Music -- it's Personal.

(listen to the first three and a half minutes)

This semester I am taking an Intro to Music Literature class (just a fancy name for music history) and for the class I have to write two papers -- one critiquing an audio recording of a classical piece and another critiquing an actual concert performance. The audio recording critique is the first due, due this coming Tuesday in fact, and ever since I chose the piece I would be critiquing I have wanted to share it with anybody who'd listen.

I have always loved the cello as an instrument, there just isn't any other that can capture the range of emotion and feeling it is capable of producing, and in Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Cellos in G minor I think Vivaldi has showcased the cello's abilities brilliantly. For my critique I am focusing on the first movement of this piece and there are hardly any words to adequately express the emotion the music evokes in me -- it's just so beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that it literally brings a tear to my eye and a chill to my bones.

The frustrating thing is, I know that it probably won't effect anyone else the same way. But then, I guess that's what's so great about music -- it's personal.

Going Green

No, this post has nothing to do with saving the planet, recycling or buying a hybrid (though that might be nice because, really, who wouldn't want to save money on gas?). No, it's just a public statement that I have officially changed my favorite color. This change actually happened months ago, sometime before I started this blog, but I thought it was about time to post the announcement to the world wide web and thus make it official. So, here we go...

My favorite color used to be blue, but now it's green. And, just like with blue, I find myself tending towards the darker shades of the color.

I have no idea what spurred on the change, but I've been doing a lot of growing up in the past two years and I imagine it has something to do with that. A lot of things have changed since I was a kid, why shouldn't favorite color be one of them? Seems a little trivial, I know, but anyone who knows me knows how obsessed I was with the color blue, so I kinda see it as one small change that is indicative of a much bigger, and much more significant one.

And on that note, you may have noticed I've changed the way things look around here. I haven't been posting much, just haven't been able to think of anything to write, so I thought revamping the look of the blog might be cause for some inspiration. Don't be surprised if you see it change another time or two -- and don't be surprised when all of those changes include some green. ;0)

They have closed their eyes...

"In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and THEY have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.'"

-- Matthew 13:14-15

"Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.'"

-- Ezekiel 12:1-2

I feel like weeping.