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28 january 2002

a plethora of new stuff! like...

the review

lid

photos! no kidding.

music

There is much new in the Den today, after my little semi-hiatus from giving full attention to the site recently.

• First, there is new poetry in lid from the continuing Enrichment Center series.

• Secondly, new review! Maybe it's less review and more commentary. Nonetheless, I had a hell of a time writing it. Enjoy.

• Finally, thanks to my friend Stephanie Bolton, there is a Girl Next Door Runs Amok photo gallery from Friday's show and after-party. The photos are in chronological order, and I've correlated them to moments in the show to explain why my face is scrunched up like that.

  If I'm not mistaken, this would mark a momentous occasion in the history of lionessden.com. Those of you who have been around for the past couple of years know (and have commented) on the fact that there's never been a clear photo of me up here. I'm either behind something (like sunglasses), or otherwise obscured through some photographic whimwham. Guess that just changed, huh. These ought to hold you for a couple more years.

I had an exceptional Sunday. Winter is an unpredictable season down here. Last year was consistently cold, wet, and windy, with very little respite from the misery. This week, however, we are enjoying temperatures in the 60s, with bright, blue skies and little wind. After sleeping in (so late that I missed church, erk), I threw on some comfy clothes and headed out for the day. (Considering the workout I'm getting with the show, I think God will forgive me. Do I hear an 'amen'?)

You have to know that I am very much a creature of habit on Sundays. It is less a day of rest, and more of quiet celebration for me. If it rains, I'm happy that our water needs are being met ,and stay in with a movie or good book. On the sunny days, I take my puttering outdoors. The morning begins with church, then to Borders for tea, the Sunday paper, and eclectic run-ins with friends I don't get to see throughout the week. Then, I hop on my bike and head to Reynolda Gardens with a good book or my camera. In this case, it was Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, which I am enjoying very much. Finally, a Nobel prizewinner who's paying attention to someone beside the voices in their own head. The gardens are sparse, and resting up for spring right now, but no matter. I was still pretty comfy.

It is one thing to indulge in physical rest. That always seems easy enough--you sit. It is another thing entirely to put your mind at rest, which is a task I find nearly impossible. There is no end to what I want to see and do in this world, books I want to read, movies to see, stuff to write. Sometimes, I wonder if the cauldron in my mind will ever settle on a low boil, and if I really want it to.

Sometimes when I run, I wear headphones. But that's only to hear Morning Edition at 7 a.m. If I take an afternoon run, it's with naked ears. I like hearing what's going on around me. When I lived in Chicago, so many people would wear headphones during the El ride. I always felt a little sorry for them, that they couldn't find any music in their commute, in the mingling of voices among moving steel.

I sometimes think that the sounds of Sunday are the only thing that put my mind to rest for awhile. Giggling kids. Dogs in the distance. Soccer games in the park. The ladybug that landed on my bare ankle.

Of course it makes a sound. That's physics 101. The tree figured that out ages ago.

These days, a tree just falls in the forest to find out if anyone is listening.