December 2, 2001 — 9:08 AM
Wednesday night a huge storm blew in. There were gusting winds, huge amounts of water coming down. It was not a night for venturing out. But that's exactly what we did. Friends had invited us to the opening night of a play just coming off of Broadway: Proof.
The theme is intellectual/academic. The writing is superb. The actors do an excellent job. And the night passed by too quickly. As the play finished, Jeff and I both wished that it had another act or two.
I would brave a storm again to see this play. It's definitely worth the effort.
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December 13, 2001 — 9:37 AM
It's almost winter. If you ask me, it has felt like winter a lot lately. But I don't mind.
Now, I'm not one to rejoice about heavy rainfall because it means X number of feet of snow in the Sierras. I've never actually been to the Sierras (as in Lake Tahoe), only through them. And I'm really not wild about the small number of daylight hours during this time of year. But there are some really nice things about this season in the Bay Area.
The tides during the winter are the most dramatic of the year. Just yesterday we were walking on the beach further from what is normally the shore than where we have paddled in our kayak in the past. If water had been there it would have been way over our heads. And with the huge storms that blow in off the ocean come increadible breaking waves that invite the talented (and/or the crazy) to ride them. One of the most spectacular places to ride the waves is Mavericks. It's time for the serious surfers to set everything else aside and grab their boards to face the annual challenge of riding the big waves there.
Winter reminds me about the incredible power of nature. Time to get out and enjoy it again.
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December 17, 2001 — 6:14 PM
It's kind of weird to have a conversation with someone on a random topic and then see that topic as a headline the very next day. But that's exactly what happened to me.
Yesterday at a party we were discussing the Simpsons and how there are constant references to religion in the show. One person even mentioned that there had been a book written on that very subject.
So, imagine my surprise today when I see that there will be a college course offered on that too -- the Simpsons (and pop culture in general) and religion/philosophy.
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December 23, 2001 — 8:52 PM
It's Christmastime and that means that church choirs and secular choirs alike are performing Handel's "Messiah". It's very popular at this time of year. And so an explanation of this phenomenon should not come as a surprise. But this explanation suprised me due to its depth.
This past semester I took a sacred music course and my final paper was on this very composition. So my interest was immediately piqued when I read the headline. Of course, there are points that I don't completely agree with -- like the statement that "Messiah" was immediately a hit. It was originally performed in Dublin and was a hit. But when Handel had it performed in London (the main arena for his compositions) it wasn't well-accepted at all. It took many years before it finally caught on.
The most interesting fact that I found was that this oratorio was, like all other oratorios, originally composed to be performed during Lent. It was not intended as a Christmas performance. While there are sections referring to the birth of Christ the complete oratorio refers to his life, death and resurrection. This is much more appropriate for Easter.
Hope you enjoy hearing it during any season. It really is an amazing work. To truly appreciate it you should follow the words while they are sung. Handel's brillance shines through when you see the musical setting of the text -- it is call word painting and he does it very effectively.
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