A Public Apology // 13

A little late to the bandwagon, I'm going to begin participating in Story Of My Life's blog every day in May challenge.  1/3 of May may be over (hehe) but inspiration is always welcome.  Today's prompt is to issue a public apology.  There are many things I could put here, like the fact that I mumble and don't enunciate properly causing many people to not understand me, but what I would rather talk about is my horrible taste in music.  For example, I just skipped a Nirvana song on Pandora but kept the Jonas Brothers song.

I have subjected too many friends to my horrible taste.  It doesn't help that they're all hippies or musicians raised on either classical or obscure music.  I grew up listening to Radio Disney.  My parents don't even listen to anything "good" just the pop music of their eras.

There are three facets of my horrible taste.  First, is pop music.  Anything on the radio I will love.  No matter how bad the song, within a few hearings, I will know it and love it.  This love of pop stretches back to the early 2000s.  I still, proudly, sing along with Hilary Duff, Jump 5, Play, Jesse McCartney, Bowling For Soup, and more are added every year.  I may know every One Direction and The Wanted songs.

Next is what I like to call internet music.  Alex Day, Charlie McDonnell, Harry and the Potters, Ministry of Magic, The Whomping Willow , Starkid, Tom Milsom, The Remus Lupins, etc.  If you don't know any of these bands, don't worry.  They all sing about nerdy topics such as acne, doctor who, harry potter, firefly, and angler fish.  I love it because it represents a time period of my life, but the quality can be some of the shittiest I've ever heard.

Last comes the semi-okay bit.  I do listen to people who I consider "good" like AWOLNATION, John Mayer, The Killers, The Script, Mumford and Sons, Macklemore, Oasis, and Snow Patrol.  However, these songs are never on when other people are around.

So, what's your opinion?  Should I hide my iPod from any potential friends or belt out 'I Am Harry Potter' loud and proud?  If you're interested, here's a playlist of some of my favorite songs right now.

Oh right, the apology, I'm sorry I subject you to out of tune songs with bad lyrics but sometimes you've got to accept the awful.

10 Things I Bet You Didn't Know About Stalin

First, one thing I bet you didn't know about me.  I am obsessed with the Cold War.  I will read any novel or essay and watch any documentary on the subject.  It is unfathomable to me that something so significant and world changing occurred, but no one speaks about it.  Atomic bombs, still exist, we could still be attacked by one, yet it seems no one in politics is worried about it.  Yes, the American infrastructure is a more pressing concern, but we act as if this terror and the spying never happened.  It's become mythical to a certain extent.  Anyway, I love it and here are some unusual facts about Stalin I've picked up.

1.  He wasn't even Russian! Much like Hitler who was born in Austria, Joseph Stalin was born in Georgia a country south of Russia and above Armenia.

2. He studied to be a priest.  Yes, Stalin the killer of two million Russians, was supposed to be a priest.  It is thought that his time at the seminary he attended helped turn the boy to communism and rebellion.  Weirdly, his seminary was attended my many of the Russian revolutionaries of that time.

3. He had webbed feet and was embarrassed by them.

4. He was sent to Siberia 8 times and escaped 7 times.

5. He wrote poetry and it was good!

6. For most of his childhood, until he became enthralled in Marxism, he was top of his class.

7. His voice was so good, he was often hired to sing at weddings.

8. He was only 5 foot 5 inches tall.

9. It is entirely probable that Stalin was a bastard. 

10. He was always involved with some woman.  Woman found his intelligence and his Georgian accent and manners very attractive. This resulted in quite a few unmentioned offspring.

It's hard to remember that historical figures were simply people like you and I, yet when you look deeper, they have weird stories and abnormalities that make them human.  I think it's important to remember that they aren't gods, we have just as much potential as Plato and Queen Nefertiti and Shakespeare.  As Harry says "Working hard is important, but there's something even more important: believing in yourself.  Look at it this way: every great witch and wizard started out as nothing more than what we are now - students.  If they can do it, why not us?"