...kid.

This shot is my last for the 'Glam' Self Portrait Challenge for November.
And December's 'Red' theme will be a breeze around this joint - can't wait.

Artist of the Week
My Brightest Diamond

Album of the Week
Bring Me the Workhorse

Song, Video and Lyric of the Week
Golden Star


“I always felt so far from you
Like something wasn't right
But tonight
I rest my head inside the crook of your arm
And I feel like a golden star exploding

Tonight we rejoice
You are my golden star
Exploding

Though everything has come undone
The distance between us closes
And everything is suddenly exploding

Tonight we rejoice
You are my golden star
Exploding

Tonight we are full up
In spite we rejoice
Tonight we are full up
In spite we rejoice
Like stars exploding..exploding..exploding”

Music Story of the Week
This 'band' is the amazing Shara Worden.
I could blather on about the 'next big thing'-ness of it all.
The goosebumps and watery eyes she induces for me.
Or you could just watch the video clip (above).
And then buy the album (cheaply I might add).
And then just get goosebumps of your own.
Way better.

Hope you all had a happy and relatively peaceful turkey day as we did. It is so very good to be back.

Crows and Persimmons, taken Autumn 2006, by LeS

"The spirits of the air live on the smells
Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees."
Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat;
Then rose, girded himself, and o'er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.

- by William Blake

the pre-glam routine. may 2006.



The one theme yet so many different and fabulous interpretations.
I say vive la diférence ladies and gentlemen.

Artist of the Week
Rufus Wainwright

Album of the Week
Want Two

Song and Lyric of the Week
The Art Teacher
“There I was in uniform
Looking at the art teacher
I was just a girl then;
Never have I loved since then

He was not that much older than I was
He had taken our class to the Metropolitan Museum
He asked us what our favorite work of art was,
But never could I tell it was him
Oh, I wish I could tell him --
Oh, I wish I could have told him

I looked at the Ruben's and Rembrandt's
I liked the John Singer Sargent's
He told me he liked Turner
Never have I turned since then
No, never have I turned to any other man

All this having been said,
I married an executive company head
All this having been done, a Turner - I own one...

Here I am in this uniformish, pant-suit sort of thing,
Thinking of the art teacher
I was just a girl then;
Never have I loved since then
No, never have I loved any other man”

Music Story of the Week
I have adored Rufus for such a long, long time. Ever since his first album. I am a devotee of his intricate lyrics, his lush orchestral stylings and his beautiful mesmerizing drone of a voice. I fell for this song on my way to Mexico for a Christmas alone. I remember the precise moment when this song altered me just enough that, as I leaned my forehead against the glass and peered down at the endless dry rolling land mass, the tears streamed down my cheeks. I ached for the girl in the song. I ached for me. And then I became a deeply melancholy happy.

I normally choose an artist that has some new release or tour going, yet today I chose Rufus because Ky did too. She chose to include this song on her beautifully created and thought out mix cd for the storytellers swap that she spearheaded a while back. She knew nothing of how this song had altered me almost two years ago. She didn't know that I had included this very same song on the mix I made and sent to two other bloggers in the swap. No, but she reminded me that sometimes the Universe aligns just so and everything comes right back around again.

Thank you Ky. Not just for this beautifully mixed, created and thought out cd but for also sending me a lovely little reminder of the connection we all share.

another booth shot from the Musee Mecanique in San Francisco, October 2006.

Speaking of San Francisco, if you are anywhere near us this weekend head over to the Green Festival. My friend Molly will have a booth there along with a myriad of other organic, fair trade and sustainable businesses. PickleBoy and I will be there Saturday so say hi if you see us!

Let them eat coconut cake!

This photo of me is not from my birthday last week but from my lovely friend Mary's 40th birthday celebration several weeks ago. We headed up the Pacific Coast of California to Trinidad which is five hours north of San Francisco. We stayed at a huge rented house on the cliffs over the water and lived it up. It was a great time with great women. There were many laughs shared and photos taken. Here are a few of my favorites...

birthday girl on Moonstone Beach

the view from our hot tub

birthday sparklers

luckily we all had an alibi.

(more glam here.)

Oh! Yeah! Hula put up a meme today and it's a music one!
Thanks honey as I almost didn't get a post up today :)

check this out...

The "If your life were a soundtrack, what would the music be?" Meme

here's how it works:
1. open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod)
2. put it on shuffle
3. press play
4. for every question, type the song that's playing
5. new question-- press the next button
6. don't lie and try to pretend you're cool

_________________________

opening credits:
"On/Off" by Snow Patrol

waking up:
"De Ushuaia A La Quiaca" by Gustavo Santaolalla

first day at school:
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2

falling in love:
"Grace" by Jeff Buckley

breaking up:
"Shake The Disease" by Depeche Mode

prom:
"The Other Side of Summer" by Elvis Costello

life's okay:
"This Love Affair" by Rufus Wainwright

mental breakdown:
"Love This Life" by Crowded House (look up the lyrics to see HOW appropriate this one is)

driving:
"Where Would I Be?" by Cake

flashback:
"Don't Bring Me Down" by Sia

getting back together:
"Black Coffee" by Ella Fitzgerald

wedding:
"Common As The Rain" by David Wilcox

birth of child:
"They Call Me Big Mama" by Big Mama Thornton (um, exCUSE me?)

final battle:
"Northern Sky" by Nick Drake

death scene:
"MLK" by U2 (ok, now that is WEIRD)

funeral song:
"Christina" by Patty Griffin (again WEIRD - this song is about Christina Onassis)

end credits:
"Welcome To Paradise" by Green Day
_____________________________

Ok, that was so unbelievably fun (and odd) - now you do it!!

Here it is.
The last year of my thirties starts today and you know what? I am happy.
Not for the usual cake, presents, sparklers, 'it's all about me'-ness that you might think on such a day. No, it is more because I have very recently come to the realization that my life is the best that it ever has been. Again, not for the usual visible reasons/beacons that humans point to in life. Want to know the real reason?

I like me.

And I know that I will continue to like me better as the clock ticks on.
I always hoped that I would like myself one day but was secretly never sure it would happen.
And now that I have arrived.
I am happy.

The best present ever.



(visit more photobooth friday lovelies here
and have a very nice weekend. K?)

I write to you all today to ask of you a favor.

My dear friend Dennis lost his Dad on September 28th of this year. His father was a great man who made an incredible difference in this country. William J. Whalen III served as the Director of the National Park Service under the Carter Administration and effectively doubled the amount of park lands in our nation at that time. He went on to oversee the Golden Gate Recreation Area and, during his tenure, launched the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, which has raised more than $100 million for the GGNRA. He was only 66.

I received the following bulletin several days ago:

NOTICES

Director/Deputy Directors

Flags To Be Flown At Half Staff On Friday

On October 19th, Steve Martin, deputy director for operations, issued the following memorandum, entitled Lowering of Flags in Honor of Former NPS Director William J. Whalen:

To honor the passing of former director William J. Whalen, all offices, parks, and regions, with the exception of the National Mall, should lower flags to half staff on Friday, November 3rd.

A memorial service for William J. Whalen III will be held on November 4 at 1:30 p.m. at the Fort Mason Officers Club at Bay and Franklin Streets in San Francisco.

This is where I need you. If you are anywhere near any national government 'offices, parks, (or) regions' on this Friday, November 3rd (tomorrow) and you see the flag flying at half mast would you PLEASE be so kind as to take a photo? It need not be beautiful or perfect. Also, if you know anyone who you feel comfortable referring to this post, please spread the word. I am attempting to put a piece together as a keepsake for he and his family. The more pictures the better.

Please email questions or any/all pictures to me at - lesophie (at) comcast (dot) net - if you can.

Thank you so incredibly much.

I participated in my first cd swap last month and I could not be more pleased. Ky set up a 'storytellers' swap where the participants were to pick songs that had a story within. Right up my alley. As a preteen/teen/young adult I would spend hours in my room, lying on the floor, cassette player at the ready. I would play/pause/rewind/play my favorite songs over and over trying to discern just what the story was. I would painstakingly copy the lyrics into blank journals and notebooks. I still have some of them today.

Pictured above is the first of the two mix cds I am to receive in this swap. The lovely Allison made it. It is obvious that she put so much thought and effort into the whole thing. The handmade cover including old style photo corner squares and vintage/torn snippets of type is so great. Not to mention the hand decorated disc itself. Even more, I have to compliment her taste in music. I am a self admitted music snob. I like what I like. And then this mix appears with so many great nuggets that I have not heard yet! The tunes are right up my alley and 'pleasantly surprised' is a gross understatement.

And her photography skills and beautiful new baby are just as impressive.
Thank you Allison!!