holidaze

tonight is my last night in Nashvegas. it's been a good visit, but challenging nonetheless. damn the holidays. I haven't decided whether I'm abstaining this year... gifts, decorating, cards and cookies. sigh. seems like the activation energy is almost too large to overcome. maybe it will have to be a two-step reaction. anyone have a good catalyst? but there have been highlights to this trip. it's just hard to say whether they are able to fill the gaping holes in my life that family and tradition have made all too apparent while I've been here.

Wednesday night I saw Feist's fantastic show at the Ryman Auditorium. for you non-denizens of Music City USA, this would be the home of the Opry. a beautiful, historic building with phenomenal acoustics and pews for the audience that reflect the reverence of the space and the sound. Feist rightfully displayed the necessary adoration. the crowd ate it up and I felt honored to see her in that place on the last night of her tour. it was a great way to start my stay here.

Thursday was all about food and family. I spent the day cooking and watching football. butternut squash risotto, green bean casserole, roast turkey... to name a few. yum. we woke up early (yes, Virgina, Santa has to be up at 4 am to get the deals!) to hit the doorbusters on Friday morning. BDW is a HUGE Black Friday shopper. it's his tradition. he gets really into it. and I'm proud to say that I helped him snag a 37 inch LCD HDTV at Target with my mad speed walking skillz. he was making his purchases (the first for the store for the day!) as people from the the line were still entering the store. that takes dedication, my friends!

today has been pretty chill. we went to see I'm Not There at the Belcourt Theater, the last historic neighborhood theater in town.



really an incredible film. the soundtrack is great as well. it includes some unusual Bob Dylan interpretations from the likes of Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo. I particularly like Cat Power's version of "Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues again." Cate Blanchette looks like she walked off the cover of Bringing it all Back Home or maybe Highway 61 Revisited. I was completely transfixed. Cate as Dylan's angry young man... Academy Award winning actresses/drag kings... who knew? I say, go see it. you don't even have to take my word for it: the rock'n'roll gf dug it as well.