1. Heather Graham in Twin Peaks.  Towards the end of this mysterious little show, it becomes a sort of window into the wishes and desires of David Lynch.  One episode finds Lynch and Agent Cooper sitting with Heather Graham and Mädchen Amick, in a diner, while soft fifties music plays in the background.  As they smile and laugh, and you just get the feeling this is all he ever wanted.  In later years, Graham looks sort of harsh and linear, all angles and elbows, but in these early episodes, she’s soft and glowing.

2. News of a Blur reunion. Alex James confirms that there will be a Blur reunion, and Alex has been one of the nicest things about the past few years, his excellent writing is always a bright spot in my week.  Sometimes I save them up and read four at a time. He prattles on about making cheese, and living in the English countryside, and his family and name drops now and then, it’s a good read.

I think the funniest part is the comments on his posts, as always.  Some people are filled with an unbridled rage, and I can almost see them pursing lips and squinting eyes at the poncy Englishman as they write their cutting remarks.  They used to have his email address listed, but he must have been getting too many hate filled diatribes.

stu14789 -Dec 30, 2008
whose he trying to be.. noel gallagher?I dont see the hype about blur. The libertines were a better band than blur will ever be.

batesy89 - Dec 31, 2008
the libertines were a better band than blur band oasis put together

You get the picture, it goes on and on like that forever.

Andrew said that I looked like Zelda Fitzgerald, and I think it is sort of apt, at least in tone.  Cate got me a lace parasol for Christmas and I shall twirl it merrily come springtime, wearing a poofy white lace dress.  The other day, I literally thought to myself,  “Well, I am going to need kid gloves sooner or later.”  And no, that is always a later, and never a sooner.  I need to either get serious about my latent desires to dress as if I were an extra in a period piece about French regency excess, or I need to give up and start just wearing jeans and Gap T-Shirts.  Oh yes, I am such a student of Platonic moderation. People will say things sometimes like “I wish I had an occasion to dress fancy.” and I find myself wondering if  Every Day is occasion enough, though lately I’ve not dressed accordingly.

The Almanac radio archives are all up and running! I can’t podcast them through iTunes for various legal reasons, but there they are, ripe for listening.

I wrote that part before Christmas, and here it is the last day of the year.  I’ll spare you many of the details, but really, this has been a difficult one, and I am looking forward to changes.

1. the dang macarons didn’t work, flat lifeless little discs taunting me with their colourless palette. Yeah they taste good but they look stupid, and if there’s one thing I won’t abide it is being taunted by a stupid looking cookie of my own culinary creation. I got lazy with the exact measurements, and I won’t do that again. Especially not after spending three hours chopping the almonds finely because we don’t own a food processor.

2. Beryl, you are bittersweet to me. This book has been on my night-table for a week, and it is (a) literally too cold at night to have my hands outside the comforter, and (b) not bright enough so I can’t read it but I always give it a knowing glance right before I fall asleep.

3. A friend came over to drop off a Christmas present, and said a neighbour had named her new dog Beyonce. So every morning and night, this neighbour calls out “Beyonce! Beyonce!”.

4. Cate and I spend at least three hours a week at work listening to Jordan, Jesse, Go! while doing inputting. This is the best podcast I’ve ever heard, you should listen to it while waiting for the new Almanac.

5. Almanac still doesn’t work so don’t bother trying to listen to it yet.

6. I went to the Apple Pan on Tuesday, and was carried away. I’d never been there before but now I want to go again, every day. Huge burgers, a really sweet set-up with a single counter diner area, and delicious Banana Cream Pie. Okay, Los Angeles, we can be friends again.

1. In case you hadn’t noticed yet, I am switching around my blog completely.  I’ve redesigned over the weekend, and am hoping to make some pretty serious changes to the way that I’ve been doing podcasting.  I never know whether one person or a thousand are listening to the show, and I want to get an idea of how many people listen.  The radio archives are going to be down for a day or two, I will post again when they are back up and running. It’ll be so much better, though.

2. There is no new Almanac radio show this week, we got pre-empted by a baseball broadcast.  I’ll try and whip up a shortened version, but there’s macarons to bake, and tea to drink as it rains outside, so maybe not.

Almanac Asides: the step sister to Almanac, but every bit as pretty!

Cate and I discuss Things we Do and Do Not like about Christmas, as well as our Ideal Christmas Wish Lists.

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An all woman show comprised of female musicians, and an explanation of what the show itself IS, and I discuss recent events in my life.

Now with super campy intro! A crackling fire, a faux surprise greeting.

White As Diamonds  -   Alela Diane
Good Woman [live @ KCRW]  - Cat Power
You Are What You Love  -   Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
Feelin’ the Same Way  -  Norah Jones
I Feel It All -  Feist
One’s On the Way - Loretta Lynn
I Found a Reason  -  Cat Power
Where Do You Run To -   Vivian Girls
Thanksgiving -   Deb Talan
That Teenage Feeling  -  Neko Case
She Moves in Secret Ways  - Polly Paulusma
Goodbye California -   Jolie Holland
Brother  -  The Organ

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This is the latest Almanac, focusing on African sounds, and here’s a bit of something to get you in the mood:

There’s something hanging low in the sky tonight, you might see it, there.  The sky stretches out, since you are on a bit of a rise, with nothing at your back, the farthest reaches of a valley.  Dark mountains lie from one side of your lengthening vision to the other, with the pink edges drifting, streaking from the right to the left.  Above you is deep blue, littered with stars.  Expansive, and relatively empty with the exception of the far-off city which glitters with a hot mess of homes and lights and noise.  Lingering dust of the day stands in your throat as you look again, but can’t quite make out that thing in the sky, moving away slowly.

The album played is Love is Love, a Mississippi records release.

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I’m in Target on Thursday, perusing the design options afforded me by the toothbrush aisle, and there is another woman there, fingering the Colgate brushes, completely unaware that I am nearby.

Woman: Well, I just think you should hear his side of things… Right.

I am still looking for the idealized red toothbrush I have dreamed up in my mind.

Woman: You just need to be sure before you poison him. Mhmm.  You wouldn’t want to, and then make a mistake.

I sort of look up, and this woman is engrossed in the toothbrushes, and not playing it up for me or any sort of thing. She still believes herself to be alone, having this gruesome conversation.

Woman: All right, well, let me know how it goes. Love you.

I leave the aisle quickly, and look back as I’m going around the corner.  The murder accomplice has selected a trusty green number to brush her bloodthirsty pearly-whites with.

I would like a slice of white cake with white chocolate icing from Susina, please!

This is the second mini-Almanac, and it’s pretty good.  Just imagine that I wrote it for you, listening wherever you are, on zuma beach, or perhaps on a train to Spain.  Maybe you live in Iceland, and you don’t know me yet, but we will be friends in February, when I reach your island small.  So grab your baby by the heel, and then just do whatever you feel.

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