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I've been filking my way through the Jewish calendar for a while now, and am pleased to announce that I am finally (according to some interpretations) done! There are two groups of Jewish holidays which could each be viewed as a single extended holiday, and I've now got one song for each group (and for the other major holidays) but not for each individual holiday within each group. (See below for the complete list.)
The song which completes the sequence is "Love Letter" (MP3), which picks up the biblical narrative at Pesach but is really about Shavuot. On Shavuot, we celebrate the revelation of the Torah at Sinai. The Jewish interpretive tradition likens G!d and Israel to lovers, the revelation at Sinai to a wedding, and the Torah to a marriage contract, and reads the Song of Songs as an allegory of this story (which it is, and...). It's touching, it's meaningful... but let's ( look at the particulars... )
Incidentally, yes, the tune is very similar to "Circle Story" (MP3), which is a coincidence but not an accident — compare the section of "Circle Story" covering the corresponding part of the calendar and you'll see why.
( the list of Jewish holiday songs )
The song which completes the sequence is "Love Letter" (MP3), which picks up the biblical narrative at Pesach but is really about Shavuot. On Shavuot, we celebrate the revelation of the Torah at Sinai. The Jewish interpretive tradition likens G!d and Israel to lovers, the revelation at Sinai to a wedding, and the Torah to a marriage contract, and reads the Song of Songs as an allegory of this story (which it is, and...). It's touching, it's meaningful... but let's ( look at the particulars... )
Incidentally, yes, the tune is very similar to "Circle Story" (MP3), which is a coincidence but not an accident — compare the section of "Circle Story" covering the corresponding part of the calendar and you'll see why.
( the list of Jewish holiday songs )
Suddenly, a home
Jun. 14th, 2006 11:52 pmAfter a brief visit, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fiddledragon is now home. She did not go home at the end of said visit — it simply stopped being a visit. The new lease with both of our names on it, for us to sign and return, arrived in the mail today. We are very happy and slightly nervous about living together.
Last weekend,fiddledragon's father drove up from DC with a vanful of her stuff. Since my current previous roommate, while not here for the summer, has not actually moved out, said stuff is piled around the dining room, although it is now pretty well organized for the time being. There was IKEA, but we will not be assembling it until later.
My apartment now contains the following wonderful things which it did not contain before:fiddledragon, a harp, a violin, a spinning wheel and distaff, various textile fibers, a bread machine, a hand blender, colorful socks, swooshy skirts, potted plants, a box of BPAL perfumes, more books, and much more tea.
We are particularly happy about food — we both like to cook, and we each like to eat what the other likes to cook. In the past few days, there have been Thai fish curry, cranberry cookie bars, a Southeast-Asian-style clam stew, portobello mushrooms with peaches and black pepper (a successful vegetarian adaptation of my signature beef dish), and homemade sushi. Nobody is going hungry in this apartment. If you're living in the Boston area, invite yourself over and we'll feed you.
fiddledragon is now home. She did not go home at the end of said visit — it simply stopped being a visit. The new lease with both of our names on it, for us to sign and return, arrived in the mail today. We are very happy and slightly nervous about living together.Last weekend,
fiddledragon's father drove up from DC with a vanful of her stuff. Since my My apartment now contains the following wonderful things which it did not contain before:
fiddledragon, a harp, a violin, a spinning wheel and distaff, various textile fibers, a bread machine, a hand blender, colorful socks, swooshy skirts, potted plants, a box of BPAL perfumes, more books, and much more tea.We are particularly happy about food — we both like to cook, and we each like to eat what the other likes to cook. In the past few days, there have been Thai fish curry, cranberry cookie bars, a Southeast-Asian-style clam stew, portobello mushrooms with peaches and black pepper (a successful vegetarian adaptation of my signature beef dish), and homemade sushi. Nobody is going hungry in this apartment. If you're living in the Boston area, invite yourself over and we'll feed you.
The Morimoto experience
May. 12th, 2006 11:29 amI took fiddledragon to Morimoto last night as a graduation present. I had been to Morimoto before, for a snack, but I had been waiting for a special occasion that would justify the full Morimoto experience. We ordered the omakase (tasting menu), a parade of mouth-watering small dishes, each perfect.
As per our request for "no land animals", each of our courses (with the exception of dessert) featured fish, which, apparently, is an aphrodesiac. At least, fish like that is an aphrodesiac — every morsel meltingly tender and delicately flavored.
( click for gratuitous food porn )
fiddledragon to Morimoto last night as a graduation present. I had been to Morimoto before, for a snack, but I had been waiting for a special occasion that would justify the full Morimoto experience. We ordered the omakase (tasting menu), a parade of mouth-watering small dishes, each perfect.As per our request for "no land animals", each of our courses (with the exception of dessert) featured fish, which, apparently, is an aphrodesiac. At least, fish like that is an aphrodesiac — every morsel meltingly tender and delicately flavored.
( click for gratuitous food porn )
Song: "Solomon's Song"
Feb. 24th, 2006 12:35 pmIt's been one of those weeks... inspirational... transformative... challenging...
I haven't gotten a lick of homework done.
If you're familiar with my repertoire, you know that I'm in the habit of writing songs that can be about more than one thing, depending on how you look at them. And if you're familiar with the Hebrew Bible, you know that I'm not the first to do such a thing. A far better poet has come before me, with a song whose rich ambiguity has puzzled lovers, sages and mystics since time immemorial — all that I can do is comment.
I didn't have Jonathan Turner's "Second-Hand Songs" in mind for the tune when I began writing this, but the lyrics insisted, and I had to admit that they were right.
To all my Jewish friends, shabbat shalom, and to all my friends at censored, have a wonderful censored. ;-)
I haven't gotten a lick of homework done.
If you're familiar with my repertoire, you know that I'm in the habit of writing songs that can be about more than one thing, depending on how you look at them. And if you're familiar with the Hebrew Bible, you know that I'm not the first to do such a thing. A far better poet has come before me, with a song whose rich ambiguity has puzzled lovers, sages and mystics since time immemorial — all that I can do is comment.
I didn't have Jonathan Turner's "Second-Hand Songs" in mind for the tune when I began writing this, but the lyrics insisted, and I had to admit that they were right.
To all my Jewish friends, shabbat shalom, and to all my friends at censored, have a wonderful censored. ;-)
was mostly spent hanging out with someone 300 miles away.
When I wasn't IMing withfiddledragon, I was filking or talking with tarkrai, folkmew, or bercilakslady. This was a very good con for open filking, with many excellent performers. The concerts were also wonderful — especially folkmew's, which spoke right to where I was, leading off with "Give Yourself to Love" and remaining perfect throughout. Thank you.
Duringtarkrai's concert — also excellent throughout — I shticked while he performed my Pegasus-nominated "Dragon for Sale". Meanwhile, huddled around a cellphone in Pennsylvania, fiddledragon, ccommack, sinsofthedove, crystalpyramid, and company couldn't quite make out the words, but it's the thought that counts, right?
In addition to debuting recent songs already posted in this journal, a number of instafilks happened. One is going to grow into a complete song, and so will not be presented until it is done, but, ( as for the others... )
When I wasn't IMing with
fiddledragon, I was filking or talking with tarkrai, folkmew, or bercilakslady. This was a very good con for open filking, with many excellent performers. The concerts were also wonderful — especially folkmew's, which spoke right to where I was, leading off with "Give Yourself to Love" and remaining perfect throughout. Thank you.During
tarkrai's concert — also excellent throughout — I shticked while he performed my Pegasus-nominated "Dragon for Sale". Meanwhile, huddled around a cellphone in Pennsylvania, fiddledragon, ccommack, sinsofthedove, crystalpyramid, and company couldn't quite make out the words, but it's the thought that counts, right?In addition to debuting recent songs already posted in this journal, a number of instafilks happened. One is going to grow into a complete song, and so will not be presented until it is done, but, ( as for the others... )
Song: "Deep Harbor"
Feb. 16th, 2006 03:45 pmFor fiddledragon.
I've been meaning to write this song for a very long time. I had even written parts of the introduction already. But it turns out that there's a very good reason it didn't get written until just now. My belovedfiddledragon, I hope you don't mind my comparing our relationship to a space station. It just... came out this way.
Unfortunately, I'm going to need a microphone with better dynamic range to record this properly, so no MP3 yet, but if you want to hear it, you can just sing along with the orchestra :-).
And yes, I will be performing this in my concert set at Boskone... tomorrow.
fiddledragon.I've been meaning to write this song for a very long time. I had even written parts of the introduction already. But it turns out that there's a very good reason it didn't get written until just now. My beloved
fiddledragon, I hope you don't mind my comparing our relationship to a space station. It just... came out this way.Unfortunately, I'm going to need a microphone with better dynamic range to record this properly, so no MP3 yet, but if you want to hear it, you can just sing along with the orchestra :-).
And yes, I will be performing this in my concert set at Boskone... tomorrow.
fiddledragon's and my friendship is now officially a Relationship.You can read her account here.
Even as our friendship was deepening, we had talked about postponing the question of whether we were Together until we were living in the same city, but then there was the day at the Museum of Science — can we call that a date now? — and the growing closer and pouring our hearts out to each other over AIM and finding the places where we each make the other whole, and... yeah.
In honor of this sweet, tender affection, the temporary inconvenience of the intervening 400 miles, and the saving grace of the telecommunications infrastructure, I'll be adding the best long-distance relationship song I know (thanks,
telynor!) to my concert at Boskone.Oh, yeah, and I have a short concert set at Boskone.
Ba orvat ybirq
Jan. 9th, 2006 01:36 pmWhen fiddledragon and I decided officially that we were very good friends, we hadn't actually seen each other for five months. We spent some time together at Philcon, but I was pretty busy. But, in the past week, we spent essentially all our time together...
It was wonderful. She helped me brainstorm ideas for strategy games. She helped me assemble bookshelves. She appreciated my presence, my music, my cooking, and my taste in chocolate. She held my hand when I was dysphoric. And she murmured matter-of-factly about a strong inclination to move to Boston after graduating from Bryn Mawr. So, for the curious, we are still very good friends, but the increasing plausibility of our someday being more than friends has not escaped our notice.
The practical upshot of this is that I am going to stop stressing about finding someone. Really.
fiddledragon and I decided officially that we were very good friends, we hadn't actually seen each other for five months. We spent some time together at Philcon, but I was pretty busy. But, in the past week, we spent essentially all our time together...It was wonderful. She helped me brainstorm ideas for strategy games. She helped me assemble bookshelves. She appreciated my presence, my music, my cooking, and my taste in chocolate. She held my hand when I was dysphoric. And she murmured matter-of-factly about a strong inclination to move to Boston after graduating from Bryn Mawr. So, for the curious, we are still very good friends, but the increasing plausibility of our someday being more than friends has not escaped our notice.
The practical upshot of this is that I am going to stop stressing about finding someone. Really.
