See you later Mountain Dew...

Another Mardi Gras has come and passed, and we are now beginning the 40-day season of Lent. I have never participated intensely in this custom, and during high school I always thought of Lent as something "other people" did. But with the amount of self-discovery I've been doing during the past month, as well as the too-perfect timing of the fact that I am currently out of Mountain Dew, I have decided that I will be giving up Mountain Dew and energy drinks (not as big of a problem, although I do indulge in an Amp now and then) for the duration of Lent.

It's a significant sacrifice: I usually drink at least one can of Dew every day, often more. But I feel like the break will give me time to focus on more important things, allow for more self-discovery and improve the strained relationships I currently have with my friends. Hopefully I can come out of this a better person.

I know that the purpose of fasting is not to make a huge deal about it -- in fact, we are commanded to not "make it obvious" (Matthew 6:16) but I really felt like I needed to tell people, otherwise they wouldn't believe me. I also wanted people to know because I am in continual need of support as I work toward changing my life for the better. Any positive thoughts or prayer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Holy cow Billie Joe Armstrong's short...and should NOT be blonde...

Normally, I don't bother watching awards shows on TV because they're way over-hyped and feature the usual expected nominees. But Hailey decided to watch the Grammys, which meant I also watched the Grammys. Following are some of the best (and worst) parts of the show in my opinion.

The Best:

• The montage of all of the behind-the-scenes people who made music great, as well as some of those stars. Everyone from the music arranger for The Beatles to the composer of the theme for "The Andy Griffith Show" to the lead singer of the Four Tops to Bo Diddley was featured. Overall, a nice little tribute to pop music's early days.
• Coldplay walked away with a couple of awards (Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals) for their song "Viva La Vida" as well as Best Rock Album for "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends." Yay.
  
• Radiohead performed "15 Step" from their album "In Rainbows" (for which they won an award) accompanied by the USC drumline and brass section from the marching band. One of two songs the band knows how to play.

The Worst:

• Katy Perry's performance of "I Kissed A Girl" was terrible. On the radio, Perry's voice sounds sassy and fits the tone of the song. Onstage, her voice sounded like it belonged in a metal band and clashed with the bright colors and fruit in the background.
• The Jonas Brothers collaborating with Stevie Wonder on a medley. The presence of Stevie Wonder on the stage was possibly the only redeeming quality of that entire three minutes.
• The "rap showcase" performing an extended version of "Swagga Like Us." The showace featured Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil' Wayne, T.I., Tip and M.I.A. The latter was extremely pregnant and was actually due the night of the awards.
• Al Gore won "Best Spoken Word Album" with "An Inconvenient Truth," read by Beau Bridges, Cynthia Nixon and Blair Underwood. Among those beat out by Gore were Steve Martin with "Born Standing Up" and Stephen Colbert's audiobook for "I Am America (And So Can You)," which included the voice talents of Colbert, Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, Jon Stewart, Evelyn McGee and others. You can bet America Himself will have something to say about this on his show tomorrow...perhaps another read-off, this time with Gore, is in the future?

So yeah. That was pretty much the 2009 Grammy Awards. Nothing too surprising.