what if no one's watching
what if when we're dead
we are just dead
what if there's not time to lose
what if there's things we gotta do
things that need to be said
--Ani Difranco, what if no one's watching

I have a desire to write down every book that was good, every movie I remember liking. All the music that rocks me in my gut. I have a desire to tell you why - yet not knowing who "you" are, what you groove on, how to pass on the connection and the feeling rather than a mere title. I gave up a long time ago on talking about music to persuade; music needs to be experienced and a good mix or a concert ticket is a better way to go. Films - take the list to a video store and read the sleeves and see what strikes you. They're in no particular order, though newer additions tend to appear towards the beginning. And after a stint trying to alphabetize the books, I decided it would make more sense to go chronologically, with newer reads at the top. Clippings appear anywhere, mostly with annotations.

Just cause I like what's here doesn't mean you will. But we need somewhere to start, and somewhere to rave about the words and music that have resonated....it's too egotistical to act as though we live and create in a vaccuum. You'll notice a contemporary focus here; I'm moved more by people who are still alive, who have experienced a world closer to mine, who I could conceivably ask the questions I have after reading or listening or watching. Sometimes I do. Sometimes the characters are enough human for me. Sometimes, I've actually gotten an answer. Often, I'm just looking for a way to say thank you, and hoping I'll be worthy enough to join the crowd.

Each age, it is found, must write its own books; or rather, each generation for the next succeeding. The books of an older period will not fit this.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar