Hosted a going away party for dv last night. It was actually a lot of fun – until the end of the night when I started bawling . . . but I felt that coming. I absolutely adore dv and were it not for her, I doubt I would have survived some of grad schools more intense academic (and social) drama. So many great memories with dv, my partner in crime and one of the best friends I’ve yet had.

One of the highlights of the evening came when I busted out some old poetry (from ten years ago) my old English Prof passed on to me during my interview. Nb chose one of the poems and began to read it aloud, using a highly affected, old-school, theatrical voice – kind of a cross between (the late, great) Kate Hepburn and (the late, great) Alistaire Cooke. It was hysterical and though I’d already had some wine, it wasn’t enough to numb the mortification . . . Our favorite lines were: “he could be anyone – instead he’s a carpenter,/ten years too old for me.” To which, dv remarked “What would that be? Eighty?” (I tend to likes the well-ripened types.) A series of wise cracks about the poem were made long into the evening – many regarding said lines. Aj said something like, “It could have worked out – if only he hadn’t gone to trade school.” I fucking love my friends. One of the things I thought last night was how truly blessed I am to be surrounded by other intelligent artists and writers – marvelous and marvelously gifted people.

These days everything seems to be coming into focus. Things in the world seem to hold greater significance than they ever did before. Oh, the powerful and transitive force that is change.

Anyway, moving away from the sap, I’m planning to drink down some of the beer arsenal left over from yesterday (we artisans like our drink – and we supply it in great abundance) and watch The Forty Year Old Virgin – a film I started watching back in January but never finished because the person I was watching it with was not interested in watching a movie.

I’m currently obsessed with a song by a band I recently discovered called The Knife. The song is called “Like A Pen.” It is fucking amazing – dark, lyrically strong, inexplicably hot. The Knife is a brother and sister duo out of Sweden – unlike Swedish musical gems such as Abba, Junior Senior and Mando Diao – The Knife actually speak English and have a good command of the language.

Another song by The Knife and a kick ass video is the Link of the Day: THIS.