Winter Albums in 2011

Well it's time to compile my best of books and music lists. I also tracked which movies I watched, on IMDB, so I can do movies too.

I usually do a Favorite Christmas Music but I'm purposely not buying much, not trolling iTunes in my usual fashion. (If you don't shop, you aren't tempted to spend money.) But I have some rather thorough previous lists, if you're interested. And if you love a song, but have no movies, use zamzar to lift it off youtube (if available.)

I've only bought two wintry albums and haven't imbibed them enough to give reviews. But here's a song from each...

Hawksley Workman's Full Moon Eleven

Here's his excellent cover of Bruce Cockburn's "On the Coldest Night of the Year". I like it better than the original. I just uploaded it, and apologize if it disappears or something.

Kate Bush's 50 Words for Snow

Here's a song from the point of view of a snowflake. Ya... cause that's the way she rolls.

Speaking of Kate Bush, I only recently discovered that she released another album this year: Director's Cut. It's basically a bunch of covers of her songs... by her. It's really good! Here's the official video for "Deeper Understanding" starring Robbie Coltrane.


And it seems her youtube page also released a bunch of old videos I've never seen.
Just being alive, it can really hurt
These moments given, are a gift from time

   
I had a head cold this weekend, so this post is about all I can muster. Off to bed now...
   

Dao and the Constellation of the Heart (just being alive can really hurt)

I just took on an online tutoring assignment on an online homework-help site. It's on odd site--they're trying very hard to stay away from having tutors writing people's homework or papers for them, but a lot of students come there expecting it, and you so wonder if some tutors do it--when the students offer to pay enough. If it's a new student, then they just don't know. But returning students? Hum. (Cute posting from a new student: They posted their assignment and wrote: "Need this in 2 days, no plagiarism." ... ... People unclear on the concept.) I mostly stick to the assignments that ask for help with essays--correcting them, or not understanding how to go about writing one.

But I just had a fun one. The student's assignment was to find a picture that represents the way of Dao, and describe in a few sentences why. The student said they didn't understand how to do this, just needed ideas. I warned the person to count on their own knowledge of Dao from class, but that I would pull some phrases from wiki and find pictures to match them, to show ideas of how to go about it.

I pulled out 8 phrases and found 8 pictures. It was, you can imagine, fun. This was my favorite picture, to illustrate the idea that the way to understand the universe is by understanding yourself:

Kate Gibb (wired.com)

Which in turn reminds me of one of my favorite Kate Bush songs called "Constellation of the Heart." It's about turning the telescope away from the sky and towards your own heart. It ends with a confrontation between a ship's crew and its captain, who's frightened because they're sailing right into the secrets of her own heart. [Video might be blocked in the US.]



Well we think you’d better wake up capt’n
There’s something happen’n up ahead
We’ve never seen anything like it
We’ve never seen anything like it before

I want a full report
That’s it
What do you mean, that’s it?
That’s all you get
You’d better do something ’bout it
What am I supposed to do about it?
We don’t know, but you can’t run away from it
Maybe you’d better face it
I can’t do that
C’mon face it!
I can’t do that
C’mon, c’mon face it
What am I gonna do?
It is gonna hurt, it is gonna hurt me bad?

Ooh here’s the constellation of the heart

Who said anything about it hurting?
It’s gonna be beautiful
It’s gonna be wonderful
It’s gonna be paradise
 
Just being alive, it can really hurt...