Monday Mixtape

i made you a mix tape of all my favorites from this week!

Books:  
I was out of town all last week and what I really mean to say is that I'm still backlogged on several book reviews.


I did find time on the plane to start reading the IAM Readers Guild May selection, 'Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis.  If you're local and would like to join us this month, get the book (click on the link to purchase or stop by the library for a copy) and get in on the great discussion!


Tuesday, May 25, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Erin McMahon's house, 3619 Watson Blvd., Endwell
RSVP to me: tmurphy@unioncenter.org
Bring your book and a snack or beverage to share!










Links:

• Neoteny: Shock the Pink Lady:  a lovely little post listing age-old traditions that savor the simple things.  It's one of those posts that made me sigh and remember my grandmothers.

• Laurelin's Garden (thoughts about gardening, art and life): Speaking of flowers, I'm excited to welcome another dear friend, another enjoyer-and-creator-of-lovely- things to the blogosphere!  I'm still sad that Laurel and her family moved away a year ago, but glad that it's given us motivation to stay connected with our writing. You can also view Laurel's artwork at her Etsy store, Ellemar Designs.

• Good Letters: The Image Blog, What Am I Supposed to Do About it Now? by Joel Hartse: Maybe you've heard the recent news about well-loved Christian singer/songwriter Jennifer Knapp's coming out of the closet.  Maybe you haven't.  Either way, I highly recommend reading this author's perspective on the subject.

Music:

• The Curator Magazine, It Sounds Weird by Daniel Silliman: I realize this is a link to a blog post and not a new piece of music, but it's such a fun post about music and sound and weird, folky Americana-type artists that I'm putting it under this category instead.  My sons and I have been listening to Tom Waits, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Buddy & Julie Miller, Ellis Paul and April Smith ever since.  Here's a little playlist for you... (I included Wait for Tom just for you, Sarah!)

Photography:
Again with the discovering great stuff in a blog post, I discovered this photographer's work at Culture-Making.com.

Matt Stuart Photography

I loved every single photograph in his online galleries!  Perhaps, it is because I'm a fairly observant person that I "get" his way of looking at the world, but I totally covet his ability to capture the juxtaposition of ironies around him so beautifully.  Occasionally, I try to do the same thing with words, but each of his photographs equals at least a thousand of those measly letters strung together.  I dare you to look at the world around you the way this guy does!


And, P.S.(just for chuckles):
Sorry, I couldn't resist a little bit of innocent picking on cool churches.

Here's to a lovely, playful, kind-hearted kind of week!