This Year's Autumn Oakland Cemetery Photos

Here are my favorite pictures from this lovely Sunday at Oakland Cemetery:









And I would be remiss if I didn't mention a very special part of this past Sunday: Rodger "introduced" us to his grandfather Nathan Marks.

Autumn Mourning

This is the painting I bought this afternoon at Oakland Cemetery's Sunday in the Park. It's called Autumn Mourning and was painted by a lovely woman named Angie Wehunt. It is mixed media: oil pastels, tissue paper, acrylic and even tiny gold flakes that look like tear drops from her right eye. All of her work is vibrant and made me smile, but this one was by far the darkest of Angie's paintings, so naturally it was the one I was drawn to.

I hung it in my bedroom -it looks perfect on my Atlanta-sky-blue walls. I've already twice walked by it and automatically pressed my palm to her face. I actually had to resist the urge to kiss her on her tiny heart shaped lips. I couldn't be more happy that I have this beautiful piece that reflects the loss but also hope that I feel during my autumn, mourning.

Reasons to be Happy Today

1. The Dream Blog that so many lovlies have made a part of their lives - both while awake and asleep. This has become GREAT fun!

2. Chris' Mindlab Blog - for its fashion-advice and its beautiful pictures like this one:



3. That I'm meeting lovely Tiffani for sushi shortly and then heading over to Oakland Cemetery for the Sunday in the Park Victorian festival. There will be bands, food, walking tours, story tellers, an artists' market, even antique cars. One of my favorite things about this day is that they open up some of the mausoleums and you can check out the stained glass engravings close-up. Here are my pictures from last year.

Young@Heart

I just watched this lovely movie Young@Heart. It is a deeply touching documentary about a senior citizen's chorus that performs rock, punk, soul -all sorts of songs. I couldn't believe some of the selections: I Wanna Be Sedated by the Ramones, the Talking Heads' Road to Nowhere and wildly enough, Schizophrenia by Sonic Youth.

It was a brilliant commentary on life, age, and death. A sprightly 92 year-old woman talks about how important it is to keep your brain engaged; an 85 year old man with major spine problems says that when he sings he forgets completely about the pains in his body.

One of the scenes that took my breath away was a performance they did for the men at the local jail the same day that one of their chorus members passed away. Framed by razor wire, they sing Bob Dylan's Forever Young and dedicate it to their lost friend. For the final verse they stretch their arms like they're flying and the camera pans around to the men watching them intently, sadly. On the final note the men all leap to their feet clapping and whistling. One of the younger men says to a member of the chorus "that was the best performance I have ever seen," and a corrections officer hugs one of the women tight saying "you've touched my heart forever." That was only one of the times I wept at the beauty of this film.

Here's a clip from the final performance. It was supposed to be a duet but the other man passed away- its his family you see crying in the audience. It's the beautiful song Fix You by Coldplay. Earlier in the film you see this man practicing it while watching the actual video on his computer at home- which is why his wife in the audience knows the words. The metronome of his oxygen tank is hypnotizing.

Singin' a bad note; lookin' for a scapegoat- The Raconteurs in Atlanta

(Picture from New York Magazine)

The Raconteurs rocked my socks off this Wednesday at the Tabernacle. I wish I had pictures and video like I usually do but documenting the show was impossible because of a considerable douchebag problem- I had to focus on my own survival, see.

I kinda can't say enough about Jack White. My friend William had told me prior to the show that he's like Jimmy Page, raw, dirty guitar, gigantic on stage. Even though he was "suffering from a vocal chord eating disease" - ha! - he wailed. I mean WAILED. Brendan Benson sang a lot of his parts, but then Jack, almost as if he couldn't resist it, would come in at the high point and screech his song, sending lightning bolts down my spine. I'm getting chills as I type about it.

Opening with their title track Consoler of the Lonely they made it abundantly clear that they were giving everything to Atlanta, their final stop of their tour. Other highlights included Many Shades of Black and Rich Kid Blues. The encore was pretty amazing too with Allison Mosshart of the Kills singing lead on Steady as She Goes, and then the final song was a grungy delivery of Carolina Drama complete with audience singalong.

It was such a joy to see such talented, tight musicians rockin out as one giant rock star on a stage framed by impossibly large pipe organ. There were times when the band would take these long, anxious but comforting pauses and the stage lights would fade in a way that it felt like looking through a black and white lens. And then they would come in loud, crashing with eerie harmonies. They are truly incredible performers.

I was super happy and excited to also see the warm up band, The Kills. It's a two piece band that feels like a 10 piece band because the two of them have such strong presence. I was bummed to hear about their tour bus and all their shit disappearing. But I was so glad when they pulled out Cheap and Cheerful as their final song. I just love that line: "I want you to be crazy cuz you're boring baby when you're sane."

I saw a lot of folks taking pictures there - if one of y'all happen to stumble by this blog I'd love to see some! My one regret of this show is that I should have arrived early enough to get a seat in the balcony so I could have actually danced.

It's official; I am cursed

I am cursed with a douchebag magnet that activates at rock n roll shows. Sure, there are always douchebags dispersed around the crowd but I always manage to position myself right behind King Douchebag himself.

I mean, I'm glad when people get into music and are enjoying themselves, but do you really need to elbow me in the face as you pulse your fist in the air repeatedly, jump up and down on my toes, and spill your Coors Lite all over my arm to have a good time? I know you drove 4 hours from Johnson City, TN to be here, but does that really give you license to act like a total boner? And your homoerotic relationship with your buddies -- on whose shoulders you brace yourself as you jump up and down even higher, that is, in the few moments that you're not fist bumping-- could be an amusing distraction if I weren't already irritated.

If anyone has any ideas on how I can break this terrible curse let me know because I'm going on at least 6-7 shows in a row with this plague!! I don't know what I did to derserve this, but I am ready to repent for my sins if that will help. I'm even open to smudging and /or aura cleansings with crystals. Yes, that's how bad this is.

Another Night at the Variety with Jenny Lewis

Though the stock market is tanking and wall street looks more like a roller coaster, you can rest assured that you'll always get your money's worth with Ms. Jenny Lewis. Tonight was the third time I've seen her light up the Variety Playhouse and once again she was soulful, playful and slung words like vodka tonics on well-drink night.

Like the great woman June Carter Cash who came before her, Jenny's presence and voice are simultaneously peach pie sweet and deserted-cabin-in-the-woods eerie. Surrounded by her five-piece band that didn't hold back an ounce, she commanded attention. I was happy to see her sense of humor more evident this time, making fun of herself and melodramatizing some of her more silly lines.

This time around Jenny is promoting her week-old album Acid Tongue, which boasts some real gems; my favorites are the opener Black Sand and the Loretta Lynn-inspired title track Acid Tongue. A high point of tonight's show was the epic song Last Messiah -- the album version of this song does it no justice-- with its dirty guitar, different personalities and lyrics that threaten arrest. In addition to a catalogue of the new songs, we were treated to bluesy versions of some of her oldies but goodies like You Are What You Love, the Charging Sky and Rise Up with Fists.

The only down point was the first encore, my least favorite song of the album Sing a Song for Them. It's cheese - mild cheddar at that - and for final songs my taste is more like smokin' gouda. You can count on Jenny to redeem herself though and that she did with a fiery See Fernando, a cowgirl-meets-dealer tongue twister of an anthem.

Jenny Lewis' country-gospel heart and lyrical tartness is totally worth investing in.