Sia, "Chandelier"

Sia's "Chandelier" is a goosebump inducing anthem that captures the depth, joys, and occasionally dark machinations of day-to-day existence. It taps into the longings of the spirit, the potential of the imagination amidst chaos, repression, and the dulling of Self.

Sia's always been a keeper in my book. Her song "Breathe Me" was used in the Six Feet Under series finale, and it's so perfectly enmeshed in the feeling, tone, and meaning of those pivotal, transcendent final minutes.

Now I have a runner-up for my favorite Sia song. You can watch the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjPBrBU-TM&list=PLTu_mo3y42N38cL8PYh9_hZsYE-w19ptZ

Sentence of the Day

"He pulled the poncho over his shoulders, shrugged off his creaking pack, shook his head so water scattered from his flung mane, and there was a quick sizzle when the drops landed on the stove."

~ From Jean Hegland's Into the Forest

Quote of the Day

"Don't just be yourself. Be all of your selves."

~ Joss Whedon

The Fault in Our Midnight Club

Like millions of you out there, I fell in love with John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, about two terminally ill teens who fall in love at their cancer support group, go on a hunt for an elusive author, and work their way through questions (and sometimes hard-earned answers) about infinity, the potential for God, why we're all here, and the nature of the Universe. In his expertise, Green manages to make us laugh, cry, & wonder in spades -- Hazel and Augustus's journey becomes our own.

With all the hype surrounding the upcoming feature film based on the book (sure do admire you, Shailene Woodley!), I decided to go back and re-read...Christopher Pike's The Midnight Club. Famous primarily for his thrilling, thought-provoking teen horror stories, those of us "in the know" are drawn to Pike's works because he dives deeper -- even in the midst of gory, gutsy whodunits -- into questions of spirituality, morality, and finding our unique place on this earth (or in the stars). The more famous he became, the more Pike took chances (and his publishers let him take chances) with edgier themes, esoteric concepts, and characters who live in ambiguous emotional gray zones. He's even written some books that land smack-dab in non-horror genres. One of these also happens to be one of his finest: 1994's The Midnight Club. While the book jacket's blurb may lead you to believe you're about to read a supernatural murder mystery, you're actually in store for the dramatic, beautiful tale of five teens who meet at a hospice for the terminally ill. The friends gather nightly -- you guessed it, at midnight -- to tell stories that scare, delight, and philosophize. By weaving together tales over candlelight, they also weave together their own destinies in their final days and weeks at Rotterham Home. Ilonka and Kevin fall in love, knowing their time is limited to the utmost degree, and seek solace from their sorrow in each other's words and arms. Christopher Pike navigates conversations about past lives, our petty and monumental regrets, cancer, AIDS, the meaning of family, the bonds of friendship, and what it means to let go. It's a story about life lessons even when one's life (in this body anyway) is limited. This is a perfection companion piece on your bookshelf to John Green's newly minted classic.

Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery

A dear friend, C, summed it up best when describing his reaction to the announcement that Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery is being released on Blu-Ray this July:

~~~

After watching the trailer the first time, I had to close myself off in the bathroom to cry. Beyond f@&*ing emotional. It's weird (duh), but seeing this once lost footage after all these years is like seeing long lost loved ones. Still can't believe it.

I feel like Laura screaming, "I LOVE YOU, JAMES!"

Now I'll run off into the night. Into the woods.

~~~

This is a big deal, people. Not only does the box set contain the remastered pilot, European version of the pilot, entire TV series, and Fire Walk With Me prequel, it contains "The Missing Pieces," over 90 minutes of the elusive deleted scenes from FWWM. The deleted scenes have been carefully strung together by David Lynch himself, *and* the Palmer family recently filmed a reunion of sorts, as an epilogue.

You can read more about this Peak Freak development here (*and watch the enticing trailer!):

http://welcometotwinpeaks.com/news/twin-peaks-entire-mystery-deleted-scenes-trailer/

...and you can read even more here:

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Twin-Peaks-The-Entire-Mystery/19808

Crush the Skull

Don't worry, folks -- my blog post title may suggest I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and want to work out my aggression (well....), but I'm actually referring to Viet Nguyen's award-winning short film, its sequel, and subsequent Kickstarter campaign for a feature film.

You can read more about the campaign here (*and you can watch both short films too!):

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/viet-nguyen/crush-the-skull-horror-comedy-feature-film

I first heard about Crush the Skull through a recent Veronica Mars Kickstarter update. Those who know me well equate me with a few obsessions, rain or shine: Tori Amos is probably first, and the belief that unicorns are real might be a close second (no, really). Scream is also right up there -- the first two Scream films land solidly in my top 10 flicks of all time. (He loves unicorns and horror movies in equal measure, you say? How can this be? Maybe I'll write about this duality in a future post.) In any case, I watched the two shorts and was impressed by the professionalism, creep factor, biting humor, frisky acting, brisk pacing, and non-condescending wink-wink factor at (no, with) the audience. The films are so assured, and obviously come from someone who loves horror movies to the extreme.

It's official: I have a crush on the Crush the Skull cast & crew, and am now an official backer. Maybe you'll join me in this endeavor? Scream set the bar pretty damned high for horror-comedy hybrids that embrace the horror genre while also sending it up. This potential feature film might be just the successor you've been dying to see.

Happy National Tori Amos Day!

For all us Ears with Feet (diehard fans, silly), today's a big day -- Tori's new album, Unrepentant Geraldines, has arrived.

Here's a terrific review & interview. Dive in; stay awhile.

http://www.popmatters.com/feature/181593-dont-call-it-a-comeback-tori-amos-on-her-elegantly-unrepentant-geral/

Passage of the Day

"She'd spoken of their happiness as though it were an undeniable fact, no matter what happened -- apart from everything else and not subject to it. It was a new idea for him, that happiness wasn't a mystical place to be reached or won -- some bright terrain beyond the boundary of misery, a paradise waiting for them to find it -- but something to carry doggedly with you through everything, as humble and ordinary as your gear and supplies. Food, weapons, happiness."

-- from Laini Taylor's Dreams of Gods & Monsters