"Nor does the being hungry prove that we have bread."

 “It is not enough to want to get rid of one’s sins,” he said. “We also need to believe in the One who saves us from our sins. Not only do we need to recognize that we are sinners; we need to believe in a Savior who takes away sin. Matthew Arnold once wrote, ‘Nor does the being hungry prove that we have bread.’ Because we know we are sinners, it does not follow that we are saved.” 

 ~C.S. Lewis, Final Interview

The Stronghold of My Life

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

Ps 27:1  (ESV)

Seasons. . .

I love how this picture sums up Spring: new life growing out of the old!

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up;4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance;5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away;7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;"  

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-7, ESV) 

More "real" life. . .

So I caught a really bad cold/flu thing the end of last week (all those report cards just did for me, I guess). I was out of commission all weekend and not in physical or mental shape to write anything. So once again I must apologize. Enjoy the following video from Guys and Dolls. :)

The Pantheon

Does someone want to take me on a trip to Rome? I've always dreamed of experiencing this building in person.

And this song (Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis) would be perfect to hear in this space. This has got to be one of my ultimate favourites and has been since I discovered it years ago. I was in Ottawa about a year ago and they had this as an installation piece in the Chapel in the National Gallery of Canada. Each of the 40 voices was piped through an individual speaker, so you could walk around the room and hear each voice individually: GORGEOUS!

I couldn't find the version by the Oxford Camerata that I like--this version is a bit fast for my taste. It's just over 2 minutes faster than my recording. 

The Dying Gaul

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_Gaul

This statue captured my attention as a teenager and I still love it. I have always been intrigued by the realistic look of rather stunned pain --I've always wondered what kind of story this statue might tell if it came to life somehow.

The Dying Gladiator

(from "childe harold's pilgrimage")

I see before me the Gladiator lie:
He leans upon his hand - his manly brow
Consents to death, but conquers agony,
And his droop'd head sinks gradually low -
And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow
From the red gash, fall heavy, one by one,
Like the first of a thunder-shower; and now
The arena swims around him - he is gone,
Ere ceased the inhuman shout which hail'd the wretch who won.

He heard it, but he heeded not - his eyes
Were with his heart, and that was far away;
He reck'd not of the life he lost nor prize,
But where his rude hut by the Danube lay,
There were his young barbarians all at play,
There was their Dacian mother - he, their sire,
Butcher'd to make a Roman holiday -
All this rush'd with his blood - Shall he expire
And unavenged? - Arise! ye Goths, and glut your ire!


George Gordon Lord Byron . 1788-1824  

"Real" Life Interruption

So. . . I started out this blog nice and strong, with a few days of posts always scheduled to publish, but school and busy weekends happened and now I've run though my pre-scheduled posts and have been "reduced" to writing a post the night before. Anyway,  I've got report card comments to write this week (not to mention report card marking to do when it comes in), and I refuse to procrastinate. I want to get them done and off my plate as soon as possible. But that means that I don't have time right now to write blog posts for the rest of the week. At least not at this point.

So for the rest of the week I'll be sharing some more of my favourite music, books, pictures, poetry, etc. Feel free to share your favourites--I love to "meet" new art!

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I love the way the Evelyn Glennie teaches us a new way to listen in the video below. It is a bit longer, but really worth the time. :)