Spirit Sky Sound  

I spent the day in the warm embrace of New York City. 

Last week, the trio of celestial events (Snow Moon, eclipse & comet 45P) sent me 
scrambling for a patch of dark sky that I could reach without renting a car.

Columbia offers stargazing for the public...

Grateful for this day: spirit, sky, sound.

The Great Ms. Loroupe 



"Her father called her ‘Useless’; that was his name for her..."

and yet..

"in the running world, Loroupe is celebrated as the winner of the New York City Marathon in 1994 and 1995, the first black African woman to win a major marathon, and a former world-record holder at the distance of 26.2 miles.

She has mediated tribal disputes over grazing land, water and cattle raiding, persuaded 700 members of her tribe, the Pokot people, to surrender 38 guns as part of an anti-rustling campaign. 
She has campaigned against female genital mutilation and fought for the broader rights of girls and women in patriarchal societies of East Africa. 
She operates a school for nearly 400 children, trying to keep them from becoming child soldiers, providing shelter for those orphaned by AIDS or dislocated by war, offering the nourishment of food and education in the face of poverty, conflict and cultural skepticism. 
In 2006, she was named a United Nations ambassador of sport. 
She is the leader of a group of 10 displaced athletes, known as the Refugee Olympic Team. It will march Friday in the opening ceremony, carrying the Olympic flag, serenaded by the Olympic anthem."
-Jeré Longman, NYT

..and I love her from afar.

Tender Shoulders 

On Friday, a few of us gathered to talk around a theme from a song of mine.
Susan Galvini- sprucenyc.com- spoke about how that idea applies to her beautiful designs. Christian Boutan, badass renaissance man, shared how this idea plays out in taking measurements in his research in dark matter. We spent the evening at Robert Lange Studios-which was such a treat-and the perfect setting to take the lids off of our heads and let it all fly.
I've never attempted anything like that before. It was so nice to take a risk and to do it with people I respect so much- also to let one idea float through very different minds-and to hear how differently it can express itself. Thanks to all who came out!

Sweet Aiken 

Sound check at Hopelands Gardens Summer Concert Series yesterday. I met so many great people & was totally charmed by Aiken, SC.  
John M., one of the gentlemen-soundmen, gave me a fascinating primer on South Carolina geology & geography and showed me to the healing (Coker) springs on the way out of town. They were flowing low, but I got my hands in there for good measure. I try not to leave healing on the table when it’s up for grabs.

Marsh 

I wandered around the marsh last night-trying to remember. Pluff mud and salt-wind; themes: animism, wildness & utter restraint. 
The sense-memories of this place I've carried in my travels don't compare and yet, they're outdated. They serve to strengthen nostalgia-the irresistible siren that has led me astray as often as she's led me home. This moment is all. May I know it and agree to drop in.
 

Wilczek  

"All colors are one thing seen in different states of motion and that is science’s brilliantly poetic answer  
to Keats’ complaint that 
'Science unweaves a rainbow'” .
-Frank Wilczek-Nobel physicist

This guy dropped so many nourishing one-liners that I repeated the episode 3 times.
If you have it to spare, this interview is worth your precious time.

Holy Lust 

"Sure, he deviated from that path when he wanted to, but for him there was no need to separate the things we do on Saturday night from the things we do on Sunday morning."
-Touré


the NYT Picks for reader comments are particularly fertile for this one. Check Mr. Ned Hickey from Marlborough, CT:

The author's premise about Judeo-Christian spirituality and sexual love somewhat inaccurate or misleading. Th gist of St. Augustine's approach is consistent with the body/spirit dichotomy of Platonism, but not the integrated body/spirit/sexuality spirituality found in the Biblical Song of Songs [e.g., My lover is like a gazelle, a young stag ....] and the line of Jewish and Christian mystics for whom sexual love was a significant reflection of the divine love of God. prince would have found poetic sustenance for his vision in the writings of Kabbala and the Sephirot, or, St. Bernard of Clairvaux and St. Teresa of Avila.

entire article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/opinion/sunday/princes-holy-lust.html

Bob Potts 

Years ago, I came across the work of Arthur Ganson. His playful, brilliant sculptures struck me like a storm of glorious little lightning bolts.
Today I found Mr. Potts's work and it suits the season for me. Ethereal & romantic..fluid. Anyway, what a thing that minds like this exist. 
 

Winter

"Cellophilia" Rehearsal Matt Frey conducts "Ice Covers the North" with the West 4th Music Collective 5.05 MB



 
©2014 brooke campbell music