Monday Music: Prayer for Ukraine (Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York)

The free world hurts for Ukraine and many have rallied to her cause, inspired by a people who will not roll over to a bully, and a president who stands with his people rather than fleeing in exile. 

Taras Shevchenko was Ukraine's most prominent 19th-century poet. He had been born a serf but was granted freedom while a student in St. Petersburg. In 1859, he wrote a poem that is still timely in this time of national struggle:

CALAMITY AGAIN​ by Taras Shevchenko (Translated by John Weir) Dear God, calamity again! ... It was so peaceful, so serene; We but began to break the chains That bind our folk in slavery ... When halt! ... Again the people's blood Is streaming! Like rapacious dogs About a bone, the royal thugs Are at each other's throat again.

 

Taras Shevchenko, "Calamity Again"​
"Mii Bozhe mylyi, znovu lykho!"
("Мій Боже милий, знову лихо!")
1859, S.- Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург)

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This past weekend, Saturday Night Live, instead of its usual opening comedy sketch, stood in solidarity with Ukraine when they featured the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York performing “Prayer for Ukraine.”

 

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Saturday Haiku: Spoonbills

 

roseate spoonbills
seeking beauty and balance
in a changing world

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Photo: Roseate Spoonbill Trio 
Credit: Kelley Luikey/Audubon Photography Awards

* This week's haiku was inspired by a photo and article on the Audubon website: "Wandering Spoonbills Tell Us What We Need to Protect the Everglades"

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Friday Funnies: Whovians Will Get It

 

In Praise of Libraries

 

“The Buried Book is a thrilling intellectual adventure: a brilliant study of Gilgamesh, it isalso a rich and complex narrative of colonialist adventurers, obsessed scholars, anxious theologians, and contemporary writers all caught up in the ancient epic’s amazingly wide net” 

                                                  (Stephen Greenblatt).

A friend recently recommended a book that I thought I would love to read, The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh.  I went online to find out more about it. It seemed quite fascinating and I decided to look for it. At Amazom.com, even a used copy was $25. I could get it on Kindle for $11, but I really did not want to do an e-book. I wanted to hold it in my hand and thumb through the pages. A used copy at Thrift books was $6.50, but then there was the shipping cost

At that point, I was struck by a most novel idea – perhaps the library has a copy! I checked online, and, sure enough, there were copies at more than one branch. With a simple click of the mouse, I reserved the book and they will ship it to the library nearest my home. All at no cost to me.

If you have a book you would like to read, a movie you would like to see, or even a music CD you would like to hear, look first at your local library. In addition, your local library will offer a number of other services such as classes, free lectures, special events, and online services. Check out the Birmingham Public Library website to see some of the things they have to offer at http://www.bplonline.org/

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Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres Skate to "The Sound of Silence"

 From the YouTube video:

International Skating Union’s World Team Trophy 2017 competition in Tokyo, Japan "The Sound of Silence," written by Simon & Garfunkel, performed by Disturbed The music track is dubbed over the video to eliminate the audience noise. The video is made black and white to evoke the Disturbed music video.

 

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Saturday Haiku: Mountain River

 

when snows have melted
sparkling river waters flow
through greening meadows

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Image: Untitled

Artist; Tony Bennett (Antony Benedetto)*

*Last August, the legendary Tony Bennett announced his retirement from performing at the age of 95. His career has spanned eight decades. Famous for his singing career, he has also had a passion for painting. Today's post is part of a series of haiku inspired by Mr. Bennett's artwork (when he paints, he uses his given name, Antony Benedetto).

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Friday Funnies: The dog is ready

 

Monday Music: Shake Sugaree (Rhiannon Giddens)

Rhiannon Giddens has recorded in many genres of music. One of her interests is old-time American folk music. Here she performs an old-time folk music number by Libba Cotton. Cotton was a self-taught guitarist whose music was eventually recorded by Mike Seeger for Folkways Records (Cotton was working as a domestic for the Seeger family when they discovered her musical talent).

 

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Saturday Haiku: Afternoon Moon

 steady oaks are bare

fragrant pines sway in the wind

chalk-white moon rises

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Photo: "Afternoon moon, Birmingham"
Credit: Tom Gordon

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Monday Music: Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli, Kyrie (Sistine Chapel Choir)

From the YouTube notes:

Simply titled “Palestrina”, it is a new release by the world’s oldest choir – performed and recorded in the heart of the Catholic Church, and featuring works by the most celebrated Italian musician of his time and reformer of church music: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.

 

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Saturday Haiku: Isolation

  

how good to recall
in days of isolation
nights we dined with friends

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Image: "Café Terrace at Night" (1888)

Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Medium: Oil on canvas

Location: Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo

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Friday Funnies: Got That Swing

 

What Am I Doing Here?

A little poetry, a little photography, and a little commentary with a bit of food and humor along the way. That is how my blog continues to move along in these days of pandemic and political polarization. Here is a small sampling of recent blog posts. 

Commentary

If past is prologue, then a letter from some white Birmingham ministers in 1963 illustrates how nice established society continues to respond to racial inequities to this day. “How Shall We Respond to Dr.King’s Dream?” takes a look at how we’re doing.

“War Is (Still) Not the Answer” written just after the U. S. pulled its troops from Afghanistan, offers a few thoughts on why I side with the Quakers on matters of war. 

“Can anyone say that we are a life-affirming culture when we cannot keep our children from being gunned down in their schools?” “Why do we Sacrifice Our Children?”  has been one of my most-viewed posts lately and, sadly, one that has been posted several times before. 

On a different note, “Giving Thanks Prayer by Native Americans” shares an old indigenous practice. Robin Wall Kimmerer, in her book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants writes that the various Native American tribes have one thing in common: “we are rooted in cultures of gratitude.”

 A Place for Poetry

“Autumn Gold” presents a photo of a ginkgo tree I happened upon one day and the haiku that it inspired. In November, I was amazed to find a perfect camellia blossom. In “Last Blooms,” I posted my photo and another haiku from that encounter.

And speaking of haiku, the art of legendary singer Tony Bennett has served as inspiration for a series of haiku. “Tony Bennett and Me” offers the links to those featured on my Saturday Haiku feature.

“Autumn: A Time to Settle” is a re-post of one of my poems which has also been featured in the Birmingham Arts Journal.

“Remembering Brian Hawkins” offers my recollection of a poet and spoken word artist gone too soon.

 Just for Fun

“Backyard Birdland” is a bit of whimsy I caught on video in which a towhee and a squirrel argue over a birdbath. Earlier in the year, I captured a video of goldfinches feeding in the flower garden. In July, it was pure luck that I photographed a hummingbird face-to-face with another hummer as he zoomed in toward the feeder.

Food and Humor

Because sometimes we need to lighten up, I often post a cartoon on Fridays and will occasionally share a recipe I am excited about.

“The Queen’s Drop Scone Pancakes” shares my discovery of the recipe that Queen Elizabeth presented to President Eisenhower when she visited the U.S. back in the 1950s.

“The Way Bach Wrote It” and “Tell me you haven’t had this dream” are two magazine cartoons I’ve shared and “Buster Keaton – The Art of the Gag” is a short video I found on the creativity of early filmmaker/comedian..

There is always Music

There is music every week – each Monday, in fact. One of the most popular music posts was Bob Dylan’s cover of StephenFoster’s “Hard Times.”

A camellia blooming in November

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