Apologia

Since my 'Thought for' last Sunday I have had Oscar Wilde buzzing round my head.

As well as being an outstanding playwright, wit, and author, he was a wonderful poet.

One of the greatest expressions of love I have ever read is this poem...



Apologia

Is it thy will that I should wax and wane,
Barter my cloth of gold for hodden grey,
And at thy pleasure weave that web of pain
Whose brightest threads are each a wasted day?

Is it thy will--Love that I love so well--
That my Soul's House should be a tortured spot
Wherein, like evil paramours, must dwell
The quenchless flame, the worm that dieth not?

Nay, if it be thy will I shall endure,
And sell ambition at the common mart,
And let dull failure be my vestiture,
And sorrow dig its grave within my heart.

Perchance it may be better so--at least
I have not made my heart a heart of stone,
Nor starved my boyhood of its goodly feast,
Nor walked where Beauty is a thing unknown.

Many a man hath done so; sought to fence
In straitened bonds the soul that should be free,
Trodden the dusty road of common sense,
While all the forest sang of liberty,

Not marking how the spotted hawk in flight
Passed on wide pinion through the lofty air,
To where the steep untrodden mountain height
Caught the last tresses of the Sun God's hair.

Or how the little flower he trod upon,
The daisy, that white-feathered shield of gold,
Followed with wistful eyes the wandering sun
Content if once its leaves were aureoled.

But surely it is something to have been
The best belovèd for a little while,
To have walked hand in hand with Love, and seen
His purple wings flit once across thy smile.

Ay! though the gorgèd asp of passion feed
On my boy's heart, yet have I burst the bars,
Stood face to face with Beauty, known indeed
The Love which moves the Sun and all the stars!

Oscar Wilde Grow into these trousers... >>

Mr Bean takes a maths exam

Very funny, I like Rowan Atkinson:

Mr. Bean---The Exam
Grow into these trousers... >>

Jazz - flamenco fusion

I must admit to a taste for flamenco guitar, it's such emotional music. The master flamencoist (IMHO), Paco de Lucia, has such emotions and can play them. Combined with fusionist Al Di Meola's mastery of free form, the result is classic.

I've never heard this recording before, though the tune Mediterranean Sundance, I have known for a long time. Written by Al Di Meola it's from the album Elegant Gypsy (1977).

Mediterranean Sundance germany '81


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I posted another version ages ago, with Al, Paco and John McLaughlin. And yet another with Paco and Larry Coryell, but the entertainment police at YouTube saw fit to remove that one. Grow into these trousers... >>

A science quiz

Larry Moran at Sandwalk posted this link to a science questionnaire from The Toronto Star. Some of the questions (and answer options) are a bit badly worded, but overall it's a good test of general scientific literacy.



I got them all right - 26/26 - but I had to deliberate long and hard, here and there, to work out what I was being asked. Grow into these trousers... >>

50 years ago today

Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis released the album Kind of Blue. It's beautiful...

Miles Davis - Flamenco Sketches
Grow into these trousers... >>

Well that was a surprise!

I just phoned Virgin Media (queued about 3 mins) to make some changes to my phone account. I had two phone lines to the house, which I got as a cheap package once (but times change). Anyway, I never use one of them, so the time came for it to go. A very helpful young lady sorted out a new tariff for me and then I asked about upgrading my (sluggish) internet connection. "One moment", she said - background music - "OK, we can upgrade you to 10Mbps for... Oooh! It's 99p a month cheaper than you pay now".

Within a minute of saying yes and putting down the phone my firewall reported 'New Network Detected', I clicked 'Internet Zone' and it worked. Impressive!

Now I'm making toast on a red hot cable modem and wondering what to use the bandwidth for. Any good suggestions? I'm sure I can find something :) Grow into these trousers... >>

A thought for a Sunday

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars".

Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900)


From:
Lady Windermere's Fan, 1892, Act III Grow into these trousers... >>

On the road again

I have had no concentration over the last couple of days, and a pie and a pint (or three) at lunchtime only befuddles me more.

So here's some Canned Heat:

canned heat - on the road again


Canned Heat - Let's Work Together - ANNOTATED


Canned Heat at Woodstock Excellent
Grow into these trousers... >>

Totally timewasting

I haven't posted a game for a while, but I just had an hour to pass.

Have a go at Reactor. Click to spin and place the next block. Three or more of the same colour in contact will vapourise. Clear all the coloured blocks to advance.

Grow into these trousers... >>

A tribute to Les Paul

Les Paul & Chet Atkins


There's more than one way to play a Gibson Les Paul though...

Bend it:

Gary Moore with Phil Lynott - Parisienne Walkways (live)


Bow it:

Dazed And Confused - Led Zeppelin (Video)


And finally, well there's another way. Bugger it:

Bob Marley jamming
Grow into these trousers... >>