The ocean. Constantin Brancusi. Shomei Tomatsu. The ocean. The Newseum. The Corcoran. The Sig P228. The ocean. Second chances. Synesthesia. Community supported agriculture. Slow food. Progressive politics. Frozen blueberries. The ocean.
Old friends... I've been lucky enough to live in some interesting places and meet a lot of amazing people. But the downside of all the moving around is that sometimes you lose track of those amazing people along the way. This seems like a good way to get back in touch."In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." -Albert Schweitzer
Shivaree, Morcheeba, Nina Simone, Indigo Girls, Sarah McLachlan, Sarah Vaughan, Dido, Anggun, Allison Moorer, Cowboy Junkies, the Donnas, Al Green, Bic Runga, Angelique Kidjo, Dixie Chicks, Cibo Matto, Damien Rice, The Perishers, Ben Lee, Rosie Thomas, Rhett Miller, Kasey Chambers, KT Tunstall, Ryan Adams, Eva Cassidy, Dusty Springfield, Paul Westerberg, Melissa Ferrick, Roberta Flack, the Pretenders, Portishead, Rachael Yamagata, Lucinda Williams, Lauryn Hill, Beta Band, Emmylou Harris, Sade, Shakira (yes, I said it, Shakira), Snow Patrol, The Mavericks. And of course I have to put in a plug for Psarah, who somehow manages to be both crazy talented *and* a genuinely amazing human being! (Edited to say: same goes for Avelynn, especially now that she has a music page of her very own!)
Notorious, Fire, Serenity, Mostly Martha, Malena, Spirited Away, The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Pan's Labyrinth. Oh, and zombie movies.
Firefly. Buffy. The Daily Show.
Bridge of Birds, anything by Dickens, Mary Oliver's poetry, anything by Edward Gorey, Barbara Kingsolver's novels, A Natural History of the Senses, The Lost Art of Compassion, the Lemony Snicket books, Country of My Skull (a journalist's account of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission), Between Vengeance and Forgiveness (a law professor's exploration of the ways societies deal with the aftermath of genocide), all of Elliot Pattison's murder mysteries set in Tibet... Lately I've been reading Neil Gaiman instead of, you know, studying so I can graduate. (Thanks, Lara.)By the way, if you love books, and you're in London, go to Crime on Store (across the street from the main entrance to the British Museum). If you're into crime, mysteries, thrillers, ghost stories, film noir, fantasy, historical novels, etc., then this is absolutely mandatory. But even if you're not-- you should still go. This shop is the anti-Borders. It's locally owned, and the people who work there love books. I mean, REALLY love books. (One of the salesclerks literally jumped up and down in delight for a few minutes when I bought a collection of stories edited by Roald Dahl.) And if they start to recognize you, sometimes they'll even let you hang around and keep reading on one of their comfy couches after they've officially closed up shop. They also have a website: http://www.crimeinstore.co.uk/
Aung San Suu Kyi. Ann Lamott. Georgia Gilmore. Jim Henson. Joss Whedon, Joss Whedon, Joss Whedon.