Nesting

For the last month or so Jozy has occasionally chosen to "hunt" my car while it is parked in or near our carport. The working theory has been that some sort of rodent or bird has taken up residence outside our house in the area near the carport, gets occasionally startled by Jozy and takes cover under the car. The last week, it has gotten worse and she now routinely jumps, puts her two front paws on the hood of the car and barks incessantly. Today, she started to crawl under the parked car frantically, to the point where I am pretty sure she was on the verge of getting stuck.

That was when we decided to open all of the doors, the hood, etc. and let Jozy explore and satisfy her curiosity to the point of exhaustion...hopefully resulting in convincing her that nothing is living in the car itself.

This did not succeed.

Apparently, something has been building a nest on top of my engine.

there's something moving...

Lots of new bands to kick off the year, with some of the names scraped from best of the year (2012) lists from various music blogs that I trust. Highlights like Alt-J, Django Django, Benjamin del Shreve and surprisingly enough to me, an American Idol winner are found on this one. A few of my standards found as well with The National and another track from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (my latest foray into hip hop).

1. Breezeblocks  ~  Alt-J

2. Wandering Eyes  ~  Kopecky Family Band

3. Paint  ~  The Paper Kites

4. The Diamond  ~  Benjamin Del Shreve

5. Home  ~  Phillip Phillips

6. Feel Again  ~  OneRepublic

7. We OK (feat. K'naan)  ~  The Very Best

8. Heaven Knows  ~  Tender Mercies

9. Default  ~  Django Django

10. Driver, Surprise Me  ~  The National

11. Something Good  ~  Alt-J

12. Life's a Beach  ~  Django Django

13. Lost Kid  ~  The Apache Relay

14. Doused  ~  DIIV

15. Get Up Get Down  ~  Phillip Phillips

16. Sets Me Free  ~  The Apache Relay

17. Iron Rail  ~  Joseph Huber

18. Your Head and Your Heart  ~  The Saint Johns

19. Bible On the Dash (feat. Hayes Carll)  ~  Corb Lund

20. When I'm President  ~  Ian Hunter & The Rant Band

21. Otherside (feat. Fences) [Ryan Lewis Remix]  ~  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Brooklyn Castle

An expiring story that touches on chasing your dreams, the financial crisis and how pressure and competitive environments reveal and shape your character. Check out this documentary about  Intermediate School 318, an inner-city public school in NY that has won more national chess titles than I can count. Another great installment from my 2013 documentary kick.

The Paper Kites - Paint

I've been enjoying this song from the Australian band The Paper Kites recently. Something about the guitar work appeals to me...a mellow folk/indie sound for a lazy Sunday.

We were trying, but we're trying no more

It's cold on the floor, cold on the floor

This house has never been the same as before

It's never felt warm, never felt warm

There's something moving through the windows and walls

I've seen it before, seen it before

You left me living with a lingering soul,

how little you know, how little you know

Budrus

No matter how much I learn about the culture and politics of the Middle East, it just always remains a mystery to me. This film is about non-violent demonstrations which united a people during the early 2000s, conducted by the residents of a Palestinian town called Budrus and eventually included others from around the world, to protest against the building of the Israeli West Bank barrier inside of their village. Why this wall needed to be built through this town is never explained. How the people triumphed in this tale of unity across cultural lines and years of bloodshed is just pure inspiration. With that, I'll let the trailer speak for itself and leave yet another documentary on your doorstep with a highly recommended label.

A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain - Robert Olen Butler

I bought this book for my wife a year or so ago and randomly found it around Christmas time and decided to give it a shot. This is a collection of short stories which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993, each told by a different Vietnamese immigrant who has settled in Louisiana. While it is not my typical leisure reading fare, I can see why it received the recognition. Each short story has its own unique form of narrative poetry. Butler is an excellent writer and pulls you into a different world with ease. It's fiction, but not my typical kind. I thought I would just grab one or two short stories at a time and then take a break but just like eating popcorn...I failed. Looking for something a little different? This might be for you.