Category: Arts and Aesthetics
All things creative. All things beautiful, profound, and moving.
The solstice arrived this morning. At the very moment I posted this, in fact. While most of us, including me, were snug in our beds. So celebrate the return of light, fellow denizens of the northern hemisphere. Be relieved that the sun has not abandoned us after all — even if it’s not giving us much warmth for a few months yet. I celebrate with a feast, followed by silence and candlelight. In the morning, there’s music to enjoy. “When the Winter Comes”: “Logs to Burn”: “Praise Midwinter”: And an instrumental medley of other winter tunes, Celtic style:
One day last week we were expecting an ice storm. Never did get it, but we received a pretty little snow dusting. I took this photo, which I just remembered while going through the camera card for last post’s Boy Scout image. Taken through a window with melting snow droplets on it. Artsy on purpose, seriously. Not just a bad photo because I was too cozy and warm to want to venture outside. Truth.
I’m about as non-musical as a person can be. I can’t tell Beyonce from a bass fiddle or a minor chord from a high c. I listen to very little music and like even less of it. My efforts to change that have, dare I say, fallen flat, allegrissimo. But I’ve always had a soft spot for opera. Maybe that’s how I found myself reading Sing for Your Life, the beautifully written and unlikely story of Ryan Speedo Green, the rising young bass-baritone who has sung with the Metropolitan Opera and the Vienna State Opera. Reading Sing for Your Life…
We had our first snow last night. Didn’t amount to much. Barely stuck and was soon washed away by 35-degree rain. Only reason I mention it is because it’s the first lowland snow we’ve had in more than two years. It’s normal for us to get snow anywhere from one to five times a winter, but the last two winters have been too warm (not global warming but a big warm “blob” offshore). Very wet, but warm. Well, as winters go, anyhow. More snow expected in the next few days. Me, I’d chose warm and dry, were it an option.…