There is finally a covering of snow on the ground here in Holland Michigan this morning. We basically had a snow-free Xmas. I missed it.
I got up this morning and read poetry, non-fiction and then played some Beethoven on the EP with the headphones (Eileen is still in bed).
There were about 50 people at church yesterday morning. No one commented on the prelude (Mov 4 – The Word from Messiaen’s Nativity). Here’s a solid performance of this piece from Youtube. He plays the slow section even slower than I did. I like it that way.
I had problems with the organ during the performance of this piece. Somehow one of my presets reverted to a wrong setting. This sometimes happens with older organs. I managed to save the performance despite playing it on some of the wrong stops. It’s difficult to know what kind of meaning this kind of music has for the people who heard it. Music is such a background phenomenon in the United States. I did have a bulletin note explaining Messiaen’s intentions in it.
But I’m very glad that I have now learned and performed several of Messiaen’s meditations on the Nativity. I think it’s pretty solid music. And very beautiful to my ears.
During the offertory a soprano sang a Ned Rorem song (“Christmas Carol”). In the middle of it her cell phone began ringing.
She continued to singing and tried to turn off the phone at the same time. Here’s a nice little Youtube of the song she was singing.
The postlude was “Allegro” From Concerto 5 in F Major by G. F. Handel, op. 4 No. 5, HWV 293.
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The truth is the best bullshit – Boing Boing
Interesting explanation of bullshit and lies from Apple, Google, & Facebook.
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Now That the Factories Are Closed, It’s Tee Time in Benton Harbor, Mich. – NYTimes.com
Totally missed this extended article about a local Michigan town. Ran across it yesterday.
Letters in response:
The Strange Second Life of a Michigan Factory Town – NYTimes.com
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Do the Classics Have a Future? by Mary Beard | The New York Review of Books
Bookmarked to read.
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