Merry & Joyful Christmas!

Christmas is here!

This Advent I came to a new realization of the meaning of Christmas. We can celebrate an event of cosmic proportions, the Son of God taking on our humanity.

Why is this so important? Jesus' arrival is what the prophets spoke of and what kings and patriarchs longed to see. They awaited the Saviour.

We are fortunate in having the notion of eternal salvation as something of a cultural birthright. I say "something of" because we are not saved because of where or when we are born, but by believing in the Good News of Jesus, and accepting Him as the Way.

So, in the joy of this Good News, have a blessed Christmas season and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Tree Lot

Dark bundles leaning
Forming labyrinthine paths
Of low-wattage light

Advent

In and earlier post I had said that Christmas is not until December 25th. I thought I should elaborate.

We have essentially been celebrating Christmas for a few weeks now. I used to really enjoy this time of year, going to Christmas parties, etc.

But a few years ago it began dawning on me that I was jumping the gun. During the season of Advent, it is more appropriate to anticipate Christmas than actually celebrate it.

How might I anticipate Christmas? As the carol says, "let every heart prepare Him room." Or, as John the Baptist put it, "Make straight the way of the Lord." At one time, Advent was observed as Lent is (or was) observed before Easter, as a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In fact, the time before Easter was known as "Great Lent", to distinguish it from the "smaller" lent before Christmas.

So perhaps I can anticipate Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, by making room for Him in my heart by putting aside the things that take up that space, starting with my own self! This can be done quite effectively by giving up what "I" want, by praying, fasting, and almsgiving. Think of others first, do for others first, not forgetting that Other Who put me here in the first place!

I still have a long way to go - but the way forward seems worth the effort!

First "real" cold

Where has the cold been
for the last several winters?
It is back in force!

Born to Run

In my last post I mentioned how some of Bruce Springsteen's songs were difficult to follow musically.

Yesterday I looked at a guitar tab of Born to Run just to see if I could play it. It looks doable, but I kind of struggle with chords like E/G# ;-) So I will continue to work on it as time permits.

It is much easier on bass, by the way...

Another Boss Moment

Anthony C lent me his copy of the DVD Wings for Wheels - The Making of Born to Run. I watched it last week and was overwhelmed. In a good way...

Even though it brought back the 70s in less-than-glorious black and white video imagery, the music and attitude behind it came straight through. I grimaced at the thought of how much work went into that album. For instance, they worked on the song Born to Run for six months. I get antsy if I'm in the studio for less than six hours. Can't imagine what six months is like. And taking 14 hours to get a saxophone solo that worked - completely beyond my comprehension.

On the other hand, Bruce's single-mindedness and extraordinary devotion to the project inspired me greatly. Something I must have heard about along the line, but never registered. I take it as a challenge now!

Bruce said two things that touched me especially. He mentioned how he was running away from his hometown, yet at the same time writing songs about it gave him his identity. And now, apparently, he lives near there still. Secondly, he referred to the Born to Run effort as a kind of communion with his band, and that the record was sacramental, in a way.

Now THAT was something I'd never heard from a rock star before. A most interesting description, and one that might have been illustrated by some concert footage from 1973 that was included on the DVD.

One thing that always bothered me about Springsteen songs was that they were rather complex. I couldn't easily follow them musically. For example, if I were in a jam session, I would not be able to do any Springsteen songs, except for Glory Days, Cover Me, or Trapped. It would be a lot of work to learn some of his earlier, longer songs.

But watching the concert footage I was floored by how tightly the band played, and how Garry Tallent played a tuba in one song, not to mention the dynamics and drama, even though I had no idea what the songs were about.

I was drawn in.

1st Snowfall

Snow melts into rain
And so goes our first snowfall
With no shovelling

At the look-off

Gulls shimmer like stars
Against the dark sea water
Behind fishing boats

Me? A Grinch?

I hate to have to say this, but:

Christmas isn't until December 25th!

Freezing II

Seeing is one thing
Icy blasts are another
Walking snowily

Freezing Haiku

Air refrigerates
whatever it touches with
an icy embrace.

Dead Leaf Haiku

Leaves from rake-sweeps form
a warm, sweet-smelling blanket
over a lawn patch.

Snowflake Haiku

Snow like dandelion
Seeds float through the freezing air
They will not blossom

Dead Tree Haiku

Fungi ascending
Ladderlike to the zenith
Life-giving dead tree

I'll See Your Relayer...

In reponse to the challenge offered by my good friend, Anthony C, I decided to check out Yes’ Relayer. The library had it, so I listened to it for a couple of weeks in July/August.

Much easier than Tales from Topographic Oceans, in that there is only one disc and only three songs!

Gates of Delirium has many interesting passages, and Sound Chaser is the most fusion-esque thing I’ve ever heard by Yes. Sounds like Stomu Yamashta; I read somewhere that having Patrick Moraz in the lineup kind of loosened things up for the rest of the band.

But, whereas Tales had nothing really memorable for me, anything I could whistle, Relayer had To Be Over. There’s an approximately 2 minute vocal part that is totally memorable and whistleable. Really nice harmonies, too, along with some weird timing. And the clincher is that afterward the song goes to an expansive instrumental break, reminiscent of those in And You and I. I found it quite evocative, of what, I’m not quite sure. An experience of musical déjà vu, I suppose.

As I listened to this CD, I thought of the notion of “investigating” music. If I had listened to Relayer when it was first released, I would’ve thought it was terrible. It wouldn’t have met my preconceived standards, which at that time were very "pop". It would not have had the resonance for me then like it does now. Perhaps it’s a matter of time and life experience, but maybe it’s about attitude as well? Or too much pop music over the years ;-)

One last thought – Roger Dean’s cover reminds me of the Mines of Moria from Lord of the Rings!

Sky Haiku

Greyish sky atop
Heavyset deep-current air
Drably marks the day

Live Yes

Over the last few evenings I viewed the Yes double-DVD release Songs from Tsongas, from their 2004 35th anniversary tour.

Right off the bat, I found myself surprised by the fact that the opening song, Going for the One, knocked my socks off. I always hated that song. They played 2 other songs from the same album: Turn of the Century (which I always liked), Wondrous Stories (didn't like), along with And You and I (didn't like). For some reason I like them now. Go figure.

They also included South Side of the Sky, which they've hardly ever done in concert, and Ritual, from Tales from Topographic Oceans. Glad they had one from Tales!

The "unplugged" version of Roundabout was cool, but I would've preferred the full-calorie version. Likewise with Long Distance Runaround.

One other thought - they could've had the camera on Steve Howe the whole show and I would've been happy. The man is incredible with the guitar - but everybody knows that, don't they?

Tandoori Shrimp

The other night my wife & I ordered out for Indian food. She ordered the Tandoori Platter, and I ordered Madras Chicken.

The Platter came with the requisite Tandoori chicken, but included 3 shrimp as well. Not being a crustacean lover, my wife allowed me to have them.

All I can say is - we must do this again sometime!

The Boss

Another recent musical conversion of mine involves Bruce Springsteen.

When his “Born to Run” single was current, and he hit the covers of Newsweek and Time, being hailed as “The Next Dylan”, my thoughts ran along the lines of, “Who cares?”

He didn’t strike me as being anyone to get excited over, and certainly not as great as The Beatles or Rolling Stones, who were my faves at the time.

I should also mention that the expression, “The Next Dylan”, meant nothing to me, as I never understood why Dylan was such a big deal in the first place. At least until I saw the recent PBS documentary about him. And even then, it was more of an intellectual understanding. He still doesn’t move me in the way he obviously did move millions of others. Perhaps I was born a few years too late?

Or maybe I just don’t get it ;-)

Back to Bruce. I do admit to having liked a few of his songs along the way, such as Jersey Girl, Trapped, Cover Me, Glory Days, & Hungry Heart. But, like Dylan, I never got the reason why he was SO popular.

About a year ago, I had an epiphany. PBS was doing one of their subscription drives, and happened to show a film of Bruce at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1975. For some reason, I watched it. The first thing that struck me was how motley Bruce and the E-Streeters looked. And then there was the beat that prevailed. Not the beat I like. A bit too hung-up for my taste.

But as I watched, I mysteriously began to enjoy the proceedings. It looked like they were having fun – no posturing, no attitude. Just watching Bruce tired me out. The guy was all over the place.

The effect outweighed my previous prejudices, and I think I finally “got it”.

I happily informed a longtime friend, who was probably the one most fully aware of my attitude toward Bruce, that I was now on board. He responded by sending me a copy of Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ, which I now enjoy on a regular basis.

Tales from Topographic Oceans

I recently borrowed this Yes album from the library. Two reasons: I had never listened to it, yet I had it pegged as typical, dinosaur-rock, musical self-indulgence; a few months ago I borrowed Rick Wakeman's The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth (about which I had similar beliefs) from a friend, and thought it was pretty good.

I had always assumed that Tales was largely a creation of Rick Wakeman. There is a vision I have of Rick, surrounded by keyboards, playing his heart out, obviously in some sort of ecstatic condition, and I’m yawning, waiting for him and the rest of the band to jump into Yours is No Disgrace or Parallels.

In the last few weeks, I found that I was wrong on several counts. First, I enjoy Tales immensely. Second, it was apparently the brainchild of Jon Anderson and Steve Howe. Third, Rick Wakeman didn’t care for it all that much, at least at the outset.

My apologies to all involved!

Does this mean that I should go back and listen to Tormato again?

Sage Advice

One of my teachers signed the following in my 8^th-grade graduation autograph book:

“Always search, probe, and investigate. Use your fine ability.”

I did not follow that advice for most of my post-8^th grade life.

A couple of perhaps trivial examples to illustrate this will follow.

Greeting and Felicitations!

Welcome to Watcher's Miscellany! The title comes from a song that I was once (and still am) quite fond of, "Watcher of the Skies" by Genesis.

I didn't think I'd ever be a "blogger"! Didn't seem my cup of tea.

But one day I had a little insight that changed my mind.

It had to do with me having completely unsubstantiated ideas about certain things, about which I will share in due course.

So here goes...