Ronnie James Dio

The first time I heard Dio I was about 8 and I was pretty sure it was the worst music I had ever heard. My dad had the Sacred Heart album and I didn't get the appeal. If you know me at all, you know I'm a music lover and most of that is my father's influence (thanks, Dad because Mom was no help here at all) but Dio did not appeal to me until much later.

The more I heard Ronnie James Dio sing over the years, the more I appreciated his dramatic vocal range and his fantasy-like songs that made me think about Lord of the Rings like characters and settings. I also appreciated his ability to quietly call out the establishment (a.k.a. The Man), be it organized religion or politicians. I also grew to love Black Sabbath under his vocal influence far better than Ozzy's reign.

Beyond music, Ronnie James Dio seemed like a down-to-earth guy who fully recognized that music was meant to be fun and entertaining. His interviews were always amusing and it was clear that he enjoyed what he did.

Thanks for music, Ronnie. Now go do yourselves a favor and check out RJD and Yngwie Malmsteen cover Aerosmith's "Dream On" here. You'll never need to hear Steven Tyler do this song again.

Irresponsible Pet Owners

Just moments ago I was certain there was a serial killer in my yard. Roxi unleashed a ferocious bark that was only justified if an intruder was lurking around. Of course, I went downstairs to see what the fuss was and I saw an intruder in the form of a very fat white and orange tabby cat.

I see stray animals all the time and being an animal lover, I feel so sad for these lost little things. But this time I'm going to push that aside and scold pet owners. The intruder cat looked well-fed and had tags. I hate to assume but I am guessing that this cat is allowed to roam free and that makes me mad and now you're going to find out why.

1. I don't want your cat in my yard. If I had nice flowers, which I don't, I wouldn't want a cat using them as a litter box, a toy, or whatever else a cat might use them for.

2. I don't want my 80 pound dogs to eat your cat. I'm glad my dogs were inside when the visitor was in our yard. Cats are fast but if this cat had not been fast enough I would have felt very guilty.

3. I don't want my dogs getting their eyes scratched out. My dogs belong in my yard, your cat does not. If my dogs would have gotten injured I would have been beyond angry.

4. The world is filled with weirdos. I am sure you can find article after article in a newspaper or the internet about animals who get used for God-knows-what.

I know that animals can easily slip past an open door and I sympathize with all of the people out there who have missing pets. I would be devastated if any of my animals were lost but when people knowingly let their animals roam the streets that is just irresponsible and inflicting your pet on to other people. Keep your pets inside!

Quick Disappointments: Dylan's Candy Bar

Dylan's Candy Bar is an upscale candy store created by Dylan Lauren, Ralph's daughter. I've yet to try Dylan's actual candy but I scored some of her lip balm on the cheap at T.J. Maxx recently.

The balms come in the should-be yummy flavors of Strawberry Licorice, Coconut Bon Bon, Birthday Cake Batter, and Chocolate Cupcake. Despite these tasty sounding balms, they really have no taste at all. Not only that, they don't stay on your lips long. If you find them cheap, go for it but I wouldn't spend too much on these.

Dylan Lauren should stick to candy. Or should she? Is her candy any good at least? Let me know if you've tried it.

Happy Mother's Day!

It’s Mother’s Day! In honor of the day I wanted to spend some time telling you about my awesome mom.

My mom told me today that she was not a perfect parent to me and that she wished she would have done some things different. My response to this was well, who is perfect, parents or otherwise? Thinking about it, I think that some of these so-called “imperfections” were the key to my mom’s successful parenting.

My mom was the “cool mom”. One summer morning when I was 12 or 13, I woke up to find my friend Sara downstairs talking with my mom. Sara had not come to see me. She came to bring a coffee cake she had made for my mom. So what made my mom so cool that my friends would prefer her company? Did she let all the kids drink booze on her watch? Not a chance! My mom was cool because she was funny, she would talk and listen to my friends, and when you were at our house you knew she cared about you because she made you follow the rules.

My mom let me read anything I wanted. One of my 8th grade students desperately wants to read the Twilight series but her parents won’t let her. I think that this is a shame. I was allowed to read any thing I wanted when I was a kid and it made me a good reader, a book lover, and simply a more interesting person. I will never forget the time I was sitting in the hall outside my 5th grade classroom reading Testament by David Morrell (ever heard of Sly Stallone’s First Blood? Morrell wrote it.) when my principal came by and asked what I was reading. I was free to choose what I read and I still appreciate it so much. Reading took me to places I could never imagine and taught me about events and people, both real and imagined, that school would have bypassed. It isn’t the kids who are given the freedom to read what they want who push the limits, it’s usually the kids who are censored.

My mom let me listen to anything I wanted. I should start by saying that my mom should be grateful for this because my love of good music meant that she never had to endure a New Kids on the Block phase with me. You’re welcome, Mom. I was that kid you were jealous of who had Guns N’ Roses and Motley Crue albums in the 5th grade. These records did not come without a conversation though. Usually it involved my mom laying it out for me that a lot of these musicians make risqué music to make a buck because it’s controversial. This meant that I wasn’t blasting it through the house just for shock value and I had perspective to see through gimmicks. I truly believe that these conversations are why I don’t fall for everything I read, see, and hear.

My mom let me be. I wasn’t forced into activities or sports that I didn’t want to do. My mom was no soccer mom and I am so thankful for that. My mom also did not dictate who my friends were. Many of my friends were having sex, drinking, smoking, and taking drugs by middle school. I never did any of these things. I was a free thinker and my mom trusted me. That isn’t to say that I never got in trouble or that my mom didn’t keep tabs on me, but I was raised to believe that there was more to life than keeping up with my friends. Most of the time, my friends thought I was pretty neat for doing my own thing and sometimes I faced exclusion. My mom trusted and respected me enough to know that I would make the right choices and I usually did. By letting me be myself, I found out who I was at an early age and had a strong sense of self awareness.

Mom, thanks for being you and letting me be me. Happy Mother’s Day.

Thanks, Emily

Despite being a huge poetry lover and an English teacher, I forgot that April is National Poetry Month. Allow me to make amends.

I got into poetry at a very young age when I found a poetry book in the trash. It had been a textbook once upon a time but it opened a new world to me. In poetry, your words could be shaped like an animal or a diamond, you didn't have to use capitalization or punctuation or proper grammar. If the poet really knew what he or she was doing they could use poetry to make you cry or laugh. A good poet can even make high school tolerable. Here are a few of my favorite poems. Enjoy.

The Bistro Styx by Rita Dove

Variations on the Word Sleep by Margaret Atwood

Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath

Sonnet 17 by Pablo Neruda

the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls by ee cummings

I heard a fly buzz when I died by Emily Dickinson

Facebook is still a choice, right?

Did Facebook become required? What did I miss? Assuming we still have a choice on whether or not to use Facebook, I'm curious as to why a bunch of bored Senators feel the need to whine about it to the extent of possibly involving the Federal Trade Commission. After all, with immigration issues, unemployment, and oh yeah, a WAR I guess this is all we have to worry about and spend tax dollars on.

My understanding is that Facebook is making some changes that would expose some information such as interests, location, and friends to places that can advertise to you. Yes, this sucks. The last thing I need is another ad for some hipster nightclub that I'd never frequent to pop up. However, if it really bugs me that much I can stop using Facebook. And guess what, Senators? So can you! And if Facebook users are not tech savvy enough as, the article states, to figure out how to set their privacy options then maybe they should not be on Facebook to begin with.

The Summer of Jenny

When George Costanza lost his job one summer he declared it "The Summer of Geroge". During that summer, George set out to do the things he wanted. While I have not lost my job, this will be the first summer in 16 years that I have not worked. Here are some things I am thinking about doing:

1. Take a cooking class. My neighborhood Michael's offers baking lessons and Parks and Rec offers an inexpensive cooking class to residents. I might learn some new techniques for baking. Even better, maybe I can learn to cook something that both Brian and I will eat!

2. Yoga/Pilates/Dance. Parks and Rec also offer these classes for much less than a studio. I could use a little fitness and relaxation in my life. If I opt for a dance class, I will need a partner. Any takers?

3. Fix up the house. For a 34 year old house, my place is in great shape. We've lived here for nearly 6 years so it is time for an update on the paint. Our couch is almost 10 years old so some new furniture is also in order. I want to experiment with some brave colors, too.

4. Teach an old dog new tricks. My pups can do lots of things. Roll over, crawl, sit, shake, play dead. But German Shepherds are smart and need their brains stimulated almost constantly or they get bored and do bad things. It's time for the dogs to learn some new things.

5. Write. I love to write but admittedly I don't write as often as I should. I have good ideas that need to move from my brain to the paper.