from Handel's Semele

ἔκβασις

day one of my fall adventure log..it will be a short adventure but one that i want to enjoy. in the past i always hurried to the place that i wanted to go but now i want to savor the journey. the destination is only a part of the whole. going forth, abiding, return, like those who went into the great deserts of the Thebiad or much later (and more appealing to me), those who went into the Northern Thebiad~the primeval forests of the land now called Russia. why did they go? to seek divinity..to know themselves..or to just get away from the familiar .

i am ready, almost. got a map, instructions, and a few clothes. but it is amazing how many sundries i think i need...nail clippers, powder, razor, comb, deodorant...the list grows even as i struggle to fill it. only two books (as i wont count the kindle app as books) Cry to Heaven by Anne rice i want to finish..it has taken me to the wonderful worlds of pre-Gluck opera and the unfamiliar yet exciting world of the castrati, the pop stars of the 1730s & 40s. funny how i forget about civilization in the 1700s because as an American, my focus is on the log cabins of my pioneers and not the great opera seria of G.F. Handel that they left behind them. a special thank you to the dear one who told me about this book...

also going along is Rabbit, run by John Updike. my mind used to get lost in the past and want to dwell there always. now i care about the present, how did we get here? why do we act the way we do? Updike is the great chronicler of the average man in America in the second half of the 20th century...he has an amazing cryptic style that makes you re-read every paragraph to tease out the meat. and yes i know it is vacation but i cant be without my books. picture a 16 year old gawky boy struggling through 30th street station in Philadelphia with a big case and duffel weighted like rocks...

anyway, it is almost time to go. will check and doublecheck my list..have i got everything. geez i am such a worrier. but i do have a confidence now that i didnt have before, so i am ready to go forth and enjoy the journey as well as the destination.

Music from then to now

When I was growing up in the 70s, I listened to Casey Kasem American Top 40 every weekend. This left me with an enduring love of classic rock as well as a treasure trove of lyric phrases to apply to everyday life. However the teachings of 70s lyrics are not a good foundation upon which to base one's views of life and relationships. The Simpsons are much better for that...^^ I liked disco too, but what made the most impression on me was when I first heard the Sex Pistols at my friend Terry's house. It was one of those now THAT is MUSIC moments for me, which in fairness also happened with Violent Femmes in college and with Wagner's Ring and Meistersingers (yes, I like opera too!) After college, I fell out of the music scene, clinging to my oldies stations through the late 80s and 90s, so I missed the Nirvana era. Thanks to Youtube I am now able to catch up and enjoy the 90s and the 60s music which was not a part of my experience. Some 50s is ok. I do like Hank, Hank Jr and even Hank III (yes, Hank III !--check him out!!). I went into a bluegrass phase, and still can be brought to tears by those hymns and sad songs about separation and loss. When Linda Ronstadt went all 40s it was very disappointing. She was best in country with the Stone Poneys and early solo albums. The first album I owned was "The Worst of Jefferson Airplane." Love Ziggy Stardust too!! Anyway, I experienced a contemporary music renaissance in the new century. Gave up my oldies station for more contemporary sounds. Starting with Michele Branch, and traveling to Pink, No Doubt, and now to Gaga, Katy Perry and even Nicki Minaj, I see that there is always something good just around the corner..oh...Ke$ha too, what the heck! At the annual eDance show in Hershey, I not only get to see very talented local dancers, but also I am exposed to new music. Last year it was "Telephone"..how did i miss THAT! There is so much that I didn't mention too. Moral of the story is: Don't stay stuck in your own music era or category! Change the station sometimes and see what's out there!

Prioritizze, dammit!

There are just too many things I want to do just now, and too many that I thought I wanted to do that still cling to me. I am reading through the Oz books...all of them I can find, anyway. Hope Shanower & Smith finish as many as they can for Marvel Comics. Ozma and Dorothy will meet this fall in Marvel's version of Ozma of Oz. I'm in the RPTs now, and to me they have their own unique charm, just as the LFBs did. I love little kingdoms with their little courts, and I wish that Germany and India were still full of them :)

Am trying to get through Proclus' On Timaeus too, but it's Thomas Taylor's almost 200 year old translation, so it is a struggle. Damascius' great work will be out this year, in a modern translation~~I hope to have better luck with that; it is a foundational work of 6th-7th century thought, I believe. I want to find the time to watch Wagner's Lohengrin again, and to finish Tannhauser at last, esp. after reading Baudelaire's essay, but when will I have the time? Watching all this anime is eating up my free time...Persona, and Toradora, then on to Spice & Wolf and...and...

Have I had enough of history? I would like to find a good home for some of my books, but not if I will be filled with regret about it 5 years from now. The church fathers can go, I have had enough of them, but am I really ready to give up on William Blake, and Tolkein? Joyce went away, and I don't miss him...well maybe just that one passage at the end of Portrait of the Artist.

Aah! Help! I have really got to set my library in order...where can I find the will power.....