The Exterminating Angel

Most uniquely odd and fascinating film I've seen in many a year. My eyes were glued to every frame of the picture.

Another Email from Bryan

Found this today in that dusty heart-shaped box of mine:

although i dont respond much, i think of you often...you are a star among clouds...and the written words you leave in my box help me through all that is going awry...thank you so much...

and

...you have always made me believe i had a chance in this life and also made me laugh through the toughest moments of my life...

and lastly,

if i could express my Love for you in words i would...but if i could i would just give you a hug that lasted for days...there are so many ways and so many worlds and im just glad that you are a part of mine...i am truely blessed as to have you for a friend...

Mist

the beatles - tomorrow never knows
doves - caught by the river
michael nyman - dreams of a journey
abc - tears are not enough
sean lennon - tomorrow
dolly parton - i am ready
pet shop boys - west end girls
john lennon - bring on the lucie
king crimson - i talk to the wind
jeff buckley - grace
nick drake - from the morning
robbie williams - lovelight
alanis - you owe me nothing in return
quicksilver - just for love
björk - joga
beastie boys - hey ladies
rage - people of the sun

-September 7th, 2008

Rob Quigley

Louise, the most fabulous of all fabulous co-workers, just returned from California. She was telling us all about the new library that is being built in downtown San Diego and when I saw the model I immediately had to find out the architect responsible. It is a gorgeous building. It’s so open and inventive and unique. Rob Quigley created an astonishingly beautiful structure. But my heart still belongs to my little ole library 'round the corner.

(photo kidnapped from robquigley)

Wayne Dyer

 

I ♥ Rob Sheffield!

(photo kidnapped from audiosuede)

A few month's back, Jack from the library added Love is a Mix Tape to my library queue. I checked it out and it definitely seemed like something I would truly enjoy. However, I read at my own pace and I wasn't about to bypass a book that I wanted to read for something someone else recommended. A couple weeks later, I remembered the book, went to Amazon and added it to my cart. It was then that I saw Sheffield's other book, Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. He had me at Duran. So I immediately bought that book, set aside everything else and dove in. I completely adored every page. As I reached the last few chapters, I knew I needed to buy Mix Tape so I could seemlessly go from the author's second book and backwards to his first. I'm loving Mix Tape as much as I loved Duran Duran. Sure hope this bloke is working on a third.

(photo kidnapped from barnesandnoble)

Ohio

Pugilist

Ute Lemper - Little Water Song
Michael Nyman - The Wounded
Led Zeppelin - Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You
Madonna - I Want You
Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
Marc Anthony - No Sabes Como Duele
Tori Amos - Cooling
John Legend - Ordinary People (live)
Portishead - Sour Times
Billy Bragg & Wilco - One By One
Nat King Cole - The More I See You
The Smiths - This Night Has Opened My Eyes
The Velvet Underground - Oh! Sweet Nuthin'
Bill Shatner - It Hasn't Happened Yet
Nina Simone - If I Should Lose You
The Pogues - Fairytale of New York
Pearl Jam - Given to Fly

- February 25, 2008

The Bogmen

(photo kidnapped from maniadb)

This album is what I call 8-track worthy because every single song is excellent and there is never a need to skip past a track. In 1995 I worked at Blockbuster Music and we played this album endlessly. I've yet to meet anyone else who knows this group even among the most eclectic of listeners. I still remember spinning through the dial on my way to pick up Winnie (most likely trying to find a station that played Alanis' You Oughta Know which was always on somewhere in 1995) and hearing The Bogmen's Suddenly. I freaked out. Sadly, I never heard it again outside of my cd player, but it is still a fabulous album from start to finish.

Mario & The View

(photograph taken by Marina)

Over Spring break, my cousin, Marina and her spectacular boyfriend went to Santa Marta on the coast of Colombia by the Caribbean. There Mario saw the ocean for the first time. I love this photo for so many reasons. Because I love the water and the setting sun. I love the chipped paint on the cement railing and the steps to the left. But mostly I love it because the photographer is capturing the love of her life as he quietly takes in a view like he's never seen. It is a perfect moment in their lives and I feel like I was right next to her.

Covers I Thought I'd Never Hear

This mix from Dave dates back to December 6th of 2004:

Kate Bush - Rocket Man
Blues Brothers - Gimme Some Lovin'
English Beat - Tears of a Clown
Social Distortion - Ring of Fire
Weezer - Hit Me Baby One More Time
Tom Waits - Somewhere
Shane MacGowan - Nancy Whiskey
Angie Aparo - Imagine
Iz - Over the Rainbow
Emiliana Torrini - I Hope I Don't Fall in Love With You
Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies - Uptown Girl
Joni James - My Wild Irish Rose
Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah
Jeff Buckley - Farewell Angelina
Luka Bloom - Throw Your Arms Around Me
Less Than Jake - I Think I Love You
Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies - Ice Ice Baby
Gov't Mule - War Pigs
Warren Zevon - Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Richard Thompson - Oops! I Did It Again

Songs from the Hi-Fi

In the late 70s and early 80s, when I was little, my parents would occasionally have lavish cocktail parties. The entire day leading up to these parties felt like the inside of a beehive. Mum was always buzzing around preparing the dishes that would be served, setting up the room, and selecting the evening's music. It is the music that brings me back to those years: The Jackie Gleason Orchestra, Johnny Mathis, The Letterman, Barbara Streisand, Neil Diamond, Placido Domingo, and the soundtrack to Somewhere in Time.
My brother and I knew what was in store for us - hopping in our PJs and crashing out in our parents great big bed with a bowl of M&Ms while watching The Wizard of Oz or whatever was playing on the Million Dollar Movie that night. Watching, of course, on our old black and white 12" portable TV with the bunny ear antennae.
The few times I was able to sneak out and catch a glimpse of the action I saw all of my parents' friends; Ed and Joan, Ron and Nancy, Mark and Maggie, Karen and Rich. All of them were dressed to the hilt and in grand spirits. Nearly all the men would have a cigarette in one hand and a cocktail in the other. Everyone would be laughing and chatting and playing gently in the background was the music.

Summer 1986

Summer of 1986 my childhood babysitter and aunt, Bernadette, along with her sister, my godmother, Regina, took me and my cousin Jenny to Disney in Florida for the best vacation ever. Even now when Jenn and I get together, we still recall that time with laughter and pure joy. What a fabulous family I was born into!

Stockdale Speaks

The test of character is not "hanging in" when you expect light at the end of the tunnel, but performance of duty and persistence of example when you know no light is coming.
~James B. Stockdale

(photo kidnapped from wikimedia)

April 15th 1979

The Great Easter Egg Hunt of '79!!

Rumours

This album is known to be a classic and I own it on album and 8-track but have never actually listened to it until this week. Decades after it's release it is still a perfect compilation of beautiful songs. My three favourite songs are Second Hand News, Never Going Back Again, and I Don't Want to Know. The only song I skipped was Don't Stop; I lived through the Clinton administration and they are responsible for wearing this song down to within an inch of its existence.

(photo kidnapped from pennywest)

One Moment

There are so many moments in life that one looks back on with fondness and a sense of warmth and comfort. One such moment that I reflect on quite often was coming back from my father's burial. I was driving my father's car with Marina riding shotgun and Michael in back. We all felt a sense of relief that the day was coming to a close and since each of us stood and spoke about my father that day, there was a great deal of anxiety that was finally leaving us all.
We were driving through the suburbs of Abington and listening to Debbie Gibson's Out of the Blue (I had just bought that album and playing it from the funeral home to the cemetery to the banquet hall kept everyone in the car steady and light.) and I suddenly remembered that I had the last pack of Camel Blues that my father had been smoking. I asked if anyone wanted to smoke one of my dad's cigarettes. Marina, who no longer smokes, and Michael, who only smokes menthol, both said "Absolutely." We lit our cigarettes, raised them to our lips and said, "To Tom" as we took our first drag. Then we cracked the windows and sat in calm stillness as Debbie told us all about that Foolish Beat.

Guillaume Apollinaire

Come to the edge, he said
They said: We are afraid
Come to the edge, he said
They came
he pushed them...
and they flew.

Don't Hold Your Breath

Beethoven by Andy Warhol, 1987

Matty in Italy '04

Why publishers always put beautiful photographs across two huge pages is beyond me. However, even with a fold running down the length of this Scott Caan photo of Matt Damon, it is still a gorgeous picture. Is it the subject? Is it the photographer? Perhaps a bit of both. It's totally both.

Next Sunday...

...Melissa and I are going to Grounds for Sculpture and looking back at these photos reminds me of just how beautiful the place is!!

Artists:
James Surls Forever Gone 1999
Daniel Henderson Princess Phone 2008
Ekaterina Harrison Mirage 1996
Martha Pettigrew Gossip 2001

Bishop's Triumph

This is one of my all time favourite favourite mixes that Bishop created. I loved it so much that I made a CD copy of it. It is perfection.

-Side A-
Someday My Blues...

Sweetback feat. Amel Larrieux - Gaze
Me'shell Ndegeocello - Mary Magdalene
Seal - State of Grace
Maxwell - For Lover's Only
David Grey - My Oh My
Alpha - Sometime Later
Craig Armstrong - This Love
Madonna - To Have & Not to Hold
Zero 7 - Simple Things
Mojave 3 - Who Do You Love?

-Side B-
...will Cover the Earth

Erykah Badu - Today
Jill Scott - Silent Treatment
Morcheeba - The Sea
Moby - Porcelain
Zero 7 - Distractions
Everything But The Girl - Single
Beth Orton - Stars All Seem to Weep
Duncan Sheik - She Runs Away
Nick Drake - River Man

The Old Neighbourhood

Laurel Trail, Buck Hill Falls, PA

Spring has arrived and lately the weather here has been absolutely lovely. This postcard looks just like the trail that leads to my place.
What?! It does...okay, it doesn't.

The End

Jimmy Durante "As Time Goes By"
Nat King Cole & Natalie Cole "Unforgettable"
Jackie Gleason & His Orchestra "I'll Be Seeing You"
Elvis Presley "Mama Liked the Roses"
Robert Davi "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning"
Michael Kamen "Main Titles for Band of Brothers"
Linda Ronstadt "Someone to Watch Over Me"
Placido Domingo "An American Hymn"
Elvis Presley "Crying in the Chapel"
Kenny Loggins "For the First Time"
Jackie Gleason & His Orchestra "More"
Bill Conti "First Date"
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra "We Have All the Time in the World"
Elvis Presley "Suspicious Minds"
Robert Davi "Day In Day Out"
Nat King Cole "L-O-V-E"
Robert Davi "Nice 'N' Easy"
The Beatles "Yesterday"
Nat King Cole "The Very Thought of You"
John Barry "Love Theme from High Road to China"
Elvis Presley "Can't Help Falling in Love"