Tous les Matins du Monde

Don't let the cover fool you...this movie, Tous les Matins du Monde, is not a movie filled with steamy sex. Rather it's a film filled with divine Baroque music. The title translates as "All the mornings of the world," and in the novel by Pascal Quignard, the entire quote is "All the mornings of the world leave without ever returning." Or more simply "Each day dawns but once." It's the fictional story of composer Sainte Colombe and his student, Marin Marais. While both men are real, little is known for certain about their relationship as teacher/student. However, the author has created a plausible story that entwines the lives of the men with Sainte Colombe's daughters. There are some brief R-rated moments, but overall the film is about music...beautiful music...and the creative process. I first learned of the composer in an e-newsletter I receive daily called "Composer's Datebook." I heard some snippets of Sainte Colombe's music and was intrigued. Clicking onto the accompanying links brought me to more music, his instrument, the viola de gamba, and this movie. I blogged last year about the viola de gamba, an instrument I'd never heard of, and knew I had to see this film. I wasn't disappointed by its slow, meditative, music-filled story. I recommend ift for anyone who enjoys foreign films with English subtitles, movies that can tell a story without gratuitous sex and violence, and movies filled with gorgeous music.

Change of Plans?

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I'm beginning to make my plans for what I'll do during my month in France. I've said all along that I probably won't go to Paris. It's expensive, and I'm trying to be prudent with my money. Well...that good intention flew out the window yesterday when I received an email from Programmation du Musee du Luxembourg! When I visited Paris in 2007, Marie and I went to an exhibit of Lalique jewelry at the Musee. I bought our tickets online and have been on their email list ever since. This week's email informed me that beginning Sept. 15th, there will be a Louis Comfort Tiffany exhibit at the Musee and I can purchase tickets for this spectacular event online. Paris is calling my name once again! I'm going to try to make a quick visit happen ,so I can see the works of this magnificent stained glass artist. Maybe I'll be inspired to drag out the glass, the solder and flux, the grinder and do a little stained glass myself...again.

Getting Closer...

Last evening, I walked thru the freshly-mown grass to the mailbox to retrieve the day's mail. As I quickly scanned the envelopes, I shouted a happy "Yippee!" This was my reward for three hours of exhausting mowing...my International Driving Permit had arrived! It's not necessary to have this permit to drive in France, but everything I've read says that if you're in an accident or have some sort of trouble on the road, the more identification and official 'papers' you have, the better. It's easy to get thru AAA and only costs $15 plus the price of the two passport photos it requires. Can you read the date? August 31, 2009 is getting closer...and I'm getting more excited about my trip to the Lot. My permit and my passport are now safely tucked away in my money belt that I use when I travel. And guess what? I found a 50 euro bill in it when I added the driving permit. France, here I come!

Graduation 2009

One reason for my trip to Reno was to see my nephew, John, graduate from high school. This is us after the ceremony. Yes, he is really that tall! 6 foot 4 inches tall. And yes, the rest of us aren't tall. It was always my fantasy to be a skinny, long-legged blonde...that never happened! Typical 18 year old that he is, John refused to give us any more of a smile than what you see here. Oh well! He graduated from an alternative high school called the Academy of Arts, Careers, and Technology. It was the perfect school for him. He took all the necessary academic subjects...English, advanced math, history, but also took electives that made sense to him. His area of interest was computer aided design. Other elective courses were in technical fields like welding and electronics, videography, culinary arts, health sciences, etc. The graduates who spoke for the class were kids whom the public school system had failed and their speeches reflected how grateful they were to have elected to finish their education at the Academy. John will attend the University of Nevada-Reno in the fall. 'Way to go, big guy!

Late Night Song Fest

I took this video of Jim on my first night in Reno. We had exhausted both the repetoire of songs we knew the lyrics to and a bottle of wine when Jim began to play a song he composed, hauntingly Spanish and very beautiful. I wish I could have published the entire song but it was too big a file for Blogger to handle. Damn, I wish I could make music like this! Jim is self-taught which makes his talent even more amazing. We had a wonderful visit which was over all too soon. I flew home last night arriving between storms around 11:30pm. It's early to bed for me tonight!

"Broken"

I'm off to Reno this afternoon. I'm very excited to see my brother Jim, my nephew John , and my Dad. And I'm excited to start this new book that just arrived in yesterday's mail! Here's the connection (you know, there's always some kind of connection for me!). Lisa Jones, the author of "Broken" is a friend of my dear friend, Edith. They were neighbors for awhile in Boulder. And Edith....in her younger days...spent some time on the Wind River Reservation at Ethete working with Native American kids. She's met Stanford who is the subject of this book. Now is that a cool connection, or what? I'm looking forward to enjoying the book; I'll give it a review when I finish it, but in the meantime, enjoy this YouTube video that features Lisa reading while photos of the Rez entertain you. If you have further interest, Lisa has a website and blog.

The Big Easy

Anyone out there have a friend or know someone who knows somebody who's looking for a house to rent in New Orleans?? If so, do I have a deal for you! My friend, Laury, has her house in the Big Easy available to rent...it's a mile from the French Quarter! Pass the word around, shout it from the rooftops! Click here to see a photo and read the details: Laury's House.

I have to give credit to the website that I took this illustration from: Santa Barbara Music Publishing. This is the title of a song written especially for New Orleans post-Katrina. All proceeds from its sale go to Katrina relief.