We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
I hope so, anyway. Mrs. has already planned good ones in New Mexico. I hiked in the Four Corners decades ago, and plenty in Montana. What I do not enjoy is getting lost in wilderness with no cell. No more...must be getting older.
I'm hopeful that we'll find another good NYC urban hike this year, but where to, exactly? I'll leave that to Bulldog.
Anyway, after 12 miles of hiking in the wild parts of Provence, and thinking you have arrived only to find that you have another 4 miles over a mountain to get back to your village, it is just toughing it out. But then, finally, you throw down your daypack and have a French beer or two and maybe a smoke. Feels good.
2:13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."
2:14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt,
2:15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."
2:16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.
2:17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
2:18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."
2:19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said,
2:20 "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead."
2:21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee.
2:23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean."
Photo: I hate NY Eve parties, (but I understand that it can be a reasonable excuse to throw a party); Champagne gives me a headache; I hate excess booze (for myself anyway); and there is no way I will willingly stay up until midnight. Call me grumpy.
All the same, I wish all a healthy, loving, prosperous and contented 2023.
Looks deserted, but the cafes of Lourmarin are packed for late supper and drinks, and the piazza is full of kids playing games in the dark in front of the ice-cream shop.
Good last-minute Christmas idea: a hike, bike, or otherwise, tour around the villages and vineyards of Luberon. You might decide to move there, like Camus.
Not all Baroque is cheery, but lots of it is. Not lots of catchy tunes or riffs, so a lot of it sounds like inventive ornamentation. Filigree. Must be great fun to play, if you can.
Mrs. BD and I have been attending a Baroque Chamber Concerto series (Handel, Vivaldi, Bach) at Lincoln Center this month. It helps me greatly to watch the musicians to see who is doing what. With only a handful of musicians at a time, that's easy to see. A few violins and violas, a bass, a harpsichord, rarely a harp, and sometimes bassoon ad/or oboe. Occasional horns too.
In a large space it's hard to hear the harpsichord but it's mostly a continuo. Pianny was a great invention. Big noise. Chamber music was/is meant for small spaces.
A few facts (I am not well-educated musically, and am tone deaf with zero musical talent):
- The famous baroque composers wrote tons of secular music. That was mainly for courts. Lots of the chamber music was written for pedagogical purposes. Through his entire career, Bach complained about the quality of musicians. They seemed to approximate the scores.
At the heart of Bach's pursuit of chamber music in Cöthen was the rare genre of unaccompanied solo works in sonata and suite genres beginning with the violin and cello works, BWV 1001-1012, followed primarily in Leipzig with the duo sonatas for violin, flute, and viola da gamba, as well as 24 transcriptions of 14 of these works for different instruments and the perfection of the solo pieces. During much of this time Bach also composed works for lute or lute harpsichord while focusing on the flute in Leipzig. The music was intended for varied purposes: to teach composition to family members, students, and friends; to develop a repertory to reflect emerging genres and tastes, and to meet the needs of a growing general public to experience music first-hand.
We’re only beginning to figure out how AI will change society, and I will leave the prognostications to others for now. What I’m interested in is how humans have been laying the groundwork for bots to take over, even in areas where we are meant to be inimitable - in ideas, music, storytelling and democratic discourse. AI-generated culture and human-made culture are converging from both ends. As the machines learn how to emulate us, we are making it easier for them, by becoming more like the machines.
1:18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
1:19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
1:20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
1:21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
1:22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
1:23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."
1:24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,
1:25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.