It's French for 'Mushroom'.

Listening to: Various Artists - 'Once' Soundtrack

Snow followed by warm weather is the pits. Especially when all of the trees outside your window are covered in green leaves. I feel quite deceived. I woke up this morning assuming it is already glorious springtime, when, in actuality, it is merely the onset of what I assume to be another dreadfully long, cold, dumb winter in the City of Champignons. Ahhhh, but enough about the weather, we're not awkward acquaintances with only that as a conversation topic, are we? The answer is no.

I've been known to sport a beard. In fact, in the past several years, I've only 3 times had a completely clean-shaven face. I've discovered that I look like a chubby 12-year-old when I am totally shaved, so I use my number 1 guard on my clippers and have a constant degree of beardedness. As such, I've come to identify with the bearded in life. I find it comfortable and easy to associate with those hirsute enough to grow and maintain a lovely facial carpeting. Beards themselves are funny things, because, as many have noted when it comes to NHL playoff time, it seems like the odds of any person growing a red beard are incredibly high. Why is that? I don't know. As a relatively red-headed person (probably more accurately auburn), I sometimes think these people that have blonde hair with red beards are cheaters and I tend to disassociate myself from them.

What am I getting at? Glen Hansard is the real deal. He's red-headed, Irish, awesome, bearded, and awesome. This soundtrack is awesome. Sometimes I play "Say It To Me Now" super-loud in my car while driving at night and I scream along with him, because the song kills me, and it's gorgeous. Plus, the group-effort-song "Gold" is unbelievable. It (and the scene in which it is played in the movie) makes me wish I had lived in Ireland and grew up in that kind of environment, with the music and the beer and the beards.

Before I leave, let me just give you a quote or two about beards, courtesy of our friends over at Wikipedia:

"The beard is the handsomeness of the face, and a wife is the joy in a man's heart." - R' Akiva, Eicha Rabbah

"A woman with a beard looks like a man. A man without a beard looks like a woman." - Afghan Saying

Various Artists - 'Once' Soundtrack ★★★★★★★★★✩

Favorite Tracks: Falling Slowly, When Your Mind's Made Up, Gold, Once, Say It To Me Now
Least Favorite Tracks: Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy, Fallen From the Sky

1. Falling Slowly
2. If You Want Me
3. Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy
4. When Your Mind's Made Up
5. Lies
6. Gold
7. The Hill
8. Fallen From the Sky
9. Leave
10. Trying to Pull Myself Away
11. All the Way Down
12. Once
13. Say It to Me Now