casimir pulaski day

golden rod and the 4-h stone
the things i brought you
when i found out you had cancer of the bone

your father cried on the telephone
and he drove his car to the navy yard
just to prove that he was sorry

in the morning through the window shade
when the light pressed up against your shoulder blade
i could see what you were reading

oh the glory that the lord has made
and the complications you could do without
when I kissed you on the mouth

tuesday night at the bible study
we lift our hands and pray over your body
but nothing ever happens

i remember at michael's house
in the living room when you kissed my neck
and I almost touched your blouse

in the morning at the top of the stairs
when your father found out what we did that night
and you told me you were scared

oh the glory when you ran outside
with your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied
and you told me not to follow you

sunday night when i cleaned the house
i find the card where you wrote it out
with the pictures of your mother

on the floor at the great divide
with my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied
i am crying in the bathroom

in the morning when you finally go
and the nurse runs in with her head hung low
and the cardinal hits the window

in the morning in the winter shade
on the first of march on the holiday
i thought i saw you breathing

oh the glory that the lord has made
and the complications when i see his face
in the morning in the window

oh the glory when he took our place
but he took my shoulders and he shook my face
and he takes and he takes and he takes

- casimir pulaski day -- sufjan stevens

the boss honored at kennedy center

bruce springsteen & clarence clemons performing in november, 1975

for those who didn't tune into the kennedy center honors tonight, there was an absolutely amazing tribute paid to bruce springsteen. as one of the five honorees -- the others being robert deniro, mel brooks, dave brubeck, and grace bumbery -- springsteen was described by president obama as "the quiet kid from jersey who grew up to become the rock 'n' roll laureate of a generation.... i'm the president but he's the boss."

after a touching introduction by jon stewart, music legends -- eddie vedder, ben harper, john mellencamp, sting and melissa etheridge -- took to the stage to further honor bruce springsteen's work. mellencamp performed "born in the u.s.a.," dedicating it to the soldiers in iraq and afgnanistan; ben harper covered "my fathers house;" jennifer nettles (from the band sugarland) performed "glory days;" then the two collaborated on the classic "i'm on fire." this was followed with etheridge's cover of "born to run" and vedder's acoustic version of "my city of ruins," for which he was accompanied by a gospel choir. finally, sting, along with another, larger, choir, performed a rousing version of "ths rising" that brought the entire audience to their feet.

bruce springsteen definitely deserved the high praises he received tonight. his music has always, and always will, stand for something important; it tells the stories that are seldom told and it speaks to the masses in a way that not much music can.

“when you listen to bruce’s music, you aren’t a loser. you are a character in an epic poem about losers.” - jon stewart

my baby

pretty good for a girl

away we go

i just finished watching "away we go," a wonderful film starring john krasinski and maya rudolph, and i fell in love with it. i would recommend it to anyone -- it is beautifully written and filmed, paired with a wonderful soundtrack from singer-songwriter alexi murdoch. all of the actors shine, from krasinski and rudolph -- the heart and soul of the film -- to the staggering list of supporting actors -- catherine o'hara, jeff daniels, allison janney, jim gaffigan, maggie gyllenhaal, and paul schneider.

part of my love for this film stems from my love for the director and writer. "away we go" is directed by sam mendes -- the award-winning director of "american beauty" -- and written by vendela vide and dave eggers -- the author of three of my favorite books. while i had known about mendes's directing role, i had no idea that it had been co-written by eggers until after watching, and falling in love with, the film. rather than my love for eggers enforcing my love for the film, my love for the film reinforced my love for eggers.

go watch it. now.


verona: burt, are we fuck-ups?
burt: no! what do you mean?
verona: i mean, we're 34...
burt: i'm 33.
verona: ...and we don't even have this basic stuff figured out.
burt: basic, like how?
verona: basic, like how to live.
burt: we're not fuck-ups.
verona: we have a cardboard window.
burt: [looks at window] we're not fuck-ups.
verona: [whispers] i think we might be fuck-ups.
burt: [whispers back] we're not fuck-ups.

it's christmas! let's be glad!

i'm especially christmas-ey today. i did 90% of my shopping and am wrapping presents and listening to sufjan stevens's hark! songs for christmas volumes 1-3. one of my favorites:

since its christmas lets be glad.

even if your lifes been bad.
they're presents to be had.

take a walk out in the snow.
and hear santas, ho ho ho.
hes got a million miles to go.

la la la la la la ah

sing a carol to your mom.
'cause she knows whats going on.
and she knows if you've been bad or good.

and if you get what you deserve.
to be graded on the curve.
oh you got a lot of nerve.

la la la la la la ah

since the year is almost out
left your hands and give a shout
there's a lot to shout about today

since its christmas lets be glad.
even if the years been bad.
they're presents to be had.
a promotion for your dad.