amo

April 30, 2007

My Cathedral

Filed under: Poetry/Hymns/Lyrics — amo @ 5:15 pm

Like two cathedral towers these stately pines
Uplift their fretted summits tipped with cones;
The arch beneath them is not built with stones,
Not Art but Nature traced these lovely lines,
And carved this graceful arabesque of vines;
No organ but the wind here sighs and moans,
No sepulchre conceals a martyr’s bones,
No marble bishop on his tomb reclines.
Enter! the pavement, carpeted with leaves
Gives back a softened echo to thy tread!
Listen! the choir is singing; all the birds,
In leafy galleries beneath the eaves,
Are singing! listen, ere the sound be fled,
And learn there may be worship without words.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

April 27, 2007

Boomshine

Filed under: Games, Music, Time Wasters — amo @ 6:55 pm

Boomshine is the prettiest game I’ve seen in a while! Actually, the visual component is just very simple and not overly compelling, but the music/game sounds are beautiful and just a little bit mesmerizing. Complementing the soothing music, the player can attempt each of the 12 levels repeatedly until completed, so one never has to “lose.”

April 25, 2007

The Real Computer Monster

Filed under: Fun/Funny, Movies/Video/TV — amo @ 9:37 pm


Created by Jim Henson and Frank Oz.

Ella Fitzgerald’s Birthday

Filed under: Movies/Video/TV, Music, Quotations — amo @ 8:47 am

Young Ella Fitzgerald

“I know I’m no glamour girl, and it’s not easy for me to get up in front of a crowd of people. It used to bother me a lot, but now I’ve got it figured out that God gave me this talent to use, so I just stand there and sing.”
Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)

Ella Fitzgerald Fan Page

Ted Kooser’s Birthday

Filed under: Poetry/Hymns/Lyrics — amo @ 8:46 am

Happy Birthday, Mr. Kooser. Thanks so much for American Life in Poetry!

April 23, 2007

William Shakespeare’s Birthday

Filed under: Books and Reading, Poetry/Hymns/Lyrics, Quotations — amo @ 1:00 pm

. . . or at least the day generally accepted to be William Shakespeare’s birthday.

XCI

Some glory in their birth, some in their skill,
Some in their wealth, some in their body’s force,
Some in their garments though new-fangled ill;
Some in their hawks and hounds, some in their horse;
And every humour hath his adjunct pleasure,
Wherein it finds a joy above the rest:
But these particulars are not my measure,
All these I better in one general best.
Thy love is better than high birth to me,
Richer than wealth, prouder than garments’ costs,
Of more delight than hawks and horses be;
And having thee, of all men’s pride I boast:
Wretched in this alone, that thou mayst take
All this away, and me most wretched make.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

April 22, 2007

The Arrow and the Song

Filed under: Poetry/Hymns/Lyrics — amo @ 2:48 pm

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

April 21, 2007

MyHeritage Face Recognition Redux

Filed under: Fun/Funny, Time Wasters — amo @ 10:51 pm

(Update April 22: I didn’t realize that feed readers wouldn’t provide any useful information from this post. I used the link provided to find people who resemble people previously pictured here, Fanny Crosby, Wilbur Wright, and Thomas Jefferson. Please come to the site if you want to see.)

http://www.myheritage.com
http://www.myheritage.com

I couldn’t get the software to recognize cousin Leo’s self portrait, but it found the face in Thomas Jefferson’s portrait!

http://www.myheritage.com

Well, I developed technical problems with the photo of Joseph Lister. Perhaps I’ve worn out my welcome at www.myheritage.com, at least for now. It was fun while it lasted!

April 16, 2007

Wilbur Wright’s Birthday

Filed under: Math and Science — amo @ 7:26 pm

Wilbur Wright via Wikipedia
Wilbur Wright (1867-1912)
The Wright Brothers.

April 15, 2007

Leonardo da Vinci’s Birthday

Filed under: Art and Design, Math and Science — amo @ 2:32 pm

da Vinci's self portraitIn jest, I like to claim da Vinci as a distant cousin, as the Italian side of my family is from Anchiano and Lucca, but I haven’t traced my family back that far. (Although maybe someone knows more than I doany family members care to comment?)

Anyway, there are many places to learn about this extraordinarily intelligent and talented man, including Wikipedia and the Art Renewal Center.

(For the record, though I like to claim da Vinci, I’d like to take this opportunity to disclaim The Da Vinci Code.)

Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress