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  • Rules of Concert Etiquette

    Last weekend, my new roommate Nicole and I went to see Third Day at the Ryman. As I may have mentioned in the past, the Ryman is one of the oldest and most revered theaters in Nashville. It’s also just plain a cool place to see a show. (Let me take this opportunity to give a big shoutout to my sweet friend Caroline, who hooked us up with tickets and meet and greet passes that produced this picture.)

    thirday-day-pic

    Nicole and I were both excited about the show, especially when we found out that Tenth Avenue North was opening the show. And boy, were they excellent! The Tenth Ave boys were ROCKIN’ their set with songs like “Healing Begins” and “You Are More.” I was enjoying them so much until the girls a couple rows behind us screaming at the top of their lungs. In fact, they were shouting their Hallelujahs so loudly that they could be heard over even the loudest songs. And then the girls were praying–also over top the music. At first, I thought I was the only one who could hear it, but then it became clear that everyone else around us was bothered by this as well.

    It wasn’t that the girls were praying. Nope. I’m a fan of that. And it wasn’t that they were worshiping God. Nope. I’m a fan of that, too. It was the manner in which they were doing it that was driving me nuts. You see, they were breeching a very important rule of concert going etiquette.

    What? You didn’t know there were rules when attending concerts (in this case, Christian concerts)? Ah, but there are. At least 4 of them actually. To help in your next concert going experience, I offer them here.

    Rules of Concert Etiquette

    1. Your speaking and prolonged shouts should never be louder than the songs that are being sung on stage. You see others have purchased tickets for this show to enjoy the music being played, not whatever it is that you think is more important. Your voice should not carry beyond two people to either side of you.

    2. The flash of your camera should always be angled in such a way as to blind the fewest number of people. At no point should your camera be stretched to arms length and the flash set off directly in the eyes of the people in front of you.

    3.  Failure to bathe and use deodorant prior to the concert event is inexcusable. In the same way, overuse of perfumes is never appreciated. Think about how closely you’ll be sitting next to your neighbor.

    4. Sitting in someone else’s assigned seat because you don’t want to ask where yours is, is a sure-fire way to make concert enemies. If, heaven forbid, you do wind up in someone else’s seat, be prepared to move quickly, quietly, and graciously.

    Those are my rules. What have I missed?

    Monday Movie – 3 Recents

    Well, it’s been a while since I shared a Monday Movie with you all, but not because I haven’t seen them. Just because I haven’t gotten around to writing reviews on them. But I’ve seen three in the last month that I thought deserved a spot on the blog–at least I had a strong enough reaction to them to write up a snippet on each. Without further ado here are my thoughts on a three flicks I’ve seen recently.

    the-conspirator

    Several weeks ago, my friend and fellow writer, Kaye Dacus sent me a twitter message: do you want to go see The the-conspirator-james-mcavoyConspirator tonight? It was all too easy to answer, since the move combines 3 of my favorite things. James McAvoy (seen here with a beard that he sadly wore the entire movie). Abraham Lincoln. And the Civil War.

    This (mostly) historically accurate tale, follows the military trial of Mary Surratt, the only woman charged in the conspiracy to murder Lincoln, his Vice President and Secretary of State. Lincoln, of course, was the only one to die at the hand of the conspirators. But this story isn’t really about Lincoln. It’s about Mary and the young lawyer, Frederick Aiken, who defends her against all odds in a heavily prejudiced court of generals. It’s a fascinating tale. Not really an edge of your seat thriller, but more an interesting dive into the characters themselves. I highly recommend this one.

    prom-movie

    I was so excited to see Disney’s Prom a few weeks ago in the theater. I haven’t made any secret of my appreciation for all things teeny-bopper-ish. And I really love a good teeny bopper movie, so when I saw a preview for Prom with Aimee Teegarden from Friday Night Lights, I had high hopes. And then one of my favorite authors, Jenny B. Jones, tweeted her endorsement, and I was ready to go!

    So imagine my sadness when I saw it and realized it was only a weak mash up of all of my favorite teen movies from when I was a teen. It’s 3 parts Can’t Hardly Wait, 2 part s 10 Things I Hate About You, and 1.5 parts terrible dialogue. So if you’re looking for a witty, fun film, check out one of the older ones that I’ve mentioned here.

    500-days-of-summer

    I have a new roommate, so our first weekend in the new house, we decided to enjoy a little Noodles & Co. for dinner and watch a movie. She has 500 Days of Summer on dvd, so we popped it in. It came highly recommended from my sweet friend Jess Barnes (who has made many an appearance on this very blog). While I give it points for originality (it’s told in a set of achronological scenes), it didn’t grab me. But I think it might have something to do with Zooey Deschnel, who I want to love as an actress, but I just can’t seem to get into her movies. And the attitude and flipancy with which her character in this movie treats her friend and boyfriend does nothing to endear her any more.

    To sum up … see The Conspirator if you have any interest in history … or James McAvoy. The other two? Well, I wouldn’t spend more than a Redbox dollar on either. Happy film watching, friends!

    Where I’ve been …

    I’ve missed you guys! No, really … I have. This has been a crazy, busy time in my life, and guess what’s fallen off the plate? You got it! Blogging. But I’m back and ready with some super-exciting upcoming blogs. Including a giveaway! But shh … it’s a secret. I’ll tell you more about it soon.

    So for the mean time, I wanted to fill you in on the top 16 things I’ve done in the last month, many of which are inteneded to make you feel sorry for me. Let your sympathy-giving commence. 🙂
    1. Hanging out with my mom and dad. (That’s not supposed to induce sympathy.)
    2. Moving into a new house.
    3. Cleaning the old house.
    4. Writing a proposal for a new Love Inspired Suspense book.
    5. Reading emails in which my editor explains why she doesn’t like said proposal.
    6. Rewriting proposal.
    7. Traveling for work.
    8. Listening to Matt Wertz music.
    9. Training to run a 5K on July 4th. (Is this really inteneded to celebrate our country’s birthday? Really?)
    10. Reading a weird book. (Not on purpose. I thought it was going to be normal.)
    11. Reading a plumb bad book. (Also not on purpose.)
    12. Missing Castle every week.
    13. Watching Make It or Break It instead.
    14. Watching Jimmy McAvoy in his first movie in AGES.
    15. Brainstorming fun book projects with friends.
    16. Planning another trip to Prince Edward Island!

    But it’s good to be back! I’ve seen some really wonderful–and some really terrible–movies in the last month. I can’t wait to tell you about them.

    And, yes, if anyone asks, I did steal the numbered list idea from Jenny B. Jones, who happens to be my hero.