A delightful look at Messian and others whose music tried to capture nature, particularly in birdsong. Who of you have played a grand piano in an open field beside a river?
My graduate thesis paper in my second round of graduate school worked on a theme that resembles this author's ideas...over the subsequent decades, I've thrived from that notion of serendipity, but I've found few 'kindred spirits' who see the importance of this phenomenon. For many folk in places I've worked, they're in a very different place--very focused on the task at hand, in a way that has left them uncomfortable or sometimes angry when I've found serendipitous moments/ideas/notions that would contribute to the effort at work.
Perhaps the useful thing to say is that how can Americans today build a stronger culture of serendipity? It does not require becoming a Zen Buddhist, just an attention to the moment, and the ideas that one has, particularly those which are surprising, weird, unexpected...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/opinio
Perhaps the useful thing to say is that how can Americans today build a stronger culture of serendipity? It does not require becoming a Zen Buddhist, just an attention to the moment, and the ideas that one has, particularly those which are surprising, weird, unexpected...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/opinio
Who of you have seen a 70mm version of this film?
The film story itself is only mildly appealing, and the writer has proven himself clever and adept. But from the NYTimes review, I think it has more violence than I'm in the mood to watch these days...
Comments?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/30/movies/t
The film story itself is only mildly appealing, and the writer has proven himself clever and adept. But from the NYTimes review, I think it has more violence than I'm in the mood to watch these days...
Comments?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/30/movies/t
The Governor of California, Jerry Brown, is hated by some, tolerated by many, and appreciated by various folk. Part of the Brown family who were active in government in 20th- and (so far) in 21st-century California, I was happy to see him step back into the Governor's Office a few years ago, his second round as Governor. Now limited by the term-limits statutes enacted since he was Governor for the first time, he prepares for 'retirement'.
(in the 1970s, his then-girlfriend, Linda Ronstadt, once referred to him using the word "Moonbeam", perhaps "Governor Moonbeam", and I liked that when he ran again. The political craziness of those days, I would just say to others, "I want Governor Moonbeam back". It felt appropriate for Queen Meg to go focus on corporate things, like splitting up Hewlett Packard)
Who of you have been in Williams, California, the byline for this article? At the end of 2011, I nearly drove up to Williams--I was seeking Interstate 505 as I drove north from Davis on I-5, but there is no transition road nor sign for 505, so I blithely drove up to Dunnigan.
Northern California is another world...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/us/jer
(in the 1970s, his then-girlfriend, Linda Ronstadt, once referred to him using the word "Moonbeam", perhaps "Governor Moonbeam", and I liked that when he ran again. The political craziness of those days, I would just say to others, "I want Governor Moonbeam back". It felt appropriate for Queen Meg to go focus on corporate things, like splitting up Hewlett Packard)
Who of you have been in Williams, California, the byline for this article? At the end of 2011, I nearly drove up to Williams--I was seeking Interstate 505 as I drove north from Davis on I-5, but there is no transition road nor sign for 505, so I blithely drove up to Dunnigan.
Northern California is another world...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/us/jer
A warm night at home, and I awaken, and do not return to sleep.
Edith Iglauer's book _The Strangers Next Door_ gives me something to read a bit, we'll see whether I return to sleep. Interviews, some published in the New Yorker, some published in BC.
I finished the chapter about Capi Blanchet, whose _Curve of Time_ also sits in the bedroom bookcase.
Iglauer's book _Fishing with John_ is a remarkable, wonderful story of life with a fisherman, and a glimpse of life in coastal Britsh Columbia.
Ms. Iglauer is an example to us all--active into her late 90s. Bless her.
And a commentary on The Internet--this page still points to a recording of the interview, but the URL does not work. So sad, but the very dismal reality of The Internet--at some point, the resource is lost...
http://www.cbc.ca/thetrailbreaker/2
Edith Iglauer's book _The Strangers Next Door_ gives me something to read a bit, we'll see whether I return to sleep. Interviews, some published in the New Yorker, some published in BC.
I finished the chapter about Capi Blanchet, whose _Curve of Time_ also sits in the bedroom bookcase.
Iglauer's book _Fishing with John_ is a remarkable, wonderful story of life with a fisherman, and a glimpse of life in coastal Britsh Columbia.
Ms. Iglauer is an example to us all--active into her late 90s. Bless her.
And a commentary on The Internet--this page still points to a recording of the interview, but the URL does not work. So sad, but the very dismal reality of The Internet--at some point, the resource is lost...
http://www.cbc.ca/thetrailbreaker/2
One of the few novels that capture my heart and mind (...meaning, I don't usually read fiction--but this one does). Willa Cather's book remains one of my favorites, among all fiction and non-fiction in my bedroom.
An excerpt that to some will sound glib, but for me it's a helpful reminder:
The Archbishop (who caught a cold illness) asks to return to his study in Santa Fé, and asks his assistant to ask the (new) Archbishop if he can return there...his assistant responds "I will go at once [to ask], Father. But you should not be discouraged; one does not die of a cold."
The old man smiled. "I shall not die of a cold, my son. I shall die of having lived."
An excerpt that to some will sound glib, but for me it's a helpful reminder:
The Archbishop (who caught a cold illness) asks to return to his study in Santa Fé, and asks his assistant to ask the (new) Archbishop if he can return there...his assistant responds "I will go at once [to ask], Father. But you should not be discouraged; one does not die of a cold."
The old man smiled. "I shall not die of a cold, my son. I shall die of having lived."
Many think of California when you hear the word "earthquakes" or "tsunami". But this is a very sober look at the Pacific Northwest, up into British Columbia. I endorse it to your reading list, very seriously. This is not film drama, but a look based on contemporary science.
The Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 appears to also be a fair comparison. In the article's description of a tsunami, I think of what my cousin experienced in Thailand when the Indian Ocean was struck by a massive tsunami.
I recently watched the film _San Andreas_--watch it sometime, but _not_ for a sense of the San Andreas fault's damage, but rather for a sense of what Seattle, Portland and most everything 'west of Interstate 5" might experience.
And the massive wave in _San Andreas_ is NOT what is likely--rather, it will be like Tohoku in 2011. I'm reminded of the images from NHK helicopters above the coast at Sendai--the water simply came ashore, and kept coming, and proceeded far inland, pushing EVERYTHING inland, _far_ inland.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2
The Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 appears to also be a fair comparison. In the article's description of a tsunami, I think of what my cousin experienced in Thailand when the Indian Ocean was struck by a massive tsunami.
I recently watched the film _San Andreas_--watch it sometime, but _not_ for a sense of the San Andreas fault's damage, but rather for a sense of what Seattle, Portland and most everything 'west of Interstate 5" might experience.
And the massive wave in _San Andreas_ is NOT what is likely--rather, it will be like Tohoku in 2011. I'm reminded of the images from NHK helicopters above the coast at Sendai--the water simply came ashore, and kept coming, and proceeded far inland, pushing EVERYTHING inland, _far_ inland.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2
amusedIvan Doig has died...
His memoir, _This House of Sky_, is one of the most memorable books of my life so far (warning: it begins with his mother's death).
His work _Winter Brothers_ introduced me to a singular figure in the life of the Oregon Territory and 19th-century Washington, James Gilchrist Swan.
A Montanan who gave me a sense of life as an American in the West of the continent, from the Mississippi River to Cape Flattery.
This Californian Thanks You.
Requiescat in pace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/b
His memoir, _This House of Sky_, is one of the most memorable books of my life so far (warning: it begins with his mother's death).
His work _Winter Brothers_ introduced me to a singular figure in the life of the Oregon Territory and 19th-century Washington, James Gilchrist Swan.
A Montanan who gave me a sense of life as an American in the West of the continent, from the Mississippi River to Cape Flattery.
This Californian Thanks You.
Requiescat in pace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/b
Impressed by the hours it must have taken the editor (I think at the end it says 120 or 160+ hours), the skillful tracking.
(and you thought that James Bond had all the fun)
Also the athletes and artists, and sad that stupid people will keep doing things that are beyond belief...
http://www.youtube.com/embed/hUj65M4T1c
Going on an extended retreat, to a place where I can sleep, watch the mountains grow old, and take walks around Lost Lake.
Hope you're all well.
(and you thought that James Bond had all the fun)
Also the athletes and artists, and sad that stupid people will keep doing things that are beyond belief...
http://www.youtube.com/embed/hUj65M4T1c
Going on an extended retreat, to a place where I can sleep, watch the mountains grow old, and take walks around Lost Lake.
Hope you're all well.
