To thine own self be true

nutcases and crackpots like MacDonald at the U of A denying Holodomor.

the holy, holy sound of chorales singing church music on CD–human voices celebrating spiritual joy, peace, and quietude. (It’s on a par with the monks’ voices at Santo Domingo.)

The voices of women and of children choirs are the best–truly tailor-made for the holiday season. I cannot get enough of colored Christmas lights on the tree and chorale music all of December. These reflective, peaceful sounds represent the best of Christmas atmosphere and leave one in a state of relaxation and grace desiring nothing else.

Music that lifts, ennobles, and elevates mind, feelings, soul, and spirit. A monthly meditation devoutly to be wished.

I recommend the 6-disc Christmas 101 CD set from Decca illustrated below.

Russian Assets. Putin Personnel. Soviet Lackeys. Red Flunkys.

“They intoxicate themselves with work so they won’t see how they really are.”–Aldous Huxley

“Most people perform essentially meaningless work. When they retire, that truth is borne upon them.”–Brendan Francis

“Nothing is more terrible than activity without insight.”–Thomas Carlyle

“There is no wisdom without leisure.”–Jewish proverb

“We can never have enough of nature.”–Henry David Thoreau, Walden

“To love what you do and feel that it matters–how could anything be more fun?”–Katharine Graham

“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.”–Denis Diderot

“The length of your life is less important than its depth.”–Marilyn Vos Savant, Reader’s Digest (1992)

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”–Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, 1878

“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.”–Amelia Earhart

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”–Miriam Beard

“Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends on the tides of the mind.”–Alice Meynell

“Only those who dare, truly live.”–Ruth P. Freedman

“Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing.”–Helen Keller, The Open Door

“Be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life.”–Buddha

“It is only in the giving of oneself to others that we truly live.”–Ethel Percy Andrus

“In a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom.”–J.G. Ballard, Running Wild

“Try to realize it’s all within yourself
No one else can make you change
And to see you’re really very small
And life flows on
Within you and without you.”

–George Harrison, “Within You, Without You”

53% of Republicans say Trump is better than Abraham Lincoln as POTUS.
47% of them thought Lincoln better.
90% of GOP supporters approve of the job T’s doing.

Of all Americans, 75% say Lincoln was a better POTUS than T.
That includes 94% of Democrats.  (Economist poll)

Factually/empirically: Which party supporters are more incapable of dealing with reality, truth, evidence, and facts? Which supporters are less likely to discriminate information or critically think before making choices? Which supporters are more likely to lack common sense? Which supporters are more ignorantly and stubbornly biased? Which supporters have sold out to an autocrat and dictator? Which supporters are treasonously pro-Russian, anti-American, anti-democracy, anti-justice, and anti-Constitution?

for those still working to take stock with Christmas and the holidays on the horizon. Time to look inward and ask oneself “Am I too much ‘work’? Am I in a rut? Is there more to my life than my job? Do I have other needs, wants, and desires?”

“Am I appreciated or largely taken for granted? Do I give out most of the time with little response, feedback, or love? How long can I give out without getting something satisfying and fulfilling in return?”

“Am I sacrificing myself for not much? Is there more to life than making money? Am I really happy?”

Tough questions but December is a natural month for reflecting on one’s life and self. To contemplate changes, especially of the heart, mind, and spirit. Now that you’re this far up the ladder, is it really up against the wrong or right wall?

(Warner Bros.–available as a stand-alone or as part of the excellent WB Tennessee Williams boxset)

Tennessee Williams–the major American playwright whose fame came in the 1950s and ’60s with poetic, conflictful works such as The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire. Was watching this excellent documentary by Canadian filmmaker Harry Rasky yesterday which is set mostly in New Orleans and Key West, consisting of candid, intimate interviews with Williams.

It was good to hear him talk and laugh again about his childhood, his family, and his plays. Also included are several scenes from plays featuring Burl Ives, William Hutt, Jessica Tandy, and Michael York–prominent actors of the day (1973). Tennessee also reads some of his poems. Overall, it is a glimpse into another era as well as what made Williams tick/his sensibility. Recommended.

thanks to people buying online. More big changes to come in life as we once knew it.

(A summer stop in Calgary. We started playing together in 1966 and last played together about 5 years ago here in Edmonton. Our best work included recordings in the 1980s.)