"Come Sunday"

Those of you who pay attention may be aware that I quite like Duke Ellington; indeed, he is one of my heroes, and I think the guy was a genius. He made some of the most powerful, life-affirming music of the twentieth century.

Today, I have done something I don’t remember doing before: I let my iPod shuffle through a single artist – Ellington. I currently have 105 Ellington tracks on my iPod (I took most of the 24-CD centennial edition off my iPod because when I shuffle randomly, his music came up disproportionately; so I cut back to just specific LPs – Such Sweet Thunder, the Far East Suite, Black, Brown and Beige, Newport 1956, the Queen’s Suite and so on).

I started at about 10.15am – I decided I didn’t want to listen to the remembrance service, and I couldn’t decide what Ellington I wanted to listen too. So I let the iPod decide.

Five hours later (OK, I did have a break for lunch whilst I listened to the World This Weekend…), I am a little over half way through.

It has been invigorating: such variety, such beautiful and exciting music.

Wonderful.

I must do this more often!

"Come Sunday"

Those of you who pay attention may be aware that I quite like Duke Ellington; indeed, he is one of my heroes, and I think the guy was a genius. He made some of the most powerful, life-affirming music of the twentieth century.

Today, I have done something I don’t remember doing before: I let my iPod shuffle through a single artist – Ellington. I currently have 105 Ellington tracks on my iPod (I took most of the 24-CD centennial edition off my iPod because when I shuffle randomly, his music came up disproportionately; so I cut back to just specific LPs – Such Sweet Thunder, the Far East Suite, Black, Brown and Beige, Newport 1956, the Queen’s Suite and so on).

I started at about 10.15am – I decided I didn’t want to listen to the remembrance service, and I couldn’t decide what Ellington I wanted to listen too. So I let the iPod decide.

Five hours later (OK, I did have a break for lunch whilst I listened to the World This Weekend…), I am a little over half way through.

It has been invigorating: such variety, such beautiful and exciting music.

Wonderful.

I must do this more often!

So little time...

According to the New York Times, George W. Bush is trying to push through lots changes to rules governing civil liberties, the environment and abortion rights before he has to leave office in two months' time.

Scary.

(via Boing Boing.)

So little time...

According to the New York Times, George W. Bush is trying to push through lots changes to rules governing civil liberties, the environment and abortion rights before he has to leave office in two months' time.

Scary.

(via Boing Boing.)

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Yorkshire Sculpture Park lies just off the M1 (jn 38); it is a glorious setting. Before I started wandering around, I had lunch there, too, and it was very good.

It was a lovely day. I chose to walk 1½ mile trail to the Longside Gallery, taking in artworks by some of my favourite artists, starting with James Turrell. He works with light: artificial light sometimes, but he bought a volcanic crater in Arizona to work with natural light, and the work at YSP also works with natural light. He adapted a deer shelter (called Deer Shelter) into a contemplative space: a large room with a large hole in the ceiling, through which one can sit back and watch the sky.

I loved this: it was powerful, relaxing – beautiful. I sat for a long time in silence, watching the clouds fly by.

( More pictures and text beneath the cut... )

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Yorkshire Sculpture Park lies just off the M1 (jn 38); it is a glorious setting. Before I started wandering around, I had lunch there, too, and it was very good.

It was a lovely day. I chose to walk 1½ mile trail to the Longside Gallery, taking in artworks by some of my favourite artists, starting with James Turrell. He works with light: artificial light sometimes, but he bought a volcanic crater in Arizona to work with natural light, and the work at YSP also works with natural light. He adapted a deer shelter (called Deer Shelter) into a contemplative space: a large room with a large hole in the ceiling, through which one can sit back and watch the sky.

I loved this: it was powerful, relaxing – beautiful. I sat for a long time in silence, watching the clouds fly by.

( More pictures and text beneath the cut... )