Project is reviewed, and ready to be passed in … Christmas cleaning has begun … Sarah put up my Christmas tree and some decorations … a week from tonight, I’m going to be up to my eyeteeth in baking …

In an effort to promote a bit of Christmas spirit, I’ve decided to post a few Carols from my childhood. These are hard to find online, and I’m pretty certain you won’t hear them in the malls or shopping centers, unless you’re in a French speaking area, like Quebec or New Brunswick. These make up a very large part of my warmest Christmas memories … all of them are French Carols (Cantiques de Noël - Canticles of Christmas,) and I learned them before I learned any English Carols. I wish I’d been able to come up with better versions of them, but unfortunately, this is all I have. We should try to get Dr. Hébert to put his Christmas Bayou music online!

If I don’t get a chance to post again before Christmas, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! I hope that you find yourselves surrounded by those you love!

To my Hebrew friends: !חג חנוכה שמח לכולם

It seems like only yesterday that I was just moving back home from camp … trying to unpack, clean, prepare for the holidays … watching the last of the leaves flutter from the naked trees. And as I did, I wondered … “Wasn’t it only yesterday that I did this? Am I always coming home, so that it seems as if it’s all I ever remember … ?”

Somehow, the years haven’t all been the same, so why does “coming home” every autumn give me the delusion of living a circular, sustained event? It seems as if this is how I mark the years … through my fall homecoming.

However, each return has its own story … although always within a common theme: the analogousness of change. Change is … unchanging.

Has Moofie lost it? Perhaps …

But more likely, Moof is lost in a maze of time’s twists and turns …

… Once I find my way out of the time maze, I promise to write a more logical post … *blink* … anyone have a flare? ;o)

“The Circle Game”

…Take your time, it wont be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
Were captive on the carousel of time
We cant return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game …

By Joni Mitchell

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a fellow who represented M80 … I was quickly flying through all of my spam emails at the time, and my finger poised above the delete key as my eyes scanned what I was sure was yet another “come-on” …

My attention settled on the words:

For your help or review, I would be happy to send you a copy of Yanni Live! on DVD or CD. Please let me know if you’re interested!

Well now! That caught my interest! Less than a week earlier, I had told my son that I wanted to find some of Yanni’s music, because several people had told me recently that they thought I would enjoy him. Getting this offer by email seemed like a very timely event! I was not only going to be able to hear what sort of music Yanni creates, but I was also going to get to do it for free! I eagerly replied to the kind fellow from M80, and agreed to his proposition.

As soon as I sent off the email, however, I began to worry … what if I don’t like Yanni? What will I write?

As it turns out, I was concerned over nothing! I not only enjoyed the DVD, I’ve decided that I’m going to do my best to collect all of his music!

On the DVD, there’s selection called a “Backroom Pass” … which I enjoyed first. It was far more than a mere glimpse backstage … we got to meet quite a few of the musicians who worked together for the event, and I was given my first taste of what went into the production … and what makes Yanni’s music different from so many others …

The Live event included musicians from all around the world, each bringing his or her own talent, culture, language, style of music, religion … in short, unique qualities which were freely blended into the final work. The multicultural influence, which was harmonized into a singularly inimitable whole, produced a result that I would be hard put to classify succinctly … strains of the Far East blended evocatively and rousingly with the descant of a full voiced soprano … and dulcimers melded with didgeridoos … as lasers and light shows completed the total enrapture of the senses!

Before watching this DVD, I thought that Yanni was “just another New Age musician” … but now I know, he’s much, much more. This is a classic … although I believe that it will continue to defy being pigeonholed into any particular niche.

If you like music, daring music, I recommend Yanni Live! The Concert Event. Impressive and unforgettable.

Ipanema … that sneaky little lady … not only tagged me, she did it on the sly! She never let any of her 7 people know, telling them that if they didn’t visit her site, they’d never know they’d been tagged! HA! Well! Guess what!? I visit all of my friend’s sites at least once a week … usually far more, when I have time.

Okay, this tag seem straightforward enough … 7 songs you’re currently listening to … and then, (not as easy) the 7 people you want to tag … I beg your forbearance ahead of time …

I’ve just discovered Enya, and I’ve been listening to her music all day … and all night … but I do occasionally still sneak in some of my other favorites.

In no particular order … here are the songs: (click on the little blue arrows to hear the songs)

• If I could be where you are - Enya
• Going to another place - Mannheim Steamroller
• Canons - Pachelbel
• Bienvenue - Eric Chardin
• You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban
• #1 #2 #3 … etc. - Almost anything by John Michael Talbot
• Dust in the Wind - Kansas

Okay … and now for the tag-ees … please don’t hate me! *blink!*

Alphabetical order:

1. Dr. Flea (I want to see what you play on that guitar! ;o)
2. Dr. Vijay (*snicker* … it wouldn’t be a MEME if I didn’t tag Vijay!)
3. Dr. Wes (For thinking I was a “he” … *LOL*)
4. Pattie (Because I miss her! *sniff!*)
5. Peggikaye (I know she’s got a bit of music in her heart right now!)
6. Ripple of Hope (Because I’m a curious person!)
7. ExUtero (What goes around … >;o)
8. Traveling Doc (Borneo Breezes - to welcome her back to this continent!)
9. Dr. Emer - Oh my! Lookit what showed up overnight on its own! Dr. Emer’s name just sort of grew there! >;o)

Gee … did I lose count? >;o)

Instructions:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your Live Journal/blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

Note - you do *not* have to put the songs online, just the titles!!! :o)

There’s no place like … the Dark Side of the Moon?

Dr. IBear has the most amazing post …

He says that “[…] legend has it, Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz, when played together have very eerie synchronizations, or at the very least coincidences […]”

Now, c’mon! How likely does that seem? An old classic movie … meshed with Pink Floyd’s 70’s “acid-rock”? My first reaction was that, surely, Dr. IBear must be kidding … or at least mistaken! What on earth could Dorothy, Toto and a bunch of Munchkins have in common with with some of the most emotively provocative music of the last 30+ years?

Well, here are just a few of the things which Dr. IBear lists …

Like I said … those are just a few from Dr. IBear’s list! If you’re a Pink Floyd fan - or a love Wizard of Oz trivia - this is a must-read!

I’m hoping to get my hands on a Wizard of Oz movie (if I don’t already have one hidden away someplace) and try this out this coming week. I’ll do up a post and let you know how it came out.

Again, I want to thank Dr. IBear in a huge way, because this is a lot like finding an “easter egg” … only better!