Monday, January 23, 2012

FHE with the Browns.

Today we went to a Mexican bakery (panadería) and then my brother burned a dictionary. I took some pictures.




From a letter:

PPS: Funny story about your music - All of us elders that serve in the Epsom Ward were in the car one day, and 'Somewhere' was playing in the background on shuffle. Elder Peach, my district leader, was talking about his teaching appointment that day, which was scheduled to take place at a train station in his area.

*music softly playing the background*
"Man, I'm starving," said Elder Peach. "Definitely should have packed lunch."

*music continues*
Elder Turner quipped, "Well, your investigator is Muslim, so won't he feed you?"

"Feed me at a train station? No way," said Elder Peach.
*TRAIN STATIONS ARRRREEEE NEVER FORGIVINGGGG*

All burst into hysterical laughter.
The end.


Saturday, January 21, 2012

Soneto LXXIX

Cuando yo muera quiero tus manos en mis ojos:
quiero la luz y el trigo de tus manos amadas
pasar una vez más sobre mí su frescura:
sentir la suavidad que cambió mi destino.

Quiero que vivas mientras yo, dormido, te espero,
quiero que tus oídos sigan oyendo el viento,
que huelas el aroma del mar que amamos juntos
y que sigas pisando la arena que pisamos.

Quiero que lo que amo siga vivo
y a ti te amé y canté sobre todas las cosas,
por eso sigue tú floreciendo, florida,

para que alcances todo lo que mi amor te ordena,
para que se pasee mi sombra por tu pelo,
para que así conozcan la razón de mi canto.

-Pablo Neruda

Translation here.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Eine Kleine Churchmusik

Will probably never forgive me for putting this on my blog. Good thing he never reads my blog.

I was in this ward just after he got transferred from it. HA.

Today I'm recording a bunch of hymns for some of my missionary friends, including but not limited to Sam, Mike, and (not pictured) the lovely Natalie. Surprisingly enough, my favorite one so far is "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus."

Anyway, if you're going on a mission or if you just like church music, they'll be available on SoundCloud in a few days. FO FREE.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Oh. Man.

Remember how I got a new iPod nano because the 1st generation one that my dad gave me got recalled? Well, I did, and I just discovered that it can do fairly high quality voice memos.

Do you know what this means?

IT MEANS I WILL NEVER FORGET AN IDEA FOR A SONG AGAIN.

Ways I waste time on the internet

Since not being on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit, etc:

1. Lust over things I want to buy someday. (i.e. Nord Stage Piano)
2. Read entire Wikipedia articles, then click on Wikipedia articles linked to those articles and read those entire articles.
3. Bookmark cool YouTube or Vimeo videos that I find on blogs.
4. Read everything in my RSS Feed.
5. Look for decrepit pianos on Craigslist for my secret project.
6. Look for cool poems to mumble to myself.
7. Watch poetry slams.
8. Look at Ace Hotel's website and think about getting a job there.
9. Look at the secret poetry blog I have with my friends and wish the rest of them looked at it more.
10. Write blog posts.

The real point is that I don't spend that much time on the internet anymore. These things get boring fast.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Der Sandmann

Today:

I saw Swiss film The Sandman at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and I got to talk to the director and one of the actresses afterward. If you're looking to watch something whimsical, surreal, funny, and thoughtful, see it.

I read Billy Collins's Ballistics. It is sidesplitting. Maybe you thought poetry collections were boring, but if they are, this is the exception. My sister Madelyn and I almost died laughing when I read her this poem.

(Ballistics is also poignant and incredibly well-worded. And Collins is a great reader. If you're into that sort of thing.)

I also checked out The Art of Eating In from the library and helped Madelyn start a paper on Edwin Arlington Robinson,  a poet who never stopped proposing to Emma Shepherd, even after she married his brother, and even after his brother died, and even after she refused him every time. Heartless Emma. Incorrigible Edwin.

I also picked some shards off the snowglobe Maren knocked over yesterday and ate cucumber slices with vinegar, which is probably my favorite snack as long as I've known me, and a lot of other minutia you might not be interested in, which might be fun to write about, but might also be writing too much.

Friday, January 13, 2012

So.

I'm about to do my blogger-est blog post ever. Ready?

Things I did today:


  • applied for a job at Anthropologie.
  • visited Frank Sinatra and Sunny Bono's graves. (You thought I'd never do it. Finally crossing it off those bucket lists.)
  • Let my mom take pictures of my feet by them:
His grave says "The best is yet to come." Isn't that perfect?


Yes, I wore rolled corduroys and heels to the cemetery. Yes, the sun was that bright and golden today. Yes, I live in Southern California and I'm so obsessed with my sister I should just make this a premature Mormon mommy blog.

But I didn't wear a topknot, and I never will.

So.


Oh, P.S. My really old iPod nano (which was my dad's before it was mine) got recalled, so Apple traded me for a new one and it is coooooooooool. I'm going to take the dog on a walk just to use it. I am a lucky kid.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Well.

I'm only half kidding when I say page 38 is the coolest thing in my poetry portfolio.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Januarilist

  1. Play at the Slumber Party shows with Book on Tape Worm.
  2. Submit poetry to 5 publications.
  3. Give 20 things to charity. (24 down)
  4. Cook dinner for my family 5 times. (5 down)
  5. Teach Maren to touch one note on the piano at a time.
  6. Go to a Mexican Panedería with my dad.
  7. Drive to the Salton Sea.
  8. Visit St. George with some London friends. (CANCELLED!) Replacement: Record 10 songs for missonaries.
  9. See a movie at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
  10. Finish making scarves.

P.S. My brother just walked into my closet and said "Well, time to go to the other dimension," and shut the door in front of himself.

P.P.S. Oh, you love Book on Tape Worm? Yeah, me too.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Hey, name two things I miss:




"This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright #154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin' it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don't give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do."

-Woody Guthrie, in the songbook for "Woody and Lefty Lou" listeners

Sunday, January 1, 2012

10 Things I Have Been Doing Lately.


  1. Getting a dog. Its name is Biko. (Courtesy of Dad.)
  2. Listening to Music for 18 Musicians by Reich.
  3. Reading Dubliners by James Joyce.
  4. Giving 50 things to DI.
  5. Editing poetry and writing in journals.
  6. Writing ideas and goals on my mirror.
  7. Looking at jobs and old pianos on Craigslist.
  8. Scribbling in charcoal. (Sometimes drawing).
  9. Reading the Book of Mormon for rhetorical devices.
  10. Winding up my snowglobe and watching Maren tip it over to figure out how it works.
Also, I'm playing at Velour this weekend with Book on Tape Worm. Come say hi.