Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 16

Gianna:

My first girlfriend and I had a song. Actually, we had two because we couldn’t agree on what “our” song was. I can’t for the life of me remember what song I brought to the table because her song won. I don’t know how or why, but whenever I hear (and you really must sit down for this as the nausea will set in, trust me), but whenever I hear the REO Speedwagon song (yep) "I Can’t Fight This Feeling," I think of Lucy. We also had a breakup song and God help me but I think it was "After the Love is Gone" by Chicago.  There were some songs in between but those two are the ones I remember best. [Gianna won't date me because our song would be sung by the Muppets if I got to choose.]

Rob Sheffield

And of course there were other relationships (just a couple, I’m lovable really!), and there were songs...well playlists really. "The Beautiful South" reigned supreme in my  second relationship (I was now in charge of relationship playlists, something I will never relinquish). And after that it was pretty much all Tori Amos. It's okay, things got better.  I suspect if things went south in my current relationship it would be all Adele all the time. When I get in trouble for something, I make a mental list of which order I will put the songs in on my iPod. I like to be prepared…plus I am a fatalist.

Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield. It’s the true and tragic love story told through the memory of this sweet couple’s songs.  Rob and Rene’s love story is set to music, as it should be. Oh, and trust me, their songs are much better than mine. Nirvana, Missy Elliot, Pearl Jam, REM, and Pavement make appearances.

Here is Rob talking about Rene and his book.

http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/mixtape/

Liz:

Alright Star Wars lovers, you all know that Darth Vadar is the sexy hunk of the series.  Who wants the wimpy rebels when you could have the alpha male dark lord?  Speaking of the dark side....

I'm sure this is the ONLY blog
that features Dick for
Valentine's Day.
You're welcome.

Nothing says "Baby, I love you!" like Dick Cheney, and I highly recommend The Dark Side by Jane Mayer.    In order to understand the last decade of US foreign policy The Dark Side is a must read.  Jane Mayer exposes policies and Constitutional....stretching perpetrated by Darth Cheney and his imperial army of lawyers and strategists.  Here's how the wars were sold, here's how the concept of homeland security was exploited for political means, and here's how torture was rationalized.  Here's how America became the evil empire even while attempting to combat violence.

My Valentine's Day plans, by the way, include wallowing in self-pity and throwing eggs at people walking into restaurants.  Maybe I'll leave copies of The Dark Side on their windshields too.