...and the gentle, sweet "The Monk And His Cat"

Pangur, white Pangur,
How happy we are
Alone together, Scholar and cat

(thanks, paula)
                  

         Affiction
                  

         
                  

         FreakyTrigger;... to be explored...
                  

         great shots from tipiglen...
                  

         so i notice on this list below a preponderance of blues-jazz-male ... so it goes... and has been this year... the blues/jazz thing is just a fact... but there've always been some fine women too... from a variety of albums...

shirley horn
ella fitzgerald
sweet honey in the rock
cassandra wilson
polly jean harvey
cecilia bartoli
lucinda williams
renee fleming
billie holiday
nina simone
marianne faithful
etta james

always here... in my ear...
                  

         my best cd experiences of 2004... stuff that's been working all year for me... over and over and so on... no order...

charles mingus... blues & roots
tom waits... real gone
soundtrack... masked and anonymous
charlie musselwhite... sanctuary
al green... greatest gospel hits
low... trust
a tribute to the ramones... we're a happy family
buddy guy... blues singer
fredrik ullen... ligeti: the complete piano music, volume 1
joe strummer & the mescaleros... streetcore
ernestine anderson... ballad essentials
tony bennett... on holiday
the fiery furnaces... blueberry boat
james blood ulmer... no escape from the blues
chet baker... deep in a dream
                  

         here... best books i read in 2004... no order...

bob dylan's chronicles: volume one
david almond's the fire-eaters
louise erdrich's the last report on the miracles at little no horse
wendell berry's hannah coulter
nick piombino's theoretical objects
john felstiner (trans) the selected poetry and prose of paul celan
christopher logue's all day permanent red
terry eagleton's literary theory: an introduction
joe lesueur's digressions on some poems by frank o'hara
robert lax's love had a compass
                  

         one of those is on my list, too... just because it's the only one of those i've read... but what else might be on my list?
                  

         The New York Times > The 10 Best Books of 2004...
fiction...
Gilead By MARILYNNE ROBINSON
The Master  By COLM TOIBIN
The Plot Against America  By PHILIP ROTH
Runaway By ALICE MUNRO
Snow By ORHAN PAMUK
War Trash By HA JIN
non-fiction...
Alexander Hamilton  By RON CHERNOW
Chronicles: Volume One By BOB DYLAN
Washington's Crossing  By DAVID HACKETT FISCHER
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare  By STEPHEN GREENBLATT
                  

         Guardian Unlimited | 'We have to protect people'... (thanks, suzanne)
                  

         21st Century Literacies: Tools for Reading the World
                  

         Happy Birthday, Miss Emily...

1106

We do not know the time we lose --
The awful moment is
And takes its fundamental place
Among the certainties --

A firm appearance still inflates
The card -- the chance -- the friend --
The spectre of solidities
Whose substances are sand --
                  

         Las Vegas Mercury: Free Will Astrology...
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Your horoscope this week is brought to you by Wendell Berry's poem, 'Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front,' which appeared in his book, The Country of Marriage. Thanks to Mr. Berry for his generous grant of soul power. It's the perfect gift for you during your unbirthday season, when you have a mandate to go against the grain and against the flow. Here's an excerpt from Berry's poem. 'Friends, every day do something that won't compute. Love someone who does not deserve it. Denounce the government and embrace the flag. Give your approval to all you cannot understand. Ask the questions that have no answers. Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years. Laugh. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. Practice resurrection.'
                  

         Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise: Apex 04 (via equanimity;)
                  

         am pondering the use of these selections from moby dick for the sophomores... something from the quarter-deck... a cool bit from flask who whispers about ahab "...the chick that's in him pecks the shell. 'Twill soon be out."
                  

         the services for rocco last night were very nice... i was going to write a bit about him... but have decided against it... not so good with saying things about people... living or dead... i know what i know... i tend to know people instinctively... to trust or not... rocco had it... just a really good person...
                  

         In Memorium:Frederick Fennell
                  

         The United States showed no signs of budging in its opposition to the Kyoto protocol Monday as U.N. climate change talks began, a month after President Bush's reelection and Russia's ratification of the agreement.
                  

         America today has become like an animal in distress. More than three years after Sept. ll America remains in shock, fear, and panic, striking out in vengeance, as if it were a wounded, cornered animal, desperately drawing blood.
                  

         i hate how sometimes i start to sneeze... but then it never comes.. over and over again... i'm enjoying this chocolate theresa sent because i did her a small favor... and in comes cannuli for a chat... i'm listening to waits and eating chocolate on his 55th birthday... and there he is crawling through a downtown train... i've had nothing good to say about rod stewart since his cover... i'm off to the funeral this evening... will have to leave about three hours early to squirm through rush hour... no easy way to get there... no dinner... but it's for rocco so.. ok
                  

         George Eastman House: Ralph Eugene Meatyard Series
                  

         'Some people ... you're born, you know, with the wrong names, wrong parents. I mean, that happens,' he said. 'You call yourself what you want to call yourself. This is the land of the free.' ... dylan as gatsby
                  

         Rev. Rocco Joseph DiLeonardi    

Rev. Rocco Joseph DiLeonardi, O. Carm., 73, died at the Joliet Area Community Hospice on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2004. A wake will be held from 4 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 7, at the National Shrine of St. Therese, 8501 Bailey Rd., in Darien, IL. A Mass of the Resurrection will follow at 7:30 p.m. Burial will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Chicago, on Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 11 a.m. Fr. Rocco DiLeonardi was born on June 11, 1931, in Chicago, the son of the late Rocco and Rose DiLeonardi. He attended both St. William School and St. Ferdinand School in Chicago before enrolling at Quigley Preparatory Seminary. He completed his high school studies at Mt. Carmel Prep Seminary in Niagara Falls, Ont. He professed his first vows at the Carmelite Novitiate in New Baltimore, PA, on Aug. 30, 1950. Fr. Rocco was ordained to the priesthood in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8, 1956. He was then assigned as an associate pastor to the former St. Mary's parish in Joliet, IL and then to St. Leo parish in Pittsburgh, PA. He also served at the Infant of Prague Villa in Akron, OH. He spent many years teaching at Joliet Catholic High School in Joliet, IL; Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, AZ and DeSales High School in Louisville, KY. He was also in formation seminary work at Carmel Hall in Milwaukee, WI, and served on the staff of the Carmelite Spiritual Center in Darien, IL, from 1979-88. His final assignment was as a counselor at Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet, IL. He was predeceased by his brother Frank and is survived by a niece and several nephews. Arrangements by Modell Funeral Home 630-852-3595.