In doing research for a Pennsylvania-based client with a local focus this afternoon, I learned that all of these towns actually exist…

• Blue Ball
• Cumbola
• East Texas
• Egypt
• Fort Indiantown
• Forty Fort (this is my personal favorite)
• Halfway House
• Hometown
• Intercourse
• Kunkletown
• Mehoopany
• Mexico
• Mountainhome
• Pillow
• Schwenksville
• Sturgeon (true HIMYM fans will know why this is funny)
• Virginville
• Wyoming and West Wyoming

Read more over at BrettASnyder

Another batch of Playlist Recommendations has been compiled for you listening pleasure! Links to the last 4 months of playlists are available below:

• January 2013
• February 2013
• March 2013
• April 2013

Recommended tracks segmented by genre is available below for your convenience. Happy listening!

Indie

• Nothing Arrived – Villagers
• Heaven – The Walkmen
• Take Your Time – Street Party in Soho
• Dear John Letters – Monument Valley
• Round and Round – Monument Valley
• Evil Coast – The Mary Onettes
• Bear Hug – The 2 Bears
• A Heart Like Mine – Dwight Yoakam
• Evelyn – Gregory Alan Isakov
• So American – Portugal, The Man
• The World is Yours – Glasvegas
• Bright Whites – Kishi Bashi
• The Dog – Slow Club
• God Made Man – Young the Giant
• How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep – Bombay Bicycle Club
• Just Rob Me – Fiction Family
• Before the Morning – Josh Wilson
• You Sleep Alone – Hellogoodbye
• Always, To Belong – The Last Royals
• The Woodpile – Frightened Rabbit
• Reviver – Callers
• Hangin’ – Free Energy
• The Dark Age – Windowspeak
• Minor Cause – Emancipator
• The Leopard and the Lung – The Joy Formidable
• Run (Run, Run) – The Sweet Serenades
• Pompeii – Bastille
• Cold Skin – To Kill a King
• Nomads – Joe Banfi
• Line of Fire – Junip
• Let Her Go – Passenger
• Marathon – Tennis
• Change – Churchill
• Roscoe – Midlake
• Judge Jury and Executioner – Atoms for Peace
• Little Numbers – BOY
• Arctic – Local Channel
• Inte idag – Nord & Syd
• Nothing But Love – Dwight Yoakam
• Artichoke – Wise Children
• Turning On My Own – Satellite
• Basket of Light – The Black Swans
• We Were Kids – Turtle Giant
• Running for Cover – Ivan & Alyosha
• Chinese Translation – M. Ward
• Sheez Music – Dumpstaphunk
• Ships in the Night – Mat Kearney

Alternative

• Let It Go – The Neighbourhood
• Defenders – Tilly and the Wall
• This Summer – Superchunk
• Stare Into the Sun – Graffiti6
• Trojans – Atlas Genius
• My Dear Machine – Sixpence None the Richer
• Plastic Dreams – G-Eazy ft. Johanna Fay
• Little Shocks – Kaiser Chiefs
• Another Bed – The Twilight Sad
• After Hours – We Are Scientists
• Dancing Song – Little Comets
• The Green Room – The Tins
• Black Chandelier – Biffy Clyro
• Steel and Blood – Minus the Bear
• Broken Toy – Veronica Falls
• The Rapture – Exit Calm
• Four Walls – Crowns
• Dressing Room – The Away Days
• Trucks at Night – The Cast of Cheers
• Teen Lovers – The Virgins
• Free – Graffiti6
• Biblical – Biffy Clyro
• Needle – Born Ruffians
• Upon the North – Eliza and The Bear
• 123 Stop – The Postelles
• Usual Suspects – Ha Ha Tonka
• I Love Lamp – RDGLDGRN
• Old Time Stylee – Wrongtom Meets Deemas J
• The First Single – The Format
• Need You Now – Cut Copy
• We Sing In Time – The Lonely Forest
• Driftin’ – The Dirty Heads

Hip-hop/Rap

• Viking – Troy Ave
• Knockout – Donnis
• Can’t Hod Us – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton
• Preservation – Del The Funky Homosapien, Aesop Rock
• Circles – B.o.B.
• Turn Up the Music – Chris Brown
• Here 2 China – Calvin Harris, Dillon Francis, Dizzee Rascal
• Memories – David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi
• Sunrise – Childish Gambino
• I’m Free – Soul Position
• Sleep Awake – Soulcrate Music
• Blink – Blue Scholars
• Dorian – Brother Ali
• Like a Comet (We Rollin’) – K-OS ft. Corey Hart
• Love Me to Death – Jez Dior
• Illuminate – Ab-Soul ft. Kendrick Lamar
• London Bridge – Ed Sheeran, Yelawolf
• Sabotage – Wale ft. Lloyd
• Lights Please – J. Cole
• Kasanova – Kris Kasanova
• 9 to 5 – Language Arts Crew ft. XI
• Dreamcatcher – Mdnt ft. Jez Dior
• Groove Me – Theophilus London, Maximum Balloon
• Murder to Excellence – Jay-Z, Kanye West
• Joe Metro – Blue Scholars
• Morning After Pill – Louis Logic
• White Walls – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Schoolboy Q, Hollis
• Thrift Shop – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz

R&B

• Weather In My Head – Donald Fagen
• Mineshaft – Dessa
• Children’s Work – Dessa
• Adorn – Miguel
• I Need a Dollar – Aloe Blacc
• Rumble and Sway – Jamie N Commons
• Dear Mr. President – Fitz and the Tantrums

Rock

• Language Lessons (Five Words or Less) – Hawthorne Heights
• Heaven Nor Hell – Volbeat
• I Miss the Misery – Halestorm
• Standing in the Sun – Slash
• Helena – My Chemical Romance
• The Hero Dies in This One – The Ataris
• Compliment – Collective Soul
• Wet Sand – Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Left Coast Envy – The Starting Line
• The Sound of Winter – Bush
• I Was a Prayer – Alkaline Trio
• The Only Hope for Me is You – My Chemical Romance
• Best Friends and Hospital Beds – Funeral for a Friend
• In Due Time – Killswitch Engage
• Not Meant to Be – Theory of a Deadman
• Breathing Sequence – Hawthorne Heights

Classic Rock

• Gotta Get Over – Eric Clapton
• Doom and Gloom (Jeff Bhasker Mix) – The Rolling Stones

Folk Rock

• Hometown – Andy Burrows
• Rented Room – Craig Finn
• Sugar Tree – Simplified
• Rise – Shawn McDonald
• 75 and Sunny – Ryan Montbleau Band
• Late One Night – Nick Z
• The Doors of Then – Time Burgess
• Floating Feather – Fox and the Bird
• Recovery – Frank Turner
• Wagon Wheel – Old Crow Medicine Show
• Tricks of the Trade – Paolo Nutini
• Wait So Long – Trampled By Turtles
• It Hurts Every Time – Good Old War
• Not Quite Happiness – Good Old War

Pop

• That’s Why God Made the Radio – Beach Boys
• Hanginaround – Counting Crows
• Clarity – Zedd, Foxes
• I Owe You This – Chad Valley, Twin Shadow
• Stop Me – Mark Ronson ft. Daniel Merriweather
• Lose It (In the End) – Mark Ronson & The Business Intl
• Oh My God – Mark Ronson ft. Lily Allen

Country

• Southern Comfort Zone – Brad Paisley
• Beer Money – Kip Moore

Sultry

• It Lingers – Cheyenne Marie Mize
• Fools – Lauren Aquilina
• Empty Threat – Kathleen Edwards

Contemporary

• I Love It – Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX
• Colour In Your Hands – D.L.i.D ft. Fink
• Tidal Wave – Sub Focus, Alpines
• the place – Inc.
• Freedom of ’76 – Ween
• Happy Boy – Gold Fields
• Love is Dangerous – French Horn Rebellion
• Bonafied Lovin’ – Chromeo
• Dark Again – Gold Fields

Read more over at BrettASnyder

Spring of 2013 brought with it so many reasons to celebrate. April 8th marked 6 years that Anne and I have been together, our last anniversary as a dating couple before we get married next March. On April 26th, Anne completed her last final exam as a law student, concluding what has been a wild 3 years for us both in the pursuit of her professional dreams. 2 days after her last final she’d be celebrating her 25th birthday, the official benchmark of the “mid-twenties.” Spring of 2013 brought many reasons to celebrate and I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass by without doing something very special for the most important person in my life. This is the story of that celebration.

The Morning

When Anne woke up, the first thing I’m sure she noticed was that I wasn’t there. It’s not unheard of that I would have fallen asleep on the couch, so naturally she stumbled sleepy-eyed out of the bedroom looking for me. Instead, she was met with this:

A dozen roses. The Washington Post crossword (her favorite). All the birthday cards that had arrived over the past several weeks. Wild blueberry scone from Panera and a fresh pot of coffee. And of course, a sign pointing to her laptop with one very simple instruction:

Press Play.

Anyone that knows me knows that video production is a big hobby of mine.  I love the creative potential of the medium, the ability to capture life as it is happening and immortalize it however you see fit. Anne has always supported this hobby, both for better (like when I used Braveheart’s story to challenge misconceptions about rescue dogs) or worse (like when I produced and starred in my own “In the Navy” music video, complete with authentic 1970s-inspired mustache). Video gives your thoughts a familiar voice and helps tell your story exactly how you feel it should be told. When Anne pressed “Play” on the video clip that had been loaded to her laptop, our story had truly begun.

The Introduction

The video provided some context around for the events to come. The day was to be dedicated to Anne, everything she has earned and accomplished and everything she means to me. The day was to celebrate our 6-year anniversary, Anne’s graduation with honors from Emory Law School and her birthday. We were to celebrate to closing of one chapter in our lives and the transition into the next.

But as of right now, there was no “we”. I was still nowhere to be found, only present by virtue of this video captured in the wee hours of the previous morning. According to the video, Anne would have to wait until 10am to receive an email from me with further instructions.

The Hunt

So she poured a cup of coffee, settled into the Post crossword, and waited. At 10am her inbox refreshed and the following message appeared:

The Gradubirthdaversary, a hybrid graduation/birthday/anniversary celebration, had officially commenced! Anne has always been a passionate fan of riddles and puzzles so I decided the best way to celebrate her Gradubirthdaversary was to send her along a scavenger hunt with various activities hidden throughout. Although the Hunt was ultimately designed to lead her back to me, there were a number of pit stops along the way to help her relax and appreciate everything this day means.

At the bottom of the email, she found her very first clue:

The first clue is going to be super easy but it serves a purpose. This clue is designed so that you can get a sense of the epic planning, preparation and organization that went into the Great Gradubirthdaversary Scavenger Hunt of 2013. You didn’t realize when you went to bed last night that you were actually sleeping soundly on your first clue. Go lift up the mattress in our bedroom and let the hunt begin!

The next 90 minutes or so had her scurrying around our apartment & complex looking for clues, each one leading her to the next as part of the overall quest. There were clues in the washing machine, my guitar, and tucked into one of Braveheart’s toys. There were clues that required some intimate knowledge about me, like the one folded into my favorite T-Shirt or the one tucked into the DVD case for my favorite movie. Sometimes the clues were a little more challenging, like knowing my favorite casino in Las Vegas to play craps and locating it in my chip collection:

Even though there was obviously only one correct answer, I could resist poking some fun at Anne on a clue where I knew she’d have to do a lot of guessing…

Some of the clues required a little trial and error, like the one that told her the next clue was somewhere in one of the Dan Brown books in our living room (I’ve read 4 of his books… 3 more than any other single author since J.K. Rowling). For anyone who’s curious, of course she guessed correctly and picked the right book on the first try.

Other clues required some investigative work. Taped to the back of my favorite bottle of scotch (“It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!” led her there) was the following phrase:

“Nothing is true, everything is permitted.”

Having never taken what I felt was the appropriate level of interest in my video games, Anne had to ask “the Google” for help on this one. Once she realized it was one of the guiding principles of the Assassin’s brotherhood, it was only a matter of time before she found her next clue wedged inside the case for my favorite Assassin’s Creed game.

And then there were the puzzle clues, the ones that actually forced her to figure out the puzzle before she could get her next clue. When she opened our grandfather clock and removed the deck of playing cards I had stashed there, she had to identify and arrange the best 5 card poker hand if she wanted the location of the next clue:

The trick here was that suit was very important, as the Royal flush in hearts, clubs, or diamonds just wasn’t going to cut it…

The Hunt then took her out of the apartment and around our neighborhood, eventually leading her to Braveheart’s dog park to check for some “tree-mail” at his favorite tree. From there she was sent back to the apartment to shower, enjoy the Reuben I had stowed away in the fridge, and get ready to venture out for more Gradubirthdaversary fun!

The Excursion

Showered, fed, and with a renewed sense of adventure Anne set out for my office in West Midtown. The latest clue had led her here but the only instruction she was given was to call her mother when she found a parking space. Once she parked her mom told her to check her trunk, which I had emptied (no small feat let me tell you) and replaced with nothing but a manila envelope and a pair of her flip flops. Inside the manila envelope was a hand drawn map directing her to Nouvelle: A Westside Nail Salon to relax and enjoy one of their signature mani-pedis.

While she lounged in the salon, I did my best James Bond impression as I stealthily parked 2 blocks down around the corner, grabbed the spare keys I brought to her car, and made my way to her parking space. It is amazing to think how the same sidewalk I walk down every day for work seems so different when you’re planning to break into someone’s car. I did my best to disguise the roll of duct tape without looking like a serial killer as I hopped into the front seat and taped the next clue to her steering wheel.  I stepped out and (for all the Usual Suspects fans out there) poof…I was gone.

The W

I knew I only had about an hour before the mani-pedi would be over, so I booked it back over to the W Hotel and finished setting up. Her next clue would lead her here and I needed to make sure everything was in order. The suitcase with all her overnight items had been place out in the open. The concierge had been briefed. And my laptop had been prepared with her next challenge.

Just like with the introductory video, this next challenge stems from another passion of mine. This passion revolves around something that everybody uses on almost a daily basis but still gets people to shake their fists and curse the universe at the thought of it. When I tell people how much I legitimately like this something, most of them stare at me expecting some sort of a punchline at the end. I enjoy this something so much that I’ll be flying to Seattle in June to speak at a conference about how awesome it is. This something…is Excel.

Yep, you read that right: Excel. Microsoft Excel. I’ve always thought Excel is an amazing problem-solving tool if you know how to use it correctly. I’ve built tools that write product content for eCommerce websites, automate scheduling (any brides-to-be out there who have used The Knot as a timeline for wedding planning…I’ve built that same functionality in Excel!), and alter data based on pre-defined criteria. Yes, I’m a nerd. No, this next challenge is not your Grandpa’s application of Excel.

Simply put, I built a quiz. This quiz was broken down into sections testing Anne’s knowledge of me, my family, our friends, and our relationship. The questions ranged from information about my family, Villanova and our time there, my fraternity pledge class, my fantasy football league and even questions about our last 6 years together as a couple. Each question triggered a dropdown from which Anne could select the correct answer:

At the end of the quiz, there was a scorecard that was set up to identify how many questions were answered correctly in each section so she knew which to go back to. You’ll also notice that I programmed in some jabs if she couldn’t figure out one of the sections…

The final prize would not show itself unless she got all 60 questions correct. Once all 60 questions were answered correctly, however, the great and powerful Excel would reveal the hidden location to her brand new Kindle Paperwhite!

The Knock

As she was lounging in the hotel room playing around with her new toy, a knock came at the door. The concierge handed over the latest clue and she placed the Kindle on the bed. She had about an hour before she had to make her way down to floor “S”, home of the Bliss Spa in the W Midtown Atlanta. She would first experience the brownie buffet (which I had never heard of but sounded awesome) before heading in for her 75-minute massage to work out all the stress from the past 3 years of law school.  By the time it would over I’m sure she was ready for nothing more than a solid nap/coma… but there was still one clue left to go.

The Final Clue

10 hours after she had first woken up to Panera breakfast, a dozen roses, and the Washington Post crossword (what I’m sure Anne would call a pretty fair tradeoff to waking up to me!), it was finally time for me to see her and celebrate in person. The last clue would send her to ONE Midtown Kitchen, one of Atlanta’s best restaurants for both food and ambience, which I can say without any reservation it delivered on both. The host led Anne to a nice little table by the window where I was sitting with our friends Trevor and Jennifer ready to celebrate the remainder of the evening together. Our night was filled with good wine, great food and even better company as we raised our glasses time and again in appreciation of what truly matters in life: celebrating our accomplishments with the people we love.

Read more over at BrettASnyder

Over the past 25 years, I’ve learned some things about how I work. Not how I do my job, but how my mind, my motivation, and my driving forces actually work. I’ve also been fortunate enough to recognize my weaknesses, those obstructions to success that keep me stuck where I am instead of where I want to be.

One of the biggest weaknesses I’ve realized about myself is the disconnect between planning and execution. Planning and strategy are largely cerebral, they exist as the ideal within the mind and are largely unchallenged by practicality and reality. Planning represents promise and opportunity. Proper planning convinces you (and, very often, your investors) that your idea is worth pursuing.

But planning is only 5% of the battle.

Execution, on the other hand, is the other 95%. Execution transforms thought into action, creating something that previously existed only within your mind’s eye. If planning convinces you that your idea is worth pursuing, execution reflects that pursuit. And at the end of the day, you won’t be judged by your planning or strategy. You will be judged, regardless of how you define success, by the execution of your planning.

Great ideas are more common than most people realize; what is uncommon is the dedication to chase those great ideas down despite all obstacles and carry them to fruition. Truly successful people are not only intelligent, organized, and can see things at the macro and micro-level but they also have the necessary discipline and dedication to stay motivated when (not if, when!) their ideas seem to falter. In other words, they understand the delicate balance between planning and execution. Above I claimed that planning is only 5% of the battle; you may argue I underestimate the value of planning but I use this to prove a point. Most successful people don’t fail because of a lack of preparation or planning. Most people don’t fail because they chased a bad idea. Most people fail as a result of a failure of execution.

This failure of execution manifests in countless ways in our personal and professional lives. How many people sign up for gym memberships, define their workout schedule, and never step foot in the gym? How many unhappy people browse job openings and say “I’d be perfect for this position” without ever submitting a resume? How many domains have been registered with high hopes of becoming the next hot blogger only to trail off after 3 months?

Truly successful people know what it’s like to fail. And fail again. They know what it’s like to abandon what seemed like a good plan when it can’t be properly executed. They understand that even with the right planning and execution, external circumstances may hinder their success. Successful people see the forest for more than the trees, they look beyond the individual successes and failures and seek authentic growth for their vision. They plan, execute, evaluate, change the plan, execute again, and evaluate again. They invest, not just in time or money but in themselves, in their ideas, both planning and execution. Truly successful people understand that neither success nor failure can be achieved without execution, and that both in the short term offer valuable insights into future planning.

Whether your goals are personal, professional, or some hybrid of the two, always remember the best course of action in the pursuit of success is just that: action.

Read more over at BrettASnyder

In honor of this evening’s NCAA Tournament matchup with UNC, I invite you all to join me in a chorus of the Villanova fight song…the greatest fight song ever written. V for Victory!

“V” for Villanova, ”V” for Victory!
“B” for Blue and ”W” for White
For the Blue and the White we will fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight!

Fight for Villanova, Fight for Victory!
For we’re out to win the fray;
Villanova leads the way,
With a capital ”V” for Victory.

Vill-a-no-va, V-I-L-L-A-N-O-V-A
“V” for Vic-tor-y, V-I-C-T-O-R-Y
It’s a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye,
and a ”V” for a V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

“V” for Villanova, ”V” for Victory!
“B” for Blue and ”W” for White
For the Blue and the White we will fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight!

Fight for Villanova, Fight for Victory!
For we’re out to beat the foe
Show the en-e-my we know
how to win with a ”V” for Victory!

The Nova Nation is behind you gentlemen, kick some ass tonight!

Read more over at BrettASnyder

Despite the passionate fraternity of rescue dog owners across the country, there are still a staggering number of people who misunderstand these animals. Many people, myself included only a few short years ago, are afraid of considering rescue adoption due to baseless beliefs that these animals are damaged, diseased, or even dangerous. It’s time for that perception to change.

RescuePledge.org is something I’ve been privileged enough to be involved with from its inception and the organization has only one core mission: raise awareness for rescue dogs and correct misunderstandings and negative perceptions surrounding these animals. Rescue dogs and breeder dogs alike learn behaviors based on their circumstances and the unarguably tougher circumstances that most rescue dogs find themselves often contributes to them being written off from the start. If you just give these dogs a chance, you’ll see they are as warm, loving, loyal, and eager to please as any breeder dog.

Anne & I consider ourselves very lucky to have a rescue dog in our lives. More importantly, we hope that our experience with Braveheart will inspire a change in how others view rescue animals and realize that all a rescue needs is a chance to be loved. But don’t take my word for it, I’ll let Braveheart tell his own story…

Read more over at BrettASnyder

So one of the things I’m learning about my Playlist Recommendations series is that it’s a lot easier to actually create the playlists themselves than to write them up!  Despite several months of neglecting the posts here on the site, I have not given up on our monthly playlists.  Below you will find links to each of the last 4 months of Spotify playlists:

• September 2012
• October 2012
• November 2012
• December 2012

Additionally, the complete collection of playlist recommendations from 2012 is now available.  Below you will find the suggested tracks from September-December (which have all been included in one post in the interest of efficiency).  Hope you enjoy!

Indie/Alternative

• Sleep Alone – Bat for Lashes
• Love Run Dry – Owl Eyes
• What a Day – Josephine
• Cruisin’ FDR – Oberhofer
• Ruin – Cat Power
• Jesse James – Freedom Fry
• Lightning Bolt- Pet Lions
• She Makes Her Own Clothes – Split Seconds
• Human Elevator – The Cast of Cheers
• I Already Forgot Everything You Said – The Dig
• Eyes Be Closed – Washed Out
• Shut Me Out – Wolf & Cub
• One Day Like This – Elbow
• West Coast – Coconut Records
• Jungles – Stepdad
• Sweet Disposition – The Temper Trap
• Greatest Hits – Mystery Jets
• Hold On, Hold On – Neko Case
• St. Croix – Family of the Year
• Bobby Brown – The Soft Pack
• Double Vision – Tops
• Battles – Hudson Taylor
• Catch My Disease – Ben Lee
• So Calm – Cave Painting
• Sun – Two Door Cinema Club
• Blue Ice – Shout Out Louds
• The Lion’s Roar – First Aid Kit
• Gold – Wake Owl
• Bricks and Mortar – My Radio
• The John Wayne – Little Green Cars
• Hurricane – NEEDTOBREATHE
• Pioneers – The Lighthouse and The Whaler
• Mirror Maru – Cashmere Cat
• Always Wanting More – Jay Reatard
• Furr – Blitzen Trapper

Hip-hop/Rap

• My Crew – Vybz Kartel
• Sod in the Seed – Why?
• Lights Down – Statik Selektah & Termanology
• Without You – Frank Ocean
• Go For It – Freddie Gibbs ft. Young Jeezy
• Heart Skips a Beat – Olly Murs ft. Chiddy Bang
• D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) – Jay-Z
• Hurt Me Tomorrow – K’NAAN
• We Are – Hollywood Undead
• Finally Moving – Pretty Lights
• Fighting Trousers – Professor Elemental
• The OtherSide – The Roots, Bilal Oliver, Greg Porn
• That’s My Bitch – Jay-Z, Kanye West
• Dark Fantasy – Kanye West
• Two Steps from Disaster – E-Dubble

R&B

• Welcome Home – Elle Varner
  
• Next to Me – Emeli Sande
• Alibi – Dessa

Rock

• Handwritten – Gaslight Anthem
• The Descent – Bob Mould
• Friday I’m in Love – The Cure
• Moving On Up – Primal Scream, DKT-MC5
• Help is On the Way – Rise Against
• Prayer of the Refugee – Rise Against
• Shadow of the Day – Linkin Park
• Kill Your Heroes – AWOLNATION
• Somewhere in Neverland – All Time Low
• Short Change Hero – The Heavy
• Stand Up – All That Remains
• Never Have I Ever – Farewell Fighter
• Kids of the Black Hole – Adolescents
• Dirty Dishes – Mark Mallman
• Parting in the Porch – Crowns
• She Swears Like a Sailor – Crowns
• Madeline – Tickle Me Pink
• Purple – Pop Evil
• Didn’t Wanna Come Back Home – Fighting with Wire
• Feud – Band of Horses
• Sex – The 1975
• I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked – Ida Maria
• Thrash Unreal – Against Me
• Man in the Hall – State Radio

Classic

• You Make My Dreams – Hall & Oates
• Hit or Miss – Odetta
• Sir Duke – Stevie Wonder
• Blame it On the Rain – Milli Vanilli
• Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong – Spin Doctors

Chill Rock

• Live and Die – The Avett Brothers
• Gone in the Morning – Newton Faulkner
• Sound of Sunshine – Michael Franti & Spearhead
• Penitentiary – Houndmouth
• High and Low – Forest Sub
• OK, It’s Alright with Me – Eric Hutchinson
• Sixteen Miles – Post Oak Savannah
  
• The Stable Song – Gregory Alan Isakov
• Lovers’ Eyes – Mumford & Sons
• Because I Know That I Can – Andy Burrows
• Stubborn Love – The Lumineers
• North Side Gal – J.D. McPherson
• Music – The Beautiful Girls
• Scar That Never Heals – Jeremy Fisher
• Let Me Be – Xavier Rudd
• If Ever I Stray – Frank Turner
• The Kill – Ben Rector
• Lost in My Mind – The Head and The Heart
• Here We Go – Dispatch
• Rock & Roll – Eric Hutchinson

Folk Rock

• All My Days – Alexi Murdoch
• Didn’t Leave Nobody but the Baby – Emmylou Harris, Alison Kraus, Gillian Welch
• Long Time Gone – Darrell Scott, Tim O’Brien
• The Chariot – William Elliott Whitmore
• I Ride On – The J Band
• Harlem River Blues – Justin Townes Earl

Pop

• Live High – Jason Mraz
• Tightrope – Janelle Monae ft. Big Boi
• On Top of the World – Imagine Dragons
• We Come Running – Youngblood Hawke
• Memories – Sambassadeur
• Hands are Clever – Alex Clare
• Whispering – Alex Clare

Calm

• Rosebush Inside (Morees Bickham) – Sean Hayes
• Nakamarra – Hiatus Kaiyote
• Beggar in the Morning – The Barr Brothers
• Disneyland – Five for Fighting
• The A Team – Ed Sheeran
• I Can’t Make You Love Me/Nick of Time – Bon Iver
• Superman – Lazlo Bane
• Stars – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
• Oats in the Water – Ben Howard
• Becomes the Color – Emily Wells

Sultry

• Maybe – Ingrid Michaelson
• One Sweet Love – Sara Bareilles
• That Wasn’t Me – Brandi Carlile
• Been Better – Kyla La Grange

Contemporary

• Ray of Love – Tune in Tokyo, P. Brandoli, N.Cowan
• Ghosts – The Presets
• The Keepers – Santigold
• Paris – Friendly Fires
• Follow – Crystal Fighters
• Finale – Madeon
• Speed the Collapse – Metric
• Raw Sugar – Metric
• Closer – Tegan and Sara
• I Feel Better – Gotye
• Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It – Stars
• Small Hours – Marbert Rocel
• 48 Roses – Mariachi El Bronx
• I’m Just Me – Diamond Rings
• The Suburbs – Mr Little Jeans
• Toucan Surf – JAWs
• Don’t Fuck with my Money – Penguin Prison
• Dance All Night – Free Energy
• Come & Get It – Krewella
• Rollerblades – Kwes
• Don’t Give Up – Noisettes

Read more over at BrettASnyder

Maturity is the capacity to endure uncertainty.

~John Huston Finley

2012 was a big year of personal growth and change in my life.  I switched jobs and joined a company that truly stands by what it believes in.  I had the opportunity to travel to new cities and meet extraordinary people.  I started this site to put myself out there in a way that was completely foreign and unfamiliar – pursuing a form of creative expression that, quite frankly, can be very intimidating in the Internet era of anonymity and general asshattery.  I  made a conscious effort to stay in better touch with family and friends and took a huge step forward with the woman I’ll spend the rest of my life with.

I consider myself extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to embrace change.  To grow and to evolve.  To welcome new experiences and their accompanying impact on my life.  Some change is automatic or instinctual, like you’ve been unconsciously building toward it your whole life.  Other change comes without warning, without explanation, and without remorse.  It attacks that which is familiar and forces you to adapt, whether you like it or not.

2012 was a big year of change, but so was 2011.  And 2010.  And 2009.  Change is not an isolated incident or a solitary occurrence.  Change is a constant, churning sea of experience that will either buoy you up or drown you in its wake.

What I’ve learned in 2012 is to embrace what I’m calling the “catharsis of change.”  I’ve learned not to try to control the sea but instead to harness the awesome power of change to take me where I want to go.  Change is not an unfortunate side effect of growing up.  It is a challenge and an opportunity.  It is a way for the person that you are to become the person you strive to be.  A future of change is as inevitable as it is unknown, but should nonetheless be welcomed and anticipated.

I leave you with a reminder from the immortal Barney Stinson…

New is always better.

Read more over at BrettASnyder

Last week on How I Met Your Mother, Barney revealed the last page of “The Playbook” as his final, grand gesture as a single man: his proposal to Robin.  The Last Page of the Playbook represented a transition, a closing of one part of life and a segue to something bigger and better.  2 months ago I took a similar leap of faith with my now-fiancee.  This is my Last Page of the Playbook.

Our story begins at the Yule Ball at Villanova University in December 2006.  Anne and her friends decided to dress up to go dancing, my friends and I were just there to mooch cheesecake and to see a buddy of ours stuck running the event.  After begrudgingly agreeing to dance (I am the quintessential white guy when it comes to dancing: no rhythm or control of my arms and legs) we walked the girls back to their dorms and said goodnight.  For the next 3.5 years, Villanova served as our home base and provided us many of the formative memories from our early relationship.  So, when it came time to pop the question, it was a no-brainer where it was all going to go down.

The tricky part about proposing at Villanova, just outside Philadelphia, is that we currently live 800 miles south in Atlanta.  For this to stay a surprise, there had to be a pretense for getting us there.  It didn’t take long to find that pretense: Homecoming Weekend.

Anne and I hadn’t been back to Homecoming since she graduated in 2010.  We have tons of friends that still live in the area and even more planning to come in for Homecoming.  It was the perfect pretense for getting us to Philadelphia without raising suspicion, but there was still the problem of when I was going to actually propose.  I wanted to do something personal, something just for us, and that had to be before the weekend or else someone definitely would have let the cat out of the bag.  Plus, we wanted to celebrate and (most notably) I’m incredibly impatient.

We flew up on October 25^th (which coincidentally also happens to be my grandfather’s birthday, my aunt’s birthday, and our good friends’ anniversary), ring hidden in the bottom of my carry on, for what I told Anne was an Alumni Dinner organized by my fraternity.  I’ve stayed involved with the Alumni Association over the years so this didn’t send up any red flags.  We were, however, asked by one of the airport pilots in a casual conversation if we were flying up to Philadelphia to get married.  I’ll say for a second there, this thought flashed through my mind:

After a series of planes, trains, automobiles, and sidewalk-less walking, we arrived at the hotel in the mid-afternoon and took a nap to kill some time.  I was keeping the nerves under control but there was no way in Hell I was going to fall asleep 3 hours before liftoff. So I laid there staring at my watch and sending text messages to stay busy until it was time to get ready.

As we’re heading out the door, Anne criticizes my choice to bring my sport coat because, according to her, “it looks ridiculous!”  What she didn’t realize is that the box with her ring was so big it wouldn’t fit in my pocket, so I needed the jacket to shroud the ring for another 20 minutes.  Needless to say I won the sport coat argument and we shipped out.

We get to campus and cab drops us off.  We’re walking through campus “on our way to the dinner” and I can finally start to relax.  The surprise was preserved and the timing was perfect.  I dropped down to one knee outside Anne’s sophomore dorm and asked her to spend the rest of her life with me.  Once the shock wore off and she remembered to say yes, I slid the ring onto her finger and breathed the biggest sigh of relief of my entire life.

Once she said yes, it was time for the real fun to begin.  For the months leading up to Homecoming I had been coordinating an elaborate plan for our evening and it was just about time for curtains up.  I took a notecard out of my pocket that I’d written the first step of a little scavenger hunt to serve as our guided tour through the history of Brett & Anne.  It began:

Just minutes ago, you’ve agreed to be mine.

To have and to hold from now through all time.

You’ve been patient and vibrant, hard-working and caring

For the love that I have there is just no comparing.

Tonight we embark on the rest of our lives

But we’ll always remember where this love derives.

Right now we are standing at St. Rita’s Hall

We skipped tons of class and your TV was small

Now here on this Thursday in good ol’ PA

We’re back where we started, way back in the day

So I ask that you join me and remember again

Just how far we’ve come since we met way back then.

Now the best way to truly appreciate this

Is more than a smile, a hug or a kiss

We’ll need to get moving we’ve got plenty to see

Our journey begins just around that next tree.

Now, I had planned every facet of the night so it would be as special as possible.  However, I’ll never forget the last advice I got from TJ, my best man to be, before I left and that was to prepare myself for things not to go exactly according to plan. I was mentally prepared but didn’t want to think about what might happen outside the realm of my admittedly overboard planning.  But what happened when “our journey began just around that next tree” was beyond anything I could have imagined…except in the very best of ways.  I knew I had a limo waiting to take us around the city to the major milestones of our relationship.  What I didn’t know was that the limo had attracted some attention and our driver was getting questions about what the limo was there for…

Anne and I turned the corner and behind the white stretch limo were 20-30 Villanova undergrads standing on the steps of one of the buildings.  Our driver, Bill, had told them there was a proposal happening and as soon as they realized it was us they broke into cheers.  We didn’t know any of them personally but it solidified why Villanova was the perfect environment for us to have the special day.

We hopped in the limo and Anne called her folks to tell them the news.  I had asked her folks for their blessing in late July and gave them the near-impossible task of keeping the secret for nearly 3 months.  They performed admirably.

Before we progressed to our next clue I had another surprise waiting in the limo.  Through some thinly disguised emails to my good friend Kurtz titled “Operation Frodo’s Journey”, we had coordinated a care package that he dropped off with the limo before we arrived.  It included champagne, roses, and a package I had mailed up from Atlanta 2 weeks prior.  The package included:

• The remaining scavenger hunt clues
• Athletic tape in case I got the ring size wrong (in case anyone was wondering…of course I did get it wrong)
• A mix CD (that’s right, a mix CD!) with some of our favorite songs.  If you’re interested in the songs, a list is here but don’t expect all gooey romantic tracks…that’s not how we roll!
• Trail mix.  Yes, I recognize this is probably an extremely bizarre thing to include in a proposal care package.  However, I know how Anne handles (or, frankly, doesn’t handle) being hungry and I wasn’t leaving anything to chance
• An info packet for the evening, with
  • Itinerary for our Homecoming festivities
  • Reviews for the restaurant we’d be eating at
  • The process for getting married in the Villanova Church (we really wanted the Church!)
  • A list of funny stories about the proposal planning that I (obviously) hadn’t been able to share

The last item in the care package was a photo of the third member of our little family.  Braveheart, our lunatic dog, wanted to give his blessing as well (many thanks to Rob McCauley for helping me clean up the photo):

I don’t think this is what the song was referring to when it said “if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it…”

So we popped the champagne and pursued our scavenger hunt clues.  We stopped at Anne’s freshmen dorm, where the foundation of our relationship was built.  We visited the restaurant from our first date, which upsettingly has since removed the hibachi tables that made it so popular in the first place.  We moved on to some of the apartments that we had lived in and ended at the District Courthouse, Anne’s first foray into her legal career that brought us down to Atlanta for law school.  Of course, we made sure to snap some photos along the way…

Stanford Hall – Anne’s freshmen year dorm

Kotatsu – Site of hibachi first date

First apartment we shared when Anne worked in Philly the summer after ‘Nova graduation

Courthouse of the Eastern District of Philadelphia – The launchpad for Anne’s legal career

We had some time to kill so we planned in some time for drinks at the XIX in the Bellevue Hotel, a rooftop bar in downtown Philly.  We sat in lounge chairs sipping Old Fashioned’s in front of the fire until it was time to head to Bibou, personally recommended by a foodie friend of ours as one of the best French restaurants in the city.  The food was fantastic, the staff was very personable and the chef comes out to meet every person who dines there to make sure they enjoyed their meal.  The food itself was fantastic and the atmosphere was perfect.  We headed out and back to the hotel, where I’d asked the manager to leave a vase for the roses and a box of Ferrero Rochers I’d picked up in the room for our return.  We crawled into bed and fell asleep quickly and easily.  The previous chapter of our lives had officially closed.

And we’re ready for the next one!

Read more over at BrettASnyder

As I’m sure you’re all aware, today is a pretty unique day.  Anyone who has ever “made a wish” when the clock read 11:11 is in for a real treat.  A little after noon today, when us working stiffs are enjoying our lunches and our college friends are just starting to wake up, we’ll be able to look at the clock and experience 12:12 on 12/12/12.

Anyone old enough to read this is unlikely to still be around the next time something like this occurs; it will not happen again for another 88 years, 19 days, 12 hours and 48 minutes (at 1:01 on January 1st, 2101).

In honor of this otherwise ordinary Wednesday, here are some fun facts about our good friend, the number twelve!

• 12th Man is a football term made popular by Texas A&M and embraced by other professional teams such as the Seattle Seahawks .  The 12th Man refers to the impact that the support of the home crowd can have on the game.
  • The history of the 12th Man at Texas A&M stems from a 1922 game where a fan was asked to suit up for the game when the team was low on reserves.  Since then, the #12 jersey has been reserved for a walk-on player who represents this tradition.

• Atomic number of Magnesium, the 4th most common element on Earth that makes up 13% of our planet’s mass.
• Number of studio albums released by The Beatles.
• Largest number in the English language that can be spoken in just one syllable.
• ’12 – A leap year in every calendar year (1812, 1912, 2012, etc.).
• Number of ribs in the human body.
• Number of “drummers drumming” in the classic Christmas song.
• 12 is one of only two sublime numbers.  For all the math/number theory nerds out there, a sublime number is a positive integer that can be divided into a perfect number of positive integers (including itself) and whose positive divisors also add up to another perfect number.  Super nerdy I admit…but the point is that it is only 1 of 2.  The only other sublime number is:

(2¹²⁶)(2⁶¹ − 1)(2³¹ − 1)(2¹⁹ − 1)(2⁷ − 1)(2⁵ − 1)(2³ − 1)

• Retired jersey number of baseball greats Wade Boggs (Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays) & Roberto Alomar (Toronto Blue Jays), football legends Joe Namath (New York  Jets) and Jim Kelly (Buffalo Bills), and NBA star John Stockton (Utah Jazz).
• Twelve, the name of the shapeshifting character with the ability to mimic an opponents moves, from one of the greatest video game franchises of all time: Street Fighter.
  

  Street Fighter: One of the truly great accomplishments of our generation

• Number of frames in a bowling game; 12 strikes in a row gives the bowler a score of 300, a perfect game.
• Number of citizens that traditionally serve on the jury of a criminal case.  Henry Fonda portrayed the unforgettable Juror #8 in the iconic 1957 film, Twelve Angry Men.
• Number of pence in a shilling.
• Number of Knights at King Arthur’s Round Table.
• 1812 – Napoleon authorizes the use of Mesures usuelles, the basis of the Metric System(Feb. 12), Louisiana joins the United States as the 18th state (Apr. 30), and the first volume of Grimm’s Fairy Tales is published (Dec. 20)
  • 1812 also brought the births of Charles Dickens (Feb. 7) and Robert Browning (May 7) and the deaths of Sacagawea (Dec. 20).
• 1912 – Republic of China is formed (Jan. 1), Girl Scouts are founded by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Georgia (Mar. 12), and the Titanic sinks in the Atlantic Ocean (Apr. 15)
  • Notable births include Jackson Pollock (Jan. 28), Eva Braun (Feb. 6), and Gene Kelly (Aug. 23)
  • Notable deaths include Clara Barton (Apr. 12) and Isidor Straus, owner of Macy’s (Apr. 15)
• 2012 – Brett writes the greatest blog post ever written (Dec. 12)
  • 2012 also saw the deaths of Whitney Houston (Feb. 11), Davy Jones (Feb. 29), Dick Clark (Apr. 18), Ray Bradbury (Jun. 5), Rodney King (Jun. 17), Ernest Borgnine (Jul. 8), Gore Vidal (Jul. 31), Neil Armstrong (Aug. 25), and Michael Clark Duncan (Sep. 3)

Got any other fun facts about our friend, the number twelve? Drop them into the comments!

Read more over at BrettASnyder