The Holliedays

this blog has a new home! L. Hollie McKee is now The Holliedays and can be surfed at theholliedays.com

thanks!

It's Late Night Class Period... Which Means...

... a massive blog entry. It's not that I intentionally will not listen in lecture. It's just that having a class this late in the day in a windowless basement classroom already spells disaster. For some reason- of which I have not figured out yet- it is particularly difficult for me to process anything scholarly at this time [every week]. Do not be discouraged: all evidence points to me being a rather-good student. But I have made my peace with the fact that we cannot win them all. Moving on. Here are some thoughts circling my little existence of late.

TOPIC 1: 80s week at me house. Jordan, Melissa and I decided to rule this week "80s week," wherein we settle down to an 80s movie every other night. Despite the fact that our schedules demanded that we attempt to study WHILE tapping our feet along to FOOTLOOSE, wiggling our hips along to DIRTY DANCING and tugging on our hair awkwardly as what's-her-name does in SIXTEEN CANDLES, we have thoroughly enjoyed simpler times as of late. My personal favorite of the week was watching Jordan mimic her mother's smooth 80s dance moves, full throttle, putting Kevin Bacon himself to shame.

TOPIC 2: The Elizabeth Smart kidnapping trial is in full swing. Unless you have been living under a rock this month (at least for those of you in Utah), you will know that this trial is receiving ridiculous amounts of coverage. I for one am hooked. My friend Brittany (from work) and I have been religiously following the trial, reading trial transcripts and interviews. My thoughts? I have a couple. Firstly, I respect and admire that girl. The things she has been through are things that no young woman should- and her poise and elegance seem godly. Secondly, the professionalism of the prosecution is to be commended. Their strategy is flawless. As an english major (yeah I'm pulling that line out), analyzing their language has been fascinating. It is interesting to see the difference between the prosecutions use of language as opposed to that of the defense. The defense are long winded, their questions are leading and they allow for lengthy answers that lose the jury. The prosecution are quick, leading their witnesses and the defenses witnesses in a basic direction that is simple and effective. The best part of this entire trial so far? Elizabeth's testimony. The Smart family have kept relatively private concerning the events that actually occurred during Elizabeth's captivity. For 8 years not the world has wondered- was she raped? Was she abused? If the Smart's had publicized this information from the beginning, the world- and the jury- would have had 8 years to digest this information. However, after 8 years our questions have been answered in trial- Elizabeth's testimony is shocking- the reality of her abuse and mistreatment has utterly shocked the world and the jury. Mitchell's punishment will surely be as harsh as it could be. The defense's case- that Mitchell was not of sound mind- is laughable:their tactics are transparent and his performances in court- including bursting into song and being in contempt of court- is a shameful display.
TOPIC 3: SNOW. It used to be that snow excited every cell in my body: we'd sit up, poised on the edges of our seats as we listened to the radio in the hopes that our school would be named one of the few experiencing a "snow day" (happened maybe 3 times in my existence). We'd spend hours outside, building igloos (that always ended up reaching our knees but that was it- we'd get bored and move on to sleding). So, I recognize it as a sign of my age and awful sensibility that I no longer enjoy powder sugar frost days. In fact, I find them rather a nuisance. You may not know this but snow days do not exist in the skiing capitol of the world. Anyway for my friends abroad (meaning not in the US), the above is my back yard, and though it's pretty, the cold almost doesn't make it worth it. Also, snow doesn't taste half as good at my age. Why did I ever spend so much time eating snow?
TOPIC 4: Buskers. I was in Wal-Mart the other day, and came out to the sound of a busker or two. Initially I rather enjoyed it as it reminded me of the European blood running through my veins. It seems that buskers pop up on every corner in an English town. HOWEVER, I found myself oddly loathing the idea of a couple of tatted-up ruffians busking outside of a WALMART. I haven't quite decided my reasoning for this discomfort- which enables you all to agree that I am awfully judgmental and rude. Really I have no defense prepared, so I'll move on.
TOPIC 5: ETSY. I don't understand what ETSY means, or IS- if anyone can explain this to me, I'd be grateful. BUT My friend Lacy sent me a link to a wonderful section of ETSY that included an english major-esque gifty selection of things including the above. I LOVE the idea of a bookish tree and am contemplating following through with the idea this christmas season. HOWEVER, my sensitive mind is torn between the idea of original-tribute-to-literature-i-love and the idea that that would require slicing up what I consider almost sacred. Take the above. as cool as it looks, could that justify snipping out paragraphs of a dickens novel?! Moments like this make me feel like I focus on trivial things... so I will yet again change the subject...
PICTURE OF THE DAY, from stumbleupon.com-- I really enjoy this. If you happen to know me when I have my own male offspring, you will notice that their shirts are ALWAYS tucked in.

stumbleupon.com Turns Up Gems Like This

People are awesome. Many thanks to myself and my stumble-ing-upon-web-surf-session that I engaged in rather than studying. I watched this and studied my cushy surroundings and came to the conclusion that it has been a while since I dove 10 stories into a paddling pool, or since I dirtbike-jumped the grand canyon blindfolded, carrying lit matches between each of my fingers and holding a pirana between my teeth.

M.I.A.

Those of you who know me on a daily basis will know that I have been M.I.A. for the past 2 weeks or so- the reason for my social absence is the above. My mother came to visit! Waving good-bye to a successful semester GPA (just kidding), I hosted my lovely Mum for a while. I took her shopping, out to lunch (most days), to the movies, on walks and a few road trips. What a wonderful lady! Having Mum around made me feel somewhat grown up: I was actually HOSTING. SHE was the guest this time. When I was a kid I used to think about it- no really I did. What weirdo kid ponders the moment her mother will actually be HER guest?! Strange. Anyway I rather miss her now that she's gone. Then I remember there's only 5 or so weeks before I fly to Germany to be with her again for Christmas-- Brilliant!

Oh, and you will all be pleased to know that after almost 2 years of whining about it, Mum treated me to an umbrella- which you ALL know I needed. Thanks Mum!

Whatever Happened to All the Fainting?

I am currently in my American Lit class and we are talking about the drastic changes in society between then and now. My professor just stopped us all and asked "Whatever happened to all the fainting? It used to be that something diabolical would happen in literature, and the character affected was so traumatized that they would faint. Why don't we faint anymore?! Have we lost this ability to be traumatized enough??" I thought it was rather humorous. Whatever DID happen to all the fainting?

Proud of Them British Learning Folk

Thanks to Lacey, who sent me this fabulous article on the proactive and conscientious minds of the people of Westbury in the UK. When their small mobile library was shut down, the citizens banded together and created a bookswap, which they now run out of an old telephone box! Marvelous!