Voulez Vous Le Sacre du Printemps?

The Rites (and, Wrongs) Of Spring

Spring Snow Angel
The Rock
March 28, 2008

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"Voulez-vous (ah-ha)
Take it now or leave it (ah-ha)
Now is all we get (ah-ha)
Nothing promised, no regrets."

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Voulez Vous (1979 Extended Promo)
(Buy: ABBA : Voulez Vous)

And, just a reminder.

Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
(Buy: Frank Zappa : Apostrophe ('))

Where's The Sunshine?

"What say we promenade through the yard, Mushi?" (Amazingly, this is the same little man that will do anything he can to stay out of the rain.)


Marcel Duchamp
Skin Hill, The Rock
February 2008

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Marcel loves the snow.

Heading out for his morning rituals, he plows through the snow — chest-deep (as well as everything else that hangs down below), head down, snorting loudly — on the trail of who knows what. Leaps and bounds, trying to get the jump on whatever he smells.

"Where's the sunshine? When is this weather going to end? Enough already!" people gripe — when we finally see them. But we won't be seeing them for a while. (It's only 4:30 — the crack of arse.) So, we enjoy the weather.

Marcel loves the snow. And, so do I.

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Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
Fun In The Sun
Splashin'
(Buy: Maceo Parker : Southern Exposure)

The Heavens Open Up To Cover The Rock With A Beautiful White Blanket Of Snow (And Kick The Arse of Wall Street)

Photograph © Alex Kraus/Bloomberg News

Tao Jones'n
Wall Street
February 28, 2007

An old, miserable guy goes down to the banks of the river. He raises his arms to the heavens. He beseeches the angels. He calls on them to make things better for him. They show up, but their mood is ugly. They tell him he has a scrawny neck, that they're tired of guys like him. When he complains, they knock him down. They beat him with their thick fists. They roll him into the river. They walk off stolidly through the mists, not saying anything, breathing hard. Under their robes their shoulders are big and violent, under the great horns of their wings.

Angels, from A Man Jumps Out of an Airplane by Barry Yourgrau.


(Oh, and Wall Street, if you're reading this — Get a friggin grip!)

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Angels
(Buy: Robbie Williams: Life Thru A Lens)

He Needs Me
(Buy: Harry Nilsson & Shelley Duvall: Punch-Drunk Love Original Soundtrack)

Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
(Buy: Talking Heads: More Songs About Buildings and Food)

Shambala
(Buy: Three Dog Night: The Complete Hit Singles)

Black Crow Snow Angels

Black Crow
Rockport, Maine
December 26, 2001

After the long wait for Winter — Snow! (And ice, eeks!)

So, today I'll give you something warm.

Enjoy, and get out and play!

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Bob Marley & The Wailers: Sun Is Shining
(Buy: Bob Marley & The Wailers: Kaya)

Let It Snow (Already)

Snowflakes
Photographed by Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley
Jericho, Vermont

"Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind." — Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley, 1925

I've had it up to here with global warming. I'm ready for snow. How about you?

•••

Joe Williams: Let It Snow!
(Buy: Joe Williams: That Holiday Feelin')

Too Many Bodies, And Not Enough Grass (Snow, or Wreaths)

Christmas at the Arlington National Cemetery
December 2005
U.S. Air Force photograph by Master Sgt. Jim Varhegyi

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo,
Shovel them under and let me work--
I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work.

Grass, Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

The Department of Defense has identified 2,915 American service members who have died since the start of the Iraq war. It confirmed the deaths of the following Americans over the weekend:

Jesse J. J.Castro, 22, Sgt., Army; Chalan Pago, Guam
Kristofer R.Ciraso, 26, Staff Sgt., Army; Bangor, Maine
Micah S.Gifford, 27, Specialist, Army; Redding, California
Jason I.Huffman, 23, Cpl., Army; Conover, North Carolina
Travis C.Krege, 24, Pfc., Army; Cheektowaga, New York
Henry W. Linck, 23, Staff Sgt., Army; Manhattan, Kansas
Joshua B. Madden, 21, Specialist, Army; Sibley, Louisiana
Yari Mokri, 26, Specialist, Army; Pflugerville, Texas
Travis L. Patriquin, 32, Capt., Army; Texas
Vincent J. Pomante, III, 22, Specialist, Army; Westerville, Ohio

•••

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra: Big Man
(Buy: Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra: Who Is This America)

Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble: Star Wars
(Buy: Akoya: Introducing The Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble)

Linton Kwesi Johnson: Reality Poem
(Buy: Linton Kwesi Johnson: Forces of Victory)

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes: Wake Up Everybody
(Buy: Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes: Wake Up Everybody)

Aretha Franklin: Someday We'll All Be Free
(Buy: Malcolm X: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Snow and Ice (Ice, Baby)

Skin Hill
The Rock
December 3, 2006

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Ben Kweller: Ice Ice Baby
(Buy: Lots of Ben Kweller Music & Stuff!)

Bob Marley: Coming In From The Cold (12" Mix)
(Buy: Bob Marley: Songs Of Freedom)

Peter Tosh: Coming In Hot
(Buy: Peter Tosh: Captured Live)

Let It Snow (No, Really, I'm Ready)

Roadside Snow Angel
Rockport, Maine
March 22, 2001

It snowed on The Rock today! It didn't stick, and if you weren't looking out the window for the 10 or 12 minutes it was coming down, then you probably wouldn't even have believed it (although it looked like snow all day — So why wouldn't you believe it?)

It's time to 'Wax the Board', if you know what I mean. No, literally, I mean it's really time to wax the board. Before you know it, the hills will be covered in some fluffy (read: icy), white snow — and it will be time to ride. Get ready!

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Robbie Williams: Angels
(Buy: Robbie Williams: Life Thru a Lens)