Merry Christmas!

 Photo by 360 Nautica

Merry Christmas everyone!  Just had to share a few things with you this morning from the island... this Christmas tree is a traditional coastal Maine Christmas tree that is made of lobster traps, lobster buoys, pine boughs and lights.  O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!  I'll let you guess what is sometimes put at the top! 

Next, we have a few clips for your enjoyment... snowboarding in Paris, and a couple clips from my favorite silent film of 1926, 'Der Heilge Berg' (The Holy Mountain).  Be sure to at least make it to the 5:10 mark!

Finally...

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
O bid our sad divisions cease,
And be for us our King of Peace.
Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel,
Shall come to thee, O Israel.


Have a peaceful Christmas...


via Little Brown Pen

Music Tuesday: Sufjan's Songs for Christmas

Today's Music Tuesday selection is an obvious pick: Sufjan's Songs for Christmas.  These songs are festive, holy, and just plain fun.  Below are all of the songs off of the 5-disc set for your listening pleasure.  One of these days Katie and I will get our act together and make an album for our friends and family like Sufjan originally did for this project.  Go here for more goodies...  UPDATE: Vol. 6 is no longer available, but you can listen to Silent Night below, via David Greenwald at Rawkblog.  Enjoy!

Sufjan Stevens - "Silent Night" (ft. Aaron and Bryce Dessner) by rawkblog

 

 

 

West Africa by Kanoa Zimmerman

 Photo by Kanoa Zimmerman

 Photo by Kanoa Zimmerman

 Photo by Kanoa Zimmerman

 Photo by Kanoa Zimmerman

Photo by Kanoa Zimmerman

Via Saturdays

Music Thursday: Little Dragon

Photo: Sarah Cooper

Little Dragon is from Gothenburg, Sweden... (why do so many good bands from from Gothenburg?)  The dragon is made up of Yukumi Nagano (vocals and percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrick Källgren (bass), and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards). 

This from their bio, by Ulla Tom Tom:
"From the city of Gothenburg grew the birth of tiny creature.  Its breath full of fire passion death and dreams.  It lived in a fantasy called the electric forest. This forest was thick  with rustling secrets and  infintite amounts of pinetrees.   On occasional full moons the pine trees would light up in neon auras  of lime and turquoise and the ground would shake  with a steady rumble. The tiny creature grew into a little dragon.  It wrestled with the large wind sometimes. The heat of its breath would weave in with the cool air and make patterns in the sky. Although the creature was a powerful little beast it was light as a feather and would often sleep on the leaf flowing in the breeze.  And there it would dream in a dream. These dreams were without visuals and haunted by sounds.  electric sounds and beats would pump its little  heart and make her sleep walk around the forest like a ghost dancing in the night.
And the aching of this lonely creatures heart would be reflected in bittersweet melodies both haunting and happy." 

So, all I can say is that the music sounds just like all of that, and more.  Listen to a heap of songs on their myspace and dig the clips below...

My Step by Little Dragon


Blinking Pigs by Little Dragon

Landscapes of Wonder - Richard Ely

 Richard Ely

Richard Ely is a Madison-based artist who does torn tissue-paper collage.  Though he has no formal training and hated art class as a child, for the past five years he has found himself "drawn to the pleasure of tearing brightly colored paper."  His work is currently showing at Mother Fools Coffeehouse in Madison until the end of the month, and the show (his first) is entitled Landscapes of Wonder.  

Here is an excerpt from his artist statement:  "In general, my collages have no meaning to impart. I am drawn to elements of the natural world—landscape, sky, water, trees. Often I begin with either a simple image in mind—a silver tree, a straw-colored nest—or merely an impulse toward color or mood. In the early stages of each collage, my process tends to be intuitive, even random. But as I progress and a "picture" begins to reveal itself, my choices become more measured. By the end, I am often working with painstaking precision to achieve specific effects. I deeply enjoy the process of not knowing what I'm doing, of allowing intuition, accident, and surprise to guide me. I'm happiest when my creations turn out to be "successful"—beautiful and joyous - but I also accept my interesting "failures."' 

 

Richard Ely

 Richard Ely

 Richard Ely

Richard Ely

Dad Kayaking

 My dad sent me this photos that he took from the kayak recently.  I love how he's still out there in the snow and ice.  Island dads are like that!  Of course, that's when you see some of the most interesting things in creation--birds and muskrats that are a little less skittish because they're conserving energy, lower lighting an long shadows as the solstice approaches, intricate ice formations that border land and water... The river pictured is called the Stillwater, for obvious reasons.  This is where I grew up--beautiful Orono.  To the right in the above pic is the mainland, to the right below is the island that we lived on.  We lived a block from the river, so we were always wheeling boats down to a little grassy put-in spot to row or paddle... or we'd go swimming... or just sit and watch the still water.

Thanks for the shots Dad!  Maybe there'll still be some open water to paddle in together when I come home for Christmas!

An island train (Ajaccio to Corte, Corsica)

Rube Goldberg Machines

My friend Andrea sent me this video, and in answer to her question, yes, there are machines like this on the island.  They're called Rube Goldberg machines on the mainland, but we just call them Island Machines.  They do tasks like doing laundry, washing dishes, turning pages of books, applying sunblock lotion, weeding the gardens, sharpening pencils, etc.  (sometimes we like to do that stuff by hand, too)  Doesn't it remind you of the old McGee and Me intro?

Music Tuesday: Daft Punk + Tron

Courtesy of the artist, from KCRW

Tron Tron Tron Tron Tron:  Daft Punk + Orchestra = amazing.  The soundtrack came out today (er, yesterday, the real Tuesday), and though I have only heard 5 songs off of it, I highly recommend it.  Here's a KCRW interview with director Joseph Kosinski about the score developed by Daft Punk.  There have been a lot of 'album leaks' and fake songs out there, but this the real deal.  To skip all the talking and get right to the music, go to 12:35, 22:36, 30:38, 37:10, and 51:55.  Or take a look at the videos below which feature 'Derezzed'.  Or go buy the album.  Soundtrack site here.  Film is out Dec 17.

Keep an eye out for the Daft Punk cameo!

Paddleboarding in the Snow

 Photo by Kathryn Kirby

It's been a few days since I've posted, and that's mainly because it snowed on the island, the winds have been light, and that is a perfect recipe for tranquility on the water... (water temp= 33, air temp=cold, windchill=colder, total=perfect!)

 Photo by Kathryn Kirby

De-icing a spot for my feet, using a key as a chisel...

 Photo by Kathryn Kirby

Gracefully sliding the board into the water...

 Photo by Kathryn Kirby

 Miscalculating the transport effectiveness of snow and watching in horror as the board slips rapidly into the water and begins to float away...

Photo by Kathryn Kirby

 Chasing the board down (thankful all the while for choosing the 6/5/4 wetsuit instead of the 3/2)...

 

 Photo by Kathryn Kirby

Take 2, more graceful this time...

 Photo by Kathryn Kirby

Off into the void, amidst silent flakes falling...

Photo by Kathryn Kirby

Sand Drawing - Jim Denevan

 Jim Denevan is an earth artist.  I first came across his work after watching the surf film Thread, which profiles Jim and his amazing sand drawings.  For the above circles, he actually starts off using a small stick and draws circles about the size of a quarter, slowly increasing the diameter as he creates more and more circles.  He then uses a larger stick, as well as a rake for shading.  The outgoing tide provides the canvas, and the incoming tide erases the creation.  For more, see a project Jim did in Siberia at The Anthropologist (my new favorite site), go to Jim's website, and do scroll down to the bottom of this post to see a short film by Patrick Trefz (director of Thread) on Jim's work. 

  

Sources: http://www.jimdenevan.com

 Source: http://www.jimdenevan.com

 Source: http://www.jimdenevan.com

 

 Source: http://www.jimdenevan.com

World AIDS Day

 

(Guam AIDS ribbon)

To get the facts, go to the newly released UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic.  Also, find further resources on the the Kaiser Family Foundation website. 

AIDS is a worldwide issue.  Prevalence map from UNAIDS Report. 

Photo from Getty Images

Population Services International's work on male circumcision, which can reduce the risk of acquiring HIV by 60%.  Here is Mlungisi's journey to get circumcised. 



And here's a clip by Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders about the dual threat of shortfalls in funding as well as trade restrictions on the generic medicines that are needed to provide affordable treatment options. 



What are you going to do about it?  Pray.  Get involved.

Music Tuesday: Mountain Man

 Photo by Anika in London

 \What to say about Mountain Man.  Well, for starters, they are not a man, but they do sound like the mountains, among other things.  Mountain Man is actually a trio of three enchanting women who go by the names Molly Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Amelia Meath.  I saw them open for Jonsi last month, and when they came out on stage without any instruments, I admit I was a bit disappointed.  But that soon changed--their voices do wonders together.  Their sound is nearly timeless, and I think quite fitting for the sensibilities of the island.  Enjoy these selections (and pretend it's still Tuesday!)...









Read a Paste interview with the band and hear 'Dog Song' here.
Hear them performing a couple of songs in the NPR studios.
Download a set they did for BBC 1 here.