Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Who Said That?

Who said...?

"When someone is baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, they are ushered into an objective, visible, covenant membership. Regardless of the state of their heart, regardless of any hypocrisy, regardless of whether or not they mean it, such a person is now a visible saint, a Christian. God has made a statement concerning this person, and the one baptized has an obligation to say amen to God’s statement through how he lives his life."

I'll post the answer next week. No cheating, (Googling etc.)

I Will Have My Revenge!



One of my all time favorite scenes!

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Optical Illusion

Wow! I thought this one was amazing! Block A and B are the exact same color. They are both grey and the same shade of grey. Yes they are! Don't believe me? Click here to see.

Louis Pernot Performing Gavotte in G Minor

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Paganini

Who was the Eddie Van Halen of the 18th Century violin? His name was Niccolo Paganini!

Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (October 27, 1782May 27, 1840) was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He is one of the most famous violin virtuosi, and is considered one of the greatest violinists who ever lived, with perfect intonation and innovative techniques. Although nineteenth century Europe had seen several extraordinary violinists, Paganini was the preeminent violin virtuoso of that century. (from Wikipedia)

He played with an almost unbelievable and truly remarkable ability. Uncanny!

Monday, July 23, 2007

Can't Be Satisfied by John Hammond



One night in 1993, I met John Hammond at the Iroquois Club and he taught me how to tune my guitar to an open "A" after the show. He was a great performer/musician/interpreter!

Fist City by Loretta Lynn



"I'll grab you by the har of the head..." Too funny!!!

Who Is It?


Who's in the picture?

I'll post the answer next week.

Who Said That?

Who said...?

"We, whom God has favored with the light of the Gospel, ought to acknowledge that we have been called in order that we may advance more and more in our obedience to God, and strive constantly to draw near to him. This is the real preservation of the soul, for by doing so we shall escape eternal perdition."

Josh was right. It was John Calvin.

Calvin was born with the name Jean Chauvin (or Cauvin, in Latin Calvinus) in Noyon, Picardie, France, to Gérard Cauvin and Jeanne Lefranc. In 1523, Calvin's father, an attorney, sent his fourteen-year-old son to the University of Paris to study humanities and law. By 1532, he had attained a Doctor of Laws degree at Orléans. A close friend of Calvin's, Nicholas Cop, found it necessary to flee Paris after giving a customary discourse in the Church of the Mathurins. The speech has long been rumoured to be the work of Calvin himself. Calvin took flight within a few days after Cop. Calvin sheltered at Angouleme with a friend, Louis du Tillet. After 1534, he became firmly entrenched within a Reformist belief, beyond that of humanist thought. In 1536, as he was forced to choose an alternate route in the face of imperial and French forces, he passed by Geneva. Guillaume Farel begged with Calvin to stay in Geneva and help the city. Despite wishing to further his journey, he settled in Geneva. After being expelled from the city, he served as a pastor in Strasbourg from 1538 until 1541, before returning to Geneva, where he lived until his death in 1564. (from Wikipedia)

"This is Not a Pipe"

Here is another painting by Rene Magritte. The caption says "This is not a pipe." Well, is it, or is it not? The painter says it is not.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

The Scientist by Coldplay




Just goes to prove even corporate rock can occassionly make good music, and the video is somewhat creative to boot!

One of my best friends died in a car crash in April of 2001, two weeks before he was to be married. Laura and I married the following month. He was not wearing his seat belt. I know, if he were here, he would like this song.



Rusty Frieze (yes, they spelled his name wrong!) He was in 9th grade in this picture. Rusty, we had some great times, didn't we? "It's such a shame for us to pa-art."

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The Lovers by Magritte


This painting by Rene Magritte entitled "The Lovers," hangs in the Museum of Modern Art.
Whaddya' think?

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Evil Woman by ELO



Okay, I know I am going to get in trouble with this one. Yeah, so they might not win American Idol, but with a piano hook like that, it was destined to be a classic!

Whatchutalkinboutchris...?

Spoonerisms” are words or phrases where the order of the sounds is mixed up, such as flutterby for butterfly and ossifer for officer. They're called spoonerisms after Reverend William Archibald Spooner, who lived in Oxford in the late 1800s and early 1900s and who was reported to rampantly make these slips of the tongue. There are unintentional spoonerisms that don't make sense, such as cimmanon and goys and birls (for cinnamon and boys and girls), and then there are spoonerisms that create new, amusing meanings such as keys and parrots (for peas and carrots) and better Nate than lever (for better late than never). (courtesy of Grammar Girl)

Thanks Kev.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Do You Believe in a..."Heat Wave"?



Can you hear the similarities between this song and Do You Believe in Magic by the Lovin Spoonful? Hmmm? Wonder who copied who?

Wow! This song...Heat Wave by Martha and the Vandellas, has a tremendous amount of energy! If you could take most songs from the 2000's (thus far) and compress them into one, you would still not get the same level of passion found in this great song!

Do You Believe in Magic?



Rare footage from the Lovin' Spoonful. Check out Zal Yanovsky dancing that funny jig as he plays his guitar. It cracks me up!

Friday, July 6, 2007

Women in Art Morph



It's hypnotic!

Who Said That?


Who said...?

"We, whom God has favored with the light of the Gospel, ought to acknowledge that we have been called in order that we may advance more and more in our obedience to God, and strive constantly to draw near to him. This is the real preservation of the soul, for by doing so we shall escape eternal perdition."

I will post the answer next week. No cheating, (Googling, etc.)

Who Said That?

Who said...?

"A man has free choice to the extent that he is rational."

It was the famous Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas.
Saint Thomas Aquinas (also Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino; c. 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Catholic priest in the Order of Preachers, a philosopher and theologian in the scholastic tradition, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Universalis and Doctor Communis. He is the foremost classical proponent of natural theology, and the father of the Thomistic school of philosophy and theology. St. Thomas is held in the Roman Catholic Church to be the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood. The work for which he is best-known is the Summa Theologica. (from Wikipedia)

Lunchtime in Bree

On a back alley in the village of Bree, a plump stowaway ground hog from a field nearby has stumbled upon a scent. He sniffs the warm summer air. His eyes squint. He is still- yet restless. His whiskers twitch. A breeze blows across his prickley brown/grey fur and he is up and running! Scurrying up the path, he stops every few feet to smell. He is hungry, but not for long. Someone has thrown this morning's table scraps onto the dusty path. A chunk of honey-dew mellon and bit of bleu cheese will satisfy the young "rodent." There is rumour of a feast tonight in the village. Perhaps he will find more scraps in the morning. Until then, he is satisfied with the cool green fruit.

The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as the woodchuck or whistlepig, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Most marmots, such as yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but the woodchuck is a lowland creature. It is widely distributed in North America and common in the northeastern and central United States. In the west it is found only in Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and northern Washington. (from Wikipedia)

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Lions, Crocs and Buffaloes...Oh My!



This is an amazing nature video!

Tony Blair Sings the Clash

The Present by Thomas Cole


Being in the patriotic spirit today, I have posted a painting by one of my favorite American painters, Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 - February 11, 1848). This particular painting is known as "The Present." (click on pic to see detail.) Cole was a nineteenth century American artist; he is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, an American art movement that flourished in the mid-19th century and was concerned with the realistic and detailed portrayal of nature. (from Wikipedia)