I shall think all day of a topic for my last blog of 2009.
So I went shopping today. Furniture shopping. My living room is about to be transformed and transforming a room is one of my favorite things in the world. I love that I get no resistance on my color choices which run from chocolate brown to copper. After the furniture comes on Saturday and the curtains are up, I get to start the search for the things that make it me.
Other than that I have nothing.. Well, actually I'm too lazy to blog and don't have the energy. I hope that one year from now I have less regrets than I do right now. But I don't seem to improve with age and I don't believe in resolutions. They are just promises I never seem to keep. I have too many people doing that to me. I won't do it to myself.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Polyamorous (NSFW)
So I'm a reality show junkie. I was watching Million Dollar Listing one day and Madison (the LEAST annoying agent on the show) is bisexual. I tend to not believe in certain things if I've never experienced them which is ignorant on my part, I get that. I completely recognize it. I don't believe in PMS because I will be a beyotch any time of the month. So there you have it.
I understand heterosexuality and homosexuality but bisexual?? Seriously. Pick a team. So Madison doesn't like the label bisexual. He calls himself "polyamorous". The prefix poly means many or much. The word amorous means "inclined or disposed to love, esp. sexual love". There are 2 genders so bisexual is what it is, like the word or not. So if you are in an intimate relationship that goes beyond male and female, where does that take you??
My cat Charlie (even after being neutered) is always trying to get busy with our male cat, our female cat, my girls' stuffed animals (horses), and their bath robes. THAT sounds more like polyamorous to me. Ya know??
I understand heterosexuality and homosexuality but bisexual?? Seriously. Pick a team. So Madison doesn't like the label bisexual. He calls himself "polyamorous". The prefix poly means many or much. The word amorous means "inclined or disposed to love, esp. sexual love". There are 2 genders so bisexual is what it is, like the word or not. So if you are in an intimate relationship that goes beyond male and female, where does that take you??
My cat Charlie (even after being neutered) is always trying to get busy with our male cat, our female cat, my girls' stuffed animals (horses), and their bath robes. THAT sounds more like polyamorous to me. Ya know??
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
They reviled him..
Why do people feel it necessary to prove things that other people believe are wrong? Okay, I do that, I know. But, like matters of faith. I've watched scientists try to disprove or explain many of the well known Bible stories. Who funds that research? Isn't there something to dedicate your life to that IMPROVES the world somehow?
I belong to a message board (yes, unlike some people I play well with others and haven't been banned, yet :P ) that has a board dedicated to religion. I'm mostly wise enough to stay away from it and the one on politics (mostly) and the atheists are there always spreading their good cheer. I have nothing against atheists except why are they on a religion board? So I look up what they say is how they got here (I say "they" because God put ME here)actually spend some time reading the more believable theories. Every one of them needs a "spark" an unknown energy source to even come up with some facsimile of DNA.
In a season of magic, it's difficult to be around people who feel reality is a necessity. I think we need magic and we need miracles.
I'm reading a book called Hallelujah obviously about Handel though it's a novel and fictionalized. Soooooo GOOD! But I was looking around and came across a thing about Handel. "Researchers" finding out that all we think we know about Handel may NOT be true. He began with saying that Handel didn't write the Messiah for Christmas time, it was performed during Lent. Okay the Messiah is timeless. It's the past, the present, and the future. It spans the birth, the life, the ministry, the crucifixion, and the resurrection of Christ. When is that NOT relevant. Not to mention that MOST everyone knows that he was actually born in the spring. I stopped reading the article immediately. I've sang in the Messiah 5 years. Not a year goes by that I don't learn something new about Handel from the music. His artistry is unbelievable as I've mentioned in previous posts. And IN all these years I've known from my interest in Handel that he was painfully human, with real problems, real emotions, and real faults. That makes the music THAT much more incredible to me. If at the end of every person's life there was any small thing that makes the world a better place because of their contribution it would be a beautiful thing. I wouldn't want mine to be the destruction of magic, of faith, of inspiration. Yet there are those who will continue to do so throughout their lives. Sad.
I belong to a message board (yes, unlike some people I play well with others and haven't been banned, yet :P ) that has a board dedicated to religion. I'm mostly wise enough to stay away from it and the one on politics (mostly) and the atheists are there always spreading their good cheer. I have nothing against atheists except why are they on a religion board? So I look up what they say is how they got here (I say "they" because God put ME here)actually spend some time reading the more believable theories. Every one of them needs a "spark" an unknown energy source to even come up with some facsimile of DNA.
In a season of magic, it's difficult to be around people who feel reality is a necessity. I think we need magic and we need miracles.
I'm reading a book called Hallelujah obviously about Handel though it's a novel and fictionalized. Soooooo GOOD! But I was looking around and came across a thing about Handel. "Researchers" finding out that all we think we know about Handel may NOT be true. He began with saying that Handel didn't write the Messiah for Christmas time, it was performed during Lent. Okay the Messiah is timeless. It's the past, the present, and the future. It spans the birth, the life, the ministry, the crucifixion, and the resurrection of Christ. When is that NOT relevant. Not to mention that MOST everyone knows that he was actually born in the spring. I stopped reading the article immediately. I've sang in the Messiah 5 years. Not a year goes by that I don't learn something new about Handel from the music. His artistry is unbelievable as I've mentioned in previous posts. And IN all these years I've known from my interest in Handel that he was painfully human, with real problems, real emotions, and real faults. That makes the music THAT much more incredible to me. If at the end of every person's life there was any small thing that makes the world a better place because of their contribution it would be a beautiful thing. I wouldn't want mine to be the destruction of magic, of faith, of inspiration. Yet there are those who will continue to do so throughout their lives. Sad.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
What's my problem??
I am NOT feeling Christmas this year. I think for the first time in my life I'll be glad when it's over.
However (comma) I AM excited about this : *Disney FINALLY rights it's wrongs* (Well, at least one of them!
However (comma) I AM excited about this : *Disney FINALLY rights it's wrongs* (Well, at least one of them!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
My passion for Handel and the Messiah
Last night was the final performance of my fifth time singing alto in the Messiah. I had taken a few years off retreating to my dark house and not leaving for anything unless I had to. My family was open mouthed in surprise at my ready even enthusiastic agreement to be at the first choir practice that night (6 weeks ago). I stopped, selfishly, contributing to the choir when there was a bit of a conflict over the practice choir director. I had practice and learned and LOVED Adrienne Tawa. A woman so remarkable, talent, and bizarrely humorous yet always reverent that I, as well as anyone in that choir, would do anything she asked us to seemingly oblivious that we aren't doing HER a favor, her time and teaching is so precious to us that we'd be there every week of the year. I guess it's her humility that is so amazing. Her approval is golden. The weeks leading up to the point we are handed over to Xun Sun, director of the Orchestra of Southern Utah, are breathlessly anticipated and when it comes time for Professor Sun to take over it has it's own kind of magic. I find him to be remarkable in his extracting exactly what he wants from us (he IS discerning) and we do it again and again until we get it right. Yet there is no sign of impatience from him.
This year I think I gained a new appreciation for the entire process. Handel moves me in a way no classical composer does. It's not his life experiences or that I particularly love his compositions better than any of his contemporary Bach or other composers of eras gone by. I've picked up things through the years that touch me in ways that many people who know me and love don't understand. I remember reading once that his production of the Messiah in Dublin for a charitable benefit concerts at the Foundling Hospital (an organization for underprivileged children, and which still exists today as The Thomas Coram Foundation). Our production is free of charge (thanks to State Bank of Southern Utah and The Leavitt Group) in the spirit that Handel intended it to be.
Yet another remarkable part of my experience is that we are a fairly small Mormon community. A cow-town, if you will. Yet we are known as the 'Festival City' with our Tony Award winning Utah Shakespearean Festival that was the dream of Fred Adams who founded it in 1961 building an amazing replica of the Globe theater. For more info on Fred Adams click *here* Or the USF *here*. More info on our other festivals click *here*.
Back to Messiah. So this year my oldest daughter through much begging on my part to sing with me and reluctantly agreed. In the end she enjoyed it and I'm pretty sure she'll keep doing it. My youngest can't wait. She has 3 years. It was especially meaningful to me. She learned to appreciate the technical challenge of the music, the joy of working with Adrienne but most of all the force of nature that is Xun Sun. He's no taller than we are and he manages to conduct each section of that orchestra with a precision that is unbelievable. His happiness when we succeed is apparent. His reverence for the music is palpable and sometimes I think he's going to explode in his energy of conducting it.
Having taken a few years of I've noticed more that is the genius that IS George Fredrick Handel. In the tenor aria Every Valley Shall Be Exalted, Handel displays a technique called "word painting" with its visually apparent in the score as well as the sound AND the movements of Xun.
Handel is famous for employing word painting – the musical technique of having the melody mimic the literal meaning of its lyrics – in many of his works. Perhaps the most famous and oft-quoted example of the technique is in Every valley shall be exalted, the tenor aria early in Part I of Messiah. On the lyric "...and every mountain and hill made low; the crooked straight and the rough places plain", Handel composes it thus:
(Source: Wiki)
The notes climb to the high F♯ on the first syllable of mountain to drop an octave on the second syllable. The four notes on the word hill form a small hill, and the word low descends to the lowest note of the phrase. On crooked, the melody twice alternates between C♯ and B to rest on the B for two beats through the word straight. The word plain is written, for the most part, on the high E for three measures, with some minor deviation. He applies the same strategy throughout the repetition of the final phrase: the crookeds being crooked and plain descending on three lengthy planes. He uses this technique frequently throughout the rest of the aria, specifically on the word exalted, which contains several 16th-note (semiquaver) melismas and two leaps to a high E:
We are often told to sing certain selections as if we are socializing and, in effect, gossiping of the news that For Unto Us A Child is Born. And that we are reacting to it all by exclaiming independently Hallelujah This year I noticed that toward the end of the Amens that the bass's reverence is passed in a wave to the tenors, then the altos. It's simply stunning and timeless.
Our first performance was preceeded by a prayer by a female reverend (unknown denomination) that said something that I will always remember. How blessed we are to be performing music inspired by God and that it's message will touch our past present and future regardless of religious affiliation. Handel knew this.
Xun certainly knows what Handel spoke of, often taking a moment before the performance or a movement to bow his head and commune with God or perhaps Handel himself.
More info on Xun Sun, click *here*
More info on Adrienne Tawa click *here*
This year I think I gained a new appreciation for the entire process. Handel moves me in a way no classical composer does. It's not his life experiences or that I particularly love his compositions better than any of his contemporary Bach or other composers of eras gone by. I've picked up things through the years that touch me in ways that many people who know me and love don't understand. I remember reading once that his production of the Messiah in Dublin for a charitable benefit concerts at the Foundling Hospital (an organization for underprivileged children, and which still exists today as The Thomas Coram Foundation). Our production is free of charge (thanks to State Bank of Southern Utah and The Leavitt Group) in the spirit that Handel intended it to be.
Yet another remarkable part of my experience is that we are a fairly small Mormon community. A cow-town, if you will. Yet we are known as the 'Festival City' with our Tony Award winning Utah Shakespearean Festival that was the dream of Fred Adams who founded it in 1961 building an amazing replica of the Globe theater. For more info on Fred Adams click *here* Or the USF *here*. More info on our other festivals click *here*.
Back to Messiah. So this year my oldest daughter through much begging on my part to sing with me and reluctantly agreed. In the end she enjoyed it and I'm pretty sure she'll keep doing it. My youngest can't wait. She has 3 years. It was especially meaningful to me. She learned to appreciate the technical challenge of the music, the joy of working with Adrienne but most of all the force of nature that is Xun Sun. He's no taller than we are and he manages to conduct each section of that orchestra with a precision that is unbelievable. His happiness when we succeed is apparent. His reverence for the music is palpable and sometimes I think he's going to explode in his energy of conducting it.
Having taken a few years of I've noticed more that is the genius that IS George Fredrick Handel. In the tenor aria Every Valley Shall Be Exalted, Handel displays a technique called "word painting" with its visually apparent in the score as well as the sound AND the movements of Xun.
Handel is famous for employing word painting – the musical technique of having the melody mimic the literal meaning of its lyrics – in many of his works. Perhaps the most famous and oft-quoted example of the technique is in Every valley shall be exalted, the tenor aria early in Part I of Messiah. On the lyric "...and every mountain and hill made low; the crooked straight and the rough places plain", Handel composes it thus:
(Source: Wiki)
The notes climb to the high F♯ on the first syllable of mountain to drop an octave on the second syllable. The four notes on the word hill form a small hill, and the word low descends to the lowest note of the phrase. On crooked, the melody twice alternates between C♯ and B to rest on the B for two beats through the word straight. The word plain is written, for the most part, on the high E for three measures, with some minor deviation. He applies the same strategy throughout the repetition of the final phrase: the crookeds being crooked and plain descending on three lengthy planes. He uses this technique frequently throughout the rest of the aria, specifically on the word exalted, which contains several 16th-note (semiquaver) melismas and two leaps to a high E:
We are often told to sing certain selections as if we are socializing and, in effect, gossiping of the news that For Unto Us A Child is Born. And that we are reacting to it all by exclaiming independently Hallelujah This year I noticed that toward the end of the Amens that the bass's reverence is passed in a wave to the tenors, then the altos. It's simply stunning and timeless.
Our first performance was preceeded by a prayer by a female reverend (unknown denomination) that said something that I will always remember. How blessed we are to be performing music inspired by God and that it's message will touch our past present and future regardless of religious affiliation. Handel knew this.
The startled composer, tears streaming down his face, turns to his servant and cries out, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself.” George Frederic Handel had just finished writing a movement that would take its place in history as the Hallelujah Chorus.
Xun certainly knows what Handel spoke of, often taking a moment before the performance or a movement to bow his head and commune with God or perhaps Handel himself.
More info on Xun Sun, click *here*
More info on Adrienne Tawa click *here*
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wisdom in Pooh?
A couple of books that I keep in my (most likely worthless, but priceless to me) private library are an interesting approach to Taoism. They've been brought to mind twice, recently and so I pulled one of them out to find my favorite story. Before I share it or the name of the books, I'd like to explain how I first heard this story. I have mentioned that there are very few things I am good at but once my sisters-in-law and I agreed that we would join something together. The first idea was kickboxing but it settled on yoga. My one sister in law was pregnant and they didn't recommend that she start practicing yoga in an advanced state of pregnancy (however it IS remarkably beneficial if you are practicing yoga before and continue through, pregnancy.) I digress. I ended up taking the class alone. I join mid-session and then continued on with a new teacher for my first full beginning session. My first teacher's name has slipped from my memory, but she never will. Yoga became the one thing I truly was accomplished at. I lack balance but I was advanced in the other 2 areas and my balance improved (so did bouncing off the floor on my butt)over time. One day as we sat in lotus position clearing our minds and lungs with pranayama my young teacher pulled out a book and read us this story:
I stayed after class to find the name of the book. It was called The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff. I found the book and read it, I was delighted to find out that it was actually a sequel to The Tao of Pooh(also by Benjamin Hoff). I went on to come to a place in yoga when my favorite teacher, who was more advanced than my first teacher, came to me after class and told me he couldn't teach me anymore. I was equal to him in ability. (I taught on my own, and substituted taught for him.) I so love yoga and I don't practice at all anymore, my excuse is that inversions hurt my head, too much. But I think about the events that brought me to such a peaceful place in mind and body. I never lost my interest in Taoism, either. One of my teachers called me The Buddhist Mormon. It freaked my mom out because she thought I was changing religions and I assured her that they were compatible. I think that the Headache is like a cancer. Not terminal, but it eats away my qi. I'd probably pick kickboxing now because my soul feels black and angry. I'm way beyond Eeyore but I still recognize the wisdom in Pooh. Perhaps someday I'll get back to my path of...
Namaste.
An old man and his son lived in an abandoned fortress on the side of a hill. Their only possession of value was a horse.
One day, the horse ran away. The neighbours came by to offer sympathy. "That's really bad!" they said. "How do you know?" asked the old man.
The next day the horse returned, bringing with it several wild horses. The old man and his son shut them all inside the gate. The neighbours hurried over. "That's really good!" they said. "How do you know?" asked the old man.
The following day the son tried riding one of the wild horses, fell off, and broke his leg. The neighbours came around as soon as they heard the news. "That's really bad!" they said. "How do you know?" asked the old man.
The day after that, the army came through, forcing the local young men into service to fight a faraway battle against the northern barbarians. Many of them would never return. But the son couldn't go, because he'd broken his leg.
I stayed after class to find the name of the book. It was called The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff. I found the book and read it, I was delighted to find out that it was actually a sequel to The Tao of Pooh(also by Benjamin Hoff). I went on to come to a place in yoga when my favorite teacher, who was more advanced than my first teacher, came to me after class and told me he couldn't teach me anymore. I was equal to him in ability. (I taught on my own, and substituted taught for him.) I so love yoga and I don't practice at all anymore, my excuse is that inversions hurt my head, too much. But I think about the events that brought me to such a peaceful place in mind and body. I never lost my interest in Taoism, either. One of my teachers called me The Buddhist Mormon. It freaked my mom out because she thought I was changing religions and I assured her that they were compatible. I think that the Headache is like a cancer. Not terminal, but it eats away my qi. I'd probably pick kickboxing now because my soul feels black and angry. I'm way beyond Eeyore but I still recognize the wisdom in Pooh. Perhaps someday I'll get back to my path of...
Namaste.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
My moment of Zen..
I haven't been feeling myself lately. I find myself wanting to leave my dark house less and less all the time. My husband (after many years of nagging) finished a room downstairs and let me decorate it as I wanted to. He did an awesome job (Thanks hubby, now about the doorbell...) I put up a table long enough to hold a small tabletop ironing board, iron, sewing machine, and the serger that I am clueless on how it works. The colors are earthy with splashes of surprising color here and there. I have a bamboo screen and a futon. The bamboo shade on the window hides cardboard I've used to make it dark and cold. It's my escape. The zen room. No one opens the door without quietly asking permission first.
My love of all things Asian isn't new nor is it surprising. I'm fascinated by the serenity, beauty, and dignity of each country's culture that makes up the whole. I discovered my fascination of the beauty that often hides breathtaking horror of Asian movies (culturally) when I watched Curse of the Golden Flower. It wasn't the first movie of it's kind that I'd seen and loved, but it was the realization that the traditions and culture of people who have been so advanced and yet so backward in our estimation. Truly, it's a veneer that happens everywhere, even right next door. Naturally after the amazing performance of Gong Li, I searched for more and discovered that I love the movies directed by Zhang Yimou and Gong Li was frequently in his movies (as is Zhang Ziyi of who I'm also a huge fan). I can't say I've loved everything I've seen by him but he never fails to surprise.
More recently I watched one of his movies that was called Not One Less. I've come to appreciate the difference in subject matter used in Asian films as opposed to American films which are often the same story different actors. The last movie I watched (not a Zhang movie) was called Letter From An Unknown Woman I was curious because the young actress looked familiar. So I looked on IMDb and it wasn't the same actress but it made me look deeper into something I'd noticed before in the movie Not One Less. The majority of the characters were played by actual people in occupations similar to if not THE one they portray in the movie. They even used their real names. The story is remarkable as are so many of the movies I've watched lately, but even better. The young girl who is the lead in the movie went on to leave her poor village and get a full scholarship to BYU Hawaii. Amazing. I'm going to post the Wiki entry and more info on the director, the movie plot, and the young girl. I highly recommend the movie.
Not One Less Wiki Link
Minzhi Wei
I am truly inspired by this. I am inspired by my day at church where I experienced love and forgiveness from an unlikely place. I wish I had the strength of character of the people who bless my lives. I wish that my anger and bitterness stemming from the pain of my daughter wasn't making me more angry and miserable. I wish I was a person more deserving of these friends and family. I wish I could truly find a moment of Zen.
My love of all things Asian isn't new nor is it surprising. I'm fascinated by the serenity, beauty, and dignity of each country's culture that makes up the whole. I discovered my fascination of the beauty that often hides breathtaking horror of Asian movies (culturally) when I watched Curse of the Golden Flower. It wasn't the first movie of it's kind that I'd seen and loved, but it was the realization that the traditions and culture of people who have been so advanced and yet so backward in our estimation. Truly, it's a veneer that happens everywhere, even right next door. Naturally after the amazing performance of Gong Li, I searched for more and discovered that I love the movies directed by Zhang Yimou and Gong Li was frequently in his movies (as is Zhang Ziyi of who I'm also a huge fan). I can't say I've loved everything I've seen by him but he never fails to surprise.
More recently I watched one of his movies that was called Not One Less. I've come to appreciate the difference in subject matter used in Asian films as opposed to American films which are often the same story different actors. The last movie I watched (not a Zhang movie) was called Letter From An Unknown Woman I was curious because the young actress looked familiar. So I looked on IMDb and it wasn't the same actress but it made me look deeper into something I'd noticed before in the movie Not One Less. The majority of the characters were played by actual people in occupations similar to if not THE one they portray in the movie. They even used their real names. The story is remarkable as are so many of the movies I've watched lately, but even better. The young girl who is the lead in the movie went on to leave her poor village and get a full scholarship to BYU Hawaii. Amazing. I'm going to post the Wiki entry and more info on the director, the movie plot, and the young girl. I highly recommend the movie.
Not One Less Wiki Link
Minzhi Wei
I am truly inspired by this. I am inspired by my day at church where I experienced love and forgiveness from an unlikely place. I wish I had the strength of character of the people who bless my lives. I wish that my anger and bitterness stemming from the pain of my daughter wasn't making me more angry and miserable. I wish I was a person more deserving of these friends and family. I wish I could truly find a moment of Zen.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Isn't this a little hypocritical??
Johanna Krupa did a photo shoot for PETA which has a history of nude celebrities saying they'd rather go nude than wear fur.In fact Krupa has posed for those as well. While Krupa's new ad doesn't say that, it strikes me as odd that she is wearing angel wings made with real feathers. So did the bird that gave up those feathers live through the experience?
She also has a crucifix strategically placed to hide the major nudity and a halo. I'm guessing that is going to ruffle a few feathers (pun intended)in the Catholic church and other christian religions who don't find the crucifix to be a prop.
Here's the ad, but it's not safe for work:
Krupa's PETA ad
She also has a crucifix strategically placed to hide the major nudity and a halo. I'm guessing that is going to ruffle a few feathers (pun intended)in the Catholic church and other christian religions who don't find the crucifix to be a prop.
Here's the ad, but it's not safe for work:
Krupa's PETA ad
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