Blunt

I'm listening to a CD series about menopause (shaddup, all of yas). This morning on the way to work, the segment included a couple of jolting, highly appreciated statements: 'Women going thru menopause are truth tellers. And that's not a popular thing in our culture. Up until now, women have been people pleasers, but at this stage, we begin to operate from our autonomous and informed center, and to use our voice.'

And then? My Message from the Universe this morning:

"Give it thought, Toni. Consider every angle. And then speak your mind. You've not been drawn into anyone's life just to listen. You're not here to be quiet. Actually, you're one of my spokes-peeps.
Loud and proud,
The Universe"

I find this enormously synchronistic. I've never been famous for my library voice; people learn fairly quickly about me that if they ask, they're going to hear what I have to say. [Hey, I DO wait to be asked!] Lots and lots of people never ask again, but I inevitably prefer the company and presence of those who do. Works out quite well, that way.

Finally: NEW MUSIC ALERT: Amazon says: "Vienna Teng's fourth album, Inland Territory, is a tour de force musically and lyrically, a complex and deeply thoughtful work from an artist cut loose from limitations. Recorded over five months and in four cities, with instrumentation ranging from orchestral percussion to found-object loops to polyphonic choirs, it's without question her most ambitious work yet. The credits alone read like a "Ones To Watch" list: engineer and mixer Eddie Jackson (James Taylor, Patti Sciafla), violinist and concertmaster Rob Moose (Sufjan Stevens, Beth Orton), guitarist Kiyanu Kim (Gwen Stefani) and bassist Jeff Allen (Duncan Sheik), to name a few. Guitar virtuoso Kaki King lends her signature soundscapes to a few tracks, renowned clarinetists Ben Goldberg and Beth Custer trade fours, and fellow singer-songwriters Ari Hest, Julian Velard, Odessa Chen and Noe Venable all contribute vocals.