Monthly Archives: December 2012

Christmas Classics Still Relevant Today

“He who loses his life shall find it.”–quoted by Joseph Campbell Two of the most inspiring Christmas movies ever are the Alistair Sim version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and Frank Capra’s movie It’s a Wonderful Life. They have … Continue reading

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Moments of Being

(reprise in response to previous–winter window–entry) “God is in the detail/s.”–Gustave Flaubert, “The bien Dieu est dans le detail.” Moments of being are those more elusive transitory times when one is especially aware of the sublime pleasure and excitement of … Continue reading

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To open the blind

on a cold December morning is to unveil a frosty filigree etched on the window, and to recall Omar Sharif as Doctor Zhivago delighting to the same in David Lean’s film.

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Au revoir, Dave

(for Dave Brubeck) “Yet a bird, almost the minute it’s hatched, I’m told, already knows its song.”–Gabrielle Roy (sunset, Dec. 6)

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Advice to a Young Musician

(from a signed Dave Brubeck letter I have) July 27, 1988 Dear Pat, Thank you for your letter. It is very difficult to give someone else advice, because I believe, in the end, one makes choices not from heeding other … Continue reading

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21 Cohen Songs I Like Better than “Hallelujah”

Suzanne The Stranger Song Going Home The Sisters of Mercy Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye So Long, Marianne Famous Blue Raincoat Bird on the Wire Chelsea Hotel #2 Who by Fire If It Be Your Will Everybody Knows … Continue reading

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A Meander

Life is fraught with risk all the way down the line. But it is important to pursue what gives you pleasure, meaning, and purpose. There are those moments along the way when you will hear the call. It is important … Continue reading

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Technology: Three Further Takes on Four Daze

“These are the days of miracle and wonder.” –Paul Simon, “The Boy in the Bubble”, Graceland -1- Watching McCartney play Thursday and thinking how this concert differed from the ones he and The Beatles gave in the ’60s up to the … Continue reading

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William Blake speaks

“Without contraries is no progression” ………………………………………….. Tennessee Williams says much the same sort of thing in “The Catastrophe of Success”, the essay he wrote about getting ‘soft’ after the success of The Glass Menagerie. Conflict in the crucible is a … Continue reading

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Lest We Forget: Lennon

(The hits and songs written by) Ask Me Why There’s a Place This Boy It Won’t Be Long All I’ve Got to Do Not a Second Time A Hard Day’s Night I Should Have Known Better If I Fell Anytime … Continue reading

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