The Beauty of Music

Music.

The yearning language of the soul.

A cosmic dialect,

so ancient, and yet so modern,

It transcends the desires of the flesh

to achieve the longing of the spirit.

From the alluring songs of the ancient sirens,

tempting the crew of brave Ulysses,

to the modern sanctums of sound and spectacle,

It plays to the view and voice of millions.

Music has, and will always be,

the one constant thread of man’s great tapestry.

Music’s forms are ever changing.

From the earthly rumble of the bass,

to the chilling tinkle of the glass,

this noble art has altered history

and carved a niche all Its own.

Some music is like water,

moving seamlessly from note to note.

As the silver tinkle of a stream,

It brings the mind both calm and comfort.

As the rolling rumble of the falls,

hidden vigor is released,

and wearied spirit is renewed. 

Some music is like ice.

Cold and piercing, It may be,

but always filled with greatest clarity.

As It courses through the body’s paths,

each nerve is honed to fine precision.

Those in slumber now arise,

and sight and sound are optimized.

Some music is like the earth,

with sounds as strong as solid stone,

and chords as deep as the old oak’s roots.

It pounds the senses like a rolling drum,

but grants a boon essential to all.

The mind is focused and full of force,

and the heart now swells with care and conviction.

Some music is like wind.

Be It austere or be It complex,

Its tone is always untroubled and playful.

As the gentle breeze of a summer day,

It brings a smile to the lips.

As the fast-paced gust of an autumn flurry,

joy bursts forth and the dance begins.

Some music is like fire.

It can stoke the passions long and slow,

or call forth a surge of ardor and zeal.

Husky tones ignite the senses,

calming and stimulating all at once.

When the artist pours forth their very soul,

the energy flows like new-minted lightning.

Some music is like light.

Its notes as pure as angel’s cries,

with tones and timbres kind and gentle.

As the warming rays of midday sun,

It drives away the pains of stress.

As the cooling glow of night’s full moon,

one feels joined with surrounding life.

Some music is like darkness.

It could be one of many forms,

from dreadful roars to piercing wails.

It may seem strange, and somehow ominous,

but renders life a vital service.

When one becomes detached and distant,

It jolts the mind back to the fore.

An art as old as humankind,

It still transcends all earthly boundaries.

Whether warm and richly measured,

or cool and light with swift progression,

music truly speaks to all.      

Annals of Archery

1

Born with a head and hair of flint,

from a mother of curving wood and sinew,

this early weapon was a bringer of food

before becoming a tool more sinister.

2

The thunder of chariots upon the earth

kicks up the dust like a storm in the desert.

Missiles fly twanging from point to point,

filling the air with the sounds of death.

3

Homer’s great tale describes this tool

as the bringer of death to the unbeatable warrior.

Flying true from the royal bow,

it hits the one small spot untouched and mortal.

4

The world’s highest peaks border the north

of this vast, great land of rivers and gods.

War elephants change through the dense, green growth,

arrows’ songs cutting through the noise-flooded air.

5

With chain mail glinting in the icy white sun,

these fierce pagan warriors loose their iron rain.

They have scattered enemies to the west, east, and south

by playing their music on these lethal instruments.

6

They came by the hoard from the sandy ocean,

their words spreading faster than new flames during drought.

Surrounding their foes with the very symbol of their faith,

they unleash their missiles as the final gap closes.

7

A time of transition from rural to urban,

the implements of war adjusted as well.

Now mounted across a beam with a trigger,

it unleashes a simpler yet deadlier strike.

8

From the sea of the east to the lands of the west,

these most skilled equestrians conquered the world.

With hard-hitting projectiles launched fast and true,

they surrounded and shot until none were left standing.

9

Garbed in bright feathers and the skins of great beasts,

they descend in vast numbers from their great floating city.

Their arrows are honed to precision unmatched,

the black stone sharpened beyond steel or bronze.   

10

A weapon both familiar and different at once,

it may seem unwieldy to the untrained eye.

Used from the ground or atop a great mount,

it strikes a bold path against the great rising sun.

11

A range of nations as diverse as any;

from seaside coves of the great northwest, to humid tropics down south and east.

In the verdant woodlands and ‘cross the Great Plains,

the bow can determine both life and death.

12

For many millennia it could not be matched.

The most basic principles had the most lethal kill.

Yet even so, it could not last forever,

and was ultimately replaced with a bang and a boom.

13

The bow’s great heyday may be no more,

but in several small pockets it is lively as ever.

From the smallest back garden to the greatest arena,

this tool’s great legacy lives on today.

Shakespearean Tragedies return to the Big Screen

With 2004's the "The Merchant of Venice" and last year's "The Tempest" Shakespeare's comedies have become done more often than his critically acclaimed tragedies. "Hamlet" has been performed on camera many times in addition to it's numerous stage production. In 1948, Sir Laurence Olivier's portrayal of the classic tale was the only Shakespeare movie to win best picture, unless you count "West Side Story," which is loosely based on "Romeo and Juliet."

In 2012, we will see young Oscar nominee for "True Grit," Hailee Steinfeld portray Juliet in a new version of "Romeo and Juliet" also starring academy award winner, Holly Hunter as the nurse. But before the classics are done again, this Friday comes Coriolanus. The buzz here is that Ralph Fiennes, a well known British stage and film actor, is on his way to becoming a legendary Shakespearean director, much like Sir Olivier and Kenneth Branagh, who in 1996 did a four hour film adaptation of "Hamlet", my personal favorite version.

"Coriolanus" was originally a Roman epic, but has been re-imagined in modern times and filmed Serbia. Ralph Fiennes spent three years working with "Gladiator" screenwriter John Logan on perfecting the adaptation. As someone who has written feature length screenplays in one semester for classes, I find it amazing the challenges faced in bringing Shakespeare to the screen. All Shakespeare's plays are dialogue heavy with little stage directions, unlike screenplays.

The trailer for "Coriolanus" makes an epic appearance. Mr. Fiennes says that he plans to do "Antony and Cleopatra" next, which will have to compete with another "Cleopatra" movie starring Angelina Jolie, whom I think of as a modern Elizabeth Taylor. The success of Coriolanus will determine the outcome of Shakespeare's continued box office success. It opens this friday in New York and Los Angeles and expands nationwide on January 12th. I can't wait to see. "Make you a blockbuster of Shakespeare."

Ratatouille Trailer

by Justin Stenzler

Walt Disney Films - Fantasia 2000 (2000)

by Justin Stenzler

Walt Disney Films - Mulan (1998)

by Justin Stenzler

Pocahontas (1995) Trailer

by Justin Stenzler