Space-Holder Blog!

Hello, all, I don’t have a whole lot today, so I think this will be a short post.  I’m halfway watching Without a Trace and putting off cleaning my kitchen, which is starting to look embarrassing.  Mmm, Eric Close.  I love him.  Sorry, I got distracted a little bit.

Not much exciting has happened lately.  I’ve just been going to work, going to church, and coming home to watch season 2 of Buffy.  Last night Danielle and I skipped ahead a little and watched the musical episode from season 6.  It was impressive!  Some of the actors had really nice voices, there was some good dancing, and the songs and music were surprisingly deep and detailed.  I mean, Joss Whedon writes TV shows for a living and he does it very well, but he could obviously write musicals, too.  

Wow.  I wonder how tall Eric Close is.  He must be what, six foot, six one at least?  Oh.  Right.  I’m supposed to be posting.

Oh, oh!  I got the best CD a couple of weeks ago, and I can’t believe I haven’t talked about it yet.  I first heard the sublime sounds of Antony and the Johnsons on NPR like, a year ago and was completely blown away.  Antony’s voice is unique- he sings almost exclusively in falsetto and sometime sounds like a woman.  That could take some getting used to, but other than that, his music is incredibly melodic and accessible.  It’s all full of hope and longing and wanting to be something more than who you are- all themes that anyone can relate to.  Antony’s personal experiences obviously shade his songs- one of them speaks of his wanting to grow up into “a beautiful woman,” but “for today, I am a boy.”  He’s obviously got some gender issues.  That could be a stopping point for some people, but his songs are so incredibly sensitive and sweet, they just make your heart soar.  My favorite is “Bird Gurl,” which is another song about wanting something more, wanting to make something special out of your life.  I just love this music.  

Anyway, that’s about it.  I’m so distracted by the hotness that is Eric Close that I have to go and devote all of my attention to him before I do the dishes.  Talk more soon,

Brianne <><

Especially for Erin, pt. 2

I’m writing this post because I don’t want Erin to be pissed at me.

Actually, no, that’s not the only reason.  It’s just that I haven’t had a day off in a week and a half and this is the first time I’ve had to sit down at the computer.  I had about 800 emails when I checked just now.  Oh, woe is me!  Pity poor day-off-less Brianne.  I don’t hear you pitying me!  

So let’s get down to it, shall we?  I know you’re all dying to know what’s going on in my feeble life.  And now, a partial list.

1. I think I said in an earlier post that I was thinking of taking up knitting now that the TV season is over.  Well, that ambition lasted about as long as it took me to type it and I’ve been spending my summer watching TV shows on DVD.  Now listen carefully, because I have a confession to make.  I’ve been watching Buffy and Angel.  There.  I said it.  I’m just a little bit ashamed, not much.  Mostly I am ashamed because I made fun of my sister for all those years that she was like, “Oh, Angel!” and now, I sort of feel that way myself.  The hotness factor on that show is just ridiculous.  I mean, it’s a little embarrassing, because even dorky Wesley is incredibly good-looking now that we’ve gotten to the third season.  (Not getting a haircut for a couple of years obviously does wonders for some men.)  I really like Angel, because Angel is such a neat hero.  I mean, like, a perfectly written character.  The story with him is that he’s a vampire who had his soul restored by gypsies.  That sort of sounds nice, but now he remembers everything horrible he ever did when he had no soul and no conscience.  He’s spent the time since then trying to atone for his sins.  Oh, and if he ever experiences a moment of true happiness, he’ll lose his soul again and go back to being evil.  So basically, he’s doomed to be miserable for all eternity.  The character of Angel was originally on Buffy, which is why I started watching that show.  It’s a fun show, even though I like Angel better.  Mostly, I’m watching Buffy to get the backstory for Angel, and the first season isn’t great.  There were some parts where I was laughing at it wasn’t supposed to be funny.  I’ve been assured that it gets better, and that’s encouraging.  By the way, all this “Joss Whedon Love” is completely Danielle’s fault.  It started when she went and watched Serenity and it was a downward spiral from there.  Maybe sometime I’ll write a whole post about Firefly, Serenity, and the Buffy-verse, but I don’t have enough brainpower right now.  


2. I’ve been listening to a lot of really good music lately.  Most notably, Sean Watkins’ new CD, Blinders On.  Sean is the guitar player in my favorite band, Nickel Creek, and he writes a lot of songs for them.  Blinders On is his third solo CD, and I think, his finest.  I haven’t listened to this first CD, but I have his second one, 26 Miles.  It’s great, the songwriting is top notch, but there’s just something about the songs on this new CD of his that really pierce my heart.  I like “different” music, stuff that’s not always that easy to listen to.  I don’t mean that it’s bad and I’m making myself like it, I mean that I actually have to think when I’m listening to it.  I’ve said before that I like it when songwriters don’t assume that their audience is stupid.  Sean doesn’t coddle his listeners with easy-to-swallow melodies and words.  He just writes the right melody and the right words for the song.  As a result, his music has the capability to speak to many different types of people.  That what happens when you create something with so many layers.  My favorite songs: “Starve Them to Death,” “Hello, Goodbye,” “Run Away Girl,” “No Lighted Windows,” and “Whipping Boy.”  That’s practically the whole album, isn’t it?  I know I didn’t explain it that well here, but believe me, this is a CD not to be missed. If you like that “indie-folk-pop-rock” thing.  Which I do.  Other CD’s I’ve had on repeat in my car: Ben Lee’s Awake is the New Sleep; Imogen Heap’s Speak for Yourself (thanks, Jess!) Back to Bedlam by James Blunt (“You’re Beautiful” is overplayed, sure, but the rest of the disc is a real gem) and most recently, Songs for Silverman by Ben Folds.  I’m sort of catching up on all the great CD’s I missed last year- most of these were 2005 releases.  Not to mention all the musicals I’ve been obsessed with of late- The Wedding Singer and The Light in the Piazza are the newest ones.


3. I had my first mini-accident in Pearly, my new car last Saturday.  I was driving between work and work (I had an hour break between the end of my shift at Lane Bryant Outlet and the beginning of my shift at the bookstore) and I hit the curb going about 45 miles per hour.  I guess I hit it just right, because it very nearly destroyed my front passenger side wheel and tire.  I could still drive it, but there were big gouges out of the tire and the wheel had things hanging off of it.  It just made me sick that I messed up my new, beautiful, free car.  I mean, it bothers me that there’s trash in there.  I almost had to throw up when I saw that someone had scratched it in the parking lot.  But, I got it fixed with very little pain and suffering.  I’d also like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Danielle and Barb.  The day I got Pearly fixed, Danielle went and got the new wheel from the salvage yard because I was at work, and Barb came and picked me up from the auto shop.  And it wasn’t a completely useless day:  I got to spend time with Barb, and we went to visit youth group kids at their workplaces, something we had been planning on doing for a while.  

Well, those are some recent events in my life.  I also went to see Pirates of the Caribbean with Shelby, the most devoted Pirates fan I know.  It was a good movie, not as good as the first one, but still good.  I really enjoyed it- especially the part at the very beginning where Jack blew up that bird, then proceeded to paddle the coffin he was in with the bony dead leg of the body he was sharing the coffin with.  That’s poetry in motion, people.  Anyway, this blog’s for you, Erin!  Via con Dios,

Brianne <><