I first heard about this singer on
Pitchfork, this most awesome website for music aficionados. The first song I heard was "Save Me From What I Want." And that was the song that made me want to buy the whole CD. I was not disappointed. She is a mix between P.J. Harvey and Bjork. Her lyrics are amaaaazing:
"I'm a wife in water colors/ I can wash away." That's from the same song. And here is the audio so you can fall in love, too:
If you like what you heard and you want to hear more, you can do so
here.
Dungeons & Dragons(on Facebook)Confession: I never understood what the D & D rage was all about, and I never got to play it in high school. Then Facebook added the game app and my bloggy friend April sang its praises. So I decided to give it a try ... and cannot stop playing it. I am currently a Level 3 Half-Elf Cleric named "Anawen" (snicker, snicker) and having a ball.
Come play with me! 
The Joys of LoveI first heard about this book on
QPB (Quality Paperback Books). I've never actually read Madeleine L'Engle's books, not even
A Wrinkle in Time, but something about the book's description drew me in:
During the summer of 1946, twenty-year-old Elizabeth is doing what she has dreamed of since she was a little girl: working in the theatre. Elizabeth is passionate about her work and determined to learn all she can at the summer theatre company on the sea where she is an apprentice actress. She’s never felt so alive. And soon she finds another passion: Kurt Canitz, the dashing young director of the company, and the first man Elizabeth’s ever kissed who has really meant something to her. Then Elizabeth’s perfect summer is profoundly shaken when Kurt turns out not to be the kind of man she thought he was.
Moving and romantic, this coming-of-age story was written during the 1940s. As revealed in an introduction by the author’s granddaughter Léna Roy, the protagonist Elizabeth is close to an autobiographical portrait of L’Engle herself as a young woman—“vibrant, vulnerable, and yearning for love and all that life has to offer.”
I began reading it on Sunday night, finishing it at around 2 AM. I literally could not put the book down, despite the fact that I had to get up at 6 AM the next (same?!) day. It is vibrant and poignant and thrums with the immediacy of first love. Add this to your "To Read" list!
For more information, visit
Madeleine L'Engle's website.
Star TrekSo I went to see
"Star Trek" with le boyf on Saturday night. He's a bit of a trekkie and I have watched an episode or two from the 1960's show with him and enjoyed it, albeit in passing. But I wasn't expecting much out of the film. I was also worried I might not understand it too well, not having the background and all. But about twenty minutes into the film, I knew I was going to love it. And I wasn't wrong. Not only do the actors
look like their counterparts, but they did a bang-up job acting out the roles, too.
Chris Pine was great as Kirk, with just enough hamminess to underscore the performance (he wasn't hard on the eyes, either!). But IMHO, the stand-out performance belongs to
Zachary Quinto, who played the young Spock.
It wasn't so much that he was able to do the quintessentially Spock eyebrow-lift (which he was), or that his voice matched the perfectly monotone delivery of Leonard Nimoy (which it did). What made Quinto's performance amazing was his ability to portray the all-too human feelings brimming under the surface of a seemingly imperturbable Vulcan exterior. A truly great performance! Go see it -- it doesn't matter if you've never seen an episode from the old shows. If anything, it will make you
want to see the old shows, like I want to do now!
Here's a trailer to tempt you:
Wow, Dungeons and Dragons and Star Trek?! If I don't watch out, I'm going to start wearing a pocket protector ... ;-D What are some of your favorite things this month? Let me know in the comments!
