Friday, March 28, 2008
The Rake's Progress
On Monday I went to the Opera Garnier with some friends to see the opera The Rake's Progress whose music was written by Stravinsky. We had crappy seats and the opera had one of the weirdest stories ever...try Faust with naked women everywhere...and a dwarf...and a woman with a beard. The music was fun, though, and the building was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, I did not see the phantom there. (this is the opera that was supposedly haunted by the famous "phantom of the opera") Here are some pictures anyway!
I went looking for Spring last Sunday
As I did walk through cities one saturday,
A golden finch came winging my way,
And sang to me a song of my country,
And words of life from city and sea.
Golden finch, your song is your love,
And you will sing forever above.
Golden finch alight in your loft,
Where I have learned and, oh, you have taught.
While she did wing through ariel places,
A red oak tree grew under her feet,
And when the world had started its taking,
She lit amongst its loftier leaves.
Golden finch, alight in your loft,
Where you have learned and, oh, you have taught.
The red oak tree will carry your loss,
When you alone can't carry that cross.
--Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
a re-telling of my walk along the canal path in the 11eme neighborhood of paris…looking for clarity.
I went looking for spring last Sunday
along the old canal path
where you can no longer hear the gushing water
it’s hidden somewhere below our feet
even without the sound or the sight
I have faith that it’s still there,
I took your word for it.
there’s an angel in the sky
but no light will come to turn her to gold
and her beautiful form cannot erase
the pain of what happened there
I only found Spring in the little buds
poking out despite the cold and the snow
determined to give color to the otherwise grey city
I became a spy, a voyeur, once I heard their singing
only catching glimpses of the virtuosos through leaves and hedges
I don’t know their names
but they wooed me with their songs
and posed proudly for their publicity shots
the real paris can only be found on an afternoon such as this
in a place such as this
where everyone gathers together or separately
just hunting and pecking
laughing and bantering
or sitting in silence and reverie
I reach the water’s edge
the lock is in complete control here
and the water has stopped flowing
it stands stagnant, putrid
its only swimmers: cigarette butts and franprix bags
if I look to the north: Oscar Wilde
if I look to the south: Home
my spirits lift as the rain begins to fall
he knows this feat is just a balancing act
and when you stumble no one cares
they are just happy that you tried
**these aren’t necessarily supposed to go together, just react to each picture.
A golden finch came winging my way,
And sang to me a song of my country,
And words of life from city and sea.
Golden finch, your song is your love,
And you will sing forever above.
Golden finch alight in your loft,
Where I have learned and, oh, you have taught.
While she did wing through ariel places,
A red oak tree grew under her feet,
And when the world had started its taking,
She lit amongst its loftier leaves.
Golden finch, alight in your loft,
Where you have learned and, oh, you have taught.
The red oak tree will carry your loss,
When you alone can't carry that cross.
--Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
a re-telling of my walk along the canal path in the 11eme neighborhood of paris…looking for clarity.
I went looking for spring last Sunday
along the old canal path
where you can no longer hear the gushing water
it’s hidden somewhere below our feet
even without the sound or the sight
I have faith that it’s still there,
I took your word for it.
there’s an angel in the sky
but no light will come to turn her to gold
and her beautiful form cannot erase
the pain of what happened there
I only found Spring in the little buds
poking out despite the cold and the snow
determined to give color to the otherwise grey city
I became a spy, a voyeur, once I heard their singing
only catching glimpses of the virtuosos through leaves and hedges
I don’t know their names
but they wooed me with their songs
and posed proudly for their publicity shots
the real paris can only be found on an afternoon such as this
in a place such as this
where everyone gathers together or separately
just hunting and pecking
laughing and bantering
or sitting in silence and reverie
I reach the water’s edge
the lock is in complete control here
and the water has stopped flowing
it stands stagnant, putrid
its only swimmers: cigarette butts and franprix bags
if I look to the north: Oscar Wilde
if I look to the south: Home
my spirits lift as the rain begins to fall
he knows this feat is just a balancing act
and when you stumble no one cares
they are just happy that you tried
**these aren’t necessarily supposed to go together, just react to each picture.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
La Vie Boheme
As promised, here are the pictures from my trip to Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora (don't ask, I have no idea how to correctly pronounce it...) is a medieval town in the Czech Republic that was originally known as a mining town and where the first Czech mints sprung up. Some of the tour was cool, some of it was devastatingly boring. Oh, and it was extremely cold all day, thankfully it didn't start snowing until we were on the bus back to Prague. Here are some pictures and I will try to give them captions again.
This is a church we visited. It's dedicated to Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners.
the town from the hilltop
inside saint barb's church
a miner
a jesuit monastery
The town hall; also where they used to make coins.
Old coins that were minted in Kutna Hora
Walking around town
The town well
After Kutna Hora, we made a stop at the creepiest church in the entire world: The Bone Church. This church looks like any other on the outside, but for some reason, the people who "decorated" it decided to do it in the creepiest way possible...with human bones. I kid you not. I was so creeped out. Apparently it's supposed to remind people of their mortality...but come on...couldn't they have sprung for some nice stained glass like other Christians?
a chandelier
A picture of me with the bones...being a perfect reference point for how cold it was.
This is a church we visited. It's dedicated to Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners.
the town from the hilltop
inside saint barb's church
a miner
a jesuit monastery
The town hall; also where they used to make coins.
Old coins that were minted in Kutna Hora
Walking around town
The town well
After Kutna Hora, we made a stop at the creepiest church in the entire world: The Bone Church. This church looks like any other on the outside, but for some reason, the people who "decorated" it decided to do it in the creepiest way possible...with human bones. I kid you not. I was so creeped out. Apparently it's supposed to remind people of their mortality...but come on...couldn't they have sprung for some nice stained glass like other Christians?
a chandelier
A picture of me with the bones...being a perfect reference point for how cold it was.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
