Friday Roundup: The Starlit Strip

Bazan plays The Fairfield, Part I

You're cordially invited to: David Bazan Plays The Fairfield, Part III. As part of his annual living room tour, one of my favorite songwriters is playing at our house for the third year in a row. Crazy, right? Tickets can be bought here and a little primer on Bazan can be found here. You will not regret spending an evening in our living room. Seriously. He's rad. (And we'll have beer).

From dust to dust: Can't give a strong enough recommendation to Caitlin Doughty's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory." Whether you're interested in the business of death, dying rituals, or simply our mutual mortality, a captivating read, all-around. 

Slo-Mo-Sufjan: Excited to catch the Sufjan Stevens-soundtracked, slow-motion documentary about my hometown rodeo, the Pendleton Round-Up. Now if only I can find a local showtime...

Sleep, sleep tonight and may your dreams be realized: Lighting a candle for my great uncle Bart and one of my brother's closest friends, Jeremy Miller. Bart passed away a few weeks ago after living a long, blessed life. Jeremy was only in his thirties - a guy who loved to sing, who was incredibly generous to his family and friends, my brother included - and it's a lot harder to fathom him being gone so soon. Cancer sucks, plainly and simply. And it's small solace set against the untimely loss of a friend, but the words of Mark Twain feel particularly appropriate right now: "Death is the starlit strip between the companionship of yesterday and the reunion of tomorrow."