Restless Things

I have a new favorite artist, and her name is Joanna Newsom. Her music is amazing, her lyrics are intricate, and I'm not sure what else there is to say about her because her music speaks for itself. Also, she is adorable:

Here are a few videos of her performances:

Sawdust and Diamonds

Cosmia

If you really like her, here are a few more songs:

Fulfillment

Yesterday, I underwent the Rite of Acceptance at St. John's Cathedral in Lafayette. I'm taking RCIA classes to be confirmed Catholic in the spring, and it's been the most wonderful experience of my life. I've learned so much and I'm so glad that I have people in my life who have been willing to answer my questions and teach me, even when I'm stubborn. Which is the majority of the time.

The past month has been difficult and confusing, though, and I haven't been as excited about the new path that I've been on. But I haven't been putting forth the effort, either. I've been sick and tired and I've had a lot going on, and I haven't been making time for God outside of Sunday mass or my classes. Today is the first time I've done so in a while, and when I read the second Mass reading, I realized that my mistake is not going to God first and always, when things go wrong:

Psalms 19:8-11: The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

How often do we look at the Bible as something to limit or confine our lives instead of looking at God's word as way to enrich and find deeper fulfillment? I confess, several times in the last week I have done so. I've questioned why God would want me to avoid certain things, or whether they could really matter to Him - after all, those things are a part of who I am, right? And isn't it a sort of deceit to not be myself? I've always struggled to be completely myself, and tend to resent anything that prevents me from doing so.

But loving God is sort of like having an amazing boyfriend or girlfriend that you want to change everything for. I'm not a proponent of becoming a puppet for any one's sake, so please don't misunderstand me. But if you've ever met someone that you want to be better for, that you want to change the world for, you know exactly what I mean. There's a point where you realize that even being the best version of yourself isn't enough, and that's when you deepen your commitment and change, becoming even better.

"The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart." Sin doesn't bring that kind of fulfillment. Following the wrong path and the wrong ideologies will break your heart - and have broken mine, over and over. But anytime I give God half a chance, He more than meets my expectations, and I'm amazed at how much better my life is. It's not about following a book of stringent rules or being someone's prim ideal of Christian, but it is about searching my heart and opening it enough to be amazed at how much better things are when I allow true love for God, others, and even for myself, to lead me. And I'm so thankful that even though I so often think I know better, God always knows what I need to hear to pull me back to Him.

Beautiful Sounds

My name is Beth and I am a music junkie.

I had to quit my subscription to Rolling Stone Magazine because I am a bit of a pack rat. Instead of passing on the issues when I was finished with them like a sane person might do, I would hold on to them - I might forget something, or want to reread them later! Um, yeah. Because I have an immense amount of time on my hands. With my two jobs(!) So rather than add to the complication of my life by adding on several years' worth the magazine subscription to the clutter, I got rid of those pesky magazines and the subscription. I probably only cared for about a third or fourth of the music recommended there, anyway, but it was a way to find out about new (and old) talents I wouldn't have otherwise heard of, and I have missed that aspect.

And then I discovered Public Radio. Sick of the same crap (or good) rock played over and over again on the radio, I searched the stations for something good, and settled briefly on a "light" station until I realized they played the same songs all of the time, too. And finally I remembered how my dad (the source of all coolness) always played the most interesting things when I used to ride back and forth with him to work. And would display the mildest sort of dismay when mom and I would unwittingly talk over a story that was interesting to him at the time. Or how I'd look out the window as a kid and watch him sit in the car to finish a story or a song before he'd turn of the engine and come in after work. I finally got interested in knowing what was so interesting to him - after all, he introduced me to Pat Benatar, Kate Bush, Kansas, Alan Parsons, David Bowie, Loreena McKennitt, and do I need to go on? So I hunted for the station (89.3 here in Acadiana) and started listening.

NPR Music has more than filled the gap in my musical journey; it has expanded it - I've rediscovered my love for opera and Mozart in Danielle de Niese, found new indie artists like Taken by Trees (technically I already knew of her but the article reinforced my interest), or discovered a band from the 70's that I hadn't yet experienced (Big Star). And that's just this week. Did you know that every week they feature different artists' entire albums that you can listen to online? It's amazing to me that there's so much variety on one station - and that's not all you get there, there's news and human interest stories and I find that overall they are more interested in telling stories than forwarding a left or right agenda, which is nice.

Listening to NPR is reminding me of how good it felt to attend Festival Internationale in Lafayette, this year - it was so thrilling to be surrounded by these different cultures, to experience these bands and musicians from all over the country and to realize that there's so much more out there than we get exposed to by sticking to the mostly formulaic products of mainstream music and television industry.

I know I sound like a big commercial for NPR, but I kind of love that you can get exposed to so much culture in one station. So if you have a musical gap in your life, check them out! And if you like them enough to listen to them regularly, consider donating. I don't think there are enough programs out there that enrich our life - entertainment should really be a means, not an end, and they keep that in mind here.

Rock Your Soul

My friend, Korie, sent this video to me last week, and I watched it again this morning and it's just amazing.. so I'm sharing it here.

Misty Morning Playlist

1. Bat for Lashes -- Moon and Moon

2. Death Cab for Cutie -- Soul Meets Body

3. GrizzlyBear -- Service Bell

4. Jack Johnson -- Banana Pancakes

5. Jenny Lewis -- Pretty Bird

6. Jose Gonzalez -- Teardrop

7. Teitur -- I Was Just Thinking

8. The Shins -- New Slang

9. Anna Nalick -- Wreck of the Day

10. Vampire Weekend -- Mansard Roof

11. Grizzly Bear -- Deep Blue Sea

12. Corin Joel -- I Kissed a Girl

13. Yael Naim -- Far far

14. Iron & Wine -- Stolen Houses

15. The All New Adventures of Us -- St. Crispin's Got Our Backs

16. Annal Nalick -- Consider This

17. Grizzly Bear -- Owner of a Lonely Heart

18. Bodies of Water -- Dear Boy

19. Regina Spektor -- Samson

20. Neko Case -- Middle Cyclone

21. Bon Iver -- Skinny Love

22. Rogue Wave -- Electro-Socket Blues

23. Aimee Mann -- Par for the Course

24. James Blunt -- Shine On

25. Kimya Dawson -- So Nice So Smart

Exit the Rock

So today I'm home sick, and from the boredom that inevitably follows if I'm not knocked out cold from whatever's ailing me and keeping me from being active elsewhere, I've been driven to the web. I did the facebook thing, and then I did the email thing, and someone sent me an email that really got me thinking. And the more I thought, the more ashamed I felt. I'll explain.

I don't know about you, but I hate the news.

Every time I turn it on, I see tragedy - people all over are in pain, whether it's from economic hardship, the loss of their loved ones through violence, murder or natural causes, or any number of the things that cause humans to suffer. I have a soft heart, and when I watch these things it hurts my heart, and I don't like to have my heart hurt, so I turn it off.

And I turn away.

Is this the right thing to do? I think we get so wrapped up in the right thing to do for ourselves that we forget to do the right thing for other people. And we get deadened to their suffering, and numb to existence of pain in anyone in ourselves. I can tell you all day about the pain in my life, and the hardships I suffer, but am I going to mention or consider the suffering of people who are less able to address their problems than I am? Am I going to offer the charities that reach out to these people more than a passing, wistful thought that I wish I had time to really help them?

And have you looked at our country, lately, or really considered the direction it's taking? I can honestly say I have avoided paying much attention to politics or the government for the past few years, or my responsibility as a citizen to be informed. Briefly my interest in a presidential candidate, Ron Paul, made me look into affairs, in a cursory fashion, but I didn't really take anything in. I always think - I don't have time for that. I don't have the capacity to really soak in and understand what's going on, there, so I better just leave it to other people. And unfortunately, I think that's probably the attitude many have. Not that some people don't actually have better or worthier things to do with their time, we do all have our own talents - but surely a certain amount of interaction that should take place?

I'm not an overnight convert, I'm not saying that I am suddenly this expert on current events, our nation's future, or politics at all. But I do think that these matters deserve more of my attention than I've previously offered. And I hope to report on what I find within the next few weeks.

Today's wake-up playlist

Kate Nash - Mouthwash
Lykke Li - Little Bit
Taylor Swift - Love Story
Bat for Lashes - Pearl's Dream
Lady Gaga - Pokerface (Piano and voice)
Kate Nash - We Get On
Lily Allen - Back to the Start
Kleerup feat. Lykke Li - Until We Blood
Feist & Ben Gibbard - The Train Song
Bat for Lashes - Daniel
Kate Nash - Foundations
Lykke Li - Complaint Department

Texting While Driving -- Graphic, not for young children

This is a public service announcement in Wales. I'll be honest - usually stuff that floats around on the internet so that you have to notice it repeatedly if you spend anytime at all online annoys the crap out of me, but this video is worth reposting if it saves just one person the grief of an accident. Texting while driving might seem harmless or might seem like something you can handle, but is it worth the gamble?

NOTE: I embedded the wrong video above, this is the actual link:

Mmm, flowers.

I also thought about buying these, last night... but decided I'd already indulged too much for one "little" shopping trip. Instead, I'll share them with you.

Can you tell what time of the month it is?

Last night, I went to Wal-mart intending only to buy cat shampoo and cat litter... and maybe cat-momma shampoo, if cat-momma spent wisely for the rest of the week - cat-momma needs color protection for her gorgeous red hair color, after all. However, every aisle along the way to the pet was full of deviously devised traps - body wash, lotion, pedi-scrubs... and this is what I ended up with. I'll admit to seeking out the Skinny Cow mint chocolate ice cream sandwiches and Mayan Chocolate instant coffee on my own steam, though - really, no one would believe those things were (in)conveniently placed near the pet section.

Allow me to be completely honest:

I'm not very good at keeping up with these things, and I can't make any promises about posting regularly, just yet. I work too many jobs, drink too much coffee, and play just enough to keep going, these days. But I hope that what I do manage to share happens to be relevant and possibly entertaining.

Oh, there are daydreams of daily posts, of drawing enough of an audience that I can quit my day job and devote myself solely to the composition of extraordinarily interesting posts... But for now, I will simply submit my thoughts and stories for your casual consideration, and hope you enjoy them and maybe find a little something you can relate to within them.

Like my life, please consider this blog as being "under construction". For now, I've chosen a name and a bit of a theme, and soon I will design a layout - after all, it should be fun! So come back and let me know what you think about the changes you see.

Today's Coffee count (so far!): 1 venti quad iced caramel macchiato