Recommended diversions
“Elizabethtown,” Soundtrack
From everything I hear, the movie turned out to be entirely less than it was cracked up to be – another faux pas a la Orlando’s pretty face not having much substance between the ears. It’s a shame really, as the soundtrack earns comparisons to that of “Garden State,” boasting previously unreleased tunes by Tom Petty and My Morning Jacket, alongside music from Ryan Adams and Patty Griffin. The soundtrack’s PR literature lauds filmmaker Cameron Crowe for his ability to pair music with movies — Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” blaring from John Cusack’s boombox in “Say Anything,” Elton John’s anthem “Tiny Dancer” united the troubled souls in “Almost Famous.” Well OK, I’ll give them that. Those are pretty good moments. But this time around (a throwback to Helen Stellar’s “Elizabethtown” track “Io”), it seems the moments are best left to live alone in the music. Definitely worth it just for The Hombres’ “Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out).”
Verb
Go. Buy. Listen. Love. Billed as the world’s first audio-only literary journal, Verb features works by and read by great authors and poets including South Carolina Poet Laureate Marjory Wentworth, Ha Jin, Robert Butler, Tom Franklin, Tom Lux, James Dickey and Stuart Dybek. I’d say more, but so far there’s only been one issue published. It’s available online at www.verb.org for $19.95, or you can subscribe for a year’s worth (four issues) for $50. Christmas presents anyone? It’s great for those bibliophiles on your list and opens a new aural door for those whom even large print novels offer little more than headaches.
Bird feeders
It’s that time of year when the weather turns cold and our feathered friends seek out solace in the stash of seeds we hang from trees and porch rails. My feeder — just a cheap little plastic ditty, slightly better than those cage-like suet holders — hangs outside a sliding glass door that exits my bedroom onto a small balcony. It’s high enough so the birds aren’t threatened by the neighborhood cats but at a great vantage point for my own indoor kitties who seem nearly to twitch their tails off every time a chickadee comes in for a snack. I don’t even mind the meaty squirrel that makes his way down the rain pipe onto the railing, then stands on his hind legs, leans out and shakes the feeder to produce sunflower seeds. That’s what I call moxie.
Comedy Central, 11-12 p.m.
Immediately after Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” comes spin-off program “The Colbert Report” (and yes you have to pronounce it like it’s French) hosted by Steven Colbert. It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s raw and, as they like to say, “grippy.” The show’s best for its segment “The Word,” which is akin to a word of the day calendar gone awry. “The Daily Show” airs at 11 p.m. and the Report doesn’t come on until 11:30 p.m., but go ahead and skip your local news and those late night network talking heads to tune in. Real news is nowhere near as good as fake news anyway.
— Sarah Kucharski
