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Category: General Posts (Page 4 of 21)

Happy Birthday #49

January 24, 2011 /

Today is the day we celebrate your birth:
The day you were born, your first day on Earth.

For forty-nine years we have celebrated you,
On the 24th of January, since 1962.

There’ve been parties with cakes, balloons and more,
And of course there’ve been cards and presents galore!

There was a drawing once, such a long time ago,
So long I’d forgotten – or misremembered it. Though

It took time to create, I don’t recall the source
From which I had copied that single horned horse.

It was created in pencil, and inked with a pen.
Every detail was checked, again and again,

Until finally it was done; the gift was complete.
Packed for delivery, it was carried down the street

To the post office for mailing, to you, from me,
To arrive some days later in Elkins, WV.

It was just one gift, created for you
When we were just kids with growing up to do.

The pen I still have, but it is now out of use
Though I hope that one day I will recover my muse.

So instead of a drawing it’s a poem you get
(though I hope that you’ve not given up on it yet.)

It’s a song to send wishes of happiness to you;
It is hoping for fun, in whatever you do,

Because this is the day that we take time each year
To remember your birthday – we’re so glad you’re here!

Now go and enjoy, my long-lost found friend,
Because sadly I write, this poem’s come to its end.

Happy Birthday, Susan.

The Show Goes On

January 23, 2011 /

Last weekend I spent some time painting one of the hallways – it was in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint – and I decided to plug in my iPod while I worked.  Rather than listen to a random selection of Genius picks, I chose two albums to listen to in their entirety:  Bonnie Raitt’s Nick Of Time, and Bruce Hornsby’s Scenes From The Southside.  I had not listened to these in a long, long time, and playing them again made me remember what really good albums they are.  Nick Of Time won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1990; Scenes From The Southside is Hornsby’s second release with The Range, and I’d always liked this album better than BHATR’s first album The Way It Is, and one song in particular, The Show Goes On is one of my favorites.

It was featured in the trailer for an early Leonardo DiCaprio movie, This Boy’s Life, based upon autobiographical tales by Tobias Wolff.  I saw the movie in the theatre back when it was released in the early 1990’s, and although I loved the film I was disappointed that the song does not actually appear in the movie.

Here is the trailer:

Winter Blues

January 21, 2011 /

Not so much blues as in depression (that usually does not set in until dreaded February, ugh) but more as in blue winter skies.  I guess the brightness of today’s sunshine and the new fallen snow are making the clouds appear extra white against a blue sky, made extra deep by the whiteness of the clouds!

Picasa es su casa

January 18, 2011 /

Been playing a bit with Picasa.  I agonized over which photo site I should use to host and organize the thousands of photos I’ve got stored on my home file server – I’ve looked at Gallery 2 (provided by my web host) and it worked for  a while, but I don’t have the time to make it integrate nicely with my blog.  I’ve also considered smugmug, Flikr, and a few others, but recently been looking at Picasa.  The benefit is that it plays well with my new Droid X phone, and some of the face recognition features are cool, but I still need to figure out what I really want out of a photo site.  I also need to organize and get rid of half the photo files taking up disk space on the server!

a blogger as a writer (via Newfound Technocalities)

January 18, 2011 /

There is a certain blog I’ve been following now for well over a year. It is serendipitous, hosted on Google’s blog service Blogger. I found it by accident one night while reading a friend’s Blogger blog, by clicking on that little link at the top of the page that reads Next Blog; serendipitous was The Next Blog, and I loved it instantly.

Honestly, I am somewhat jealous of the blog’s owner. She lives in central New Hampshire, an area that Edith and I have vacationed in frequently both before and after kids. She also understands the importance of simplicity, as exhibited in her photographs and the narratives that accompany them. I used to be one of a handful of followers of serendipitous until the blog was featured as a blog of the day several months ago; it now boasts well over 2,000 (that’s right, two THOUSAND) followers. I’m not sure how many of those folks are regular readers of this blog, but that is still an astonishing audience.

So, I happened to be reading serendipitous this morning when I discover that the author is quite prolific, and maintains many other blogs. By following a few links, I came across this piece that she wrote, and I found I identified with the following section:

Usually I post late in the evening, just before the end of my day. Throughout the day, I think about an idea, a notion, the content of the day’s post. I find myself composing phrases at odd times. If I come up with something I really like, I often make a note to myself. I even started a running list of ideas about which to post – old stories and memories, things that are on my mind, that sort of thing. When I finally do sit down to blog, I have my dictionary application open so I can check spelling and reference the thesaurus. I compose the day’s post, then I reread and revise. Mull over my choices of words. Vary my sentence structure. Make sure the paragraph flows. Try to be concise but clear. I work hard on the ending trying for a big finish. When I think I’ve got it right, I publish – and then shut down for the night. But in the morning with coffee, after I’ve caught up on the news, after I’ve checked email and the weather, I read the post again. If it needs tweaking, I do it then. I find it helps in the revision process to have that little bit of distance from the original writing session. … Read More

via Newfound Technocalities

I should not be surprised at all that other blog authors have the same approach to writing posts, but she describes exactly my thought process when coming up with ideas to post.  I guess good writing habits are not unique.

Intensity

January 12, 2011 /
[display_podcast]
1  : the quality or state of being intense; especially : extreme degree of strength, force, energy, or feeling
2  : the magnitude of a quantity (as force or energy) per unit (as of area, charge, mass, or time)
3  : saturation
Examples of INTENSITY
the intensity of the sun’s rays
the intensity of the argument
The sun shone with great intensity.
Synonyms: ardency, emotion, enthusiasm, fervency, fervidness, fervor, fire, heat, intenseness, ardor, passion, passionateness, vehemence, violence, warmth, white heat
intense
1a : existing in an extreme degree <the excitement was intense> <intense pain>
b : having or showing a characteristic in extreme degree <intense colors>
2  : marked by or expressive of great zeal, energy, determination, or concentration <intense effort>
3a : exhibiting strong feeling or earnestness of purpose <an intense student>
b : deeply felt
Examples of INTENSE
He shielded his eyes from the intense flash of light.
She has an intense dislike for her husband’s friend.
After many years of intense study, he received his medical degree.
School reform is a subject of intense debate.
The work requires intense concentration.
He was an intense young man who was very determined to do well in school.
Synonyms: acute, almighty, blistering, deep, dreadful, excruciating, explosive, exquisite, fearful, fearsome, ferocious, fierce, frightful, furious, ghastly, hard, heavy, heavy-duty, hellacious, intensive, keen, profound, terrible, vehement, vicious, violent

Sixty Years On

January 7, 2011 /

The song for the day is Elton John’s Sixty Years On:

Who’ll walk me down to church when I’m sixty years of age
When the ragged dog they gave me has been ten years in the grave
And senorita play guitar, play it just for you
My rosary has broken and my beads have all slipped through
You’ve hung up your great coat and you’ve laid down your gun
You know the war you fought in wasn’t too much fun
And the future you’re giving me holds nothing for a gun
I’ve no wish to be living sixty years on
Yes I’ll sit with you and talk let your eyes relive again
I know my vintage prayers would be very much the same
And Magdelena plays the organ, plays it just for you
Your choral lamp that burns so low when you are passing through
And the future you’re giving me holds nothing for a gun
I’ve no wish to be living sixty years on

Happy Birthday, WMW.

Because It’s There

January 7, 2011 /

I’m not really one to use this blog to just re-hash content that is already published on the web.  I think it is cheap and easy and unoriginal to use a blog as such – I would rather read what the blog is writing, view their photos, or their artwork, or whatever.

So I apologize for this post, as it is really nothing more than a link to a YouTube video of Michael Hedges playing Because It’s There.  For some reason, I was thinking of Michael tonight, and where I was when I learned that he had died.

It was December 3, 1997, and I was in Center City Philadelphia attending a training session at CoreStates for a couple of days.  Specifically, the training was way up on the upper floors of a building on Walnut Street between 5th and 6th, overlooking Independence Hall.  I was on a lunch break, and had walked down to 8th and Walnut to pick up the engagement ring I was planning to give to Edith in NYC on the 6th.  I then walked up 8th, and was crossing Market Street, listening to Because It’s There in my head.  I’ve liked this song since I first heard in on a Windham Hill Sampler CD sometime in the mid-80’s  I would swear there were two people playing, but Michael was just an incredible guitarist.

Because It’s There

Richie, Richie, Richie…

January 5, 2011 /

…and Dar Williams.  Received a phone call from the NJPAC this afternoon, that the concert scheduled for April 29 has been canceled.  Bummer!  I had scored some really good orchestra seats for Edith and I to have a night out alone, and was really looking forward to the show.  I was offered the opportunity to exchange the tickets for a different show, but nothing else jumped out at me so I’m just taking the refund.

This is the second time a concert has been canceled on me – the last time was back in the mid 90’s, when Edith and I were to see Nanci Griffith at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, when I received a call on the afternoon of the show that Nanci was ill.  I was bummed then too, but we had already seen Nanci on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.  I’ve seen Dar several times before, but never saw Richie.

I only sat behind him a 5ive hour flight from Newark to San Francisco.

Fun With iTunes, Revisited

January 3, 2011 /

A 5ive year follow up to my December 2005 post… let’s see what’s changed:

How Many Songs:

10,221

Sort By Song Title

First Song: À la Mode – Art Blakey, The Impulse! Collection: the Best of Impulse!, Vol. 1

Last Song:  99.9 F – Suzanne Vega, 99.9° F

Last Alphabetical Song: Zorro: Zorro – The Mellomen, The Music Of Disney: A Legacy In Song

Sort By Time

Shortest Song: Back — Janet Jackson

Longest Song: The Sinking of the Titanic — Gavin Bryars

Top 5ive Most Played

  1. Seasons Reprise – Elton John, Rare Masters
  2. Bring A Torch Jeanette, Isabella/When Blossoms Flowered ‘Mid The Snows – Liz Story, The Gift
  3. Here Comes The Sun – Richie Havens, Alarm Clock
  4. Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming – Anne & Pete Sibley, Winter On the Great Divide: a Christmas Album
  5. Lullay, Lully – Barbara Higbie, A Winter’s Solstice, Vol. 3

First Song That Comes Up On Shuffle

Just a Memory – Elvis Costello and The Attractions, Get Happy!! [Ryko Bonus Tracks]

“sex” songs – 18

“death” songs – 3

“love” songs – 617

“you” songs – 1123

Over 3,600 songs have been added in 5ive years: 3 more sexy songs, a bunch of new love and you songs, but I guess my musical sense of morbidity has been stable.  Also looks like iTunes is now smart enough to know that ‘Round should alphabetize under R.

From Zero to Sixty

January 3, 2011 /

For near 25 years, since 1985, Susan and I had very little contact.  I sent her a few letters here and there – I heard nothing back from her – and that was it for 18 years.  I reached out to Susan in late December 2002, and we traded a handful of emails, but she wrote that it was incredibly weird to be in touch again, denied her own existence, and took off running.  Afterward I heard nothing at all from Susan until she sent a couple random notes in early 2008, followed by more silence.  No contact – zero.  I chalked it up, and life went on.

Until 2010.

On February 14, Susan replied to the birthday wishes I send her each year.  Understand me, I was ecstatic to hear from her, but I’d been down that road before with her, and when I replied and did not hear again from her after several weeks and months I thought she was gone again… and then just by happenstance in mid-April I took a look at my inbox on YouTube and saw a reply, from her daughter’s account dated February 27, to my email.  I wonder what it was she was thinking when I took so long to reply to that note.  Since that date, Susan has sent me over sixty separate notes.  What made her decide, now nearly a year ago, that it was time?

Regardless – I’m just happy that it happened.

Snow

December 27, 2010 /

From the January 11, 1997 broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion:

Singing In The Snow

We’re singing in the snow, just singing in the snow

What a glorious feeling, it’s twenty below

There’s three feet of snow,

So lovely and white,

And the weatherman says,

We’ll get more tonight.

Some folks may head south

That’s fine, let ’em go,

But I’m singin’, still singing’ in the snow.

From Winnie The Pooh – A Very Merry Pooh Year

Snow, snow

On my eyes, my ears, my toes

I suppose

It even froze my nose

O Come Let Us Adore Him

December 25, 2010 /

Mass was at 5:00 PM.  Although we are officially parishioners of St. Vincent de Paul in Stirling, we chose to attend the Vigil Mass at St. Joseph’s this year.  We arrived shortly before 4:30 and found a pew near the front of the church, but it was filling up quickly.  By 4:45 it was nearly standing room only.  The church decoration was breathtakingly beautiful: the cornerstone for St. Joseph’s church building was laid in 1882, and the interior has recently undergone renovations to the sanctuary, new marble flooring, and was completely re-painted this past year.  As former parishioners of St. Joseph’s we’ve attended Christmas Mass there many times, but this year the decorating was especially well done.

As I sat in our pew, waiting for Mass to begin, I tried to focus on my presence with Our Lord as we prepared to celebrate the birth of His Son here on Earth.  I wondered: where the Advent season had gone; what had I done to prepare for this celebration; how does one prepare anyway?  I felt unsure that I had done anything at all.  Sure, I was looking forward to the time off from work, and I managed to decorate the house and shop for and purchase gifts for my family, but had I really been mindful of the true meaning of Christmas?  I struggled for answers.  For help, I read the first and second readings for the Vigil Mass, as well as the Gospel, and I thought perhaps I was getting clarity…

I do love Christmas Mass, as it is truly the only time of the year that I can sing all the verses of the hymns without needing to refer to the hymnal.  The Mass began with O Come All Ye Faithful, and I tried harder still to focus on the celebration of The Word made flesh; I generally take Mass seriously, and try to listen intently to the message of the homily.  The homilist, Very Rev. Richard Lyons, J.C.L., began by stating that as the Advent season drew to a close, perhaps many of us were wondering “where Advent had gone, and what had we been preparing for?”  This guy was good. He urged us to remember that Christmas is the celebration of a specific event: the birth of Jesus.  He wondered if anyone really offered a Merry Christmas anymore.  While many of us are inundated with well meant wishes of Happy Holidays and Season Greetings, those sentiments generalize and diminish the celebration of Christ’s virgin birth.  He further cited examples of the morphing of the secular and religious celebrations by telling of a neighbor’s front lawn decorated with an inflatable nativity, inflatable Mary, and Joseph, accompanied by inflatable Winnie the Pooh, Rudolph, and Frosty the Snowman to serve as the Magi.  I thought of my own decorations, and took comfort in simply an illuminated angel and a couple of small deer.  Although I understood I had fallen short in my own preparation for the celebration of Christmas, I also realized that it was not too late.

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