Meow

by admin Posted on August 28, 2012

On her way home for lunch today, Camille spotted a 70 pound Cougar crossing 169th St SE near Sunset Road. That is not the boonies; it’s in the middle of “civilization,” so a mid-day sighting is noteworthy.

A 70 pound Cougar is probably a juvenile (they grow to about 200 pounds, approximately 2.5 feet tall at the shoulder), and pose a significant worry as that is a large enough animal to carry off a small child.

There is new residential construction going on in that area, so my guess is that we are chopping off more wildlife habitat.

 

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Meow

Lucky Find

by admin Posted on August 25, 2012

Camille is the Craigslist wizard. She managed to find a set of six chairs for sale in Bellevue that are an exact match for the Ethan Allen dining room table we have.

Years back, when she bought the dining room set, she purchased lower quality chairs because Jason and Bob were young, so she calculated that she would buy a better set of chairs after they had grown. Well, they’ve grown, and Camille has been searching ever since for a an affordable replacement set of Ethan Allen chairs.

Camille found a set for sale on Craigslist, and set an appointment to see if they actually matched the image in the ad. They did, and were in better condition than we expected.

The thing I find most remarkable is that we came from New York, and Robin (the woman who sold the chairs to us) came from California. In spite of all the things that had to line up for this match to happen, it did.

Robin was surprised that we did not try to bargain her down (her asking price was very reasonable). I have come to the conclusion that many people feel a compulsion to argue down the sale price because they need to feel that they have “conquered,” or gotten the better of, the seller,  so they have something to brag about to their friends.

On the other hand, I’m happy to tell my friends a story of an fortunate meeting of strangers that allowed everyone to come away feeling enriched.

Posted in Home | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Lucky Find

Crack Filling

by admin Posted on August 18, 2012

The title of this blog post sounds like the punch line to a bad joke about drugs.

Another science experiment, of sorts.  Our new driveway has a number of cracks running in multiple directions.  I’ve filled them with a caulk specifically designed for that purpose, but I have no idea if it is important to do, or if it will do what it is supposed to – keep water from running under the concrete pad.

Next year, I’ll update this post with results.

Posted in Home | Tagged , | Comments Off on Crack Filling

Daiku Osaka Le Choeur des dix mille

by admin Posted on August 18, 2012

And now, for something truly awe inspiring.

Each year, at the end of December, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is performed with an amateur chorus of 10,000.  The most recent performance (December 2011) in Osaka was dedicated to the memory of those lost in the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

The fourth movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 is performed by Daiku Osaka Le Choeur des dix mille  (Osaka choir of ten thousand great craftsman) in this Youtube clip.

I deeply wish I could have stood among them during this performance – it must have been an incredible experience!

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
IV. Finale. Presto – Allegro assai – Allegro assai vivace (alla Marcia) – Andante maestoso – Adagio ma non troppo ma divoto – Allegro energico e sempre ben marcato – Allegro ma non tanto – Presto – Maestoso – Prestissimo

Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra
Yutaka Sado, conductor

Keiko Yokoyama, soprano
Masako Teshima, mezzo-soprano
Satoshi Nishimura, tenor
Eijiro Kai, baritone
Choir of the 10000 from Osaka and Sendai
Suntory Orchestra of the 10000

Recorded at Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka / Miyagi Gauin Joshi Daigaku Hall, Sendai, 2011

Vocals

Those words written specifically by Beethoven (rather than Schiller) are shown in italics.

German original English translation
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Freude! (men’s chorus: Freude! )
Freude! (chorus again: Freude! )		 Oh friends, not these tones!
Rather, let us raise our voices in more pleasing
And more joyful sounds!
Joy! (Joy!)
Joy! (Joy!)
Freude, schöner Götterfunken*
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.		 Joy, beautiful spark of the gods*
Daughter of Elysium,
We enter, drunk with fire,
Heavenly one, your sanctuary!
Your magic reunites
What custom strictly divided.
All men become brothers,
Where your gentle wing rests.
Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!		 Whoever has had the great fortune
To be a friend’s friend,
Whoever has won a devoted wife,
Join in our jubilation!
Indeed, whoever can call even one soul
His own on this earth!
And whoever was never able to, must creep
Tearfully away from this band!
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
Vor Gott!		 Joy all creatures drink
At the breasts of nature;
All good, all bad
Follow her trail of roses.
Kisses she gave us, and wine,
A friend, proved to the end;
Pleasure was given to the worm,
And the cherub stands before God.
Before God!
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt’gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.		 Glad, as His suns fly
Through the Heaven’s glorious design,
Run, brothers, your path,
Joyful, as a hero to victory.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such’ ihn über’m Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muss er wohnen.		 Be embraced, millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, above the starry canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Do you bow down, millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek Him beyond the starry canopy!
Beyond the stars must He dwell.
Finale repeats the words:
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Seid umschlungen,
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Götterfunken!		 Finale repeats the words:
Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Be embraced,
This kiss for the whole world!
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods
Spark of the gods!

The full libretto including repetitions can be found on German Wikisource.

Posted in This & That | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Daiku Osaka Le Choeur des dix mille

Lucifer Rising

by admin Posted on August 15, 2012

The first year at a new house is an exercise in patience, while you wait for the landscaping to mature in order to find out what kind of maintenance nightmare you bought.

Apparently, the last owners just let things go for the most part, so the rhodies were wild and spindly, hanging over the driveway and sidewalk.  I’ve done a lot of aggressive pruning, and it will be interesting to see how successful I’ve been when everything comes back next year.

One of the cool things that is in the yard is a cluster of Crocosmia masoniorum – or, ‘Lucifer.’ I’ve never noticed these before, and now that I have some of my own, I notice a few other people in the neighborhood do, too.  It grows tall – almost five feet tall, and so I’m going to move it to the front of the house near the front door, next to the six-foot-tall Nandina Domestica.

Posted in Home | Tagged , | Comments Off on Lucifer Rising

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

by admin Posted on August 4, 2012

I had a lovely afternoon on the shore of Lake Washington today:

“U.S. Navy Blue Angels

The Blue Angels’ mission is to enhance Navy and Marine Corps recruiting efforts and to represent the naval service to the United States, its elected leadership and foreign nations. The Blue Angels serve as positive role models and goodwill ambassadors for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

A Blue Angels flight demonstration exhibits choreographed refinements of skills possessed by all naval aviators. The Blue Angels’ C-130, affectionately known as Fat Albert, begins each demonstration by exhibiting its maximum performance capabilities during a ten-minute performance. Shortly thereafter, you will see the graceful aerobatic maneuvers of the four-jet Diamond Formation, in concert with the fast-paced, high-performance maneuvers of its two Solo pilots. Finally, the team illustrates the pinnacle of precision flying, performing maneuvers locked as a unit in the renowned, six-jet Delta Formation.

Last season, more than 8 million spectators watched the Blue Angels perform. Since its inception in 1946, the Blue Angels have performed for more than 463 million fans.”

Source



Posted in This & That | Tagged , | Comments Off on Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Obituary: Gore Vidal

by admin Posted on July 31, 2012

October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012

 A man that I respected (to the extent that I knew him), as an iconoclast and free thinker with a scathing wit. He was wealthy and famous enough to safely challenge a system often led by people he knew firsthand, in the model of Mark Twain and H.L. Mencken.

To my delight, he picked apart politicians, mocked religion and prudery, and opposed wars from Vietnam to Iraq. A couple of years ago, I read his book “Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace or How We Came To Be So Hated,” which was an excellent comment about much of what the American public was led to (or willfully chose to) ignore about our willingness to be led into bloodshed.

A sad intellectual loss for our culture. We desperately need men who are able to accurately and fearlessly shove a sharp stick into mediocrity and complacency.

Posted in Obits | Tagged , | Comments Off on Obituary: Gore Vidal