YES I knew there was a reason why I owned sunglasses.  Thank you, DC weather; thank you, God.  This could be my first rain-free week since.. May?  Bonus points for not being overcast and grey.

When I got to the West Falls Church Metro station at 11:30pm, the place was deserted - save for a middle-aged woman shuffling towards me with a slightly desperate look on her face.  She was trying to get home to Reston and had missed the last bus.  When I told her I wasn't headed that far, the desperation seemed to grow.  She approached another ( Read more... )

Lying in the grass on Primrose Hill, the central London skyline at our feet, watching the clouds drift by, occasionally a few pages from One Day, Norah Jones' voice in the background.  So, so beautiful.  I hope to go back.

Interesting tidbits I discovered during last-minute dissertation research:

• the Ig Nobel Awards
• APEC tradition of leaders dressing up in the traditional costume of the host country
• Jesus has gotten a makeover
• on language and media

Red Hot Chili Peppers works as good dissertation-writing music: unintelligible lyrics but interesting enough bass lines ( Read more... )

You know that scene in Ratatouille when the restaurant critic bites into the ratatouille and has the vivid flashback?  Yesterday, I had some watermelon with friends, and the first bite instantly took me to summers past.  I had a fleeting vision of shopping for watermelons with my dad and watching him rap each one with his knuckles to check if it ( Read more... )

Horrifying thought: I can't remember the last time I belted out a song.  Paramore sappy ballad, you will do.

Rain.  Mallorca seems like a world away.

“Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.”  - Beethoven

Musical flavor of the week: Coldplay.  Watching their Glastonbury performance on BBC reminded me why I used to wish I was part of this band: expansive, melodic soundscapes with just the right touch of bittersweetness.  I've played the "X&Y" album on repeat while packing, and it's just a glorious, soaring spiral of melancholy.  So much so, that ( Read more... )

He stood between me and the Easter Sunday sunrise service.  The beggar was literally at the doorstep of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, recounting his desperate plight.  He was trembling - from lack of sleep, food, drugs, clothing, I couldn't tell.  I was by myself - I had to catch a flight to Amsterdam in a couple hours, and my usual church companion ( Read more... )

I wonder if stress impairs my judgment when it comes to music.  When Beyoncé's "Run the World" dropped, I thought it was horrible, repetitive chanting.  A few weeks (and crazy Billboard Music Awards performance) later, I am convinced that it is a catchy, empowering female anthem.  Kanye's "All of the Lights" was uninspiring months ago but now seems ( Read more... )