Floating Leaf

Now that I've finished my rewatch of Interview with the Vampire, I'm rooting around Facebook and YouTube for various previews of the upcoming season. Here's my favorite so far:



It's a bit of a shocker, even for those of us who read the book. Looks like instead of glossing over the more disturbing parts of the source material, the makers of this show grabbed a huge glittering neon marker to underline them. LOL.

It's going to be such a wild ride. And the cast is just fucking brilliant. No offense to Tom Cruise... but I think he may have lost the title of the most memorable Lestat in the history of cinema. Just saying. ;-)

Just a quote today, from a spiritual teacher I subscribe to (Kerry K from South Africa). One of her recent emails really resonated with me - and while I usually delete most email newsletters after I've read them, I feel the urge to save a chunk of this one, just for my own future contemplation.

You want lights in the sky.
A timeline split you can photograph.
Spirit guides with better PR.
You want proof.

But the shift you are in right now
is cellular.

It does not perform.

It recalibrates. ( Read more... )

Just a brief check-in today, to share a gorgeous song from Kiki Rockwell's new album, released just a few weeks ago. The video is a little cheesy, but I simply adore the song, and it's got the lyrics, too - so here goes:



I have spent the weekend mostly grocery shopping, cleaning up and organizing a bit (threw out an old rickety end table, which was falling apart, and put up a new tiny bookcase, which - thank God - was very quick and easy to assemble), downloading music, reading and watching Netflix (I decided it was time to revisit The Witcher before moving on to some new fantasy series I haven't seen before). Was late to the Conscious Conversations call today, because Zoom did a number on me and refused to open until after I reboot, which took a while - and then nobody wanted to stay on past the regular closing time, so it felt like the whole thing was over way too soon. *sigh* But otherwise, I managed perfectly well to keep myself occupied and distracted from pondering the challenges of fulfilling my soul's mission on this planet. As you do. *snort* That is all.

Looks like summer started today. It just exploded out of nowhere. We barely had any spring to speak of. I still wore my winter jacket to work last Thursday. O_O Today, however, I was out in a short-sleeved top, feeling perfectly comfortable. It's very windy - but it's a warm wind, the kind that usually brings about a change of season. The weather forecast still shows some chilly nights ahead... but it's definitely time to rearrange my closet and put away the heavy winter stuff. As well as review my summer outfits, because I've definitely gained some weight since I last wore them. Some of those tighter skirts might have to go. :-/ Not the one I dug out today, I'm happy to report - even though it's an "extra-small" size. I really love it, and I was worried it might not clear my hips anymore. And I was right. It doesn't. But guess what? I was able to pull it on through my head and shoulders, and the waistline isn't too tight. Thank God the circumference of my upper body is a lot smaller than that of my butt... LOL.

I'm also still downloading music and updating some of my countless playlists. I have so many favorite artists now that I can no longer keep up with most of them, and I often don't find out about "new" albums until they're not so new anymore. Which is what just happened with Stromae - the brilliant musician and performer from Belgium, whom I first discovered about a decade ago. I did post a few of his videos on here at the time, as I recall. They are typically just as engaging as the songs themselves - very meticulously created mini-movies that each tell their own intricate story. Especially this one:



( Read more... )

One of my favorite things happened today. A spontaneous, unexpected music discovery. Kiki Rockwell. I was looking for something else on YouTube, and randomly clicked on a video showing a bunch of women in period costumes... and I was totally hooked within the first 30 seconds. LOL. She's just a pure channel for the divine feminine - in its most fierce, uncompromising incarnation. The lyrics give me the chills, because they sound like past life memories and/or ancestral spirits coming through. And the videos are quite creative, as well. Just utterly yummy. Take a look:



And just one more, because it's possibly the trippiest music video I've ever seen:

Another video from Amigo the Devil, just because. This song is absolutely gorgeous, and it packs an emotional punch. Such raw vulnerability. I've watched a bunch of interviews with the guy, and he actually said it's the most personal song he's ever written, and it makes him feel nervous and exposed to perform it live. But people love it. Of course they do. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't be able to relate all too well. For myself, I just want to hug him and cry. This is deep shadow work. In other words, what most of us need to do a lot more of if we are ever to see a more beautiful outer reality. Why yes - we're still in the thick of Scorpio season. ;-)

I had an ambitious plan today to do the 40-question year-end meme that's floating around... or at least an abbreviated version of it. However, in the so-called meantime I happened to discover my latest audio-visual crush... and so this is all I want to talk about right now. :-P I've been more than ready for some new inspiring music for quite a while now... so I'm not really surprised to be swept up in such a powerful fascination all of a sudden. In fact, I've been hoping for something like this to happen soon. I just didn't have the time to deliberately search for it. AND I had a feeling it was going to happen anyway. ;-)

So I took a peek at Dead Can Dance's latest videos on YouTube yesterday afternoon... and she came up as a suggested "similar artist". (Not really similar, but you know how YouTube throws stuff at you, based on what you've watched before? So I'm guessing that the general weirdness of videos was the common denominator here... LOL.) Sevdaliza. First glance at Google search results will tell you she's a "Dutch-Iranian singer-songwriter"... but what it actually means is that her family left Iran for the Netherlands, and she currently lives in Rotterdam. She was born in Tehran as Sevda Alizadeh, and she also has Russian and Azerbaijani roots. Her striking physique is a perfect match for her bold performance style... and it might also amuse you to know that she used to play on the national Dutch basketball team before she decided to devote her life to music (which explains her statuesque, athletic and slightly androgynous charm). She's only been publicly known as a musician for the past few years... but the explosion of raw creativity that she embodies was undeniable right from the start. She would not be contained. In fact, she created her own record label, so as not to be influenced by anyone else's artistic vision. Her videos are bold and surprising, even a little creepy... sometimes in contrast to the songs themselves, which can be piercingly gentle and vulnerable. I know this may sound corny... but I think she is expressing the wounded soul of this day and age. Someone called her a "futuristic traditionalist" (in addition to music videos, I've watched a bunch of interviews as well) - and I think it's a very fitting description. As for her music genre, I've seen it referred to as "electronic", "trip hop", "downtempo", "avant-pop", or even "alternative R&B". I don' really care what you call it. It's definitely unique and captivating. Haunting, even. I just put together a playlist that's almost two hours, and that I am probably going to play to death over the next few weeks. Anyway... instead of prattling on, let me just share a few examples. Here's the first video that caught my attention:



( more under the cut )

First of all, it feels really good to know that in less than two months, a vile, racist, misogynistic, homophobic, malignant narcissist will no longer be president of the United States. :-D

Second of all, the weather has been GLORIOUS. If not for the growing piles of fallen leaves underfoot, you would never believe it was November. I saw a whole bunch of people walking around in short sleeves today, and I almost wished I'd worn a summer outfit, myself (almost... but not quite ;-). It's supposed to stay like this into the middle of next week...

Third of all, I thought I had some profound insights to share, but it's getting late and I need to crash. Dang it. I admit defeat. Here's my shortest LJ post ever. *sigh*

Full Moon in Pisces tonight. I had every intention of posting a long entry, but I am feeling decidedly non-verbal. So instead of my typical disjointed ramblings, here's something that expresses my emotional state better than words:



And another one:



This is the vibrational state I want to stay in, throughout all the uncertainty and turbulation that I know is coming. That is all. *breathes*