The Beehive is taking a little break from blogdom until New Year's Day or thereabout. We'll undoubtedly be working up some lofty and quasi-attainable resolutions in the meantime.
Please enjoy browsing our archives if you like, and we'll be back in 2006!
Happy New Year to all, and may God bless each of you with a joyous and safe holiday!
December 28, 2005
December 26, 2005
December 25, 2005
Christmas Day
by G. K. Chesterton
There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.
For men are homesick in their homes,
And strangers under the sun,
And they lay their heads in a foreign land
Whenever the day is done.
Here we have battle and blazing eyes,
And chance and honour and high surprise,
But our homes are under miraculous skies
Where the Yule tale was begun.
A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam,
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home:
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost -- how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky's dome.
This world is wild as an old wives' tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.
To an open house in the evening
Home shall all men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.
from The House of Christmas, published in 'Daily News'
There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.
For men are homesick in their homes,
And strangers under the sun,
And they lay their heads in a foreign land
Whenever the day is done.
Here we have battle and blazing eyes,
And chance and honour and high surprise,
But our homes are under miraculous skies
Where the Yule tale was begun.
A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam,
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home:
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost -- how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky's dome.
This world is wild as an old wives' tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.
To an open house in the evening
Home shall all men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.
from The House of Christmas, published in 'Daily News'
Rejoice!
"Behold! a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us"
"O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!"
"Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee"
"For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee; and His glory shall be seen upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising"
"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined"
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace"
"There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo! the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the Angel said unto them, Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, goodwill towards men"
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, thy King cometh unto thee! He is the righteous Saviour, and he shall speak peace unto the heathen"
"Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing"
"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, and he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young"
"Come unto him, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and he will give you rest. Take his yoke upon you, and learn of him, for he is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls"
"His yoke is easy and his burden is light."
--verse progression from The Messiah
"O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!"
"Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee"
"For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee; and His glory shall be seen upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising"
"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined"
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace"
"There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo! the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the Angel said unto them, Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, goodwill towards men"
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, thy King cometh unto thee! He is the righteous Saviour, and he shall speak peace unto the heathen"
"Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing"
"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, and he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young"
"Come unto him, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and he will give you rest. Take his yoke upon you, and learn of him, for he is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls"
"His yoke is easy and his burden is light."
--verse progression from The Messiah
December 23, 2005
Helpful Hints for the Holidays!
Fa-So-La-La
photos by The Shieldmaiden
(well, all but the first two)
We all know what all you have on your plates this holiday season-- cooking, hosting, party-going, shopping, and all the other festivities of Christmas. So we decided to share some of our little secrets to help you get throught the holidays without unnecessary muss and fuss!
Make sure you include lots of little tasks for the youngsters!
Head for the sales racks first thing for some spiffy bargains!
If you find yourself giving in to stress, take a break! Go out for a quiet dinner with old friends.
-----------------
Make sure you add in other ornaments for variety!
photos by The Shieldmaiden
(well, all but the first two)
We all know what all you have on your plates this holiday season-- cooking, hosting, party-going, shopping, and all the other festivities of Christmas. So we decided to share some of our little secrets to help you get throught the holidays without unnecessary muss and fuss!
-------------------------
As the big day approaches, make a to-do list like this one so that you can see at a glance what needs to be done.
(click to enlarge)
Make sure you include lots of little tasks for the youngsters!
--------------------
Head for the sales racks first thing for some spiffy bargains!
--------------------
If you find yourself giving in to stress, take a break! Go out for a quiet dinner with old friends.
-----------------
And last but not least, when the time comes to trim the tree, make sure you have a nice, stable ladder (don't climb up the back! It could topple!), don a festive apron to keep all that gooey pine sap off your fresh clothes, and slip into some comfortable, stylish shoes to make the job go easily and cheerily! Play some festive music to keep things cheery. Another tip for the tree-- red balls are a sure way to make a tree festive without fuss!
Make sure you add in other ornaments for variety!
December 22, 2005
Judge Jay Walker Devours DA BOMB Award!!!
It's time to unveil the first ever recipient of
The Beehive's
much-coveted and highly anticipated
Virtual
Dig-Atomic Psychodelectable Chocolicious Asteroid Bomb
Award!
otherwise known as
otherwise known as
* * * * * * * * * *
awarded for outstanding achievement
in the artistic employment of new and silly words
* * * * * * * * * *
Only we have a slight problem.
Our auspicious judge Jay Walker kinda sorta accidentally chowed into the chocolicious DA BOMB award whilst deliberating over his final verdict...
But no matter...
ALLL the entries were simply marvellous... we loved them all!
But without further ado...
the DA BOMB Award goes to...
TIM of Bona Vita Rusticanda Est
the DA BOMB Award goes to...
TIM of Bona Vita Rusticanda Est
Congratulations, Tim! Amazing poem!
And remember... better a VIRTUAL chocolicious award...
than a real one that Jay Walker has already munched on...
than a real one that Jay Walker has already munched on...
If you're completely confused, you can get caught up and read all the fabulous entries here. And thanks to everyone who made up a little ditty for our contest! We'll do something similarly disturbing and fun soon.
And you can read more about why Tim's poem was DA BOMB here, at Tim's blog.
A Jolly Good Fellow
We've all seen our share of cheesy mall Santas, but the read deal can be found every year at NorthPark Mall in Dallas. The legendary NorthPark Santa has it all -- a real beard, real white hair, and real jolliness -- a quiet, personal, looking-you-in-the-eye sort of jolly, not the big overblown, bellowing HO HO HO to the cameras sort of jolly.
No matter how you feel about the whole Santa thing, this fellow is worth seeing just as a work of cultural art.
His elves told me yesterday that every year, some teenagers will bring in albums with over a dozen years' worth of pictures with him, for him to sign. We may have to do that next year!
1989
1995
Yesterday
No matter how you feel about the whole Santa thing, this fellow is worth seeing just as a work of cultural art.
His elves told me yesterday that every year, some teenagers will bring in albums with over a dozen years' worth of pictures with him, for him to sign. We may have to do that next year!
1989
1995
Yesterday
December 21, 2005
A bowlful of bliss
There are few things in life so charming, so perfectly composed, so apt to induce something akin to a zen-like state of being, as a bowl of frito pie done right.
[Which would consist of homemade Texas beef chili, spicy right up to the threshold of pain, ladled steaming hot over a bed of Fritos, topped with grated sharp cheddar, and a little bit of diced onion. All stirred up. A bag of Fritos nearby in case of an emergency shortage. We'll plop a dollop of full throttle sour cream on it if you insist, but none of that fake lite stuff.]
Yessssss. Oh mercy me, yes.
[Which would consist of homemade Texas beef chili, spicy right up to the threshold of pain, ladled steaming hot over a bed of Fritos, topped with grated sharp cheddar, and a little bit of diced onion. All stirred up. A bag of Fritos nearby in case of an emergency shortage. We'll plop a dollop of full throttle sour cream on it if you insist, but none of that fake lite stuff.]
Yessssss. Oh mercy me, yes.
December 20, 2005
SA(H)TB
Q. Shenaynay
Last night, we had our annual family outing to a performance of Handel's Messiah. It was a singalong, so as we approached our seats with scores in hand, there was a moment of discussion about the best seating arrangements. I asked Fa-So-La-La and The Shieldmaiden what part they planned to sing.
"I'm singing soprano," said Fa.
"I'm singing soprano, too," said The Shieldmaiden.
And then young Spuddy Buddy pronounced, with a great mix of authority and nonchalance, "I'm singing hilton."
"Excuse me?" we all enquired in unison.
"Hilton. I'm singing hilton."
"Umm, sweetie, do you mean tenor?" asked moi.
"No, Mamadah. You know I don't sing tenor. Now sometimes I do sing bass. But most of the time I sing hilton."
"And what is hilton?" Dying to know.
"Well, I don't sing what the rest of you sing. I sing what I sing. It's a part and so it needed a name, so I named it hilton."
So there you have it. My friend Gayla is so relieved. Says she's been singing her own part for years but didn't know what to call it. Now she knows. She sings hilton. She says it would seem most folks at her church sing hilton, also.
Mark your music, my friends, for this is a watershed moment in the history of singing: SATB henceforth and anon shall be referred to as SAHTB.
Last night, we had our annual family outing to a performance of Handel's Messiah. It was a singalong, so as we approached our seats with scores in hand, there was a moment of discussion about the best seating arrangements. I asked Fa-So-La-La and The Shieldmaiden what part they planned to sing.
"I'm singing soprano," said Fa.
"I'm singing soprano, too," said The Shieldmaiden.
And then young Spuddy Buddy pronounced, with a great mix of authority and nonchalance, "I'm singing hilton."
"Excuse me?" we all enquired in unison.
"Hilton. I'm singing hilton."
"Umm, sweetie, do you mean tenor?" asked moi.
"No, Mamadah. You know I don't sing tenor. Now sometimes I do sing bass. But most of the time I sing hilton."
"And what is hilton?" Dying to know.
"Well, I don't sing what the rest of you sing. I sing what I sing. It's a part and so it needed a name, so I named it hilton."
So there you have it. My friend Gayla is so relieved. Says she's been singing her own part for years but didn't know what to call it. Now she knows. She sings hilton. She says it would seem most folks at her church sing hilton, also.
Mark your music, my friends, for this is a watershed moment in the history of singing: SATB henceforth and anon shall be referred to as SAHTB.
December 18, 2005
Coolness
Fa-So-La-La
Being a collection of various things I have found totally way cool in the last week or so.
After a protracted absence, in which my family often wondered where I had gone, I have, after five days of non-stop reading, finished Villette by Charlotte Bronte. I couldn't put it down, literally. I have seen 2:30 AM twice this week for that very reason. One of those nights I finally fell asleep and some obliging person turned the lights off for me (thank you, whoever you are). The book is truly incredible, a work of art. Some of the sentences are so beautiful they're painful. In fact, that goes for the entire book-- painfully beautiful, and beautifully painful. It is darker, sadder than Jane Eyre-- but it's so artful and beautiful that the darkness is bearable.
Being a collection of various things I have found totally way cool in the last week or so.
----------------------
1.
The Shieldmaiden for her birthday got the CD Myself When I Am Real, by Bebo Norman, which I whole-heartedly and unconditionally recommend to anyone. It's yummy. It's one of those CDs where I say "Ooh, I love this song!" at the beginning of almost every track. There are, however, three that I am especially fond of, one of which I will share because it's so beautiful my eyes almost watered the first time I heard it.
Everything
When day is over
I'll be the color in the sky
If darkness lingers
I'll be the flame that gives you light
I just want you to notice
I just want you to feel the same
I just want you to notice
That I just want to be your everything
I just want to be your everything
On my shoulder
There is a place for you to cry
I'll be your shelter
When there is nowhere left to hide
Sometimes I see you cry
When you watch the sun go down
You're magical, so beautiful, and I...
When day is over
I'll be the color in the sky
----------------------
2.
On an entirely different note, I have at last seen a movie oft-quoted by my acquaintance. Yes, after a summer of being completely baffled when various friends have shoved tater tots under my nose, I have finally seen Napolean Dynamite.
And guess what?? I liked it!
So if I have ever said to you, dear reader, that I didn't think I would ever see it because it looked too dumb, I heartily apologise for and retract that. Because while it was dumb, certainly, it was dumb in a really good way.
But anyway, I was just thinking today, that the reason that a movie as fragmented and episodic as that works, is because Napolean probably thought of his life as one episode after another, with no connecting thread of narrative. So what could have been just a really stupidly randomly bizarre movie has the freedom to just be plain funny.
I caught you a delicious bass. Wanna play me?
--------------
3.
After a protracted absence, in which my family often wondered where I had gone, I have, after five days of non-stop reading, finished Villette by Charlotte Bronte. I couldn't put it down, literally. I have seen 2:30 AM twice this week for that very reason. One of those nights I finally fell asleep and some obliging person turned the lights off for me (thank you, whoever you are). The book is truly incredible, a work of art. Some of the sentences are so beautiful they're painful. In fact, that goes for the entire book-- painfully beautiful, and beautifully painful. It is darker, sadder than Jane Eyre-- but it's so artful and beautiful that the darkness is bearable.
Charlotte Bronte...wow. For me, she goes above and beyond enjoyment-- it's almost compulsion. When I read anything written by her it grips me so deeply that I can't not read. I really need to analyse that sometime...
Well, all that to say.....read it!
-----------------
4.
There are few things lovelier than denim jackets.
Deck the Blogs -- we're It!
Q. Shenaynay
My brilliant and dear friend The Headmistress over at The Common Room has tagged us to do a "Deck the Blogs" thingamajig, so here are pictures of a few of our favorite Christmas ornaments!
As you'll see, we have a rather eclectic tree. When Fa-So-La-La was a little girl, an older woman at church asked her what theme we used for our tree, and she replied, "umm, well... life."
My late Grandmother covered the tree on Christmas Eve with envelopes that enclosed a single one dollar bill, one for every member of her large extended family. I saved mine from Christmas 1986. She died three months later. It's my very favorite ornament. The dollar is still inside; I've never taken it out.
Second favorite, my babies' Christmas socks...
Scads of my children's handmade stuff, plus -- perhaps the strangest thing on our tree -- at the top right you can just barely see Fa-So-La-La's blue & white ER bracelet from the Christmas Eve she cut her hand open making ambrosia... in the center of the shot is Spuddy Buddy's jingly sterling silver baby rattle, a gift from an indulgent auntie...
and then there's our five Incredibles rings, from Spuddy Buddy's 5th birthday party...
...Spuddy Buddy made this sock angel for Fa-So-La-La when he was four, with The Shieldmaiden's help...
...our collection of itty bitty Cabbage Patch duos, commemorating the years when Fa-So-La-La and The Shieldmaiden toted Sophie and Rosie around absolutely everywhere we went...
a pair of pipers piping, naturally:
and of course, a Beehive...
We tag anyone who wants to show & tell about their favorite ornaments!
My brilliant and dear friend The Headmistress over at The Common Room has tagged us to do a "Deck the Blogs" thingamajig, so here are pictures of a few of our favorite Christmas ornaments!
As you'll see, we have a rather eclectic tree. When Fa-So-La-La was a little girl, an older woman at church asked her what theme we used for our tree, and she replied, "umm, well... life."
My late Grandmother covered the tree on Christmas Eve with envelopes that enclosed a single one dollar bill, one for every member of her large extended family. I saved mine from Christmas 1986. She died three months later. It's my very favorite ornament. The dollar is still inside; I've never taken it out.
Second favorite, my babies' Christmas socks...
Scads of my children's handmade stuff, plus -- perhaps the strangest thing on our tree -- at the top right you can just barely see Fa-So-La-La's blue & white ER bracelet from the Christmas Eve she cut her hand open making ambrosia... in the center of the shot is Spuddy Buddy's jingly sterling silver baby rattle, a gift from an indulgent auntie...
and then there's our five Incredibles rings, from Spuddy Buddy's 5th birthday party...
...Spuddy Buddy made this sock angel for Fa-So-La-La when he was four, with The Shieldmaiden's help...
...our collection of itty bitty Cabbage Patch duos, commemorating the years when Fa-So-La-La and The Shieldmaiden toted Sophie and Rosie around absolutely everywhere we went...
a pair of pipers piping, naturally:
and of course, a Beehive...
We tag anyone who wants to show & tell about their favorite ornaments!
December 15, 2005
Observations of Creative Emergent Patterns in Uber-Tribal Etymology
Q. Shenaynay
(In other words: I've noticed my wacky and verbose circle of friends has been busy this week making up juicy new words.)
from..
Ralph the Dodger:
snoitatulas -- reverse salutations, applicable in most social situations which call for the reverse of an introductory greeting.
Sir Rino of Nomos:
improbe -- definition in flux; early citings indicate a verb evoking overtones of intrusion; and/or a violent variant of the verb improve. (However, this forecast is tempered by Sir Rino's history of linguistic capriciousness.)
The Shieldmaiden:
hysterious -- a morphological juxtaposition of hilarious and hysterical.
Spuddy Buddy:
gahboooleah -- an exclusive and melodious tribal exclamatory; used in moments of extreme positive emotion.
yours truly (me):
spendiferous -- distinguished by an elevated level of monetary expenditure, as in, "Oh dahling, such a spendiferous afternoon at Saks!"
Fa-So-La-La:
dismayful -- having the quality of causing woe.
Ludwig:
loserish -- being marked by an uncommon degree of lameness.
(Linguists should note that the expansive possibilities inherent in the tandem usage of the latter two entries has already propelled them into popular usage among the etymologically hip and happening, thus: loserishlydismayful; alternatively, dismayfullyloserish.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Well, now... anyone brave enough to attempt some sort of poetical ditty using alllll those doozies?
This might call for something mondo beyondo. Virtual M&Ms are, of course, the Beehive's signature award (yes, it all started here) for our faithful readers' delightful contributions. However, wethinks such a quirksome literary feat as this, and during Christmas break at that, might call for a generous bestowing of something more auspicious and distinguished. As in...
we might have to whup out the
Virtual Dig-Atomic Psychodelectable Chocolicious Asteroid Bombs!
(DA BOMB, for short.)
(And yes, we DO read too much Calvin & Hobbes.)
And who knows?! Your response could be so unnerving!-- so overwhelming!-- that we would be forced to call on our ridiculously hip and dashingly handsome neighbor Jay Walker (yes, that's really his name) to judge the entries.
Bombard us! Dazzle us! Or just make us wince. You just never know what could happen here at the hive.
(In other words: I've noticed my wacky and verbose circle of friends has been busy this week making up juicy new words.)
from..
Ralph the Dodger:
snoitatulas -- reverse salutations, applicable in most social situations which call for the reverse of an introductory greeting.
Sir Rino of Nomos:
improbe -- definition in flux; early citings indicate a verb evoking overtones of intrusion; and/or a violent variant of the verb improve. (However, this forecast is tempered by Sir Rino's history of linguistic capriciousness.)
The Shieldmaiden:
hysterious -- a morphological juxtaposition of hilarious and hysterical.
Spuddy Buddy:
gahboooleah -- an exclusive and melodious tribal exclamatory; used in moments of extreme positive emotion.
yours truly (me):
spendiferous -- distinguished by an elevated level of monetary expenditure, as in, "Oh dahling, such a spendiferous afternoon at Saks!"
Fa-So-La-La:
dismayful -- having the quality of causing woe.
Ludwig:
loserish -- being marked by an uncommon degree of lameness.
(Linguists should note that the expansive possibilities inherent in the tandem usage of the latter two entries has already propelled them into popular usage among the etymologically hip and happening, thus: loserishlydismayful; alternatively, dismayfullyloserish.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Well, now... anyone brave enough to attempt some sort of poetical ditty using alllll those doozies?
This might call for something mondo beyondo. Virtual M&Ms are, of course, the Beehive's signature award (yes, it all started here) for our faithful readers' delightful contributions. However, wethinks such a quirksome literary feat as this, and during Christmas break at that, might call for a generous bestowing of something more auspicious and distinguished. As in...
we might have to whup out the
Virtual Dig-Atomic Psychodelectable Chocolicious Asteroid Bombs!
(DA BOMB, for short.)
(And yes, we DO read too much Calvin & Hobbes.)
And who knows?! Your response could be so unnerving!-- so overwhelming!-- that we would be forced to call on our ridiculously hip and dashingly handsome neighbor Jay Walker (yes, that's really his name) to judge the entries.
Bombard us! Dazzle us! Or just make us wince. You just never know what could happen here at the hive.
December 14, 2005
My Seven Things
Great Scot
I am coming to this party late because of other things I had to do; however, I am now finally rising to the challenge placed upon me by my beloved daughter. Please note that my answers are not in any particular order of priority.
7 things I'd like to do before I die:
- Take an extended tour of Scotland, including playing the Old Course at St. Andrews
- Have a family reunion with my family at my vast estate in the Colorado Rockies (It would help on this one to have such an estate, but I digress)
- See my children grown, fully educated, healthy and happy
- Learn to play a musical instrument as well as any of the Greens
- Read one of the Queen's books from its second edition printing
- Hit a hole-in-one
- Find out if doing the Hokey Pokey really is what it is all about
7 things I can't do (but would like to):
- Be a Golf Course Architect
- Play an instrument (see above comment)
- Learn how to fly an airplane
- Figure out how to get more hours into a day
- Walk to the "Bruce Peninsula" with my Grandfather and ride back on his shoulders
- Show my children my Grandmother's farm as it was when I was a child
- Wiggle my nose and/or ears
7 things that attracted me to my wife (the list could get very long, but I will play by the rules, unlike said spouse):
- Her intelligence and sense of humor
- Her ability to go to see professional wrestling on Friday night at the Sportatorium and the Symphony on Saturday night while we were dating and have a good time at both (PSA to unmarried males out there, don't try this after you're married)
- She was low maintenance in personalty and needs, but high quality in results
- She could bake a mean apple pie
- She made me a much better person than I otherwise was
- Even if she couldn't really do something very well, she was always ready to try anyway
- Her purple goddess dress! (I know this is shallow, but there it is! So sue me.)
7 Things I say most often:
- "I don't disagree with that"
- "Okaaaaay"
- "My fault" (Again, a note to all the unmarried males out there, you had better learn this one if you want any peace in your home)
- "Best boy ever"
- "I was a perfect child"
- "There's more ______, if you want them. There's more ______, if you don't" (You fill in whatever food item that was available that night)
- "Telly luvs ya, Baby"
7 Books I really like:
- The Hornblower series of books (I admit I am cheating here a little)
- The Count of Monte Cristo
- Great Expectations
- A Christmas Carol
- Born Fighting (the history of the Scots Irish in America)
- Miracle at Philidelphia
- John Adams
7 movies I could watch over and over:
- The Thin Man movies
- Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Muppet Treasure Island
- Arsenic and Old Lace
- Great Escape
- From Russia with Love
- Pretty much anything with Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart or John Wayne
Although it is unlikely they will see it, I would tag the heads of the Green, Beauchamp and Blevins families.
I am coming to this party late because of other things I had to do; however, I am now finally rising to the challenge placed upon me by my beloved daughter. Please note that my answers are not in any particular order of priority.
7 things I'd like to do before I die:
- Take an extended tour of Scotland, including playing the Old Course at St. Andrews
- Have a family reunion with my family at my vast estate in the Colorado Rockies (It would help on this one to have such an estate, but I digress)
- See my children grown, fully educated, healthy and happy
- Learn to play a musical instrument as well as any of the Greens
- Read one of the Queen's books from its second edition printing
- Hit a hole-in-one
- Find out if doing the Hokey Pokey really is what it is all about
7 things I can't do (but would like to):
- Be a Golf Course Architect
- Play an instrument (see above comment)
- Learn how to fly an airplane
- Figure out how to get more hours into a day
- Walk to the "Bruce Peninsula" with my Grandfather and ride back on his shoulders
- Show my children my Grandmother's farm as it was when I was a child
- Wiggle my nose and/or ears
7 things that attracted me to my wife (the list could get very long, but I will play by the rules, unlike said spouse):
- Her intelligence and sense of humor
- Her ability to go to see professional wrestling on Friday night at the Sportatorium and the Symphony on Saturday night while we were dating and have a good time at both (PSA to unmarried males out there, don't try this after you're married)
- She was low maintenance in personalty and needs, but high quality in results
- She could bake a mean apple pie
- She made me a much better person than I otherwise was
- Even if she couldn't really do something very well, she was always ready to try anyway
- Her purple goddess dress! (I know this is shallow, but there it is! So sue me.)
7 Things I say most often:
- "I don't disagree with that"
- "Okaaaaay"
- "My fault" (Again, a note to all the unmarried males out there, you had better learn this one if you want any peace in your home)
- "Best boy ever"
- "I was a perfect child"
- "There's more ______, if you want them. There's more ______, if you don't" (You fill in whatever food item that was available that night)
- "Telly luvs ya, Baby"
7 Books I really like:
- The Hornblower series of books (I admit I am cheating here a little)
- The Count of Monte Cristo
- Great Expectations
- A Christmas Carol
- Born Fighting (the history of the Scots Irish in America)
- Miracle at Philidelphia
- John Adams
7 movies I could watch over and over:
- The Thin Man movies
- Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Muppet Treasure Island
- Arsenic and Old Lace
- Great Escape
- From Russia with Love
- Pretty much anything with Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart or John Wayne
Although it is unlikely they will see it, I would tag the heads of the Green, Beauchamp and Blevins families.
December 13, 2005
What's your favorite movie quote?
Q. Shenaynay
Hard to choose -- for me, I think might be a three-way tie.
~ from My Man Godfrey, 1936:
"All you need to start an insane asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."
~ Cary Grant to Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby, 1938:
"Now it isn't that I don't like you, Susan, because after all, in moments of quiet I'm strangely drawn toward you... but, well, there haven't been any quiet moments."
~ Clifford the Dreadlock Rasta Muppet dude, in Muppets From Space:
"Oooooooh -- Shenaynay!!!"
And YOU?
Hard to choose -- for me, I think might be a three-way tie.
~ from My Man Godfrey, 1936:
"All you need to start an insane asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."
~ Cary Grant to Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby, 1938:
"Now it isn't that I don't like you, Susan, because after all, in moments of quiet I'm strangely drawn toward you... but, well, there haven't been any quiet moments."
~ Clifford the Dreadlock Rasta Muppet dude, in Muppets From Space:
"Oooooooh -- Shenaynay!!!"
And YOU?
December 12, 2005
Just say no to Catnip
Please talk to your cats about catnip before it's too late!
Y'all, catnip is dangerous. It can take a good, honest, hardworking cat and make him like this:
If you don't talk to your cats about catnip, who will?
Y'all, catnip is dangerous. It can take a good, honest, hardworking cat and make him like this:
If you don't talk to your cats about catnip, who will?
December 10, 2005
Many Happy Returns
Fa-So-La-La and the Shieldmaiden
Today is Queenie's birthday. . . she is 32.
Actually, age is rather pointless in dear Mamadah's case. Because she is one of those rare and blessed individuals to whom age is nothing but a number, and who measures people by other standards instead. She is our best friend, our teacher, our mentor, our counsellor, and partner in crime and drama.
Thank you, thank you, for everything you do for us, and we love you dearly. Smoochums!
Today is Queenie's birthday. . . she is 32.
Actually, age is rather pointless in dear Mamadah's case. Because she is one of those rare and blessed individuals to whom age is nothing but a number, and who measures people by other standards instead. She is our best friend, our teacher, our mentor, our counsellor, and partner in crime and drama.
Thank you, thank you, for everything you do for us, and we love you dearly. Smoochums!
Eight comes after seven...
Queen Shenaynay
Well, honestly now -- did you really think I'd play by the rules?
8 things I’d like to do before I die:
- See my husband, all my children, their spouses and a whole tribe of beautiful grandchildren happily sitting in church together singing an old minor from the PBH in four part harmony, with the spirit and the understanding also. (I could stop here, but I still get seven more!)
- Finish the Ambleside Online project.
- Develop the discipline to seek the Lord like I should.
- Go to churches on all the remote islands off Scotland and record the singing.
- Write a book that people would benefit from reading.
- Love people like I ought to.
- Play the guitar and sing obscure old songs like “Will There Be Any Freight Trains in Heaven?”(which is a really cool song, actually).
- Become an eccentric but wise old lady with a really long greyish-white braid and strange boots, and then fulfill my promise to sit on the porch with my good friend Ludwig and smoke pipes and sing old minors and talk about the Bible and tell every good secret I ever knew. (My legendary Cherokee great-great grandmother did all of this -- well, minus Ludwig.)
8 things I can’t do (but would like to)
- Go horseback riding every morning at dawn.
- Have 5-10 acres of land with a stream running through it, with all my most beloved tribal peoples living close enough to come cook fresh trout over campfires in the evening and sing.
- Sing like Kathleen, Jessye, Eva and Ella and oh-why-not even Josh Groban now and then.
- Produce a twin for my son.
- Buy my husband a new car every year.
- Relive my childhood with my daughters as my best friends.
- Never hurt anyone’s feelings nor offend my Lord.
- Have a long, good conversation with my autistic & mute brother.
8 things that attracted me to my husband
- His nobility and his Christian character.
- His magnanimity of spirit.
- He had friends of all ages and both genders, all of whom admired him greatly.
- The disarming way he always looked me straight in the eye and never looked away first.
- His fingernails and hair were always groomed, and he wore really good dress shoes -- until they had holes in the soles – and he drove a sensible car. All very telling.
- He was sensitive to the effect he had on people in a room, and was neither moody nor brooding.
- He intuitively knew whether it was time to be serious, conversant, intense, flirty or funny, or just to be quiet together, or just supremely silly noodleheads – and he was remarkably good at all of it.
- He was willing to learn to let go and enjoy the roller coaster.
(and he'd read lots of books and he was really smart and he's cute in a kilt...)
8 things I say most often:
- “Yikes, I have to cook dinner again today?!?!”
- “I love you.”
- “Don’t drink out of my water bottle!”
- “Quick! Somebody get the camera!”
- “GET IN THE CAR!”
- “You pickleheaded monster boy.”
- “We really should get to bed now, but...”
- “But Justin, you JUST ATE!”
8 books I really like – this was so ridiculously hard that I just put down the first 8 things that came to mind...
King James Bible
Jane, Jane, and more Jane
Till We Have Faces and others by CS Lewis
Anything by G.K. Chesterton
Anything by P.G. Wodehouse
The Oxford Book of English Verse (Quiller-Couch edition)
The Mitford series by Jan Karon
The Goble Hymnal
– movies I could watch over and over (if I could ever manage to sit still for two hours):
— Oh, and I cheated.---
A&E Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion, of course...
The Sound of Music
Enchanted April
It’s a Wonderful Life
Harvey
Henry V
Muppet Treasure Island
My Man Godfrey
The Princess Bride
The Philadelphia Story
...and most anything with Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart....
Whom to tag, whom to tag....
Javamom of Booksncoffee
Booty Mellicious of Deda
Pandy, mother of the Screebees! ladies
Well, honestly now -- did you really think I'd play by the rules?
8 things I’d like to do before I die:
- See my husband, all my children, their spouses and a whole tribe of beautiful grandchildren happily sitting in church together singing an old minor from the PBH in four part harmony, with the spirit and the understanding also. (I could stop here, but I still get seven more!)
- Finish the Ambleside Online project.
- Develop the discipline to seek the Lord like I should.
- Go to churches on all the remote islands off Scotland and record the singing.
- Write a book that people would benefit from reading.
- Love people like I ought to.
- Play the guitar and sing obscure old songs like “Will There Be Any Freight Trains in Heaven?”(which is a really cool song, actually).
- Become an eccentric but wise old lady with a really long greyish-white braid and strange boots, and then fulfill my promise to sit on the porch with my good friend Ludwig and smoke pipes and sing old minors and talk about the Bible and tell every good secret I ever knew. (My legendary Cherokee great-great grandmother did all of this -- well, minus Ludwig.)
8 things I can’t do (but would like to)
- Go horseback riding every morning at dawn.
- Have 5-10 acres of land with a stream running through it, with all my most beloved tribal peoples living close enough to come cook fresh trout over campfires in the evening and sing.
- Sing like Kathleen, Jessye, Eva and Ella and oh-why-not even Josh Groban now and then.
- Produce a twin for my son.
- Buy my husband a new car every year.
- Relive my childhood with my daughters as my best friends.
- Never hurt anyone’s feelings nor offend my Lord.
- Have a long, good conversation with my autistic & mute brother.
8 things that attracted me to my husband
- His nobility and his Christian character.
- His magnanimity of spirit.
- He had friends of all ages and both genders, all of whom admired him greatly.
- The disarming way he always looked me straight in the eye and never looked away first.
- His fingernails and hair were always groomed, and he wore really good dress shoes -- until they had holes in the soles – and he drove a sensible car. All very telling.
- He was sensitive to the effect he had on people in a room, and was neither moody nor brooding.
- He intuitively knew whether it was time to be serious, conversant, intense, flirty or funny, or just to be quiet together, or just supremely silly noodleheads – and he was remarkably good at all of it.
- He was willing to learn to let go and enjoy the roller coaster.
(and he'd read lots of books and he was really smart and he's cute in a kilt...)
8 things I say most often:
- “Yikes, I have to cook dinner again today?!?!”
- “I love you.”
- “Don’t drink out of my water bottle!”
- “Quick! Somebody get the camera!”
- “GET IN THE CAR!”
- “You pickleheaded monster boy.”
- “We really should get to bed now, but...”
- “But Justin, you JUST ATE!”
8 books I really like – this was so ridiculously hard that I just put down the first 8 things that came to mind...
King James Bible
Jane, Jane, and more Jane
Till We Have Faces and others by CS Lewis
Anything by G.K. Chesterton
Anything by P.G. Wodehouse
The Oxford Book of English Verse (Quiller-Couch edition)
The Mitford series by Jan Karon
The Goble Hymnal
– movies I could watch over and over (if I could ever manage to sit still for two hours):
— Oh, and I cheated.---
A&E Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion, of course...
The Sound of Music
Enchanted April
It’s a Wonderful Life
Harvey
Henry V
Muppet Treasure Island
My Man Godfrey
The Princess Bride
The Philadelphia Story
...and most anything with Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart....
Whom to tag, whom to tag....
Javamom of Booksncoffee
Booty Mellicious of Deda
Pandy, mother of the Screebees! ladies
December 9, 2005
Logic Isn't Everything
The Shieldmaiden
Either-Or
When someone asserts that we must choose between two things when there are more than two options, they are commiting an Either-Or fallacy.
But, as I said, logic isn't everything.
Patrick Henry: "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
News Reporter: "Dude, isn't that a bit extreme?"
Patrick Henry: "Extreme that I would die for my country?"
News Reporter: "No, it's just you're shouting in my ear."
Patrick Henry: "Your forefathers sacrificed their lives, wealth and honor so that they could pass their freedom down to their children. Freedoms which you now enjoy! And you ask me to lower my voice? Have you no shame?!?"
News Reporter: "Well, you might have a point there, but what about your ultimatum. . . Aren't there any more options?"
Patrick Henry: "Options! We colonists are about to be shackled hand and foot by that foul tyrant King George, and you want me to give you options! I tell you that no choice remains for us today but the choice between fighting for liberty or death as slaves!!!"
News Reporter: "Dude, chill! Like, I can think of an option. What about moving to Tahiti?"
Patrick Henry: "Hhmmmm. . . Give me liberty or give me Tahiti. . . . Somehow I don't think that's going to go over well with General Washington . . ."
Either-Or
When someone asserts that we must choose between two things when there are more than two options, they are commiting an Either-Or fallacy.
But, as I said, logic isn't everything.
Patrick Henry: "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
News Reporter: "Dude, isn't that a bit extreme?"
Patrick Henry: "Extreme that I would die for my country?"
News Reporter: "No, it's just you're shouting in my ear."
Patrick Henry: "Your forefathers sacrificed their lives, wealth and honor so that they could pass their freedom down to their children. Freedoms which you now enjoy! And you ask me to lower my voice? Have you no shame?!?"
News Reporter: "Well, you might have a point there, but what about your ultimatum. . . Aren't there any more options?"
Patrick Henry: "Options! We colonists are about to be shackled hand and foot by that foul tyrant King George, and you want me to give you options! I tell you that no choice remains for us today but the choice between fighting for liberty or death as slaves!!!"
News Reporter: "Dude, chill! Like, I can think of an option. What about moving to Tahiti?"
Patrick Henry: "Hhmmmm. . . Give me liberty or give me Tahiti. . . . Somehow I don't think that's going to go over well with General Washington . . ."
December 8, 2005
In Which I Attempt a Bicycle Ride
Fa-So-La-La
I have a rather fundamental paradox in my nature. To wit, I am fond both of sedentary pursuits and being thin. These two, as you might imagine, don't combine terribly well.
So about 5:00 this evening I realised that I had not been outside in days, except for a few shivering, barefoot dashes to the mailbox. I decided to go for a spin around the block and get some fresh air. I was feeling all gun-ho and athletic, until the dismayful moment when I realised that I do not own a pair of sneakers. My shoes are all very fashionable, you see. I do not like to flatter myself, but my friends do say that I am not devoid of taste!
Ok, enough Mrs. Elton. To continue my story, I, in a moment of unparalleled resourcefulness, remembered that Spuddy Buddy owns a pair of sneakers. And that Spuddy Buddy is a moose. And that I have small feet. I wandered the house until I found his sneakers, and tried them on. They fit quite well. Please don't laugh.
So, clad in not enough clothing and my brother's sneakers, I ventured out into the great manicured wild that is my corner of Dallas. I had only been out for about 20 seconds when it was rather forcefully brought to my attention that the weather was more deeply subarctic than I had anticipated. In about 25 seconds I discovered that it was so cold I couldn't breathe without gasping like an asthmatic. In about 3o seconds I discovered that it was so cold that breathing at all induced severe pain in my southern lungs.
But, being the stoic type, I decided to perservere. And it wasn't too long until I remembered that pierced ears get much colder than unpierced ones (trust me on this, guys -- not sure why, but it's the truth). And in a bit I remembered that my southern eyes don't work properly in cold air. The world began to scramble itself like eggs before me. In another bit I remembered that the combination of cold air on the lungs and cold scrambled vision makes me dizzy. And there I was, atop a vehicle with two wheels that required balance. It was perilous in the extreme.
The defining moment of the adventure came when, upon approaching an intersection, I found that my hands were so numb that they had been relying on muscle memory to clutch the handlebars, and that I simply could not operate the dumb handlebar brakes. And here came a car. It was exciting. In the end, I decided to use the brakes God has so graciously given, and planted my feet vigorously on the pavement in the hope that the bike would stop. It did. But then you had probably guessed that, because I survived to write about it.
That peril over, I looked down at my hands and realised that the cold-induced, healthfully ruddy glow had disappeared from my fingertips, and that they were now a rather hideous shade of lilac. That was the last straw. I skidded down our ice-coated alley and got myself inside and back to sedentary pursuits.
All in all, I had a fantastic time. My eight-year-old dramatic sensibilities are happy and satisfied with my 15 minutes of cold and uncertainty and peril. In fact, the only thing that would have rendered the outing more satisfying would have been if I had fallen off the bike unconscious and numb from the cold and Prince Charming had happened along and saved me. But one can't have everything.
I have a rather fundamental paradox in my nature. To wit, I am fond both of sedentary pursuits and being thin. These two, as you might imagine, don't combine terribly well.
So about 5:00 this evening I realised that I had not been outside in days, except for a few shivering, barefoot dashes to the mailbox. I decided to go for a spin around the block and get some fresh air. I was feeling all gun-ho and athletic, until the dismayful moment when I realised that I do not own a pair of sneakers. My shoes are all very fashionable, you see. I do not like to flatter myself, but my friends do say that I am not devoid of taste!
Ok, enough Mrs. Elton. To continue my story, I, in a moment of unparalleled resourcefulness, remembered that Spuddy Buddy owns a pair of sneakers. And that Spuddy Buddy is a moose. And that I have small feet. I wandered the house until I found his sneakers, and tried them on. They fit quite well. Please don't laugh.
So, clad in not enough clothing and my brother's sneakers, I ventured out into the great manicured wild that is my corner of Dallas. I had only been out for about 20 seconds when it was rather forcefully brought to my attention that the weather was more deeply subarctic than I had anticipated. In about 25 seconds I discovered that it was so cold I couldn't breathe without gasping like an asthmatic. In about 3o seconds I discovered that it was so cold that breathing at all induced severe pain in my southern lungs.
But, being the stoic type, I decided to perservere. And it wasn't too long until I remembered that pierced ears get much colder than unpierced ones (trust me on this, guys -- not sure why, but it's the truth). And in a bit I remembered that my southern eyes don't work properly in cold air. The world began to scramble itself like eggs before me. In another bit I remembered that the combination of cold air on the lungs and cold scrambled vision makes me dizzy. And there I was, atop a vehicle with two wheels that required balance. It was perilous in the extreme.
The defining moment of the adventure came when, upon approaching an intersection, I found that my hands were so numb that they had been relying on muscle memory to clutch the handlebars, and that I simply could not operate the dumb handlebar brakes. And here came a car. It was exciting. In the end, I decided to use the brakes God has so graciously given, and planted my feet vigorously on the pavement in the hope that the bike would stop. It did. But then you had probably guessed that, because I survived to write about it.
That peril over, I looked down at my hands and realised that the cold-induced, healthfully ruddy glow had disappeared from my fingertips, and that they were now a rather hideous shade of lilac. That was the last straw. I skidded down our ice-coated alley and got myself inside and back to sedentary pursuits.
All in all, I had a fantastic time. My eight-year-old dramatic sensibilities are happy and satisfied with my 15 minutes of cold and uncertainty and peril. In fact, the only thing that would have rendered the outing more satisfying would have been if I had fallen off the bike unconscious and numb from the cold and Prince Charming had happened along and saved me. But one can't have everything.
By the Rivers of Babylon
The words I will not speak
take up arms against me;
I dodge and parry,
feign a forgetting.
(Yea, I wept when I remembered)
But strangled they rumble,
rebuke my mute heresy:
the erstwhile poet
gone stoic as stone.
(They carry me away captive)
Outwit the impulse!
Offer no words to ignite
this wretched pyre!
Grit. Clench. Count... there.
(They required from me a song)
Oh, but mark their cunning:
the stifled devils
are packed inside
every sharp pencil I see.
(They waste me, require of me mirth)
Heartburn, hear me:
you will have no words
no words
no.
(Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth)
Meanwhile
I dare not
open
any drawers.
(Let my right hand forget)
Please, Lord
take the sharpener away,
but leave the erasers
just in case.
Must I hang my harp in the willow?
written by Lynn
while singing Psalm 137
12/05
take up arms against me;
I dodge and parry,
feign a forgetting.
(Yea, I wept when I remembered)
But strangled they rumble,
rebuke my mute heresy:
the erstwhile poet
gone stoic as stone.
(They carry me away captive)
Outwit the impulse!
Offer no words to ignite
this wretched pyre!
Grit. Clench. Count... there.
(They required from me a song)
Oh, but mark their cunning:
the stifled devils
are packed inside
every sharp pencil I see.
(They waste me, require of me mirth)
Heartburn, hear me:
you will have no words
no words
no.
(Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth)
Meanwhile
I dare not
open
any drawers.
(Let my right hand forget)
Please, Lord
take the sharpener away,
but leave the erasers
just in case.
Must I hang my harp in the willow?
written by Lynn
while singing Psalm 137
12/05
The "Sevens" game
I've been tagged by Pipsqueak and Nomos to play the game, so here goes...
Seven Things...
...I want to do before I die
- Travel through Scotland
- Sing in a stage production of the music from LOTR
- Fall in love
- See the Resurrection
- Photograph Kate Hepburn, Miranda Otto, Ingrid Bergman and Kate Winslet
- Be who I want to be.
- Do something really wonderful and unforgetable for someone
...I cannot do
- Fix Harriet Miers' makeup.
- Have an older brother. One that lives here, not in Memphis. Sorry, Nathan.
- Hit middle C on a mandolin. I've tried. I just can't do it.
- Drink v8. (I fully appreciate your feelings, Ludwig)
- Eat peanuts
- Play violin wearing three inch heels
- Appreciate Frank Sinatra
...That attracted me to my spouse (lets just say I have one...to keep the game going)
- His Godliness, integrity and Christian standards
- His dignity and gentlemanly behavior towards girls
- His appreciation for good books and good music
- Sense of humor
- He can carry a tune tolerably
- He'll wear a kilt. And a fedora.
- He has to have read many of the books I have read, or he will never understand me at all.
...Things I say most often
- Well, ya' know...
- C'est la vie!
- Does this outfit look properly Kate Hepburn-ish?
- Aha. I see.
- Well...::in hushed tones::..bless his/her heart!
- Knock before you open the door!!!!
- Caitlin, don't sing at the table!
...books I love
- The Bible
- Oh dear...everything Tolkien wrote!
- The Complete Jane Austen
- the Space Trilogy
- The Ballad of the White Horse
- The Betsy, Tacy and Tib series
- Wislawa Symborska
...Movies I could watch over and over
- The Philidelphia story
- The Lord of the Rings
- Pride and Prejudice
- Sense and Sensibility
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- Sleeping Beauty
- Signs
- Muppet Treasure Island
- My Man Godfrey
(yes, I know it's more than seven)
..People I would like to tag
- IthileanPrincess, of Mole End
- Marjoniqua, of Screebees!
- Baddest, of Three Way S.T.O.P.
- GravyGal, of The Streets of Cobblestone
- Queen Shenaynay, of this blog
- Tommy, of Vinyl Cloud
- Lace, of La La Land
Seven Things...
...I want to do before I die
- Travel through Scotland
- Sing in a stage production of the music from LOTR
- Fall in love
- See the Resurrection
- Photograph Kate Hepburn, Miranda Otto, Ingrid Bergman and Kate Winslet
- Be who I want to be.
- Do something really wonderful and unforgetable for someone
...I cannot do
- Fix Harriet Miers' makeup.
- Have an older brother. One that lives here, not in Memphis. Sorry, Nathan.
- Hit middle C on a mandolin. I've tried. I just can't do it.
- Drink v8. (I fully appreciate your feelings, Ludwig)
- Eat peanuts
- Play violin wearing three inch heels
- Appreciate Frank Sinatra
...That attracted me to my spouse (lets just say I have one...to keep the game going)
- His Godliness, integrity and Christian standards
- His dignity and gentlemanly behavior towards girls
- His appreciation for good books and good music
- Sense of humor
- He can carry a tune tolerably
- He'll wear a kilt. And a fedora.
- He has to have read many of the books I have read, or he will never understand me at all.
...Things I say most often
- Well, ya' know...
- C'est la vie!
- Does this outfit look properly Kate Hepburn-ish?
- Aha. I see.
- Well...::in hushed tones::..bless his/her heart!
- Knock before you open the door!!!!
- Caitlin, don't sing at the table!
...books I love
- The Bible
- Oh dear...everything Tolkien wrote!
- The Complete Jane Austen
- the Space Trilogy
- The Ballad of the White Horse
- The Betsy, Tacy and Tib series
- Wislawa Symborska
...Movies I could watch over and over
- The Philidelphia story
- The Lord of the Rings
- Pride and Prejudice
- Sense and Sensibility
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- Sleeping Beauty
- Signs
- Muppet Treasure Island
- My Man Godfrey
(yes, I know it's more than seven)
..People I would like to tag
- IthileanPrincess, of Mole End
- Marjoniqua, of Screebees!
- Baddest, of Three Way S.T.O.P.
- GravyGal, of The Streets of Cobblestone
- Queen Shenaynay, of this blog
- Tommy, of Vinyl Cloud
- Lace, of La La Land
December 7, 2005
Seven Wonders
Fa-So-La-La
(Wow, that was a cheesy title. I've outdone myself!)
Well, Pipsqueak of The Common Room has tagged me to play the seven game. So here we are--
Seven Things...
to do before I die:
--Write a book
--Go to England
--Sing in The Messiah
--Figure Things Out.
--See the Resurrection (I hope!)
--Do something amazing that will reward all the effort and love my parents have given me
--Become the person I would like to be. It will take some doing.
(I would also like to own a pair of green velvet shoes.)
I cannot do (and would very much like to)--
--Play guitar
--Talk to Jane Austen
--Cook worth a flip
--Fall asleep easily
--Draw
--Wear yellow and look good
--Read people's thoughts
that attracted me to my spouse--
(Well, here it gets a bit difficult. Because I have no spouse. But if I had, these are the things that undoubtedly would have attracted me.)
--Goodness, uprightness, and integrity
--High standards and good taste
--Dignity and gentlemanly behavior
--Good cheekbones. Yes, it's silly. Yes, it's trivial. But I like good cheekbones. :-)
--The fact that he can think deeply and correctly
--The fact that he reads
--He can write at least tolerably well. He has to have a firm grasp of the use of apostrophes. :-)
things I say most often--
--Such is life.
--Gravy!
--Anything with 'ums' tacked on the end-- squishums, blushums, smoochums, spunkums, etc.
--Well, here's the issue...
--The thing is...
--You know, I was just thinking... (my three most common sentence openings)
--Where did ____ get to? (insert the name of anything I"ve lost... book, article of clothing, waterglass, pencil, ten dollar bill...)
seven books I love--
(This is just plumb too hard. I'm going to cheat rampantly)
--Jane Austen
--The Complete Emily Dickenson
--The Bible
--Lord of the Rings
--Till We Have Faces, and any other C.S. Lewis
--Short Stories of Eudora Welty
--Short Stories of Flannery O'Connor
--Betsy, Tacy and Tib books
--Wislawa Szymborska (Polish poet lady)
--Charlotte Bronte
--Annie Dillard
(Told you I would cheat!)
movies I could watch over and over--
--Pride and Prejudice (The old one! The long one!)
--Persuasion
--My Man Godfrey
--Enchanted April
--The Philadelphia Story
--Muppet Treasure Island
--Finding Neverland
--Beauty and the Beast
--The Village and Signs
(Cheating again...)
people I want to tag--
--Great Scot, of the infinitely worthy blog you are currently reading
--Eugene, of Type A
--Monolog, of whatever blog he can use....
--Multifarious Me, ditto
--Ludwig of Shed of Emotions
--Peachy Keen of Screebees!
--Nomos of I Have Issues
(Wow, that was a cheesy title. I've outdone myself!)
Well, Pipsqueak of The Common Room has tagged me to play the seven game. So here we are--
Seven Things...
to do before I die:
--Write a book
--Go to England
--Sing in The Messiah
--Figure Things Out.
--See the Resurrection (I hope!)
--Do something amazing that will reward all the effort and love my parents have given me
--Become the person I would like to be. It will take some doing.
(I would also like to own a pair of green velvet shoes.)
I cannot do (and would very much like to)--
--Play guitar
--Talk to Jane Austen
--Cook worth a flip
--Fall asleep easily
--Draw
--Wear yellow and look good
--Read people's thoughts
that attracted me to my spouse--
(Well, here it gets a bit difficult. Because I have no spouse. But if I had, these are the things that undoubtedly would have attracted me.)
--Goodness, uprightness, and integrity
--High standards and good taste
--Dignity and gentlemanly behavior
--Good cheekbones. Yes, it's silly. Yes, it's trivial. But I like good cheekbones. :-)
--The fact that he can think deeply and correctly
--The fact that he reads
--He can write at least tolerably well. He has to have a firm grasp of the use of apostrophes. :-)
things I say most often--
--Such is life.
--Gravy!
--Anything with 'ums' tacked on the end-- squishums, blushums, smoochums, spunkums, etc.
--Well, here's the issue...
--The thing is...
--You know, I was just thinking... (my three most common sentence openings)
--Where did ____ get to? (insert the name of anything I"ve lost... book, article of clothing, waterglass, pencil, ten dollar bill...)
seven books I love--
(This is just plumb too hard. I'm going to cheat rampantly)
--Jane Austen
--The Complete Emily Dickenson
--The Bible
--Lord of the Rings
--Till We Have Faces, and any other C.S. Lewis
--Short Stories of Eudora Welty
--Short Stories of Flannery O'Connor
--Betsy, Tacy and Tib books
--Wislawa Szymborska (Polish poet lady)
--Charlotte Bronte
--Annie Dillard
(Told you I would cheat!)
movies I could watch over and over--
--Pride and Prejudice (The old one! The long one!)
--Persuasion
--My Man Godfrey
--Enchanted April
--The Philadelphia Story
--Muppet Treasure Island
--Finding Neverland
--Beauty and the Beast
--The Village and Signs
(Cheating again...)
people I want to tag--
--Great Scot, of the infinitely worthy blog you are currently reading
--Eugene, of Type A
--Monolog, of whatever blog he can use....
--Multifarious Me, ditto
--Ludwig of Shed of Emotions
--Peachy Keen of Screebees!
--Nomos of I Have Issues
December 6, 2005
Happy Birthday to The Shieldmaiden!
WHO IS NOW 14!
WE LOVE YOU!
Thank you for making every day bright
(like your name)
and happy for all of us.
December 5, 2005
The Tourist
All creation cries at me--
"Taste! See! Hear!"-- too much, too much!
Bewildered, a child at a carnival,
A character in a Victorian novel:
Too many roller coasters, too many subplots
To be involved in them all. I must choose.
What have I left undone, unsaid?
So many people to love--
Am I missing anyone?
--But enough. Robert Frost
Has already written this poem (except his is much better),
And I'm only here for a while. One can't do everything.
"Taste! See! Hear!"-- too much, too much!
Bewildered, a child at a carnival,
A character in a Victorian novel:
Too many roller coasters, too many subplots
To be involved in them all. I must choose.
What have I left undone, unsaid?
So many people to love--
Am I missing anyone?
--But enough. Robert Frost
Has already written this poem (except his is much better),
And I'm only here for a while. One can't do everything.
December 4, 2005
Hallelujah for Handel
Queen Shenaynay
I purposefully left Handel's Messiah off our list of Top 10 Desert Island Christmas Albums. Why? Because this incomparably luminous work is not just for Christmas. Here at the Beehive, we have always listened to it during dinner throughout the year, particularly on Saturday nights.
The Messiah is perhaps the most magnificent musical work ever written. Handel wrapped high art around selected texts from the King James Bible, granting the human race a musical expression of the life of Christ that is without parallel.
Handel wept uncontrollably as he composed The Messiah, and when asked about the shockingly short period of time that it took to compose -- a mere 21 days for a massive body of work, averaging over 12 pages of full orchestra score per day -- he simply quoted Paul: "Whether I was in the body or out of my body when I wrote it, I know not."
A servant startled him just as he finished writing the "Hallelujah Chorus" and he turned with tears streaming down his cheeks and cried out, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself!"
According to historians, the King of England (in whose presence all subjects rose), was overcome with awe during the very first performance of the Hallelujah chorus and suddenly stood up, profoundly illustrating his subjection to the "King of Kings." The rest of the audience naturally rose when the King rose, and the tradition remains to this day.
We have listened to many recordings of The Messiah over the years, and the two albums pictured here are far and away our favorites -- but they are very different in style and interpretation. We choose which one to listen to at different times accordingly.
The Toronto Symphony recording with Andrew Davis conducting is a full symphonic interpretation, the way you're probably accustomed to hearing it -- with full-blown orchestra, full chorus and powerhouse soloists (Kathleen Battle, oh yesss!). Big, spine-tingling stuff here. Absolutely superb for the blood circulation and invigorating to the soul. In fact, I think I need to go play it again right this minute. Listen to samples here.
The recording with The Academy of Ancient Music conducted by Christopher Hogwood is, by contrast, as close as we'll ever come to knowing how Handel heard it -- on period instruments, and sung in the Baroque style. It's rich and meditative, and more intimate, making it the recording we choose for dinnertime -- it's actually possible to converse over this one! And we just adore Emma Kirkby, arguably the finest Baroque/Renaissance style soprano alive today. If I could only own one recording of The Messiah, this would be it (but I'm glad I have both!). Hear sample tracks here.
Do try to take in a live performance during this holiday season; many churches and colleges perform it for free in December. Take a copy of the score if you can; we particularly like the Schirmer edition, as it is readable and comfortable in the hand.
You can listen to the melodies of the various movements at The Classical Music Archives (although it will not give you the feel of an orchestra and chorus by any stretch).
The libretto is also online.
I purposefully left Handel's Messiah off our list of Top 10 Desert Island Christmas Albums. Why? Because this incomparably luminous work is not just for Christmas. Here at the Beehive, we have always listened to it during dinner throughout the year, particularly on Saturday nights.
The Messiah is perhaps the most magnificent musical work ever written. Handel wrapped high art around selected texts from the King James Bible, granting the human race a musical expression of the life of Christ that is without parallel.
Handel wept uncontrollably as he composed The Messiah, and when asked about the shockingly short period of time that it took to compose -- a mere 21 days for a massive body of work, averaging over 12 pages of full orchestra score per day -- he simply quoted Paul: "Whether I was in the body or out of my body when I wrote it, I know not."
A servant startled him just as he finished writing the "Hallelujah Chorus" and he turned with tears streaming down his cheeks and cried out, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself!"
According to historians, the King of England (in whose presence all subjects rose), was overcome with awe during the very first performance of the Hallelujah chorus and suddenly stood up, profoundly illustrating his subjection to the "King of Kings." The rest of the audience naturally rose when the King rose, and the tradition remains to this day.
We have listened to many recordings of The Messiah over the years, and the two albums pictured here are far and away our favorites -- but they are very different in style and interpretation. We choose which one to listen to at different times accordingly.
The Toronto Symphony recording with Andrew Davis conducting is a full symphonic interpretation, the way you're probably accustomed to hearing it -- with full-blown orchestra, full chorus and powerhouse soloists (Kathleen Battle, oh yesss!). Big, spine-tingling stuff here. Absolutely superb for the blood circulation and invigorating to the soul. In fact, I think I need to go play it again right this minute. Listen to samples here.
The recording with The Academy of Ancient Music conducted by Christopher Hogwood is, by contrast, as close as we'll ever come to knowing how Handel heard it -- on period instruments, and sung in the Baroque style. It's rich and meditative, and more intimate, making it the recording we choose for dinnertime -- it's actually possible to converse over this one! And we just adore Emma Kirkby, arguably the finest Baroque/Renaissance style soprano alive today. If I could only own one recording of The Messiah, this would be it (but I'm glad I have both!). Hear sample tracks here.
Do try to take in a live performance during this holiday season; many churches and colleges perform it for free in December. Take a copy of the score if you can; we particularly like the Schirmer edition, as it is readable and comfortable in the hand.
You can listen to the melodies of the various movements at The Classical Music Archives (although it will not give you the feel of an orchestra and chorus by any stretch).
The libretto is also online.
December 2, 2005
Power Caroling
or, Our Top 10 Desert Island Christmas Albums
Queen Shenaynay
Yesterday, I heard the words "let earth receive Her king!" zing through the aisles at the grocery store. The moment was almost lost in the lull of familiarity -- the squeak of the trizillionth grocery cart, the same old cereal boxes... and a carol I could sing in my sleep. It was all so common that I almost missed noting the miracle of hearing the name of Christ exalted over the speakers at a grocery store.
December is the one month when songs about Jesus Christ are still sung in public. That, for me, is a fresh thrill every single year. Truly, the celebration of Christ's birth has given the human race some of the most beautiful music ever written.
But as our culture becomes increasingly secular, the Christmas music one hears in public and on the radio begins to follow suit. What child is this? Why, it's Destiny's Child (woo hoo), pummelling our senses with their reversion of the good news: "On the eighth day of Christmas, my baby gave to me a pair of Chloe shades and a diamond belly ring."
As pop drivel bumps and grinds its way into the Christmas music market, we are all sadly losing familiarity with many of the old, luscious, obscure carols about Christ's birth. (Incidentally, there IS a difference in a Christmas 'song' and a Christmas 'carol.' Traditionally, a carol is a song about Christ.) And the more those slick, synthesized, studio-driven Christmas albums take over the holiday music racks at local stores, the more crazed we Beehive denizens feel about collecting those off-beat but superb sorts of albums that capture the feel of a bunch of happy villagers freely making music together just for the pure joy of it.
In a day of too many myopic, money-driven music studio executives and way too few village carolers, we hereby encourage you all to indulge in some healthy, beautiful cultural rebellion. Dig a little into the rich, textured, timeless, gorgeous music of Christmas past. Ooooh, it's some really good stuff. You'll be so happy, and happy is good. Comfort and joy and all such as that.
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is fun enough at first, but it begins to grate and pall after a few spins. Ah, but once you grow to love the lush beauty of old carols like "Once In Royal David's City" or "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," we truly believe you will never tire of hearing them.
Here, then, are our very favority favorites, the choice few holiday albums in our collection that we could listen to all year long. Go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and check them out. If you just hauled off and bought them all, we feel sure you would simply love us forever.
Angel's Glory
Kathleen Battle and Christopher Parkening
Comfort & Joy:
A Christmas Celtic Sojourn
The Holly & The Ivy
The Clare College Choir of Cambridge, with John Rutter
Christmastide
Jessye Norman
To Drive the Cold Winter Away
Loreena McKennitt
Nine Lessons & Carols
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge
A Christmas Celtic Sojourn
[Oh, and the other three albums pictured above are December by George Winston (the best album ever for winter afternoons spent reading and sipping hot tea by a crackling fire); A Scottish Christmas by Bonnie Rideout (which is Simply Fabulous); and Ancient Noels by Maggie Sansone and The Ensemble Galilei, which is most likely unlike anything you've ever heard. We like that.]
Queen Shenaynay
Yesterday, I heard the words "let earth receive Her king!" zing through the aisles at the grocery store. The moment was almost lost in the lull of familiarity -- the squeak of the trizillionth grocery cart, the same old cereal boxes... and a carol I could sing in my sleep. It was all so common that I almost missed noting the miracle of hearing the name of Christ exalted over the speakers at a grocery store.December is the one month when songs about Jesus Christ are still sung in public. That, for me, is a fresh thrill every single year. Truly, the celebration of Christ's birth has given the human race some of the most beautiful music ever written.
But as our culture becomes increasingly secular, the Christmas music one hears in public and on the radio begins to follow suit. What child is this? Why, it's Destiny's Child (woo hoo), pummelling our senses with their reversion of the good news: "On the eighth day of Christmas, my baby gave to me a pair of Chloe shades and a diamond belly ring." As pop drivel bumps and grinds its way into the Christmas music market, we are all sadly losing familiarity with many of the old, luscious, obscure carols about Christ's birth. (Incidentally, there IS a difference in a Christmas 'song' and a Christmas 'carol.' Traditionally, a carol is a song about Christ.) And the more those slick, synthesized, studio-driven Christmas albums take over the holiday music racks at local stores, the more crazed we Beehive denizens feel about collecting those off-beat but superb sorts of albums that capture the feel of a bunch of happy villagers freely making music together just for the pure joy of it.
In a day of too many myopic, money-driven music studio executives and way too few village carolers, we hereby encourage you all to indulge in some healthy, beautiful cultural rebellion. Dig a little into the rich, textured, timeless, gorgeous music of Christmas past. Ooooh, it's some really good stuff. You'll be so happy, and happy is good. Comfort and joy and all such as that.
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is fun enough at first, but it begins to grate and pall after a few spins. Ah, but once you grow to love the lush beauty of old carols like "Once In Royal David's City" or "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," we truly believe you will never tire of hearing them.Here, then, are our very favority favorites, the choice few holiday albums in our collection that we could listen to all year long. Go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and check them out. If you just hauled off and bought them all, we feel sure you would simply love us forever.
Angel's GloryKathleen Battle and Christopher Parkening
Comfort & Joy:A Christmas Celtic Sojourn
The Holly & The IvyThe Clare College Choir of Cambridge, with John Rutter
ChristmastideJessye Norman
To Drive the Cold Winter AwayLoreena McKennitt
Nine Lessons & CarolsThe Choir of King's College, Cambridge
A Christmas Celtic Sojourn[Oh, and the other three albums pictured above are December by George Winston (the best album ever for winter afternoons spent reading and sipping hot tea by a crackling fire); A Scottish Christmas by Bonnie Rideout (which is Simply Fabulous); and Ancient Noels by Maggie Sansone and The Ensemble Galilei, which is most likely unlike anything you've ever heard. We like that.]
December 1, 2005
The Queen So Totally Rocks
I wanted to express my appreciation and gratitude for all the things that the Queen does on a day in/day out basis. She has been an amazing mother and homeschooling teacher for my children and has been a wise counselor and mentor to a multitude of teenagers.
As a result, I send her a well deserved, "H U Z Z A H!"
As a result, I send her a well deserved, "H U Z Z A H!"
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