Flightless Night

I just got back from seeing Iron & Wine play at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. They sold out tonight and tomorrow night. He hasn't been in the southland since May 9, 2009 where he played the Troubadour. In that concert (which I also went to) he was alone and did an all acoustic set. It was amazing. His voice is pure and melancholy. This week though, he brought the band: Keyboardist, accompany guitar, two backup vocals, percussionist, drummer, bass sax, tenor sax/clarinet, and trumpet player. It was loud! I was prepared for a night of slow head nodding but this had my toes tapping.

If you're familiar with his music, he did some older tunes with quicker beats (Shepherd's Dog, Boy With A Coin) and a lot of the newer stuff from his latest album. Long guitar and brass interludes. It was fun. The crowd was rowdy in the best sense.

The band said good night and a lot of suckers left. Doesn't everyone know that the show isn't over until the house lights come on? Clapping, chanting and stomping ensue until Sam (the singer and lead guitar guy) come back onstage. A stage hand brings him is acoustic guitar. What will he play? Trapeze Swinger? Passing Afternoon? He didn't play Flightless Bird at the previous show so I wasn't hoping for that but just incase, I whip out both of my cameras (in case one of them fails, it's happened before).

What follows was an auditory miracle. A nearly a cappella Flightless Bird takes wing and submerges the audience in a hush filled worship of his voice. The video quality doesn't convey much but the audio is spot on. Enjoy!

Video also hosted here.

Breaking Dawn title and random acts of Twidar

Time to jump on the bandwagon. Summit has released the title treatment for Breaking Dawn, part 1.

My first reaction was "ohhh pretty". I like the colors. It makes it seem like the sun is setting or rising. It's gold on the bottom and redish at the top. People were commenting that there are too many "lines". I suppose, it doesn't detract any for me. I keep looking at it and it seems.. big. Like Breaking Dawn is a long title compared to the others but there's no getting around that. Overall, I like it.

And of course Summit released it's first official picture from the movie.

It first showed up in issue #1138 of Entertainment Weekly magazine and then later posted online. I pretty much only look at Rob/Edward. This Adam's apple, his bicep, his feathery lashes, his bicep... Kristen/Bella has a weird face. Like a "pretend there aren't 50 people watching me naked" look. This is a fairly narrow shot. I can't help but wonder what the wide screen shot will reveal. Rob straddling Kristen? The sheet just starting to slid off his gorgeous ass. Acres and acres of exposed back. hmmmm

This was all after Bill Condon's Thanksgiving treat to all of us we he posted this little nugget.

Summit and Bill have been pretty good to us. Giving us these Easter eggs to tide us over until the movie is released. Though rarely does a day go by that I'm not thinking of Twilight, Rob and/or Edward. It's kinda sad but whatever. 

Sometimes random acts of Twilight just happen without you planning it. I was listening to the news the other day and besides of two school shooting, they did a report on health care. One prevision in the plan is that my 2013, everyone is mandated to buy health insurance. Two people are suing against this because they think it's unconstitutional and one of the people suing lives in Port Angeles, WA! What are the odds.

Fandom Happenings

Hello friends. I want to start off by pointing out some really great things that are happening now in the fandom. I encourage everyone to get involved and to help each other.

Because of the recent flooding in Australia, multiple fandoms are coming together to pool their resources together to help people effected. Here's more information on the project from their website:

A group of caring and determined Aussie's are working hard to raise funds for the victims of the devastating floods that have ravaged Queensland in recent weeks. To help them in their efforts, donate at least $5 to the QLD Government Appeal, forward your receipt to fandomsfightthefloods@gmail.com, and you will receive a compliation of stories and oneshots from your favourite fic authors across the following fandoms: Twilight, Southern Vampire Mysteries (Sookie Stackhouse), The Vampire Diaries, Vampire Academy, Harry Potter, The Mortal Instruments, and more - including original pieces.

You can also contribute to the cause by donating a story/one-shot to be added to the compilation.  The maximum word limit for submissions is 10,000 words and all submissions must be received by 11:59pm AEST/GMT+10 on Sunday February 20th, 2011.  To register as an author, head on over to the Author Registration page and submit your information in the registration form.  Once you register, an email will be sent out to you within 24 hours containing more details about your submission.

The story compilation will be ready for distribution on Tuesday March 1st, 2011.  Donation confirmation emails will still be accepted after this date in return for a copy of the compilation.

Any questions/queries about the appeal, author registration, or donations can be directed to our email address - fandomsfightthefloods@gmail.com - and one of our lovely organisers will respond as soon as they can.

I participated in the Twi Fan for Haiti donation effort lead by author MsKathy. It warms my heart to see a all of us come together for a truly needy cause.

Another good cause to get behind The Fandom Against Domestic Violence founded by author buhbeesgirl. Here's most of her welcoming post that talks about why she's started this and how you can contribute.

This all started from my little story, True Love Way. I wanted to do something to give back from my writing. My story involved domestic violence issues so I decided that for each review/author alert/story alert/story favorite I received that I would donate $.10 of my own personal money to NCADV. So far I have raised almost $200 just from that little venture. But I know we can do more! 

If you're an author that would like to contribute, fill out the Author Sign-up form above. Submissions are due by January 21, 2011. Stories do not necessarily have to revolve around domestic violence issues. They can be oneshots, outtakes, original stories or whatever you feel like contributing.

Donations will be done directly through the NCADV website (you can find a link under "How to Donate" above) from February 1-28, 2011. The minimum donation is $10 but you will receive a lovely compilation of stories from various authors who took the time out of their busy schedules to write something just for this fundraiser.

If there is any other way that you would like to creatively contribute please feel free to email fandomagainstdomesticviolence@gmail.com

Also on the site are excerpt from real women that have first hand experience of this issue and share their stories with everyone. Here's an example:

Unafraid

Domestic violence is one of those things that some people look at and say "I would never let myself get involved in a situation like that." Especially if you have seen another loved one involved in an abusive relationship. These types of situations can catch you by surprise. You think you have found the perfect mate. Miracle1901's personal story is a perfect example of that. It is also a perfect example of how, no matter how bad it gets, you can always find a way out.

"I watched my mother get beaten within an inch of her life by my step father. The same man who told me he would kill her if i told anyone what he was doing to me...i was seven years old. I believed him for 3 years he did things to me that i wont go into detail about. I finally told her what was happening. She left him and after a week of hiding in a hotel from him he was caught and sent to jail. He killed himself before he had to go to trial.

I told myself I would never let a man hit me. I would would be able to see it coming because I knew what to look for. I always told myself that as I much as I love my mother I would never put myself in a situation like that." 

Read more of Miracle1901's story on the Personal Stories page.

It are projects like these that make me so glad to be apart of this fandom. Everyone supports one another and it just amazing what we as a community can accomplish.