The Great Extravagance

Looking south and north along the Hudson River from some new-to-me vista points, thanks to the new Dahon folding bike I bought last week. This is really a pretty amazing piece of engineering - below are some snapshots in the building's hallway, with the trombone gig bag in the photo to give an idea of scale, and inside the apartment. It takes perhaps 15 seconds to fold up. The ride is fine , although the wheels are only 16" - which means that going downhill means coasting, no pedaling necessary (or possible).

Postcard from Maine

Here's an early morning sky, about an hour after dawn...on my way back today. It wasn't exactly a holiday since I was remotely working on a database project for the Milarepa Tibetan Buddhist Center in Vermont and being an adult presence in the house for the 14 1/2 year old daughter of a friend while her mother was away working. Still, it was cool(er) than NYC, and there are many more trees and many fewer people. The great berry hunt (blackberries and blueberries) yielded only enough for me to eat while picking, nowhere near enough for a pie...seemed to be too late in the season for both.

Postcard from NYC

Yesterday I met a friend down at the fountain inside of the Columbus Circle traffic circle. Even though the new building there have been up for awhile, I'd never really looked at them before. They are beautiful, and against the sky spectacular. This photo was taken looking up to the west while lying down on my back on a bench...with human eyes the scope is simply amazing. Although the depth of the top of these buildings looks almost completely flat from this angle, in actuality they are not...an interesting optical illusion.

I'd heard that inside the circle all sounds of the city receed - supposedly blocked by the sound of the fountains - but this certainly wasn't the case at 11am on a summer Thursday morning. Traffic, horns, constuction bangs and crashes...there
was a symphony of cacaphonic sounds accompanied by the fountains.

and in Rhode Island

July 31, 2006

More swimming...this time in salt water, the Narragansett Bay. A older friend asked if I would come up and help get her started on computers (she's in her 70's) so I did. Her house is right on the bay, which is behind this beautifully-shaped tree.

Upstate

July 11, 2006

I have to admit that upstate New York has never held much appeal to me. However, I visited a friend's husband's cousin's house for a few days, and had a surprising experience. The area seemed gentle, positively bucolic. We feasted on sheep's cheese picked up from a farm. (I've never seen a farm so clean.) There were lots of lambs about, and a worker said we could go in a watch them closer. While there a bunch of sheep went by to be milked, and the lambs bleated, each with a distinctive voice - wish I'd had a DAT with me. Plus fresh tomatoes, and that day's corn. And several hammocks. The pond above looked more than a bit iffy - brown and mucky, with lots of leaves (remember, I grew up near the ocean) but I finally worked up the nerve to get in after my friend assured me that it was spring fed and had several exits. It felt wonderful, the water must be full of minerals.

And then there was watching a full, full orange moon rise over the meadow into the sky.


I need to get out more!

Return is the Way of the Tao

July 8, 2006


Just back from a T'ai Chi retreat, held at the Rose Mountain Retreat Center in mountains of northern New Mexico with Heloise Gold - a true master in every sense. Above is the view looking south-south-westwardly from Moon Meadow, where the early morning mediation walk ends (and where I seem to end up most evenings).

One translation I like of the Tao Te Ching is by Stephen Mitchell, and those on a Mac platform can download a widget of this translation from DailyTao.org

Underneath is me with Rick Avery - a real sweetie - and then the whole group right before we head down the mountain at the end of the week.

Happy Birthday, Anthony!

June 4, 2006


Today I played in the world premiere of Anthony Braxton's Composition #19 (1971) for 100 tubas (okay, some of us played euphonium, a tenor tuba). It was Anthony's 60th birthday, which made it a nice present after 35 years of waiting.



Dedicated to electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott, Composition #19 is an hour long piece with the forces split into four parts, unison playing on each part. Each groups plays independently, and moves spatially throughout the space in differing configuations - block, single file, individuals spin off. Slow unfolding of soft, low melodic fragments...ocassionally interspersed with lightning bolts ("sound flashes" - sforzando descending harmonic glissandi) and feather-shaped "sound sparkles" (non-pitched sounds).