bermuda triangle.

• I threw a surprise party on Saturday for Scott’s 35th birthday. For a control freak as anal as I am, it was a little bit of a nightmare. All of his friends were in on it, and I had to stop short of writing out scripts for them. I was certain he knew, but his response was so genuine that I’m pretty much convinced he did not know. Or else he’s just incredibly good at fooling me.
• StoneBridge’s remix of Lily Allen’s “The Fear” is going to be my summer anthem. Until I find something different.
• I leave Wednesday afternoon for Colorado. I’m a bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding. How do you make a six-foot blonde stand out more? Put her in hot pink and beads. So much for being inconspicuous. It should be a pretty great trip, though… once I get off the plane. The older I get, the worse I am about flying. And today’s story about a jet vanishing off the coast of Brazil doesn’t help matters. I fully intend to take some Xanax before I board.

the tori review.

When I heard that Tori Amos was releasing a new album, my first reaction was, “Ugh.”

Now, I would consider myself a fan of Tori. In high school, I once spent an entire summer teaching myself to play like her, to play her songs. Sheet music, headphones, a Discman, and my parents’ piano. I am certain I drove my family up the wall with my ever-evolving rendition of “Cornflake Girl.”

But I’m more a fan of the original Tori. I love the earlier stuff. The last album of hers I could say I really liked To Venus and Back (1999), a 2-disc set that had one disc of live recordings and one of new songs. After that was Strange Little Girls (2001), which listened to once through and decided I could live without. Scarlet’s Walk (2002) had about seven songs I enjoyed, but the CD set came with stickers and fake Polaroids, so that was cool. I bought The Beekeeper (2005) and didn’t even make it through the entire album once. The whole idea of American Doll Posse (2007) was just silly, and I couldn’t bring myself to listening to it. I still haven’t, and who knows, I may actually like it, but I won’t find out. It was at that point that I stopped caring.

So this new album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, was released yesterday. I had no intention of even attempting to try it out. However. I logged in to Imeem today for some morning tunes, and there it was, a playlist of the entire album. I wasn’t craving anything particular musically, so I figured what the hell. And I was pleasantly surprised.

It opens potently- “Give” has a smooth, dark, more electronic sound, and sets up the rest of the album to follow the same path. But it doesn’t, because the next track, “Welcome to England,” evolves into something more musically crisp and light. And from that point, each song is a wildcard. The entire album has a generally avant-garde, sort of prog feel. I think my biggest complaint is that the album is bulky (17 tracks) and doesn’t have much in the way of flow. 

I’ll probably listen to it again. But if I’m really wanting to hear some Tori that deviates from the Tori norm, I’ll just stick with From the Choirgirl Hotel.

all the sweeter because of the cold.

I am not familiar with the work of Craig Arnold. I am not familiar with the University of Wyoming or Japanese volcanoes.

But when I first saw the story of Arnold’s disappearance on CNN.com a week or so ago, something struck me. It was the picture that accompanied the story. His eyes are looking upward, his mouth frozen in movement, his hand near his face, caught in gesticulation. Gesticulative speakers are passionate, and passionate people are rare. From this one picture, from that one pose, I became intensely worried about him.

I’ve checked CNN every day since, looking for news. Nothing. So I searched today, and I found this story, stating he is presumed dead. The story contains a link to his blog, and coming upon his writing, so public, so present, I feel like I should be still. These are the words of a man who, very likely, will not be coming back.

Terrible things happen a million times a day, yes, so I find it hard to justify the sadness I feel for this unfamiliar, middle-aged, haiku poet.

But I feel sad all the same.

Deep in the forest of China pine

also a road of my own I took –

a road to pass the misty rain

a road to take the mountain wind.

craig arnold, 2009