Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving here in the United States. Shorn of parades and football games, it is a day of reflection and, well, giving thanks for one's blessings. These things aren't so popular in today's world - perhaps they never really were, I can't tell. But in the mad press of commercialism and politics and celebrity news and all the rest of the rush-rush, gotta fill the twenty-four hour news cycle, exploit-umentary, mostly empty blather of modern life it is nice to be reminded to pause and think.

Catreona in Quizziland

As you know, Dear Reader, for some time I've belonged to Fun Trivia. Indeed, I received my Old Timer badge for five years of membership in March, though I haven't been active all that time. Took a sabbatical of several months along the way. I'm active now, playing quizzes and games, taking on challenges to earn badges, participating in discussion threads and, rather absorbingly, playing in The Global Challenge,Quizziland's periodic tournament.

I also write quizzes, with twenty-four under my belt. Currently working on Silver, a general quiz with questions from across Fun Trivia to celebrate No. 25. It's not easy. The great majority of my quizzes are on Pop music, with a couple on Literature. One needs to stretch one's wings now and then, I suppose. And naturally, there is a book question and a song question in Silver; those were the first questions I thought of. Still, I'll be glad to get back to my comfort zone. Several Music and Literature quizzes are awaiting my attention. Always so much to do!

Link

Visit me on Fun Trivia

Dreaming with Linda

Recently I read and enjoyed Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir by Linda Ronstadt. Her descriptions, especially of the Arizona desert where she grew up, are vivid, her portrait of the California Folk and Rock scene in the late '60s and early '70s, equally clear and engaging. This is not one of those dreadful tell-all books. Her friends and romantic interests make brief appearances if at all, though she does tell a funny anecdote involving Jerry Brown and a dinner invitation to Rosemary Cluney's house. Instead, Linda concentrates on her music and the career path it led her on, though not without one or two insights into her inner self, such as her interest in Berlin between the Wars. Warm, gentle, serious yet with a lighthearted touch, Simple Dreams is an easy yet absorbing read.

St Hugh of Lincoln

Today is the feastday of St. Hugh of Lincoln, a Carthusian monk, the first of his order to be canonized (1220).

A man of sanctity, uprightness and great energy, Hugh accomplished much in his life being an abbot, a bishop, a diocisan and educational reformer, a defender of human rights and a diplomat. At the time of the Protestant Reformation, he was the second most venerated english saint, behind only Thomas à Becket.

St. Hugh of Lincoln is the patron saint of sick people and especially sick children, shoemakers and, curiously, of swans.

Links

Hugh of Lincoln at Wikipedia Hugh of Lincoln at The Patron saints Index

Sweet Sunday

Here is a beautiful song written by the multitalented Kay Thompson and sung by the angelic voice of Andy Williams.

Have a peaceful Sunday.

The sere, the yellow leaf

- Photo courtesy of Listener
at Howard Empowered People

I have lived long enough. My way of life
Is fall'n into the sere, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age,
As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have, but, in their stead,
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honor, breath
Which the poor heart would fain deny and dare not.

- Macbeth: Act v Scene 3

Rediscovering A Favorite

Lately, I've been reading and rereading thrillers by Dick Francis, the British champion jockey turned master mystery writer, whose books first came into my hands when I was a teenager in the '70s. I've read a fair number of his 40 plus books, and plan to read them all eventually.

Whether it's one I've read before or a new adventure, every book is interesting, exciting and beautifully written. His descriptions of the English countryside are vivid; his insight into human nature sometimes startling in its acuteness.

Always set against a racing background, each book is nonetheless unique, exploring some different aspect of life. For example, Banker's protagonist works in an investment bank and the mystery involves his job. Similarly in Risk, understanding the protagonist's work as an accountant helps in understanding the mystery. In Proof, the wine merchant protagonist has to solve a murder in the world of wine and spirits.

Of course, jockeys and former jockeys appear as Francis heroes as well, my favorite being Kit Fielding, who stars in Break In and Bolt.

Felix Francis, Dick's son who helped with research especially in latter years, has taken up his father's mantle and is now a successful writer in his own right. I've already read a couple of Felix's books and look forward to reading more.

Updating Music

I love my Crosley CR72 Mission Stack-O-Matic Entertainment Center, though mine is in cherry. It's easy to use and has great sound quality. Most of all, I love the stack-o-matic feature, what is sometimes called a record changer. There's nothing better than putting on a stack of LPs and kicking back to enjoy them. And yet...

And yet, you want to share the music you are enjoying. CDs can be imported into iTunes and from there made into videos and uploaded to YouTube (always assuming YouTube doesn't block them). But so many LPs haven't been reissued on CD. It particularly seems that a lot of Engelbert's LPs haven't been reissued. And an LP is analog, by its nature cut off from the digital world...until now.At Hammachar Schlemmer I found a record player you plug into the computer and, with the included software, convert your vinyl to digital. It's wonderful!

So, I've made a start and have already put up my first vinyl-to-digital transfer on YouTube:

Veterans Day

Soldiers of the 353rd Infantry near a church at Stenay, Meuse in France, wait for the end of hostilities. This photo was taken at 10:58 a.m., on November 11, 1918, two minutes before the armistice ending World War I went into effect

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

from "History of Veterans Day" on the web site of the U.S. Department of veterans' Affairs

In this year, the centennial of the start of "the War to End All Wars," we should reflect with special solemnity on the sacrifices made by both the service members and the civilians caught up in war. And, as we look around the world at the conflicts, the wars destroying countries and lives today, we should pray for God's forgiveness and ask Him to heal our hearts so Mankind can finally reject violence and instead live in peace and love.

Is it November already?

I've been jumping around in The Chronicles of Narnia, now on The Horse and His Boy.

Because I slept all morning, I didn't hear till late about the shooting at LAX. Not sure I really want to know the details, but will check the BBC in a minute. Can't help being bewildered whenever another of these atrocities takes place. How? Why? Also, when are Americans going to realize the necessity of strict gun control laws?

As to the title, here it is the Feast of All Saints. I read somewhere that in Medieval England the Christmas season more or less started November First, with the king moving to his winter residence and preparations starting. Even with such a precedent, though, I'm not willing to get into the swing of Christmas till December First. Let November be November, such as it is.

Update:

One person killed in Los Angeles airport shooting

OK, someone explain to me how, with all the security measures in place at American airports, someone was able to walk into a terminal at LAX with an assault rifle in his bag? Needless to say, I would also like to know what the devil anyone needs with an assault rifle?

It is interesting to note that this was not a random act of violence. The shooter targeted members of the Transportation Safety Administration. For a wonder, he was wounded but not killed by police. When he begins to talk, I won't be surprised to find he has a grievence against the TSA. Not that such is an excuse! But it is a change from indiscriminate slaughter of random people. Again though, it's hard to shoot people if you don't have access to fire arms!

Bedtime Reading and a sweater

I did indeed start The Silver Chair last night and shall finish it tonight. I do love Narnia!

BTW you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a plain, navy blue wool cardigan at L.L. Bean! They have lots of cardigans in lots of lovely colors, but navy seems to be an endangered species. I only saw two for which navy was a choice; though in all honesty, once I'd grumpily picked out a sweater I didn't look at the remaining few. But what I don't get is why this basic color was so hard to find. I mean, how does navy blue go out of style?

I'm not totally thrilled with the cardigan I ended up with, but it should keep me warm at least. Here's the link if you want to take a gander:

1912 Heritage Bird's-Eye Zip-Cardigan

Late Wednesday Evening

I've been sleeping a lot the past couple days, which does not make for interesting blogging. However, I have been re-reading, or re-listening to, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis. Tonight I'll start The Silver Chair, also from The Chronicles of Narnia.

Update:Almost forgot! One Night Songs went online last night and has brought me a few nice notes of appreciation.

Holy Smokes!

I've just realized that before this resumption of blogging, my last post was January Seventh! Yikes!Not that you, dear Reader, have missed anything in the intervening ten months. My life is, shall we say, quiet. Still, I had no idea it had been so long. Tempus fugit, as they say.

The hours fly on golden sandals

From the song "Ligia" which is in the movie Quo Vadis

Monday, Monday

Another lovely afternoon here, sunny and pleasantly cool. We've been having a beautiful October. I suppose November will also be true to form, cold, misty or rainy and dreary. But I certainly can't complain about October.

I finally made it to two hundred thousand points at Fun Trivia and advanced to the next level. Phew! Still no word on my quiz under submission, "One Night Songs." *sigh*

A New Week

- Photo from listener at Howard Empowered

The week is starting auspiciously. Dad got my iTunes restored, hurray! Because the backup from which he did the "restore" is a couple years old, I have a number of CDs to re-import; but, it is a *whole* lot better than starting all over again. That he succeeded in the end is a testament to his determination and, I think, his engineering training that led him to find the problem intriguing. However that may be, I'm very grateful!

Still kind of down, but fighting it. Besides the iTunes restoration, another good thing is that I finally broke through the two hundred thousand point barrier at Fun Trivia. Of course, that's still peanuts, but it's progress. Stilll haven't heard back on my submitted quiz. But, I did need to make a couple minor corrections and resubmit, which sent it back to the end of the queue; so, it'll be a while yet. I'm eager to get this one online, since it will allow me to move on to the next stage of Adventures in Authoring. Don't want to start The Great Quiz Race or any other quest type challenge till I've completed Adventures in Authoring, and I have no idea how much further there is to go in that.

Meantime, I continue to work on more quizzes. Haven't done any actual writing, either songs, poetry or fiction, in some time. But I figure getting the blog re-started is a good first step.

I Never Did Get the Hang of Thursdays

Another in a run of lovely Autumn days. I don't know how long the weather will hold, but am enjoying it while we have it. iTunes is still on the fritz. I'm beginning to think Sis is right and there's nothing for it but to re-import *EVERYTHING*. *sigh* I'm pretty down today, despite the lovely weather. But it's better not to get into that.

Midweek Agro

Computers are wonderful...until they aren't!
My iTunes has been giving me mysterious and vexing problems for several days now. So, finally, after discussing the situation with Sis, I decided to uninstall and reinstall iTunes. A cinch, you say? Obviously, you do not know moi. First the file(s) did not download at all. Then they only downloaded partially. As I type the files are downloading again *fingers crossed and knock on wood!*
It's amazing not to say disturbing how dependent we become on technology. Mind you, I still play good old fashioned records and CDs, as well as the occasional cassette. But I feel lost without iTunes.
Update: How is it possible for a program, in this case iTunes, to continue generating error messages after it has been removed? I keep getting boxes saying iTunes was not installed correctly. GRR!

Tuesday Evening

- Photo courtesy of listener
at Howard Empowered People

Another beautiful Fall day here. I haven't done anything; though a little while ago I pre-ordered at amazon.com some Christmas CDs, including Andy Williams' complete Christmas recordings. Looking forward to that. Ordinarily I'd be grumpy at Christmas stuff being up already, but pre-orders are all right...I suppose.

Monday Afternoon

Lovely, sunny afternoon. I had a nice tea: buttered toast with apricot jam and tea with orange, passion fruit and jasmine. Not altogether sure I like jasmine, but it made a nice change.

I am now the proud owner of a two (count 'em, two) terabyte external drive. Remember when one gig seemed ostentatious and totally unnecessary? Ah, for the good old days when life was simple. *wry grin*

I've been spending a lot of time at Fun Trivia and more time offline working on my own quizzes. It keeps me out of trouble. But it does become something of an obsession, so I need to watch myself.

Lovely Winter

Week Ending

It hasn’t been the greatest week. It’s only fair to say, it  hasn’t been the worst, but  I’m glad it’s ending. Haven’t been feeling too perky.

Breezing through the Georgiana Rannoch books – currently on Naughty in Nice, the fifth in the series. Still enjoying them, though the  boy crazy friend Belinda is beginning to wear a little thin. After this I’ll be caught up, having come in with Book 6, The Twelve Clues of Christmas. Suppose at that  point I’ll have to return to more substantial reading fare. But I’ll worry about that when the time comes.

In the outside world, Patty Page died this week. R.I.P.

Here’s my favorite of her  songs, “Old Cape Cod.”

Staying Power?

Had a good writing session Wednesday evening. Also doing well maintaining the Rosary and the two sessions on the elliptical. Despite the persistently sore hip, making progress at increasing the time. But Thursday was definitely not a good day. Friday was better, but not great. Tired and really don’t want to do anything but listen to my audiobook. I hope Saturday is better!

Like A Herd Of Turtles

Got started on the new story. No title yet, not even a working title, just a filename. However, it is started, which is something.

In the interests of research, I used my googling skills, such as they are, to look for Much Lovering, the name of the village – tentatively situated in Devon – where our heroine eventually ends up. Astonishingly, there doesn’t appear to be anyplace with that name in England. Doesn’t it sound like a quintessentially English name? That’s better though. If it’s wholly fictitious, I can set it up just as the storyline requires. So, in a way, that’s a relief.

Will be some time till we get that far. Need to get through our heroine’s unhappy life in W. Mass. I have it all laid out in my mind, but sometimes translating from mind to paper (computer screen) is more challenging than one would think. However, it’s still early enough for me to be optimistic.

Haven’t written yet today. Hope to get an hour or two in before bedtime.

On the other hand, I didn’t remember to say the Rosary yesterday but did today. Hope I have the staying power to stick with it. Not only is praying good for the soul, it’s good for the body too. My mother says saying the Rosary lowers her blood pressure, and I also find it calming.

Also doing well with the exercise. Put in two sessions on the elliptical today. Also am able to sustain longer. I’m hopeful that ten minutes at a time may be within reach.

Not all the news is good. Spent the evening buying MP3 music and CDs. Only two CDs though, and the MP3 music was mostly single songs, only one album. So the final cost wasn’t as bad as it might have been. Still, that’s something else I need to watch.  * sigh *

Well into Royal Flush, the third Georgiana Rannoch book and loving it.

That’s probably enough of my mindless rambling for now.

New Beginnings

It’s a new year, which traditionally calls for new beginnings.

Tonight I’ll start a new story. Today I’ll start getting serious about exercise and, after my birthday and the lemon Meringue pie Patty usually brings, a bit of weight loss as well. This year I am going to beat the pernicious habit of using bad language. And I’m also going to get back into the good habit of praying, saying the Rosary every day if nothing else. And I’m going to finish * something * - preferably “World Enough and Time.” Didn’t finish anything at all last year.

Not very ambitious goals perhaps. But then I’ve learned to set the bar low. Here’s hoping I have the perseverance to achieve them, modest as they are!

On a more lighthearted note, I’ve discovered a new series, the Royal Spiness books by Rhys Bowen. They are delightful Mystery/Romance stories set in 1930s London. Always love finding new books! They are definitely Chick Lit, but if you enjoy that sort of thing, I recommend them highly.

Rejection Isn't Always A Bad Thing

Daily Science Fiction rejected “Snowball The Wonder Cat.” That wasn’t really a surprise, but I just thought I’d try.

However, the rejection gave me the impetus to show the story to my writing group. A couple of members gave me suggestions that have proved very helpful. So, I’m now working on developing the story. It’s already twice as long as it was and considerably deeper. Developing Cassie’s personality and the relationship between her and Snowball. It’s going well and I’m excited about it.

...and all because of a rejection.

Engelbert Eurovision 2012 Campaign

Maybe not much, but something

Started working on a new song today, “Come to Me”. The timing, that is to say the note values, isn’t quite right in the last couple measures, but it’s definitely coming along nicely.

I’ve also been working on more Engelbert quizzes for Fun Trivia. (To see my existing quizzes, follow the “My Quizzes” link in the sidebar.) Not only do I very much enjoy researching and putting together these quizzes, but this is a great time to be promoting Enge, now that he has been named as the UK entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. As one of my friends said, “Engelbert Mania has begun!” I’m not sure I’d go that far. But, at the very least, people are going to be looking for info and trivia about him. And your humble Cat is well positioned to fill that need.

I’ve also been forging ahead with my Hadley course on Punctuation. This stuff is harder than it looks! I express myself pretty well, but the finer points of punctuation, including italicization and capitalization, have always eluded me. That’s what comes of reading with audio rather than direct from a print or braille text. But now I’m discovering that some of the things I thought I knew – things I’ve been doing for years – are not according to Hoyle, or at least not according to this course. * sigh * Live and learn, I guess.

Anyway, I haven’t been accomplishing a whole lot lately. On the other hand, I haven’t been accomplishing nothing either, and I suppose that’s the main thing.

Braille Phone

An Industrial Design student has designed a braille display phone.

Check it out!

Shikun Sun's DrawBraille Phone Concept for the Blind
Posted by

"Here We Are"

The Power of Love

Follow My Heartbeat

Viva Ls Vegas

Changeable Weather

- Photo by listener

Someday Tonight

Vermont Moon

- Photo by listener

Your Love Stays wiith Me

Candelmas

- Photo by listener

Bleak House

Currently I’m rereading Bleak House by Charles Dickens for the empteenth time – I really have lost count. Other than The Lord of the Rings, it’s my favorite book of all time. How it came to be so is rather curious.

It was assigned for a Dickens course I was taking, taught by Prof. Clement, my favorite professor. He loves Dickens and Bleak House in particular. I don’t know if I ever saw him as animated as during the classes devoted to this novel. “Connections,” he used to say, leaning forward intently and waving his hands, “it’s all about connections!”

I’d already read Little Dorritt a couple of times through the years and had at least a passing familiarity with most of the other books assigned for the course, but had never before read Bleak House. I read it before the start of the course...and hated it! It was tedious and confusing and made no sense to me whatsoever. In class, though, it was obvious that Prof. Clement loved the wretched book. There must be some merit in it somewhere.

When the semester was over, I doggedly began the book again, determined to find out what was so special about it and again, like Lady Deadlock, was bored to death. I like to consider myself a reasonably intelligent person; so, it puzzled and downright exasperated me that I couldn’t see what my professor – someone I admired – saw in the novel. So, I started it again! I didn’t keep a journal and don’t remember at what point the penny finally dropped, the book finally clicked in my mind and I saw, well, the light. But it did. The plot, with all its myriad of interwoven tributaries of minor characters and subplots is dazzling. But it’s the language that gets me every time, the sheer lyricism and descriptive power, particularly in the chapters with the third person, omniscient narrator. How I ever could have disliked the book is completely beyond me. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Quiz Me A Quiz

My new quiz has been up for a while. Come join the fun and see how much you know about Engelbert's music.

Engelbert and Friends II

And don't forget to play and rate my two other quizzes on Engelbert and his music.

A Song for the New Week

Nominate Engelbert for an Honour

A move is afoot to nominate Engelbert Humperdinck for one of the British national honours, such as a knighthood, an OBE etc. Join this grassroots effort by sending in your nomination today.

Nominating someone for an honour

I am advised that for his address it "should do" to put Great Glen, Leicester.

Here's to Sir Engelbert!

Midweek

Here it is the middle of the week, and what have I done? Not much.

Got a package off to a friend

Uploaded a song to YouTube, “A Chance to Be a Hero” by Engelbert from a concert recording. It has proved popular, which is most gratifying.



Dashed off a quickie poem. The moderator of my Engelbert discussion list usually includes an original poem in her daily message to all members. Today the title sparked an idea and in response I produced the following:

Don’t Tear Our Love Apart

Can't remember when you kissed me
I Don't know when last we touched.
Though you're sleeping here beside me,
I miss you o so much.

It's like you cannot see me.
Is ambition all to blame,
The drive to make more money?
I thought not. What's her name?

Don't tear our love apart.
You already broke my heart.
So let me keep the memory
of days that used to be.

It's over now. You're leaving,
Your eyes as hard as stone.
And I am left here grieving,
Forsaken and alone.

Don't tear our love apart.
You already broke my heart.
So let me keep the memory
of days that used to be.

Don't tear my heart apart.
You broke it, so we'll part.
But let me keep the memory
Of days when you once loved me.

Actually, I think that last line should be:

Of when you once loved me.

Not great poetry, certainly, but not bad for an off-the-top-of-the-head effort. And even writing bad poetry exercises the brain. The rapidity and ease with which I produced that surprised me.

Still, gotta get my act together for the remainder of the week.

Have Lesson 2 of Punctuation to do. Also, need to redo Lesson 5 of Abacus 2. And I was so pleased with myself on that one. Guess being pleased with a result is a bad sign. Much else to do as well. Got to find the motivation somewhere. I don’t want this year to slip by, as so many years before it have done, with nothing to show. I guess discipline is the word. But, oh, how I hate discipline!

The End of the Week

Yesterday was amazing. It seemed like the entire population of Facebook turned out to wish me happy birthday. I also got e-mails and phone calls. It made me feel wonderfully warm and fuzzy, and quite humble.

Today, my friend Patty and her little girl, Sara, came over. They brought me a lemon meringue pie (my favorite!) and beautiful roses. And, they were able to stay for a couple hours, so we could have a nice visit. All in all, I had a great birthday.

This evening I started a new Hadley course, this one on punctuation. Oh, if only I’d had access to this as a youngster, how much bother and embarrassment it would have saved me throughout my life! But, better late than never. Should be able to get Lesson 1 e-mailed in on Monday.

Also, I need to check on my final Abacus 2 lesson, which I submitted right before the start of Winter break. Hadley re-opened Tuesday, but my instructor hasn’t responded to my submission; hence my concern that it might not have gone through.

Knock on wood, this year is starting out pretty well. There’s a great deal to do, but I’m cautiously optimistic that at least some of it may actually get done. Stay tuned.

The Week So Far

I’ve submitted “Spirits from the Vasty Deep” to the NFB Writers Division /fiction Contest. Need to find some poems too, but since the contest doesn’t close till April First, there’s time for that.

Started work on a new song, filename “Easy Listening.” No lyrics as yet, so no real title.

Took a look at “The Lady of the Stars” and made yet another start at casting into verse the version of “Silver Sheen” that Gillian sings or recites at the court of the Witch Queen. None of my previous attempts have met with success, but it has to be done. This time I chose Rhyme royal. Actually got two stanzas written, but they are dreadful. No idea how I’m gonna get this task done. But as I say, needs must. Gillian is acting as harper or minstrel, so the tale she tells needs to be in verse. * shrug * I’ll tell you one thing. Struggling with narrative verse increases my already high respect for Chaucer, Coleridge, Tennyson and other masters of the craft. How on earth one can tell a story while adhering to iambic pentameter and a strict rhyme form is totally beyond me. It’s an art I’ll have to master though. Wonder if there’s a course I can take or a book I can read on the subject? Must look into that.

Also took a look at Marooner’s Haven. Made a change to the chapter where Charlie buys the painting and comes across Mrs. Morrow in the gallery. But there’s so much more work to do! So many inconsistencies to work out and connections to make and background material, mainly on social conditions on Nova Britannia, to include that the prospect is terribly daunting. Still, I’m tired of piddling around. This year is going to be the year I finish the thing!

Got started on another quiz on Engelbert’s music for Fun Trivia. This one’s called “Dancing with Engelbert.” Believe it or not, it was a struggle to find ten songs with a form of the word “dance” in the title. Fortunately, though, I managed it. There are plenty of such songs in general circulation, of course, so finding red herrings (incorrect answers) for each question isn’t going to be a problem. The quiz is going well. Researching all the answers, both correct and incorrect, is what takes time. Now the lords of Quizziland demand “additional info” on every question; so I like to give info on each of the four choices. That’s what I mean by research, and that’s what takes time. At the same time, that’s what makes creating each quiz interesting. Selecting the topic and thinking of, or searching out, the song titles and lyrics to fit it isn’t hard. It’s writing each question in an engaging manner and finding all the info that’s the fun part for me. I hope to have this quiz submitted by the end of the month at latest.

Put up two YouTubes on Sunday, with a current combined view total of 35. That brings my grand total of YouTube uploads to eighty-three, with total upload views of 46,409. Amazing! And it’s surprisingly satisfying to know that my simple little “videos,” if you can call them that (most are just the song with a still or album cover), get so many views and give so many people such enjoyment.

Speaking of enjoyment, I finished Allen Steele’s Coyote Horizon this week. When I first started reading his Coyote stories in Asimov’s I wasn’t all that enthusiastic. Over the years, though, I’ve gotten hooked. The fictional planet of Coyote is so lovingly drawn, so minutely detailed that, especially for longtime readers of his tales, it seems as familiar as Earth, though full of constant surprises. I highly recommend Steele’s books.

Mostly this week I’ve been spending time feeding CDs into iTunes, discovering ones I didn’t know I owned and rediscovering ones I’d forgotten. In the process, I’ve been able to make a much needed start at organizing my CDs. The stack of those that can be gotten rid of is small as yet, naturally, but it’s there. The problem then becomes how to get rid of them. Don’t particularly want to sell them, though I’ve bought so much on ebay recently that they say I have so many – fifty was it? – free listings. So, I’ll think about it. Would rather give them away though, especially duplicates of Engelbert’s CDs. We’ll see.

Tomorrow’s my birthday, and I’m really feeling the pressure to get my act together. Forty-eight! Yikes! Time is running seriously short on accomplishing anything, making my mark, making it. Gotta get going!

Celebrating Our Lady

Today Catholics observe the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. It seems fitting this day, as we begin a new year, to celebrate the first and most perfect disciple of Our Lord, the mother of the Incarnate Word and of us all, to whom we appeal for aid and whom we strive to emulate. May we have the strength to put ourselves in her hands, to dedicate this new year, this fresh beginning to her and to ask for her help as we face the challenges ahead.

Here’s a lovely song in praise of Our Lady, sung by Engelbert Humperdinck.

Happy New Year!

A new year is beginning. May it bring peace and prosperity to all!

Speaking of Heavenly Bodies...

This photo of Engelbert tweeting was taken during his recent trip to Singapore.

BTW if I seem more than usually disconnected from the ground the past few days, it's because Engelbert answered one of my comments on his web site! Over the moon doesn't begin to describe my state.

New Horizons update

The New Horizons mission to Pluto is right on course for its 2015 close encounter with the king of the Kuiper Belt. Read the latest update:

New Horizons Mission Update

Puzzling New Exo-Planet Reflects Almost No Light

An exo-planet has been discovered which is coal-black and reflects less light than black enamel paint.

Darkest Planet Found: Coal-Black, It Reflects Almost No Light

New Poet Lauriate Named

The PBS News Hour interviews the new U.S. Poet Laureate.

Congratulations, Mr. Levine.

Working-Class Poet Levine Named Nation's Next Laureate

Today

It’s not a bad day. I’m not sick, though I am unaccountably tired. But it’s one of those days when nothing seems to go right.

All excited to get back to work on “Should I Lie?” and “Forgotten Promises,” I found that Cakewalk has no sound. The computer itself has sound, and Window-eyes is talking, more or less. But there’s no sound in Cakewalk. As always when this happens, I can’t remember how to fix it. As far as I can tell, nothing is muted, in Cakewalk or in the system as a whole; and, with that discovery, my invention and imagination failed utterly. I have no idea what else to check. So, no songwriting.

Next I went to purchase my e-tickets for Engelbert’s webcasts on Wednesday and Friday, and found obstacle after roadblock. Finally got through the process, but the promised confirmation e-mail hasn’t arrived. So, it’s a matter of conjecture whether I’ll be able to tune into the webcasts. Of course, it’s a totally different question whether my computer can sustain the webcasts. But, that’s something only time will tell.

Guess that’s all I have to complain about just now, except that I suddenly can’t keep my eyes open. Time for a nap, or at least a lie down.

Errata

It seems I neglected to report that, in the Spring, I sold, yes sold, for real, cash money, my two, interrelated Sestinas, "The Troubadour's Song" and "The Lady's Song," to Breath and Shadow an online, semi-pro journal. Here's the link:

http://www.abilitymaine.org/breath/spr11e.html

Reading and listening.

Current bedtime reading/listening (both being commercial audiobooks from Audible) is Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs and The Farthest Shore: the Earthsea Cycle, Book Three by Ursula K. Le Guin. Each is enjoyable in it's own way, though they are very different.

Burroughs was a fine writer. His early books reflect their pulp origins, but his later books show sophistication of both craft and thought. As to Le Guin, what can I say? She has long been one of my favorite writers from the reader's standpoint and one of my heroes from the writer's standpoint. The Earthsea Cycle, so far, is a wholly lovely series, engaging and absorbing. Recorded Books' choice of Rob Englis, narrator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to read The Earthsea Cycle shows sensitivity and discernment; for Le Guin's work is very much in the spirit of Tolkien's, though different and distinctive. Both Earthsea and Middle-earth are worlds one can imagine living in which, to me, is the mark of a gifted storyteller.

I've also been listening to two new, to me, LPs that arrived over the weekend, The Very Best of Engelbert Humperdink and I Wish You Love, also an Engelbert compilation. I Wish You Love is a particularly excellent record. The first cut on Side One is "After the Lovin'" - How much better can it get than that? The record also includes "quiet Nights," "Winter World of Love" and "Quando, Quando, Quando," to name a scant handful, as well, of course, as the title song. The compilers might have created this record just for me. It's not on RYM though, so I'll have to add it. Irritatingly, my scanner isn't large enough to accomodate LPs, which means I won't be able to upload the album cover. But, you can't have everything. *sigh*

Prize Winners

Here are the poems that took First And Second Prize in this year's NFB Writers Division Poetry Contest.

When You Were Mine

When you were mine every day was Summer
The night always overflowed with stars
Each kiss and every touch was newborn magic
Nothing blocked our way; the world was ours.

When you were mine the shadows couldn’t scare us
The future spread before us bright and clear
My light was just your smile; my music was your laughter,
Nothing else meant anything to me.

There’s nothing now except your memory
My heart is bleak as Winter but still sometimes
You call to me across the years and again
I’m with you in the sweet days when you were mine.

It Doesn't Matter Any More

The afternoon’s last sunlight lies in bars across the floor
Soon it fades and melts away as twilight falls once more.
This used to be the time of day I always loved the most,
But now it’s just the nightfall, that doesn’t matter any more.

The dawn is soft with silver mist and soon the rain appears
It blurs the edges of the day and merges with my tears.
This used to be the time of day you always held me close.
But now it’s just the morning that doesn’t matter any more.

My friends say that I should find a new love.
They tell me I’ll be happy once again.
But my heart could never part with you, Love
Where’s happiness when the world is cold and dead?

So now I watch the nights and days go spinning by.
At times I cry, but mostly I just wonder why,
Why you were taken from my arms when we finally had it all
I love you so but now, it doesn’t matter any more.

The Cave Girl

Yesterday afternoon and evening I read Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Cave Girl, a thrilling tale of how a pusillanimous ninety-pound weakling becomes a man under the influence of a good woman and the hearty outdoors life. The young lady of the title is no slouch either. 8) In fact, not only is she beautiful, athletic and spunky, she turns out to be not quite what she initially appears.

Restoring Eden

60 Minutes reports on the remarkable efforts of one engineer and the group he has formed to restore the marshlands of Iraq.

How Do I Stop Loving You?

Quiet Day

Quiet day today. The weather was gray and kind of gloomy, which I suppose I can blame for my having accomplished next to nothing.

No writing per se, but I have been working a bit on harmonizing “Should I Lie?”

Reconnected with one of my e-mail discussion groups. Tried to reconnect with another, the MusicTalk list, but the message didn’t go through. I hope that when the daily digest comes through tomorrow, the system will allow me to “reply.”

I’ve resumed doing a little gentle exercise. Hoping the key is to have modest goals. Three simple, non-strenuous exercises, starting with only a few repetitions each, surely shouldn’t be too overwhelming, and so not difficult to maintain. We’ll see. We can but hope.

I’m also going to try not to use any bad language. With as irritating and frustrating as it is dealing with my computer, that one may be pretty tough to maintain. But, it can’t hurt to try.

Nothing else really.

I had a Stouffer’s Mac and Cheese for supper, and I feel like I ate a twelve course dinner, really stuffed and sleepy. I don’t understand it. But there doesn’t seem much point in fighting. I’ll have a bit of a lie down and maybe get back to work later in the evening.

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone all the best for the year just begun.

I got to work almost immediately upon waking with a new song, “Forgotten Promises.” The lyric is finished, the melody not quite, but it's getting there. This one has a Country feel, which is new for me.

Lots to do this year, what with songs and stories to finish. I also want to participate more regularly in my discussion lists and groups, as well as to blog here more reliably. I need to try again to join the NFB Music Division. Strangely, the couple of times I’ve e-mailed to inquire about joining, my message has gone unanswered. But, this time I’ll be more persistent. Maybe an inquiry to the musictalk list would be fruitful.

Anyway, I start 2011, as I start every year, with good intentions. Sold two poems in 2010. This year, may the momentum continue and grow!

ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK - A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (CHRISTMAS EVE)

Baah Humbug!

Today I got a rejection from Analog.

It was a long shot,I'd sent them "Spirits from the Vasty Deep," and like Sis said, you don't know unless you try. But, still... Poo!

Engelbert Humperdinck - Winter World Of Love

Taking A Break

Songwriting went on the back burner for a little while this week as my sister, a good friend and I took in a Chris Isaaks concert at Northampton’s Calvin Theater Tuesday night. I hadn’t been to a concert in about twenty years, so the mere idea was exciting.

But the fun didn’t only come from anticipation. The show itself was excellent. And it wasn’t just the audience who had a good time. Chris and the band were rockin’, and didn’t seem to want to stop. It was a great show and a most enjoyable evening out. Thanks, Sis!

Ridden by the Muse

For about two weeks in the middle of November, I hardly had time to catch my breath. I wrote five songs, completed one poem and made a very good start on two other poems. Indeed, during that time, I rote two songs of totally opposite mood, one bleak and one sweet, in a single twelve-hour period. Donno what was going on, but I got pretty tired. Still, the burst of creativity was exhilarating.

The burst is past now, but I still have harmonizing and arranging to do on the songs from that batch as well as more work to do on “Something Precious Remains” and “Music To My Heart.” It’s going slowly, this part of songwriting doesn’t come easily to me; but, it’s coming.

Also, I submitted “World Enough And Time” to my writers group and to another writer friend and SF enthusiast, even though it’s not quite finished. They gave me helpful comments and a lot of encouragement. It seems I’ve painted myself into a couple of tight corners. So far solutions haven’t occurred to me, but I’m not worried, yet. The best thing is to let the problem or problems stew and brew for a while. Eventually something will come, or not. If not, I’ll put the story away and forget about it.

Also trying to write the second New Year’s story for A Very Dragon Christmas, so far with little success. Again, though, I’m not terribly fussed. It will settle into place in my mind.

My main problem continues to be sleep, or rather lack thereof. One thing about insomnia, you do get a lot of reading done. I’ve lost count of the number of books I’ve read in the past month, certainly at least a dozen. Can’t concentrate on anything deep, so I’ve been reading a lot of Agatha Christie and some Edgar Rice Burroughs. They are both interesting without being too demanding.

Well, that’s about all I’ve been up to. It doesn’t seem like much when I come to write it down, but it’s been quite enough. Here’s hoping that December will also be productive.

The Sweet Smell of Success

Today I got word that Breath and Shadow has accepted "The Troubadour's Song" and "The Lady's Song," a pair of sestinas. They will probably appear in the Spring 2011 issue.

It's a long time since I sold a poem, let alone two poems at once, so I'm very pleased. The frosting on the cake is that it's an actual "sale," for money. Breath and Shadow pays $5.00-$15.00 per poem so, I'll earn something between $10.00 and $30.00. That's not a fortune, but it's respectable. As I say, though, the dollar amount is less important to me than the fact of the sale. After a string of rejections this year, the acceptance from Chris Kewl is cause for celebration.

Box Blues

amazon.com can be so annoying!

Last night I, uh... Well, I went there looking for two specific CD's, one of which, Step Into My Life, they didn't have at all, the other of which, Released, (Engelbert's latest, just out the Sixteenth of this month), they had but it seemed outrageously expensive. It was just as expensive at amazon.co.uk so, after a struggle, I decided not to get it.

But,in the course of looking, I saw a couple of other CD's and, uh, three DVD's.... Not only that, but I forgot to select Super Saver shipping and I also forgot to combine orders into as few shipments as possible.

So, I was resigned to Sis having a fit, or at least having a good laugh at me when one box came containing two Engelbert CD's and another box came, possibly the same day, containing three Engelbert DVD's. What can you do, you know? But just now I got an e-mail saying that they've shipped one CD separately. I hate that. They claim they're doing it to be helpful, to give faster service. But, whatever the items, I much prefer them to come all together in as few boxes as possible, not in a blizzard of boxes. And especially when the items are things that Sis can't quite help laughing at me about. I do feel slightly sheepish but, really. Nobody laughs all that much when, every year or so, I buy the new Glass Hammer CD, and I've always had a crush on Fred. I don't understand it, but there it is. *sigh* Sis is gonna be sniggering all next week as she opens my boxes for me.

On the other hand, it could be worse. Mum might still open my mail for me!

Music, Music, Music!

Well, I've finally finished the first draft, so to speak, of "Music to My Heart." The lyric is pretty much finished and the melody is pretty much finished. Because of some wrestling with Cakewalk, I didn't get to bed till 3:30, but I don’t regret it. Actually slept pretty well for once.

Stage 2 in the writing of a song, for me, is to sort out the note durations. I write out the melody in all quarter notes first, then in the second stage worry about what should be an eighth note, what a half note, and so forth. The third stage is adding the harmony. While stages 2 and 3 require a lot of concentration, they're not difficult per se. So, the hard part is over in this project. Yay! I was beginning to think it would never come together.

In other music-related news, I've been buying records again: The Carpenters and Engelbert, with a little spice of Dusty Springfield and Gilbert O’Sullivan. You can get a lot of vynel for the cost of one CD. And while CD's are wonderful in their way, you just can't beat real records.

On the other hand, over the weekend I installed iTunes and managed to download Engelbert’s new single, “Tell Me Where It Hurts.” Even figured out how to play it - the iTunes interface is not very disabled friendly. So, it's not as if I'm failing to keep up with the times. It's just that I like real records.

Caught an Error?

Just watched 56: Between a Yuk and a Hard Place 12/13/1988 5 - 2

The music listings on the Moonlighting Episode guide (http://dogwood.phpwebhosting.com/~tvshrine/moonlightingEG5.htm) say that the version of “Up, Up and Away” used on the episode is by The Fifth Dimension. Well, I know what the Fifth Dimension sound like, and it wasn’t them. I’m sure it was Engelbert. Now, why would they make a mistake like that? Sure, the Fifth Dimension had the major hit, but lots of other people recorded it, including Andy Williams.

It is possible that I’m wrong, I do sometimes misidentify singers. But Engelbert has a pretty distinctive voice and style. I’m going to try to track down a record of “Up, Up and Away” by him, just for my own satisfaction.

Update
Found it!

Reality Check

Well, "Music to My Heart" isn’t finished. Not even close. I got the lyric smoothed into iambic pentameter. Only, one line is tetrameter. And it feels complete – the thought is complete - only it’s missing a foot. And, it doesn’t rhyme. None of it rhymes. That’s fine for a poem, but a song needs a good, solid rhyme scheme.

The idea is sound – I’m still sure and enthusiastic about it – and I’ve said everything I want to say... Just need now to say it better, or at least more conventionally. Just! Yeah. *sigh* I know it’s good, and I know it will work if I can only kick my brain out of the rut it’s stuck in and find the right words. Break out of the box in order to be more conventional. An oxymoron, right? But that’s exactly what I need to do. And trying to do it makes me so tired! Guess I’m really out of practice.

And, of course, I really can’t do much with the melody till the lyric’s set or at least semi stable.

The thing is, Bert Bacherach and Nigel Lewis’ "Nothing in this World" keeps running through my mind, which would be fine – it’s a gorgeous song – except I really need to be able to hear the song I’m currently working on, need to be able to concentrate on it to the exclusion of all other songs. That’ clearly not going to happen for a while.

So, though I hoped to zip right through, this project clearly is going to take some time. I need to move it to the back burner and let it stew and brew a while, much as doing so irks me. On the other hand, it’s not like I have a shortage of stuff to work on. But I’m enthusiastic about this project. I want to work on this project. *sigh* Realistically, though, continuing to flog it will do more harm than good and I know it. So, it’s move on to other things for now.

Writing, and it feels so wonderful!

I started a brand new song, donno exactly, maybe an hour ago. The lyric is shaping up nicely, and the melody for the refrain is set, and set down. Even got the last part of the coda roughed out. Only thing left is, hm,mm, what do you call that? The main melody? The bit in between, that isn’t refrain. You know what I mean. Too tired and too high to care a whole lot if I’m making sense.

I’ve worked it out, and this is the first song I’ve written in some six years. I’ve noodled around, kicked around melody ideas, but this is the first real song. For me, the lyric usually comes first, and the melody follows quickly, or at least parts of it. So it was this time. I had the rough lyric in about five minutes. As I refined it, the refrain melody slowly took shape in another layer of my mind, so to speak, until it was defined enough to start setting down. Then there was some logistical stuff with Cakewalk, the antiquated but excellent music software I use (recommended to me many years ago by none other than Fred Schendle of Glass Hammer) as t how to copy and paste just the music so I could put the refrain melody in with each occurrence of the words. And, by the time I’d sorted that out, I had the very end. As to the remaining blank spots, I’m not worried. There may be an existing fragment I can shape. If not, the bits I need will come. They usually do. And, I have a really good feeling about this song. The way it flowed felt so right, so wonderful.

I don’ know if it uses different muscles or what, but songwriting is very different from writing prose or, curiously, even poetry. The flow is different; the feel is different. I haven’t experienced the particular kind of creative expression in so long that I’d almost forgotten what it feels like. But, it’s one of those things that comes right back. And it sure feels great!

Smoother sailing

"A New Dream" is coming together. Just a little more adjustment of the final phrase, and then all that will be left is tinkering with the harmonies (Arrangement seems like rather too grand a term). As so often happens with problems, creative problems at least, this one wasn’t nearly as fearsome as it seemed. Still, I’ll be glad to get the song finished and printed.

Haven’t yet decided whether to do anything with "No One to Love." As I’ve indicated, arranging isn’t my strongest point, and the thought of starting all over from scratch is discouraging. However, we’ll see how it goes.

I don’t have any deadline, this project is just something I want to do. So, there’s no pressure, except the little I put on myself. Of course, that’s both he easiest pressure and the worst; the easiest because nobody notices and gripes when you skive off; worst because when you do skive off, you have to live with yourself.

Super Klutz

It is rare for me to be at a loss for words. It is rarer still for me to regret the paucity of my vocabulary of “strong language.” But, the situation calls for swearing fluently, and I find myself ill equipped. So, suffice it to say that I am EXTREMELY ANNOYED!

I’ve been working on "A New Dream." Everything was going swimmingly until I discovered that I’d inadvertently deleted the last two measures. Thank Heaven it wasn’t more! Still, that’s enough. There’s no autosave copy – I don’t know why. – and at first I thought I’d have to scrap everything I’ve done since Tuesday, which drove me frantic. I think now it will probably be possible to recover the material from a copy saved elsewhere on my system. That thought is a great relief. My panic response does have a hair trigger. * rueful grin * Still, none of that changes the bleak fact that I am a super klutz! ARG!

I Write the Songs

Busy, busy.

I thought of another song to polish up, while I’m at it, "No One To Love." It’s pretty good. The accompaniment track is abysmal, though, and had to be totally scrapped. I knew that, of course, but had forgotten just exactly how abysmal. And, discarding the whole thing is a pity, all that work gone to waste. But, reworking it would  have been too confusing. Much better to start fresh. Probably it’s better anyway, since the melody line still needs some tinkering. Overall, the song is promising though.

Meanwhile, "A New Dream" is coming along nicely, if slowly. It seems all the half notes at the ends of phrases have to be changed to dotted quarter notes - *shrug* whatever – and I need to do a little more tidying up. Then, of course, I need to do the whole thing again with the accompaniment track, adjusting, moving. It’s slow going and very tiring, but satisfying work, totally different from writing and editing words. That makes it, though challenging, a nice change.

It’s always something

This week, I have a new problem. Forget parallel universes and trying to juggle characters’ motivations and points of view. I’ve encountered a serious problem, one that literally makes my head spin: The beat of “A New Dream” is, well, misaligned. That is to say, the stresses, the natural stresses or accents in the melody and lyrics don’t line up with the beat as measured by the metronome. Or rather, some of them do, but some are off.

It seems like all I have to do is shorten and lengthen certain notes till the beat falls right, but it’s not as simple as that. First of all, there’s a two measure intro. That’s off. But, if I tinker with that before the main body of the song, it could throw off the    timing of the main body. More worryingly, the first note of the song is, so to speak, on the wrong side of the first bar line. That is, the first note falls before the first accented beat. So, as that first phrase repeats, where does the first accented beat of the phrase fall relative to the bar line and the first beat of the measure?

I never really thought about all this before, because it sounds fine. But, how everything’s laid out and where everything falls becomes important now that I want to print the song out. Hell, I’m not even sure of the time signature. Is it 4/4 or 3/4? It doesn’t have the feel of a waltz, but at the same time four beats per measure doesn’t seem right somehow.

The conclusion I draw from all this is not that something’s wrong with “A New Dream,” but rather that something’s wrong with my mind. I should be able to hear the right way. I should have written it the right way to begin with. But though I can hear the wrongness, it muddles me so that I can’t work out how to fix it. Eventually I’ll get it sorted out, but right now I’m very confused.

Engelbert Again

A few days ago I wrote to the contact e-mail at engelbert.com to ask if it would be possible to set up a control to let visitors to the home page turn the music off and on. It’s one of those pages where the music starts as soon as you enter. Without being able to switch the music off, I have no way of hearing what the screen reader is saying. Fortunately, the web site is otherwise very well designed. It wasn’t too hard for me to locate the site navigation links and click through to another page, from where it was a piece of cake to navigate through the rest of the site. Still, it’s the principle of the thing. I’d like to be able to read the home page. More importantly, a totally blind visitor probably wouldn’t be able to manage at all. And, the fix isn’t a difficult one.

So, I wrote to explain all this. The fan liaison sent back a note saying she had passed my message on to the web development team.

More importantly, her message included a photograph! *swoon*

*sigh* I suppose it’s all right to be a total and complete airhead as long as that is only one facet of your personality; if, when push comes to shove you can discuss with moderate intelligence The Vision of Piers Plowman or the influence of Boethius on The Knight’s Tale and Troilus and Criseyde, or point out waspishly that you opposed the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan from the very beginning when each and every soul you knew, including the most reliable Liberals, were telling you how shortsighted and naive you were, because the operation was necessary.

A personality is a complex organism, with many components and facets. Mine has the facet that likes maple walnut ice cream but hates Brussels sprouts, the facet that loves detective stories and the one that is fascinated by Quantum Mechanics and Archaeology. So, I suppose there’s nothing inherently wrong with having a facet that goes weak at the knees when confronted with a never-before-heard song by or a photograph of, say, Engelbert Humperdink or Tom Jones. I mean, I am only human, after all. But, it’s not a facet that comes to the fore all that often. And, it must not yet be fully integrated into my personality as a whole because it is, err, slightly embarrassing.

And yet, really... What’s a girl s’posed to do?

P.S.
I wrote away today to inquire about joining Engelbert’s fan club. Seems to me, if I’ this far gone, I might as well go the whole way.

Earliest Hominids in Northern Europe

Archaeologists are working on a site in Norfolk, in Great Britain, that they believe was inhabited some one million years ago by Homo antecessor, making it the oldest known human settlement in northern Europe. They have found stone tools and even pinecones and pollen. They deduce from the latter that the climate at that time was similar to that of modern-day Scandinavia, and though they have not yet found physical evidence, they conjecture that the inhabitants must have used shelters and clothing, and perhaps tamed fire.

Link
Humans' early arrival in Britain

Micro Quasar NGC 7793

This little black hole has a great big reach.

A small black hole has been observed blowing a vast bubble of hot gas 1,000 light-years across.

The gas is expanding because it is being heated by powerful particle "jets" being released by the black hole.

The observations were made by the Very Large Telescope in Chile and Nasa's Chandra space observatory.

Link
Black hole blows huge gas bubble>

Cool Stars Come in out of the Cold

ScienceDaily (June 29, 2010) — Astronomers have uncovered what appear to be 14 of the coldest stars known in our universe. These failed stars, called brown dwarfs, are so cold and faint that they'd be impossible to see with current visible-light telescopes. Spitzer's infrared vision was able to pick out their feeble glow, much as a firefighter uses infrared goggles to find hot spots buried underneath a dark forest floor.

Link
Coolest Stars Come out of the Dark: Spitzer Spies Frigid Brown Dwarfs

Independence Day

Today is the Fourth of July, Independence Day in the United States. This is a day to display unashamedly our love for this, our home, the greatest nation in the world.

On the other three hundred and sixty-four days in the year we can grumble about the glaring problems, deplore and protest the mistakes and stupid actions of our leaders, Democrats and Republicans alike (Stupidity is an equal opportunity employer.). Today we celebrate the beauty and grandeur of this land that reaches from sea to shining sea and beyond, the friendliness, generosity and ingenuity of her people, her many successes. Today is the day to sing America, to sing our love for her. Tomorrow we can get back to the business of setting her to rights.

Still Stewing and Brewing

I’m still struggling with “World Enough and Time.” It’s pretty much settled in my mind at this point that Mark knows what he’s doing. That is, he actually builds, not a time machine, but a device to move between realities, parallel universes. Conveniently for him, Kathleen is not terribly interested in Quantum Mechanics, and doesn’t know the difference. So far so good. Here’s the rub. Kathleen is the first person narrator. Not only does she not understand Mark’s work, she doesn’t understand his motivation for that work. Not understanding his motivation, she can’t convey it to the reader, not directly at any rate. And, without understanding Mark’s motivation, the reader only gets half of the story.

The obvious solution is to recast the story in third person narrative. The problem with that is grammar, even language itself on the most fundamental level. There’s a scene in which Kathleen, the Cat who is narrating the story has a mind meld with the Kathleen in a parallel reality. The grammar gets extremely tricky for a few lines, but between first and third person, it remains possible to tell who’s who. If the story were written in third person, this passage would be unintelligible. So, the narrative has to stay in first person; which brings me back to the problem of Mark’s POV. The circumstances in which the characters find themselves do not allow for him to write her a thirty page letter explaining everything, a handy if sometimes slightly forced device. There is a point at which he could make a speech, a point at which her sudden understanding of what has been going on is handy for the plot development but stands, just now, totally unsupported by any kind of previously laid information or clues.

Hmmm... That might work, though a speech, like a letter, has to be handled carefully to prevent its seeming forced. Also, there is the danger of its becoming something of an infodump. I guess the thing to do is to have a speech to pull everything together and spell it out for Cat while placing clues throughout the rest of the story, things that she reports without understanding their significance. Yes, that might work.

Again, writing out my ideas and difficulties has helped me work through them. Or, at least, it has helped me realize that the problem may not be insoluble.

How It's Done

Doris Day is one of the most genuinely nice people on the planet. This note in response to a tabloid smear from a little over a year ago shows how it's done. The lady is the epitome of style and class.

In the note she mentions always calling John Denver by his real name, Deutschendorf. That reminds me of a darling clip of Doris and John from her 1975 special, Doris Day Today.

Enjoy!

The Dark Is Rising Sequence

I’ve been reading Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising sequence. Finished the fifth and final book, Silver On The Tree last night. They are delightful books, vaguely Arthurian (and I’m a pushover for anything Arthurian, however vaguely), wholly delightful Fantasy Adventure novels.

Two of the books are set in Cornwall, two in Wales and one in the author’s native Buckinghamshire, which is where I lived during my three years in England. Five children are brought together over the course of the sequence, under the direction of Prof. Merriman Lion, to help him in his long fight against the Dark. It very soon becomes clear that Great Uncle Merry is rather more than he seems, and by the end, all the children know him for who he really is, and they understand exactly what he is fighting.

The charm of these books lies not only in the “magic,” and the ancient lore, most of it Celtic, Cooper weaves into the narrative, but also in her descriptions of landscapes and of ordinary life, especially family life. The people and places are vividly drawn. Though I’ve never been to Wales, I could see the mountainsides with their granite outcrops and hear the baahing of the sheep and the high call of the curlews. Though I’ve never been to Cornwall, I could see the grassy headlands and the golden sanded beaches. The characters, too, are well drawn. They are individuals, each doing what is appropriate for him or her. The reader understands them and cares about what happens to them.

And, quite a lot happens to them during the course of the sequence, both in the here and now and in other times and other places, some of which are historical, some out of the mists of legend.

The NLS notice on each book says, “For grades four through seven and older readers. I don’t hesitate to recommend them to readers of all ages.

The Dark Is Rising Sequence
Over Sea, Under Stone
The Dark Is Rising
Greenwitch
The Grey King
Silver On The Tree

Word Verification

Because of the high number of spam comments on this blog, I have reluctantly instituted word verification for comments.

I apologize for this unpleasant necessity and for the inconvenience it will cause. Please be assured that I've done it as a last resort.

Engelbert

The past few days, I've been on a kick of listening to a lot of Engelbert Humperdink. YouTube has a number of clips from his 1969-70 television show and a program he did in 1972 which, if I understand correctly, was shown in Germany, as well as various other TV and concert appearances through the years. There are also the ubiquitous homemade videos and slide shows to songs.

I've always loved Engelbert. I grew up listening to him and Andy Williams and Julie Andrews. In my teens I discovered Vic Damone *swoon* and Johnny Mathis *dreamy* and of course I liked the pop music of the day: I loved the Carpenters, really, *really* liked Barry Manilow and, well, I shudder to think of it, but I was well and truly mad for Donny Osmond. Oh my goodness but I was obnoxious about him. I don't know how my parents managed not to murder me. *wry grin*

But, you know, the first record album I ever saved up for and bought with my own money was Engelbert's After the Lovin' album. I like to think this means that, underneath the silly, obnoxious teenybopper, I had good taste all along.

Here's Engelbert from his 1972 show singing "Another Time, Another Place." If he's not the definition of a heartthrob, I don't know who is.

Happy Birthday Aung San Suu Kyi

The Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday is today.

All of us who accept our freedom without a thought, who live in peace and prosperity and democracy owe an incalculable debt to heroes like Aung San Suu Kyi.

Link
Aung San Suu Kyi, Birthday and Freedom

Flag Day

As listener reminds us with this photo, today is Flag Day.

A Family Outing

This cute photo is by listener.

Exoplanet Caught Mid Orbit

Astronomers using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have caught an unprecedented glimpse of an exoplanet moving in its orbit around a distant star. Called Beta Pictoris b, the exoplanet has been directly imaged in two separate points covering nearly half of its orbit. The achievement could prove a significant stepping stone in our understanding of how planetary systems, including our own solar system, formed.

 Exoplanet caught on the move

Jacques Cousteau's Centenary

Gulf Project

Obviously, BP can’t cap its runaway oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

What I want to know is, why hasn’t the call gone out to every university, college and institute, to every federal, state and local government agency (especially in Gulf states) and to every NGO in the United States that has expertise with oil, marine environments and/or engineering for the best and brightest to assemble in a Manhattan Project style endeavor to solve the problem. Surely, preserving the ecology and economy of our Gulf coast states and the Mississippi River is more important than working out how to build a goddamn atomic bomb!

I don’t know who would be the most appropriate person to send out such a call, whether it would be the President, the Vice President or the Secretary of the Interior. All I know is, the call has to be put out now. Hell, it ought to have been put out as soon as the search and rescue operation concluded. What are they waiting for? This accident is a matter of acute national interest and economic and environmental security

Environmental Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill

Renowned environmentalist Jean Michel Cousteau on The News Hour discussing the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Thinking about Time

In the course of reading The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene, I came across an intriguing concept, that travel to the past may perhaps be possible, but that changing the past is not. The reason for this is, more or less, that each moment is its own immutable now. Sound familiar, fans of Walt Whitman and St. Augustine? I wrote a paper in grad school dealing with the eternal nature of now in relation to the Tree of Charity in The Vision of Piers Ploughman. It's a subject that interests me.

In particular just now, however, I found Greene's idea provocative because one of my current active projects deals specifically with time travel to the past that goes awry. The traveler ends up in a couple of different parallel realities rather than going straight back in her own. One of them is pretty far removed from her own timeline, and I've been wondering how such a major mistake could have happened. Her friend, the “time machine’s” inventor is a talented and highly skilled quantum mechanician. How did he land her so far from her home reality?

Since reading Greene's remarks, though, it occurred to me to wonder if it really was a mistake as such at all. Maybe the operator of the "time machine" meant to send the traveler to a parallel reality all along. The story is told in first person narrative by the traveler, a person who knows next to nothing about Quantum Physics. The operator could have told her a fib, an oversimplification...His goal might have been to send her to a parallel reality all along, since he knew that changing the past, as such, is impossible.

I'll need to chew on the idea some more, but it presents possibilities. It may mean that the story is more complicated, and thus more interesting, than I initially anticipated. That's good, since simple stories don't sell.

The Beach Boys - California Girls ( with Bob Hope and Jack Benny )

This can make you smile, even on a really down day.

Key Stakeholders Agree on Measures to Protect Blind Pedestrians

I saw this on one of my NFB listservs today.

Urge Passage as Part of Motor Vehicle Safety Act

Baltimore, Maryland (May 19, 2010): The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the American Council of the Blind (ACB), the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM), and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM) announced today that they have agreed on proposed legislative language that will protect blind pedestrians and others from the danger posed by silent vehicle technology.

The four organizations are urging Congress to adopt and pass the language as part of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010?which is currently pending in both houses of Congress?as quickly as possible. The proposed language would require the Department of Transportation to promulgate a motor vehicle safety standard requiring automobiles to emit a minimum level of sound to alert the blind and other pedestrians.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “The National Federation of the Blind commends the automobile industry for its leadership on this issue and for its genuine concern for the safety of blind Americans, cyclists, runners, small children, and other pedestrians. We look forward to working with the parties to this agreement, the United States Congress, and the Department of Transportation to ensure that America’s streets remain safe, both for those who drive and for those who do not.”

"Good policy is a collaborative effort, and this is a good approach for pedestrians and automakers," said Dave McCurdy, President and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

Because blind pedestrians cannot locate and evaluate traffic using their vision, they must listen to traffic to discern its speed, direction, and other attributes in order to travel safely and independently. Other people, including pedestrians who are not blind, cyclists, runners, seniors, and small children, also benefit from hearing the sound of vehicle engines. New vehicles that employ hybrid or electric engine technology can be silent, rendering them extremely dangerous in situations where vehicles and pedestrians come into proximity with each other.

A recent report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated that hybrid and electric vehicles are nearly twice as likely to be involved in accidents with pedestrians as vehicles with internal combustion engines.

CONTACT:
Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
cdanielsen@nfb.org

RIP Lena Horn

I was sorry to hear this evening that Lena Horn has died. She was ninety-two.

RIP

The News Hour's obituary