"Remember, Chiyo, geisha are not courtesans. And we are not wives. We sell our skills, not our bodies. We create another secret world, a place only of beauty. The very word 'geisha' means artist and to be a geisha is to be judged as a moving work of art."

Yesterday in Japanese we watched a few minutes of kabuki and then about fifteen minutes of ( Read more... )

A lovely soundtrack piece from The Village, composed by James Newton Howard and featuring solo work by Hilary Hahn.

Walking from Seidlin to Miller in the late-afternoon, basking in the light from a setting sun which lent no warmth to the air--but despite the wintry chill still lingering in the air, all the eaves were dripping and the snow was ( Read more... )

step by step, heart to heart, left right left,
we all fall down

step by step, heart to heart, left right left,
we all fall down like toy soldiers
bit by bit, torn apart, we never win
but the battle rages on for toy soldiers

We stopped at a crossroads, the gargantuan bus angled awkwardly jutting off the main road as we waited for the following car to ( Read more... )

Because I want to believe that all we need is to all play together, make a harmony, and make ink and paper come to life, to be happy again.
Because I want to believe there's an easy solution to our harmony as a community, and that for three minutes and forty-two seconds, we can forget about every scar we've ever all left on each other and just do ( Read more... )

I know we've all rehashed that night to death, trying to figure out just what happened and when and how and who and what and all the other stupid little questions.
And it's all done and over with now and we've moved on and all that sort of thing.

This song brings up all sorts of mixed emotions. We'd love to stay on someone's mind long after something ( Read more... )

So if this song sounds just like Whitacre's "Seal Lullaby" why am I writing about it?

I actually think this sounds, overall, a lot happier. It's a lot grander, with full orchestration in addition to the choir, whereas the Whitacre is only piano and choir. Elfman's piece plays while Edward is carving an ice sculpture with his hands and the girl ( Read more... )

Video

Time to go again.

This is entirely self-explanatory.

went back home again
this sucks, gotta pack up and leave again
say goodbye to all my friends,
can't say when i'll be there again.
it's time now to turn around,
turn by back on everything.

everything's changing when i turn around
all out of my control, i'm a mobile
everything's changing when i turn
all ( Read more... )

Recording of the track here
Keira Knightley's epic speech (backed by the music) here

"Have you ever seen it, Aragorn? The White Tower of Ecthelion, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, its banners caught high in the morning breeze. Have you ever been called home by the clear ringing of silver trumpets?"

My mental image of the word "wealth" is ( Read more... )

In the daylight all seems well. In the dark everything goes to pot. Dusk, that semi-magical transition/translucent stage, where there are no shadows and the walls glow with the shades of dying day, is the most vulnerable moment of the day, the pivot point between walking a path and riding a carousel.

Apparently there is no video of this song in ( Read more... )

Before I post a link to this song, I just want to say that I really hope readers are doing this the "right" way, that is to say, listening to the song as they read it. Otherwise the entire message is lost.

Then I sit back and realize I should just be thankful if anyone's actually reading this at all. Since this is a blog of self-indulgence I suppose ( Read more... )