Symphony sale, a Banksy fake (?) + googlestalking

I wanted to get this out before the symphony sale ends, so accept my apologies for any typos in the following. Just one new piece since last time: a look at intimacy in the age of googlestalking, which became much more timely after I pitched it.

And in a follow-up to my #workhaiku piece for Books and Culture, Amy L. Peterson has a nice meditation on everyday art and community.

Lastly, I'm still madly at work on Pray for the Johns Day promotion, so any and all help spreading the word would be greatly appreciated. The Facebook link I shared last time now works, but I've also created a during-game prayer guide you could share with friends (especially people hosting Super Bowl parties!). Yes, I know that probably sounds like the most culturally obtuse suggestion possible ... but read up on it a bit and see what you think. Could you take even one bathroom or commercial break per quarter to pray?

:: tunes ::

• Symphony sale: Thru 6 p.m. tonight, you can get tickets to the San Francisco Symphony's spring season for as little as $20.
• The Atheist Hymnal - journalist Tony Carnes highlights a funny musical skit with Steve Martin.
• I wish you could have heard the radio interview that introduced me to this guy, but he's a Martha's Vineyard-based drummer who does some really cool therapy with people who have Parkinsons.
• One of my favorite radio stations, though I've never actually heard it via the dial, has lost its signal. MVY is currently fundraising to transition to a solely internet-based stream. I've been enjoying their nightly Blues at 8 show (on at 5 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday), but they also play a lot of other music you're unlikely to hear on most other stations. Find them in iTunes under "eclectic" radio stations or stream from MYVradio.com.
• On the lighter side, I kind of liked this piece on the inauguration lip-synch kerfuffle, which gave one professional musician cover to nerd out on the sound technicalities of live performance.

:: visual art ::

• A Sandy update: more on hurricane recovery for NY's artists.
• How did Americans look at their land during and immediately after the Civil War? The NYT reviews an art show at the Smithsonian exploring that question. Worth checking out if only for the slideshow. The museum's website feature many more images from the show, as well as more background on the exhibition.
• HuffPo reports a new street sketch in LA commenting on Lance Armstrong is not the work of graffiti artist Banksy. But the person is a pretty good faker, if that's the case.
• Brett McCracken ponders filmmaker responsibility in this post on Zero Dark Thirty and Django Unchained, in which he wonders: Is depiction endorsement?

:: your stuff ::

• Laura guest posts on the Writerland blog, with a meditation on the struggle to create: Are you listening to all the wrong voices?

:: reading/food for thought ::

• Image editor Gregory Wolfe responds to a recent article claiming fiction has lost its faith, in this piece for the Wall St. Journal.
• I don't know this writer, his "10 Lies Artists Tells Themselves" was shared by the International Arts Movement Twitter account, which has yet to disappoint me in its recommendations.
• I'm always fascinated by things attain the popularity they do, so this analysis of current TV hits' narrative appeal was intriguing. Also, I finally started watching Downton season one, which this discusses.
• This piece on our habitual avoidance of death is worth meditating on for various reasons, but I was especially struck by his summary of how we tend to envision life's trajectory. I've wrestled with that a lot -- the sense that singleness might deprive one of life's key drama and events, but also that the "settling down" marriage often entails commences a downward slide from the narrative peak of one's life. I don't actually think that's true -- my parents' lives providing a strong counter to such a notion -- but this author's comment suggests that notion is deeply ingrained in our culture.

:: food ::

• I had a really fantastic meal and drinks at a place in downtown Tucson last weekend, so if you ever get out there, check out 47 Scott. They no longer serve the "Smoke Signal" that first caught my attention, but the bartender's off-the-cuff attempt to reproduce it was might tasty. The moral of this story: if you're patronizing a bar with a decent bartender, you might get a very tasty result when you ask for an off-the-menu drink.
• Hankering for a homemade meal, but don't time to cook? A friend of Nate, Laura and Steve's has a small meal business called Shira's Kitchen, which offers affordable, tasty dinner options. Check out her Facebook page to see this week's menu.