This guy looks awesome

Chance meeting: runner + cyclist
Originally uploaded by exeterCentral

I know this is a little weird, but I randomly came across this picture while I was looking for something on flickr and I think this guy looks awesome. It's quite possible I've been listening to the Into the Wild soundtrack and bearded indie bands too much lately. Whatever. That beard is cool.

Knapp Is Back

I love Jennifer Knapp. Her voice, her music. Love her. I have never gotten tired of her first album Kansas, which is so full of beautiful, raw truths and music that is likewise. And now she's back from wherever she's been and is working on an album. Two songs are up on her Myspace page and they sound good--like Kansas which I thought was better than her two subsequent albums. Here's hoping.

Also, checkout a live performance of The Way I Am.

I'm Brian Fellows

During a break today I discovered that Brian Fellows, my favorite SNL skit, is on Hulu! If any of you reading this went to PCB with me, then you'll remember myself and a few others repeating portions of the skit over and over and over again... Watch and laugh:



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Just Finished: Cry, The Beloved Country

When we were in Birmingham this summer, I tracked down an old bookstore. It wasn't that great, but I did pick up a copy of Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton. It's one of those books on a lot of lists but since it's about Africa I had avoided it (please don't write me mean letters). My copy was published in 1950 and has that nice old book smell.

I started reading it a few weeks ago and from the beginning was not thrilled. There are a lot of short sentences, and I'm not the biggest fan of short sentences. The story wasn't gripping me either, but I kept chugging through. About 2/3 through it just gripped me. The whole narrative takes place in South Africa and begins with a rural Zulu parson who finds out that his son has come into some trouble in Johannesburg. He goes to the big city in search of his son as well as his brother and sister who have all ceased communicating with him since they left. What he finds in the city is mostly heartbreak with chinks of hope--the black people are repressed, living in cramped housing, turning to crime, etc and his family is no different. The more he learns about his son, the more he feels that he is actually the failure. There is constantly the tension of what is and what could be or could have been. Here's one of the most heartbreaking passages from the book concerning the parson's son:

And again the tears in the eyes. Who knows if he weeps for the girl he has deserted? Who knows if he weeps for a promise broken? Who knows if he weeps for another self, that would work for a woman, pay his taxes, save his money, keep the laws, love his children, another self that has always been defeated? Or does he weep for himself alone, to be let be, to be let alone, to be free of the merciless rain of questions, why , why, why, when he knows not why. They do not speak with him, they do not jest with him, they do not sit and let him be, but they ask, ask, ask, why, why, why...

But when the parson returns home, partly successful yet still with a heavy heart, the author starts to show us that there is hope and redemption even in the despair of failure; that even in a society wrecked by racism and corruption that a seed can be planted and that change can happen in both the young and the old. It's vague, but I think you should read it and fill in the gaps yourself. You'll be motivated to justice.

Just Finished: Plan B--Further Thoughts on Faith

I read one of Anne Lamott's previous books on faith Grace (Eventually) and wasn't really planning on reading this one, but someone gave it to me so I thought I'd give it a go. I have a hazy goal to read more books written by believers, especially ones vastly different from myself and Anne Lamott fits the bill. She's wicked liberal, Episcopalian, my mom's age, and she has dread locks.

Plan B is much like Grace (Eventually), a collection of essays on the author's life and faith in the day to day. And much like Grace Lamott rails and rails and rants about George Bush, which I began to skim after the 20th or so reference. Aside from that she has some great, practical insights into coping with this flawed existence we have and relating it back to God (or having friends relate it back to Him for her). My second favorite part was when she referred to her love handles as Aunties, but the best line, something that shed new light on the verse "take every thought captive" was this blip about praying:

My mind kept thinking its harsh thinky thoughts, but I would distract myself form them gently and say, "Those are not the truth, those are not trustworthy, those are for entertainment purposes only."

Those are words I can take to heart.

Although her writing style is totally different from mine, I admire her honesty and how she puts herself out there on the page. Something I could definitely learn to do better, I just might have to change a few more names...

Plan B is funny and thoughtful and she sneaks in some content in there, which makes her essays entertaining and substantive.

Eye and Mouth Candy

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon the most amazing, delicious, scrumptious, eye and mouth watering website appropriately named TasteSpotting. Any recipe you ever wanted and didn't know existed from the best food blogs on the internet can be browsed, searched, and gloriously discovered right here. On the opening page is a row of recently discovered pictures which speak well enough for themselves. Pic[k] one and let the baking begin. It's like having access to a fancy, gourmet Betty Crocker or Joy of Cooking and it's all free and available at your literal fingertips. Whoever thought of creating this aggregator of recipes--hats, spoons and spatulas off to you.

Blood, Sweat & Tears

...that title is an extreme exaggeration all to announce the latest newsletter from the Social Venture Group team! Woot woot! For the past several plus weeks we've been writing, editing, and translating to bring you, our public the Fall 09 edition of Doing Good. So if you've been wondering what exactly I do all day, now all you need do is click the link below and see for yourself. Inside these pdf pages you'll learn about some great organizations working with people in need here in this large chicken shaped country as well as other interesting and informative info.

This was really a team effort and I had so much fun on my first go 'round with it.

Read all about it:
For the English version click here.
For the Chinese click here.

Sticky Bike

The other day something unexplainable happened to my bike. I was coming home after a day out. I exited the line 4 metro and sauntered up to where I'd locked it. At this point I noticed something: my whole seat was covered in some sort of stickiness. Tiny dots of dried stickiness which I noticed covered the whole bike. I got out a wet wipe and tried to rid my ride of the mystery stuff with some success. When I got home, my shoe soles were sticky from the pedals. I was mildly annoyed, but more than that I thought how strange this was. What the heck is on my bike? Seriously, what? Did someone come through spraying everything in sight with sprite? Some sort of liquid manna? It's almost infuriatingly bazaar, but this is one of those occurrences that happens in a foreign country.

Since it was clear that I would probably never figure it out, my roommate and I made up a song. I think you'll know the tune:

Sticky bike. Sticky bike.
What did they spray on you?
Sticky bike. Sticky bike.
It's not your fault.
It's not your fault.

Just Finished: The Moviegoer

"Yet it was here in the Tivoli (theatre) that I first discovered place and time, tasted it like okra."

(Warning, I spoil the ending below...I couldn't help it.)

Listed as one of the Times 100 Best Novels [since 1923], The Moviegoer by Walker Percy is southern literature itself. Set in New Orleans after the Korean War, Binx Bolling is aimless and adrift despite his good standing as a successful young stock broker from a good family. Nearing his 30th birthday, Binx is on an existential journey he calls "the search" which constantly eludes him as he goes from happiness to malaise and back again. His frequent moviegoing and his list of secretaries temporarily suspends this malaise, but ultimately they get worn out by him and he by them. His familial relationships are complicated. Both his aunt and his mother prefer to view him as a latent genius made for a career in research but do not actually dig deeper. The one person he seems able to help is his aunt's stepdaughter Kate who veers between sanity and insanity and, he finds, is perhaps the only person who, by saving, he can save him.

The Moviegoer is very much a product of it's time and the voice, the descriptions, the behavior of the characters reminded me of movies like Breakfast at Tiffany's and Rear Window though more serious. Binx's journey is very much a selfish quest and a spiritual one--the search for something that will fulfill the longing he can only momentarily assuage with making money and sleeping with his secretaries. In the end, he sacrifices the search to help the person who most needs him, which, it could be argued is indeed the fulfillment of the search. This is a thought provoking story with elements of redemption that I think will continue to resonate in my mind. Plus, I love the diction and feel of books and movies from this time period--slow, desperate, and sometimes convoluted like listening to people from another English speaking country talk to each other in their own non-American way.

Just Finished: How to Breathe Underwater

Well...just finished a few weeks ago. I have to be honest, the cover was better than the book. I think of that cover often, not only because it's sitting in plain sight, but because the picture is so beautiful. I'm not the biggest fan of short stories in general because I always want more than the 15 pages allotted, but this book was well reviewed so I took a chance.

How to Breathe Underwater is Julie Orringer's first collection of short stories. Each is somehow related to adolescence and growing up yet thankfully it's not first kiss, awkward prom date kind of stories. In fact, they aren't really coming of age stories at all, and each is vastly different from the other in subject and locale. The stories are at once ordinary and mundane events yet hold your attention because the people are so real that you could walk past them on the street.

The opening story was perhaps the most striking and is the hardest to describe. A New Orleans family attends Thanksgiving at the home of a new age follower who has been treating the mother of the family who is sick with cancer. The children of the family are thrust into a foreign world of tofurkey and meditation. As they play in the backyard with the other children, they encounter desperation and darkness that culminates in an unexpected ending. In another story, a plump, somewhat self-conscious study abroad student plays host to her cousin, a tall model with whom she has always been at odds and has a glimpse of what lies beneath the surface. Still another story is a witty letter written by an adult woman to her teenage self. All the stories are very human, if not all very original. They are not so much compelling as relatable and are reminiscent of the hardships and tragedies that we have all faced at one time or another. Considering the subject matter, Orringer could have written these stories for teenagers, however her subtle prose puts an adult voice to these stories of youth, rebellion, and self-discovery. Not a must read, but an interesting one.

Music for Autumn

I love autumn. I can't say enough about it except that we don't get enough of it here; however, I'm thankful that the cool evenings have come earlier this year than usual. Cardigans, jackets, jeans, blankets, tea, breezes, large leaves from plane trees falling everywhere, pumpkins, birthdays for some of my favorite people, the laziness of summer without the heat, curly hair not diffused by humidity. There is so much I could say about this most glorious of seasons. Today though, I've come up with a few songs I listen to as compliments to the shortening days...

1. This Side [Nickel Creek]
2. Manner and Means [Caedmon's Call]
3. Let it Fall [Sean Watkins]--one of the most autumnal songs I know (Fall in the title does not refer to the season)
4. More Love [Dixie Chicks]
5. Keep it Loose, Keep it Tight [Amos Lee]--especially good for walking around the city
6. These Days [Denison Witmer version although the Jackson Browne original is just as good]
7. Ready [Meg Hutchinson]
8. Comes a Time [Mutual Admiration Society]
9. Gold [Interference, from Once soundtrack]--Listen to on repeat.
10. Something Pretty [Patrick Park]--Listen to on repeat.
11. Fields of Gold [Sting]
12. Doctor My Eyes [Jackson Browne]--Never been able to get enough of this song.
13. Drops in the River [Fleet Foxes]--All of Fleet Foxes for those of you who skipped the previous post.
14. Don't Go Away [Oasis]
15. Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes [From Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack]
16. Bobby [From Love Song for Bobby Long]

These are in no particular order, just great great songs I love to listen to all year and remind myself of autumn.

Fleet Foxes

Just in time for autumn, I discovered Fleet Foxes. Have you listened to them? They simultaneously sound like the concentrated light of lazy fall afternoons and a last day on the beach when the air turns chilly. I have recently come to think the world of music reviewers for their amazingly precise descriptions of music and for Fleet Foxes, retro baroque pop is perfectly fitting. I've been listening to them for a month nearly everyday without tiring of them. Unlike a lot of music for me these days, I love almost their whole album + ep. The songs are cohesive enough without being exactly the same and the storytelling in them is gorgeous, poetic, slightly melancholy, and even occasionally romantic but never depressing. These guys harmonize like they grew up in an Ivy league a capella group (in a good way). For you China folks, they're free on Google.

Favorite songs:

• Drops in the River: "Days are just drops in the river to be lost always." Minutes 2:15 & 3:15 get me every time.
• Mykonos: "You will go to Mykonos with/with the vision of a gentle coast/and a sun to maybe dissipate/shadows of the mess you made"
• Blue Ridge Mountains: "Let's drive to the countryside, leave behind some green-eyed look alikes/So no one gets worried, no."
• English House
• Ragged Wood: "Lie to me if you will at the top of Beringer Hill/Tell me anything you want, any old lie will do."

Side note: A few months ago I heard someone admit that they were a little ashamed that they liked Fleetwood Mac. Why would anyone be ashamed of that? Stevie Nicks has one of the most distinct voices in rock and their music is good. Landslide, Rhiannon, Dreams. Good songs.

Fleets forever!