Queen Amaranthine

beautiful and? Today: How do I put this in 1 word? Allergied? It's one of the worst pollen-inspired allergy days I've had in YEARS. Still, pollen allergies aren't nearly as awful as my other allergies to dust, etc.

I like Capitol City and Open Mind (maybe I'm just too easy to please). I first heard Open Mind before TWL was released in this Youtube clip and loved it right away. Maybe part of the appeal is the warm, low lighting and Jeff singing solo, giving it a personal and aloneness kind of touch. It seems so heartfelt here. I wonder if I'd like it as much or the same had I heard the full band version first? I like both. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxFwVK98WjY

What? Just one mood per day? I have to take this moment by moment. At this moment, overworked. I relate to Anthony above. My mind is on other things I want to do or feel compelled to do creatively, but this is a really busy time of the year at work. So I need to log off here and get back to it. Procrastination isn't a mood, but I should claim it as one.

Yesterday I had to make a solo road trip for work so what better opportunity to play YHF in its entirety on my way home? The 75-mile drive allowed for a whole lotta YHF love. It hit me that it was the first time in probably 9 years-10 months that I'd listened to that album in its entirety--even ALL the noise or lulls at the end of Ashes and Reservations--not just skipping past songs or cuing into what I wanted to hear at a given moment. So it was a treat. 10 years later, it's still absolutely gorrrrrgeous. What stood out to me during that listen is Radio Cure. Funny, I remember the first tim

Wilco in Sioux City in July is a strong possibility. In the meantime, my kids have end-of-school-year concerts coming up--best items on my agenda! Also on the kid front, The Fresh Beat Band will be in Des Moines in October. Clearly, kids rule my life.

That is wonderful, Maudie! A coworker of mine has a grandson who was born a year and a half ago VERY premature. After heart surgery and several months in the hospital, he came home healthy and has been thriving since. His entire family is very involved with the March of Dimes walk this month, so I have donated to support them.

FYI: Saturday in the Park in Sioux City, Iowa where Wilco will play July 7 is seeking volunteers. Check out the festival's site through the shows list on Wilco's website.

I catch those warm-cold or cold-warm sudden transitions too. My favorite is in Capitol City--the sarcasm of "breath in that country air," followed by the needy sound in his voice for "I wish you were here or I was there with you..." Side note: I recently realized that this month marks my 10-year anniversary as a Wilco fan as well as the 100-year mark of the sinking of the Titanic. Hmmmm. ;-)

Second that! Even though it might be pricey, it does sound like a good benefit for MassMoCA. I'd go if I could, but right now it's not economically or distance-travelistically (is that even supposed to be a word?) feasible. Those of us who can't go can live vicariously through fellow VCers, though. I'm in the same spot deciding whether to go to the relatively-less-glamorous-than-MassMoCA Sioux City show in July. Of course, this place isn't objective when it comes to deciding whether or not to see a Wilco show! The answer here is always YES! What a wonderful support group. I'll weigh that wit

Am I hallucinating? The Sioux City show July 7 is free? Really? The Wilco website doesn't list a link to ticket sales, and the city's Saturday in the Park event says it's free. Listed are Wilco, Chris Robinson Brotherhood(?) and Joss Stone. http://saturdayinthepark.com/ I'd much rather see the band in Des Moines or Iowa City and have it be their own show. I'm not one for festivals like that--too many people, too much music I don't necessarily want to wait through, and getting to Sioux City from where I live entails so many boring, winding county roads to get there--but really, should I be

Imagine explaining that to coworkers.

Excellent!

Sorry to hear that, Joe! I see what you mean by the emotional connection between a relationship and the music. I kind of have the opposite reality. My husband is adamantly NOT into Wilco, and neither are any of my friends (except one, my "Wilco friend" just for going to Wilco shows with, which we did often before having kids slowed us down). No one in my family would get it. In fact, i don't even mention to anyone except my husband about the rare occasions I go see the band live. So I've been more or less alone in my Wilco enthusiasm from the start. Thank goodness for this place.

Yes, we did do Ireland! We used Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes and Teacher Man for a reading project, lots of movies open to students and the public, some traditional Celtic music, etc. One of my coworkers organized a spring break trip to Ireland last month. Unfortunately I didn't join the group--I have been to Ireland once about 15 years ago and always meant to go back, but I let my passport expire without renewing it, and then my husband and I had 2 kids who take up much of our money these days. My paternal grandmother grew up in an Irish neighborhood in Chicago, so I feel like I have a li

I love the few Bollywood films I've seen! I'll have to look into Satyajit Ray. Salman Rushdie would be perfect for a book club discussion. Some year we need to cover India for this.

Thanks everyone for these great ideas! Our committee decided to go with the Philippines after all, which works well, since it's easier to do this when it's narrowed down to one country. Very timely--I just picked up Dogeaters last week and put it on my reading list to check it out as a possibility. It does sound really good. As for the children's book, I'd like for this project to offer more for kids in the community. If you knew where I lived, you might not wish that! I'm in a pretty rural area. Some of us do quite well about providing and finding cultural opportunities here, though.

Make that TWL in the forum title....can someone change that for me?! I can't figure out how. My sleep patterns have been way off the past few days, the excuse I'm going with for that typo. I'm guessing it's an April Fool's joke, but sometimes these things go right over my head. Either way, the thought of octagenarian fans and the comment about how "hipsters are going to eat this shit up" are wonderful Wilco humor. http://wilcoworld.ne...-on-piano-roll/

Yes, cleary there's a response to audio too, not just a response to pictures, as any avid Wilco fan can probably attest. It will be interesting to see what future research reveals about the whole neuron thing! I'll add that Oliver Sachs book to my (ever-growing) reading list.

I'm surprised there weren't more TWL songs. Maybe tonight? Black Moon or Rising Red Lung would be beautiful solo. Have fun, everyone who is there tonight!

Mary Castillo, that is a sweet story! Caught this on NPR's website today about the Jennifer Aniston neuron http://www.npr.org/b...ton?sc=fb&cc=fp and recalling all the questions about his eye color, had to wonder--where in the brain is the Jeff Tweedy neuron?

It's still early in the year, you know. This one is a bitter pill to swallow when you first realize you don't have control over all that much in your life, but it's so true: "We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned...so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come." Joseph Campbell

Follow your heart but take your head with you. Not sure who coined this. It was on my Facebook wall recently.

600+ pages! but a great engaging read. I'm about halfway through it.

Count me in for liking this one very much. Such a heartfelt portrait of social anxiety and grief. Humor and mental illness don't sound like they should intertwine in a way that can be taken seriously, but this movie hits that mix perfectly.

Intriguing movie! It really does linger in the mind, as the review quoted at the top of the image says.