ComfreyPlace

Hometown Baghdad is a “documentary web series following the lives of a few Iraqi 20-somethings trying to survive in Baghdad”. These are very powerful films. In the one entitled “Songs of Pain”, the student-musician named “adel” starts off by saying that “You can join a band, or you can join a militia, or you can join a gang. The important thing is that you do something”.

A couple of summers ago we had the chance to dive with manta rays. They are incredibly beautiful and gentle creatures. Their grace is astounding. At up to a thousand pounds, they will do barrel rolls, flips, and skim the top of your head (don’t wear your snorkel!) while you illuminate their plankton dinner. It was an incredible experience and one of the best dives I have ever taken.

We went with Big Island Divers in Hawaii (on the big island, of course) and they did a wonderful job. They had very knowledgeable dive masters who made sure our dives were successful. We even saw mantas during our first, afternoon dive. We took that to be a good omen for our later evening dive and it was.

Enjoy.

Soliloquy in Circles

Being a father
Is quite a bother.

You are as free as air
With time to spare,

You’re a fiscal rocket
With change in your pocket,

And then one morn
A child is born.

Your life has been runcible,
Irresponsible,

Like an arrow or javelin
You’ve been constantly travelin’.

But mostly, I daresay,
Without a chaise percée,

To which by comparison
Nothing’s embarison.

But all children matures,
Maybe even yours.

You improve them mentally
And straighten them dentally,

They grow tall as a lancer
And ask questions you can’t answer,

And supply you with data
About how everybody else wears lipstick sooner and stays up later,

And if they are popular,
The phone they monopular.

They scorn the dominion
Of their parent’s opinion,

They’re no longer corralable
Once they find that you’re fallible

But after you’ve raised them and educated them and gowned them,
They just take their little fingers and wrap you around them.

Being a father
Is quite a bother,
But I like it, rather.

Michael Brecker passed away January 13, 2007.

From the official Michael Brecker website:

Following a two and a half year battle with MDS and then leukemia, Michael passed away. A memorial service is now being planned and details regarding the same will be posted here this coming Wednesday or Thursday. In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made to The Marrow Foundation’s TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE FUND. Many lives have been saved as a result of those who joined the National Marrow Donor Program at donor drives on behalf of Michael—and who were perfectly matching donors for others in need. There is much work to do, and we ask you to please join us in this effort. Thank you for all of your support.

Wikipedia has an aricle about Michael Brecker at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Brecker

The official Michael Brecker web site is at http://www.michaelbrecker.com/

Some of my favorite recordings include:

Tales From the Hudson

Nearness of You - The Ballad Book

The first Steps Ahead