Jeff announces his new tour

Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum announced his he will be touring the U.S. throughout January and February.

This is how he puts it:
“hello friends in a flock of finches unfolding from the face of a foam horse on the phone to inform you that Jeff is heading out for a u.s. acoustic tour, giving him the chance to play to all the silver citizens dwelling in cites that he has yet to sing in.”
 

He has kindly attached Children of the Blue Sky as his charity of choice again. A portion of concert proceeds and one dollar from every box set will be donated to my organization and others in need.
He had done so for his last tour and almost single handily made the efforts of last year possible.

Please go to NMH website for dates and location. 

A Week After Sandy

Things are almost back to normal, at least for some of us. Except the empty shelves in delis and supermarkets.

What an experience. I was always afraid of water and wind, two incredible forces. Nevertheless,  I have to admit I didn’t take the storm that serious, at first. I quickly changed my mind when I went to the East River during the day, hours before Sandy hit. It was quite humbling how wrong I was.

Thank goodness, I have practiced life without essentials in Mongolia! When in the countryside, I live without power, hot water, heater or fridge. But then again, if you have to do that at home, the novelty of the adventure wears off quickly.

If I have to life through another crisis, I want to do so in the East Village. I love my neighborhood. Everyone pulls together. Restaurants cooked their perishables on the sidewalk and portable grills came out for potluck diners. When it got dark, bars opened their doors and sold warm beer under candlelight. I never felt unsafe, not even when I had to walk the dog at night, and all I could see were dark shapes moving towards me, waving around blinding flashlights.  

It was strange to look up and see a dark sky, while a white cloud of light hovered above uptown. During a cloudless night, we got to see the stars and the full mood lit up the streets, like I had never experienced before. The glass was half full, at least some times.


I am glad life is back to normal, while I have a new appreciation for comfort.