clogs...
unfortunately not for dancing...I've just felt sort of clogged up lately, not with a cold or anything (although Emerson and Lincoln are home again today with colds and fever... sadly missing all the Hallowe'en festivities at school.), but with thoughts and motivations. things I should be doing I just can't seem to get started, thoughts that I have just never quite seem to reach fruition. sigh. perhaps it's the time of year, perhaps I'm looking ahead and seeing a very busy time rapidly approaching, I don't know. but it does seem to weigh heavy.
I have, however, discovered a site that has given me much thoughtful pleasure:
artsjournalreally interesting links to articles (I've been mainly hanging out in the music section), and the further discovery of two (I'm sure there are more) terrific blogs:
Greg Sandow andI'm not going to take the time right now (see what I was saying?...) but there are so many things that have got me thinking from this site and these two guys' writing, that you will probably be hearing a lot about them.
Kyle Gann
anyway, I'd probably better get back to work...
in a hole in the ground
there lived a hobbit...pretty amazing stuff, this:
Scientists Find Prehistoric Dwarf Skeletonjust when you think we've found everything there is to find.
more later, have a great evening.
some links
for your perusal...I've finished the church newsletter, and during breaks, I did a bit of surfing. I came a cross a couple of interesting articles, one at the NYTimes, and another at MSNBC. I also ended up at a couple of sites via Josh Marshall, who I hadn't read for awhile. it's good to hear that he's calling Bush on all the lies... hopefully people are listening. anyway, here are the links, without much further explanation. sorry.
Where Buffalo Still Roamyou'll need to register for the NYTimes, if you haven't already. it's free, and I've never gotten any spam through them. just do it. hey, the author of that article is from Iowa, and her name is Suzanne Winckler. is that the same one you Iowa City guys know? and there are lots of great prairie links (no, not golf courses...) at the end of the article.
Take the A Train
Brooke's Story
Sisters Speak Out
the subway piece is just because I like the subway. Counterpoint is going to NYC in January, and where I'm staying will need a long subway ride. I'm looking forward to it.
the other two links are of political interest. we're going to win this one...
Chellis turns 14 tomorrow. doesn't seem possible. what a fine young man. have a great day, Chellis, and everyone else, too.
where to begin
in the middle...a lot going on, of course, but it's all been pretty good. the big birthday party, a Counterpoint concert, working on the church newsletter, and probably a few other things thrown in for good measure...
I'll start with the birthday party: what a shebang! three other boys in the house, overnight, four pizzas, waffles, video games, bonfires, night hikes. great kids all the way around, and I think a good time was had by all. even Marnie, who did everything. I had a concert last evening, and left the house just before the party began, and didn't get home until midnight. Chellis and his friend were still up of course, and the other four boys were all crashed in their room. waffles for breakfast, and more playing outside and video games before parents started arriving around 11. Chellis, who had stayed up all night, lasted until about 2 pm before he crashed... E & L went to bed early, and after Marnie and Chellis finish CSI, it'll be quiet around here. they all had a great time.
the Counterpoint concert went very well, though attendance was not what anyone hoped. we have a little break before concerts again, but we have a lot to rehearse! the holiday season will be here before we know it.
I spent the day working on the church newsletter. it goes more quickly now that I've done it few times. I added a few little things, and it's shaping up well. hopefully, I'll finish it tomorrow.
I'm up early tomorrow morning for a District church choir thing. it'll just be a pickup choir, but it should be fun. and I'll be done by about 9 am.
Sunday is Chellis' 14th birthday, but sadly, I have a Counterpoint board meeting down near Rutland, so I'll be gone most of the day, leaving after church. I can't believe he's 14. sheesh. he is growing up so fast. they all are. Chellis first HS report card was so terrific, one B, and the rest A's... very cool, and of course, we're pretty proud. he's such a great kid. young man.
pretty good things...
maybe more later, it's only Friday night.
there's
hope...let it be true...
Election Scorecardcan we hold the election today? 'nuff said.
we get a couple of days off from school tomorrow and Friday, and I am ready. a Counterpoint concert tomorrow night, and then a fairly free weekend. nice.
we'll talk more soon. hope you're hale and healthy. if you're not, take care of yourself, this is the start of the busiest time of the year!
pictures
of a city...I ran across this site via a NYTimes article:
JoesNYCjust click the prev button, and enjoy, and perhaps ponder, and maybe have some questions and ideas raised in your mind about this world.
the real
Superman...Gary Kowalski is the Minister at the UU Church in Burlington, and also the author of the benediction that we use at church each Sunday. I found this sermon via a link from the UUA:
The Real Supermangood stuff.
we may wake up to snow...
aglow
still amazing...thought I should at least say hello. we are going on nearly a month of amazing foliage. the leaves are finally starting to fall, but the colors are still vibrant. the house is surrounded by a glow of yellow and orange. it has been quite a season. with that in mind, however, we are forecast for snow showers tomorrow... and there's a bit of a wind today, so we'll lose more leaves as the weekend goes by. but it has been wonderful. I'm looking forward to the drive to Marlboro this afternoon, it should still be peak the further south we go.
things are getting busier as the weeks progress, and I'm entering probably the busiest time of year, and this year is busier than many. I still have 18 concerts before the end of December, so... that makes time go fast, but I'm not sure that's really what I want. but, so it goes.
Emerson and Lincoln had soccer practice this morning, and Chellis is at a friends watching Return of the King and Monty Python's Holy Grail on the wall sized screen his friend just got... Marnie did trash and recycling, and I've been waiting for her to get home so I can finally cut my hair... and they just walked in the door, so... have a great weekend.
Mt. St. Helens cam
you could be watching...when it finally blows again:
Mt. St. Helens webcampretty neat, just pay attention to the time zone... (in other words, it's pretty dark there when it's 6am here...)
halfway through the week... and still smiling...
Superman
a tribute...a friend sent me this picture, which I think is a wonderful tribute to a man who knew what was important. I would give credit to the artist, if I knew who it was. if you find it, drop a comment so I can credit them.
Sunday...
and the weekend passes...well, the biggest news is the shingling is done. I finished up the south side yesterday afternoon, and I don't think it really has sunk in yet. matter-of-fact, I think that I haven't come to terms with the project being finished. I've felt a bit off all day. three years. no more scaffold. we can finally give Brett back his mini-circular saw. three years... heh.
though I did start thinking about next summer's project... I think I'll rebuild the old part of the deck, on the south side. improve it, make it bigger, level it... we'll see.
the boys did quite a bit of archery yesterday. they're definitely getting better, though we do seem to spend a lot of time looking for arrows... red and orange fletching is not the best choice for this time of year... and it's amazing how far an arrow can get buried in the grass... we also tend to over-estimate just how far the arrow traveled... they're never quite as far away as we expect. but, we found them all, and I'm sure the boys will want to borrow them again next weekend. that will be fun.
and for all you video game fans, especially CTR fanatics (hi Carol and Elissa!), the boys bought the new CTR today, Crash Nitro Kart! I haven't played yet, but the boys spent the better part of the afternoon with it, and they say the tracks and power-ups are amazing. the track I saw was pretty cool. I'll never keep up with the boys, but it should be fun anyway!
I've pretty much finished my third arrangement for the Counterpoint Israeli album. I printed out the score and vocal parts today, and we'll start working on that music in the next few weeks. we'll record it next Spring. I think that it turned out pretty well.
okay, enough for now. have a great week.
song and dance
and is it really Friday already?a couple of links, some stories, and you'll have a Friday night blog...
going way back to Sunday, I should tell you about Albany. the concert went very well (I think I told you that already...), and we got to work with some wonderful instrumentalists. our accordion player couldn't do this gig, but the replacement she found was terrific (he's currently playing in the on-stage band in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway...). and we had already replaced our previous mandolin player, and the new guy was also great. to play a concert like this, on about two hours rehearsal... amazing. top-notch. we sang well, and the concert was very well received, by an audience that knew what we were singing about. we got many compliments on our Yiddish, and there were tears and many thanks afterwards. a great experience. we also met some people who are interested in hearing us again, including a group from NYC, which is looking to have us come down there next October for Kristallnacht. how do you say "don't count your chickens" in Yiddish?
the week has flown by (what's new?...); lots of soccer games and practices, and Counterpoint, and gosh, who can remember what else? today was especially fun after Chellis' game: he and I came home after the game, while Emerson and Lincoln were finishing their game, and we got out the bows and arrows that they borrowed from school. we set up a hay bale in the yard, and Chellis showed me how it's done. I really have never shot a bow, and of course, LOTR romantic that I am, was very excited about it! we didn't lose any arrows, though it was close, and I actually hit the bale more than once. they had borrowed three long bows, and two compound bows, so it was fun to get the feel of the different styles. I prefer the compound bow, but the long bow is cooler... heh. we'll definitely be out in the yard tomorrow, trying not to hit any passing cars...
I also hope to finish up the south side shingling, as the weather looks pretty good. when it's done, we'll be able to take apart the scaffolding for good. that will be great! three long years... Marnie did some work on painting window trim yesterday, and also hung up a wood carving in a funky space on the south side. I'm not sure it's even worth trying to explain. I'll have to take a picture... anyway, it's a carving, sort of a bas-relief thing about a foot and a half square, that we found in a pile of junk shortly after we moved into the house, more than 17 years ago. this is a great spot for it. I know, a picture...
okay, enough for one night.
oh yeah, a couple of links.... these came via boingboing:
Marcel Marceauwhy Marcel Marceau? just because.
and
SpaceShipOneI haven't been following this as closely as I would have liked, too busy, but pretty neat stuff. the future is now...
have a great weekend.
cool site...
or hot when the magma starts to flow...some great graphs and info here:
Pacific Northwest Seismograph Networkhaven't had much time to look very deeply (I'm supposed to be teaching...), but there's lots of great links and information. enjoy!
a quick note
before bed...a late night, after a wonderful concert, and an enjoyable carpool drive, but I do need to catch up on a bit of sleep. but I wanted to post one bit of good news: Chellis was elected as a 9th Grade Student Council Representative! he says it's not a big deal, as there were three people running for three positions, but I think it's fabulous! very proud of him for going through the whole petition and election process. he's enjoying the meetings and we're looking forward to being in the know about what's going on at school... not that Marnie doesn't know everything already, but... this will be a different level. pretty cool.
I'll tell more about the trip to Albany tomorrow... time to hit the hay...
I should be
getting my tux together...but this is much more interesting. while reading up on Mt. St. Helens at www.cnn.com I came across this article:
space explosionsthe question that came to my mind was why would there be three of these explosions so close in time? of course, then I realized that they are probably happening all the time (heh...), and they just happen to be better at catching them now. boggles the mind what we can do. 8 billion light years away. you know, then, 8 billion years ago, these were probably commonplace. stars would have been blowing up everywhere, spreading the seeds of the future.
heh. and I haven't even watched that recent Nova special yet...
another quick note: I have spent the last couple of days listening almost exclusively to the latest album from Maria Schneider, Concert in the Garden. simply amazing. her writing is so inspiring and beautiful. the emotions and geometry of her music reach very deeply into me. do yourself a favor and buy the album. oh, and I said almost exclusively because the boys have been wanting to listen to Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Center of the Earth album, which I found on CD earlier this year. I got the record when I was in high school, and it's been one of my favorite progressive rock albums ever since. it really makes me feel good to hear the boys singing melodies from it while they're brushing their teeth...
Counterpoint in Albany, NY tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes...
one more thing. it's definitely fall here now...
Gandhi's birthday
we need someone like him...now. SATURDAY, October 2 Gandhi's birthday will be observed worldwide -- a quote(thanks, Kathy!)
"When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fail. Think of it. Always.hear that, George?
obvious?
Vermont looks pretty good...I'm not going to mention South Dakota...
IQ and voting...sheesh.