Into the west

Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You have come to journey's end

Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away

Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping

What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do those white gulls call?

Across the sea
A pale moon rises
The ships have come
To carry you home

Dawn will turn to silver glass
A light on the water
All souls pass

Hope fades
Into the world of night
Through shadows falling
Out of memory and time

Don't say
We have come now to the end
White shores are calling
You and I will meet again

And you'll be here in my arms
Just sleeping

What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do those white gulls call?

Across the sea
A pale moon rises
The ships have come
To carry you home

And all will turn to silver glass
A light on the water
Grey ships pass
Into the West

As has been my wont the past several years I've spent time the week between Christmas & New Years with the DVDs of The Lord of the Rings. The picture is a still life of some of the things that accompanied me as I watched this year.

As one year unfolds into the next I send these lyrics and a link to Annie Lennox's poetic treatment of them.



May the new year bring you much contentment and joy.

JR

On the second day of Christmas

Well not exactly two turtle doves, but I thought I'd include a photo from the 2nd day of Christmas showing our family creche with some additions that Andy dug up from somewhere. I took one of the pictures especially for one of my siblings. She'll know who she is when she sees it. ;)

On this penultimate day of 2011 I send my best wishes for a new year filled with health, comfort and joy.

Christmas can-can

Their corps de ballet master could have worked a tad more on their coordination, but hey, they're the dancers and the orchestra so we'll cut them some slack.



Christmas, Christmas time is here, and Christmas songs you love to hear
thoughts of joy and hope and cheer, but mostly shopping, shopping, shopping
Christmas. Christmas time is here, the sleigh bells and red nosed deer
songs and songs we love to hear all played a thousand times each year
Heard this same song 20 times and it’s only Halloween
(Joy to the World) It’s not even cold outside (deck the halls with boughs of holly)
Christmas, Christmas time is here, and Christmas songs you love to hear
(Hark the herald angels sing joy to)
thoughts of joy and hope and cheer, but mostly shopping, shopping, shopping
Christmas season, starting sooner every year It’s October,
stores with plastic Christmas trees Ransack the mall, shop until you lose your mind
Spike the eggnog, sit back and watch Rudolf, Frosty, Tiny Tim, and Scrooge the price, or Charlie Brown
It’s time... It’s time to do the Christmas can-can
if you can’t, can’t dance well that’s ok (not going to do the kick line)
All you need is a tree, some lights about a thousand presents wrap them up and pray for snow
Run to your closet find your Christmas sweaters screaming carols all the way (fa-la-la-la-la)
Maine all the way to California it’s the Christmas can-can
Halloween to Christmas day
It’s the most wonderful time of year we’re running mad with Christmas cheer
hey what’s troubling you my friend? It’s not fair if your jewish, jewish
(not fair if your Jewish, Jewish)
Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel I made it out of clay
You realize that Christmas ain’t the only holiday
Hey he’s right who made these laws Look! Wait! Here comes Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Santa Claus (Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa)
Hey Santa do the can-can help them if you can-can join in the parade
All you need is a tree, some lights about a thousand presents wrap them up and pray for snow
Run to your closet find your Christmas sweaters screaming carols all the way (fa-la-la-la-la) Prance all the way to Indiana
it’s the Christmas can-can that’s the end
Wait for our ending We should share this holiday I wanna give a happy Chanukah to you, a happy Chanukah to you, a happy Chanukah to you A merry Christmas, Chanukah and also Kwanzaa. Merry Christmas, happy Chanukah, and mer-ry Kwan-zaa too

Read more: STRAIGHT NO CHASER - THE CHRISTMAS CAN-CAN LYRICS http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-christmas-cancan-lyrics-straight-no-chaser.html#ixzz1gtpjQh5A
Copied from MetroLyrics.com

Hodie natus est

Angel playing salterium, Sforza Hours,
Giovan Pietro Birago, c.1490.
London, British Library, Add. 34294, f.38
(Faksimile-Verlag)

Well, not quite today but I saw this picture while trying to track down an urtext of the Blavet flute sonatas & just had to share.

Lovely sunny day today but a blustery wind. I've got to get back to practicing sometime soon but have been scrambling to get at least 1 scarf finished before the really cold weather hits.

I wonder what their electricity bill is?

Well, Nutcracker rehearsals down, now two performances to go. I've got the fingerings for the tricky picc licks down, now my goal is to get them up to tempo so they don't sound like so much crap in situ. Note to self: must do better. The yoga nidra I did before the first rehearsal did help me focus. Note to self: practice yoga nidra more than just before a rehearsal.

Active metaphor

What will they think of next?

"Active Metaphor
Author(s):
(unknown)
Institution:
Limiteazero, Milan, Italy
Year:
2002
URL:
http://www.limiteazero.com/carnivore/index.html
Project Description:
Limiteazero is an architecture, media design and media art studio based in Milan, Italy. Among it's rich portfolio in installation/exhibition design, sound design and new media, they created a Carnivore client with audio/visual feedback, entitled Active Metaphor.

The basis of the project is the "Carnivore" engine, a software application that listens to all internet traffic on a specific local network. Carnivore was created by RSG and has won Golden Nica at Ars Electronica and an honorable mention at read_me 1.2.

The authors made a script that gets the ip address ("aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd"), and breaks it down into four different groups of numbers ("aaa", "bbb","ccc", "ddd"). These elements are used as coordinates for 3D shapes and blending percentages ("x", "y", "z", "blend"). They choose to work with ip addresses because: "it's the main data that identifies an Internet relationship. Users identify their interaction by requesting ip addresses, even if they're not aware of it. Each ip address flowing over the net could be thought of as a human action, a communication, or an experience."

This piece of work lets the user see and hear the data flow, which is something that we normally can't perceive. It allows us to see the net as a huge data field that is constantly moving, like a digital life-form that feeds itself with human interaction."

I found this image on http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/.

Heading off soon for acupuncture - my first appt. in a month due to my schedule & the acupuncturist's. Tomorrow is Alexander then the Nutcracker marathon begins on Friday with 2 rehearsals, & performances on Sat. & Sun. Here's hoping the practicing I've done all year will have paid off.

22.Aug.2011

Some actual factual pictures from life here in Beantown for a change recently (that's Andy ogling the enormous sunflowers). Others include a tree (or destruction of a tree) sculpture & some rock sculptures from the yard of a wonderful house on Waldorf Street in the Ashmont Hill area. Heading off for a neighborhood toddle - a little chilly now but a welcome relief from the ridiculously high temps we've been having recently for this time of year. God (or Mom) must be giving me time to get finished a new scarf for moi to wear in the cold weather. Then tootlin, stitching, etc.