Saturday, July 30, 2005

Friday iChing

I’ve been wrestling with how to prioritize my time. Raising my children to be good people, creating meaningful scholarship, mentoring my students, having fun, developing my relationship with my wife, developing my relationships with my family and friends, personal betterment (physical, spiritual, mental, emotional). Should I be concerned with leaving a legacy, and if so, what kind? This is the incredibly amorphous question I pose to iChing this week.

Covering: "If I could be with You One Hour Tonight," Count Basie & His Orchestra, The Essential Count Basie Vol.1
Crossing: Georges Bizet's Carmen Suite No. 1: Entr'acte (Act IV), Herbert von Karajan; Philharmonia Orchestra
Crown: "The Prophecy," Howard Shore, The Lord Of The Rings - The Fellowship Of The Ring
Root: Béla Bartók's En plein air - #2 "Sons de la nuit," Claude Helffer
Past: Richard Wagner's "Den Bronnen, den uns Wolfram nannte" from Tannhäuser
Future: "When Your Lover Has Gone," Sarah Vaughan, How Long Has This Been Going On?
Questioner: "City Nights," Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble, New Stories
House: Aaron Copland's Rodeo - 4. "Hoe-Down," Erich Kunzel / Cincinnati Pops
Inside: Morten Lauridsen's O magnum mysterium Robert Shaw Festival & Chamber Singers
Outcome: Robert Schumann's Carnaval: 12. "Chopin," Claudio Arrau

Covering is obvious: who should I be with for an hour tonight?
Crossing: Don José is obsessed with Carmen, forsaking his job for his personal lusts. Yeah, that’s conflict.
Crown: Hmm, the best is a quest to save the world? A little more than I had planned to take on…
Sounds of the night, or is it that the important causes of this situation are “In Plain Air,” in plain sight? I’ll come back to this.
Wolfram sang of unattainable love, staying with the status quo that Tannhäuser shatters later in the song contest. Perhaps my past has been too careful.
When my lover has gone, what will I do? My children will hopefully still be around, as would the fruits of my professional career. Of course, it is statistically likely that when my lover has gone, I will already be dead, so this could be about legacy.
City Nights is a piece by college friends. Am I tempted by the bright lights of the big city?
My wife has shown fine humor at my musings, though she hasn’t thrown a Hoe-Down. Just keep dancing!
Too cute, my hopes and fears are a great mystery. And the final outcome is either a big Carnival, me imitating someone else (or emulating someone else), or I'm going wacky like Schumann. I think the important causes are sounds of the night, my night-time musings.

Much to think about.

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