it. Dad, I love you, but I don't want to drive with you anymore. You scare the crap out of me.

Then again, this thinking leads to complacency, which most agree is a bad word. In fiction, characters often have to decide if they will accept their fate or fight against it. For me, I think you'll be happier in life to learn acceptance. But that may be because I'm a type "B" personality.

Wow, this blog is some serious shit. I'm not sure why I am waxing so heavy, but I'm not gonna change it. Fihi ma fihi. Or better, fuck it, I won't change it.

J. L. Dodd

"I'm living with every step. I can't live with regret. The past is the past. I'm not worried about it. I can't change it. I can't fix it. It is what it is. I'm just living." – Ryan Sheckler

"Impermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don’t struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality." – Pema Chodron

"Come back to square one, just the minimum bare bones. Relaxing with the present moment, relaxing with hopelessness, relaxing with death, not resisting the fact that things end, that things pass, that things have no lasting substance, that everything is changing all the time—that is the basic message." – Pema Chodron

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
― Mark Twain

Links

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/it_is_what_it_is.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Is_What_It_Is

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impermanence

http://www.themindfulword.org/2013/buddhist-quotes-mindfulness-buddhism-meditation-impermanence-suffering/