{"id":95088,"date":"2014-12-04T23:59:40","date_gmt":"2014-12-05T06:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/?p=95088"},"modified":"2014-12-04T23:59:40","modified_gmt":"2014-12-05T06:59:40","slug":"looking-elsewhere-blood-oranges-image-hurray-for-the-riff-raff-pj-harvey-lightsabers-p-d-james-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2014\/12\/looking-elsewhere-blood-oranges-image-hurray-for-the-riff-raff-pj-harvey-lightsabers-p-d-james-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking Elsewhere: Blood Oranges, Image, Hurray for the Riff Raff, PJ Harvey, Lightsabers, P.D. James, and More."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The last couple of weeks have been full of terrible news<\/a> and similarly terrible shows of hard-heartedness and prejudice, with the headlines dominated by violence, racism, injustice, riots, and worse. Thus, I\u2019ve been especially drawn to rare flashes of goodness, humor, and grace.<\/p>\n

Some of those have come in the form of the Christmas party playlists that I\u2019ve published here at the blog, thanks to Joe Henry, Ashley Cleveland, and several more that I\u2019ll post in the coming days.<\/p>\n

And here are a few more highlights: recent distractions and discoveries from elsewhere on the web that gave me fleeting moments of relief from the storms.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"BloodOrangesCover\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I love it when my favorite artists are properly appreciated. This week, The L.A. Times<\/em>\u00a0gave four stars<\/strong> to Blood Oranges in the Snow<\/em><\/a>, the excellent new Over the Rhine Christmas album, saying: \u201cIf every musician brought this much inspiration and imagination to the task of recording holiday songs, what a wonderful world it truly would be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed! Sounds like what I\u2019ve been saying about Over the Rhine for almost 20 years.<\/p>\n

And speaking of Over the Rhine<\/strong>: All I want for Christmas is \u2026 oh my, how in the world can I transport myself to this<\/a>? It can be rough, being an Over the Rhine fan, because\u00a0they\u2019re always up to something awesome, and nobody can keep up.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

Glad tidings! IMAGE<\/em><\/strong> has received an NEA grant<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n

3.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"SmallTownHeroesSleeve\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s that time of the year when some critics rush to turn in their Best of 2014 lists even though there are still 30 days left to explore. While many, if not most, of those titles will be familiar to me (Rolling Stone<\/em> just picked U2\u2019s Songs of Innocence<\/em><\/span>\u00a0as the #1 record of 2014), there\u2019s almost always a number of titles that are new to me, and then, investigating, I find some new favorites. I\u2019ve just found one: Hurray for the Riff Raff\u2019s Small Town Heroes<\/em><\/strong>. I love this record. Here\u2019s a cheery song for your holidays.<\/span><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ogTh2CpOwzo<\/a>\n

4.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Hollow of the Hand,\u00a0<\/em>a book of poetry by\u00a0PJ Harvey<\/strong><\/a>, will be published in October 2015, so you know what to get me for my birthday.<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another legendary Seattle movie theater is closing: This time, it\u2019s the Harvard Exit<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n

6.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think half the fun of these new Star Wars<\/em> sequels will be the hilarity\u00a0of watching what other people make of them. It was a week for everybody to talk about, and make something of, the new Star Wars<\/em> trailer<\/strong>. Even Steven Colbert<\/strong> got into it.<\/a><\/p>\n

Then there was this tweet<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And then there was this: Star Wars, Episode VII \u2013 The Force Awakens<\/em> \u2026 directed by Wes Anderson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n