The Beginning

   This will be my first and only blog. I hope. I have resisted the temptation to start one for quite a while now because, frankly, I hate technology. I vowed that if I ever kept a record of my thoughts, it would be on a paper journal. Well, I stand by that statement - for the most part. But certain circumstances have sparked the creation of this blog:

1. I have thoughts. Thoughts worth sharing... maybe. And I want to be a writer. I have other places to store my serious writing (notebooks, a file fittingly called "Writing" on my desktop). I need a place to just unleash all of the silliness that won't make it into my Nobel Prize-winning novels and essays.

2. This has the potential to be the most exciting year of my life thus far. I will be going to Europe for two weeks in May (YES!) and will be spending my ENTIRE junior year of college at Queen Mary, University of London (YES! YES! YES!). I will actually have JOURNEYS to share with the world. This year will be worthy of my using both a written notebook and an online blog. Plus, I can't very well mail my journal home for Mom to read while I'm gone.

3. I've been starting to research all of the places I want to go on said travels. I need someplace to post the links and my impressions of the places (before and after).

4. I intend to share my praises and complaints about the world. I have particular tastes (good ones, for the most part) that I feel other people (particularly people my age) could benefit from. You will undoubtedly read my elaborate campaign for the music of Dean Martin within the next few weeks.

5. I need someplace to keep track of all the books I want to read. I have a written list somewhere, but this way I can give and receive recommendations.

6. This will provide a solution to the boredom I will suffer from - in Ashland, Ohio this summer; in airports, train stations, etc. next year; and especially all those moments where I don't want to work on homework.


Now you know my reasons for starting this project. If you don't like them... eh.


To kick off what is sure to be a brilliant masterpiece, I will explain the title of this blog.

"She has a horror of men who wear their hats in the house."

-C.K. Dexter Haven in "The Philadelphia Story"



"The Philadelphia Story" is my favorite film. Made in the 1940s, it stars Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart. It has one of the most sparkling scripts ever written, in my opinion. One of the main issues the film deals with is class - both in the material and spiritual sense. There are social classes, based on wealth and standing and all that. But there is also CLASS - that characteristic so elusive to my generation. It breaks my heart to see how absolutely lazy people can be about their manners, appearance, and tastes.

   This blog will be dedicated to all things classy. Classy places to go, books to read, films to watch, and more. I hope the result is wonderful.