I started running again today. I'm horrendously out of shape, and it sucks. BUT, I'll push through it. Maybe. I'm pretty bad at sticking to routines such as exercise.
ANYWAYS, for me, the key component for a good run is a good playlist. Personally, I like mine to be full of Girl Talk, Jay-Z, Kanye West's new CD, and (as I discovered today) 3oh!3's "Don't Trust Me." An embarrassingly bad/catchy song, yes, but awesome to run too.
If you don't have a running playlist, give those artists a try.
If you don't run by choice, that's cool too. They're still worth a look when you need a pump-up song (say, if you're being chased pack of rapid dogs against your own will. Or something like that.)
But most importantly, if you have sweet songs that are good for running, I'd like to hear them, as I need new and exciting things to keep me motivated. Comment below and let me know (don't be shy!)
Also, I took some pictures for a feature in my sister's friends' blog (which, incidentally, I've mentioned before, and it's much more interesting than mine, you should check it out). Check it out here.
Alright, so I'm a little late on this post (like, 2 months too late? Ah well.), but I just want to put it out there: Kanye West, despite sending out a constant vibe of douchey-ness, makes damn good music. His new (as of November) album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is awesome. Seriously, if you haven't heard it yet, you're probably under an even bigger rock than I am.
Not only does this have a ridiculous number of famous musicians (my favorites: Bon Iver and Nicki Minaj. Yeah.) making appearances in various tracks, this is probably the best playlist for running, like, ever. Seriously. I don't ever like exercise, but running to this album is great. Read more about it, courtesy of my good friend Wikipedia, here. And for good measure, for those of you who want just the straight facts, here's the tracklist (in picture form, because the formatting is being stupid and dumb):
Wow.
Listen to that and tell me it's not awesome. I dare you.
Check out Nicki Minaj's verse on Monster here. I'm not fully on the "we love Nicki Minaj" wagon at all really, but yeah... she kills this verse.
And my favorite track from the album:
Lost in the World, Kanye West
[Insert mandatory Kanye discussion "Imma let you finish" joke here]
'My god Marjorie, did you see that boy James
Franco? I swear, I nearly fell off my chair!"
Hey little study monkeys!
Hope exams are going well, and all that jazz. I finished my last exam today, so I get to feel unduly smug for the next few days. Yess. (?) For those of you still living and breathing library air and textbook dust: keep calm and carry on! Soon enough, it'll all be done and you can go back to watching How I Met Your Mother, or some other less funny but still enjoyable show, or whatever you do with your time. I understand though, that studying can sometimes get you down. Sitting in solitude are reading about the same things you thought you had drilled into your head during midterms is not only boring, it can get a little depressing (but stick to it, and do something useful with your life you silly kid). I don't know about you, but study breaks can be helpful in that they give your poor frazzled brain a rest and your spirits a boost. Don't waste too much time, but I know that there are three things that will always make me a little happier with my life:
1) Cute fuzzy things
2) Pretty things
3) and this.
Alright, you see what I did there? I can justify all three of these things for why they are good for your mental health. First, slow loris is just plain adorable, despite what my sister says. Just imagine giving that guy a little tickle and- yup, I see what you're doing- there's a tiny little smile. As for James Franco, he's just plain pretty, and a whole lot nicer to look at than your facebook homepage, or a textbook. The last picture, I'm not too sure why, makes me laugh every time. Why? Maybe it's the fact that you know that's exactly what an ugly black bird would be thinking in that situation, but hey- everyone knows birds can't talk, silly person who made this pic... I don't know...
For those of you who are all like "Liar, I'm still not smiling, and this chapter won't learn itself!" I have nothing for you. Perhaps you should CHILL OUT. For those of you who are like "why you waste my study time?!"... Just keep in mind: you came to this blog in the first place. Clearly, you were looking for any study break you could get.
Also, I posted the song 'Erase Me' by Kid Cudi and Kanye West a while back, and I just want to point out that you should still be listening to this song on a hourly/daily basis, as it is still more awesome than you.
Also (again), Glee did a cover of the song 'Valerie' by Amy Winehouse last week, which I hadn't ever heard of before, which is too bad. It's actually really good, and here's the video for it that is kind of weird because
a) it has a guy rapping at the beginning that really has nothing to do with the rest of the song, and then he just disappears for the rest of the video
b) it's kind of a bit of a copy of Bruce Springsteen's video of 'Dancing In The Dark' (you know, the one that Courtney Cox makes an appearance in when he pulls her onstage) ...in that the guy also pulls up girls to sing for the song. Who can blame him though, lots of guys aspire to be like The Boss (which, PS, is a stupid nickname).
c) finally, Amy Winehouse's vocals are there, but she isn't, apparently because she was too messed up from all the drugs (what? she like drugs??). Hence, various girls are lip syching to her vocals for the entire song, and they make a half-enthusiastic attempt to make them resemble Ms. Winehouse
Anyways, hopefully this has successfully been a nice break from studying (or not studying, whatever you're doing), enjoy:
Valerie- Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson
First of all, let me put one thing out there: it is way too cold for November. Technically, I think it's still above zero, but yesterday for some reason it was so cold I briefly considered going into hibernation, so I never would have to go outside again. At least until the spring. However, against my better judgment, I instead walked to the beach and took some photos. My timing was not really good for two reasons: 1) I went at a really awkward time, so it was just past sunset, but not really dark out yet. Result: it was really bad lighting, but not dark enough to get some sweet night shots, which is too bad because it was clear and the moon was big. I would have waited until it was dark, except 2) IT WAS COLD. Stupid beaches get extra cold. Kudos to the guy sitting on the log, still playing his guitar and singing. It sounded lovely, but I imagine his fingers must have been chilly. Anyways, what I did instead was play around with some long shutter speeds for a very short time before wimping out and heading home. I've never actually tried long shutter speeds on moving water before, and I kind of like the dream-like effect it has. Sure, the actual subject/framing could be better, but I'll take what I can get.
On the music front, I recently heard a Kid Cudi/Kanye West song that I'm pretty sure is not all that new, but I've had it almost on repeat, because it is some good listening. (And PS. I wikipedia'd it. And it actually is kinda new. Sorta. Awkward not new-not old stage.)
Erase Me- Kid Cudi ft. Kanye West
Cuz I'm in the magazines, On the TV, No matter where you are you might hear me
