A few things that I like.

1. saltines.
2. Emergen-C.
3. playing with the grandchildren.
4. episodes of The New Girl and The Mindy Project.
5. a late afternoon nap.
6. a walk in the cool spring evening.
7. yellow skirt, yellow sweater, yellow shirt.
8. yellow sneaks.
9. teaching the stories that Dr. Write gave me.
10. the Thursday New York Times.
11. an unspent gift card from Target.
12. more light more light more light.

feeling good, the people. also: I think you're swell.

Top five favorite things at this very moment.

1. there are two kinds of bread at our house.

2. the movie Take Shelter.

3. that there is a French detective novel waiting for me to read it.

4. that Friday is just a couple of days away.

5. my bed my bed my bed.

(plus the top one: each and every one of my beautiful children is alive and well and on this planet.)

So, I mean, it's cool if you keep quiet, but I like singing.

Rolling Stone recently named its "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" (top 10: Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, John Lennon, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, and James Brown). Since they included Tom Waits and Lou Reed among this stellar company, I must conclude that pure vocal beauty is not the sole criterion for inclusion, and therefore, I offer the following as some of my favorite voices, many of which are beautiful but all of which are compelling to me--voices I'm never sorry to hear:

• Annie Lennox
• Brian Wilson
• Regina Spektor
• Bryan Ferry
• Stephen Stills
• that guy from Depeche Mode
• Gillian Welch
• Rufus Wainwright
• Jeff Buckley
• Jimmie Dale Gilmore
• Joni Mitchell
• Kate Bush
• Mavis Staples
• Marianne Faithfull
• Nellie McKay
• Patty Scialfa
• Peggy Lee
• Chrissie Hynde
• Michael Stipe
• Richard Thompson
• Rickie Lee Jones
• Shawn Colvin
• Prince
• Sylvester Stone
• Stevie Wonder
• Taj Mahal
• Al Green
• Jim Kerr
• Youssou N'Dour
  

and, frankly, Tori Amos, Bono, Van Morrison, and Eddie Vedder.

Who makes your heart sing?

Leaving me a trail of candy.

Dr. Write tagged me to do the meme--a pressing subject for these dark times, although things are brighter than they used to be--"My Favorite Movies A-Z." Because I am a good citizen, I have prepared my list. There are a few overlaps with hers, but no one said there couldn't be overlaps.

Ahem, and ta-da:

Almost Famous
Bull Durham
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Departed, The
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
French Kiss
Gosford Park
Half-Nelson
Igby Goes Down
Junebug
Kung Fu Hustle
Lost in Translation
Mysterious Skin
No Country for Old Men
Opposite of Sex, The
Pride & Prejudice (the Keira Knightley one, sue me)
Queen, The
Rushmore
Sexy Beast
Thelma and Louise
Unbearable Lightness of Being
Volver
Walk on Water
X-Men
Year of Living Dangerously, The (also Y Tu Mama Tambien. Also Young Frankenstein.)
Zodiac

Edified? I should think so. I hope my daughters, all three, will accept the challenge, and my son, and my niece Diane, and my nephew Sam.