A Great Voice Is Silenced
The death of operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti at the age of 71 is a loss to the entire world. His fame went well beyond the world of Italian opera and, as such, his magnificent voice touched the lives of many. As I write these words, my CD of The Three Tenors in Concert is playing and, hearing Pavarotti voice, I am close to tears—not for the first times in the years I have listened to him. His legacy
A Loss to the World of Literature
Suddenly there was a great burst of light through the Darkness. The light spread outand where it touched the Darkness the Darkness disappeared. The light spread until the patch of Dark Thing had vanished, and there was only a gentle shining, and through the shining came the stars, clear and pure. Madeleine L’Engle in A Wrinkle in Time(pp. 91-92).
Madeleine L’Engle, author of children’s books, religious meditations, plays, poetry, and whimsical science fiction that transcended both genre and generation, died yesterday at the age of 88. Her children’s classic, A Wrinkle in Time, became a favorite of children and adults alike long before the Harry Potter books crossed age group lines.
The New York Times wrote of her:
"Why does anybody tell a story?” Ms. L’Engle once asked, even though she knew the answer.“It does indeed have something to do with faith,” she said, “faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically.”
A New Blog of Many Gifts
Have you visited Thomas’ new blog, Quotation Desktops and Mini-Posters? If not, click on over there. Thomas is giving us gifts of wonderful quotations, with many of them formatted into lovely desktops for our computers and some that may also be printed as mini-posters for our lives in the non-cyber world. Here is a splendid example of what Thomas has created for us, The Prayer of Chief Red Cloud:
A New
librarybrat a.k.a. lawbrat a.k.a.
The Furball’s Blog Post
Speaking of blogs, I’m amazed at the fantastic response received by Wednesday’s blog post by Alex, the cat whose human I happen to be. Perhaps I should allow the furball to write periodic posts to Nick’s Bytes in the future? (No, I will not allow him to create his own Alex’s Bytes blog; the cat has enough of a swollen ego as it is).
P.S. ~ Alex is responding to the many comments left by his admirers in the comment section of the blog post he wrote.
Blogging to Stop Abuse: Remember September 27th
I didn't put on the 3 Tenors but I did put on 2 other Pavarotti CD's when I heard the sad news.
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't my favorite tenor but I liked him very much and he was my favorite personality of the famous living tenors.
He'll be missed.
` I wish more people were like Chief Red Cloud.
ReplyDelete` BTW, I hope Alex likes my new blog post.
GRANNY: That’s an excellent choice of a Pavarotti CD! I’m still looking for the rest of mine. I don’t think any of the 20-something scammers I’ve taken into my house would have stolen those—but one never know, do one?
ReplyDeleteS E E QUINE: Yes, the words of Chief Red Cloud are quite impressive. Alex and I visited your blog (one of the 4) a while before you can here and saw the great kitten pics and the creative Sci-Fi story that you work to weave them together. You did a remarkable job, my dear Ms. Quine!
Thank you for the kind words. I hope I can live up to my introduction!
ReplyDeleteI'm really going to miss Pavarotti. There are some stars that are just bigger than life- John Belushi and Orson Wells are two others that spring to mind- and it's hard to believe it when they are really gone.
THOMAS: I am sure you will live up to the “introduction.” You have already created some wonderful graphics using noble quotes.
ReplyDeleteMy first Pavarotti album was a LP that I played over and over, until my now ex-wife gave me dirty looks and finally demanded I stop playing “that long hair shit.”
we want alex! we want alex! (protest chant continues for a good few minutes) ....
ReplyDeleteMAXXO: At the moment Alex is responding to the comments to “his” blog post. Coincidently, Maxxo, the comment he is responding to at the moment happens to be yours!
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a nice introduction! I really appreciate your friendship.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend Nick!
Do you mind if I use Ms Engles quote? You have a very thought provoking blog here.
ReplyDeleteDAWN: You are more than welcome, my dear Friend! I pray that your new dawn with truly herald a good and blessed future.
ReplyDeleteTKKEROUAC: Of course you may use Ms. L’Engle’s quote. It came from her and I would not even attempt to control it. Besides, I have quoted your illustrious relative many times! Thank you for your kind words about Nick’s Bytes; you, too, have a couple of thought provoking blogs.
Pavarotti did a beautiful duet with U2's Bono. That is the only Pavarotti in my music collection.
ReplyDeleteHe's a great loss to the operatic world indeed and will leave a void that will be hard to fill.
ReplyDeleteTell Alex thank you for the kind comment on Oscar that he left in his comment section.
Why don't you give him his own blog, Nick? Aawww, go on. He wouldn't be that much of a pain in the proverbial...would he?
Alex's post was awesome, Nick. I hope you remember who's the boss over there when he wants to take over your computer to write another one. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Nick ~~ It was a sad day for the world to lose Pavarotti, but we have his music forever thanks to technology. I had a look at Thomas'
ReplyDeletenew blog. He has some nice quotations there. For some reason, I was surprised at Ringo Starr - but good on him. Thomas used to comment on my blog many moons ago.
Thans for your comments, and I know that my garden is mostly thanks to my son Geoff. He turns up every few weeks to keep it tidy, as I can't do much, due to a bad back.
I am happy to say your Prez left here safely!! Sorry we couldn't keep him.
Take care, Nich, Kind regards, Merle.
THE LONE BEADER: You give an excellent example of hour Pavarotti went beyond generation and genre.
ReplyDeletePUSS-IN-BOOTS: I shall pass your “thank you” on to Alex regarding his memory of Oscar.
OK, I’ll think about allowing the furball to have his own blog. After all, Oscar did and Alex learned much from Oscar.
LYNN: Thank you. Where Alex is concerned, I may have to obtain a second computer for his use. He generally does control things. I am now ready for sleep, but the cat who owns me is still outside catting I know I will not be able to sleep until he is safely back in the house.
MERLE: Thank you! Hey, you Aussies sent Dubya back to us? I am hoping he would decide to stay a bit longer, but I suppose not because today (Monday) his commanding general in Iraq is supposed to report on how the war is going there.
Give Alex his own blog, Rev Saint. He writes better and is funnier than you.
ReplyDelete