Generally I am a fan of things one might categorize as “awesome” – things possessing a certain level of awesomeNESS and even things that are only awesomeISH (but I like them anyway because I’m a relatively strange person) ... SO because it’s Thursday and I’m trying avoid thinking about larger issues (like my taxes and how I’m going to avoid a permanent red wine stain on my teeth over the next 30 years) ... I decided to put together a post of awesome things … I think maybe I’ll call this “Awesome things Volume 1” ... which would be even funnier if it was the only one … and based on my general fear of commitment and complete lack of attention span – this may very well be Volume One-and-only.

AWESOME MUSIC YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Hip Hop: September by Sum Majere – Sounds like: Common

Rock: You’ve Been Gone Too Long by The Black Hollis – Sounds like: Jet

Acoustic: I Feel Fine by Emily Elbert – Sounds like: If Jack Johnson and Etta James had a baby girl …

AWESOME VIDEOS YOU SHOULD SEE:

This kid is pretty funny …

This is what my sister goes through on a daily basis …

This is just a cool animation that makes you think…

AWESOME FUNNY THINGS ON THE INTERNET:

This is just random and amazing …

This reminds me why REAL religious nuts scare me ... and it’s hilarious … a classic

Another classic – degrading children rocks

AWESOME NEWS STORIES ON THE INTERNET

Smoking Tortoise Found in China

Inventor of the EGG MC MUFFIN dies!! This man has cured so many of my hangovers it’s not even funny

People are still dumb enough to run away from “Little People” ... trust me … read it

*note: stories above may not all be about awesome things … but things that will make YOU more awesome if you know about them and can bring them up in conversation with less-than-awesome friends … say … in a bar … by the water cooler … or at Target when you see someone you haven’t seen in a while and you have absolutely NO desire to talk to them because you’re tired, you look like crap and I didn’t shower today and you DON’T feel like having a 20 minute conversation that starts with “So … what have you been up to” or “how’ve you been” or “how’s your family” or “how’s your (bf/gf/bff/wtf)” ... So instead you can just say, “What’s gellin Helen? You hear there’s a smoking turtle in Thailand or some shit?!” ... and the conversation will ultimately be much more awesome than talking about Helen’s boring job at a law firm and how her boss is a prick and how she’s thinking about going back to grad school for a degree in (insert something you won’t remember here) ... Cool? Hip? Neat? Great!

So visit OurStage.com and give me a high five when you see me.

Alyssa Jayne Hale

PS: For a girl that knows EVERYTHING about indie music … check out http://kyrareed.com … no doubt