Part II: “Saturdays with Grandma Dora”

As you may have noticed by now – I am very close with my Grandmother. In a lot of ways she is my soul-mate. And, I was practically raised by her. I feel lucky to have had someone like her in my life because it has taught me a lot about life, strength, survival, and so much more. When I moved from Queens, NY to Long Island, NY at age 7, I left my Grandmother and her apartment behind. But returned every Saturday for the next 15+ years. Those Saturdays were, and continue to be my favorite, and most cherished memory. She has always been very open about her time in the concentration camps in Europe. Her experience in the Holocaust. What her life was like before the war, and after. And I feel very lucky to have someone in my life – who can share such stories with me. Not everyone had the opportunities I had growing up. Not everyone got to hear stories like her’s. I was raised by someone who lived through something horrific and survived. And it has given me a very strong sense of strength, and survival. That no matter what happens to me – it’ll never be what she went through. Even when I think “this is the worst!” It’s not. It could be so much worse. I get down on myself a lot, and have my moments where I think “I’m not going to make it.” But then I talk to my Grandmother and realize, it’s going to be okay. I will survive. I will make it. It’s not that bad. She is the strongest person I know. She is a survivor. She is a do-er. She is a comedian. She is an amazing cook. She is wise. She is a daughter, a sister, a Mother, and a Grandmother.  But most of all, she is a hero!

I think that the world needs more Grandma Dora. We’d probably be in a better place. Our generation needs to hear her story – the stories of her generation. We won’t have them around much longer. And we need to wake up! We can learn a lot from her, and her generation. Maybe we can change – maybe we can grow.

I decided to film this short documentary because I believe my generation needs a wake up call. Because I have had the privilege of growing up with such vital life lessons, and stories. I wanted to share a piece of that with you all. My sister happens to be taking a class on genocide in school, it seemed like the perfect time to do this – and so we drafted up a bunch of questions and sat down with my Grandmother for an interview.

It is in two parts – each part runs about 15-20 min. But, I truly believe it’s worth watching.

Love,
Jessica, Hayley, and Grandma Dora.

vBLOG 4 Pt. 2:

Our drummer Jay continues his discussion on drums, and so on.

vBLOG 4:

HEY LADIES! & Drummer Dudes!

Our handsome drummer Jay takes you through his equipment, and talks drums in two parts for vBlog 4.

Long overdue – I give you - vBlog Duex

A 7min video blog where I ramble about things – and it ends with some clips from the recording of “Bellicose Serenade” & “In Their Faces” (from our upcoming record “Delusions of Grandeur”.

Note:

Sylvia K’s art can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylviakart/

Questions for the next video blog can be sent to:
JessicaAllynMusic@gmail.com

or via Twitter: @JessicaAllyn

Some facts:

General anesthesia costs: between 2500-3200 $

MRI costs: between 400-3500$
http://www.comparemricost.com/

Pelvic sonogram/transvaginal exam: $200

Hospital stays:
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=9413

And please watch these videos!
“Health Care Reform: The Fight Against Death”
w/ Keith Olbermann

The statistics are astonished, and appalling. We are moving backwards!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#33217219




I urge you all the spread the word, take a stand, and fight!
If not for me, but for yourself, for your loved ones, for that one person you know who is uninsured.

i literally finished this song an hour ago. so don’t judge too harshly.
it accidentally became the title track. it’s called “folie de grandeur” which is “delusions of grandeur” in french. it’s a break-up song, sort of.

Here are some lyrics:
I’m writing to you
it’s all I can really do
to get through
I hope you’re listening
We had a good run
God, that shit was fun
Are you listening?
I hope that you hear me

You got too big for your britches
Now you’re just one of those stuck up bitches

So, I think it’s time for me
to let you go…

I used hang on every word
But now I find everything you do or say absurd
And there’s nothing you can do to change my mind
‘Cause everything you do is just to cross the line

Yea, you got too big for your britches
You’ve become one of those fucked up rich kids

and now it’s time for me to let you go
I’m letting you go

By the time you read this note, I will be gone
And I know this will not stop you from carrying on
But I simply could not resist the urge
There are some things in my life – I have to purge

And now it’s time to go
I must admit you really do put on quite a good show
But your head began to swell like a balloon
The folie de grandeur began too soon
I promise to inform
Yes, all of your minions have been warned
It’s only a matter of time
before they drop you on the dime

Yea, you got way too big for your britches
And you’re just one of those fucked up bitches

Now it’s time for me to go….
I have to go
And I’ve let you go

This song is called “Bellicose Serenade”.
It’s one of my favourite songs written for the new record.
I’m excited to flesh this out more, and make into something really special.

|

if you’d like to fight
we can take it outside
we can roll up our sleeves
‘cause i’ve got nothing to hide
a razor blade tongue
is all i need
but we can go for fisticuffs
if you’re aiming to bleed

this is what i sound like after 17 days straight of no sleep.
this is a new song called “Nigeria”


lyrics:
pulling teeth and it goes no where
this perpetual merry-go-round
stop your words -
stop the world -
i wanna get off
get me off

poison your own banquet, you do
then you sit down and devour it too

took a change in location
for us to see, you’re not for me
now i’m stuck here standing in the square
grasping for air
let me out of this box – that you keep me in

you infiltrated the system
the circles split in half
if you keep hacking away at it
m’dear, just do the math
you think you hide your intentions well
you think that i can’t tell
well, here’s another fact for you
what you do, even in the dark
is relative in hell


poison your own banquet, you do
then you sit down and devour it too

took a change in location
for things to seem so “all above eve”
and now i’m walking away
and you’ll ask me to stay
but you couldn’t keep me here if you tried

you tried
you tried
all your la-la-la-la
la-la-la-la
all your lies…