Easter Dinner, John Denver, Barbershop 'SexyBack'

Blue jay breakfast outside my grandparents' dining room.

That title feels slightly sacrilegious, but I'm going to blame that on trip fatigue and press on. Though I just got back from a short trip to help my grandpa celebrate his 92nd birthday, I wanted to get this out before Easter so you all know you're invited to my place for Easter dinner Sunday, in case you don't already have plans. (Well, those in the Bay Area are invited.) I'll provide ham, mashed potatoes, rolls and water. Salad, sides and other beverages I'm leaving to guests. ;) Bonus: While you're there, you can flip through my new copy of Beck's Songreader, which rewards the reader at every turn. (Stay tuned for details on a Songreader sight-reading party, which we hope to organize in May.)

Please come! I can't eat an 8 lb. ham all by myself. Some reading while you ponder that...

• Is There a Christian Formula for Online Dating? (Her.meneutics)
• Rape Culture: How Our Scorn for Self-Control Drowns Out ‘No’ (Sojourners blog)
• Sexuality from a Single Perspective (Christ Church blog; text of some remarks I shared during the service a few weeks ago)

:: events ::

• March 31 - Easter dinner at my house! 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. RSVP by Saturday.
• April 4 - David Wilcox, one of my favorite songwriters, plays Freight and Salvage again
  
• May 9 - Cloud Cult @ the Independent (Minnesota-based band whose latest album Love got "First Listen" treatment on NPR)
• June 22 - She & Him @ the Greek
• July 21 - David Byrne and St. Vincent @ the Fox

:: just awesome ::

• I wasn't sure how to categorize this, but the fabric company Spoonflower provides the graphically inclined with some truly amazing possibilities. For example, D.I.Y. magazine napkins made from fabric printed with scans of old correspondence. A pattern designer whose book release I attended created a fabric with her book cover and the publisher's logo. She then used it to make small tote bags that were given away to attendees as party favors. You can also just buy fabric printed with existing designs on the site, such as the 800+ options tagged "steampunk," the 80+ "roller derby" designs or the 200+ "zombie" themed prints.

:: film ::

• I'm not super knowledgeable about directors, but I do really like Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (the Kenneth Branagh-Emma Thompson film is one of the maybe six movies I own). Thus, I was intrigued to hear that Joss Whedon directed a new version, due for release this year, for which he also wrote the screenplay. The trailer looks pretty good (H/T: Jeff Overstreet, aka, @overstweet, the best Twitter handle I've seen).

:: visual art ::

• Mako Fujimura probably gets more press from publications like Image than Paste, so I was tickled to see the latter interview him and Bruce Herman about their T.S. Eliot-inspired collaboration Qu4rtets, which I just learned will be exhibited at this summer's CIVA conference in Chicago, June 13-16.
• Graffiti as calligraphy? Curator magazine reports on a book tracing the script's history.

:: tunes ::

• A musician's blessing: When Jeff Overstreet emailed Over the Rhine on the eve of a new recording, they decided a wider audience should see it. Really lovely.
• John Denver takes a First Listen turn this week, by way of a new tribute album featuring everyone from Train to Brandi Carlile and Lucinda Williams.
• Musicians uses Times Square billboard to debate piracy (NYT).
• I missed this story when it first ran last fall, but Books and Culture editor John Wilson happened to mention listening to the El Gusto CD. Reading the Amazon reviews, I learned that the Times had written of the group's improbable reunion. A really lovely story about Algeria's "chaabi" musicians.
  
• A doctor I sometimes work with sent me this story from the Wall Street Journal, which traces the rise of NPR's "First Listen" program: "The  Improbable Rise of NPR Music."
  
• I shared a few of Jimmy Fallon's musical performances before, but I think this barbershop quartet rendition of "SexyBack" -- with Justin Timberlake -- is one of my favorites.
• I still don't understand the Harlem Shake, and maybe that's partly because multiple dances have shared the name. This timeline traces the evolution of those dances.
  

:: your stuff ::

• Laura's back from her writing "dream" trip to New York (the prize she won in a Poets & Writers contest). They've posted her write-up on their site: Crash course in writerly wisdom.

:: reading/food for thought ::

• Charlie Peacock's Art House Blog published a wonderful piece on loneliness and love last week that draws on Christian Wiman, an album about an astronaut, Paul Tillich and many more. One of the best essays I've read in a while.
• My literary agent also has a blog, which recently featured this thought-provoking post on writerly envy -- although I daresay it applies to other types of artists, too.
  

:: food ::

• I've never prepared a seder in conjunction with Lenten/Easter celebrations, but this Indian chicken recipe (prepared by one cook in a small Jewish community in the city of Cochin) sounds really good. The accompanying story is a fascinating read in its own right.
  
• Blair tipped me off to this story: Church groups are increasingly tapping the homebrew scene toward various ends: evangelism and fundraising, but also to rediscover church roots, enjoy their God-given creativity and more. What would Jesus brew?