Lovin'

Nada Surf: Rock music that you can turn up really loud and let it wash over and around you... plus, they are all cute: Daniel, the adorably stoned bass player with blond dreadlocks swinging wildly around his head (and he moves differently from everyone else... hard to describe but lovely to watch), Ira, the drummer, who made so many completely silly wisecracks that you couldn't help but love him, and Matt, the lead singer, who has a great singing voice, not pretty but not a growl, who projects a boy-next-door image, who chatted between songs and won me over to this band, who came out after the set to say hi to fans. I got a CD and am completely happy that my roommate is out of town because I can turn it all the way up!

Shivaree: Opened for Nada Surf. Totally different music, rootsy, old-timey songs. The lead singer is captivating and has a really interesting, strong, beautiful voice. She told a story and then sang a song about her grandmother, who had four boys in West Virginia. Then her husband ran off to California with another woman. Well, her grandmother tracked him down, moved to the same town, just around the corner, and one day, walked up to the front door and rang the bell. When he answered, she stabbed him in the neck with a steak knife. Then she took him to the hospital, waited while they stitched him up, and drove him home again. While I don't promote violence, it was a cool gothic tale, apparently true.

Madeleine is Sleeping: Just started this novel yesterday. It's in short, 1-page sections, interweaving Madeleine's dreams with her history and snapshots of what her family is doing while she sleeps. I won't say more, because to say anything about the plot is to give it away, but the writing is gorgeous and the story and its telling are quite original. Not for children.

And robotics, but that's a whole separate post. First, I've got to get the brownies in the oven!