My First Take on Obama’s Inaugural Address

President Obama addressed the legitimate concerns of us who suffered through the Bush administration’s lowering of the esteem of Americans in the world while creating the worst of times at home. Obama reminded us of our own responsibility to the future, by recalling our history. Our history has fought for freedom, equality, and the pursuit of happiness. We have honored disagreement and cherished justice, education, and morality. We worked hard and were inventive. We created a better life style for many people and offered the same opportunity for others, but somehow, we as a nation, lost sight of our history, our integrity and our ingenuity. I think Obama’s address reminded us of our greatness and challenged us to bring our best to our current problems. Don’t expect handouts and easy solutions. Roll up your sleeves and go to work.

Inaugural Quartet’s Cold Performance

My impression of the quartet of Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, McGill, and Montero playing Williams was that they performed live despite the cold, but according to this New York Times article, the performance was synced. With the havoc the bitter cold can have on performers and their instruments, it is understandable, if a minor disappointment, to know that their freezing perfection was due to being prerecorded. At least, now we know they are very good actors as well as musicians.

The Times article also has a beautiful video of the performance.

Inauguration Quartet

The Inauguration Quartet

From soft sounds to tumultuous joy, the music began with the quiet Coplanesque strains of John Williams’ “Air and Simple Gifts.” The vibrant cello of Yo Yo Ma and the sweet strings of Itzhak Perlman’s violin found full voice and intertwined; they were joined by a quiet, sonorous woodwind phrase that repeated and built from the clarinet of Anthony McGill. The three instruments were joined in joyous harmony by the piano of Gabriela Montero. Just as Copland’s music captured the nation’s character and geographical expanse, Williams’ music brought this historical heritage to the present. The unifying emotion of his composition was captured by this enthusiastic quartet playing as a complete ensemble, listening and responding to each other with admiration.

After all of the discussion about the brutal weather and the delicate wooden instruments and how the performers would deal with the elements, it appears as though the violin, cello, and clarinet were wooden and not carbon or rubber. The musicians brought all their best stuff, from musicality to instruments.

Williams’ and the inaugural quartet presented a musical gem to emphasize the speech of Barack Obama as he became President of the United States of America.

Here is an imperfect video.

Winter Lights

Went out last night shortly after sunset in hopes of taking a picture of the moon. News reports said we'd see the largest full moon of the year. However, the sky was still full of clouds and light snow.
Here's a shot of the end of our driveway instead.

We've had a long, snowy winter that actually began in Fall. The first of our deep snows came in early November, and we've only seen green grass for short periods of less than a day. The cold, the snow, and the short days have been building cabin fever, or as it's called these days, SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). The Christmas season brings a cheer to the heart and mind, but after New Years, the festivity slowly turns SAD.
We've been keeping our lights up longer to help keep a touch of cheer during this wintry time of year.

Greeleyville Mystery

A very sad story out of Greeleyville, South Carolina today. A woman’s body was found in the children’s playground by a bus driver early in the morning. The driver notified the janitor who called 911.

Due to the quick action of the bus driver and janitor, most of the children had no knowledge of what happened. Not until much later in the day was the woman identified and the mystery partially resolved. Stories about the event may be read here and here. By these accounts the woman did not die by violent means. An autopsy will reveal the manner of death and she has been identified, so the mystery of why she died may also be discovered.

Nonetheless, the young woman's strange death made for an unsettling day for Greeleyville Elementary.