Thanks, Drea, for highlighting one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite artists!

Enjoy!

dailycrack:

Kelly Clarkson - Beautiful Disaster (Live)

I know some beautiful disasters. I know some not so beautiful disasters. But you know what? Sometimes you just can’t help yourself. You KNOW when you shouldn’t be with someone…you know when someone is so self destructive that they will never let your relationship work…but sometimes you just have to get out of your system. And hopefully, every once in a while, those beautiful disasters turn themselves around.

Did I mention beautiful disasters don’t only occur in romantic relationships?

There are not very many artists who I am willing to listen to live because, let’s face it, most artists now a day reek like week old garbage when singing live. Alicia Keys, John Legend, Prince, Kelly Clarkson, Shakira - all have wonderful live cds out there. For most of the rest…I’ll stick to their studio albums. But this…one of the few songs I prefer the live recording to the studio one. Go on with your bad self Ms. Clarkson.

-CaliDre

Kelly Clarkson - Beautiful Disaster (Live)

He drowns in his dreams
An exquisite extreme I know
He’s as damned as he seems
And more heaven than a heart could hold
And if I try to save him
My whole world would cave in
It just ain’t right
Lord, it just ain’t right

Oh and I don’t know
I don’t know what he’s after
But he’s so beautiful
He’s such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Lord, would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster

He’s magic and myth
As strong as what I believe
A tragedy with
More damage than a soul should see
But do I try to change him
So hard not to blame him
Hold me tight
Baby, hold me tight

Oh and I don’t know
I don’t know what he’s after
But he’s so beautiful
He’s such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster

I’m longing for love and the logical
But he’s only happy hysterical
I’m searching for some kind of miracle
Waited so long
Waited so long

He’s soft to the touch
But frayed at the end he breaks
He’s never enough
And still he’s more than I can take

Oh and I don’t know
I don’t know what he’s after
But he’s so beautiful
He’s such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster

He’s beautiful
Lord, he’s so beautiful
He’s beautiful

“Why Can’t We Be Friends?”

My friend Mickey shared this inspirational video with me today, and I absolutely love it. The love, support, and sharing attitude this orangutan has for this puppy is admirable - I’m sure we could take a lesson from this outstanding animal.

Enjoy!

In June 2007, I had just moved to Miami and started my job at Florida International University. Having moved to a new city knowing nobody, I would often head to downtown Coral Gables to browse the various bookstores - my favorite being Books & Books - a charming doctor’s-office-turned-bookstore-and-cafe, about a half mIle from my apartment. The building had been renovated to fit the bookstore needs while maintaining the integrity of the original 1927 Mediterranean style architecture, and each room had been fixed with wall-to-wall wooden bookshelves. (Check out a slideshow of the store)

Summer 2007 marked an exciting time in literary history, as the seventh (and final) book of the Harry Potter series was to be released. At this time, I hadn’t read any of the books or seen any of the films, but my supervisor and a handful of my new colleagues were avid readers.

One evening after work, I stopped by the Barnes & Noble store on Miracle Mile, and fed the parking meter for two hours. (I would visit B&N when I knew I was going to purchase something, because at the time I still had a paid membership to their discount program. Now, I prefer local when possible.) Unbeknownst to me, that evening was the release party for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, and within a half hour, the bookstore was packed with Harry, Ron, and Hermione clones (adults and children alike). Watching the frenzied excitement (particulary that of the booksellers who were frantic among the commotion) provided an interesting study in human behavior. I’ve always been a people-watcher, and I love to know what makes a person tick.

I told my office about the visit the next day, mentioning how I didn’t understand all of the fuss. They proceeded to explain their great anticipation for the final book, and told me I had to read the series. My supervisor offered to loan me the books if I was ever interested. It wouldn’t be until two summers later that I would take Anna up on her offer.

Last May, I borrowed the first three books from Anna, and quickly fell in love. J. K. Rowling’s writing style is energetic and youthful, and her elaborate stories and impressive twists as each novel comes to a close brings everything together seamlessly, and never ceases to surprise. As I would wrap up each book, I would watch the corresponding film with my good friend Brian. I made it through the first three books and films as the Summer ended, and held off on the fourth until arriving in Austin.

After getting settled in my new job at the University of Texas at Austin, I borowed the fourth book from my neighbor Brandon, and started the series again with Esmer - a colleague and friend who also hadn’t followed Harry’s adventures before last summer.

I have a thing with wanting to own the books I read - particulary those I love. I also don’t like to own incomplete sets of collections, and prefer that each copy is in the same format (a little neurotic, I admit). Before my cross-country move, Mickey gave me an extra hardback copy of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince, at which point I wanted to own not only the whole series, but hardback volumes of the remaining six books. Pricing such a purchase at various bookstores, I quickly found that this would be a real investment - until today.

Esmer introduced me to Half Price Books - a fabulous used booksore in Austin. I visited today, and was able to complete my hardcover collection for less than $65 - nearly $25 cheaper than purchasing a new copy of the boxed paperback set! I switched from Brandon’s borrowed paperback, and am excited to return it this week.

If you haven’t read the series, I would strongly encourage it. As an educator, the boarding school similarities of Hogwarts resonates similarly to the typical residential higher education experience, with similar challenges (independence, living away from home, time management, peer pressure, acadic pressures, etc.). The characters are elaborately defined, and the story is well-written, imaginative and intriguing. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. In fact, why don’t you start today? You’re certainly welcome to borrow my collection. :-)

Mashable is one of my favorite sites, and I often find fantastic articles on social media by following their Twitter feed.

In this article, Mashable breaks down the top 700+ iPhone Apps reviewed on their site over the past year into several categories. I will definitely be checking out many of these apps over the next month!

“Martha Stewart Weddings featured the magazine’s first same-sex couple in its 15th anniversary Winter 2010 issue.”

The blog discusses the way the magazine article provided a fantastic look at the gay couple’s wedding, without emphasizing any political points whatsoever - it was simply to highlight the union as any other union would be highlighted in the magazine. SO empowering to see traditional media covering gay couples in a way that shows them as any other couple - normal, healthy, and happy.

Thanks, Martha!

Ellen’s response to the importance of sensitivity is outstanding! So looking forward to watching American Idol (once the auditions weeks are over, of course…). Enjoy!