O Fortuna from Orff’s Carmina Burana is a joyful song. Here it is paired with a scene from Excalibur. On a mythic level, it exemplifies the sympathetic link between the king and the land (James Frazer would be so proud) as the land comes back to life with the renewal of King Arthur:
Category: Moment of Joy
Moment of Joy
I once told an art historian friend of mine that Van Gogh was my favorite and she told me I was very brave. To go with this, I provide a link to Louis McNeice’s poem Star-Gazer (it is still in copyright, so I think pasting it in would be a no-no).
Moment of Joy
Ballet X is my favorite company and this little trailer has some beautiful moments
Moment of Joy
When I was a child and taking ballet, one of my favorite biographies was a little picture book bio of Maria Tallchief. Here she is dancing for JFK
A Moment of Joy
The Jane Austen Drinking Game. 😹 “Small dog!”
Eclipse Day part 2
We were supposed to get a little more over 90% of the sun covered during the eclipse. It was fun watching the bite taken out of the sun get bigger and bigger until it was just a little crescent, but that’s when the cloud coverage came fully in. Here are a couple of photos before that happened (taken by my science colleague, Mark, who had more luck with photos than I did):
And just to round out the day, a couple of ancient eclipses worth noting. First, in the seventh century BCE, the Greek poet Archilochus wrote the following in response to a full eclipse:
And second, the earliest event datable to an exact day comes from the sixth century BCE when an eclipse occurred during a battle, bringing a war to an end (if only that would work these days).
The NYTimes as a nice write up on Thales and the history of predicting eclipses. So happy eclipse day everyone. 🌙
Moment of Joy
A poem for Spring
The sun does arise,And make happy the skies.The merry bells ringTo welcome the Spring.The sky-lark and thrush,The birds of the bush,Sing louder around,To the bells’ cheerful sound.While our sports shall be seenOn the Ecchoing Green.Old John, with white hairDoes laugh away care,Sitting under the oak,Among the old folk,They laugh at our play,And soon they all say.‘Such, such were the joys.When we all girls & boys,In our youth-time were seen,On the Ecchoing Green.’Till the little ones wearyNo more can be merryThe sun does descend,And our sports have an end:Round the laps of their mothers,Many sisters and brothers,Like birds in their nest,Are ready for rest;And sport no more seen,On the darkening Green.
A Moment of Joy
Thinking of pets: this was the first Simon’s Cat video I saw. The man knows his cats – and humor. I’d recommend any and all of them.
A Moment of Joy
As long as I am thinking SF this week: Kesha’s Tik Tok meets Star Trek – so perfect!
Moment of Joy
Mikhail Baryshnikov slaying it in Le Corsaire