Just added four more things to the Mighty Life List:

Hear 1,000 new songs.
I want to know more about music, and I want to find easier, more automatic ways to incorporate it into my life. It feels like I have to go through ten steps to find a song I want to hear and listen to it on a device with worthwhile sound quality. I miss my record player. Plus, I’m beginning to feel like I’ve run out of fresh tunes to hum, which feels gross. Fortunately, I already have some friends enlisted to help.

Wear a sequined bikini to Carnival in Trinidad.
This scares the crap out of me. The last time I wore a bikini in public I was sixteen and blinded an entire small town in Mexico. Thank goodness for rum and Karen Walrond.

Go on a night dive with Manta Rays in Hawaii.
Liz wrote that post and it sounded so magic. As does almost everything about the ocean. It’s like visiting outer space.

Make a font.
I’ve always loved hand-painted signs and studying handwriting, and it seems like making a font would be so satisfyingly meticulous. Of course, the urge has only gotten stronger working in the same office with the Typekit team all day.

What have you added to your list recently?

This is the last gift sponsored by Sandisk slotRadio, so I thought we might actually talk about music. Since John Hughes passed, I’ve been thinking about how much more I enjoy movies when a director is passionate about the soundtrack.

My favorite Hughes scenes are about the music that’s playing in his characters’ lives. Remember Duckie lip-syncing to “Try a little Tenderness?”

Or Ferris Bueller’s “Danke Schoen” cum “Twist and Shout” on the parade float:

And of course, The Breakfast Club dance scene:

Then there are the Hughes songs that knock you flat and replay footage of your bedroom ceiling, circa 1985.

“Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds

“If You Were Here” by the Thompson Twins

“If You Leave” by OMD

So this present celebrates the music Mr. Hughes brought into our lives. If you win, I’ll send you everything you need for a nostalgic movie night.

The Ringwald holy trinity:

The Breakfast Club

Sixteen Candles

Pretty in Pink

An absurdly large box of Watermelon Flavored Pop Rocks, (Purchased after I ate the packages I bought for you at the corner store. Taste the Explosion!):

And, of course, a Sandisk slotRadio:

It comes with a bunch of songs already, but also gives you the option of picking your own music. Before you load your workout mix, I’d like you to check into these:

The Ultimate John Hughes Playlist
John Hughes Movie Soundtrack Hits

Leave a comment below, bonus points if you tell me about your favorite music-related movie scene. Be sure to include your email address in the field provided (so I can reach you if you win) by August 14 at 5 p.m. PST. Just one comment, please — I have to delete duplicates for fairness. Random.org will decide who wins. I’ll contact the lucky via email, and I’ll also tell you who won here.

Danke schoen to Sandisk for making this gift project a go. It’s been fun.