I've Been Busy

Sorry for the interruption to my travelogue. I've been pretty busy with a church project and concerts in Boston Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday, it was chamber music — a piano recital, Thursday Gustav Mahler's 9th Symphony at the Boston Symphony, and Friday the 1926 opera "Cardillac" by Paul Hindemith.

The symphony concert was remarkable because the Music Director of the BSO, James Levine, who was scheduled to conduct, was physically unable to do so because of severe back pain. In his place, Sean Newhouse, a 30 year old assistant conductor, stepped in on a few hours' notice and led a Boston Symphony concert for the first time. I was there, and he appeared confident and in control the whole time, and he got a standing ovation at the end — well deserved IMO.

Anyway, I should be able to return to posting about my travels, and showing some pics, in another day or two.

Merry Christmas

It has been a busy week, and it will be a busy weekend. So I haven't commented on some people's posts as I would have liked to (and I may have posted on one where I should have kept quiet).

Anyway, I want to wish all my followers and readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Out of the Frying Pan into the Pressure Cooker

Well, I got through the days of running sailboat races, and by Sunday I was ready for a day of rest. Since it was a national championship series, the pressure was on to do things right. On wednesday, there was not enough wind to have a race. On Thursday we had very shifty winds, but enough to give three good races. On Friday the winds started out shifty again and then changed big time and settled in. We ran two good races, with a disaster sandwiched between them. During the second race of the day, the wind shifted so drastically that it may well have not been a fair race. Worse still, it seems that we missed one of the boats when it finished. I don't know if the foul-up made a difference to the overall results of the series, but the guy we missed is still trying to get the result changed, which may not be possible under the rules.

Meanwhile, I was too exhausted after each day of running races to do anything about the schedule, and the ongoing controversy has kept me away from it today, and may continue for a while longer. But I've really got to get the ministers' schedule done this week. And there is other stuff on my plate as well. Today, I had to cook three meatloaves and eighteen baked potatoes for the soup kitchen. I've got a meeting with the pastor tomorrow morning, a meeting Wednesday evening for a committee I'm on, sailboat races to run Thursday evening, etc.

All of which means that you should be pleasantly surprised if you get another post from me this week.

Don't do anything I wouldn't do.

This Week

I want to post about the reunion and its consequences; I want to acknowledge a couple of new followers; and I want to post some more about the Theology of the Body. But for Tuesday through Saturday, I'll be busy all day helping run sailboat races. In the evenings I really ought to be working on the next schedule for the parish liturgical ministers. So I'm afraid that the posts will have to wait.

And James, I also want to chat with you, and eventually I will. But again it's a matter of having the block of time available for it.

Busy for a Couple of Weeks

If it seems that I've been posting and commenting less than usual, it's because I've been busier than usual last week and will be this week.

The big thing last week was a big sailboat racing event that I helped to run. There was preparatory work beginning on Monday, and Thursday through Saturday I spent most of my waking hours involved in it.

This week I need to get ready for my sister-in-law's arrival next Sunday. There is a lot of tidying up to do. Once she gets here, she'll stay for about a week, which means that I may have less time than usual to blog that week as well.

On top of that, I'm also beginning to get serious about studying German in preparation for my visit to my friends in Rothenburg. I should be spending at least an hour a day on that, and it has to come from some other activity.

So pleases excuse any inattention on my part which you may notice. I still care about you as much as ever.

And I'm Back/A Visit

     I took another trip to Japan — saw more Kabuki, vusuted a couple of art museums, went to an organ concert by my sister-in-law, visited a sort of flea market where I got some used cufflinks and tie tack for  ¥1,000 (about $12), and contracted gastroenteritis on Sunday night. Brother's doctor decided it wasn't swine flu. I postponed my return for a day, and got home Wednesday instead of Tuesday. But I'm still feeling some effects of the bug.

     Thursday morning, James arrived from Cali, and another blogger and I showed him around.

     Now I've got a couple of important projects that I've got to get to, so further detail about both the trip and the visit will have to wait for a few more days

Busy

I've got a ton of stuff to do, and I really should tear myself away from blogging for a few days. So if you see me between now and Sunday, tell me to get back to work.

Three Funerals and "Simon Boccanegra"

If I've been commenting on your blogs a bit less than usual, I've been a bit busier than usual. This week I've the events mentioned in the title, and there's even more than that.

The first funeral was yesterday morning. An acquaintance from when I was a teenager whom I've seen off and on over the ears. Couple of years older than me. Member of my church. All-around good guy. Fought cancer for ten years. Cancer finally won. Leaves a widow, three adult children, two brothers, several grandchildren.

Last evening I went to the wake  of the second guy about 30 miles away. Eight months older than me, very active in his parish. I've known him for about 16 years. Heart attack. Visiting hours were 4:00 to 8:00. I arrived at the funeral home just after 7:30. The line was out the door. I got to the family at about 9:15. I understand it had been like that from the beginning. I've never seen anything like it. He obviously touched a lot of people. He leaves his mother, wife, four adult children, and several grandchildren.  I got home a little after 10:00. The funeral was this morning, and it was also thronged.

Thursday at noon will be the funeral of the 85 year old brother of a 90 year old lady who used to talk my ear off on the train as we commuted to work in Boston. She is the aunt by marriage of someone who served with me in town government for a number of years, so she felt she knew me. The man finally succumbed to years of respiratory trouble. He was widowed, and leaves two sisters, three children and four or five grandchildren.

Thursday night I'll go in to Boston to hear a concert performance of Verdi's awesome opera, "Simon Boccanegra." (Lots of Verdi's operas are awesome.) And lucky you can hear it virtually live when the Saturday night performance is streamed over www.wcrb.com at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. If you miss it then, you can catch it 8 days later in a delayed rebroadcast/stream over www.wgbh.org on Sunday, February 8, at 2:00 p.m.

Here's an article about the opera from this past Sunday's Boston Globe.

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/01/25/the_psychology_of_power/

The opera has several powerful moments. Right at the beginning there is a great scene for the bass, as he sings of his grief over the death of his daughter and asks her, now in heaven, to pray for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIQEMt0HlOU&feature=PlayList&p=1D7556FE93EC3D82&playnext=1&index=21

Then there is a beautiful scene for the soprano where the orchestra captures the feeling of the rippled sea. The soprano and baritone have a thrilling duet as they realize that she is his long-lost daughter. (Verdi's daughter had died, and he had a thing for father-daughter relationships.) And then there is the Council Chamber scene described in the article, with the noble music for the baritone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFtKL7k9Xcw&NR=1

That's the end of the scene. The first to sing is Boccanegra, denouncing the strife and calling for peace and love. Also prominent are the irreconcilable Fiesco and Boccanegra's daughter Maria, still believed to be Amelia Grimaldi by all except father and daughter.

Here's the father-daughter recognition scene. The the excitement grows on his part as she describes her earliest memories. At 4:40 he asks if her earliest guardian was named Giovanna, and if the portrait that Giovanna said was her mother matched the one he has. Yes! She is his long-lost daughter, and the daughter of Fiesco's dead daughter. I get tears of joy at their reunion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BVZQtLelns

Check out the videos, especially if you aren't familiar with opera. You just might find the music powerful.

If you'd like more previews, search YouTube for Boccanegra. And I'm sure you can find a good plot synopsis on Google.

Busy — Soz

For the next week or so I've got a lot on my proverbial plate: doctor's appointment, concerts to attend, church work, meetings; and sometime I should sit down with my checkbook and the stack of bills I've been neglecting and pay my just debts. So, if I'm doing everything I should, you'll probably notice that I am posting less and responding more slowly. (For example, I owe mr. hci a response, and I probably won't get to it until tomorrow.) But keep the comments coming, and I'll try to respond before they are ancient history.