Queen Amaranthine

What's your excuse for missing eh?

I'll spare you the boredom of the details!

I stopped into VC tonight just to say that i loved that suit.

That, and the commerical-to/from-show transition picture* of the band just before and after "Walken."

*there must be a proper term for that?

also there's a great, little coffee shop called being there coffee house in altoona (about 10 miles east of des moines) conveniently located right off i-80. exit 143. they're not open on sundays, but if you're spending the night and are looking for a fabulous cup of coffee on monday morning, definitely stop. i hear the place is awesome. *end shameless plug*

I second that! (and I feel awful that I'm standing up my Wilco/coffeehouse friend yet again because I'm not gonna make it to this show either... )

Like everyone here, I'm very sad to hear this.

Natalie was a midwife at heart and soul. She was a tremendous help to me when I was thinking about having children and during my first pregnancy in 2005. I'd had many fears and concerns about the whole pregnancy and childbirth gig (as well as parenting!). Without her support and information, no doubt it all wouldn't have been as surprisingly smooth as it was! My children are the lights of my life, and she was instrumental in helping me gain confidence to have them.

Thank you, Natalie.

I have two of her tinfoil scultures, a St. Gen. and the name of the other escapes me...a fertility goddess, I'm sure I have her note that came with it somewhere.

Stasi: The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police (John O. Koehler, 1999)

That sounds fascinating!

Somewhat kind of along the same lines is Man Is Wolf to Man: Surviving the Gulag by Janusz Bardach and Kathleen Gleeson, which I'm about 1/3 through.

You know it's just a matter of time before someone posts a photo of Borat, right?

Thanks so much, everyone! These all look great.

No survival theme arts that anyone can think of?

Can anyone help? (Beltmann, are you out there? ) I'm looking for artsy and pop culture titles for two themes:

Russia:

I'm mostly looking for something recent, but Soviet-era would be great too.

Movies about or made in Russia or any of the Commonwealth of Independent States: Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Engaging/interesting documentaries will do too.

Literature, classic or contemporary, from any of the above (I've already got Dostoevsky and Chekov on my list).

Artists/noteworthy artwork, including photography or photojournalism

Music

Anything else artsy--dance, etc.

Survival theme:

Literature, particularly poetry or short stories, although novels and plays are OK too.

Art--paintings, photography

Music--artsy or popular culture

I already have a good list of movies for this theme, including Castaway, Saving Private Ryan, and Titanic.

The thing is 1972 and Nashville, for example, seem to fit the list to me, as it's easy to listen to. So I'm like this:

For some reason they don't have the same zing or whatever for me. I'm not sure why. They seem flat to me compared to the earlier stuff.

As for logic--har--sleep-deprived new parents have no logic!

Wow, way to go, Tom!

Did I mention that studies show that male children get their brains from their mothers?

This at least accounts for where some of mine have gone.

Oh my, that explains so much around my house, especially the part about my brain being partially gone these days.

Thank you everyone! I'm making note of all these. I'll probably just end up flipping a coin or throwing darts to decide which ones to get first.

Glad to hear I'm not the only Baby Bach fan here.

My son was a rather fussy baby, hard to calm down (but such a sweetie!). The Baby Einstein lullabies CD was a godsend, as it was one of the few things that got him to relax. That and a few songs from a Jeff Tweedy solo show, 3-5-05, particularly Remember the Mountain Bed. That one zonked him out every night for a several weeks. My baby girl, a more laid-back baby, is another story. She seems to perk up at that lullaby CD, but I've found that the Audio Visions channel on DSS, the Enya-type stuff, is her sleep aid. As for JT? I tried that same solo show 3 times the first couple of weeks after she was born, and she immediately cried and screamed each time so I had to turn it off! No Wilco fan there!? I was newly pregnant with my son when I went to that Tweedy solo, and I listened to way more Wilco and Tweedy in the car when I was pregnant with him than her, so maybe that's it.

Happy birthday, Drew!

I knew there was a good reason for me to log in today after not having logged in for eons.

I confess. I have not purchased nor even heard a new or new-to-me CD by any band or musician for over a year. Please don't judge me for that--my excuse is that I have 2 children under the age of 2 and barely have time to think! What have I been listening to most frequently? Baby Einstein Lullaby Classics and Baby Bach! (And I actually love them!)

Obviously I need some new music. However, I have neither time, money, nor attention span to do a lot of searching or listening to find something on my own.

I need something easy to listen to, lyrics not too deep (as much as I love deep and out there, I don't have the brain power for it these days, for reasons explained above!) It's hard for me to get into something, though; I'm particular.

I like and am looking for something along the lines of--

Wilco (around here that's like saying the sky is blue) and offshoot bands such as Golden Smog

Josh Rouse (up to Cold Blue Stars--anything after that I'm not interested in)

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (all other Lips stuff I'm lukewarm toward--see, I am particular)

Coldplay (remember, nothing too deep!)

Can anyone recommend anything?

Is your avatar Samantha Brown?

 

I envy her job. Talk about a charmed life.

Yes, it is Samantha Brown. I love all her shows. I want her job, but she's just too likeable to envy!

Sleep? what is that?

Dreamin', I got a chuckle out of yawning = empathy. My 17-month-old son loves to look at magazines, and one of my baby info magazines has an ad with a picture of a baby yawning. Every time we come to that page it makes me . The lack of sleep with 2 small children could be a factor too!

Recently I caught an episode of Passport to Europe on the Travel Channel about Iceland. The outdoor mineral springs where you can swim most any time of year looked wonderful, kind of like a spa. I was surprised that the nightlife is very active in Reykjavik. Drinks were awfully expensive.

I have battled with health issues and anxiety for many, many years. I know that wonderful feeling of getting well after years of those problems. However, that first fall back into anxiety or whatever is hell. Just when you think you have it under control, it creeps back. Other falls back are bad too, but that first feels like total defeat. I hope that is not Jeff's case; I hope he is over the panic, anxiety, etc. and is able to move forward permanently. That has not been my case. I go back and forth against my will and best efforts, and some days it's a struggle to find that elusive magic key to feeling good again.

I have a book that talks about how progress in life (faith, overcoming addiction, health, etc., etc.) is not like a ladder where you progress up into better things and never fall backwards. Rather, it's like growth rings of a tree. Good years show thick growth rings; sparse, drought years are reflected by thin rings. That can be the same for anxiety, health issues, etc., I think.

I can't find a book cover for it--must be somewhat obscure? I found it in the public library--Christina Rossetti: A Writer's Life. I like her poetry and her life is quite interesting.

Spare time is little or none for me these days, so I've been into audio books lately, listening to and from work. This is hilarious:

Barnes & Noble online has a "university" with some good free online reading discussion groups and informal courses--fiction and nonfiction, recent and classics. I did one of the reading groups last summer and I signed up for one on this novel that starts next week.

I'm going to start it tonight. I read it in college and look forward to reading it again.

Sunken Treasure.

The other day I was wondering about Volume 2...glad to hear it's still a go. I rarely venture to Area 51, so I'm glad I made the detour.

If I had any shread of musical talent I would contribute, but believe me, we're all better off if I just listen.