Left...Eric Roberson

Those that know me, know that I love Eric Roberson's music! It happened at my Alma mater, Fall 04'. My girl C.D. brought over some Cd's and we listened and drank. The soulful lyrics I heard made my heart and mind drift to past loves (Past Paradise), current flames (Deaf Ears), and future romances (Back to You). That was Presents: The Vault, Vol 1.5. When in Washington D.C. I went to two of his shows and a good friend of mine surprised me with The Appetizer. Instead of satisfying my hunger until the next album dropped, it instead made my hunger for more. Good thing I moved to NYC and was introduced to SOBs where Eric Roberson hosts their Sol Village showcase. Yay!

The intimate environment at this venue allowed me to enjoy the tunes of this independent artist in a totally new light. He not only worked the crowd by mingling with patrons, but we also shared a joking moment when he sat my table and chatted me up. Then, Left...

I purchased the album that night and listened to it on my disc man on the subway. The album took me back to experiencing the love of music (Music), the pleasures of a new relationship with a friend (Been in Love) and the pains of a break-up (Iluv2much), coping with that pain (Pen Just Cries Away), and then emerging from that experience with a greater understanding (Open Your Eyes). It also opened my eyes to the importance of my potential for growth as a young lady (Pretty Girl), in addition to hopes of a new, beautiful relationship (Too Soon). Couldn't Hear Her, Roberson's rendition of The Vault's Couldn't Hear Me, surrounds listeners with a juxtaposition of the original and a new perspective on the fate of a relationship in a symphony of life.

Books: The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho

I bought this book on my way to Washington, D.C. Memorial Day weekend. I'm surprised I was able to put it down to enjoy the company of friends! Finishing before I returned to NYC, I was left amazed by Coelho's powerful novel. In addition to The Alchemist, this novel inspires to pursue passions, purposes, and love deeply.

From Publishers Weekly
Multimillion-seller Coelho (The Devil and Miss Prym, etc.) returns with another uncanny fusion of philosophy, religious miracle and moral parable. The Portobello of the title is London's Portobello Road, where Sherine Khalil, aka Athena, finds the worship meeting she's leading—where she becomes an omniscient goddess named Hagia Sophia—disrupted by a Protestant protest. Framed as a set of interviews conducted with those who knew Athena, who is dead as the book opens, the story recounts her birth in Transylvania to a Gypsy mother, her adoption by wealthy Lebanese Christians; her short, early marriage to a man she meets at a London college (one of the interviewees); her son Viorel's birth; and her stint selling real estate in Dubai. Back in London in the book's second half, Athena learns to harness the powers that have been present but inchoate within her, and the story picks up as she acquires a "teacher" (Deidre O'Neill, aka Edda, another interviewee), then disciples (also interviewed), and speeds toward a spectacular end. Coelho veers between his signature criticism of modern life and the hydra-headed alternative that Athena taps into. Athena's earliest years don't end up having much plot, but the second half's intrigue sustains the book. (May)