two beautiful songs

I heard two of the most beautiful songs I'd ever heard today, back to back, on my way to work, courtesy of 88.7 KUHF. I do miss my radical Portland radio - especially the Africa show, with a dj named Dragonfly. But!
But I grew up on KUHF, it was kind of my bread and butter. I don't know why, but for some reason, when I was a kid, it seemed reasonable that a child should like classical music, and I obliged. There was another classical station at the time and I was willing to listen to either, though any talking usually drove me nuts. Now, I listen to KUHF for the talking, as it's either NPR or BBC. However, on occasion, they oblige with a completely amazing piece of music, and today, they gave me two.

The first was a Vivaldi piece. I've long been partial to Vivaldi, but this piece featured bassoon, which strikes me in so many ways. I was a brass player for a while (Okay, about 10 years, and it's mostly faded from my memory; much like my high school German. Save for that I've got no desire to play trumpet after a couple of hefeweizen bier but I'm still willing to try German/French/Spanish) but woodwinds always have had a fascination for me. Add to that the fact that the person with whom I was enamored from approximately first grade to my senior year in high school ended up playing the bassoon and I was heartily loving the piece. Below is the largo section only, but from my vague memory (before my mind was totally blown by the New York Polyphony piece) the concluding bit was rather jaunty. The concluding allegro is quite worth a listen but is being uncooperative at the moment.



This, though, from a group I actually heard discussed on NPR a few weeks ago: New York Polyphony. Nothing could do it justice save for the song. It was the most beautiful moment of the day. I didn't see the video and don't know that I will watch it now, but the sound is incredible.
Enjoy.

color links

In the Ravelry Kool Aid dyeing group, I got linked to the fabulous Colour Lovers site.
And then, I got to visit a textiles company's warehouse store and found a sweet little piece of fabric, but it's quilting cotton. More the shame to me - I don't quilt and may never do so.
The colors were perfect, though, for the upcoming move and the decoration of a young lady's bedroom. I love the print of the fabric and am still trying to come up with a way to use the material. In the meantime, though, the Colour Lovers site features a fun little tool called Photocopa, allowing one to build a color palette based on a photograph- which I was able to do after finding a photo swatch of the aforementioned cotton.

And, voila!


(Use of the Photocopa tool does require a sign-in, but it's a relatively painless process.)

stuck in my head

American/African American Books and Writing

African-American Milestones on Dipity.

Enjoy this beautiful infographic, and remember, just because it's Black American history, does not mean that it is not part of your history too. This is US history, part of all of us who live here. For those of us who do not, it's human history, outsider history, the history of the disenfranchised and abused. (Not to mention the enlightened, angry, happy, and confused.)

for now/ oh the kawaii!!!

I think I am just going to let this look the way it looks. Brown is not a displeasing color, and I would like to just go ahead and begin writing here.

I would like to disseminate various tidbits that I find around the internet, history, art, knitting miscellany, and all of the other things that constitute my eclectic passions.

Two of those interests are kittens and yarn. I also happen to fancy media in languages other than English, so this *ahem* ADORABLE video hit a trifecta for me.
(The children's voices, however, are a bit high and childish, so turn your volume down just a bit if you value your ears/sanity.)



This is from a children's show, made in Japan, that evidently purports to teach children something, using karaoke.
I feel much better, though, knowing the word for kitten in Japanese. Koneko. This has doubled my Japanese vocabulary, as my only other prior knowledge was KAWAII.

(more to come)

u.c.

this is what any reasonable person would call "underconstruction"

hard hats and all that but anyway welcome to it.

i chose the name because i feel somehow butch when i knit. i feel handsome. capable. admirable.

okay then. back to the part i don't like as much (making it look right).