Johnny Cash stamp, prison portraits, new Ritter, Bird @ Calvin

I don't know about all of you, but it's been a bit of a wild week -- though I halfway expected that after Monday began with a large runaway dog's appearance in our front yard. Pray for the Johns Day promotion kept me pretty busy until last night, when I decided I could kick back a little. Since the 30 Rock finale was on, I made the rare decision to watch TV ... for all of two hours.

The best thing I did last night was make this soup
(recipe below). Watching TV? Not so much.

By the time I was heading to bed, however, I found myself wishing I'd done something more restful and rejuvenating. Of course, sometimes my endless list of people to knit for turns into a chore, but by and large, I find more sabbath in planning craft projects, cooking or reading something that doesn't require a power plug. Maybe that's because I didn't grow up with much TV.

How might you truly rest a bit this weekend? What would that look like?

New articles:

• From Going Big to Giving Up: Preparing for Lent at, yes, your Super Bowl Party (Her.meneutics)
• Sex Trafficking at the Super Bowl (First Things blog)

In the next few weeks, I get to read and review a few different books on dating in the digital age. What reads have you enjoyed lately? I just finished John Dunning's Two O'Clock Eastern Wartime, which painted an entertaining portrait of radio in its WWII-era glory. I'm happy to loan it out, if any of you want to borrow my copy.

:: events ::

• Festival of Faith and Music: I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but forget to include a link. Whoops! In any case, Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., hosts the event April 11-13. Andrew Bird is one of the headliners, which just might persuade me to go. You can go as more than an attendee, too: through March 1, the festival's accepting paper proposals. 
• Glen Workshop: If you're interested in attending one of Image journal's annual summer workshops, you'll want to start making plans soon. Classes fill up quickly -- especially those with popular instructors -- and often require you to submit a work sample in advance.
• Glen West, July 28-Aug. 4 in Santa Fe. Highlights: Larry Woiwode on fiction, Wayne Forte on painting, Scott Derrickson on film, Ashley Cleveland on songwriting and more. Cost: Starts at $825, but scholarships are available, as is a commuter option.
• Glen East, June 9-16 in South Hadley, Mass. Highlights: Lauren Winner on sermon writing, Over the Rhine on songwriting, Michael Wilson on photography, Barry Moser on life drawing and more. Cost: Starts at $925, but scholarships are available, as is a commuter option.
  

:: tunes ::

• New Josh Ritter: Paste has the new single "In Your Arms Again," off his forthcoming album The Beast in Its Tracks (due out in March).
  
• I haven't read this story of a subway busker yet, but I sometimes wonder who they are and what else they do with their music. I've heard some remarkable music outside my home BART station -- a tall guys with dreds and a voice for opera that nearly reduced me to tears and, more recently, a talented young violinist I keep meaning to talk to.
• Andrew Bird performs songs from his latest EP, Hands of Glory, live at Sunrise.
  
• The youngest and last living Andrews sister has died. Even if their names don't mean anything to you, odds are decent you'd recognize one or two of the trio's hits (mostly recorded during 1940s). One of the covers on rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson's recent Jack White-produced album was first popularized by the Andrews sisters. The Times reports that Bette Midler also covered one of their big hits, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," in the 70s. Their sound may seem a bit dated now, but I sure do love me a good, tight trio like that. Sometimes I think I'd join a community vocal group if I could sings songs like that...
  

:: visual art ::

• If you click through on just one thing in this email, it should probably be this article on a prison photography project. Really incredible. The interview with the photographer whose new book looks at prison landscapes as the photos from the project. Seriously, this is one of the art stories I'll probably be talking about for a few weeks.
• On a lighter note, the French photographer Sacha Goldberger has created a substantial body of whimsical work featuring his 90-something grandmother, "Mamika." This New York Times interview gives a brief introduction to the work and their relationship or you can dust off that high school French and explore his website. Bonus: instead of arrows, you'll click on large underpants to navigate between pictures. I'm not kidding.
  
• Here's a reason to think about writing a letter next time you're tempted to type a note: Paste reports (via TODAY) that the Post Office will issue a Johnny Cash "Forever" stamp later this year. I may have to stockpile those.
• In related epistolary news, some schools are eliminating cursive instruction. I am an inveterate letter-writer, so you can imagine how I feel about that. Admittedly I don't precisely write in cursive, but I still struggle with the idea that we've passed its usefulness. Interestingly, though, this article raises the question of whether we'll even need to sign our names in the future, given the rise in electronic signatures.
• If you fly through SFO much, you've probably noticed some of the exhibits from their museum. I've actually really enjoyed some of the shows, such as one on sewing and another with art that repurposed other materials (e.g., bottle caps and tires). Well, apparently the museum boasts an unusually valuable collection.

:: your stuff ::

• Last fall, Steve got to do a photo shoot for Southern Oregon University. He recently posted some photos to his blog -- nice work, even if you have no particular interest in the school.

:: reading/food for thought ::

• You could argue that this piece on a book's re-release is a little self-serving -- it focuses on the work of an erstwhile NYT editor -- but the author raises interesting questions about republication of books. In particular: what do you do when a book's claims have subsequently been discredited or significantly reframed due to subsequent research? Must you somehow bracket the new edition?
  

:: food ::

• You can now get your food-truck fix every Friday night in Oakland: Off the Grid comes to the Oakland Museum of California from 5-9 weekly. And you can get half-price Museum admission if you're not already a member. 
• I printed this Caldo Verde recipe out a while ago, but finally made it last night -- with very tasty results. It's relatively economical, too. The main expense is the chorizo (you need 10 oz.) and kale; the other major ingredients are onion, garlic, potatoes and chicken stock. Makes a little over 2 qts.