Happy Birthday, George Frideric Handel

Denner, Handel, 1727

George Frideric Handel was born on this day in 1685.

Leo Duarte performs the first Allegro from the Oboe Concerto No. 3 in G minor (HWV 287) with members of The Academy of Ancient Music ...

Wrath.

The wrath of nature is real.

Mouton, La Malassise

Klaudyna Żołnierek performs the Sarabande ...

Excellent.

An excellent album ...

Ever.

Happy Birthday, Edna St. Vincent Millay

Rinhart, Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1922

Edna St. Vincent Millay was born on this date in 1892.

AFTERNOON on a HILL

I will be the gladdest thing

    Under the sun!

I will touch a hundred flowers

    And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds

    With quiet eyes,

Watch the wind bow down the grass,

    And the grass rise.

And when lights begin to show

    Up from the town,

I will mark which must be mine,

    And then start down!

Edna St. Vincent Millay

America.

A kid with a runny nose and milk money danced up to the tiger and spit in his eye.

Looking for sports heroes?  Teach your kids about Jack O'Callahan: blue-collar, unsung leader.

Miracles.

A bunch of college boys beat the Ruskies on this day in 1980.

Do you believe in miracles?

Released.

Bad Co. released Run With The Pack on this day in 1973.

The title track ...

Revelations.

Revelations, love when they happen

Wizards and lizards, I choose and I pick ...

Mukwa.

Bear (Mukwa) medicine ...

Introspective.

Intuitive.

Dreaming.

Still.

Meditative.

Seeking.

Loving.

Connecting.

... and eating.

Happy Birthday, Nicolaus Copernicus

Anonymous, Nicolaus Copernicus, The "Toruń Portrait", 1580

Nicolaus Copernicus was born this week in 1473 and his thoughts provided our Creative Writing class with some of the year's best discussion so far ...

To be intelligent is to be able to see the hidden connections between things.  To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge ... I am not so enamoured of my own opinions that I disregard what others may think of them.

Eli, The Insightful, said, "Mr. Firchau, he said this a long time ago and people still haven't figured it out." 

A conversation about the importance of putting your name on your paper was had based on the painting's attribution.

Copernicus and His World ...

Empty.

Wyeth, Distant Thunder, 1961

The modern age knows nothing about isolation and nothing about silence. In our quietest and loneliest hour the automatic ice-maker in the refrigerator will cluck and drop an ice cube, the automatic dishwasher will sigh through its changes, a plane will drone over, the nearest freeway will vibrate the air. Red and white lights will pass in the sky, lights will shine along highways and glance off windows. There is always a radio that can be turned to some all-night station, or a television set to turn artificial moonlight into the flickering images of the late show. We can put on a turntable whatever consolation we most respond to, Mozart or Copland or the Grateful Dead.

Wallace Stegner, from The Angle of Repose

Answer? Harrison reminds us of the ancient and sacred rite of log-sitting ...

Marvel.

Wyeth, Crescent Moon, 1979

MOON SONG

A child saw in the morning skies

The dissipated-looking moon,

And opened wide her big blue eyes,

And cried: "Look, look, my lost balloon!"

And clapped her rosy hands with glee:

"Quick, mother! Bring it back to me."

A poet in a lilied pond

Espied the moon's reflected charms,

And ravished by that beauty blonde,

Leapt out to clasp her in his arms.

And as he'd never learnt to swim,

Poor fool! that was the end of him.

A rustic glimpsed amid the trees

The bluff moon caught as in a snare.

"They say it do be made of cheese,"

Said Giles, "and that a chap bides there. . . .

That Blue Boar ale be strong, I vow --

The lad's a-winkin' at me now."

Two lovers watched the new moon hold

The old moon in her bright embrace.

Said she: "There's mother, pale and old,

And drawing near her resting place."

Said he: "Be mine, and with me wed,"

Moon-high she stared . . . she shook her head.

A soldier saw with dying eyes

The bleared moon like a ball of blood,

And thought of how in other skies,

So pearly bright on leaf and bud

Like peace its soft white beams had lain;

Like Peace! . . . He closed his eyes again.

Child, lover, poet, soldier, clown,

Ah yes, old Moon, what things you've seen!

I marvel now, as you look down,

How can your face be so serene?

And tranquil still you'll make your round,

Old Moon, when we are underground.

Robert Service

Unfrequent.

We must not conclude merely upon a man’s haranguing upon liberty, and using the charming sound, that he is fit to be trusted with the liberties of his country. It is not unfrequent to hear men declaim loudly upon liberty, who, if we may judge by the whole tenor of their actions, mean nothing else by it but their own liberty, — to oppress without control or the restraint of laws all who are poorer or weaker than themselves. It is not, I say, unfrequent to see such instances, though at the same time I esteem it a justice due to my country to say that it is not without shining examples of the contrary kind.

Samuel Adams

Haydn, String Quartet in D Major Op. 20 no. 4

Castalian String Quartet performing ...

Penetrate.

"Our only remaining hope and salvation,” Bacon wrote, “is to begin the whole labor of the mind again, not leaving it to itself but directing it perpetually from the very first.” A century later, William Herschel agreed. Herschel, the first man to understand that telescopes penetrate time as well as space, spent the long daylight hours polishing his lenses, listening to his sister read from Don Quixote and the Thousand and One Nights. When darkness fell, his lenses clear, he discovered a heretofore unknown planet.

Peter Turchi, from Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer

Non-Conformist.

Homer, The Woodsman, 1889

There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried. Not for nothing one face, one character, one fact, makes much impression on him, and another none. It is not without pre-established harmony, this sculpture in the memory.

The eye was placed where one ray should fall, that it might testify of that particular ray. Bravely let him speak the utmost syllable of his confession. We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents. It may be safely trusted as proportionate and of good issues, so it be faithfully imparted, but God will not have his work made manifest by cowards.

It needs a divine man to exhibit anything divine. A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done otherwise shall give him no peace. It is a deliverance which does not deliver. In the attempt his genius deserts him; no muse befriends; no invention, no hope.

Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events. Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the Eternal was stirring at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being. And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny.

Whoso would be a man, must be a non-conformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall!

Ah, then, exclaim the aged ladies, you shall be sure to be misunderstood! Misunderstood! It is a right fool's word. Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, from Self-Reliance

Golden

Put the golden biscuit in the basket ...

Happy Birthday, Ansel Adams

Adams, Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite Valley National Park, 1937

We all move on the fringes of eternity and are sometimes granted vistas through fabric of illusion. Many refuse to admit it: I feel a mystery exists. There are certain times, when, as on the whisper of the wind, there comes a clear and quiet realization that there is indeed a presence in the world, a nonhuman entity that is not necessarily inhuman.

How high your awareness level is determines how much meaning you get from your world.  Art is both the taking and giving of beauty; the turning out to the light the inner folds of the awareness of the spirit.  Simply look with perceptive eyes at the world about you, and trust to your own reactions and convictions. Ask yourself: "Does this subject move me to feel, think and dream?"

Ansel Adams, born on this day in 1902

Anchovy.

Bagna càuda, which translates to "hot bath" in Italian, is a warm omaggio (thanks, Anna) originating in the Piedmont of Italy, where it was a peasant meal among wine farmers and vineyard workers. It was often prepared and consumed outdoors during cold harvests or to celebrate the production of new vintages.

Its origins are tied to the salt trade routes from Provence through the Alps. In the Middle Ages, salt was heavily taxed, so traders reportedly hid it in barrels under layers of anchovies to evade duties.

Ingredients

• 3 heads fresh garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 jar Ortiz anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained, and chopped 
• ¾ cup high-quality extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• a shot of bold, dry red wine
• 3-finger pinch inch of red pepper flakes 
• black pepper to taste
• chunks of crusty sourdough, salami, pecorino, raw cabbage

Instructions

1. Combine the olive oil and garlic in a cold saucepan or skillet. Turn the heat to the lowest setting possible.
2. Cook gently for 10–12 minutes. The garlic should soften and become fragrant but must not brown or fry, which would make the sauce bitter.
3. Add the chopped anchovies. Using a wooden spoon, stir gently for 2-3 minutes until they completely melt into a paste.
4. Emulsify the butter one piece at a time until melted and the sauce looks creamy.
5. Transfer immediately to a warming dish to keep the sauce from congealing. 
6. Dunk bread, salami, cheese, veggies (raw cabbage is delicious) into the mélange and repeat as needed

Bagna càuda also does well tossed with spaghetti (look for Martelli in the bright yellow bag) finished with a heavy hand of Pecorino Romano (there is no substitute for the famous Locatelli brand).

Happy Birthday, Luigi Boccherini

Unknown, Luigi Boccherini, 1767

Luigi Boccherini was born on this day in 1743.

The Ritirata performs the Trio in C-Major, Op. 35, No. 5 (G 105) ...

Happy Birthday, Wallace Stegner

Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed.  We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in.

Wallace Stegner, born on this day in 1909, from The Sound of Mountain Water

Moved.

Howard, Corelli with the Muse of Music, 1698

A [artist] cannot move others unless he too is moved; he must of necessity feel all of the affects he hopes to arouse in his audience.

Arcangelo Corelli

Big.

Today's a big day in our house ...

Excellent.

Excellent albums ...

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Happy Birthday, Arcangelo Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli was born on this day in 1653.

Transverse flutist Anna Besson performs the Allegro from the Sonata in F major, op. 5 no. 4 with Louna Hosia, and Jean Rondeau ...

Beethoven, Sonata in C Major, Op. 102, No. 1

Erica Wise and some guy perform the Andante-Allegro vivace ...

Released.

The Church released Starfish on this day in 1988.

"North, South, East, and West"...

According.

Each one of us should make a surveyor's map of his lost fields and meadows.  In this way we cover the universe with drawings we have lived.  These drawing need not be exact, but they need to be written according to the shapes of our inner landscapes.

Gaston Bachelard

Björn Meyer, "Gravity"

Aufschnaiter, Dulcis fidium harmonia, Op.4

Gunar Letzbor and Ars Antiqua Austria perform a selection of Sonatas ...

Excellent.

An excellent album ...

The title track ...

Done.

Done and done.

Pond.

The Labatt Blue UP Pond Hockey Championship is in full swing.  Normally held on St. Ignace's Moran Bay, warmer temperatures have unfortunately forced the tournament into local indoor rinks.

Treasures.

Having worked in food service for over 25 years, a word that best encapsulates the eating experience for me is satisfaction.  When it comes to products like cheese, it's the difference between Kraft and craft.  The sliver of aged, cloth-bound farmhouse cheddar that is need to provide the most pleasant gustatory fulfillment is minuscule when compared to the number of pieces of individually wrapped cheese-product required to achieve the same vilely-satiated result.

The highest quality cheeses are not produced in industrial settings, but rather on farms, generally those that have been in families for generations, if not centuries, by cheese makers who have their own herds, and who created their art by hand, under increasing oversight and artistic encroachment by government regulation.

Whether it's estate-bottled wine or olive oil, extravecchio balsamic vinegar, or an honest loaf of handmade sourdough, it is impossible to get high-quality products from low-quality processes.  These processes take time and expertise to perfect (a word that's hard to believe in, but in this realm it exists), taking generations, even centuries of technique create such results.  This is the secret ingredient that never shows up on a nutrition label: time.

Find a Mom and Pop cheesemonger, talk to them, ask about their relationship to producers, listen, taste, explore.  Avoid the kitsch of espresso pecorino, hot honey prosciutto, and infused oils.  You'll get what you pay for ... guaranteed. Unless you find such examples at merchants of neglect like Whole Foods, who should be flogged for what they've been able to get away with from decades at their cheese counters (or maybe it's Hell Foods customers who deserve the lash).

Academy of Cheese has Harvey & Brockless' Tom Badcock ...

One of the most striking aspects of Tom’s worldview is his deep affinity for Japanese craftsmanship – an ethos rooted in shokunin and monozukuri, where devotion, precision, and a lifelong pursuit of mastery are not only expected, but revered.

Tom’s understanding of this philosophy was cemented during a three-week visit to Japan last year, travelling with his wife and immersing himself in a culture that places extraordinary value on craft. He speaks with real passion about witnessing how artisans dedicate their entire lives to perfecting a single product, striving to do their work to the very best of their ability – every day, for decades.

What struck him most was not just the commitment of the craftsmen themselves, but the response of society around them. In Japan, mastery earns respect. Craftsmen are treated as living heritage: valued not only for what they produce, but for the cultural continuity they represent. Some are even formally recognised as Living National Treasures.

For Tom, the parallels with British farmhouse cheesemakers are unmistakable, and deeply frustrating. “Their skills are irreplaceable,” he says. “Once they’re gone, they’re gone.” He believes cheesemakers here embody the same devotion and mastery yet are too often undervalued by the society they serve.

The Academy's Cheese Library.

Their blog is an outstanding resource for ...

• Cheese Buying and Distribution, Industry Knowledge, Language & Communication, Regulation & Good Practice
• Tasting
• Iconic Cheeses
• Affinage
• Milk Production & Cheesemaking
• Presenting and Serving

Happy Birthday, Woody Hayes

Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes was born on this day in 1913.

In 1977, the BBC went to visit Coach Hayes ...

If you only pick up one word today and learn to avoid that word [apathy] like the plague. You'll see him all over the campus.  He'll be all over here and he is never the guy that's done one damn thing to civilization, not one thing ...

Whither leadership?

Excellent.

An excellent album ...

Life.

I cannot exist without you - I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again - my Life seems to stop there - I see no further.

John Keats, from a letter to Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819

Excellent.

An excellent album ...

Happy Birthday, Hooky

Peter Hook was born on this day in 1956.

New Order giving a go to "Isolation" ...

Listen.

Happy Birthday, Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

Piazzetta, The Glory of St. Dominic, 1727

Giovanni Battista Piazetta was born on this day in 1682.

Listen.

Thanks, Kurtastrophe.

Real.

Perhaps a man's character was like a tree, and his reputation like its shadow; the shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Abraham Lincoln, from an 1879 remembrance by his friend, Noah Brooks

Excellent.

An excellent (clangerless) album ...

Happy Birthday, Abraham Lincoln

Gardner, Abraham Lincoln, 1865

I know the American People are much attached to their Government;--I know they would suffer much for its sake;--I know they would endure evils long and patiently, before they would ever think of exchanging it for another. Yet, notwithstanding all this, if the laws be continually despised and disregarded, if their rights to be secure in their persons and property, are held by no better tenure than the caprice of a mob, the alienation of their affections from the Government is the natural consequence; and to that, sooner or later, it must come.

Here then, is one point at which danger may be expected.

The question recurs, "how shall we fortify against it?" The answer is simple. Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor;--let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap--let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;--let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.

When I so pressingly urge a strict observance of all the laws, let me not be understood as saying there are no bad laws, nor that grievances may not arise, for the redress of which, no legal provisions have been made.--I mean to say no such thing. But I do mean to say, that, although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in force, for the sake of example, they should be religiously observed. So also in unprovided cases. If such arise, let proper legal provisions be made for them with the least possible delay; but, till then, let them, if not too intolerable, be borne with.

Abraham Lincoln, born on this day in 1809, from his "Speech to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield," 1838