Free Classical Music Concerts Are Loads Of Fun

Providing, of course, you get to the Great Hall in time and get a good seat. I almost did not, because half an hour is barely enough time. I will pay more attention in the future.

The concert was the Miro Quartet playing Beethoven's String Quartet No.4 in C minor, and then Charles Ives String Quartet No.1 "Revival Service". Then Mr. Pesic joined them in the Dvorak Piano Quintet in A minor.

Never have I heard chamber music of this caliber. And seldom have I heard pianists of this quality. Remember Alon Goldstein playing the Beethoven Piano Concerti in May, Mum and Dad? Mr. Pesic is that good. He makes the piano sing out above the strings in glorious peals of sound.

The Beethoven quartet was fierce and brutal. The first movment (in sonata-allegro form, of course! This is Classical Beethoven) was formed with gypsy/Hungarian motives but very Beethovenish. Sort of like a Moonlight Sonata for strings.

The Ives quartet was also fun, dissonant, modern, but really familiar - it incorporated elements of hymns like "Crown Him With Many Crowns" and "Be Thou My Vision". Pretty cool.

But the Dvorak quintet brought the house down. This was unspeakably amazing. Even though the Steinway was old and beat up, it sounded fabulous working with the Miro Quartet. The rhythms and pulsing melodies through the four-movment work were simply astounding. Mom might not believe it, but I sat as still as a German in the Great Hall listening to that concert. I didn't move until the movement was over.

All the concerts are free for the St. John's community, but people from Santa Fe showed up too - mostly old people. That is how it is these days - you have the Classical Cult, but apart from these strange teenagers obsessed with Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert, it's old people.

I love free concerts!

fall

***

I thought I'd share a few more pictures. It's starting to get cold here (highs in the 50's lows in the 40's). Caedmon is not only walking but also climbing. His favorite hobbies at present include climbing on the futon and crawling through the coffee table. Oh, and trying to call Lola. He likes to yell for her, and usually he's ignored, which just makes him yell louder. Anyway, here are some of our fall pictures. Enjoy. (p.s. I hate blogger's photo attachment, it messes with the formatting.)

Welcome Home Geoff!

... well he's not exactly home yet but he is, thank God, stateside, waiting for transport back to Fort McCoy and probably home by the end of the week. Geoff, we have missed you and look forward to catching up on a long year away. Hip, hip, hooray!

Results of First Lesson - Tear down technique, rebuild.

This is kinda long so if piano bores you, skippit.

So I had my first meeting with Mr. Pesic. I met him at 2:30 PM in the Jac Holzman room (meaning the room with the brand new Mason & Hamlin). I played my Bach Fugue and my Schubert Andantino in F sharp minor for him.

Hokay, first a bit about Mr. Pesic. He received his A.B. and M.S. from Harvard in physics in '69 and '70 respectively and followed up with his doctorate in Physics from Stanford in 1975. He is also a fantastic, fantastic musician. He is on a complete cycle of Brahms and Schoenberg; all the piano works of these composers. (this is sort of like playing all 32 Beethoven sonatas) Not only is he a brilliant phsyicist, he is expertly qualified to teach music, having studied it all his life.

I have, according to him, a "real sensitivity and love" for the music. He said he could hear how much I love Schubert and Bach just by hearing the piano sing. He also said that is how musicians succeed - they love and respect the music and are sensitive to it.

BUT - My time of unprofessional piano instruction has at last come back to haunt me. For too long I have been stiff at the piano, tensing up to achieve volume, practicing with the wrong methods, playing with my fingers rather than playing with my arm weight. This was slowed with my study with Mr. Novak but bad habits crept back in.

Beethoven discovered and perfected the art of pianistic relaxation, better known to day as Weight Performance. He taught it to his pupils, who taught Liszt and Chopin, and now this is the standard way of performing. If you use this method, it will enable you to play in old age (like Wilhelm Kempff if you know who he is) and helps deal with arthritis. If you don't use it, you can still become amazing (Aunt Linda comes to mind) but you can be devastated by arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. So I am learning this new method from the bottom up (Mr. Novak also told me a bit about it)

While playing, keep your arm TOTALLY RELAXED. First practice dropping your hands onto the piano like a gorilla. Hold your right wrist up with your left hand, completely relax your right hand, and let it drop. BANG. The piano keys roar, and a natural forte arises from strings. Support your arms on the keyboard; don't tense your shoulder or back at all. Completely relax. All the power comes from your weight. Some people have heavy arms while some people have very light arms (myself and Mr. Pesic come to mind here) but still all can practice using weight.

When you strike the key, hold the idea in your head that you play through the keyboard and down through the bottom of the piano. Think of it as a musical karate chop - go through. Then once you've gotten the hang of that, practice scales - shift your arm weight from finger to finger, never allowing non-working fingers to hold weight at all. Never have the arm supported by anything except the fingers playing.

I will practice this method until I perfect it, and then I will learn a couple simple pieces to cement the method to myself. For all interested, I am learning another Bach Prelude and Fugue (I'm not telling which one; it is a surprise!) a Beethoven sonata, and some piece that Mr. Pesic will recommend for me.

So I am really exited. The Search and Rescue thing fell through, but I ran out of serious money (I'm worth a little over $100 at this point) and I didn't have enough to buy equipment. Besides, it would clash with piano.

And piano comes first.

I'll play stuff for you when I come home for Christmas!

P.S. The great thing about the weight/relaxation method is that when you use it, you are always completely relaxed whilst performing. Goodbye nerves! I will enjoy performing even more than I do already.

EDIT - this does mean that I begin lessons with Mr. Pesic. I meet him again on Wednesday for him to check my progress and we will meet again on Sunday after his concert (Dvorak and Brahms/Schoenberg).

Is this for real?

Okay, you smart college kids. Check out the vids on YouTube and tell me if YOU think diet coke and menthos would do this. My Spanish class students assured me that it is the real thing.
P.S. No one can accuse me of not knowing where to find a good time on Friday night!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKoB0MHVBvM

Dean's Lecture 31 August.

This lecture was delivered by the Dean of St. John's College to us little freshmen. I really enjoyed it.

Regarding its form, I was told by a Junior, "If I were a freshman, I would be crying." This lecture is a perfect example of what St. John's wants in a Senior essay.

Link!

Don't you wish you attended St. John's now?

Life is ironic

About 6mo's ago I bought 5 fish, 4 of which died within a month. I believed the connection was to either changing the water or letting the water temperature getting too cold, so #5, a little neon, has been swimming around in a rather algae covered tank for several months now. I had debated flushing him but did not like the thought of ending the life of my sole survivor. Today I finally decided to change the water. He's presently side-swimming.

Transcript of Osama ben Laden's September Video

So Osama went on TV again and handed us a little tirade. I thought it is rather important to read, so we can understand a little bit of the mind of the guy who destroyed the World Trade Center (Unless you're a kook who believes that George Bush used a remote control to crash the planes) <--- actual conspiracy theory.

All praise is due to Allah, who built the heavens and earth in justice, and created man as a favor and grace for Him.And from His ways is that the days rotate between the people, and from His law is retaliation in kind: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and the killer is killed.

And all praise is due to Allah, who awakened His slaves' desire for the Garden, and all of them will enter it except those who refuse. And whoever obeys Him alone in all of his affairs will enter the Garden, and whoever disobeys Him will have refused.

As for what comes after:Peace be upon he who follows the Guidance.

People of America:I shall be speaking to you on important topics which concern you, so lend me your ears.

I begin by discussing the war which is between us and some of its repercussions for us and you.To preface, I say: despite America being the greatest economic power and possessing the most powerful and up-to-date military arsenal as well; and despite it spending on this war and its army more than the entire world spends on its armies; and despite it being the major state influencing the policies of the world, as if it has a monopoly on the injust right of veto; despite all of this, 19 young men were able -by the grace of Allah, the Most High- to change the direction of its compass. And in fact, the subject of the Mujahedeen has become an inseparable part of the speech of your leader, and the effects and signs of that are not hidden.

Since the 11th, many of America's policies have come under the influence of the Mujahideen, and that is by the grace of Allah, the Most High. And as a result, the people discovered the truth about it, its reputation worsened, its prestige was broken globally and it was bled dry economically, even if our interests overlap with the interests of the major corporations and also with those of the neoconservatives, despite the differing intentions. And your information media, during the first years of the war, lost its credibility and manifested itself as a tool of the colonialist empires, and its condition has often been worse than the condition of the media of the dictatorial regimes which march in the caravan of the single leader. Then Bush talks about his working with al-Maliki and his government to spread freedom in Iraq, but he in fact is working with the leaders of one sect against another sect, in the belief that this will quickly decide the war in his favor. And thus, what is called the civil war came into being and matters worsened at his hands before getting out of his control and him becoming like the one who plows and sows the sea: he harvests nothing but failure.

So these are some of the results of the freedom about whose spreading he is talking to you. And then the backtracking of Bush on his insistence on not giving the United Nations expanded juridiction in Iraq is an implicit admission of his loss and defeat there. And among the most important items contained in Bush's speeches since the events of the 11th is that the Americans have no option but to continue the war. This tone is in fact an echoing of the words of neoconservatives like Cheney, Rumsfeld and Richard pearle, the latter having said previously that the Americans have no choice in front of them other than to continue the war or face a holocaust.

I say, refuting this unjust statement, that the morality and culture of the holocaust is your culture, not our culture. In fact, burning living beings is forbidden in our religion, even if they be small like the ant, so what of man?! The holocaust of the Jews was carried out by your brethren in the middle of Europe, but had it been closer to our countries, most of the Jews would have been saved by taking refuge with us. And my proof for that is in what your brothers, the Spanish, did when they set up the horrible courts of the Inquisition to try Muslims and Jews, when the Jews only found safe shelter by taking refuge in our countries. And that is why the Jewish community in Morocco today is one of the largest communities in the world. They are alive with us and we have not incinerated them, but we are a people who don't sleep under oppression and reject humiliation and disgrace, and we take revenge on the people of tyranny and agression, and the blood of the Muslims will not be spilled with impunity, and the morrow is nigh for he who awaits.

Also, your Christian brothers have been living among us for 14 centuries: in Egypt alone, there are millions of Christians whom we have not incinerated and shall not incinerate. But the fact is, there is a continuing and biased campaign being waged against us for a long time now by your politicians and many of your writers by way of your media, especially Hollywood, for the purpose of misrepresenting Islam and its adherents to drive you away from the true religion. The genocide of peoples and their holocausts took place at your hands: only a few specimens of Red Indians were spared, and just a few days ago, the Japanese observed the 62nd anniversary of the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by your nuclear weapons.

And among the things which catch the eye of the one who considers the repercussions of your unjust war against Iraq is the failure of your democratic system, desipte its raising of the slogans of justice, liberty, equality and humanitarianism. It has not only failed to achieve these things, it has actually destroyed these and other concepts with its weapons -especially in Iraq and Afghanistan- in a brazen fashion, to replace them with fear, destruction, killing, hunger, illness, displacement and more than a million orphans in Baghdad alone, not to mention hundreds of thousands of widows. American statistics speak of the killing of more than 650,000 of the people of Iraq as a result of the war and its repercussions.

People of America:The world is following your news in regards to your invasion of Iraq, for people have recently come to know that, after several years of the tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning. On the contrary, they continue to agree to the spending of tens of billions to continue the killing and war there, which has led to the vast majority of you being afflicted with disappointment. And here is the gist of the matter, so one should pause, think and reflect: why have the Democrats failed to stop this war, despite them being the majority? I will come back to reply to this question after raising another question, which is: why are the leaders of the White House keen to start wars and wage them around the world, and make use of every possible opportunity through which they can reach this purpose, occasionally even creating justifications based on deception and blatant lies, as you saw in Iraq?In the Vietnam War, the leaders of the White House claimed at the time that it was a necessary and crucial war, and during it, Rumsfeld and his aides murdered two millions villagers, and when Kennedy took over the presidency and deviated from the general line of policy drawn up for the White House and wanted to stop this unjust war, that angered the owners of the major corporations who were benefiting from its continuation. And so Kennedy was killed, and al-Qaida wasn't present at that time, but rather, those corporations were the primary beneficiary from his killing. And the war continued after that for approximately one decade. But after it became clear to you that it was an unjust and unnecessary war, you made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war, not even the most violent of its murderers, Rumsfeld.

And even more incredible than that is that Bush picked him as secretary of defense in his first term after picking Cheney as his vice-president, Powell as secretary of state and Armitage as Powell's deputy, despite their horrific and bloody history of murdering humans. So that was a clear signal that this administration -the administartion of the generals- didn't have as its main concern the serving of humanity, but rather, was intersted in bringing about news massacres. Yet in spite of that, you permitted Bush to complete his first term, and stranger still, chose him for a second term, which gave him a clear mandate from you -with your full knowledge and consent- to continue to murder our people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then you claim to be innocent! This innocense of yours is like my innocence of the blood of your sons on the 11th -were I to claim such a thing. But it is impossible for me to humor many of you in the arrogance and indifference you show for the lives of humans outside America, or for me to humor your leaders in their lying, as the entire world knows they have the lion's share of that. These morals aren't our morals.

What I want to emphasize here is that not taking past war criminals to account led to them repeating that crime of killing humanity without right and waging this unjust war in Mesopotamia, and as a result, here are the oppressed ones today continuing to take their right from you. This war was entirely unnecessary, as testified to by your own reports. And among the most capable of those from your own side who speak to you on this topic and on the manufacturing of public opinion is Noam Chomsky, who spoke sober words of advice prior to the war, but the leader of Texas doesn't like those who give advice.

The entire world came out in unprecedented demonstrations to warn against waging the war and describe its true nature in eloquent terms like "no to spilling red blood for black oil", yet he paid them no heed. It is time for humankind to know that talk of the rights of man and freedom are lies produced by the White House and its allies in Europe to deceive humans, take control of their destinies and subjugate them. So in answer to the question about causes of the Democrats' failure to stop the war, I say: they are the same reasons which led to the failure of former president Kennedy to stop Vietnam War. Those with real power and influence are those with the most capital. And since the democratic system permits major corporations to back candidates, be they presidential or congressional, there shouldn't be any cause for astonishment -and there isn't any- in the Democrats' failure to stop the war.

And you're the ones who have the saying which goes, "Money talks". And I tell you: after the failure of your representatives in the Democratic Party to implement your desire to stop the war, you can still carry anti-war placards and spread out in the streets of major cities, then go back to your homes, but that will be of no use and will lead to the prolonging of the war. However, there are two solutions for stopping it. The first is from our side, and it is to continue to escalate the killing and fighting against you. This is our duty, and our brothers are carrying it out, and I ask Allah to grant them resolve and victory. And the second solution is from your side. It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of the democratic system and how it plays with the interests of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations.

And with that, it has become clear to all that they are real tyrannical terrorists.In fact, the life of all of mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factories of the major corporations, yet despite that, the representative of these corporations in the White House insists on not observing the Kyoto accord, with the knowledge that the statistic speaks of the death and displacement of millions of human beings because of that, especially in Africa. This greatest of plagues and most dangerous of threats to the lives of humans is taking place in an accelerating fashion as the world is being dominated by the democratic system, which confirms its massive failure to protect humans and their interests from the greed and avarice of the major corporations and their representatives. And despite this brazen attack on the people, the leaders of the West -especially Bush, Blair, Sarkozy and Brown- still talk about freedom and human rights with a flagrant disregard for the intellects of human beings. So is there a form of terrorism stronger, clearer and more dangerous than this?

This is why I tell you: as you liberated yourselves before from the slavery of monks, kings and feudalism, you should today liberate yourselves from the deception, shackles and attrition of the capitalist system. If you were to ponder it well, you would find that in the end, it is a system harsher and fiercer than your systems in the Middle Ages. The capitalist system seeks to turn the entire world into a fiefdom of the major corporations under the label of "globalization" in order to protect democracy. And Iraq and Afghanistan and their tragedies; the reeling of many of you under the burden of interests-related debts, insane taxes and real estate mortgages; global warming and its woes; and the abject poverty and tragic hunger in Africa: all of this is but one side of the grim face of this global system.

So it is imperative that you free yourselves from all of that and search for an alternative, upright methodology in which it is not the business of any class of humanity to lay down its own laws to its own advantage at the expense of the other classes as is the case with you, since the essence of man-made positive laws is that they serve the interests of those with the capital and thus make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

The infallible methodology is the methodology of Allah, the Most High, who created the heavens and earth and created the Creation and is the Most Kind and All-Informed and the Knower of the souls of His slaves and the methodology that best suits them. You believe with absolute certainty that you believe in Allah, and you are full of conviction of this belief, so much so that you have written this belief of yours on your dollar. But the truth is that you are mistake in this belief of yours. The impartial judge knows that belief in Allah requires straightness in the following of His methodology, and accordingly, total obedience must be to the orders and prohibitions of Allah Alone in all aspects of life. So how about you when you associate others with Him in your beliefs and separate state from religion, then claim that you are believers?! What you have done is clear loss and manifest polytheism.

And I will give you a parable of polytheism, as parables summarize and clarify speech. I tell you: its parable is the parable of a man who owns a shop and hires a worker and tells him, "Sell and give me the money," but he makes sales and give the money to someone other than the owner. So who of you would approve of that? You believe that Allah is your Lord and your Creator and the Creator of this earth and that it is His property, then you work on His earth and property without His orders and without obeying Him, and you legislate in contradiction to His Law and methodology.

This work of yours is the greatest form of polytheism and is rebellion against obedience to Allah with which the believer becomes an unbeliever, even if he obeys Allah in some of His other orders. Allah, the Most High, sent down His orders in His Sacred Books like the Torah and Evangel and sent with them the Messengers (Allah's prayers and peace be upon them) as bearers of good news to the people. And everyone who believes in them and complies with them is a believer from the people of the Garden. Then when the men of knowledge altered the words of Allah, the Most High, and sold them for a paltry price, as the rabbis did with the Torah and the monks with the Evangel, Allah sent down His final Book, the magnificent Quran, and safeguarded it from being added to or subtracted from by the hands of men, and in it is a complete methodology for the lives of all people. And our holding firm to this magnificient Book is the secret of our strength and winning of the war against you despite the fewness of our numbers and materiel. And if you would like to get to know some of the reasons for your losing of your war against us, then read the book of Michael Scheuer in this regard. Don't be turned away from Islam by the terrible situation of the Muslims today, for our rulers in general abandoned Islam many decades ago, but our forefathers were the leaders and pioneers of the world for many centuries, when they held firmly to Islam.

And before concluding, I tell you: there has been an increase in the thinkers who study events and happenings, and on the basis of their study, they have declared the approach of the collapse of the American Empire. Among them is the European thinker who anticipated the fall of the Soviet Union, which indeed fell. And it would benefit you to read what he wrote about what comes after the empire in regard to the United States of America. I also want to bring to your attention that among the greatest reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union was their being afflicted with their leader Brezhnev, who was overtaken by pride and arrogance and refused to look at the facts on the ground. From the first year of the Afghanistan invasion, reports indicated that the Russians were losing the war, but he refused to acknowledge this, lest it go down in his personal history as a defeat, even though refusal to acknowledge defeat not only doesn't do anything to change the facts for thinking people, but also exacerbates the problem and increases the losses. And how similar is your position today to their position approximately two decades ago. The mistakes of Brezhnev are being repeated by Bush, who -when asked about the date of his withdrawing of forces from Iraq- said in effect that the withdrawal will not be during his reign, but rather, during the reign of the one who succeeds him. And the significance of these words is not hidden.

And here I say: it would benefit you to listen to the poignant messages of your soldiers in Iraq who are paying- with their blood, nerves and scattered limbs- the price for these sorts of irresponsible statements. Among them is the eloquent message of Joshua which he sent by way of the media, in which he wipes the tears from his eyes and describes American politicians in harsh terms and invites them to join him there for a few days. Perhaps his message will find in you an attentive ear so you can rescue him and more than 150,000 of your sons there who are tasting the two bitterest things: if they leave their barracks, the mines devour them, and if they refuse to leave, rulings are passed against them. Thus, the only options left in front of them are to commit suicide or cry, both of which are from the severest of afflictions. So is there anything more men can do after crying and killing themselves to make you respond to them? They are doing that out of the severity of the humiliation, fear and terror which they are suffering. It is severer than what the slaves used to suffer at your hands centuries ago, and it is as if some of them have gone from one slavery to another slavery more severe and harmful, even if it be in the fancy dress of the Defense Department's financial enticements.So do you feel the greatness of their suffering?

To conclude, I invite you to embrace Islam, for the greatest mistake one can make in this world and one which is uncorrectable is to die while not surrendering to Allah, the Most High, in all aspects of one's life -i.e., to die outside of Islam. And Islam means gain for you in this first life and the next, final life. The true religion is a mercy for people in their lives, filling their hearts with serenity and calm. There is a lesson for you in the Mujahideen: the entire world is in pursuit of them, yet their hearts, by the grace of Allah, are satisfied and tranquil. The true religion also puts peoples' lives in order with its laws; protects their needs and interests; refines their morals; protects them from evils; and guarantees for them entrance into Paradise in the hereater through their obedience to Allah and sincere worship of Him Alone.

And it will also achieve your desire to stop the war as a consequence, because as soon as the warmongering owners of the major corporations realize that you have lost confidence in your democratic system and begun to search for an alternative, and that this alternative is Islam, they will run after you to please you and achieve what you want to steer you away from Islam.So your true compliance with Islam will deprive them of the opportunity to defraud the peoples and take their money under numerous pretexts, like arms deals and so on. There are no taxes in Islam, but rather, there is a limited Zakaat [alms] totaling only 2.5% . So beware of the deception of those with the capital. And with your earnest reading about Islam from its pristine sources, you will arrive at an important truth, which is that the religion of all of the Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them) is one, and that its essence is submission to the orders of Allah Alone in all aspects of life, even if their Shari'ahs [Laws] differ. And did you know that the name of the Prophet of Allah Jesus and his mother (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both) are mentioned in the Noble Quran dozens of times, and that in the Quran there is a chapter whose name is "Maryam", i.e. Mary, daughter of Imran and mother of Jesus (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both)? It tells the story of her becoming pregnant with the Prophet of Allah Jesus (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both), and in it is confirmation of her chastity and purity, in contrast to the fabrications of the Jews against her.

Whoever wishes to find that out for himself must listen to the verses of this magnificent chapter: one of the just kings of the Christians -the Negus- listened to some of its verses and his eyes welled up with tears and he said something which should be reflected on for a long time by those sincere in their search for the truth. He said, "Verily, this and what Jesus brought come from one lantern": i.e., that the magnificent Quran and the Evangel are both from Allah, the Most High; and every just and intelligent one of you who reflects on the Quran will definitely arrive at this truth. It also must be noted that Allah has preserved the Quran from the alterations of men. And reading in order to become acquainted with Islam only requires a little effort, and those of you who are guided will profit greatly.

And peace be upon he who follows the Guidance.

Since no one else has countered Tim's threat of total blog domination, I suppose I will have to start posting more (and unload--or rather upload--my arsenal of photos).

Things here have been pretty boring. Nate continues to plug away at his master's courses. I can't quite keep track of everything he's doing but I believe he's taking a course on ancient Greece, one on the Civil War, and soon to start another on 20th century America.

Caedmon has started throwing temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way, and even more frequently when he can't do something that is utterly impossible. His latest trick is to pull up his shirt and say "buhwee" (translation=belly). Nate also taught him how to say cookie, which he says pretty well but sometimes gets combined with cracker ("cahcuh") resulting in "cahkee." It's funnier to hear than transliterate.

Meanwhile, I've gotten onto a crafting kick. The only problem is that there aren't any decent craft stores in/around Wiesbaden. But presently I face a larger dilemma: a friend of mine is taking her parents to Brugge, Belgium, tomorrow and has invited me to come with. I have absolutely no interest in her itinerary (canal cruise and visiting a sea park) but every desire to go to Belgium. I don't want to be impolite by asking to go seperate ways, but I also don't want to take a 9hr round trip car ride just to ride around on some boats and see some dolphins. I think I will probably end up sitting this one out.

Well nap time is officially over and I am being handed a cup and asked for "wa wa" so I should sign off. More later...

Iraqi vets

So there's this rather amateurish troupe up on the north side called the Annoyance theatre, and I was there for a performance on Friday, and tomorrow they have a lineup about Iraqi vets opposed to the war, with vets reading about their experiences and perspectives and different troupes performing on the same theme.
Alas, I can't go as I have a cell biology lab exactly at that time (how university conflicts with one's social life! Ridiculous.), but I've been thinking about it a lot lately, especially as we have our own Iraqi vet coming home very soon. Get your arse back to the States, please, Geoff. We've missed you!

On a different note, been reading Sex, Economy, Freedom and Community by Wendell Berry. I am consistently impressed with this man's clear vision and articulation of social problems and their possible solutions. More on this later; it's a quarter to two in the morning. Peace out!

Weekly Update

So I have decided to post how stuff is going in New Mexico every week or so. Elena doesn't need to do this because she's a big grown up Junior but I am a wet freshman so I will do so.

This may mean I sort of monopolize the blog but the Other Authors have two options - post more to balance the page content or ban me from posting. Anyway, here we go!

So it's been a great week. I arranged to meet Mr. Pesic (musician in residence at St. John's) for lessons on Saturday the 22nd. I'll probably play my Bach, Chopin, and Schubert. If he wants to hear it I will play Rondo alla Turca.

The work here is pretty intense. Even though I only have four classes, Monday and Thursday I have classes pretty much all day, with small breaks for meals and whatnot. Those are also the days I have Seminar, so I'm not through until 2130 and then I just want to sleep.

Tuesday and Friday I only have one or two classes, but I work those days so studying time is drastically reduced. Same for Wednesday.

Mostly, the hardest days are the first three days and then it planes out. It's kind of tough to organize my time properly but I'm doing a fairly good job.

Friday was the Ark Party. The Sophmores make an ark (modelled after the Ark of the Covenant), put a beer keg inside of it, and carry it up the hill behind campus, an 800 foot summit; Camino de Monte Sol. There they have a wild party. Sadly, I did not go because it conflicted with the lecture that night, Jihad: The Muslim Concept of Holy War. I went to that instead and it was very interesting.

Today during church there was a baptismal service for about six babies. They, their parents, and their godparents were all around the baptismal fount. The pastor came over and started baptizing - no big deal, just take the naked baby, plunk it in the water, and presto! Done! The infants did not seem to mind either; four of the six accepted it without a qualm and even seemed to have fun, gurgling happily the way only babies can.

BUT - there was an exception. A male infant, when he was plunked in the water, let out a screech and began to howl. The congregation burst out laughing and the baby was baptized, with much applause. Fun times.

One last thing. During the past two weeks, I have been scoping out the Fine Arts Building and checking all the grand pianos they have. Curses, the class doors are locked most of the time! The six-foot Steinways are there behind the window, BUT I CAN'T REACH THEM! Torment!

But they are usually unlocked during the weekend. And Dad (make sure you tell him) will love this: they have a brand new Mason & Hamlin piano on the second floor. Yeah, tell Dad he can turn purple with envy now.

I am enjoying myself. So that's my week. Next fortnight, stay tuned to The Life of Timothy In Many Parts!

Toodles.

Teacher Certification?

Does anyone know anything about becoming a certified teacher in the state of Illinois? (mamagoose?) The military is running a pilot program called Spouses to Teachers (similar to their Troops to Teachers) which will reimburse the cost for taking certifcation exams, and I don't know all of the details yet, but I also have no idea what all the certification process entails. I've already sent an email to the program representative in Illinois, but I was hoping I might be able to learn more while I wait for a response.

Thanks!

11 September - Six Year Anniversery.

It's been six years since New York was attacked by militant Islam in the beginnings of what now seems likely to be a widespreading war. Six years since the Trade Center was destroyed, D.C. threatened, and United Flight 93 stopped a third attack.

A heckuva lot has changed since then. The United States is at war, and will be for decades regardless of who steps into the Oval Office in 2008. The world now realizes the chaos and danger that militant Islam presents (Or orthodox Islam, depending on your interpretation of the Qur'an)

One thing is very certain; the world will not be the same again. Even though in the six years that have elapsed, not another attack has taken place. The conflict in Iraq will spread to Iran and the war will continue, with or without America's input.

Let us remember the victims caught up in a struggle dating back thousands of years, all the way back to the 700s. The people in the Trade Center could not possibly understand the rivalries that have existed between Europe and the Islamic world since far before the Crusades.

Pray for the familes hurt by this attack and the conflicts that have followed.

And pray for peace.

Salzburg

Ok, I'm still getting used to the Blogger format, but here are just a few of our pictures from Salzburg. The mountains are actually from a reststop in Southern Germany, but those were my favorite pictures. I think I could live in Bavaria happily for the rest of my life.

The other pictures are from Salzburg. It was a nice little town with the fortress dominating the surrounding scenary. Mozart was born there, and we got a few pictures of his house. It rained off and on the entire time we were there so we really didn't get to do as much exploring as we would have liked, but that's kind of the way Europe is. It's still nice to be able to drive 6 hours and end up in another country.

Until next time...

I am hard on technology

not long after I told Mum that I've been dropping my cell phone (a particularly fragile razor) too often, I dropped it AGAIN-this time in the toilet.
Now it keeps trying to connect to the internet, and bleeping.
Now it has died.
Yay.
Kids, always remember to be careful with your cell phones.

we're here

Greetings from Germany. I believe Nate has his own email address that he can log in with but I set up this one just this evening so please bare with me (I'm more of a yahoo person to be honest). I don't have anything too exciting to impart at the moment, but for the sake of having something to say, I'd like to inform everyone that there are new videos up on YouTube of Caedmon walking and "singing." In other news we went to Austria last weekend and had a nice time walking the streets of Salzburg.

Off to clean up after our little tornado...

Tribute to Madeleine L'Engle

Madeleine L'Engle left this planet on Thursday last, at the age of 88. She was a great writer, producing more than 60 works that span more than 60 years and include children's literature, adult novels, poetry, plays and autobiography. Whether fact, fiction or fancy, her writing has had an impact on my thoughts and life for many years. I was privileged to hear her speak about her writing on two occasions, and I admire her honesty and ability to light the path, so to speak, of faith and life. She described herself as "a very Orthodox Christian", beyond denominational boundaries, a position I understand ever more clearly as the years pass.
My favorite children's book is probably Many Waters, a creative journey to the pre-flood world of Noah and his family. And I still enjoy The 24 Days Before Christmas every year as we prepare for our own advent season. The year we were waiting for Zachary to be born, at the end of December, I remember Dad looking up in shock as I read aloud to the other children the line, we have to face the possibility that mother may not be home for Christmas. Bless his heart, Zachary waited!
More than any other writer, her open honesty about life and faith and relationships have given me plenty of food for thought, especially in my early days of motherhood without tangible role models. She was a warm, wise woman with a sense of humor and deep love for God, who will be greatly missed.
"I know that when I am most monstrous, I am most in need of love. When my temper flares out of bounds it is usually set off by something unimportant which is on top of a series of events over which I have no control, which have made me helpless, and thus caused me anguish and frustration. I am not lovable when I am enraged, although it is when I most need love." ( from The Irrational Season) Who can argue?

Modern Times

Listening to the album now, and it's absolutely spectacular...Dylan's voice waltzes through the songs and the melodies work so well with the lyrics. A most excellent birthday gift!! Thank you.

If We Are Going To Have A Family Weblog The Layout MUST Be Different Than That Of The Clay Review.

This weblog has of course no relation to the concept of this one, I take it?

No plagiarism! Something different. So whoever is BOSS of this page must change it so we're not always imitating our Falcon friends.

College is pretty fun. We 130 freshmen have been turned into fully-fledged philosphers. It is an exiting feeling. We question, question, and question some more. We read lots of books and study music. Then we dance (swing, Charlston, Viennese Waltz) until we get tired and then we philosophize some more.

Life is good.

Twenty-One!

hip hip hooray and Happy Birthday Elena! I can hardly believe that it was 21 years ago that you joined the family. We are so glad you were born!
Thanks for setting up the family blog. If we have to live with technology we may as well enjoy it.

Welcome to the Davis Family Blog

Mum and I were talking about family stuffs and communication and thought a family blog would be a good way for everyone to stay on the same page. Woot! So feel free to post. Hooray for big families!