My wife and I have just returned from one of our favorite annual Christmas celebrations–listening to a performance of the full Handel’s Messiah. As you probably know it is an oratorio of which the text is taken completely from Scripture. Even though today it is seen as a Christmas event it really tells the Easter story and was originally performed at Easter. If you have attended a performance of this wonderful music you probably also know that during the Hallelujah chorus the audience stands–this happens because when the piece was performed for the first time in 1743, King George II was so overwhelmed that he stood (and so everybody else did to)–it has been tradition to this very day.

The most amazing story of “Messiah” is the composing itself–when you realize that this piece which, when performed in full, takes approximately 3 hours and yet Handel composed the oratorio in its entirety in 24 days. It was said to be an overwhelming spiritual experience on the part of the composer. Listen to how Patrick Cavanaugh describes it somewhat dramatically in Spiritual Lives of Great Composers:

In a small London house on Brook Street, a servant sighs with resignation as he arranges a tray full of food he assumes will not be eaten. For more than a week, he has faithfully continued to wait on his employer, an eccentric composer, who spends hour after hour isolated in his own room. Morning, noon, and evening the servant delivers appealing meals to the composer, and returns later to find the bowls and platters largely untouched.

Once again, he steels himself to go through the same routine, muttering under his breath about how oddly temperamental musicians can be. As he swings open the door to the composer’s room, the servant stops in his tracks.

The startled composer, tears streaming down his face, turns to his servant and cries out, “I did think I did see all heaven before me, and the great God Himself.” George Frederic Handel had just finished writing a movement which would take its place in history as the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

If you have not enjoyed this stirring peice of music in a while–I encourage to do so very soon.

Pastor Jeff

Zen emphasizes awareness in the moment and interconnectedness if your objective is to reach inner peace – so it also depends on what you want and what is your objective, doesn’t it?

Let me put it very simply, I just don’t think it works, no matter what the objective is. I could give you a huge rational for this. But I know it doesn’t work for me and not for most people on this planet unless they really don’t have to engage with the world. Because you live in a hurry in this imperfect world of ours. So I do understand, respect and observe a certain ability to have an inner calm, where I can calm in the middle of a storm, where I don’t allow my emotions to take over at times of crisis so I can step away. But there is a difference between having a holistic vision of things, i.e. have this ability to distance myself a little, and live in this perpetual nowness which I think is completely unrealistic. 

When you live the life of an actor, on three continents, in four separate film industries (Hollywood, Bollywood, Europe and Pine Wood in London), the thing that drives you is sheer survival.

I am part of an industry that is probably one of the most insecure professions in the world. You have absolutely no guarantee that the next film job will come up. Meanwhile you have a family to raise, children to educate, mortgages to pay and a lifestyle to maintain. So at a primal level almost, with no highflying vision of artistic grandeur, your basic survival mechanism is what is driving you in this profession. There are of course periods of calm when things are going well and you don’t have to think at that level.

all my thoughts and ideas of you,

are not even close to who you are.

 

i am lost without you,

i am lost within you,

your beauty outweighs my lot.

 

every storm  i am in,

fails the greatness,

of your everlasting grandeur.

 

i have run the streets,

flown across the world,

swam across oceans,

and sat down in my simple hiding spot.

 

yet, there you are, in all your magnificence.

 

your whisper is in the wind,

your power is in the sun,

your simplicity falls with every leaf,

yet, each declares your name to the nations.

 

every foot step shouts your name,

every smile proclaims your glory.

everything in this life manifests your fame.

 

shouting out your name,

oh, how joy is easily suppressed,

yet i have been designed:

 

to need you,

and only you.

 

- anonymous

I picked my Gretsch G3161 Historic Series today. Can’t wait to play it all weekend!

Yesterday Lindsay came with her school to NYC for the day. We went to MAD for the cut paper show, it was pretty sweet.

Later that day James and I ran some errands and ended up in a part of the city we had never been, The Lost China Town. Its the real China Town where all the Chinese people live and commute to the known China Town to rip off all the dumb tourists.

Some where in this uncharted part of our city, we stumbled upon the Main Squeeze Orchestra where I may try and sell my grandfathers accordion at. Walter Kühr is almost as interesting as Happy Hans Jr. but not quite.

From there we met up with Lindsay and Liz in known China Town at Joe’s Shanghai and had pork shoulder and soup dumplings! Amazing food, good friends and discoveries.

Biking the streets of D-ville and K-town today with Lindsay. Wind, garage sales, soccer games, dumbass minivan drivers, and turning leaves. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

This past weekend Lindsay was part of a group show in Harrisburg. There was a really good turn out and a flickr fire hydrant.






Ammon admiring the artwork that is me.

Grandeur is in Kandivali East, Mumbai. Some of the other Apartments in the area include Vasant Pride, Raheja Reflections, Veena Saaz, Kanakia Sanskruti.

Hospitals, Schools and Restaurants Near Grandeur:

Hospitals:

Last weekend Lindsay and I had lunch with our friends Ammon and Steph and Ammon drew us an awesome map to get to their house!

The last day of September was my Mom’s birthday and we decided to hike up to Sunfish Pond along the Delaware water gap. It was a long and rocky hike but well worth it.

Jud walking on water.

Jud always finding animals

Stopping for a bite to eat!

Beautiful route80

defeated option

if i had boots that were big enough,
i would put them on,
walk through bright pink paint
and stomp on the earth
to leave my footprints.

i’d want the world to remember me
and maybe i’m obnoxious
for wanting to stain it with my favorite color,
but i don’t want to just be
another broke down wannabe artist
too afraid to start shit
and content with mediocrity.
i want to be a visionary
pushing up against obstacles
and daring opposition to conquer me;
i want to be too big for my britches,
for my heart to be so huge that
i bust out of the constraints of stitches;
i want people to forget my real name
and call me “The Dreamer”
with the middle name “Doer”
and the last name “Believer,”
one who used to be an underachiever
til she looked in the mirror
and saw who she really was.

i lost who i really was,
hypnotizing myself to be content with 9-5 consistency
of knowing how much my checks will be.
depending on direct deposit every two weeks
never matches the sensation of expressing the true me
through this art that consumes me.

without art,
who is me?
just a big heart,
tongue stuck in dry mouth,
words afraid to come out,
soul waiting to talk,
and feet too small to even walk.

This past weekend Jeff, James, Ros and I spent some time in the freshly painted, and beautifully outfitted (thank you Ros) red garage in Sheepshead bay. We hunkered down, grabbed some snacks and beer and made some sweet music. Here’s a few pictures from the weekend.

I recently found out that I am not German. It turns out my Dutch grandfather lied about my grandmother being German so they could belong to a German club in Clark. I am really half English, a quarter Dutch, and a quarter polish, but that didn’t stop me from riding up fifth ave in New York in the Stueben Day Parade .

My father is the administrator for Fritz Reuter Altenheim, a German life care retirement home. Every year at the Stueben Day Parade, Fritz Reuter has a float, and every year less and less residents from the home ride on the float. This year there were only two residents form the home, Charlie:

And Herb, (on the right playing the accordion, my father on the left.)

The rest of the float consisted of me, my family and my fiancee Lindsay’s family.
This man is actually German!

And these people should be taking pom pom head woman’s picture, not the other way around.

We were fortunate enough to follow right behind strangely erotic the Killepitsch float!

When you say the name out loud it sounds like “kill a bitch” amazing.

All in all it is the most bizarre experience I have all year, but I wouldn’t miss it.

As I was driving down the road I saw a rather dilapidated vehicle (and I believe the owner would agree) with a bumper sticker that read, “you have to be real secure to ride in this car” (which indicates that many people would not be so secure). My daughter and I got a real kick out of that. But then I started focusing on this whole idea of security. Where does our security come from? The big news today is the President has decided against the missile shield program for Czechoslovakia and Poland–there are many people around the world for whom this is a real security issue. For people and for nations security is a pretty big deal and the fact is we live in a pretty insecure world.

But for those of us that call ourselves Christians there is also the realm of security in the spiritual world. To word it another way–Where does our security come from? In the first 17 verses of chapter one of the New Testament book of Ephesians there is a wonderfully explicit description of what it means to be “in Christ” (one of the Apostle Paul’s favorite expressions). These few verses give a litany of theologically packed phrases that picture the identity/security for the follower of Jesus.

every spiritual blessing

chose us in Him

holy and blameless

adoption as sons (and daughters)

redemption through His blood

forgiveness of our trespasses

riches of His grace

to the praise of His glory

God’s own possession

If you read these verses yourself you will notice that I have only scratched the surface of what is true of the believer in Jesus–and therein lies our true security!

Pastor Jeff

I just read this on Del Tackett’s blog (truth project instructor) and I just had to share it with you. You may have heard it before–if so, it’s worth hearing again.

Earlier this year, a man quietly took his place up against a Metro wall, pulled out his violin, placed his hat on the ground and began to play. For this day, he had chosen six selections from Bach. During his “performance”, several thousand people walked by. A few stopped to listen briefly, some slowed their pace, but most of his money came from those who didn’t slow down at all, they just dropped something in his hat as they rushed by—sympathy money, I suppose—certainly not an appreciative tip for the music.

On several occasions, little children would stop to listen, but every time they did, the parent would pull them on, much like one does with a dog that keeps stopping to sniff at something.

Maybe it was just child-like curiosity…or maybe, like dogs, the children sensed something.

Because it was something.

The “beggar” on the street that morning was the world renowned Joshua Bell. The instrument that sang in his hands was a violin valued at $3.5 million dollars. Just 48 hours earlier, people had packed a Boston theater to hear him, paying an average of $100 per seat.

Today, his concert netted a mere 32 bucks. Most from sympathy.

When he finished, there was no applause, no standing ovation, nothing to acknowledge the magnificent talent that had just been on display.

But now the music had stopped. The violin went back into its case. And the master walked away…returning the Metro to its normal daily buzz.

For nearly an hour, there had been grandeur there. But no one noticed it.

People just rushed by…unaware.

It was an interesting experiment by the Washington Post, but my guess is it gets carried out every day, everywhere. There is grandeur around us but we ignore it.

The heavens declare the glory of God, but we don’t stop to listen.

The creation reveals the invisible attributes of the Grand Master…but we rush on.

The grandeur of the intricate details that adorn a simple mountain meadow flower often escape our notice.

So too, the people around us are filled with a grandeur as well. We ignore them. We discard them. We have our own agendas that push us on, driving us at our own frantic pace, ignoring the jewels in the cave so that we can achieve the next milestone in our scripts.

Un meraviglioso frammento da Primavera, estate, autunno, inverno… e ancora primavera di Kim Ki-duk. Trovo alcuni elementi di questo film interessanti anche da un punto di vista artistico. Innanzi tutto ritengo magnifica l’intuizione del tempio galleggiante sul lago dall’atmosfera lunare (l’acqua rappresenta PSICHE); un’Architettura resa mobile dalle leggi cosmiche della natura, svincolata dall’immobilità e dalla firmitas presunta in una danza poeticamente manifesta; l’armonia raggiunta proietta l’essere umano in una dimensione estatica e numinosa.

Il lago è luogo ante litteram: ha anche la sua porta, che come si vede nelle scene, viene aperta e chiusa. Si valica qualcosa di immateriale, si rende tangibile in ultima istanza la presenza dell’assenza, tema importantissimo nell’arte. La realtà diviene immaginosa, diviene proiezione mentale (progettare – da proiezione), si percepisce quanto è la mente e l’immaginazione creatrice della realtà: “La trama nascosta è più forte di quella manifesta”, diceva Eraclito.

Sopra e sotto: il famoso e poetico Tempio dell’Acqua di Tadao Ando. Fonte: ELETTRA NEWS

Il tema simbolico della mutavolezza e dell’assenza è rappresentato da molte opere in cui l’elemento naturale o l’elemento immaginale divengono preponderanti e fondanti la stessa matrice dell’Architettura. Nel caso del Tempio dell’Acqua di Tadao Ando, l’apparente assenza, almeno dal punto di vista privilegiato, della presenza dell’Architettura è vissuta nella creazione di una vasca d’acqua in cui si penetra per accedere al tempio (il significato simbolico è evidente); questa esiste per rappresentare la mutevolezza ciclica ininterrotta del tempo, in cui, alla stregua del tempio galleggiante del film, si muovono con leggi sovrumane gli elementi del mondo.

Mi sembra che, in con un’interpretazione completamente diversa, il tema della presenza dell’assenza sia stato sviluppato da Dominique Perrault nella Biblioteca nazionale di Francia, opera del 1992-95, realizzata a Parigi.

Sintesi perfetta tra grandeur e “trasparenza”, è un edificio che evoca la sua monumentalità per mezzo della presenza dell’assenza: crepidoma classico su cui si erge lo spazio vuoto nel quale insiste una piazza-giardino ipogea, tra le torri svettanti che alludono a dei libri aperti. Raccoglimento introverso nel quale la trasparenza apparente delle immense vetrate schermate da diafani pannelli in legno trasforma l’architettura in una macchina vibrante governata dal ciclo giorno-notte, di riflessi e metafisiche metafore della realtà.

Sopra e sotto: l’immagine metafisica e allusiva della Biblioteca 

 Sotto: le vibranti vetrate delle torri librarie

Per iniziare a conoscere l’opera dell’architetto Dominique Perrault consiglio il testo della Motta Architettura di Andrea Zamboni.

Mi piace ricordare sempre quando inizio un nuovo progetto una frase dell’immenso Blake:

L’immaginazione non è uno stato mentale: è l’esistenza umana stessa.

Un ami m’a demandé de faire une petite recherche concernant l’évolution de la taille physique selon la génération. Après plusieurs semaines de retard, voici les résultats de ma petite recherche!

En premier lieu, je suis tombée sur la taille moyenne selon certaines nationalités, gracieuseté de wiki.

Taille en centimètres selon la nationalité

Il va sans dire, les femmes asiatiques sont bien petites comparées à leurs cousines allemandes. Tom Cruise aurait-il des racines japonaises?

De ces données, j’ai calculé le ration taille de la femme / taille de l’homme, pour voir dans quel pays les couples ont le plus de chances de souffrir de torticolis.

Ratio de la taille femme/homme , selon la nationalité

Premier constat : être chiropraticien en Roumanie, ça paye.
Deuxième constat : je savais pas qu’il y avait une telle différence de taille au Canada!

Ensuite, j’ai trouvé des statistiques sur le grandissement des générations en France, depuis 40 ans, il existe bel et bien! Voilà donc pour toi Éric :

Taille des 20-29 ans selon le sexe et la décennie, en mètres, France

Mais maintenant pour les détails croustillants : dans le même document, on traite de l’incidence de la taille des hommes sur la vie en couple! Ah ben coudon, je peux pas résister de rajouter un dernier petit graphique, représentant le pourcentage d’hommes et de femmes en couple selon leur taille.

Pourcentage d’hommes et de femmes en couple, grandeur selon la cohorte de naissance, en France, 2001

Mais, pourquoi les hommes de taille plus petite ne se mettent pas en couple avec les femmes de taille plus petite? Je comprends pas. C’est bizarre comme résultat?!

Voici le lien de l’article, très captivant par ailleurs, pour les intéressés:
http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/docs_ffc/ES361D.pdf

/fin de grattage de tête perplexe

P.S. Je vais tenter de m’appliquer un peu plus sur l’esthétique de mes graphiques, c’est une des raisons d’être de ce blog! Des commentaires là dessus seront très appréciés. L’artiste dont les oeuvres sont à l’arrière plan des graphiques cette semaine : Joost van Santen.