The splendid art of Respighi! His Pini Di Roma, or Pines of Rome, is a thrilling and festive musical ride I have just discovered. Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna, Italy in 1879. Here he is pictured with his wife Elsa. He composed Operas, Ballets, Choral, Orchestral, Chamber, and Concerto works. In Pini Di Roma, each symphonic movement portrays the location of pine trees in the city during different parts of the day. Also something new I found out through researching this particular composition is that it was the basis of most of Star of Indiana's 1991 Drum Corps International world championship repertoire - based out of Bloomington, Indiana. Huh!
I found a short article from 1968 about the great Ferlin Husky and his musical career. Click to enlarge and read the whole thing! This is a wonderful find for a crazed fan like me. My favorite line from the piece is when he is said to be, "the thoughtful and thrilling answer to the common madness of our modern age of anxiety, guilt and self-pity ... He is one of the world's desirable greats."
Amen to that! And he is still going strong. Performing and recording today at age 84 because music is his life!
In the newest email from Seth Godin that I received, there's a link to a site which reveals all of the companies that are tracking your internet activity through the use of cookies. They track you in order to determine the type of marketing strategy that would mesh with your needs and interests. I clicked the link and canceled all of the active tracking cookies except the ones from Google.
Click here to monitor the active cookies on your computer, and deactivate them if you so choose.
I'm back from my long sojourn out west, which went quite successfully. I'll post pictures from the trip soon. I ended up seeing so much more than planned which doesn't say much since the trip was never that well planned out to begin with. I haven't blogged in so long that it feels strange, but I really can't wait to get back to it full throttle. I missed it so, but it was very difficult while on the road. And my new laptop seems to dislike unsecured hotel networks, so internet connection proved to be more frustrating than worthwhile.
Yesterday I thought about posting something about the road trip I took, but it didn't seem right. I wondered what my next post would be and it didn't hit me until a few minutes ago. I came and sat down at the computer and wanted to find a nice Shaker quote to read before bed, but instead I typed "shaker tradition" into the google search engine, and what I found was more than I ever could have asked for. A link to an invaluable website called Folk Streams. This site I found years ago and then lost the ability to find it again! This was meant to be, as they have a 30 minute video on the Shakers that I have been longing to see again ever since the first time I came across it.
It features historical accounts and narrative excerpts from the 1800's, Shaker dances and song, and rare photography of Shaker dwellings and farmland. I am so excited to have found this again.
If you watch and enjoy the video you might also be interested in Ken Burn's interpretation of Shaker religion and lifeways, called "The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God". You can find used copies online for purchase ... but sadly the DVD is becoming more and more difficult to find in good condition as it is no longer being produced by PBS. I recommend buying it before it becomes impossible to acquire! There is great insight into the Shakers as a people, not just about their fine furniture! :0)
After trying several hotels, all of which were completely occupied, I settled into a Hilton here in Tulsa. I checked in at 2 AM this morning, and when I awoke this morning around 11 I opened the curtain and discovered ... Brrrrrrrrrr!!! That wasn't there before!
I set my new Lenovo laptop up on the desk and began accessing internet. My way of connecting to the world again. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ...
It's still dangerous and snowy outside, that's why I extended my stay to include tonight, but the forecast for tomorrow is looking good. Sunshine! I'll have to play some John Denver when I get back in my car.
I left Indy and immediately found myself in a traffic jam. There were two more to come...
I found a train when I entered Illinois
And saw the world's largest cross in Effingham, Illinois. Made of metal it stands nearly 200 ft tall, and features various speakers which recite the ten commandments at the push of a button. There is also a meditation path around the cross.
On into Missouri, I catch a glimpse of the state motto ... "The Show-Me State" No one showed me anything, but I never got out of my car in Missouri. So I guess "The Show-Myself State" is what I'll call it.
And the St. Louis Gateway Arch of course! Designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen in 1947, it's the tallest monument in the U.S. at 630 feet tall. You can take a tram to the top and peer out of the windows in the observation 'hall'. That is a long way up, I'm not sure I'd be able to actually look outside to the world below. I'm sure I'd feel very uneasy!
And I found the following picture online ... one of the tram cars that goes to the top of the Gateway Arch. Tis so very futuristic looking ...
I have been extracting files from my old laptop and putting them onto my new one today. Since there's nothing else to do in this hotel room in Tulsa...
The transfers of the files just finally finished completion 10 minutes ago, and so I've been browsing old photos, stories, etc. that I've not seen in a really long time.
I almost fell out of this swirly chair when I opened up an old Word document of a writing exercise I did a few years ago. The concept was to write an essay on "Being a Writer" with the stance that I have been a published author. I used the name A.G. Moore, a pen name I created when I was six years old. I read the essay, which wasn't all that well written, but when I scrolled to the bottom of the document I noticed something strange...
Here's what I had written:
"A.G. Moore resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a contributor to “The Southwest Writer’s Journal”. She holds a Master of Arts in Professional Writing from Saint Josephs College in Maine. Her first novel, “The Swift” has been integrated into the required reading program for Cornell University writing students. She holds private writing classes in Maine every summer for young adults, and is currently working on a screenplay based on the life of Walter Whitman."
Blizzard warnings in effect until Saturday afternoon for parts of the Texas Panhandle have stranded people indoors and left highways closed.
Forecasts predict the northeastern part of the Panhandle to be the most affected Saturday morning, with spots of blowing snow and winds of up to 30 mph. The warning includes the cities of Canadian, Pampa, Clarendon, Miami, Follett, Perry, Booker and Higgins, according to the National Weather Service.
Northbound lanes of U.S. Highways 287 and 87 and east and westbound lanes of Interstate 40 to Amarillo remain closed through at least Saturday afternoon, the Department of Public Safety said. Crews have been plowing the areas.
A spring blizzard slammed into the Texas Panhandle, causing numerous accidents, shutting down major highways and paralyzing the region. It's part of a storm system that moved into the region late Thursday and has raged all over the Southern High Plains, including eastern New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma.
The National Weather Service is predicting snowfall in Texas of up to a foot and winds gusting to more than 45 mph that could lead to zero visibility and snowdrifts of up to 11 feet before the storm wanes near midday Saturday. The worst of the eastward bound storm should be in Oklahoma later Saturday.
A blizzard doesn't have to have heavy snowfall, said weather service meteorologist J.J. Brost in Amarillo. But that snow must be combined with sustained winds or gusts of at least 35 mph that limit visibility to a quarter-mile or less.
I'm in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I Drove non-stop today (actually I stopped three times) from 2pm Indiana time to here...2am !!! I'm beat. Can't go any further either, the border to Texas is blockaded by national guardsman keeping people from driving through the 20-foot snow drifts. This weather was as unexpected as is my sudden urge to take flight lessons. I want to get around this snow issue! The local weatherman says this is the most severe snow/sleet prediction to hit Oklahoma in five years, or some such horrible ting to hear when I'm so tired!!!!!!!!! oh dear. I-40 is blocked off...now what??!! JEremyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!
This photograph that my mom found at an antique store a few weeks ago looks innocent enough. A family holding twin boys, awaiting the arrival of the town train perhaps to venture to the city for a weekend of shopping. But when ye flip the photograph over, there's another 'side' to the story!
Handwritten is the word that says so much and yet so little. "Evidence" What do you think is happening here? Is someone cheating on someone's husband, are these people stealing babies?
I found a wheat penny at work yesterday. I jumped out of my overalls at the sight of it looking up at me. I leaned in close to make sure I read the date correctly.
1919
"Yes!" I screamed...I yelped. People came running from all directions. "What is it?" They asked with concerned faces... "Only my new favorite good omen!" I screamed in delight.
In God We Trust, it reads.
In this Penny I trust. I'm superstitious. I also love the movie "Somewhere In Time" with Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve. Wonderfully romantic movie. It's haunting, unusual, sad, funny, sweet, strange, timeless ... pun intended.
I love staring into old photographs at antique stores, to try and escape into them. I can sit and do this for hours I tell you. So needless to say, I didn't let go of this penny the whole rest of the day and I showed everyone that came up to me. I don't know if they were responding to the penny and it's magnificence or if it was my enthusiasm they were playing off of. But either way, it made my day completely! How many penny candies did this penny buy, way back when? How many dresses, combs, loaves of bread??
All I can really know for sure is ... This penny is officially no longer in circulation! As of yesterday! :0)
Check out this clip of Christopher Reeve playing Richard Collier, a playwright trying to time-travel into the past in order to reunite with his long lost love. Rent the whole movie to discover "Somewhere In Time", how one small penny played a role in keeping a man and a woman connected, yet so very much apart.
I have a small box of my favorite smudge sticks. Juniper, cedar, white sage. I smudge my room before bed, and sometimes in the morning too. Yesterday I lit a stick and set it on my yoga mat while i did yoga, the smoke drifted all around me and it was quite nice. I love the smell! I love the clearing aspect, and how it helps me remember my dreams. Native Americans smudged a space to purify and cleanse, and to thank the Earth. Or used in ceremony to clear away bad spirits or feelings.
I made this week's IF topic "Subtract", into a series. I haven't had a whole lot of time on my hands lately so I just scribbled these drawings onto my favorite type of paper while I laid outside today. I figured, when something is subtracted one place, it's usually added another. So my little alien character Bertle is being subtracted from his clan, and added to a family of an ordinary American couple.
Hello everyone! I'm Katie Grace. Thank you for visiting my blog! I'll be sharing my toy making process and progress (with photos along the way!), illustrations, knitting and quilting projects, interesting photographs and/or historical findings, inspiring artists, Shaker recipes...and so much more
The splendid art of Respighi! His Pini Di Roma, or Pines of Rome, is a thrilling and festive musical ride I have just discovered. Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna, Italy in 1879. Here he is pictured with his wife Elsa. He composed Operas, Ballets, Choral, Orchestral, Chamber, and Concerto works. In Pini Di Roma, each symphonic movement portrays the location of pine trees in the city during different parts of the day. Also something new I found out through researching this particular composition is that it was the basis of most of Star of Indiana's 1991 Drum Corps International world championship repertoire - based out of Bloomington, Indiana. Huh!
Posts
