Wardrobe Doors to Better Worlds...

...aka some links which I wanted to share with all of you :)

First, an amazing blog post on Scriptorium Daily which literally hit me over the head like a ton of bricks.  Humility is something I daily struggle with, particularly in group discussions...therefore T. S. Eliot's quote about the wisdom of humility is the cover for my Faith of our Father's notebook :P  But this blog post is amazing and anyone who has ever been or ever will be in any sort of argument or discussion or debate should read this...and then lets talk! 

http://www.scriptoriumdaily.com/2009/08/30/wanted-humility/

Next and far less worthy though somewhat personally important...my first blog post on the Wheatstone blog! Yes, I'm very excited...once again, read and then let's discuss.  :)

http://www.wheatstoneacademy.com/#blog

Finally, a wonderfully cute and fun online movie I recently discovered...I actually haven't seen the entire thing yet, as it's fairly long (45 minutes), but I've listened to the soundtrack and its such a cute musical :)

http://www.hulu.com/watch/28343/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog#s-p1-so-i0

Soundtrack to My Life-Part 24

So yes it's been a while since I've updated this...sorry :(  I've been busy prepping for our Scotland trip, getting ahead on FooF/Shakespeare papers, writing blog posts for Wheatstone (more about this in a later post), etc...but no longer shall I delay.  Here you go my dear friends!

1) White Winter Hymnal-Fleet Foxes-I haven't listened to much of this band, but I really love their sound-it's sorta a country naturey version of the Beach Boys, to me, and it just has a really fun, laid back acoustic sound with fantastic lyrics, and the song is so whimsical and cute :)

2) Death and All His Friends-Coldplay-I love the lyrics of this song..."I don't wanna battle from beginning to end,/ I don't wanna cycle, recycle revenge,/ I don't wanna follow Death and all his friends."  

3) On the Rise-Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog-if you've never heard of this, look it up on Hulu and watch it...it's so hilariously cute and amazing...it's brilliant yet amusing and tragic and fantastic...:)

4) Rachmaninoff Piano concerto no. 2-1st movement-absolutely brilliant and hauntingly gorgeous, the sort of music that gives you shivers...amazing

5) Music of the Night-Michael Crawford-yes, the legit Phantom...no one can do it like him...his voice gives me chills still...he even beats Raul at his own song in All I Ask of You...a Phantom with his voice and Gerard Butler's looks would be a part of my dream cast...along with Emmy Rossum as Christine, Minnie Driver as Carlotta, and Josh Groban as Raul :P

St. Annes-On-the-Hill

Someday...I want to have a home, where everyone is welcome at all times,

where there is always a kettle of tea boiling or a pot of coffee brewing, where I can reach

into the cupboard and pull out oatmeal chocolate chip cookies or a freshly baked tart

from the oven to serve to the friends who dropped by for a visit.  

Where laughter and tears are equally shared in comfy couches and chairs 

around a fire, where no topic of discussion is shied away from, where

everybody is free to speak their minds, and the Great Conversation

never ends, where the dialectic is pursued in love, where goodness

truth and beauty are earnestly sought after with true companions.

A home filled with beauty, art hanging on the walls from

dead masters and living companions skilled in drawing

or painting, where music is always filling the halls,

the piano lid is always open, or friends bring violins,

cellos, guitars, flutes, drums, and St. Anne's On The Hill

is never silent.  Voices raised in song, an admiring group

gathered to hear the latest story or poem, duets 

practiced, melodies intertwining in beautiful conversation.

A room filled with books, shelves upon shelves

of dark mahogany from floor to ceiling, and each book

is a friend.  There are comfortable chairs to read

or daydream in, and people are exclaiming aloud as they

read, talking about their books.  Scribbled notes to another

companion, chocolate or tear stains, exclamations

and remembered quotes, all these line the margins

of the books, a conversation between the friends

and the authors gone before and all else who read

these books.  

Where everyone is welcome, where truth

goodness and beauty are pursued together

where love of God and love of one another

are the most important things in the world

where true friends have everything in common, 

this is a little piece of heaven.  This is home.

Holy Fire

Standing before the eternal throne of glory,

I watch as my life is built up

into a palace, a shack, a building

formed by thoughts, words, and actions.  

The shining thought, loving word, Christ-like

deed, all these are shimmering, reflecting

the light of the glory of God.  Enduring

for a lifetime, supporting and sustaining

the building, all that glitters is glory.

But the prideful thought, careless word, wicked

deed, all these are half-baked bricks,

sloppy stonework, weak and rotting wood.

Mixed throughout the work are materials

both firm and frail, base and beautiful.

And still the building of my life is built.

Finally it is finished, the Lord looks

and commands with a wave of His hand—

“It must be purged—by fire.”  Aghast

I stand staring as holy fire

rains down, purifying, purging, consuming

all that is crass or carelessly constructed,

perfecting and polishing the pure.  It rages,

reflecting off of gold and silver, bouncing

back the divine light.  

The fire fades

and what remains glistens ever brighter

in the glory of God.  It stands

scarred, yet whole and holy

through the purifying fire 

which no base thing can endure.

All is made well through holy flame.

soundtrack to my life-part 23

After a rather long vacation, I'm back to blogging again :)  If you haven't gotten the point yet, wheatstone is amazing and y'all should go next summer :)  But anyways...more music :)

1) Point of No Return-In Houston I saw Phantom of the Opera for the first time; last night I read the novel; I love this song...'nuff said.

2) Breakdown-Mae-this is now the song that I'm working on for my play...I did finish writing the Ocean.  

3) Viva La Vida-Coldplay-amazing song...the string quartet we heard at Wheatstone Houston even played their own arrangement of it...twas pretty good :)

4) Nessun Dorma-Paul Potts-amazing opera music, amazing voice, you can't get much better than this.

5) A Day Late (acoustic)-Anberlin-love this song, but I've never heard the acoustic...hope it's good :)

Fatal Glance

This poem, written during Wheatstone, was inspired by the painting of Orpheus leading Eurydice from the Underworld...if you google it you can probably find an image of it somewhere.  Though it was originally written merely to attempt to tell a bit of what I thought Orpheus might be feeling just after the moment the painting depicts, I think it encapsulates a lot of what I've been thinking about throughout the entire summer.  So enjoy!

Fatal Glance

And now, the moment is passed,

the moment which sent my beloved

to hell and ripped my heart away;

I, sentenced to a hell on earth for hell

is wherever she is not.  Forever

my doom falls upon me, and all 

for a look.  A single glance

upon that face of beauty

and light, born out of desire 

to know and not just feel

that she is once more mine.

And for this I am condemned 

to constant tears and tortures.

A single look, a glance at beauty,

and it forever flees from my

grasp.  Must we live forever 

apart, simply because I loved?  

Because I wished to see, to behold

my beloved, she suffers in sorrow.

Nothing can saver her now, not

pleas nor promises nor even love.

Love, which led me here to her,

and which tore her away

from me.  The price of a single

look, that fatal glance upon

the beauty of the beloved,

for no one may see 

the face of their god and yet live,

and she was my god.

License, Love, Long Weeks...

Hello all faithful followers...

Sorry I haven't been posting in a while...Wheatstone was amazing though :)  I just got back from Houston on Saturday night and am now resting my mind, heart, and body from an amazing week. 

 Random note of interest...I am now a fully licensed driver!  Amazing!!!!!

At what point does love cease to become love, and become merely obsession?

THe myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is a fascinatingly tragic one...his one simple glance cost them both their happiness, and cost his beloved her life.  Was his love too obsessive, though?  He couldn't sacrifice that glance, and so lost her forever...Christ sacrificed all for us and gave us new life...

Just some thoughts for the week :)