Bittersweet Love

Lots went on the last week and a half.  Highlights are long overdue.
On Monday, July 29th- I took the day off from work and went to see Ben Howard in concert in Central Park. Super performance and I enjoyed every minute.  His music is just really laid back and groovy.  He had a few up-tempo songs that sounded amazing live. But mostly I was there to enjoy his steady grounded vibe. I opted not to stand in the pit so I could actually enjoy the music.  I'm uploading a video from YouTube (recorded by R. Ridder) singing Old Pines. Lovely.

On Saturday, I took my niece to see Wolverine.  I really must have been in the mood to see this movie because I loved the highly stylized martial arts in this film.  There were a couple of scenes that were so over the top that I couldn't help but roll my eyes...like the chase on the high speed train...but for the most part I enjoyed it as summer fare.

Today, I re-read Annie Proulx's short story Brokeback Mountain. As much as I love the movie, I love the actual short story even more. She captures tender moments so well that it physically makes me ache with longing. The language condensed but it speaks volumes. There is one paragraph in the story when Jack is thinking back over his time with Ennis.  Ennis wraps an arm around Jack...that moment makes my throat raw with unshed emotion. Even now as I think about it...my throat tightens up with the bittersweetness of the multi-layers of love in its purest form. This story is just so beautiful.

All for now....

Peace,

L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2013 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Writing vs. Laundry

11:30 am on Saturday and I am procrastinating on writing with laundry. Even writing this blog entry is about not working on my novel. Ergh! It's that thing that I need to work on but it feels like work so I'm avoiding.  This week I've been distracted with life, concerts, dating, poetry readings and now I'm trying to catch up with myself. Good thing, right?

The problem with catching up with myself is that all those feelings that I've been distracting myself from are now sitting in the forefront. They are just feelings and they will pass but breaking off with my last gf has left me feeling shitty. I just miss her company.  Bleck!!  :-P
Am I using this "feeling shitty" as an excuse not to write?  Damn Skippy!

I finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's Flight Behavior.  God! She's such an amazing writer and altho' I did not like her last title Lacuna...this book..this book...was magic.  These are her opening lines to Flight Behavior:

A certain feeling comes from throwing your good life away, and it is one part rapture. Or so it seemed for now, to a woman with flame-colored hair who marched uphill to meet her demise.  Innocence was no part of this.  She knew her own recklessness and marveled, really, at how one hard little flint of thrill could outweigh the pillowy, suffocating aftermath of a long disgrace.  

There are moments in this book that broke me open, dug into the middle of my chest and crushed the air out of my lungs.  The suffocating emotions she evoked were carved out of this stark small town landscape and the monarch butterflies were the catalyst to Dellarobia Turnbow's transformation.  Kingsolver has a way of crushing together hard science, the natural world and the human species into a tangible relationship. Beautifully written. I found myself choking back unexpected tears.

Okay, enough procrastinating.  Time to face my novel.
Peace,
L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2013 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Lines of Poetry and Live Music

Wednesday night.  I have lines of poetry circling around in my head.  They are zygotes of an idea, not yet ready to be put down on a page.  I'll have my notebook next to my pillow when the lines wake me up. *yawn*  I'm ready for bed but I wanted to write a few more lines.

Tuesday night was fantastic.  Loved seeing Tegan and Sara at Pier 26.  I belted out every song in full voice 'cause I could. And yes I hopped around for a little bit too.  Tegan wore a t-shirt with a Tempest emblem...remember that old Atari arcade game.  It made me crush on her a little bit more for it.  At one point, one of the audience members (male hipster) who was standing next to me, said "Holy f**k, you knew every song." I said, "Hell Yeah!  I came to see them." I left soon after...the fun. crowd was making things a little too tight for my taste.  God! I really wish I could get over this claustrophobia I get during concerts.  I was way up in the front because I was there to see T&S...but once folks started pushing forward to get a closer spot to see fun. I was done!! I scrambled my 5'2" frame outta there and found the nearest water station 'cause I was hot and faint.  Anyway, the one decent pic that I got of T&S I've uploaded here:

July 23, 2013 at Pier 26 in New York City

I'm also attaching WHERE DOES THE GOOD GO...I always love when they sing this song live. Yay!!

Rock on people, rock on!!

L~


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2013 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.