Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Like a River

Monday, April 25, 2011

Cambodian Temples: Spiritual Doorways











A La Claire Fontaine

Song of the Candle


SONG OF THE CANDLE (1972) - Stan Rogers

capo second fret

G C
I took up my pen tonight, I couldn't seem to write

G Em C
It's like I got religion, and then I lost the light

G Em C A
An old woman once told me, she'd always felt that way
C G C D
She said "Taken from the mold, while it still can run

Em Bm
a candle might not keep you from the cold.

C Bm
But buy another candle son, it's not too much to pay."

C G C G C
For one more try, and I had to smile before I walked away

CHORUS 1

Em Bm
Tonight in a room full of candles

C G
Another cup of ashes drains away

Em D
And at times it gets so hard to handle

C Bm
Knowing one more simple song has swiftly taken wing

C G C G C
And I'm left alone to hear the song a lonely candle sings


Coffee houses bother me, I cannot tell you why
But it never seems hello sounds as sweet as goodbye
And the waitresses in passing, remeber all your names...
They say "Look around and try to meet a single eye."
And "Empty cups will mock me if I stay, but
buy another coffee Stan, it's not too much to pay
and we will try to raise your smile
before you walk away."

TO CHORUS 1

The priest I found was nervous. He cleared his throat a lot
But framed in staned glass windows, his eyes were lost in thought
And I said "Father can you tell me, is some happiness my right?"
He said "Rather seek you joy, in the blessing of your God
and happiness from worship in His sight."
And "Buy another candle son, before you start to pray,
and don't forget to cross your breast before you walk away."

TO CHORUS 1

One too many cigarettes, slowly burning down
And the final cup of coffee was cold and full of grounds
And maybe one last pipeful might send the words around
Still underneath my hand, this night has slipped away
And leaves me as empty as this page
One more candle flickers out, the night is turning grey
And I just can't watch the dying flame
I have to walk away

CHORUS 2

Tonight I have burned all my candles
Leaving only ashes in their wake...
And at times I get so hard to handle
'Cause simple songs leave me behind, they all have taken wing
And I'm left alone to hear the song a lonely candle sings

The Rose and the Amaranth

The Rose and the Amaranth
A Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden,
and the Amaranth said to her neighbour,
"How I envy you your beauty and your sweet scent!
No wonder you are such a universal favourite."
But the Rose replied with a shade of sadness in her voice,
"Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time:
my petals soon wither and fall, and then I die.
But your flowers never fade, even if they are cut;
for they are everlasting."
"Greatness carries its own penalties."
Aesop's Fables 6th Century B.C.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

You guessed it - more Cambodia pics





More Cambodia Pics








Hail, Festive Day!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Redemption Song


Redemption Song
Songwriters: HAWKINS, EDWIN R./MARLEY, BOB

Old pirates, yes, they rob I;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strong
By the 'and of the Almighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.
Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
'Cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
'Cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look? Ooh!
Some say it's just a part of it:
We've got to fulfil de book.

Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
'Cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs.

[Guitar break]

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our mind.
Wo! Have no fear for atomic energy,
'Cause none of them-a can-a stop-a the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look?
Yes, some say it's just a part of it:
We've got to fulfil de book.
Won't you help to sing
Dese songs of freedom? -
'Cause all I ever had:
Redemption songs -
All I ever had:
Redemption songs:
These songs of freedom,
Songs of freedom.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Good Friday

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Blackfield - Glass House


Blackfield - Glass House

Goodbye, old friend, my paranoid
We'll meet again someday
Life is running out
I guess I had enough, I need to go now

I used to live in a house of glass
Where no one comes or goes
Watching life outside

I used to stand behind the door
And hope the wind won't blow
And mess my fears around
It took me so long to find out where they're hiding

Music like rain
Over my deepest feelings
And you're faking that?
Music like rain
Over my deepest feelings
And you're faking that?

Faking that?

Goodbye, old friend, my paranoid
We'll meet again someday
Life is running out
I guess I had enough, I need to go now

Guster - Either Way


"Either Way"

You were almost kind, you were almost true
Don't let me see that other side of you
You have learned in time that you must be cruel
I'll have to wait to get the best of you

Poison in everything you say
Don't you, don't you?
Wonder what difference does it make......Either way

You were almost kind, you were almost true
Why give away that other side of you
Happens every time, so it must be true
Step on a kid, he'll grow up hating you

Poison in everything you say
Don't you, don't you
Wonder what difference does it make....Either way

Were you ever kind, were you always cruel?
Who's ever seen that other side of you?
Happened every time, so it must be true?
Where did you learn it's either him or you?

You were almost kind, you were almost true
Don't let me see that other side of you
You have learned in time that you must be cruel
I'll have to wait to get the best of you

Poison in everything you say
Don't you, don't you?
Wonder what difference does it make......Either way [2x]

In Memory of The Dead: The Killing Fields and S-21








Welcome Lamb


He take the thunder from the mountain
He take the lightning from the sky
He bring the strong man to his bended knee
He make the young girls mama cry

You got to hidey-hide
You got to jump and run
You got to hidey hidey-hide
The old man's down the road

He got the voices speakin' riddles
He got the eye as black as coal
He got a suitcase covered with rattlesnake hide
And he stand right in the road

You got to hidey-hide
You got to jump and run away
You got to hidey hidey-hide
The old man's down the road

He make the river call your lover
He make the barking of the hound
Put the shadow across the window
When the old man comes around

You got to hidey-hide
You got to jump and run again
You got to hidey hidey-hide
The old man's down the road

The old man is down the road
The old man is down the road

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

"Ruby Falls" by Guster

"Ruby Falls"
by Guster

Tonight
Where do we go from here?
The road to Ruby Falls has reached the end
And now we're digging in the sand
They're promising that help is on the way

Love, confession number one
Impossible and sorry
And judge, can you look the other way?
Some things are best unsaid

And now where can we go from here
When all the morning birds have gone away
Two wrongs won't navigate tonight
The afterlife is all in the end
The afterlife is ours in the end

Love, don't look me in the eye
Just wash it all down
And judge, can you let me know the way
We're outta here, straight outta here

Somewhere down buried in the sand
Two birds give out a song
And all of Ruby Falls is singing along

Sing along...

(...gone and turned away (?))
(...gonna make you pay (?))

Various Temple Shots Siem Reap Cambodia




Fading Guardian Angel of Bang Melea Temple, Cambodia




Alive and Kicking

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Control Emotions To Negotiate Successfully



My students completed a case study on emotions and their impact on negotiation today and included this video in their presentation. I enjoyed the impact of Mr. Murray's excellent visuals.

Sykurmolarnir from Iceland = Niceland can seduce me anytime!



Gudrun has shared her latest marketing campaign slogan, "Iceland = Niceland" and a taste of its world famous nightlife culture.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Now and Then There's A Fool Such As I


Now and Then There's A Fool Such As I
by Hank Snow

Now and then there's a fool such as I
Pardon me, if I'm sentimental
When we say goodbye
Don't be angry with me should I cry
When you're gone, yet I'll dream
A little dream as years go by
Now and then there's a fool such as I

Now and then there's a fool such as I am over you
You taught me how to love
And now you say that we are through
I'm a fool, but I'll love you dear
Until the day I die
Now and then there's a fool such as I

Now and then there's a fool such as I am over you
You taught me how to love
And now you say that we are through
I'm a fool, but I'll love you dear
Until the day I die
Now and then there's a fool such as I
Now and then there's a fool such as I
Now and then there's a fool such as I

Sunday, April 17, 2011

And finally The Blue Train...

Carlotta sent me a wonderful slideshow of the First Class Blue Train of South Africa and it got me thinking about my life's train journeys. The longest train trip I ever took was from Kerala to Bombay and was something like 36 hours but I really can't remember. I was in a bunk for most of the trip with two wooden carved and authentic Hindu temple stanchions and a 16 kilogram rosewood carving of a male and female elephant kind of trunks reaching and touching each other.

The most amazing train trip I ever took was with Lynn on the Nilgiri Mountain Railroad from Ooty to Mettupalayam in Tamil Nadu. I found an interesting video which was apparently filmed on the roof of that train called Chaiyya Chaiyya. It should give you a sense of its majestic passage. Wikipedia describes it as, "The 'Nilagiri Passenger' train covers a distance of 26 mi (41.8 km),travels through 208 curves, 16 tunnels, and 250 bridges.The uphill journey takes around 290 minutes (4.8 hours), and the downhill journey takes 215 minutes (3.6 hours) It has the steepest track in Asia with a maximum gradient of 8.33%" The song itself has quite a message as well with English subtitles by clicking on CC.


Slideshow of Travels 2001-2011

Canada Trip Summer 2011 Homeward Leg


Canada Trip Summer 2011 Homeward Leg

It is Sunday April 17, 2011 and I have confirmed my bookings for a summer trip to Canada 2011. I have tired of taking the long and extremely boring flights to Nova Scotia via Newark which often exceeds ten or twelve hours in duration in favour of continued stop-overs in Amsterdam. I have managed to score two fairly low priced tickets at about 25% less cost than my last summer trip to visit mom at the Victoria General.

My departure date is June 22nd and I will arrive in Amsterdam following a couple hours brief stop-overs in both Beijing and Copenhagen airports arriving in downtown centrum probably around 7:30-8:00 PM. I will be staying for three nights at at a small boutique hotel (without curfew) on Jan Luijkenstraat directly on Museum Square across from Rijksmuseum.

Early Saturday afternoon (just before 1 PM) June 25th I will take a Thalys train to Paris arriving at The Gare du Nord just after 4:30 PM and have booked two nights accomodation nearby south of the station on Rue de Chabrol at a hotel ten minutes walk from Montmartre and supposedly near the Eiffel Tower? It's supposed to be a dumpy neighborhood but it has more character than Sun Dan Dong in Pocheon for sure. I hope to meet Fati and Pauline as Sacré-Cœur and Montmartre as well as Versailles are all on my agenda.

A return to Amsterdam on Monday evening will bring me to another boutique hotel on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal a couple of canals across from the Oudekerk in the old city centre.

My departure on Wednesday June 29th I am bound for Reykjavik where I will arrive just before midnight and remain until the evening of the next day. There I shall meet Gudrun (Kriemhild?) whom I have not seen for as long as Fatima at least seven years since I left the green fields of Fairy Meadow in Wollongong. While in Iceland I hope to sample the pickled shark (h ákarl) or smoked puffin ~reyktur lundi~ while trying to pass up the léttsteiktar svartfuglsbringur which appears to be a guillemot or seagull's cousin? Prior to after or during these Icelandic feastings I hope to take a dip in The Blue Lagoon.

Then final arrival will be Nova Scotia and the Annapolis Valley the Canadian home of my ancestors, friends and family. Perhaps in a couple of weeks I will plan the return leg. But I am halfway there.While I admit my home valley is probably one of the most beautiful places in the world the only way to confirm that is to just keep visiting.Who knows? Maybe there actually is somewhere more beautiful? I still haven't found it yet.

Take the Blue Train...


* My sister Cathie introduced me to James Keelaghan as well as Oliver Schroer some years ago. This is one of his songs that really "jumped the fire lines" with numerous renditions.

ARTIST: James Keelaghan TITLE: Cold Missouri Waters Lyrics and Chords

My name is Dodge, but then you know that

It's written on the chart there at the foot end of the bed

They think I'm blind, I can't read it I've read it every word, and every word it says is death

So, Confession - is that the reason that you came

Get it off my chest before I check out of the game

Since you mention it, well there's thirteen things I'll name

Thirteen crosses high above the cold Missouri waters



/ D - Bm - / G - D A / : / Bm - G D / Bm - G A / / Bm - G D / Em G A Bm /



August 'Forty-Nine, north Montana

The hottest day on record, the forest tinder dry

Lightning strikes in the mountains

I was crew chief at the jump base, I prepared the boys to fly

Pick the drop zone, C-47 comes in low

Feel the tap upon your leg that tells you go

See the circle of the fire down below

Fifteen of us dropped above the cold Missouri waters



Gauged the fire, I'd seen bigger

So I ordered them to sidehill and we'd fight it from below

We'd have our backs to the river

We'd have it licked by morning even if we took it slow

But the fire crowned, jumped the valley just ahead

There was no way down, headed for the ridge instead

Too big to fight it, we'd have to fight that slope instead

Flames one step behind above the cold Missouri waters



Sky had turned red, smoke was boiling

Two hundred yards to safety, death was fifty yards behind

I don't know why I just thought it

I struck a match to waist high grass running out of time

Tried to tell them, Step into this fire I set

We can't make it, this is the only chance you'll get

But they cursed me, ran for the rocks above instead

I lay face down and prayed above the cold Missouri waters



And when I rose, like the phoenix

In that world reduced to ashes there were none but two survived

I stayed that night and one day after

Carried bodies to the river, wonder how I stayed alive

Thirteen stations of the cross to mark to their fall

I've had my say, I'll confess to nothing more

I'll join them now, those that left me long before

Thirteen crosses high above the cold Missouri waters

Thirteen crosses high above the cold Missouri shore