Andrew Bird: Break It Yourself
Sorry, don't have time to write. I have to go listen.
Josephine Cameron shares books, music, & other delights for the whole family www.josephinecameron.com
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Labels: andrew bird, music, npr
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Labels: common good, csa, grab bag friday, organic farming
Some mornings, I just need a little Bob Marley in my life. And thanks to the wonders of You Tube, I can watch a 1980 acoustic performance captured by an old-school camcorder.
Won't you help to sing another song of freedom?
Bob Marley: Redemption Song
Old pirates, yes, they rob I
Sold I to the merchant ships
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit
But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the almighty
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly
Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom
'cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds
Have no fear for atomic energy
'cause none of them can stop the time
How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look
Oh! Some say it's just a part of it
We've got to fulfill the book
Won't you help to sing
these songs of freedom
'cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
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Labels: bob marley, music, music videos, redemption song
Have you seen this awesome collection of famous thank you notes at Mental Floss? It makes me wish I had thought to send Roald Dahl a letter when I was a kid. Check out his response to a class letter asking questions about “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More” (not a thank you note, and not from the Mental Floss list, but excellent on so many levels):
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Labels: grab bag friday, roald dahl, thank you notes
My sister sent me this video as a valentine. It's been a long time since I listened to Mazzy Star (one of my high school and college faves), and it's awfully sweet to see Hope Sandoval's dreamy voice set to ballroom dancing from the 40s.
Oddly, with all the old movies I watch, I haven't seen a lot of Fred Astaire movies. So I don't know the films these clips come from. Bonus points to anyone who can name them!
Mazzy Star: Fade Into You Fred Astaire Mashup
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Labels: fred astaire, mazzy star, music, music videos, rita hayworth
A love poem, since tomorrow is the 14th after all:
When You are Old
by W. B. Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
For their tenth anniversary, Improv Everywhere is remastering some of their original missions (hooray!) This week they posted their hilarious 2006 Meet a Black Person video.
Oh, Improv Everywhere, will you be my valentine?
Improv Everywhere: Meet a Black Person (you can also read the mission report and watch more Aspen videos)
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Labels: grab bag friday, improv everywhere
Here's a song I'm smitten with this week.
For a while at least, you can listen to the full album for free at NPR.
Sharon Van Etten: All I Can
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Labels: music, music videos, sharon van etten
Since I have all these new renovation projects at our house (I hope to post pictures of the kitchen soon!), I've signed up for an Audible account. Painting and removing wallpaper is much more fun when you have an audiobook to listen to.
One of my favorites so far has been Stardust by Neil Gaiman.
Everything about this book was right up my alley. The full title is Stardust: Being a Romance Within The Realms of Faerie and that is exactly what you get. A charming, old-school fairy tale packed with adventure, magic, and romance. I admit I was skeptical with the billing "a fairy tale for adults," but I fell head over heels in the first ten minutes.
The story follows Tristan Thorne, who is determined to do whatever it takes to win the heart of the girl he loves. When she suggests (rather flippantly) that he catch her a fallen star, he crosses over into Faerie to do just that. Only the star is nothing like the cold stone he thought it would be, and Tristan's journey causes him to rethink everything he knows to be true in the world.
Intertwined with Tristan's story are the stories of other (more dangerous) travelers who are also searching for the star. As you can imagine, all the plot lines come together in an exciting, highly satisfying climax.
To top it all off, Neil Gaiman has to be the most charming audiobook reader around. I don't know that I'll ever be able to read another book of his in paper format, and believe me, I am a paper format kind of girl.
Highly recommended for anyone looking for a bit of love and magic.
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Labels: books, fiction, neil gaiman, stardust
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Labels: grab bag friday, lemon bars, recipes
KCRW recently hosted Irish singer Lisa Hannigan live in the studio. I know her beautiful voice from Damien Rice's albums, but I had no idea that she recorded a brand new solo album in 2011. It looks like I need to come out from under my rock and go listen to it. What a voice!
Lisa Hannigan: Little Bird
(You can watch the full in-studio session on KCRW's website.)
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Labels: kcrw, lisa hannigan, music, music videos