Month: November 2021

The Life You Give: Gaetano Donizetti *1797

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Gaetano Donizetti, born on Nov. 29, 1797, in Bergamo, Cisalpine Republic, was an Italian opera composer whose numerous operas in both Italian and French represent a transitional stage in operatic development between Rossini and Verdi. Among his major works are Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), La fille du régiment (1840), and La favorite (1840). In his… Continue reading The Life You Give: Gaetano Donizetti *1797

Juniper Berries, Ginger, and Eucalyptus — but now I know why the Juniper lives more as Spice than as Berry

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As so often, I had an idea for one of my frozen frames. Ginger is something I prepare on a regular basis — almost daily. Wanting to capture a bright light through glass, ginger, and eucalyptus, once the water was hot, I poured it over, after a spontaneous decision to include Juniper berries. Beautiful hues!… Continue reading Juniper Berries, Ginger, and Eucalyptus — but now I know why the Juniper lives more as Spice than as Berry

The Life You Give: William Blake! *1757

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William Blake, born Nov. 28, 1757, in London, England, was engraver, artist, poet, and visionary, author of exquisite lyrics in Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794) and profound and difficult “prophecies,” such as Visions of the Daughters of Albion (1793), The First Book of Urizen (1794), Milton (1804[–?11]), and Jerusalem (1804[–?20]). These… Continue reading The Life You Give: William Blake! *1757

The Life You Give: Stefan Zweig *1881

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Stefan Zweig, born November 28, 1881, in Vienna, Austro-Hungarian Empire [now in Austria] was a writer who achieved distinction in several genres — poetry, essays, short stories, and dramas — most notably in his interpretations of imaginary and historical characters. Zweig was raised in Vienna. His first book, a volume of poetry, was published in… Continue reading The Life You Give: Stefan Zweig *1881

The Life You Give: Jimi Hendrix *Nov 27 1942

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Though his active career as a featured artist lasted a mere four years, Hendrix altered the course of popular music and became one of the most successful and influential musicians of his era. An instrumentalist who radically redefined the expressive potential and sonic palette of the electric guitar, he was the composer of a classic… Continue reading The Life You Give: Jimi Hendrix *Nov 27 1942

o·blige /əˈblīj/

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An obligation has a source. It may be an internal power, it may be an external one. Ideally, having and feeling obliged ought to be from an internal standpoint, as the character wants standing purity in being self. That which I do wishes to coincide with what is expected of me by my peers and… Continue reading o·blige /əˈblīj/

The Life You Give: Helmut Lachenmann *1935

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"Expression is created on the reverse face of that on which the composer is working...destruction, deflation, and disintegration. But during this process expressive energy radiates out in the first instance like a creative serenity -- freedom even." -- Helmut Lachenmann Join us listening to his compositionsat 11pm EST, November 27, at The Aristipposian Poet, on… Continue reading The Life You Give: Helmut Lachenmann *1935

Currently — again — bathing… in definitions; soaking in their sounds, concepts, illusions, imposed realities: “labour”, “work”, “being”…

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Soaking — not absorbing (Chapter 6 — on the origin of spices)

First coffee breakfast

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With the second to last piece of the half blueberry half basil cornbread (artisan cup by Ulrike Magdalena Streit, and Japanese ceramic)