There were many amazing things about Tuesday, one of which was someone actually got me to dance in public. Fortunately, there will be no pictures of that here.
I will not rehash my personal feelings about President Obama or how I am imbued with hope at the prospect of his presidency. Instead I will share with you this link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99619575
If you click on this link, it will take you to NPR coverage of the music from the inauguration ceremony. Here you can not only listen to the lovely star-studded quartet and Aretha Franklin minus the awful hat, but you can also listen to my choral alma mater, the San Francisco Girls Chorus sing with the San Francisco Boys Chorus.
I am incredibly proud of the girls, their conductors and the entire organization.
PS: the fourth song or so (at about 9:30 in the track) you will come across a piece specially composed for this event with text from Obama's speech on election night set by my favorite local San Francisco composer, David Conte. Unfortunately, the sound goes out for a minute, but it comes back around minute 11. Enjoy.
22 January 2009
19 January 2009
Three Black Men
In the last week or so, I have been thinking quite a bit about the confluence of events that is today and tomorrow. Today, we celebrate the life of one extraordinary black man in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tomorrow, we inaugurate our first African-American president in Barack Obama. Thinking of these two men has made me think even more about one of my favorite historical figures, Malcolm X.
These men have diverse opinions and are spread over different generations and movements, but one thing they absolutely share is their gift for public oratory. It is truly amazing what can be conveyed through speech: information and meaning, emotion and passion, dedication and fanaticism.
Thanks to the magic of the inteweb and youtube, I have picked one speech from each that is worth listening to. The clips are imbeded below. I know not many of us have a spare half-hour to listen to amazing oratory, but please take a minute to listen to a little of each. They are worth your while. And I would love to hear what you think.
From Dr. King, his last public speech in 1968. He was in Memphis for the sanitation workers' strike that had been going on for some time. This is just the end of the speech, and it is eerily prophetic.
From Malcolm X, the first half of his Ballot or the Bullet speech from 1964. This speech was given after he had split from the Nation of Islam and taken a Haj to Mecca. His perspective on race in America was rapidly changing, and this is evident in his rhetoric.
From Barack Obama, his victory speech from the Iowa Caucus. This was my moment of conversion. I couldn't turn off the radio, even though it was creeping up on midnight, and I just lay in bed and listened to him speak. And I may have cried a little. He may have better speeches. He may give a better speech tomorrow. But I will always love this speech. This was the moment when I both knew I wanted him to be my president and that he could truly become my president.
These men have diverse opinions and are spread over different generations and movements, but one thing they absolutely share is their gift for public oratory. It is truly amazing what can be conveyed through speech: information and meaning, emotion and passion, dedication and fanaticism.
Thanks to the magic of the inteweb and youtube, I have picked one speech from each that is worth listening to. The clips are imbeded below. I know not many of us have a spare half-hour to listen to amazing oratory, but please take a minute to listen to a little of each. They are worth your while. And I would love to hear what you think.
From Dr. King, his last public speech in 1968. He was in Memphis for the sanitation workers' strike that had been going on for some time. This is just the end of the speech, and it is eerily prophetic.
From Malcolm X, the first half of his Ballot or the Bullet speech from 1964. This speech was given after he had split from the Nation of Islam and taken a Haj to Mecca. His perspective on race in America was rapidly changing, and this is evident in his rhetoric.
From Barack Obama, his victory speech from the Iowa Caucus. This was my moment of conversion. I couldn't turn off the radio, even though it was creeping up on midnight, and I just lay in bed and listened to him speak. And I may have cried a little. He may have better speeches. He may give a better speech tomorrow. But I will always love this speech. This was the moment when I both knew I wanted him to be my president and that he could truly become my president.
11 January 2009
Slept in a Closet
The title of this post is not an illusion to R. Kelly or anything else, other than my sleeping arrangement on Friday night.
Due to a choir retreat, I spent the night with approximately forty other people at a home on Vashon Island. It was a beautiful house, but as you may imagine, no matter how big and lovely, if you are sleeping forty people in a professor's house, there are going to be people sleeping on the floor.
I desperately wanted some space to myself. And I wanted to actually sleep. And I had arrived too late to stake out a place on the carpeted floor in an actual room. So the closet it was.
I only realized after I arrived home from this retreat that I should have taken a picture of the closet. I tried doing a google image search to come up with something comparable, but all the pictures were too big. That is, the closets in the pictures were too big. So here is my best description of my Friday-night boudoir:
It was triangular shaped, with the hypotenuse being every inch of my 5' 8'' height. Of the other two sides, one was lined with shelves with a little space for my feet at the bottom, and the other was taken up mostly by the door. It was definitely one of the more unique sleeping experiences I have had. On the plus side, I got to be alone--I am pretty sure it would have been physically impossible to fit another human on the floor of that closet.
Needless to say, I was overjoyed to return to my bed last night.
Due to a choir retreat, I spent the night with approximately forty other people at a home on Vashon Island. It was a beautiful house, but as you may imagine, no matter how big and lovely, if you are sleeping forty people in a professor's house, there are going to be people sleeping on the floor.
I desperately wanted some space to myself. And I wanted to actually sleep. And I had arrived too late to stake out a place on the carpeted floor in an actual room. So the closet it was.
I only realized after I arrived home from this retreat that I should have taken a picture of the closet. I tried doing a google image search to come up with something comparable, but all the pictures were too big. That is, the closets in the pictures were too big. So here is my best description of my Friday-night boudoir:
It was triangular shaped, with the hypotenuse being every inch of my 5' 8'' height. Of the other two sides, one was lined with shelves with a little space for my feet at the bottom, and the other was taken up mostly by the door. It was definitely one of the more unique sleeping experiences I have had. On the plus side, I got to be alone--I am pretty sure it would have been physically impossible to fit another human on the floor of that closet.
Needless to say, I was overjoyed to return to my bed last night.
01 January 2009
On A Clear Day...
I have returned to Seattle. Thankfully, on my way back north the weather was much clearer than when I was driving south. So clear in fact that I was able to see Mt. Shasta from about 100 miles south of Redding. For those of you unfamiliar with the I-5 corridor, that is a really long way. Here is Mt. Shasta from the south:
And here it is from the north:
I cannot guarantee that this will end my unsafe practice of taking pictures while I drive, but I am pretty sure I am done for a while.
And here it is from the north:
I cannot guarantee that this will end my unsafe practice of taking pictures while I drive, but I am pretty sure I am done for a while.
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