Julia Varady sings 'Im Abendrot'

My favorite among the 'Four Last Songs' of Richard Strauss. Kurt Masur conducts the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.



"Im Abendrot"

Wir sind durch Not und Freude
gegangen Hand in Hand;
Vom Wandern ruhen wir
nun überm stillen Land.

Rings, sich die Täler neigen.
Es dunkelt schon die Luft,
zwei Lerchen nur noch steigen
nachträumend in den Duft.

Tritt her und laß sie schwirren,
bald ist es Schlafenszeit,
daß wir uns nicht verirren
In dieser Einsamkeit.

O weiter, stiller Friede!
So tief im Abendrot.
Wie sind wir wandermüde
Ist dies etwa der Tod?


We have willingly and joyfully
walked hand in hand;
now let us rest from our wanderings
through the silent land.

The valleys close in on themselves;
already the sky is darker;
a solitary pair of larks still soar,
dream-rapt in the dusk.

Come close and let them fly about;
soon it will be time to sleep;
let us not lose our way
in this solitude.

O vast, tranquil peace!
so deep at sunset.
How weary we are of wandering -
Is this perhaps death?

Composed: May 6, 1948

Where it's @

Ever wondered about the history of this little symbol - @?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_sign

Aqui Jaz . . .

Cemetery Chapel, Macau

Chapel Interior

Tombstones

Past and Present

Windows et al.

Among my online friends are those who, like me, entered the computer age later in life. Many probably don't know what DOS is (or was, or could not care less), and may be quite happy tootling along on Windows 95 or 98. But many are happy with their Windows XP, either the Home or Professional versions. I have not heard of any who have Windows Vista on their machines, except my son, who is more up-to-date about operating systems than I.

Just from reading online forums, I have a sense that the advocates of Windows XP outnumber those of Windows Vista. People who do editing of videos appear more comfortable with XP for their work. Vista requires bigger and faster processors, and may not be compatible with some third-party hardware or software, especially the older versions.

So it’s a bit like the PC vs. Mac debates. There are strong defenders on both sides.

I'm hoping Microsoft will not abandon Windows XP in its desire for continued market dominance. Or I may have to abandon Microsoft and go over to the Mac. Apple would like that.

* * * * *

Rain is forecast for today, and it is quite cold. There is a luncheon scheduled for the members of our club's local chapter, at an Asian buffet nearby. They held one such event for this same group at the same place just about a year ago, and it was a success. The food is pretty decent, and in great variety, so the place is usually quite crowded at lunchtime on weekends.

The Bay Area is known for its fine restaurants, and deservedly so, but an all-you-can-eat buffet would probably not be called fine dining. It will be fun, nonetheless, as friends gather noisily to have lunch together.

Novelette

Hayden Lee, 14, plays Poulenc

Storm Front

Directly overhead the sky was a sparkling cerulean, studded with a few feathery wisps of white cloud. The street was empty, and the light had a quality that made things look unreal. But it was a light that brought everything into sharp focus. It was around four in the afternoon. There was no breeze; the trees stood quiet.

Now over the hill came this ominous mass of deep gray, its edges lit by the late afternoon sun. Here was movement, slow but unrelenting movement. Soon the gray would predominate, shutting out the last shreds of blue. And then the rains would come.

In the Flesh

Been trying my hand at handheld close-up photography. This shot was taken under artificial light, no flash. Hard to tell what it is at first glance (some surgical leftover, part of an internal organ, perhaps.)

Well, actually, it's a portion of a pomelo.

Setting Type

After watching the Gary Hustwit documentary "Helvetica" last night, I browsed the Web and came across this little gem on YouTube about typography, old-style.

Advice

Do not thou be ponderous, pompous, or pedantic in thy pedagogy, saith the Teacher to the Apprentice. For it has been perceived that ponderousness, pomposity, and pedantry hath provided our polemical political poltroons with powers to pursue their promiscuous and presumptuous propaganda even unto perfidy and perdition. Do thou instead be pure and plain-spoken in thy pronouncements. Peace should be thy preferred paradigm.

Religion facts

Here is a useful website for anyone who wishes to get an idea about the differences among the world's religions.

big_religion_chart

The column on the right of the chart has links to other sites for more detail.

Anna Netrebko - Song to the Moon

This is one of my alltime favorites.

Art is where you find it

Walking along a narrow Macau street I found an empty lot beside which a building's outer wall had been adorned with graffiti. I had to hold my camera overhead to get past the enclosing fence for this shot, and wish that I could have had a frontal vantage point to get a better picture.

Graffiti can be vandalism, or it can be art. Sometimes it may be a bit of both. But in this case I would cast a vote in favor of art.

Lead Time

The voice on the phone is youthful and sweet. It has a breathy quality to it – Monroe-like, a movie buff like me might be tempted to say. It is calling to remind me of an appointment to visit her employer, my dentist, the following day. The appointment, which in haste I had made some six months before (at the last regular check-up) is one that I had failed to note on my 2008 calendar, which at the time had not even been printed, much less written on.

So I say that I would like to change the appointment, thinking that it is easy enough to do. Apparently though it is not, and so I am notified, in a voice no longer quite so Marilynesque, that she will make the requested change this time, but that I should not expect she should be so accommodating in future, as 'the office' requires forty-eight hours prior notice of any appointment change, or else 'the patient' will be charged for ' a missed appointment'.

No doubt the extra time is required for the dentist to make his golfing and yachting plans.

Capsule

It's a matter of hope, you see, mon vieux. A strong sentiment, this thing called hope. You hope that this pill, this little translucent capsule, larger than, but having the same approximate shape of, a ripe comedo, will, if consumed regularly twice a day, preferably with a meal, assure that your entrails will hold up against the demands that are forced upon them by the stresses of everyday life.

And speaking of comedos, which of us, at one time or another during our youth, and maybe even in adulthood, when faced with the appearance of one or more of them in an accessible place, has not surreptitiously, against the advice of our elders or of medical practitioners generally, brought fingertips to bear in order to dislodge them from their secure enclaves.

Not a wise thing to do, it must be admitted, but there is a tendency to give in to temptation once in a while.

Carinhoso

Carinhoso
(Pixinguinha / João de Barro)

Meu coração, não sei porque
Bate feliz, quando te vê
E os meus olhos ficam sorrindo
E pelas ruas vão te seguindo
Mas mesmo assim, foges de mim

Ah! Se tu soubesses
Como sou tão carinhoso
E muito e muito que te quero
E como é sincero o meu amor
Eu sei que tu não fugirias mais de mim

Vem, vem, vem, vem
Vem sentir o calor
Dos lábios meus
À procura dos teus
Vem matar esta paixão
Que me devora o coração
E só assim então
Serei feliz, bem feliz


How Tender

My heart, I don't know why
Beats happily,when it sees you
And my eyes are smiling
As through the streets, they follow you
But even so, you avoid me.

Ah! If you only knew
How tender I can be
And how very much I want you
And how sincere is my love
I know that you would never run away from me.

Come, come, come, come
Come feel the heat
Of my lips
As they seek yours.
Come kill this passion
That devours my heart
And then, only then
Will I be happy
Oh so happy.

Portuguese Views

Across the Palace square in Sintra

Morning in Obidos

View over the rooftops from St. George's castle, Lisbon

View from the top of the Santa Justa elevator

Outside the entrance to the castle of St George

Vicipaedia

Amazing what you run into when browsing. Here's the Latin version of Wikipedia.

http://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagina_prima

NPR: Six-Word Memoirs: Life Stories Distilled

A few days ago, while doing my regular walk and listening to my MP3 gizmo, I heard this on NPR's "Talk of the Nation", and thought, "Hey, this is something to consider." Life is too short for long-windedness.

NPR: Six-Word Memoirs: Life Stories Distilled

Yo voté

Got up early and cast my ballot in the California primary election. And got this little sticker as a reward.

Now, did they really have to have the Spanish and Chinese verbiage on this sticker?

I think this whole 'politically correct' business has gone too far.

Walschaert's valve gear

If, like me, you happen to be a steam locomotive aficionado, this article about the Walschaert's valve gear should prove immensely interesting.

Walschaerts_valve_gear

Sudden Musicophilia

Here's a link to a fascinating story by Oliver Sacks, from his book "Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain".

Musicophilia