I'm sending this in from New Orleans in hopes that it will be helpful in the testimony for Resolution DO69 regarding the Social Media Challenge to the Episcopal Church.
I believe it to be 100% necessary that we in the Episcopal church as staff, clergy, and congregants, engage ourselves and our communities by using social media. It's usually free, it's usually rapid, and it can be fun and informative. Can many of you fathom doing business without using email? Often, social media is checked more frequently than email.
Yes, we must take the good with the bad, we must also discern how often to use social media and when to put down phones and "Be still". It is a challenge, but I accept it!
Just from this #GC77 Twitter stream and Media Hub, I have learned more about the inner workings and procedures of the Episcopal Church in four days than in my entire life. I've been able to participate in conversations with people of all ages, genders, opinions, and in many levels of church life. Relationships are being formed that are affecting me positively in my faith and theological development. I am inspired by witnessing this convention and its activity.
I have watched both the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops and worship services. What has it done? It has inspired me, made me more proud than ever to be an Episcopalian - we're the ones who are willing to discuss, to argue, to challenge. Social media provides another language with which to communicate.
It has been only through Twitter and the Steaming media that I have learned:
- Our youth are aware and articulate in their spiritual growth - perhaps more than anyone gave them credit before and that we now realize that they are the future - right now.
- I'm learning that our church is NOT dying.
- I saw that Bonnie Anderson is a gracefully eloquent speaker who radiates friendliness - "Madam"....er....Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori has a stellar sense of humor and is completely amazing
- Whoever runs @iamepiscopalian is kind, quick-witted
- Lent Madness is superb and educational
- Church Publishing is approachable, responsive and has swag (just ask them about #totebagenvy)
The aforementioned items may seem silly, BUT I truly feel as if I have gotten to know a tiny bit about the bigger picture....the interactive picture of our church that I have not seen or felt in a long while. As a musician, I often get bogged down in my own conducting / singing world and colleagues. Through social media, I now have a much wider view of the functioning Episcopal Church to which I belong....all in four days. For me, at this time in my life, this is exactly what I needed at this moment.
Caroline in NOLA
The new address for Caroline Carson's blog has moved to theparsoncarson.blogspot.com
Monday, July 9, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Going to HAITI on Wednesday, July 11
Ok, I'm headed to HAITI this Wednesday if I can ever get it all done. First, all day advising and symphony rehearsal Monday night. Tuesday features work at St. Paul's and the New Orleans Summer Chorus presents a concert: "Of Cows, Cats, and Roses". Then, I can concentrate on Haiti. I'm a bit nervous about Malaria issues there, but I have dutifully stocked up on OFF clip-ons and a bazillion refills. Here is some basic info about my trip below from a press release...Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers: our team of counselors, the staff, and most of all the precious young people with whom we will be working. Here is a link to my previous blog post about the trip. It features some more info, photos, and a YouTube video about the Red Thread Promise.
http://carsonia.blogspot.com/2012/05/mission-trip-to-haiti-this-july.html
St. Paul's Music Director Goes to Haiti
Dr. Caroline Carson (pictured at left), Director of Music at St. Paul’s Episcopal and Director of Choral Studies at The University of New Orleans, has the chance of a lifetime this July 2012. While she has traveled internationally and taught overseas in academic situations, Caroline jumped at the opportunity to go to and make a difference in the lives of others in a non-tourist location: Port-au-Prince, Haiti with the Red Thread Promise (www.redthreadpromise.org ). She applied and was accepted. 
http://carsonia.blogspot.com/2012/05/mission-trip-to-haiti-this-july.html
St. Paul's Music Director Goes to Haiti
Why Haiti? Moving to New Orleans after Katrina and seeing the city re-grow over the past six years has helped her witness what a determined community can do with each others’ help. Working at St. Paul’s Episcopal for the past four years and volunteering with The Homecoming Center’s seniors program has shown her many opportunities for service and introduced her to the movers and shakers of service in New Orleans. After Caroline learned about the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, she heard about The Red Thread Promise's work there. She wanted to do something….so she and the members of Inconspicuous 8, a local professional women’s choir, gave a benefit concert for the organization and its work. Since that time, she has kept a close eye on happenings in Haiti and approached Kathy Korge Albergate (President of The Red Thread Promise) and her husband, Rev. Dr. Scott Albergate (rector of St. Paul’s) about applying for the trip this July. Caroline is the second person from St. Paul’s to go to Haiti with the organization. The first was Mr. John Joseph, Sexton of St. Paul’s, in January 2011. In talking to Caroline about the trip, she says: “I’m absolutely thrilled to go and I know our team will have a blast with the kids. I believe it’s equally important to put your time where your mouth is when you say you want to make a difference…and I believe volunteering is something we all need to try and find time for.”
Camp Jake is an annual summer camp designed to meet the special needs of handicapped children from the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The team consists of 16 counselors and one photographer who will be working with 44 campers—who are blind, deaf or non-ambulatory - for a week on the Haitian coast. The children are from St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children. The camp removes physical and emotional barriers, giving participating children the chance to engage in creative arts, as well as physical and social activities under the supervision of a team of volunteer counselors, artists, musicians, mentors and healthcare professionals. Photo at left of Diana in her new all terrain wheelchair donated by Episcopal Church Women across the US.
"The concept for Camp Jake was inspired by my 13‐year‐old nephew, Jacob Richard, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a degenerative terminal illness,” said Tom Landry II, director of Camp Jake and a member of The Red Thread board. “Our camp will bring Jacob's selfless, energetic spirit to the orphaned children of St. Vincent's. We believe every child deserves the most life has to offer, regardless of disability, class, race or circumstance. Camp Jake will assure that physical limitations are left behind and replaced with endless opportunities for emotional and physical development in a fun-filled atmosphere."
(left to right) Dieumene, Danika and JoJo
ABOUT THE RED THREAD PROMISE
The Red Thread Promise (TRTP) is a not‐for‐profit organization whose mission is to provide hope and healing for needy and orphaned children—children who have no one to advocate for them and cannot advocate for themselves. Our program exists to improve the quality of life for these children. We provide them with the treatment they need so that they can each lead a life with dignity, health and hope. Find us online at www.redthreadpromise.org. Follow us on Facebook: The Red Thread Promise or on Twitter: @trtpromise
Photos by Al Laus
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Poetry Post "Leafen Wrought"
Here is another poetry post from my 9th & 10th grade journal. I like it, but am not sure it makes 100% sense. Nevertheless, the imagery is still ok. I'll blame it on the fact that this one was written under slightly unusual circumstances...
If any of you watched PBS back in the 80's, you may remember seeing the occasional poem scrolled from top to bottom on your screen with a scenic picture and soft music in the background. I was in South Carolina so I was watching SCETV. Sometimes the poems were pretty cheesy or sappy. Some may also recall the Saturday Night Live "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey. These had me laughing like crazy then and now. I think I had been watching both of these things close to the same time and, as a result, this poem was created. I was dreaming of a poem being scrolled on the TV....and very slowly.
Here's a YouTube example of the hilarity in "Deep Thoughts"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSrXpFb7jFo
It took me a second, but in my dream, I remember telling myself that I had better write this down. I ended up waking up and trying to recall the poem I had just seen. This is that poem. So, it's kind of cool that I was able to compose in my sleep......sort of (I'm sure I finished it once awake, but at least 3/4 of it was done while in some level of sleep.) I've decided to leave the poem as it is here and make no changes.
Photo credit: Free HD Wallpaper
If any of you watched PBS back in the 80's, you may remember seeing the occasional poem scrolled from top to bottom on your screen with a scenic picture and soft music in the background. I was in South Carolina so I was watching SCETV. Sometimes the poems were pretty cheesy or sappy. Some may also recall the Saturday Night Live "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey. These had me laughing like crazy then and now. I think I had been watching both of these things close to the same time and, as a result, this poem was created. I was dreaming of a poem being scrolled on the TV....and very slowly.
Here's a YouTube example of the hilarity in "Deep Thoughts"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSrXpFb7jFo
It took me a second, but in my dream, I remember telling myself that I had better write this down. I ended up waking up and trying to recall the poem I had just seen. This is that poem. So, it's kind of cool that I was able to compose in my sleep......sort of (I'm sure I finished it once awake, but at least 3/4 of it was done while in some level of sleep.) I've decided to leave the poem as it is here and make no changes.
Leafen Wrought
In the sun where Autumn stains,
The twisted leaflet still remains.
The Summer having taken toll
Of green wonders without disdain.
The Wind, the sway of Time, it comes
Ere a chance to stall and stay
Arrives upon that leaf, that day.
If we leave the leafen wrought,
Securing hidden trail
We just might find our refuge fought,
Cool freedom to inhale.
We will remember savage Time
Who steals away our youth
Envisioned as an aged Leaf
Within our lives refined
Upon its Tree, sublime.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Elizabethan Sonnet
I'll start with an Elizabethan sonnet. My mother, Mary W. Carson, the real writer (award-winning poetry and prose) helped me with the assignment. I think this help is why it won some award and I ended up reading it at a Piccolo Spoleto event.....long ago and far away.
Sonnet
When summer storms come rolling in to shore
Their darkened clouds send people dashing home,
While those within prepare for what's in store
And watch the wild birds wheel above the foam.
The hearth is cleared and driftwood set alight
And hot drinks served to warm away the chill
Of those who witness all of Nature's might
As lightning flashes just beyond the sill.
Outside, the trees are bowed before the wind,
The rain, in sheets, comes slanting in the squall.
Its fury slackens right before the end
As clouds break up and night begins to fall.
The moonlight shows the bleached white sands as day
And all the signs of storm have gone away.
The Music of 1,000 Paper Cranes
On a warm Thursday night at St. Paul's Episcopal, I hosted the pre-concert for the New Orleans Crescent City Choral Festival. Three children's choirs performed: Contra Costa Children's Chorus from California, Encore Youth Choir from Illinois, and the Mississippi Boychoir. They were all terrific and the main concert of the festival will be Monday, June 25th, 2012 at 7:30 at St. Louis Cathedral. Several pieces stayed in my memory, but a simple, yet beautiful one called "Song of Peace", written by Tom Vos and performed by the Encore Youth choir, had such a moving story that I thought I'd share it here.The piece is about the legend of the 1,000 cranes and the story of Sadako Sasaki (1943-1955).
The story of the 1,000 origami cranes comes from ancient Japanese tradition and is called the Senbazuru (also Zenbazuru). It is thought that origami officially began as early as the 8th century and the first book about it was published as "The Secret to Folding 1,000 Cranes". Senbazuru means 1,000 paper cranes lined together on a string. The legend is that a person who folds 1,000 paper cranes will please the gods and be granted a wish. Today, Senbazuru are sometimes assembled and given as a wish for recovery from illness or given as good luck wishes for new births, weddings, or new homes, etc.
Cranes are revered in the mythology of several cultures and thought to be holy birds. They are beautiful, noble, and protected in many places around our world. I was lucky to have the opportunity to visit Cheorwon, S. Korea in 2010 and saw tons of cranes in a protected wildlife area on the way to the DMZ. They are HUGE! Here is a picture that I took of some in the snow.
The 1,000 folded cranes have become a powerful symbol for world peace as a result of a young girl named Sadako Sasaki. Sadako was a Japanese girl who became ill with Leukemia due to radiation poisoning from the bombing of Hiroshima in WWII on August 6, 1945. Conservative estimates of those who died in Hiroshima are 150,000 and in Nagasaki 75,000. Sadako and her family had survived, but breathing the radioactive dust and ash along with living in the area, caused Sadako to develop Leukemia later in her young life. She went from being the fastest runner on her track team and highly energetic, to being extremely sick and dying at the age of twelve. Sadako was inspired by the Thousand Origami Cranes after the community of Nagoya gave her a gift and she began to fold her own in hopes of recovering. One account says that after folding 644, she died before she could finish them all. Her friends and classmates folded the rest and set them with her when she was buried. According to several links, she actually did finish the 1,000 cranes and continued making them when she did not recover. Either way, it is both heart-warming and heart-wrenching. The composer calls for the folding of the paper cranes during the piece so you hear the soft crinkling of the paper in the background of the singing. At the end of the song, the children held the birds gently in their hands and walked out into the audience to surround us with sound and then to give us the cranes. I had never heard this story before, nor the choral piece. I was very moved. As far as I can tell, there is no YouTube recording available yet, but I will post it here when I find it. I think that even though the piece is written for children's choir, it's simple beauty is effective on any level. Here's a picture of the Encore Youth Choir holding their sheets of colored paper, ready to begin the song.
If you'd like to learn how to fold a paper crane, there are LOTS of How to and YouTube links out there. Here's one for printed and video instructions: http://www.origami-fun.com/origami-crane.html
Cranes are revered in the mythology of several cultures and thought to be holy birds. They are beautiful, noble, and protected in many places around our world. I was lucky to have the opportunity to visit Cheorwon, S. Korea in 2010 and saw tons of cranes in a protected wildlife area on the way to the DMZ. They are HUGE! Here is a picture that I took of some in the snow.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Faerie Rings, Stone Henges, and Solstices - Oh My!
It's days such as today that prove me to be an absolute menace to society while driving. No, I wasn't texting. Perhaps it's the distraction of the lovely and gentle breeze blowing the New Orleans crape myrtles (also spelled crepe) in the soft sunlight, flirting their lavender colors and making me look......or maybe the way the growing cumulonimbus clouds are piling up in the southwest of the city; their ominous and silent blue-grey monstrosities puffing along slowly, as if by their pace, they cannot be seen. I saw them. I felt them....and a beat of excitement that my plants and I might get to enjoy some afternoon rain (foiled again, it's super sunny now!) I actually think what started it was seeing the two fairy rings that I passed on the Elysian Fields avenue neutral ground while driving home. Below is a random internetz image of a fairy ring.
Seeing the first one made me smile and the other ring surrounded a small tree perfectly - making me say "wow!" and also smile. Why in the world should I smile? especially when I generally hate mushrooms!? For those of you who don't already know, a fairy (faerie) ring is a slightly unusual growth of mushrooms in a circle. They happen more often after heavy rains and when the soil is too rich...such as in a forest. It happens because underground, below the sprouting 'shrooms, lies a network of threadlike fungal growth that grows in arcs, pushing up mushrooms (the "fruit" part of the fungus) above. As a child, I learned that these rings were supposed to be where fairies (or elves) came out into our world during the night. They would stay for a few days and wait for the fairies to return. When the ring was gone, it meant that the fairies were gone and I could stop performing my daily backyard spy activities in hopes of catching a glimpse of them. There were also lilac rings where fairies danced at night, attracting the fae with their sweet scent and reflecting the moonlight with drops of dew. I can remember straining to see out of the window in my parents' bedroom when I was very young and believing that I saw the lights of a tiny ring of dancing fairies within the circle of lilacs. I'm glad I still have that memory.
As I was driving down the road, well-past the ring of mushrooms, I wondered if anyone else had noticed them today. They do not last very long and I was having trouble resisting the urge to drive back down toward the university and photograph the rings. Working through it in my mind and knowing the only view that my iPhone could handle of the full ring was from above, I aborted the idea and gave the car some gas as I had slowed down, surely annoying other drivers. Still, I wondered if many these days even knew of the origins of fairy rings or cared very much. Then, I wondered if one day no one would know to google the term fairy ring or even notice them at all. It struck me that they were once believed to be magical and that the community at large has no time for such things. Society as a whole just doesn't believe in magic any longer......or does it?
My thoughts surfaced to the fact that today is the Summer Solstice (the solstice will occur at 7:09 EST, June 20, 2012, tonight) and that I had only seen one picture flitting around Twitter and Facebook today of Stonehenge in the sunrise or sunset of a solstice......and it was from 2008! I've posted it below this blog post - it's from the Astronomy Picture of the Day archive (APOD).
Stonehenge has a number of legends associated with it. One is that sun-worshipping people could communicate with the sun and built Stonehenge out of sacred stones to help them. Another is that there was a race of giants upon the Earth long before men and places such a Stonehenge and Easter Island show evidence of structures built by these giants.
There are Arthurian legends as well. Then, there are the more common myths surrounding the ancient Britons' group of philosopher/poets called the Druids. According to JStor excerpts from Stuart Piggot's "The Druids and Stonehenge", there was an actual Celtic priesthood of Druids that believed in some sort of immortality and the transmigration of souls. They had rituals fairly often. Druids did also practice human sacrifice in some cases and they performed ceremonies of all kinds outside in circles of standing stones, the largest and most important of which was Stonehenge.
"Archaeologists have found four, or possibly five, large Mesolithic postholes (one may have been a natural tree throw), which date to around 8000 BC, beneath the nearby modern tourist car-park" (wiki)
Ok that's just cool. Anyway, the point........is that many people barely consider legends anymore. How often do you think of fairy rings, solstice magic, sacred rituals, other worlds and souls transforming? How often do we feel the magic of the sun? More often, we feel the heat of it here in NOLA.
I will go ahead and say it now: I much prefer a world with elements of magical things and occasional fantastic ideas that transcend what we can academically understand. I love the superstitions, legends, and myths they create. I also love sci-fi movies :-) Since I often notice unusual things and am distracted by them, taking time to ponder their significance has become a joy. I can remember in undergraduate college when I was walking across campus at night with a group of chattering friends on the way to the old McMaster Music Bldg at USC (THE USC, 1801), I made the whole group stop and look at the clouds passing across the full moon. They were in awe......for about five seconds. For me, however, the image has always stayed and I am perpetually in awe of the full moon. I look up at the sky.....and I do it often. I encourage you to do it as well. "Don't forget to stop and smell the roses" as they say. Perhaps it's the inner amateur photographer in me that captures images and holds them for ponderance and perhaps too, it is the romantic in me. Long live romanticism!
Not to discount facts and figures......after all, I am a nerd, I saw a fantastic Google plus blog by the Solar Dymanics Observatory's Camilla Corona (the most awesome chicken you'll ever meet!) that was full of information to help us understand today's reasons for the season and what a solstice actually is. Check it out here and learn about today's solstice LINK HERE
Enougth rambling for now I suppose. It's time for a spinach salad. But first, here's that fantastic summer solstice image to which I referred earlier:
Sunrise Solstice at Stonehenge
Credit & Copyright: Max Alexander, STFC, SPL
My thoughts surfaced to the fact that today is the Summer Solstice (the solstice will occur at 7:09 EST, June 20, 2012, tonight) and that I had only seen one picture flitting around Twitter and Facebook today of Stonehenge in the sunrise or sunset of a solstice......and it was from 2008! I've posted it below this blog post - it's from the Astronomy Picture of the Day archive (APOD).
Stonehenge has a number of legends associated with it. One is that sun-worshipping people could communicate with the sun and built Stonehenge out of sacred stones to help them. Another is that there was a race of giants upon the Earth long before men and places such a Stonehenge and Easter Island show evidence of structures built by these giants.
"Archaeologists have found four, or possibly five, large Mesolithic postholes (one may have been a natural tree throw), which date to around 8000 BC, beneath the nearby modern tourist car-park" (wiki)
Ok that's just cool. Anyway, the point........is that many people barely consider legends anymore. How often do you think of fairy rings, solstice magic, sacred rituals, other worlds and souls transforming? How often do we feel the magic of the sun? More often, we feel the heat of it here in NOLA.
I will go ahead and say it now: I much prefer a world with elements of magical things and occasional fantastic ideas that transcend what we can academically understand. I love the superstitions, legends, and myths they create. I also love sci-fi movies :-) Since I often notice unusual things and am distracted by them, taking time to ponder their significance has become a joy. I can remember in undergraduate college when I was walking across campus at night with a group of chattering friends on the way to the old McMaster Music Bldg at USC (THE USC, 1801), I made the whole group stop and look at the clouds passing across the full moon. They were in awe......for about five seconds. For me, however, the image has always stayed and I am perpetually in awe of the full moon. I look up at the sky.....and I do it often. I encourage you to do it as well. "Don't forget to stop and smell the roses" as they say. Perhaps it's the inner amateur photographer in me that captures images and holds them for ponderance and perhaps too, it is the romantic in me. Long live romanticism!
Not to discount facts and figures......after all, I am a nerd, I saw a fantastic Google plus blog by the Solar Dymanics Observatory's Camilla Corona (the most awesome chicken you'll ever meet!) that was full of information to help us understand today's reasons for the season and what a solstice actually is. Check it out here and learn about today's solstice LINK HERE
Enougth rambling for now I suppose. It's time for a spinach salad. But first, here's that fantastic summer solstice image to which I referred earlier:
Sunrise Solstice at Stonehenge
Credit & Copyright: Max Alexander, STFC, SPL
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Memorial Day Thoughts 2012
"They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane..."
What have we done? To ourselves? To each other? To our planet?
I'm actually leaving out the rest of that quote. It is:
"They would make fine servants... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want."
This is an example of what civilizations have done worldwide since before the time of Ur, Uruk, and the Sumerians of Southern Mesopotamia. Take one look at these origins of what is now Iraq and you will see a peaceful marsh-dwelling people, full of respect for nature, dominated repeatedly by surrounding nomadic peoples for their prime fertile landscape. This 53 minute video link is a cool (though old) English documentary about the origins of this "cradle of civilization". There are several more in the series and they review other global cradles such as India, China, Egypt, and the Mayan civilization. I'm not sure how I feel about how it holds "The West" responsible for the total victory of liberal democracy or the end of civilization, but it's worth watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXohegE-lBY
Civilization meant a process of forming organized groups of people and living in these societies, working together. Theoretically, somewhere along the way, our success at having a stick turned into envy for a bigger, better, cooler-looking stick. This caused all sorts of problems. Later, we came to rank civilizations according to writing, progress in agriculture, transportation, trade, culture, knowledge, legal systems, metallurgy, astronomy, and more. How about peace?
"They would make fine servants... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want."
This is an example of what civilizations have done worldwide since before the time of Ur, Uruk, and the Sumerians of Southern Mesopotamia. Take one look at these origins of what is now Iraq and you will see a peaceful marsh-dwelling people, full of respect for nature, dominated repeatedly by surrounding nomadic peoples for their prime fertile landscape. This 53 minute video link is a cool (though old) English documentary about the origins of this "cradle of civilization". There are several more in the series and they review other global cradles such as India, China, Egypt, and the Mayan civilization. I'm not sure how I feel about how it holds "The West" responsible for the total victory of liberal democracy or the end of civilization, but it's worth watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXohegE-lBY
Civilization meant a process of forming organized groups of people and living in these societies, working together. Theoretically, somewhere along the way, our success at having a stick turned into envy for a bigger, better, cooler-looking stick. This caused all sorts of problems. Later, we came to rank civilizations according to writing, progress in agriculture, transportation, trade, culture, knowledge, legal systems, metallurgy, astronomy, and more. How about peace?
The amazing choral piece below is called Raua Needmine (Curse Upon Iron) by the Estonian composer Veljo Tormis (one of the greatest Estonian composers). It takes text about the mythological birth of iron from the great Finnish epic, the Kalevala, and combines it with modern text. The Kalevipoeg is similar and considered to be the great Estonian epic. I first learned of this piece as a member of the University of South Carolina's Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Larry Wyatt. My experience with this piece is actually one of the reasons why I am in choral music today, though it's not one of my favorite pieces. As it happened, we were singing it and thought the text was in Finnish. We didn't have the translation yet so I went to the professor on campus who taught Finnish and asked him about it. I learned it was not Finnish, but Estonian and contained text from the great Finn and Estonian epics. My eyes widened. I looked up the Kalevala and with it and the professor, found the text from which this piece came. Casually, I mentioned this later when discussing choir and ended up proudly speaking about the text and the piece at the concert. As an undergraduate, having your professor say wonderful things about your initiative and sing your praises was awesome, plus......I learned a few things and felt smart! :-)
Anyway, back to the piece itself. It's rather scary......lots of curses and shouts and a single pounding drum that is ever-present. I believe that all of humanity's barbarian actions resulting in war since the beginning of civilization on our planet are fearful. Why curse iron? Did they curse rocks before that? How did tools and knowledge end up as weapons? The writer of the Kalevala text from so long ago was 'spot on' when he recognized that there should be an incantation to preserve the good nature of the creation of iron......although....if it weren't iron, it would be something else. Is the constancy of the drum's return a warning that we, as humanity, cannot escape our need to own, to defeat, to act and even create in aggression?
Without regarding religious texts, who was the first aggressor? Nature or nurture? There is argument on either side of that coin.
Are we surviving our own technological age?
I have no answer, but this Memorial Day, I encourage myself to examine this, to remember the fallen in mankind's past from time immemorial, and to bear in mind those who have yet to lose their lives....and certainly will, while striving for the principles they and their countries hold true. I will think not just of individuals, but of societies in whole, who lost not only lives, but their very innocent existence under assimilation or eradication as a by-product of progress....
Raua Needmine by Veljo Tormis, arranged by Tauno Aints, published by FennicaGermanWithout regarding religious texts, who was the first aggressor? Nature or nurture? There is argument on either side of that coin.
Are we surviving our own technological age?
I have no answer, but this Memorial Day, I encourage myself to examine this, to remember the fallen in mankind's past from time immemorial, and to bear in mind those who have yet to lose their lives....and certainly will, while striving for the principles they and their countries hold true. I will think not just of individuals, but of societies in whole, who lost not only lives, but their very innocent existence under assimilation or eradication as a by-product of progress....
From new CD "From the Baltic Coast", State Choir of Latvija, conductor Māris Sirmais
http://www.youtube.com/
Ohoy, villain! Wretched iron!
Wretched iron! Cursed bog ore!
... You flesh-eater, Gnaver of bones!
You spiller of innocent blood!
Wretched iron! Cursed bog ore!
... You flesh-eater, Gnaver of bones!
You spiller of innocent blood!
Wicked, how did you get power?
Tell how you become so naughty!
Damn you, bastard! Wretched iron!
I know your birth, you purblind fool,
I know well your source, you evil!
Once there walked three nature spirits,
three fiery daughters of the sky.
They milked their swelling breasts to earth,
They squeezed their milk into the fens.
From the first maid spurted black milk,
this turned into soft wrought iron.
White milk squirted the second maid,
this was the source of tempered steel.
The third maid spouted blood-red milk,
This gave birth to bog iron ore.
I know your birth, you purblind fool,
I know well your source, you evil!
Then you were not high and mighty,
not yet mighty, not yet haughty,
when you moaned in the white-hot furnace,
Whined under baeting hammers.
Saliva was brought from a viper,
venom from a black snake!
For iron wouldn’t harbor evil
Without saliva from snakes.
Shelter us, supreme Creator!
Keep us safe, God Almighty!
So the mankind would not perish,
mother’s child vanish without trace.
This link has another textual version and more of the story of iron and other metals.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune09.htm
and here is the entire epic, translated by John Martin Crawford, 1888
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/
Tell how you become so naughty!
Damn you, bastard! Wretched iron!
I know your birth, you purblind fool,
I know well your source, you evil!
Once there walked three nature spirits,
three fiery daughters of the sky.
They milked their swelling breasts to earth,
They squeezed their milk into the fens.
From the first maid spurted black milk,
this turned into soft wrought iron.
White milk squirted the second maid,
this was the source of tempered steel.
The third maid spouted blood-red milk,
This gave birth to bog iron ore.
I know your birth, you purblind fool,
I know well your source, you evil!
Then you were not high and mighty,
not yet mighty, not yet haughty,
when you moaned in the white-hot furnace,
Whined under baeting hammers.
Saliva was brought from a viper,
venom from a black snake!
For iron wouldn’t harbor evil
Without saliva from snakes.
Shelter us, supreme Creator!
Keep us safe, God Almighty!
So the mankind would not perish,
mother’s child vanish without trace.
This link has another textual version and more of the story of iron and other metals.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune09.htm
and here is the entire epic, translated by John Martin Crawford, 1888
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/
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