Music & the distant past

Don't Think Twice & Baby Blue

One of the few (maybe only) music legends to emerge from Minnesota is Bob Dylan, who was born Robert Zimmerman in 1941 at Hibbing. Never heard of him? I do not believe you if you said "no." In any event, here is a pair of early recordings by Dylan, just for the fun of it. As you watch these performances (if you watch these performances) think of them in terms of their age -- about 45 years old, give or take. What were you doing 45 years ago; were you even here 45 years ago? Are Dylan and his songs more or less relevant today than he/it was two generations ago? Ain’t life something else? See there? Rock and roll is not the only music in my world.

On the top is,
"Don’t Think Twice, It's All Right,"
which appeared in 1963 on Dylan's second album.

On the bottom is,
"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue,"
which was among the songs on his fifth album, from 1965.

Collecting veils & thinking about ..... about .... about ....

Attention, young ladies age 21 and over: Applications sought from bright, attractive young ladies seeking to expand their horizons. Earn college credits while studying the history of motion pictures abroad. Scholarships available; also loans with very low interest rates and easy repayment plan. Must be single and unattached. Must bring your own personal veils.

This is sort of a "state of the blog speech"

As I have mentioned about a thousand times before, when January snow and cold hits, sometimes, I might go south for a couple of weeks; sometimes, I might go on a reading binge; sometimes, well, I won't tell you everything. This year, I went abloggin' (however a word of that approximation might be spelled) and roamed the sea of blogs.

I am not certain if doing this has served any purpose or not. I am no less restless today than I was a bit more than two months ago when I began to write. While it might not remain winter, neither is it July, which certainly explains some of my restlessness. A few questions I came here with have been answered, I think, but the heavy duty ones persist. If I'm lucky, those, too, will be resolved six months or a year from now.

Being here in "blogland" has been mostly enjoyable. I've only had one troll, and sure cannot cry about having had it rough in that respect. I have been surprised and pleased by the degree of good manners and consideration I have encountered. I've been involved in a few misunderstandings, but we all engage in them every day.

The few bloggers I have followed, I have done so by intent and for specific reason. I liked what you wrote or your topics or your guts or your enthusiasm or your effort to help people or the place you were traveling. There probably are a few other reasons, but there was a definite reason or two or three for each.

Nothing has changed my tentative jump off from sometime in July. Nothing has changed my initial jump location as being into Greece for a few weeks. After that? Unless something does change in his regard, I am thinking southern France near the Mediterranean, if not actually on it (ok, beside it, on the beach). From there, another map will have to be drawn. The world certainly has gotten geographically smaller in the past decade or two, hasn't it? A hop, skip and a jump, here we go and there we are.

Despite my "advertisement" above, I decided some time back that I am not looking for anyone to actually accompany me. Selfish me, I want to experience Greece without distraction. My more recent thought has been about the possibilities if I actually do settle in for a year or two. Then, I will want a "magic girl" to visit me, or maybe to hang out with me a while and see if anything develops.

I do have three or four other things on my mind, but they seem determined to stay there. I'm out of sync today. My fingers frequently replace my brain, and they are not doing so right now. I have said in the past that my fingers do my thinking for me. (Imagine my difficulties the two times I've had an arm and hand in a cast.)

Also, winter is moving away, and my mind and body reverse themselves between winter and summer. My body is coming out of hibernation for use during the warm weather months, and my mind is going toward its stagnant period to get some rest while I collect wind, water and sun on my face.

Music Note: Listening to Jimi Hendrix ....
Specifically, "Electric Ladyland" ....
Some lines from: "All Along the Watchtower," written by Bob Dylan:

There are many here among us
who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that
and this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late

All along the watchtower
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
Barefoot servants, too

Outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl

Beware the Ides of March & idle thoughts

Did this rune stone mark the final resting place of Fram the First?

This thrilling saga may end in Minnesota ....

Many people know the story of the Kensington Rune Stone. It was found in 1898 by a Swedish farmer, Olof Ohman, near Kensington, Minnesota, and is purported to be the record of a Scandinavian expedition from Vinland westward into the heartland of the American continent.

Here is a version of the generally accepted translation of the runes carved into this stone:

[we are] 8 Goths (Swedes) and 22 Norwegians on a journey of discovery from Vinland to the west we had camp by 2 skerries a day's trip north from this stone we went and fished one day after we came home we found men red with blood and dead. AVM save from evil have men at the sea to look after our ships 14 day's journey from this island year 1362

Here is a version of a newly-completed translation of the runes carved into this stone:

[we are] 8 Goths (Swedes) and 22 Norwegians on a journey of discovery from Vinnie's cabin after trying to sack Rome we had camp by 2 skerries a day's trip north from this stone we had fish fry and beach party one day after we came home we found Fram the First had been left behind with the Skraelings AVM save him from himself have men at the sea to look after our ships 14 day's journey from this island winning lottery number 1362

Now then. There are many who believe this stone to be genuine and many who do not. Needless to say, being directly descended from Fram the First, I have absolutely no doubt as to its authenticity. Just to engage in theory for a moment, perhaps the disappearance of Fram the First is directly related to the accounts of blue-eyed, blonde-haired, Mandan Native Americans. These accounts, of which there are a few, arose from the French fur traders who penetrated the region in the early 18th Century. Mandan "bull boats" and lodges have design similarities to Scandinavian counterparts. Just possibly, Fram the First was the first, and found eventual happiness with a Mandan bride along the banks of the Missouri River.

On a more ominous note, there has been speculation that the Kensingson Rune Stone was more than a simple message left for posterity. It might have been placed to mark the gravesite of Fram the First. Rumors surfacing around Norway a few years after the sack of Sarzana in Italy were that Fram the First met his end shortly before his 28th birthday while trying to lead his merry band of raiders home. The date, March 15, was suggested as his final day upon the surface of the earth and his first day beneath it. Even more chilling was the suggestion that he was assassinated by disgruntled Swedes, who wanted his gold and were jealous of his seafaring skills.

Furthermore, it is well known in literary circles that no less an author than William Shakespeare was aware of this tale regarding Fram the First's demise, and was torn about which assassination he would commit to writing: Fram's or Julius Caesar's, since they both happened on the Ides of March. We all know which death Shakespeare chose to memorialize in the end. Personally, I think Shakespeare made a bad decision.

Just as a precautionary move, we will continue to examine archaelogical and other records in case still more information might become available regarding the saga of Fram the First.

Random things about things ....

I carry two cell phones. (Sometimes, I forget to carry two cell phones.) One is for plain stuff, where the number is known to half the population between Canada and Mexico; one is for personal stuff, where the number is known to few. The one for plain stuff has a loud, straight ring. The one for personal stuff sings out, "Don’t Cry," by Guns n' Roses for its ring.

I stopped at a music store yesterday. I looked at and priced guitars. Man, that would be a kick. I'll see how I feel about it next fall when the November gales confine us seafarers to port. Other than for writing, I'm pretty much ambidextrous. From which side should I learn to play a guitar?

I have a friend who has been to 23 Bob Dylan concerts. She and her eventual husband followed him around the country the summer after they graduated from college, back in the 1990s, just to experience the event in different places. Such an adventure would be fun, wouldn't it? But, which band would be worth listening to that many times these days?

I am not looking to escape life, rather to throw a noose around it, gather it in, and put together the material for a new run at it. A thousand jobs in a thousand places will not happen, but there is every reason to roll the dice again and no reason not to.

I do want to learn how to do the Tango, and to do it with the right person, in the right place and with the right people on the floor doing it along side of us. No phonies allowed. A blogger in Poland who calls himself Epicurious wrote this a few days ago: "Dancing is the most intimate self-dialogue. When we dance, we drop our ego and freeze the moment of time to be in the now. We move to the rhythm of our heart while listening to the whispers of our soul." I think he got it exactly right.

Stepping up to the plate, in a manner of speaking, I began making a calendar. I have commitments I plan to keep in April, May and June, which means Independence Day would be a reasonable date to make a jump. That seems like a very long time from now, but at least the days are getting longer and the air warmer.

Music Note: Listening to Cream ....
Specifically, "Strange Brew / The Very Best of Cream" ....
("White Room" & "Sunshine of Your Love")

Books (again), internationalism & clouds

Seeing behind the curtains ….

Yesterday, I made a remark that I thought books produce more questions than they do answers. Hopefully, it was understood I was referring to literature, and to "legitimate" commentaries regarding philosophy, religion , history and similar topics.

There are any number of quacks, phonies and two-bit charlatans publishing books. Want to lose 50 pounds in 50 days? Want to double your income? You know what I mean. People who buy such books either are desperate or probably only interested in the pictures. But, the entire world revolves around selling and sales. Even "legitimate" authors want to have their books sell and to make money and, most certainly, they all want to convince you, the reader, that their talent is real and their ideas are valid.

Whether an individual reads to learn or for entertainment or for both, it would be nice to believe each individual's reading habit will include books that leave him asking questions rather than thinking he has learned all the answers. It is at that point when seeing behind the curtains and hearing beyond the spoken words begin, I think.

Comes the internationalist ….

It did not occur to me that I'm (sort of) an "internationalist" until someone pointed it out to me in terms of books. My list of the fourteen best novels of the 20th Century had two books written by a Greek, one by a German, two by an Irish expatriate, one (actually a four-book set) written by an English expatriate born in India, one written by a Norwegian who did not come to the U.S. until he was an adult, and seven by Americans, at least two of which were expatriates for parts of their lives.

Who drives the clouds?

A few nights ago, I was perusing (or cruising, if you prefer) a few blog sites when I encountered this phrase: "I know who drives the clouds."

My immediate thought was, "That is one thing I do not know."

My second thought was, "What a beautiful use of words; what a perfect expression. Did it originally come from a novel or, maybe, from a poem?"

My next thought was, "Drives, as one drives a herd of cattle over natural terrain, or drives, as one drives a car along a defined roadway?"

My walking-away thought was, "Now, there is something of relevance to mull over for a while."

As Bob Dylan once said:
"How many times must a man look up
before he can see the sky?"

Music Note: Currently listening to Richard Tucker ....
Specifically, "Richard Tucker Sings Puccini" ....
(I gotta find a way to bust out of this serious mood)