Cafe Helix
Wednesday, December 20, 2000
I've seen this quote floating around my email boxes lately:
In 1555, Nostradamus wrote: "Come the millennium, month 12, In the home of greatest power, The village idiot will come forth To be acclaimed the leader."
hmmmm.....
I really like this site displaying fortunes from fortune cookies. Read the fortune, read the posts connected to it, and then write what comes to you and post it. I did. Can you find me? [via memepool]
graphomanic.net is a very interesting place. I also liked A is for Absinthe, a series of images and words in alphabetical order. The images don't seem to have a connection to each other, and some are fairly morbid. The alphabet for a new generation?
Tuesday, December 19, 2000
Read about bohemian baroque composer Jan Dismas Zelenka! I was just listening to one of his very cool sonatas for two oboes and continuo. I love his music.
In response to the first monkey link, farookh replied:
"not a monkey!? there goes my theory on how he got half the votes."
Friday, December 15, 2000
The people at the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) recently did a series of postal experiments. They sent a number of items through the postal system that fit into the following general categories: valuable, sentimental, unwieldy, pointless, potentially suspicious, and disgusting. Their results were pretty successful: their experiments yielded at 64% delivery rate, which is a 2/3 success rate. The results are also hilarious, so check it out.
Thursday, December 14, 2000
Texas Dems get Bush-whacked:
"He speaks of being a bipartisan guy, but I think certainly the majority of Democrats in the Texas House would not consider him a bipartisan," Bailey says. "He tends to be bipartisan when you agree with him."
I also like Joan Walsh's commentary on Al Gore's concession speech.
Finally, Wednesday night, after 36 days of partisan bloodletting, one judgment was unanimous: Vice President Al Gore gave the best speech of his political life, conceding to President-elect George W. Bush. It was earnest, it was moving, it was funny. The head shaking and finger wagging were mostly gone. He was self-deprecating and dignified all at once. He was, well, presidential.
I was happy to see that both the text of Al Gore's speech and the text of George W. Bush's speech are available on the web. I'm not happy that Bush is going to be our next president. He talks "bi-partisanship" but I'm wary about his true intentions. Like many americans, part of me is relieved that this whole thing is over, even though the outcome is not to my liking.
Saturday, December 09, 2000
Laura at ColorArts did head shots for me Wednesday. I had a great time with this and I am looking forward to seeing the results. Too bad her space in SoMa will be torn down, most likely for new live-work spaces or $750,000 condos. The building looks like it has been there since the 30s. Another one bites the dust in this new economy.
Friday I attended another BMUG Beer Night at Pacific Coast Brewery in Oakland. What a great group! We devoured much pub food and drink. The Anchor Christmas Ale is outstanding, very tasty. The company was wonderful, as always. And speaking of beer, here is a fascinating beer database for bottled beers. There are comments from beer drinkers, and an "if you enjoyed this beer, why not try:" suggestion list. Excellent!
This is a good article on J.S. Bach by Charles Rosen. Bach was a genius, there is no question about it. I'm becoming more familiar with his music in my studies of his preludes and fugues; I also love his French Suites. He did not publish much of his work, save for the four books of the Clavier Übung, the two sets of Inventions, the two books of the Well Tempered Clavier, and the The Art of the Fugue, written late in life and not completed.
His separation from the world of public music outside his own small city turned Bach's concern into a sphere at once more deeply personal and apparently more abstract. The educational works are a meditation on the nature of music itself—at least, music as Bach and his contemporaries conceived it in the first half of the eighteenth century. This made his musical thought precious to the generations that came after him.
Thanks to Tom, I can now keep up with the latest earthquakes in California. I just hope the Hayward Fault doesn't make any sharp moves any time soon.
More cats!
This made me laugh!
"You must embrace the idea that the link exists," said Bernioz, "for once that idea is established, form itself can be forgotten."
Tuesday, December 05, 2000
User Error
It's best not to stuff the washing machine full with more clothes than it can handle. Tonight I learned this the hard way, stuffing too many clothes in one machine, and consequently the detergent didn't have a chance to dissolve completely in the water. I now have a couple items of clothing that are blotchy and discolored. I've now lost a pair of work pants because of this. Live and learn, as they say. I did this at a laundromat very near my house, called the "university clean-o-mat," which I had never been to before. Parking is easy there, which is saying a lot. And there was no wait for the machines. Score!
. . . .
It's now the Advent season, if you're into following the liturgical year. I play organ/piano at a catholic church near my house and have become more conscious of the church year because of it. One of the traditions of Advent is the Advent calendar; I have one at home, each day sporting a tasty bit of chocolate. There is a neat advent calendar on the web, flash based, and very entertaining. Click on each day as it comes and see items in the author's collection of antique ornaments, and a special message. [via metafilter]
A few other spiritual links are the o-bible, an online bible in Interlinear, King James, and Basic English versions, along with Korean and Chinese translations. I like the basic, clean interface. I've also been reading a bit about the christian contemplative tradition, after hearing an article about it on NPR. Here's an "informal history" on it. A part of this tradition is "lectio divina," something I first learned about from my friend Jandira in Brasil. Contemplative prayer really appeals to me, so I expect to continue reading about it. I've also been interested in the quakers, and here is a nice concise page on the basic ideas behind quakerism.
. . . .
I'll leave you with these words from Mr. Rogers.
Sunday, December 03, 2000
I just returned from a lovely party at the home of my friends Heyer and The Engineer, a party to celebrate Heyer's mother's tasty eggnog. It's wonderfully spiked with bourbon and rum, not overly sweet, and very rich, topped with whipped cream (and not that "reddi-whip" crap). The eggnog was accompanied by Brunswick stew (an Eggleston family recipe) and various crunchy treats. Ingrid made fabulous hot hors d'oeuvres. Cakes for dessert. We sang and sang and sang a variety of holiday tunes, laughing a lot, and sometimes crying from the emotions wrapped up with certain pieces. Many of us had met in an online forum sponsored by the SF Bay Guardian - "they" say that the Internet is one of those things that keeps people from connecting in real life, but that is just not so, not in my experience. If anything, it's expanded my real life circle of friends, opened my mind to different ways of thinking, and introduced me to new experiences. Tonight I was surrounded by a terrific group of people, all of who lead very interesting lives. I love how varied we are, though I also love our commonalities. I'm proud to be a part of this group and I love our friendships. A big thank you to all for being a part of my life for the past four years.
Now I need to buy a leather jacket.
Friday, December 01, 2000
Today is World AIDS Day. If you like, you can go to the {fray} and post a story about how your life has been affected by HIV/AIDS. Or just read the moving stories that are there. I posted about my friends Craig and John who died in the early 1990s. metafilter is also inviting people to post AIDS-related links on the site.
I've been having a lot of fun with the UltraLounge Christmas Cocktails record. I'm also totally in love with George Winston's December. Both are wonderful seasonal recordings. I'm also really really really looking forward to the Young Musician's Program Sing Along Messiah tomorrow night, at Hertz Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. This piece is an important part of my holidays, and also a pivotal piece in my early music background, but that's a whole other essay. This sing along Messiah is a fundraiser for YMP, a wonderful program that gives economically disadvantaged kids an opportunity to study music where they may not have had the opportunity before. It rules!
