 Merry Christmas, one and all. Brian and I have had the perfect holiday break so far, consisting mostly of good food and a good couch. Perhaps our most significant accomplishment? Watching the entire Harry Potter film collection from beginning to end. Odd to witness Harry, Ron and Hermione experience all awkward stages of puberty within a week.
Another holiday accomplishment? Co-creating a digital Christmas card for each member of our family. Brian handled the shooting and video editing, so the bulk of the credit goes to him. However, it started as my brainchild, so I retain at least a small percentage of the creative rights. Today's sonic snack is the tune we performed to accompany the Christmas images Brian captured around our home. I set up a mic stand in the living room and we DID. IT. UP. We should make an album. THE SUNDAY SOUND: December 29, Family Christmas Card. I somehow forget the words to Jingle Bells. Classic.
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 Brian's Christmas gift came early this year--Dinosaur Jr. tickets. They were playing two nights in a row at The Sinclair, a small venue in Harvard Square. The Sunday night show afforded us a great place on the mezzanine balcony, right above the sound engineer. Direct, straight-ahead view. No one in front of us. Truly magical. To the delight of live audiences everywhere, Dinosaur Jr. plays at epic sound levels (note what's behind J Mascis in this photo). A measly little iPhone couldn't dream of capturing the magic for you, so you'll need to use your imagination to supplement your listening experience of Dinosaur Jr. covering The Cure's Just Like Heaven. THE SUNDAY SOUND: December 22, Dinosaur Jr. Check out the studio versions of Just Like Heaven: The Cure and Dinosaur Jr.  And what is this?! A SUNDAY SOUND BONUS! I have to share a clip from the opening act, Brooklyn-based Call of the Wild (Kemado Records).... a special treat for those of you who are enchanted by punk metal guitar solos and drumming so intense your insides quake.
ALSO. THE DRUMMER IS THE MOST BADASS FEMALE I HAVE EVER WITNESSED. Seriously, her guns were blowing my mind. I could not believe the sexy hard core drummer was, wait a second... what?... a GIRL?!?! Men want her and women want to be her (and want her!). Allison Busch, ladies and gentlemen. THE SUNDAY SOUND (BONUS!): December 22, Call of the Wild.  My co-worker John-Albert invited me to the annual Messiah sing-along at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. It was conveniently scheduled right around lunchtime on Wednesday.
I am only vaguely familiar with Handel's Messiah, so I mostly observed. HOWEVER, once we got to the Hallelujah chorus, I sang out like I was in high school again (a.k.a. the last time I sang the Hallelujah chorus). Gotta say, I remember being much better at it. THE SUNDAY SOUND: December 15, The Hallelujah Chorus. As far as performances of the Hallelujah chorus go, you could do better. I wish we didn’t have to be nude to be noticed ... But given the game as it exists, women make decisions. For instance, the Miss America contest is in all of its states ... the single greatest source of scholarship money for women in the United States. If a contest based only on appearance was the single greatest source of scholarship money for men, we would be saying, "This is why China wins." You know? It’s ridiculous. But that’s the way the culture is. I think that we need to change the culture, not blame the people that are playing the only game that exists.
Gloria Steinem, at the Women's Media Awards Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin  Paris. One of few places that live up to the hype.
Brian took me to Paris in August, making good on a promise he made on our very first date. We stayed in Le Marais, a historic district just a stroll away from the breathtaking Notre Dame de Paris (my life was forever changed because of this building). On one of our walks, we passed a Parisian gentleman expertly playing what looks like a lute. Listening to it tonight was, in some ways, even more powerful than the first time. His music became the accompaniment for
THE SUNDAY SOUND: December 8, The Sound of Paris. For more photos from our trip, check out my Paris Flickr set. And, in spite of occasional disagreements with practice or policy, in spite of occasional frustration and hurt, and in spite of the weekly challenges of being a liberal, intellectual Latter-day Saint in a conservative, often anti-intellectual church community, because of my wish for the Church as it is to be more like the Church as it should be and because of a lifelong experience of finding love and goodness there, I give the church my allegiance and devotion, not mindlessly but mindfully, and with full heart and voice.
Robert Rees, The Goodness of the Church How much terrible torture this thirst for faith has cost me and costs me even now, which is all the stronger in my soul the more arguments I can find against it.
Fyodor Dostoevsky We are all here to transcend our early limitations, whatever they were. We’re here to recognize our own magnificence and divinity no matter what they told us. You have your negative beliefs to overcome, and I have my negative beliefs to overcome. Louise L. Hay, You Can Heal Your Life
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