My Mom was a huge Harry Belafonte fan, and his passing has me thinking of her.
She was very nearly expelled from college when she sneaked out of her dorm room to attend one of his concerts. (It was a different world in 1954.) But she learned her lesson- and the next time, she didn't get caught. 😉
When I was little I used to make her laugh by unbuttoning my shirt all the way down to my belly button and saying "Look Mom! I'm Harry Belafonte!"
She had (and now I have) all of his albums. They're not valuable. They've been played so often they're riddled with scratches and pops. But that's the fate of all great albums.
I liked having him here on earth with us. It was a small connection to my Mom, and I'm going to miss that.
He had a great run. I don't think he left anything undone, and left behing a legacy of music, love, and kindness.
I'm going to miss him.
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Belafonte
Saturday, April 22, 2023
Saturday, April 15, 2023
A defect in our system of government has given a minority of voters a majority of power, and they're using it to strip women of their civil rights, shove gays back into the closet, and push Blacks to the back of the bus.
It makes them feel powerful, which for some reason is absurdly important to them, but it's a horrifyingly bad idea-- and not just for the obvious moral reason.
America is a multicultural, multiracial, multilingual conglomerate, and that's not going to change.
We either find a way to get along, or we disintegrate into smaller and smaller factions, each armed to the teeth with rifles and righteous indignation.
Blasting beer cans (an effigy for gay people) with assault rifles is a first step towards a bad end.
We should turn around.
Thursday, April 13, 2023
Song on the Radio
The song opens with a very 70s saxophone wail, and Al Stewart has a somewhat stilted vocal style-- it almost feels like he's reading you a song rather than singing it.
But the words are pure poetry:
I remember the first time I saw you
Alone in the dark with a drink
With a candle flame burning before you
And your thoughts closed in
You were staring out into the distance
Not seeming to hear what I said
Why did you put up such resistance
Like all the lights are red…
Full lyrics HERE.
And there is a nice interview with him online HERE.
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
The Sound of Travel
Here's a scene:
You're in the backseat laying down, the windows wrap around
To the sound of the travel and the engine
All you hear is time stand still in travel
And feel such peace and absolute
The stillness still that doesn't end…
Full lyrics HERE.
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Playing the Part
And that reminded me of this:
From Shakespeare's As You Like It:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely Players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His Acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
Monday, April 10, 2023
Chaos!
“When you have grown still on purpose while everything around you is asking for chaos, you will find the doors between every room of the interior castle thrown open, the path home to your true love unobstructed after all.” ~St. Teresa of Avila
She lived in the second half of the 1500s and thought the world was too chaotic. 😐
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Plants and Birds and Cats and Things
We have an arrangement with the local cardinals: we feed them dinner, and they plant our garden.
This sunflower came up next to the birdfeeder, and it's a little different than most: instead of one big flower at the top, it has a cluster of little ones.
(That's our cat Lucy watching you through the front window.)
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Monday, April 3, 2023
Now and Venn
Interesting side note: Venn diagrams are named after John Venn, who didn't invent them but did popularize their use. (source)
I love Venn diagrams. Thank you, John.