Saturday, January 31, 2009

And Now For Something Completely Different

A friend in the UK sent me this, and of course I just love it. Liverpool Street Station is one of the busiest in London. I recently heard the line that business isn't about making money. It's about enriching people's lives, which is quite a lovely viewpoint. So here it is, from T-Mobile. Enjoy!



Thursday, January 29, 2009

Alfred: A Gift from Parlez



One morning I was standing at the picture window sipping tea and looking at the powdered snow. Up the path padded Parlez, something rather large and bird-like hanging sideways from his mouth. My eyes blurry, I thought it was a Flicker. "No Parlez", I said, running out the door in my PJs. He made a dash for his hideaway, under the porch. No way I was getting under there. I left him to it.

Then dressed, I crawled around and with a large stick gently pulled this young hawk out. He was perfect. And that's when I thought he may have succumbed to the same fate Athena had. Parlez didn't seem to be interested in eating him, fortunately. Alfred was barely breathing when he had found him; I had strained to look under the deck and see it on its back, legs twitching one last time. 

There's something sacred about a recently transitioned bird placed on the silent snow. Especially one of such beauty as this one. I marveled at his long, taloned feet, perfect for swooping down to snatch whatever his yellow hawk eyes spied. Marveled at his perfectly pointed beak, his own portable cutlery. And at his young tawny-spotted chest, the soft feathers downy underneath, his magnificent tail feathers. And the soaring wings, now stowed. 


Parlez went to play with his catch. "No Parlez. Let him rest in peace".
He looked at me as if to say, "But I found him, mama".

He looked again at the bird. . . 


OK, mama. I'll let him rest.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Just Checking UP On You All...





                        ©Elsa Kendall 2009. All rights reserved.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

1559: 450 Years Later


Today is the 450th anniversary of the coronation of QUEEN ELIZABETH I of England. She was 25 years old, and she loved pearls and continued to drench herself in them all through her 45 year reign. To me, she is the ultimate Pearl Girl.

I learned this when I was doing research on the National Portrait Gallery's site
here. Upon closer inspection I saw not only the necklaces she wore, but also that many of her gowns were sewn all over with pearls. Apparently she had a team of seamstresses who would transfer pearls from one dress to another. It's an odd thing I never saw earrings on her. I think it was the men in Elizabethian times who wore the earrings. No lie.

Pearls were very rare in those days and were all from the sea. The current Queen of England, Elizabeth II, wore the coronation crown that has two or three of Elizabeth Tudor's pearls on it. I wonder where the rest of them went...

The portrait above is circa 1588 when she was 55 years old.

To commemorate this anniversary of the ultimate Pearl Girl all earrings on Pearl Girl Pearls are $15.59 for a whole week. You can find them here. Long live the Pearl!

Why is a pearl so amazing?
Because it's made from an irritation that becomes something beautiful.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Things Are Not Always What They Seem


This is a wonderful story. Thank you Martha for forwarding it to me. I once heard this "Violinist in the Metro" play in Santa Fe at the Santa Fe Opera. As he played a Camille Saint-Saëns piece a pair of finches fluttered high above the orchestra in the rafters. The male finch broke into song and accompanied the violinist for several minutes. It was one of the sweetest melodies I've ever heard.

Stradavarius violin from Wikipedia, here.

A Violinist in the Metro
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

You can see the YouTube video here.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Shameless Self Promotion

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Athena



I found Athena Screech Owl on the night of the new moon, laying on the dirt surrounded by snow in front of our shed. I am just in awe of her beauty, especially her fuzzy feet with the amazing nubby toes and talons. I cannot help but think she died of rodent poisoning as today Parlez brought a juvenile Cooper's Hawk who was in the last throes of its life. Parlez merely found it, he did not hunt it. Two raptors dead with no sign of external harm makes me suspicious. 

I will be posting images of him and more of Athena this week, with a plea to people not to use poison but instead let these beautiful creatures be the intrepid and profusely proficient hunters they are. For those who don't have these majestic birds in their midst, battery-operated mouse trap zappers work really well. 

You can pass this link on to others by clicking on the post title and copying the url from your browser into an email. Thank you for being aware. 

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Wishing You a Sparkling New Year

Full of inspiration, innovation, contentment, and love~