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Sunday, November 27th, 2022
One of the first poems I ever translated was "Der Novembertag," by Rainer Maria Rilke. The closing line of the poem has the wind in the chimney sounding out "eines Totenkarmens Schlussoktaven." I mistranslated this as "a death-karma's closing octaves" which has always struck me as a beautiful and enigmatic image...
This morning it occurred to me to mention this in my recently-created Mastodon account; and Mastodon came through! A couple of people suggested the archaic German Totencarmen, meaning "funerary song," obviously the correct interpretation.
Der Novembertag
Kalter Herbst vermag den Tag zu knebeln,
seine tausend Jubelstimmen schweigen;
hoch vom Domturm wimmern gar so eigen
Sterbeglocken in Novembernebeln.
Auf den nassen Daechern liegt verschlafen
weisses Dunstlicht; und mit kalten Händen
greift der Sturm in des Kamines Wänden
eines Totenkarmens Schlußoktaven.
The November Day
Cold autumn can muzzle the day,
silence its thousand jubilating voices;
from the steeple whimper, so peculiar,
death bells in November's mist.
On the wet rooftops lies sleeping
a white fog; and with cold hands
the storm inside the chimney's walls strikes
a lamentation's closing octaves.
posted morning of November 27th, 2022: Respond
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Monday, September 19th, 2022
For several months now I've had in mind how I could go about making a better tin-can cello. I'll not bother to enumerate the shortcomings of my current cello. The instrument I have in mind is also built with a bucket and intended to mimic the look and sound of a violoncello. But it is a completely different beast.
I believe I could weld two buckets together, cutting metal away and clamping in such a fashion as to mimic the shape of the upper and lower bouts of a violoncello's body, and to cut away and shape a c bout. Could hammer a slight arch/radius into the belly of the instrument (note, would be better to arch the upper and lower bouts separately prior to joining them together.) Could weld a bass bar in.
Once the body is joined together and cut to rib height, I can carve a back of maple or poplar and attach it with fish glue? epoxy? There will be neck and tail blocks and a true soundpost.
I should draw a picture of what I'm talking about, or a diagram; but so far have come up with nothing at all convincing. I am making large assumptions about how much welding and metalwork I will be capable of. If this all worked, I would get a steel resonating chamber under tension, amplifying the vibrations of the wooden back. If my imagination is serving me faithfully, it would make a fantastic sound.
posted afternoon of September 19th, 2022: 2 responses
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Wednesday, April 27th, 2022
Cut-ups of the world, unite! .
posted afternoon of April 27th, 2022: Respond
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Thursday, November 11th, 2021
Praise G-d, creator without flaws
Praise G-d, all creatures, without pause.
Praise G-d, don't hold back the applause:
Praise Father, Son, and Santa Claus
(or, "Creator, Christ and Santa Claus")
posted morning of November 11th, 2021: Respond
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Monday, November 8th, 2021
To be or not to be, that is the question, sir:
whether tis nobler to suffer, or not,
the slings and the arrows of outrageous fortune --
to play the hand dealt, or just give up the pot?
posted morning of November 8th, 2021: Respond
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Tuesday, July 27th, 2021
Got a new wallpaper for my desktop background: "Prime factorization: the first 1200 integers", by Juliet Fiss.
posted afternoon of July 27th, 2021: 1 response
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Saturday, June 19th, 2021
Imagination and Reality:
Two diaphanous N-membranes
floating in a soup of Time.
posted afternoon of June 19th, 2021: Respond
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Thursday, June third, 2021
posted evening of June third, 2021: Respond
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Sunday, May 30th, 2021
With Dylan turning 80 there was a lot of talk about him on the social media sites this week. In one thread we were talking about cover versions and someone pointed out that there are certain songs it's difficult to cover without slipping into an affected "Bob Dylan" voice; his examples were "Stuck Inside of Mobile" and "Idiot Wind". (I pointed out "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" fits into this category as well...) Elswhere Morris Windsor posted this astonishing cover of Stuck Inside of Mobile by The Soft Boys, playing at Slim's in San Francisco in October 2002 (the Nextdoorland tour) -- when/if I try playing the song I am going to find it difficult to avoid slipping into an affected "Robyn Hitchcock" voice.
posted morning of May 30th, 2021: Respond
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Wednesday, March 10th, 2021
A chapter of my and Ellen's life has closed; another will be opening in a few weeks. A little time to rest and prepare ourselves. Some reflections on where I've been and where I'm going.
I have been working as a computer programmer since May of 1994. I've been employed continuously over the past 27 years, with the exception of a month or so at the end of 2001, when Xyris Software downsized and let me go (with a generous severance package, no complaints). This past week I resigned from my current job (at Audible) and am not intending to work in software again. (Fingers crossed that it works out that way.)
This summer we will be leaving our home of 19 years in South Orange, and will make our way to Red Wing, MN, where I'll be studying violin repair and restoration at Minnesota State College Southeast's luthery program. At the end of the 1-year program I will seek employment with a violin shop or an orchestra, with the long-term goal of entering an apprenticeship with a luthier and starting my own business. Depending on how old and how skilled I am at that point, the business may be a violin repair shop, or may be an instrument-making pastime. The best-laid schemes of mice & men gang aft agley,/ an' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,/ for promis'd joy; and I'm open to things working out differently from the path I currently have in mind.
I've been dissatisfied with my career in programming for a long time, like 20 years give or take. I've been searching for a different path, and luthery seems like the right way. I've also been depressed, and in denial about being depressed, for a similar period; I've also been smoking weed pretty heavily, for a similar period. It's an open question which way the vector(s) of causation point(s), between drugs and depression and dissatisfaction with my career. (Maybe the arrow is tridirectional!) Over the past year I've been addressing all this with therapy and medication, and with not smoking grass, and with making plans. I'm feeling pretty good, compared to how I've been feeling for the past several years. I'm looking forward to the next chapter.
posted afternoon of March 10th, 2021: 4 responses
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