A Moment of Contemplation

Chapel to the Virgin Mary at Mission San Luis Rey

One of my goal for this year is to visit a bunch of the California missions. I last made a go at visiting them all when I was a child, learning my local history. Being at mid-life, it seems appropriate to travel the Camino Real again, revisiting these old churches and getting back in touch with my Californian roots.

So, I traveled down to Oceanside to visit the King of the Mission, San Luis Rey de Francia. Founded in 1798, this mission is a lovely site, with rich religious imagery, historical antiquities, and beautiful gardens.

And it makes for nice photos. ;-)

"Convidando está la noche" by Juan García de Zéspedes

Enjoy!!!

Flowers for the Lion-Hearted King

Leonotis Leonurus: Lion's Tail


Yeah, I missed out of Friday Flowers. Let's make it up with a few photos today.

Rather than going with one of my standards, roses or dahlias or fuchsias, I figured we would take a look at some Lion's Tail or, as it is also known, Wild Dagga. And such a selection fits thematically with our chosen birth date celebration, King Richard I of England "The Lionheart" who was born on September 8, 1157.

We're going medieval on you all tonight. ;-)

Leonotis Leonurus: Wild Dagga

So, chill out with the wild dagga and listen to a few tunes from the 12th century.

Disturbing Visages

Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls (2004)

Yikes!!!

I'm not one for internet memes, but there's a vid of Lindsay Lohan aging, from childhood to today, 25 years, compelling in its creepiness. It actually pains me to see this darling child morph over the years, looking more my age than her own.

In any case, the video is like a modern day vanitas. Here it is:

Disturbing. . . here's to hoping for happiness and good health for Lindsay and all of us poor mortals, suffering from the ravages of time.

Billy Bones' Fancy

Skull and crossbones

Another "whimsy" post for you all. ;-)

Time has been tight over the last few days; it's the norm with holiday weekends, messing up my writing schedules. But I had a good time this year, definitely a change from recent years. Maybe my advancing age is leading me to cherish family time a bit more. In any case, I'm fairly happy with things right now.

So, why the pirate theme? I came across this eye patch wearing skull upon the Men's Room of one of the local dive bars. I think it's an old promo for some Jamaican rum. It looked so cheesy and out of place that I had to photograph it and share with you all.

Arrr, mateys!!!

Gobble Gobble

Beavis and Butt-head celebrate Thanksgiving


Just popping in for a quick Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We'll be skipping the Weekly Wrap until next Thursday. Best wishes!!!

Garfield looks like he's having a wonderful day. ;-)

Here are a few vids for the day:

Dispel All Your Sorrows

Detail of Winter Sunday in Norway, Maine (c.1860) by artist unknown


William Billings is another composer that languishes in obscurity. Given his creative vision and early presence in the American timeline of the arts, you would think he'd be given a special place of prominence within musical history classes, at least in the States. I didn't learn about him until well after I had become familiar with the standard classical repertoire.

Now, it's true that I didn't sing in a church choir, which is where most of his works are currently performed as part of the Sacred Harp tradition. However, a student of classical music gets exposed to numerous choral works from European sources fairly early on in the course of their education. Why does Billings get overlooked in favor for yet another German baroque cantata?

I'm not saying that Billings should bump Handel off the syllabus. But I do think that there is a prejudice at work here that marginalizes "colonial" expressions. This is also true for composers from the Spanish colonies, such as Juan Garcia de Zespedes or Juan Gutierrez de Padilla. So, my position is that maybe a day can be set aside to focus on the works coming out of the European colonies in the New World.

Hieroglyphic of a Christian (1850-75) by artist unknown

Well, I'll get off of my soapbox and let Billings' music defend itself. ;-)