Just joined today, 3/21/2022.

Welcome Torus.
I don't believe in star signs myself...
but that's just my Leo cynicism.

 

Hi, Montegriffo!

Cute post!

Sun signs, along with birthday gemstones and state flowers, are human constructs, often with an economic component. A retired scientist, I set no store by them but do find them interesting. The history of astrology in particular is a good Sunday afternoon pursuit. The interweaving of astrology and astronomy shows up not only in the names of the constellations but also in the lives of some of the famous early astronomers.

Regards, stay safe 'n well.

 

A final 'Hi!'

Words can be set to music in many ways. Eric Whitacre has done so with a number of verses/writings. His choral work has his 'voice' stamped on it. A good introduction is this: Sleep - YouTube Music

Note the pedal note starting at 1:40. Then, at 3:40, a deep sense of an Amen. If Whitacre gets to you, try next the same group and A Boy And A Girl. After that, there's more.

Regards. j

 

Question
Have YOU Ever Supported Any Part Of ?

evidence inclusive of John Candy, Lorne Greene, Monty Hall, Doug Henning, Margot Kidder, Eugene Levy, Rich Little, Howie Mandel, Lorne Michaels, Anne Murray, Leslie Nielsen, Morley Safer, William Shatner, Martin Short, Alan Thicke & Dave Thomas

Speak clearly into the microphone, please ​

Moi
Welcome: pending

Beware!
​

 

@Moi621

Hi!

I've been to Canada many times. While there I've spent money. To that extent, I have supported Canada in the past.

As far as the video goes, I do not click on them, so I cannot comment upon the one you posted.

Regards, stay safe 'n well 'n remember the Big 5.

 

~ We are fortunate this place has a sense of humor ...

 

Nice introduction.
I'm an Italian net sailor with a lot of interests.
I do agree about the usage of English [I could use German or French or Italian, but I doubt I would be appreciated on this forum!].

This said ... welcome on board!
I think you will enjoy your stay here.

 

Hi, AlpinLuke!

As I read your post, I remembered my grandmother telling me; 'Whenever you run into someone who speaks with an accent, be humble. That person speaks at least two languages. You only speak one.'

Thank you for the welcome.

Regards, best wishes to you and yours.

 

Since prose rhythm is your topic, I just thought that I would pass along something I once read. The writer maintained that one of his favorite books was James Joyce's Ulysses (which I have not read). But, he insisted, that what made it so entertaining, was reading it aloud. He & his wife were fond of doing this, taking turns in the recitations, while the other laughed themself silly. For whatever it's worth.

Of course, everyone has their own style. I could not get through Finnegan's Wake, so if Ulysses is even remotely akin to that, I doubt I would appreciate the appeal. Not that I don't like modern literary opera, as a class: Gravity's Rainbow was a masterpiece, for example, despite all its erroneous punctuation. Pynchon's Mason & Dixon was also quite good, especially the section that begins asking, "When Britannia sleeps, does she dream? Is America her dream" in which all the fantastic notions, which no longer could find any place, in the well- ordered, British Homeland, could still manifest among all the uncertainties, which still existed in the vast forests of the American continent (or words to that effect)?

For an enjoyable read of a very different character, simple in language but compelling in the inner resonance it creates, I suggest the Western World's classic ballad, Tristan & Iseult, translated by Joseph Bedier. This, for those who are not familiar with it-- though I assume that both of you are-- was a story that was created by all the travelling, Medieval Troubadours, around a basic tale, which became elaborated by every practitioner, with each using whichever embellishments they liked of another's version-- something of an historical improvisation session (since Adfundum, you called yourself a Jazz fan). Anyway, it is the story that never gets old. Variations on tragic love. Bedier did a fine job of editing together the version he presents, to the modern audience; I highly recommend it.

 

Thanks. My Great-grandmother was German, so I tend to think that to know more than one language is natural.
But obviously reality is different.

Enjoy your stay here ... and be ready for some tough political debates.

 

The Bedier version doesn't sound like Chaucer, to me. It is, of course, a folk tale, so is fairly plain spoken, but with a lyrical grace. Though the themes are on the surface, I wouldn't describe it as "flat," any more than I would use that term towards mythology, in general. The story has been called the Western Epic, much as the Ramayana is the Eastern Epic. At that story's heart, it is something of a Good versus Evil story, culminating in a great battle; nothing all that "layered," there, and yet there are millions who treat that Epic as a religious text, as a guide for living their lives. This cannot help but make me think of the Bible, many parts of which, particularly in the Old Testament, read quite flatly, and yet any poll of English teachers I have seen, has rated the Bible as the greatest literature ever written.

As with the Tristan Epic, there are numerous versions of the Hindu Ramayana, in various languages, though the most famous, I think, is by Valmiki. It is written all in verse, is a huge work, filling numerous volumes, and is considered to have been divinely inspired. There are yearly festivals where people gather to hear this recited, by those who have learned it, which run straight through, day and night.

Tristan & Iseult is much more modest, in comparison. It though, too, has its different versions, like the German Tristram & Isolde. They probably each have their distinct characters. I think the Bedier is closer to a French version. It also seems to have the strength of a myth, at its core. But it does not stand aloof, from the audience, and gives the main characters their own personality, with whom it is not difficult to feel familiar. It is true that it deals with some basic principles, such as commitment, honesty, honor, obligation, friendship, passion, and love. But are these not potent enough themes to be used over & again, even in today's literature? Itself, seems a reincarnation, of the story of Lancelot, Guinevere, & King Arthur, though for people in the following millennium. It is not the typical type of thing I read, but this story, I feel, has a special charm, and way of speaking and relating to, we heirs of the Western perspective.

 

The closest we ever came to being united, since Pearl Harbor, I suppose, was just after 9-11. And it was very short-lived.

I think our values are too disparate to ever come together nationally, no matter who is elected to national offices.

Enjoy your stay, Torus34.

 

Jackie Brown movie
sez it better. eh



GLOBALISM destroyed us!


SUPPORT NATIONALISM.


Moi

​

 

LOL.

 

Welcome, @Torus34 !