"The Eye"

14 July 2026: "You can dance in a hurricane / But only if you're standing in the eye..."

Trying to get to the eye today, if not to dance, to simply find some control. 

"Salt Then Sour Than Sweet"

1 June 2026: Very, very hard days here. Finding comfort once again in Sara Bareilles, whose music always comes to me at just the right times. (That this is also a Brandi Carlile collaboration is a lovely bonus.)

Brandi and Amy

1 April 2026: Brandi on Amy Poehler's podcast? Manufactured in a lab for me! What a way to start the day!

"Returning to Myself"

2 November 2025: As the darker fall days settle in and I work through some Big Thoughts, I find myself contemplating Brandi Carlile's new music, particularly the title track to the album.

"And I was born to love you

I love you and you and you

Oh, returning to myself is such a lonely thing to do

Returning to myself is just returning me to you

And that's the only thing I wanna do"

That "you and you and you" in the second line above gets me every time--that sense of overwhelming love for so many people hits me sometimes. 

And then the "lonely" in the next line hits hard. Because it's just the way it is and nothing hurts quite the way that loneliness does. 

And the two lines...rest in beautiful tension.

Veronica at 9

8 June 2024: I actually took this video of BabyCat last night, before her unofficial birthday today. From the very beginning, she's been such an interesting cat to just watch--which is a good thing, considering her "look but don't touch" policy. And I think she actually often loves being watched--and spends just as much time watching me. 

Anyway, if you listen closely you can hear Brandi Carlile's "Beginning to Feel the Years" playing in the background. The lyrics seem to work for me and this nut I have been trying to crack for nine years.

"You carry me along with you

Keep my spirit strong, you do

Maybe I was meant to be

Under your lock and key

The hard times that I had

Really, don't seem all that bad

Yesterday is long ago and far away

And I'm beginning to feel the years

But I'm going to be okay

As long as you're beside me along the way

Gonna make it through the night

And into the morning light..."

"Happy"

25 September 2023:

"Where have you been all these years?

And how could you just disappear?

And when did you stop missing me?"

"Josephine"

6 January 2023: Singing this one to the new girl today...

I do tend to associate a couple of songs with a cat and sing them to him/her. Veronica's include "Big Parade" by the Lumineers and "Georgie Girl" by the Seekers (with different lyrics). 

Another contender for Jo (so far) is "Joey" by Concrete Blonde.

53,465

23 October 2022: Two years and one day before the manuscript is due, I am at 53,465 words (so clearly over 1/3 through), having just finished the entry on Kate Chopin. This was another tough one to wrestle with, but I suspect that had as much to do with 1000 other things to do. But it's done. And now we do some chair-dancing, to this track that came on as I updated my back-up files. (And then hit "repeat" more than once.)

Brandi Concert #4

18 August 2022:

[Catch-up post...]

So excited to see Brandi Carlile again last night (this time with Allison Russell and the Indigo Girls). Happy to have Tish come along, too.

Today's walk...

17 February 2022: 

• It's a warm day for mid-February, though cloudy and a bit dreary. Still, it feels good to only have to wear my blazer and even feel a bit heated towards the end. 
• Up the road ahead of me, I see a coworker's husband drop her off in front of her building. She heads up the sidewalk, opens the door, and turns back around to wave at him. Only then does he drive away. Such a tiny moment of intimacy and connection--this isn't about making sure she makes it in okay, like when you wait to see if someone has their key or when it's dark out. It's about their connection.  
• The town is putting in ADA-compliant curb cuts, a long-term project that started in the heart of town and has expanded outward. At the intersection by The Blue Moon, it's all over but the concrete-pouring and clean-up. As I walk by, the cement truck is coming up the road. One of the workers sees it coming, channels his inner child, and says, "Oh yeah, baby: let's do it." Charming as heck.
• My goodness: this episode of Song Exploder, on "You and Me on the Rock," is amazing. 

"You and Me on the Rock"

3 October 2021: Feeling both mentally worn out but emotionally pretty good because I've knocked out a ton of work today: finished a draft of my Scarborough Society lecture, wrote a Fulbright recommendation, got a solid draft done on my Strategic Plan report (boring), responded to so many emails. In short, I've crossed just about everything off my weekend "to do" list. 

The new Brandi Carlile album has been a good soundtrack for today, particularly "You and Me on the Rock," which she played at the concert that Erin and I saw in late August. She called it her "Joni Mitchell" song, which you can immediately hear. It's just a really fun and sweet song that's been on heavy rotation for me today. 

Love these lines: "Me out in my garden / and you out on your walk / Is all the distance this poor girl can take / Without listenin' to you talk..."

Update: and the Yankees just made the post-season in the bottom of the ninth in a 0-0 game. Cue that track again! 

"Right on Time," version 2

30 August 2021: Been humming this song since Saturday and also enjoying this version (as much as the first one). It's a good song for clearing your head a bit and feeling centered--and much needed today.

  

Brandi!

28 August 2021: 

[Catch-up post]

Erin and I saw Brandi at Wolf Trap last night. Amazing. And this, along with seeing Erin, Eric, and the girls (and meeting their new puppy), put a lovely end on a very tough week.

"Right On Time"

21 July 2021: New Brandi Carlile track dropped today. Amazing.

"The blues have always had me too..."

25 April 2021: Still digging Brandi's memoir so much. I find myself relating to so much of what she says about family, work, religion, love, figuring out who you are...just everything. And then there are these insights on her songs, like this one. I've always liked it, but hearing her talk about it made it speak to me in a new way. Perfect soundtrack to a Big Thoughts Sunday. 

"The Promise"

20 October 2020: A long day--one of those "miles to go before I sleep" days. Not bad...just a lot. 

 

This song has been in my head on and off the past few days. Brandi and Catherine Carlile sang it at the live-streamed campfire sing-along Brandi and the twins did a couple of weeks ago and I re-watched it on Sunday. And did I just about die when they sang it? You know it.

Anyway, it's just such a masterpiece of a song, I think. Always makes me wistful and and calm. That's a pretty good energy for days like today. 

Midterm Grades: DONE!

10 October 2020: At around 7:00 p.m. this evening, I submitted my last set of midterm grades for this very strange semester. Still felt good, even though, like most things this semester, its very normalcy felt a bit surreal. 

Still, tradition demands chair-dancing.

"Caroline"

15 September 2020: In the midst of a surprisingly busy work-from-home, non-teaching day, I found myself humming this song quite a bit. It's been in my head, along with all of Give Up the Ghost, since Sunday night, when Brandi and the band did a live stream of them playing the album. 

Deep breath...

 20 August 2020: A long day, filled with so many different and tough emotions. Here's just a few parts: mowing the lawn, going to a couple of meetings, two visits to check out technology in my classrooms (not successful, btw), taping numbered signs onto every seat in our newly-laid out "socially distanced" classrooms, scanning and posting readings for my classes, taking part in a virtual town hall on education in the age of COVID, and a virtual trivia game/hang-out with some of my favorite friends/colleagues. 

Whew. It's a lot. 

So, yeah: time for a deep breath (or two). And here's a lovely soundtrack, that seems appropriate in its gravity, melancholy, and beauty.

good morning to these vocals!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/GrbrhHGIwc

— Jordan Appugliesi (@JordanApps) August 20, 2020

Live-streams...

1 June 2020: Just watched a live-stream of a couple of friends getting married down in Arkansas.

In a little while, I'll watch Brandi Carlile do a life-stream performance of By the Way, I Forgive You. A ticket and a little extra to support the band/crew is a small price to pay for the respite it will provide.

Everything in the country is awful and sad and bad. But these things are very good and nice and I am grateful.