Things That Made Me Laugh, Weep, or Think in 2002
An Incomplete List
1 2
Music
Hush, performed by Yo-Yo Ma & Bobby McFerrin
Bobby McFerrin is the kind of performer who inspires me to work harder at my craft because listening to him reminds me that art is not only possible but fun. This collection showcases two great performers, blending the melancholy perfection of cello with a remarkable human voice.
☑ Laugh ☑ Weep ☑ Think
Donde Estan Los Ladrones?, Shakira
My daughter introduced me to this amazing adaptable singer. She sings the impossible and has that kind of voice that makes you stop whatever you’re doing and listen to he song. Mysteriously, her English language recordings don’t have the same verve and power of her native Spanish, but this recording is a gem.
☑ Laugh (the kind of laugher that sometimes washes over you from joy) ☑ Think
Stories
“The Wages of Syntax”, Ray Vukcevich
(Sci Fiction, 2002)
I love Ray. He’s so logically wacky it boggles the mind. This story is about love, academia, and the universal translator. And it has a rubber ducky of destruction. What’s not to like?
☑ Laugh ☑ Think
“Lambing Season”, Molly Gloss
(Asimov’s, July 2002)
This touching and beautifully written story of first contact was one of my favorites last year. It’s a story about the miracles of birth and death, loneliness and connection.
☑ Weep ☑ Think
Poetry
“To Dorothy”, Marvin Bell
I’ve heard him read this three times and you’d think I’d be mature enough to read it silently without weeping. But I just read it again yesterday and fell apart. It’s so romantic. Let’s all swoon together.
☑ Laugh ☑ Weep ☑ Think
The poem (and others equally fabulous) is available in its lovely presentation book: Poetry for a Midsummer’s Night.
Movies and Television:
Punch-Drunk Love
Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (of Boogie Nights and Magnolia)
Everyone keeps telling me, “I don’t want to pay to see Adam Sandler.” All I can say is that this is a brilliant, unpredictable, dark, comic, romantic, edge-of-your-seats artsy thriller and you’re missing something genuine if you boycott it because of its star’s past stupid films.
☑ Laugh ☑ Weep ☑ Think
Episode 56 of Sex and the City, “My Motherboard, My Self” is a funny, touching, irritating episode, and one of the best things I’ve ever seen on television. I’m glad we bought cable last summer, for this particular show and a very few other programs. Grief, sex, and computer neep.
☑ Laugh ☑ Weep ☑ Think
