this might just be the best thing...of the world

i've never ever really wanted to do ballet. even as a little girl, it wasn't my thing.

but i would've LOVED to do some other sort of dance.

modern, maybe?

i would've liked to have been a dancer in the crowd.

so when i saw these pictures...

the gallery is called Dancers Among Us

yes. i would do this. if it were physically possible.

she looks so happy!

such ease...

snow dancing!

if you're gonna feed the birds, do it right.

yes. 

even graceful dancers have to go to the bathroom sometimes.

too cool. i like his boots.

"yep, just waitin' fer the bus."

at least she can enjoy doing laundry.

he's got places to go and people to dance on...no...wait...

yes. if you can do that, please pay the cab driver that way.

it will make his day, i promise.

just a little leg lovin'. 

gene kelly?

sixties love

guess who i went to see last night...

The Weepies!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!

the venue was a really cool restored art deco theater from the 60s called Lakewood Theater

they're a very happy couple. a couple of happies.

soooo amazing

i'll definitely be going to see them again

dear mr. man,

- - - i hope you like love {among other things} - - -

all my best friends

good music

tasty asparagus

singing

green

sheet tents

old movies

art films

picnics

the mountains

creamy mashed potato goodness

rain 

dancing
color

bicycles 

musicals

fishing

chick-fil-a

the weepies

staying up late

going places

motorcycles
roller coasters

church meetings

italian arias

sunshine 

vintage clothing

breakfast

music to fit the mood

scotland

hiking

driving with the windows down

going to art galleries

good smells

and me.

with love,

girl

Why are they letting their kids listen to that?

But it's so funny.

{via meg fee}

Deadity

This whole blog thing just isn't workin' for me. 

I've lost all inspiration, and I don't think I'll regain any. 

Therefore, this is  
farewell. 

Maybe I'll start another one when I get married and have nothing to do but sit around the house and pick my toes.
Ha.

I'll leave you with this picture and a song.

Snippets of Now...because I don't have time for anything more than a few snippets.

Thesis paper. 12 pages long. 'Nuff said.

Rilla of Ingleside. My escape.

Graduation pictures...somewhat fail...somewhat awesome.

Snow predicted. Phooey.

Graduation dress picking-out-time. Must. Find. Perfect. Dress. Or not.

Braces soon. Yay! Dork summer.

Harmony Hill anticipation. Too soon.

Red Badge of Courage. Blah.

Iron &  Wine discover. Love.

The Valley of...Indecision. Life after graduation.

Texas trip memory sustenance. Maybe they'll last till Harmony Hill.

Anthropologie open in Mtown! Woopee!

Sun, please come back. I love you and miss you.

Sleep...come to me. Thanks. Sincerely, Eleanor.

A song that I love

just wait till summer...

i'm planning an Up escape.

~we'll float just below the clouds and listen to Saltwater Room~

~we'll watch the patchwork world move past below us~

~we'll chat with some birds and make friends with the sun~

then...

~when we're ready to come down, we'll land on a cheery hill and put down our own patchwork~

~we'll turn our attention to the clouds we were just getting cosy with~

~we'll take a long walk down the hill toward the brilliant lake and watch the shadows grow up~

~we'll find a sailboat and go winding into the middle of nowhere~

then...

~when it's dark, we'll come back to solid ground and find your pickup~

~and while it turns Herbie and drives itself, we'll lie in the back on our patchwork~

~we'll shut out everything but the sound of the crickets and the wind~

~and when we end back up at the top of the hill, we'll climb into our little house, loosen it from its birch tree mooring, and float back up to sleep with the stars~

~we'll go somewhere only we know~

"Oh! He got me."

{name that quote}

I've been tagged.
I'm supposed to post 3 songs that are me. A little part of me...deep down inside (let's make this profound, ok?).

It's ridiculous how hard this was. I'm not even satisfied with this list. And so, I'm going to live life on the edge and post 4 songs.

Ha! Take that you...you...rule makers, you.



Because I love this movie, and because I want to snuggle with this song. I and this song are one.



Forgive the cheesy song...and the cheesy pictures. It was the only good version I could find on Youtube.



::Sigh::



Aaand, I have no idea what is up with her freaky hand motions, but the song itself is beautiful.



(ok, make it 5.)
I want to bathe in this piece.
...And please pretend like that isn't an awkward thing to say.

I tag---
Ceridwen
Katie
Max-Frederick

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

"Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn't the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.

I sent the music to the photographer, Paulo Pinto, who I Googled on the internet. He told his editor, who told a reporter and the story ended up as an interview in the very same newspaper.

Here I've posted a short video made with the photo, the music and the score (composed by the birds).

Music made with Logic.
Video made with After Effects."

trouble don't rhyme

i've just recently fell in love with the music of Oren Lavie. it's very original and chill.

i recommend starting your listening experience with his songs Unhidden Track: Quarter Past Wonderful and A Dance 'Round the Memory Tree. other favorites are Trouble Don't Rhyme and The Man Who Isn't There.

bonne écoute!

James Bond

I can recommend Michael Buble's Cry Me A River.

And I don't even like Michael Buble.

This is one of the best Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers routines ever.

Ewoks are cute

I dreamt that Uncle Eddie Jacobs and Sandra Bullock (yes, you heard right. Sandra Bullock and Uncle Eddie) sang You Are My Sunshine together at my old church. With a guitar. Both wearing shades. Standing behind the pulpit with their arms around each other and their eyes closed.

Then, they both put on those weed-eating glasses (you know, the ones with the dorky black rims at the top, and then just plastic at the bottom) and started acting out a Road Runner and Wily Coyote skit. She was Road Runner and he was Wily.

She chased him (which, need I point out? is totally backwards). And then she started chasing Dalton.

Then, out of nowhere, (well, actually, this whole dream is out of nowhere) short figures dressed in yellow robes (like the ones in The Village, except these guys were short. like Ewoks. they resembled Ewoks very strongly), came into the church in a huge army. They were in rows (like an army) and they came forward, one stomp at a time.
Then, all of a sudden, they stopped moving forward and tensed. Something had frightened them!
It was a One-They-Do-Not-Speak-Of.


And then Papa woke me up. Thank God. I did not want to see where that one was going.

O môr henion i dhû:
Ely siriar, êl síla.
Ai! Aníron Undómiel.

Tiro! Él eria e môr.
I 'lîr en êl luitha 'úren.
Ai! Aníron...

From darkness I understand the night:
Dreams flow, a star shines
Ah! I desire Evenstar.

Look! A star rises out of the darkness
The song of the star enchants my heart.
Ah! I desire...

.

.

.

Mr. Rainy Day Music Man

Alexandre Desplat is a French composer whose talents are quickly becoming very popular with movie makers. He has written and orchestrated some of the soundtracks for well-known movies, and all of them are spectacular.
Here are a few familiar movies that showcase his music.

(in order of production)

1. The Queen - I've never seen this, but Mama and Papa said the music was perfect for the story.

2. The Painted Veil - Wonderfully beautiful movie. Definitely PG-13, though. The River Waltz is the best piece on the whole soundtrack.

3. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Imporium - I've never seen this, but Gwendolyn loves it.

4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Gorgeous cinematically and musically, this movie and its music is very Rainy Day.

5. Julie & Julia - Aaa! I can't wait to see this! Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are fabulous, and combined with what I'm sure is an amazing soundtrack, this movie is probably going to be a favorite.

6. Coco avant Chanel - I do not recommend this movie. I haven't seen it, but I'm sure it well deserves its rating. However, I love Audrey Tautou, and would be interested to see how well she combines with Desplat's music. She is très classiquement français.

7. Fantastic Mr. Fox - I cannot WAIT until this comes out. We grew up listening to a tape recording of someone reading this story, and it was always my favorite thing to hear. George Clooney and Meryl Streep do the voices of Mr. Fox and his wife.

8. The Twilight Saga: New Moon - I do not advocate or support these movies/books in any shape, form, or fashion, however, I would be tempted to go see this in theaters just for the music's sake.



You can click on these links to get a taste of his yummy music.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Painted Veil
Lust, Caution

When I was little, my favorite way to be put to sleep was for Mama or Papa to hold me in the rocking chair and rock me to sleep. If Mama rocked me, these were the songs she would sing to me:

You Are My Sunshine
Come Thou Fount
High in the Treetop
Goodnight, My Someone

Hearing these songs now bring back floods of feelings, emotions, and memories.

You Are My Sunshine will never fail to make me feel content, happy, and just a tad bit wistful. Come Thou Fount doesn't bring any emotions or feelings. I suppose I've become numbed to it because of singing it in church also, but it will always be special to me because it was my song. Mama had a hymn for each of us, and that was mine.

These are the songs that they both sang to me:

All the Pretty Little Horses
Rock of Ages
Flee as a Bird

All the Pretty Little Horses always makes me want to cry. It's not necessarily a sad song, but the melody is so haunting and lovely, a little lump always comes up at the back of my throat when I hear it. Mama and Papa both sang it to me, and it makes me think of the comfort I always felt wrapped up in their arms, rocking back and forth in that old, blue rocking chair. Rock of Ages makes me think most of Uncle Mike. Mama and Papa would sing it to me, but I remember going to sleep with Katie and Anne Marie while Uncle Mike's voice sang this from the tape player. Flee as a Bird used to be one of my favorite hymns (and still is in a way) because the melody reminded me of All the Pretty Little Horses---sad and eerie, but beautiful.

If Papa would rock me, these are the songs he would sing:

Kentucky Babe
Old Uncle Ned

"Skeeters am a hummin' on the honeysuckle vine, sleep, Kentucky babe..." This song has the most memories; Papa, rocking me in the rocking chair, warm and scratchy. Papa playing his guitar and singing to us four kids in our bedroom. Papa's voice, the most comforting, reassuring sound in the world.

Old Uncle Ned. He is still one of my best friends. "So lay down the shovel and the hoe-oh-oh-oh, hang up the fiddle and the bow..." I always wondered what the cake tasted like that he couldn't eat. I never could go to sleep while this song was being sung because I would start picturing Old Uncle Ned, and I never could get him right in my mind. Eventually, I think he ended up being something of a mix between the Uncle Remus from the movie Song of the South and Uncle Tom from the Uncle Tom's Cabin play in the movie The King and I. "His fingers were long like the cane in the break..."



Somebody really should get Mama and Papa to record those songs. I'd love for my children to go to sleep with Papa's voice in their ears.

Beautiful