No worries, no plans to let MySpace quelch this over here. While we could do various neato group stuff with it, it doesn't necessarily offer us the privacy and continuity we get here. : )
I've been in a pretty big drought (not draught...I wish!) in regards to creativity and thought lately, hence my lack of posting here much. I'm not sure what all it is, really. I feel like maybe I'm on the tail end of it, though, and hopefully about to have some actual thought in my head. With the semester just around the corner, that's probably good timing, though I'd like to use this on stuff besides school.
By the way, Jeff, I'm really getting a lot out of the Again magazines. Thanks again for that as a gift...
Lately I've been thinking about this. Spiritually speaking, I think I'm kind of in a time of "catching up," so to speak. I had this period of time where for several years, I was just reading and listening and soaking so much, and it's not like I ever "got too much" of it so much as I'm realizing now that I'm thinking a lot more about what's been going into my head for a while now. I mean, I thought about it then...but spending more time now just contemplating it and talking about it with people and "getting it" more and more. I have no idea if that makes sense at all or not.
Have either of you checked out myspace.com yet? I've been messing around with it for a week or so now, and it looks like it has some pretty interesting uses. I wrote in my journal earlier this week that I may start using it with my church kids, we'll see. If you want to see what can be done with it, my specific page is www.myspace.com/distractedblues . One of the things they have is a place where you can note which school(s) you went to and such, then you can see who all else from your school is on there. No one from our school that I know yet, Walker...they're all young kids who are either still there or just graduated, I think. You may know a couple of them, but I don't. A couple look slightly familiar, but probably from just seeing them "around" a time or two or something.
I'm in the middle of the Van Ronk book and absolutely loving it.
Thanks for the heads-up, Jeff. I tend to browse and skim a lot of the journals on there, just out of curiosity, I guess...but I hadn't seen that entry. Yeah, I don't think it's excessively egotistical to think he's probably talking about me. That's fine...he's allowed his perception. I've tried to work with him and "make peace" in the past, and apologized at times when that was the best route, whether I thought it was necessary and appropriate or not. I think a lot of the issue is that he just has this way of looking at everything, and I have mine, and they really just don't work well together. Anything I say in disagreement comes across as an attack, and much of what he himself says is convoluted and hard to understand. I don't really feel any ill will against him, and I think he thinks there's a lot of animosity and "fronting" going on where there really isn't any. At any rate, he's much more dramatic and bothered about the whole thing than I am; while perhaps I should be, I also don't really see the need to make an epic narrative out of it. He knows how to get ahold of me, and if this really bothers him, he should probably do so (and not during a time when there's already *something* going on). Oh well.
I think we'll probably be around near late afternoon or so. We're staying in Davenport, IA, the night before and thereby won't really need to drive a ton of hours on that Friday. I'm thinking 6 at the very most. What we can maybe do is have an early dinner with you and Beth (this including Stacey), and then I would take her to Caley's house for their party, and then come back (or you could come along and we'd go somewhere else, or whatever)...that way we'd get some time together all of us, and then you and I could have some time to just hang out...does that sound like a decent plan?
Well, I can't find where it lets me attach something. I emailed the file to you, anyway, Jeff...if you want it, Walker, just let me know and I'll email it to you.
--As far as our Indiana trip goes... I think that pretty much the time that will work out best is Friday night, May 20. Stacey is going to be hanging out with the bride-to-be that night, you know, one last party before the wedding, I guess (though ours was in the ER, hahaha, so I suppose she's due for a good girls' night out). I was hoping we could all get together so Beth has someone to relate to and not be bored by whatever we get into, though...I wish we could be around for another day or so and do that, but we have to get in "equal time" for relatives and such. What's that Friday night look like for you? If you have other stuff going on or whatever, we can try for another time, possibly. I'm not sure when, but we can try. One thought is that depending on when we actually get in, we could drop by for a little bit, then I can take her to her party, and then come back...I could check into that possibility.
--I emailed you the Psalter, Jeff, and I'll attach it on here, too, if it lets me. To answer your question...no, at this point Stacey and I don't really chant it together. We both go to work quite early (and we're too chaotic in the morning), for one thing...I'd like to start doing it in the evenings now that neither of us has a class in the evening for a little while. I'm also just not sure where she is in regards to all this...I've tried to be really careful to not overwhelm her with things, she being still fairly new to any sort of liturgical and/or contemplative Christianity. A couple other things in regard to the Psalter I'm attaching: as I said, it does contain typographical errors, just so you're warned. Second, (and again, I don't mean this condescendingly, but I'm not sure how familiar you are with it) keep in mind that almost anything ending with"-ed" is pronounced with the "ed" as a separate syllable. That will sometimes make a difference in your rhythm and chanting of it. Example, "glorified" is chanted as "glor-if-eye-yed" rather than "glor-if-ide." I think there's one exception (of course, hehe) but I can't remember what that is.
1. Yeah...I figured you probably have plenty of resources, but figured I'd let you know that's around, anyway. As far as chanting the psalter with musical notes goes...I have a MSWord file with the complete psalter with musical notation, compiled by one of the guys in my church, a guy who studies these sorts of things intensely and thoroughly. It does have a few typos here and there, but it's quite good and I use it almost every workday. I'm guessing that the book available has things in shapenote notation, which is good but a bit tougher to decipher unless someone works with you on it (which our priest's wife has with us). Anyway, I'll send you the Psalter in an email...i printed all of it out at one point and have it at home, but if I chant the Psalter at home now, I use the St. Dunstan book that that same publisher puts out (Joe donated a copy to both me and Stacey)...it has those, the basic propers structure, etc. Hopefully this can be of good use to you... I have no idea if you've used this type of thing before or not (and if so, sorry to sound so condescending if I do!), but a couple tips: --generally the first couple notes are only used when doing the antiphon and the first verse, then the main note is used up until the "dot," after which you line the syllables up with the musical notation at the end of the respective measures. --anytime you see a cross in there, you chant the syllable before it down a note (approximately).
I really love chanting the Psalter, and used to go to lots of Vespers (and occasionally Matins) when Fr. Stephen was doing them at times I could be there and I didn't have classes. Since Fr. Theodore and Presbytera Susan came along, I've learned a bit more and brushed up a bit more on small nuances and such. When I'm visiting in a couple weeks, maybe we can chant the appropriate Psalter or do an office or something. Maybe I'll just take a Vespers and blend it with a couple more things and have a special thing where we perform rituals on the children involving holy water, smudges, etc. Well, maybe not that last sentence...hehehe.
The crazy thing is that after I've just been chanting a bit, *everything* pops into my head as chant. I'll go to leave the room and work on something in another room, and almost tell Stacey, "The Lord be with you..." or talk about something using a Gregorian plainchant tone. It's scary.
2. I've received the Van Ronk book and CD I ordered. Haven't read the book yet but I'm greatly enjoying the CD! Thanks for those links...
3. I'll be getting a copy of that essay I mentioned hearing last week...she said she'd have it with her tonight. I'd hoped for a digital copy, but I can just make physical copies if that's what I need to do.
