Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Think of this as Merry Christmas from us

This photograph and the initial video form a portion of the ending scenes from the 2018 film, "Alpha," a very imaginative and yet very plausible story about how mankind and the wolf and its descendants learned to accept one another and to cooperate. I would recommend you watch this motion picture, if for no other reason than to give you something to think about other than politics and the challenges of living day-to-day life, as well as for the absolutely stunning visuals. According to "experts" from the Smithsonian, gray wolves and dogs diverged from an extinct wolf species some 15,000 to 40,000 years ago .... seems like yesterday; I remember it well ....
 
To borrow and to bend from sports parlance (usually used in hockey is this northern neck of the woods), this year I have sort of a "hat trick" in regard to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This will be the third December in a row I have seen the group's show .... or should that be groups' shows, since there are performances going on in at least two other cities on the same day as here? This time around there will be two shows at 3:00 and at 8:00 on Saturday, December 28, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul. This particular clip is of "Christmas Canon Rock" as performed in Hartford, Connecticut, on November 24 with Georgia Napolitano the lead singer. If the piece sounds familiar, it is Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D Major with lyrics composed by Paul O'Neill ....
 
"What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" was composed by William Weatherspoon, Paul Riser and James Dean, and became a hit single for Jimmy Ruffin in the summer of 1966. The song centers upon the struggle to overcome sadness while searching for peace of mind after a relationship ends. The song has been recorded many times, this version by Joan Osborne and The Funk Brothers from a 2002 documentary film. It is here for no particular reason other than I like it .... baby. Among the adaptations I have heard, this is my "preferred" piece. A fascinating element to this rendition is that one mind and one body seem to be controlling both drummers. I cannot recall seeing two drummers in such perfect unison.

 



 



 




6 comments:

Anita said...

Merry Christmas!

Love that song Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D Major really nice !Also the song What becomes of the brokenhearted.
Hope all is well with you and family!
Thank you for greetings at my place

Wish you a magical Christmas
Dont forget the alfs and the trolls
Here we have lazy days..and now preparing christmas breakfast forthe guests(have already been out two times with the doggy because it is maturity going on and he sits in the window and is all crazy lunatic!!Wow wow wow

See you soon !
Pss I have seen Alpha and it is a good movie!

Give you a song from 10cc - I'm Not In Love Lyrics

Bye Bye for now!
xxx

Fram Actual said...

To begin, the merriest Merry Christmas to you, Anita, and I trust you will enjoy the happiest Happy New Year.

I am glad you have seen the film, "Alpha," and think it to be a good movie. Being a Disney film, I assume the target audience members are school age individuals at a variety of ages, but, like much in folklore, watching / reading them with an open mind can be of significant benefit and provide enjoyment to people of any and all ages.

In your reply to me at your post, you wrote: "You know -- most of our thinking and seeing is imaginary." I have been thinking about those words since I read them and would expand on them a bit. Our lives and view of everything which surrounds us is enveloped by many esoteric elements. Beyond our imagination, there are our memories, our delusions, our dreams, our psychoses, our interpretations of countless sights and sounds and words ....

Reality is open to definition / interpretation depending our age, genetic background and education. I believe reality is much like beauty = it varies in the eyes of the beholders.

You also mentioned Frédéric Chopin. I had the good fortune to be in Warsaw on his birthday, March 1, and there was a theater near my apartment where his music was played non-stop during the entire week by live musicians. I went there three times and listened for an hour or so, once in the middle of the night. Yes, we really do "live in many worlds."

As for elves and trolls, I never forget them any more than I forget manitous or shapeshifters. I even provide food and shelter for those who live in my neck of the woods, especially during winter months.

Before this turns into a novel-length note, I will conclude by thanking you for keeping an eye on me and my blog, Anita. You are a true gem and I sincerely appreciate your presence in my life. You are like sunshine to me ....

And, I do understand the lyrics of the song you pointed out:

I'm not in love
So don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through

Anita said...

Hapy Happy New Year !

I quess you are very busy with family and so on

hope all is well and you feel fine !
Here the Pinnekjøtt middag well eaten and we relax with a drink!
May be you will surprise with a new year letter ?!

All good to the best man !

Anita

Fram Actual said...

A very happy and prosperous new year is my wish for you, Anita. I like the sound of "twenty-twenty," and hope it will be a good year and create many pleasant memories for all of us.

Other than for beer and aquavit, I do not think I have partaken in a meal of pinnekjøtt. I would be curious to try it, though, and, maybe, will ask for it the next time I am in a restaurant. The staff probably would kick me out unless they happen to be recently arrived from Norway.

Sort of busy, Anita. Despite the nasty weather sweeping across North America, I did go to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra performance and then drove straight to Dakota where freezing rain and snow boxed me in for a while. I have two posts, neither with any contributions directly from/by me going up in a matter of hours -- one at midnight and the other at 7:44 a.m. Central European Time.

I also brought back a post from Dakota, and will be putting it up before many more days come and go.

Thank you, Ms. Norway, for coming and for writing a note to me. I hope Freyja is watching over you and taking good care of you ....

Anita said...

Well as they say..In Norway it is only cold and dark.People only eat Sheep head and serve beer for the trolls hahahah
Yes it is very dark here..Only 6 hours of daylight so you can imagine we become very strange people..
I know,8listening to the minneesota radio) you have a blizzard going on..i think you have more terrible weather than we have ..
Ok i shall come back and read your post
Looking forward to it!
Like a presant :)


Frøya and Ragnar says Stay Strong
Power is dangerous. It corrupts the best and attracts the worst. Power is only given to those who are prepared to lower themselves to pick it up..
...
don't waste your time looking back. You're not going that way at all..

Anita.

Fram Actual said...

I have been trying to decide if your comment should be the last word on this post, Anita, or if I should respond ....
Well, as is evident, I decided to respond ....
But, now that I am here, I am a bit unsure what to write ....
Anyway, here goes ....

I think the fact that Saint Paul in Minnesota is approximately in the middle of North America and Bergen in Norway is by the North Sea accounts for differences in our weather. Weather variations also can be measured in relatively short distances. When I lived in Michigan on the shore of "Lac Supérieur," it was always significantly warmer in town than it was a few miles inland, and while we measured snowfall in inches, on the Keweenaw Peninsula and hour away, it was measured in feet. Just a few days ago, five inches of snow fell here, while three inches fell at the airport ten minutes from here, with the Minnesota River between us.

We are all captives to the past (to history) in a genetic sense. The argument used to be environment vs. heredity. Now, environment remains part of the picture, but to a significantly lesser extent. I think it is likely genetic manipulation will be part of humankind's future, but at this point it is something over which there is no control.

We each have our strengths and weaknesses, and the art of living life includes learning how to maneuver and to control them to our betterment (which means different things to different people), while hoping luck and fate are with us so that we do not cross paths with a lunatic or an aircraft falling from the sky. Life is a figurative roll of the dice in many ways.

So, Happy New Year to you, Anita. May good fortune be your constant companion ....

Something special ....