Merry Christmas, everyone. Do keep your loved ones near as another year draws to a close: in tough times, they are all you’ve got. Speaking of tough times, I’ve been absent yet again not for scholastic reasons but for health reasons. I got a virus that absolutely clotheslined me. I hope you didn’t contract anything like it. And if I’ve seen you recently, I hope I didn’t give this sickness to you.
Tonight, a cherubim of a little girl, no more than 3 years old, slept through the entire Christmas Mass in the pew in front of me, under the lovingly watchful eye of her father. Perhaps my sickness has left me more contemplative, but the scene made me smile from my outside to my inside. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am off to sleep as she did, but without the music in the background.
Taken like a spoonful of Nyquil just before you pass out from flu exhaustion, nostalgia is no harm at all. In fact, it’s positively uplifting, even if that lift up hampers your hipness standing to the point where you might as well be culturally asleep. Short trips to what was probably an imaginary past— immaculate family gatherings around the tree, perfect junior high summers with perfect junior high kisses— aren’t necessarily grounds for an inner guilt trip.
I’ve got one more final and some miscellaneous work to finish up. Not to worry, there are links to add, pictures to post, and stories to tell - just hang on a couple more days. And good luck to all of you on your finals - the pain of the end-of-the-semester makes the Christmas holiday that much sweeter.
I want to say, in my actions and words, “We are citizens of the world, and as such we all have a responsibility to try to make something better. You can pick what. You don’t have to pick what I pick. Just pick something.”
The magic of video editing - This guy can neither play the piano nor the drums … but phenomenal editing puts this entire song together out of video fragments.
Welcome to one of the best recording studios in the world - What do you imagine when you think of a recording studio? A small, soundproof room with ratty carpet and a dilapidated mixing booth? Try this place on for size. Started by George Martin, the producer of the Beatles, AIR Studios has three absolutely world-class recording areas in its facility. Click the photo on the linked page to browse their stunning gallery of pictures.
They’ve recorded the soundtracks for the Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings, Over the Hedge, V for Vendetta, Pride and Prejudice, Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, A History of Violence, Kingdom of Heaven, Shark Tale, Shrek 2, Big Fish, Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean, Chicago, Moulin Rouge, Gladiator, and on and on. Unbelievable.
Victorinox Bertrand Wool Cashmere Coat - Most amazing coat I’ve seen in a long time. It looks like the kind of coat that a soldier or night watchman from the early 1900s would wear. Unfortunately, way too expensive.