Go here
PollyannaPest  <click

to find out more about February happenings-hehe

Just a reminder–I am also on MySpace at ‘Lorelei Universe’
come and see me!!

Go here, he’s a good friend!
clichedguy

<click

Thank you all so much for the Valentine Wishes!
Hope your day and night were what you wanted!

I am not feeling well today, so won’t blog much,
but perhaps this afternoon, I can play some catch-up with you?

WINTER

SHIT, IT’S COLD!!

Never forget the laughter of a child!

And idiot f**kers, quit shooting at schools!

I love you!!

I feel so alone and lonely tonight…

---

There’s light in the darkness

“Each difficult moment has the potential to open my eyes and
open my heart.”

– Myla Kabat-Zinn

“Even the most daring and accomplished people have undergone
tremendous difficulty. In fact, the more successful they became, the more they
attributed their success to the lessons learned during their most difficult
times. Adversity is our teacher. When we view adversity as a guide towards
greater inner growth, we will then learn to accept the wisdom our soul came into
this life to learn.”

– Barbara Rose

“No matter what difficulty you are facing, it is coming from
Divine Light to bring you to a higher place within. Write down every conceivable
reason that this situation can contribute towards your growth. Write down every
way this experience can possibly set the stage for serving to uplift others.
When you are complete, and have come to the other side of this experience, you
will then know ‘why’ it happened.”

– Barbara Rose

“The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is
the most difficult period in one’s life.”

– Dalai Lama

Write yourself a Valentine…

…a love letter to yourself. Tell yourself how absolutely wonderful you are, that you are spectacular, and that you know you shine. Fill yourself with unabashed joy. Remind yourself that each day you are in the world is a gift, both to the world and to yourself. Bask in the love you feel from within, remembering that it will illuminate the love you receive from others…

Musical accompaniment

February 14,
2008
The Celtic Lounge II
Various Artists
2007

In the tradition of the Buddha Bar and chill-out discs comes the
moody northern flow of The Celtic Lounge II, a collection of lilting,
heartrending ballads from the likes of Tina Malia, Gary Stadler, Stephanie
Stadler, and Sharon Knight. These artists are frequent openers on chill-out
discs, but it’s quite a different experience to have them all assembled
together, like a calling of the very mellowest of Celtic tribes for a postfeast
dance and loll amidst the rolling moss and mist. If you are new to the world of
Celtic chill-out, then this is a great place to start. It’s the ideal disc for
unwinding at home after an evening out, driving through the rolling hills in a
warm spring wind, or having late night drinks in a misty garden under a full
moon.

Tina Malia kicks things off with “Lilac Blooms (Under the Rising
Moon)”—her fragile, clear glass voice emanating like rippling waves of healing
yin energy among the darker drones, a lovely green princess bestowing blessings
along a line of dark, ready warriors about to journey deep into the forest. When
she sings “I want my hands on the breath of life,” it’s at once spiritual and
sensual, a declaration of abandonment and a vow of faith. A standout amidst the
lush orchestral sweep of most tracks is David Gordon’s hushed solo-piano
rendition of the old Irish drinking standard, “The Foggy Dew.” He effortlessly
captures all the melancholy ache of the song and some spiritual transcendence
besides.

Gary Stadler plays on two tracks with two different chanteuses:
Stephanie for the melting ice-cap melodies of “Faraway” and Wendy Rule for the
cinematic sweepings of “Fly Away.” Her voice vaguely girlish and innocent,
Rule’s request to “Fly away with me / Release the ground below / There’s
everything to see / And everywhere to go,” over gently unraveling piano, has the
graceful precision of a recital that’s so good you forgot you were dragged
there. Stephanie is more of a diva, cooing long, bending vowels over the rolling
keys and gently flowing rivers of Celtic harp. A fine collection of northern
flavors, The Celtic Lounge II makes coming home from a hard day at the office
seem like coming home to a warm hearth after a cold month away on the windswept
sea.

	Listen to all sound clips from this CD
“Lilac Blooms” “The Foggy Dew” “Fly Away”

Buy this CD

I think some may have misunderstood yesterday’s post
about ‘free’ internet.  Of course, we pay for the internet!
What this is all about is they want to start charging us more,
for the bandwidth used.  I am against this possible bill,
as it would allow Verizon, Comcast and AT&T to  charge us even more!
Do you want that to happen?!

I love you!!

LIFE IN ABUNDANCE COMES ONLY THROUGH GREAT LOVE.

There is no force more potent than love.
Take away love and your world is a tomb.
Your life echoes emptiness without love.
With it, your life will vibrate with warmth and meaning.
Even during hardship, love will shine through.

As you look back upon the events in your life you will find
that the moments that stand out, the moments when you have really lived,
are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love.

If you have it, you don’t need to have anything else,
and if you don’t have it, it doesn’t matter what else you have.

Therefore, search for love.
Once you have learned to love, you will have learned to live.

Love is the most important ingredient to your success.

Something I consider very important
is keeping the internet free.
There are bills out there speaking
of particular bandwidths being used,
and how much they should be charged.

I am horrified (but am I really?)
that they want to start charging us, for the internet.
I subscribe to Comcast, and that is one of
the companies they’re talking about !  Verizon, is another one.

I received this in an email,
and I consider it important to read it,
and take action!

It is through
http://www.savetheinternet.com

Please read it, and support it!
Thank you.

Now, onto lighter fare–

Experience and Judgment
Andy
Bey
1970

For those in the know, Andy Bey is considered to be a master of
jazz singing, albeit an unsung one. His relative obscurity has nothing to do
with his magnificent voice. The precocious Bey was recognized for his vocal
prowess at a young age, gigging with famed saxophonist Hank Mobley when he was
eight and touring Europe with his sisters before he hit 20. But Bey was
remarkably unprolific as a solo artist, and after releasing his metaphysical
jazz-funk solo debut Experience and Judgment, he wouldn’t record under his own
name for over 20 years, preferring to work as a sideman to jazz greats like
Horace Silver and McCoy Tyner. Experience and Judgment is a remarkable
album though, uniting Bey’s universe-spanning voice and a deeply funky
backing-band that brings his high-flying spirituality back to earth.

Take a look at that image of Bey’s head on the cover of Experience
and Judgment. He’s got the knowing smile of someone who’s learned a lot, and
those planetary rings hint at the spiritual concerns he sings about on every
track. “Talk to the heavenly bodies of the universe” he pleads on opener
“Celestial Blues,” his rich voice soaring high, taking its own advice, while
wah-wah guitars and a wide-open groove keep on moving through the cosmos. Bey’s
a wide-eyed spiritualist, but he knows that the daily grind can get in the way
of the blossoming spirit, an idea he sings about on “Judgment.” As Bey wails
“Tryin’ to find contentment / And strive for peace and mind / It’s a lifetime
struggle deep down / In the depths of my soul,” wicked guitars and a fast-paced
funk beat drive home his message.

The album’s best moments come when Bey
applies his wisdom to matters of the heart. He prescribes meditation as a
natural precursor to love on the deliriously funky “You Should’ve Seen the Way,”
cycling through various positions (“Legs all crossed in the lotus seat / Next
position was my head to my feet”) before hollering out “You should have seen the
way I made love to you!” Even better is the smoky, album-ending “The Power of My
Mind,” where Bey dips into his natural, caramel rich baritone. When he oozes “I
can reach out to you / No matter where you are / With the power of my mind,” Bey
sensually drops the last word of each phrase, like it’s being pulled downward
into his bottomless soul. Experience and Judgment is a spaced-out, funky, and
mind-expanding gem.

	Listen to all sound clips from this CD
“Celestial Blues” “Judgment” “The Power of My Mind”

Buy this CD

Letting go and raising one’s awareness
that is is so necessary
is something I am dealing with, right now.
I need to let go of Toto, knowing
he will never come back, but holding
onto the good memories.
By not letting go, I am putting myself in a time-freeze
that prevents me from truly living my life.
There is much pain, but it will be overcome,
with time.
Sometimes, we fantasize when we’re in love,
that everything will work out.
He did not feel the same way about me, but
I know he cared, a lot.
He was tormented from things in his past, and perhaps his present,
that he couldn’t deal with any longer.
He gave out a lot of love and understanding
for people, but couldn’t realize the potential.
He died a slow-suicide, which
I’m sure some would beg to differ.
He was an honest and loving man,
who loved to joke around,
if only to cover up his own pain.
He went out of his way
to help people and give them a bright
spot in their day.
That is how he will be remembered…

I love you!!

Sometimes,
I forget that you’re gone
and I want to call you.

Sometimes,
certain songs are too much
but I must listen

Sometimes,
the sun won’t come out
and I feel so blue

Sometimes,
I want a hug, but I don’t
get any…

Sometimes,
I feel strong,
like I could take on the world

Sometimes,
I’m lower than low
missing you so…

Sometimes,
life marches on
and I need to join the parade.

Sometimes,
I love you so much
it hurts-
love of my life.
©

Life As It Is
Making Life Work For
You

Sometimes we have so many varying responsibilities in our lives,
ranging from work obligations to caring for children to running a household, we
feel we cannot possibly make it all work. We may feel overwhelmed in the face of
it all, ending each day feeling hopelessly behind schedule. However, regardless
of how frustrating this can be, these are the parameters that make up our lives,
and we owe it to ourselves to find a way to make it work. Rather than buckling
under the pressure of an impossible to-do list, we might take a moment to view
the larger perspective.

Like the president of a large organization, we
must first realize that we cannot do every job ourselves. The first step to
sanity is learning how to delegate some of the responsibility to other people,
whether by paying someone to clean our house or trading childcare duties with
another parent. In addition, we might find places where we can shift our
expectations in ways that make our lives easier. For example, expecting
ourselves to create a healthy home-cooked meal every night after a full day of
work, errands, or caring for an infant or toddler may be a bit excessive. We
might allow ourselves to order in food once in a while without any guilt.
Accepting the adjustments needed to make our lives work is an essential
ingredient to being at peace with our situation.

At the end of the day,
we must come to terms with changing what we can and accepting what we cannot
change. Sometimes the laundry piles up, a sick child demands more of our
attention than usual, and we temporarily get behind with our schedule. Accepting
this momentary state of affairs and trusting in our ability to get back on track
when the time is right, we gracefully accept our life as it is, letting go of
perfectionism and embracing life as it stands.

The Colours of Chloë
Eberhard
Weber
1973

There’s no easy way to classify the music of German bassist
Eberhard Weber. His debut offering, The Colours of Chloë, takes its
harmonic vocabulary and improvisational bent from jazz, but large masses of
strings and voices also link Weber’s compositions to modern classical music. And
then there are the hard-charging rhythms that show up unannounced like visitors
from planet rock and roll. It’s that slipperiness that makes The Colours of
Chloë such an intriguing listen, and Weber’s willingness to explore the cracks
between genres and thereby invent a couple of his own. Whatever you call what he
does, this is powerful stuff. By turns atmospheric, cerebral, emotionally
expansive, and viscerally exciting, The Colours of Chloë offers a spaceship
voyage to uncharted musical worlds.

Dawn hasn’t quite broken as a
low-hanging fog of cellos and basses rolls into the opening track, “More
Colours.” It’s all brooding atmosphere until Weber breaks through with an
unbowed bass solo like some solitary birdsong, but he’s eventually overtaken by
the mass of strings again. Light begins to shine through on the title track, and
the strings recede into the background, giving way to the momentum of Weber’s
small jazz combo. Weber trades off yearning melodies with an ocarina, then pumps
away while pianist Rainer Bruninghaus spins out an exploratory solo over Ral
Hubner’s creative drumming. It’s an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of sound, light,
and color, and here’s where this album earns its name.

The 20-minute
final track may be titled “No Motion Picture,” but it’s certainly arranged like
a movie, with discrete musical moods switching back and forth like scene cuts.
The camera pans in on a propulsive bass ostinato and burbling synthesizer,
sounding like the hustle and bustle of city life. The motif comes back several
times throughout “No Motion Picture,” as does the soothing ocarina melody that
follows it. These recurring melodies and rhythmic patterns play the roles of
central characters in an ensemble cast, binding the piece together in a musical
narrative. It’s also a perfect summation of the entire album in the way that it
juggles jazz solos and symphonic string sections, choral writing and jazz-rock
fusion. Diverse as it is, The Colours of Chloë hangs together through the
wide-open vision of its mastermind, Eberhard Weber.

	Listen to all sound clips from this CD
“More Colours” “The Colours of Chloë” “No Motion Picture”

Buy this CD

For Toto

My mind creeps back and forth
from you to now
missing you greatly
but accepting the reality

Love doesn’t end
it grows more with time
deepening into a
colorful vortex

You’re finally happy
unburdened of any negatives
dimples showing
and brown eyes glowing

Talking to you helps
and the music
makes me sense
brighter tomorrows

Thank you
for the time we had
Oh, the time we had
was precious.

“We will meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when…”

I love you!!

I have been tagged by
Lady_Songbird

Now it is
your
turn
to ask questions.
Any question
you can dream of,
I will be honest and answer all!

Go ahead

ASK ME ANYTHING!!

I love you!!

More pictures

My tulips now
A spray array!

My rings: Small amethyst-Celtic, Celtic flower, A different opal and a

purple turquoise

A blue lapis, An amethyst Witches knot (Celtic), An ocean blue CZ, a
moon and stars, and a Daisy Chain Celtic ring.

I’ve bought several necklaces too, will show those another time!

I got this tonight!!

Posted 2/8/2008 6:45 PM by true -

Thank you very much Xanga team!!

(see below post)