"That Was Mighty."

That's what one man from Kilkenny Pres. said to me regarding our concert there the other evening - I've never heard someone put it quite like that, and I think I'm going to start using it. We've got one more day in Kilkenny, and Ben and Ryan DeWaters and I are going to walk around for a bit before we head back for our last night in Dublin. Kilkenny has been excellent; the weather has been for the most part favorable, especially for the days when we would be outside for the majority. We watched a hurling match with a family (it was great, Kilkenny won), and I think a highlight for many of us was reconnecting with families we met last year. The Bennett boys, who gave me a hurley and two hurling balls last year, are still doing well, Jack's team won a match while we were here and Ollie was just fun to be with. Really sharp kids, and the really cool parents as well. More reflections to come (I'm kind of working backwards in time, so if anyone is reading this, you'll have to bear with me.) 'Till the next post (I still have to talk about the rest of Dublin, three day foray into the Scottish highlands, and a little more about Kilkenny), cheers!

Dublin, Day 1

Made it to Dublin with relatively few difficulties (compared to last year). Our hostel is very comfortable, and Robert, the guy who runs it, is very cordial and friendly to us as his guests. Mixed feelings overall, this time around. On one hand, there's not much mystery to Dublin anymore, and we kind of had to hit the ground running, meeting and practicing music even though our internal clocks are still on Eastern time. On the other hand, the familiarity of it allows some of us to move through everything a little bit easier, and also, after getting everyone together and playing through a few songs, I am very confident in the turnout of this week's goings on. Shenandoah in particular sounded very nice with cello, violin, whistle and accordion (along with other instruments). Lots of new faces, but we're getting to know each other quickly, and the familiar faces (both from the trip last year and those from Dublin) really help. Tomorrow we're on the streets playing and then a coffee house in the evening. Pray that goes well!

Summer Musings, pt. 1

I am currently listening to songs by Rufus Wainwright, who I have always enjoyed when I've encountered his music, but never had the motivation to sit down and listen to his stuff. This is actually the result of watching the movie Meet the Robinsons, which surprisingly had a couple Rufus songs in the soundtrack (it's a Disney CG-animated movie, and Wainwright just seems in a completely different class - I know his "Hallelujah" was in Shrek, but Shrek went for the non-conformist edgy image). It's interesting to read about him; his music is classified as Baroque Pop or Popera by Wikipedia, due in part to his avowed influence by Baroque opera (he apparently loves Verdi, and is currently working on an opera of his own) and also to the epic quality of his songs both in the melodies and the arrangement. Right up my alley.

For the 4th of July I tagged along with Noah and Miriam as they went to the Red House (Charissa Bruhn and Natalie Lodico live there), where there was a bring-your-own-food grilling party, to which we three brought stuff for hamburgers. It was great to see so many Covenant faces from years past, including gems like Hope Davis and others from my freshman year, but things were kind of winding down during the interim period between dinner and fireworks, so there were a number of folks just taking it easy and sitting around the house and on the porch. Bill Robinsons was playing his guitar, and so I went and grabbed mine (even though the whole "let's jam" thing rarely works out with two guys with guitars) and we started just playing through classic rock songs and such. We kept playing through the evening all the way till everyone else was setting off fireworks and stuff (Bill and I provided the soundtrack). It was great, I had a really good time. Bill told me during one break that he had been listening to David Bowie recently and that one of his favorite songs was "Starman", and asked me if I knew it. The name sounded familiar, and as he played through it, it gradually became more familiar to me, especially during the riff after the chorus, which I realized was one of the main motifs for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. It's incredibly catchy, and made me realize that I needed to listen to some Bowie, so when I got back that evening I bought Suffragette City, Starman, and Queen Bitch off iTunes. Queen Bitch's title might cause some to hesitate; don't. It's got such a great groove, and it's a fine song.

Lots of summer reading that's been done and lots that still needs doing - Monday onward will provide plenty of opportunities with the trip to Ireland and then California. So, coming soon will be a review of Michael Oren's Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Modern Middle East, an exposition on my current progress in Oren's other book, Power, Faith and Fantasy: America and the Middle East 1776-Present, as well as everything I've experienced in the first two thirds of Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov. I'll also keep you posted on our escapades in Ireland (and Scotland!).

2nd or 3rd Try

This is yet another attempt at a blog. Maybe this one will be successful - maybe I just need to tell people that I have one. That may have been the problem last time.