A Collection of Thoughts

Well, I've still just got a toe in the water, entering in all the data from my dad's collection and from Duffy's document, but I'm already trying to probe the Great Mystery for me - and that's to follow the Warren surname back a lot further than the late 1700s where I'm currently stuck.

( Mysteries, Mercy, and Watertown Warrens... )

Gah. Where's a time machine when you need one? Probably all stuck in a traffic jam at some really cool moment.

At least I still have my 23 generation descent which takes me back into Merrie Auld England (posted this past Sunday, for those who don't read LJ on weekends.) And that doesn't even touch the White --> Bowen family line, which lists a Bryn Myr, King of the Britons as the first descendant. Okay, it doesn't quite, I'm being a bit silly. His name was actually Beli Mawr, King of Britain, 100 BC.

~ ~ ~

In other news, and by way of explanation of the mood, I had a close encounter with a beautiful red tailed hawk this morning - she flew alongside me, making eye contact all the way along the fields, until the tree line approached, and then she cut behind me and soared nearly straight up into the air. Part of me flew up into the sky with her, the other part showed up here at work and wrote a poem about it. =)

Recently Heard: Stoa by Nik Bartsch's Ronin

Nik Bartsch's Ronin: Stoa

Stumbled across this while entertaining Brandon at Border's. This is proof, from a retailer point of view, that allowing customers to hear music before they buy it will result in more sales. It is also proof that, in my case, I should not give in to temptation and should avoid such establishments like the plague.

Although Brandon did enjoy this - not as much as the Tab Benoit, of course - Justin really liked it, and I was intrigued by it. The promo sticker mentioned something about Zen or Japanese music, and it does have some of that spaciousness in Oriental music, where not playing a note is as important as playing a note. There's also a steady rhythmic pulse to these pieces, which counters that not-playing thing - but the piano, which takes the lead, does so with plenty of room in the lines it plays.

This music is suitable for both intense listenings to really get through the complexities in this, yet is also quiet and relaxing enough to provide background music to other pursuits. Worth a listen for folks who like some sophistications and complexities delivered in a seemingly simplistic setting.

Random Updatia

So, unless I lose my nerve, five poems will be flying off to The New Yorker tonight. Not the easiest market to break into, but, hey, my mom says they should publish my stuff, so we'll see if she's right they agree. =)

With luck, Full Moon Poetry will also go out soon, to an entirely different market. First, I have to send it out for feedback - I already have one person interested in giving it a read, any other takers can e-mail or reply to this and I'll send it your way.

On a completely random note, Tazo's Chai is much betterer^TM in their "filterbag" than it is as prepared by Starbucks and/or Seattles Best Coffee. Of course, Brueggers Chai is much, much betterer^TM than all of them put together exponentially. The reason for that is, of course, that Brueggers opened three stores down here about 6-7 years ago, and each one failed within a year; two replaced by pathetic attempts at bagel places (who may have good chai, but I quit them after getting sick too many times after eating there, and never having that problem with bagels and cream cheese before or since) and the third became something completely different.

Ah well, no good pizza for 300 miles, no good bagels either (I'm sure NYC has a decent place for the latter, even if NY pizza fails utterly against Real Pizza.)

Snakes on a Pirate Ship

For the benefit of those poor THless souls, I inflict upon you the crossover Johnny Depp/Samuel L. Jackson blockbuster hit Snakes on a Pirate Ship...

( And under the cut, its most godawful theme song (the child-proof version =)... )