Fire on the Ice: Winter Cycling on the NCR Trail
(all photos taken with my Blackberry Curve this morning) One of the things I’ve always enjoyed doing is confronting nature’s elements head-on. It’s one of the quickest ways to feel as alive as I possibly can. Thoreau put it this way in “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” in Walden: I went to [...]
Christmas Countdown 2009: No. 1. Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy by David Bowie and Bing Crosby
MERRY CHRISTMAS! Peace on Earth, can it be Years from now, perhaps we’ll see See the day of glory See the day, when men of good will Live in peace, live in peace again For me, it was never a question that this song was going to place first in the countdown. For many years, [...]
Christmas Countdown 2009: No. 2. Stille Nacht (Silent Night) by various artists and choirs
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht, Alles schläft; einsam wacht Nur das traute hochheilige Paar. Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar, Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh! Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh! In any language, Silent Night is probably the most recognized Christmas song ever performed. And in nearly every case, it is recognized for its melodic solemnity in the holiness [...]
Christmas Countdown 2009: No. 3. O Holy Night by Celtic Woman
Sometimes, a song moves you so much that words seem to get in the way of its powerful meaning. O Holy Night, which has been sung beautifully by countless artists and choirs, is one of those songs. In fact, when I first created the Christmas Countdown during Thanksgiving weekend, I had it listed as my [...]
Christmas Countdown 2009: No. 4. Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song) by Amy Grant
Everything — every note, every word, every second of this song fills me with strength, reflection, and a certain faith in the intangible. This is what I believe in. This is what I need in my life, every day, to keep my focus of what my existence on this earth is all about. I’ve already [...]
Christmas Countdown 2009: No. 5. Christmas Time Is Here (Peanuts) by Vince Guaraldi
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. I was raised on Snoopy, Linus, Woodstock, and all the others in the Peanuts gang, and this comic strip had more of an impact on my childhood than any other cartoon or cartoon character that has [...]
Christmas Countdown 2009: No. 6. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon with the Harlem Community Choir
Oh, the words of hope for peace, if you want it. John & Yoko, with the Harlem Community Choir, released this single in December 1971 in protest of the Vietnam War. Two years earlier, they rented billboards around the war stating “WAR IS OVER (if you want it),” which is sung by the Harlem choir [...]
Christmas Countdown 2009: No. 7. Peace by George Winston
The snowfall we are receiving is quite timely, as George Winston’s Peace captures the beauty and absolute solitude of a newfallen snow. Whenever I try to explain George Winston’s music to friends who have never heard him play, I begin by describing the basic idea that a quarter note is made up of many smaller [...]
Christmas Countdown 2009: No. 8. River by Joni Mitchell
There aren’t too many versions of this song that I do not like. I didn’t even know it existed until a few years ago when a run of musicians started covering it — James Taylor, Sarah McLachlan, among others. Then, a good friend shared a Christmas playlist with me called Santa’s Boots, and it had [...]
Christmas Countdown 2009: No. 9. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland (then) and James Taylor (now)
For many reasons, this should have been number 10, as it would have served as a good bookend to number 1. You’ll see soon enough what that means; this countdown is heading to the finish line a little too fast for me now… This song, in my life, marries the old and the new, and [...]
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