ByGD
Here’s a first: I am writing about a book I didn’t finish. My fascination with Icelandic literature is well documented (I couldn’t even pick a link for that one – I have a tag for Icelandic authors on this blog.) So, when I saw Tómas Jónsson, Best-Seller by Guđbergur Bergsson in an article about books in translation, I immediately put it on hold at the library. But I just couldn’t get through it.
ByGD
On Wednesdays we study the Constitution. I thought I’d never finish Article 1, Section 8, which lists the powers of Congress. But I finally got to Section 9, which limits the powers of Congress. It started off weak, but it’s getting better. Last week I learned about the ban on export taxes. This week I’m on to Article 1 §9.6, the “no preference clause,” which requires Congress to treat the states equally.
ByGD
NEXT STEP is Pacific Northwest Ballet’s annual choreographers showcase. NEXT STEP is a one-night-only, all-premiere event with choreography by company dancers, dancing by the PNB School’s Professional Division students, and music by the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra. This year called NEXT STEP: OUTSIDE/IN, the evening began OUTSIDE, with three free performances. The ticketed second part took place IN McCaw Hall.
ByGD
Digging into the music blogs the last couple weeks reminded me that I like doing that. So I found Zeal and Ardor, Tomb Mold, and Raum Kingdom last week. Then I missed a KEXP in-studio for Sunflower Bean, but I did see Death Cab for Cutie at the Paramount.
ByGD
Pansy. When I was a kid, that was a common insult to someone’s masculinity. I guess because pansies have such floofy petals? I don’t know. Peonies are rufflier. Anyway, growing up in the Sonoran Desert, I was more familiar with the insult than the real-life flower. So I was delighted to discover that pansies are actually really hardy little flowers. Seriously, they’re almost impossible to kill. They come in a bazillion cheerful colors and bloom during the gray days of early spring when everything else is still cowering under a layer of mulch. Pansies kick ass. And they sort of look like they’re smiling the whole time.