127 - Taylor Swift, The Albatross, and The Fire-Breathing B*tch Queen

Greetings, Fire-Breathing B*tch-Queens! You might want to break out the peppermint oil, not because this episode stinks, but to help you bring your own hype. Sorry this isn’t a real hype-you-up kind of episode, but can that really be expected after having spent so much quality time roaming the halls of The Tortured Poets Department? Or is it the Tortured Poets Society? Mary’s pretty sure her GenX is showing, since she has been in love with some Dead Poets since the 80s. 

 

We reference quite a few songs in this episode, so here’s a short playlist:

Check out “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” lyric video here on YouTube

Here’s “Down Bad” (cw: LOTS of swears on this one), but there’s a cleaner version on Spotify

Here’s a link to the lyric video for The Albatross on YouTube

And this is “The Weight of Living, Part 1” by Bastille on YouTube

 

Here are some of the websites Mary used for reference about Albatrosses:

 

Up Close and Personal with the Albatross (November 24, 2006) on npr.org

 

Albatross Symbolism and Spiritual Meaning on Sonoma Birding

 

Bird symbolism: 10 common birds and their spiritual meaning Friday, February 17, 2023 by  Mercy Mbuthia Jackline Wangare on legit.ng 

 

And here’s a link to the poem that (maybe) started the concept of an albatross around your neck: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (text of 1834) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Here’s a YouTube quick explanation of the poem.

 

Mary also talks about the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. You can check out those books, and a bunch of others we recommend and talk about here on Amazon.

What is your albatross? Is it good luck or bad luck? What if it’s just a bird, and it’s what YOU do with it that matters? “Albatross around your neck” is a burden, as a result of a bad decision. Is it a negative/limiting belief? What are you going to do when you receive divine messages? What perspective will you take - is it a good omen, or is it something that is trying to hurt you, so you try to destroy it, and it becomes a burden.

 

Here’s another reminder that Alexis and Mary are going to see Melissa Leilani Larson’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice at SLCC’s Grand Theater on Friday May 17, 2024; if you’d like to join us for this performance, please get your tickets here! You can also check out Melissa’s play Bitter Lemon at Plan B Theater Company, currently playing in Downtown Salt Lake (April