Washington National Cathedral's Jarring News

Here's a copy of a letter from the National Cathedral today. I hope they don't mind if I reprint it since it offers clues of the recent earthquake-related damages. From the pictures I am posting, the damage appears to have pushed pieces to lower sections of the roof rather than onto the ground. It makes me wonder whether it was planned that way, and proved a tremendously good idea if it was. Fortunately, the rose window pictured online in last Sunday's service, and indeed all 231 stained
glass windows, were spared in whole.  

Interior of Washington National Cathedral 

Dear Friend,


The National Cathedral sustained significant damage
yesterday in the biggest earthquake to hit the East Coast in more than
70 years. Fortunately, no one was injured and damage to the interior
seems to be limited. Every assessment indicates that the Cathedral is
structurally sound, but the exterior has suffered visible damage.


As a special friend of the Cathedral, we want
you to be informed with the latest updates about this national
treasure. To learn the latest information, visit www.nationalcathedral.org.


Here is what we know so far about damage
to the building's exterior:

• Three of
  the four pinnacles on the central tower, at the highest point of the
  Cathedral, have broken off—luckily onto the roof, which is reinforced by
  concrete.


• Some of the flying buttresses also
  suffered major cracks, especially around the historic apse at the
  building's east end. The extent of that damage is still unknown.


• One large finial fell from the northwest tower onto the
  Cathedral lawn. Due to its size and weight, gravity has lodged it into
  the ground.


• A number of the Cathedral's beautiful
  exterior sculptures and carvings were damaged, particularly on the
  central tower.

An updated photo and
video gallery showing details of the earthquake damage is now available
for you online.


As we assess the damage and begin the hard
work ahead, please visit our website for continual updates: www.nationalcathedral.org


Thanks to your help, our efforts to
rebuild and restore the nation's Cathedral start today.

Interior of Washington National Cathedral

 Actual photographs of the damage can be seen on the Cathedral website here and here. Meanwhile, we'll just have to stay tuned. Dean Lloyd is magnificently handling the challenge, as always. Now if only he could stay... 

UPDATE: The Atlantic and The Washington Post have interesting reports.

Masterpiece Music: American Coastlines, A Five Part Concerto

This post is an update of my earlier review of my musician favorites. "American Coastlines: Concerto for Piano, Orchestra and Choir" would make beautiful background music for a movie. 

It is rare indeed to find such beautiful music born and bred the United States by an American composer.  Reminiscent of the music of some of the greatest and most ambitious American movies, past and present, these songs on the piano are clearly discernible and memorable. The added overlay of the orchestra adds fullness and richness of texture. The entire performance is marvelously imaginative and innovative, truly an American masterpiece of which to be proud.

Haunting and mellifluous melodies interweave with background music of an orchestra and choir composed and conducted by Tim Keyes, with piano music by Darlene Popkey. This stunning performance was recorded live at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, New Jersey in five parts:

1. Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey: July

2. Long Boat Key, Florida: October

3. Galveston Island, Texas: January

4. Big Sur, California: April

5. Hymn

Darlene Popkey has enjoyed numerous international  musical awards and honors. She has played with the Tim Keyes Consort such masterpieces as Dvorak's Symphony no. 9 (From the New World) and Saint Saens Symphony no. 3 as well as other new symphonic compositions. Her schedule continues with live virtuoso solo and orchestral musical performances.

"
Tim Keyes is a New-Jersey-based composer, conductor and director of his eponymous orchestra of instrumentalists from Central New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

It is really quite extraordinary and refreshingly reassuring to be able to hear soothing and majestic new American compositions.

It's wonderful to play as a DVD on the computer or in the car. This would also make wonderful music for ecclesiastical settings, school plays and a a terrific present to buy as a gift. Everyone would like it. It is available from Amazon.

Darlene Popkey has an audio CD called "Small Town" also available at Amazon. Piano and clarinet music combine to create lovely, classy music from these two award-winning musicians.

Fascinating Fascinators

Fascinator: a hairpiece, a style of millinery like a hat, also called a cocktail hat, commonly made with feathers, flowers and beads. Fascinators are popular at events where hats were traditionally worn, such as horse-racing events, as an alternative.

Although this term fell into disuse by the 1970s, it is used in a newspaper article referring to hairpieces worn by women at church at St. James Cathedral in Toronto, Canada today.

The Queen is noted for her hats, and she was certainly not upstaged. But there were quite a few women in the church who also wore hats and fascinators.

TheGlobeAndMail.com

Silk flowers, too can be just the perfect finishing touch for a coat or suit or even a dress. Many are available at M and J Trimmings, 1008 Sixth Avenue, (nr. 38th St.) New York 10018 tel.1.800.MJTRIM. This large store bills itself as "the world's Premier Trimming Resource since 1936. With one location at over 5000 square feet, they are highly recommended for over-the-top trimmings and tassels for clothing and furniture and jewelry designs. They have lace, buttons, tassels, belt buckles, bullion crests, and patches and are located in the middle of the jewelry and garment district, and now have items available online. See that website for a wonderland of creations for use in fabulous designs.

Is There A Secret To Women's Happiness?

Rodin, The Kiss

What can a man say to a woman, any woman, to make her feel happier?

The point is to maximize dreamy phrases. Go ahead and dare to be a dreamboat. Women will love you for it.

1) "You're beautiful" - They want to know they are at least beautiful to you, but then it's best to go further with what exactly makes them look so. Perhaps that's what he's whispering in her ear, above, but he's likely said it already lots of times.
2) "You're the best" - Of course, no one wants to be second best at anything, even if it is stretching the truth at times.
3) Notice a girl's moods. Comfort her if she's sad, and ask what's wrong if she's angry.
4) Please a girl at every opportunity. Tell girls you will do what they want to do and go along with them to please them, but don't cling. Offer action, but don't force a girl to do something she doesn't want to do.
5) "You know a lot" - For lots of women, it's their life's favorite hobby to learn a lot, so it's nice to be complimented for knowledge. After all, it doesn't subtract from a man's warehouse of knowledge.
6) "You're smart" - Be sincere, and think of an example. The easiest way is to acknowledge it when you hear and recognize it. Who wouldn't feel stronger with this sort of compliment?
7) Be ultra-communicative. Tease and flirt at every opportunity in a friendly way. Occasionally leave text or phone messages so your target doesn't forget about you. Return any message from a girl, no matter how vague (it's a gift of your attention she might not expect or feel appropriate to command). Err on the side of over-communicating if you're not sure. The other side can't always guess what you think.
8) Be confident. Remember to talk to her and answer her questions and make her feel equal to you and better about herself from all the attention she is getting from you. Never, ever, take giving her attention to an extreme and stalk a girl - it's a no-no, and alarming to any girl.
9) Be nice to her friends. She will judge you with them and them with you. She will consider your attitudes to her friends and family a sign of your social smoothness.
10) Be careful what you promise. Girls usually remember promises (it's a big deal, as in, wow, he promised) and will turn it against you if you forget. For example, don't say you'll call if you have no intention of doing so.
11) "You'll do well" - what a relief to hear, almost like hearing an astrology reading. Fun and loving to give a woman the benefit of the doubt. Don't be surprised if they giggle, but continue to reassure women with this dreamy phrase anyway.
12) "You cook well" - never, ever, I repeat, ever, tell a woman anything other than that she cooks well. Be very subtle with criticism as a general rule. All women want to think they cook well. It is as important as being clean and beautiful. It's not as if they think they are perfect, but they all want to believe they are better than average in the cooking department.
13) "Raising a woman's standard of living raises everyone's standard of living." Anyone believe for a second this is not true? This phrase reassures women and makes women feel more important.
14) Don't cheat. Don't be surprised she drops you if you cheat; expect it.

These are open secrets not just to the arts of seduction and how to seduce a woman, but how to get along better with women in general - all the women in your life. They are useful professionally as well as personally; common sense knows it, experience proves it.

Sorry, it's a bit late to wish you Happy Valentine's Day.  I was busy then.  I hope Happy Valentine's Month suffices.

Fractal Art by Cornelia Yoder

Last weekend at a show near Flemington, New Jersey, Cornelia Yoder displayed her beautiful, intricately-detailed artwork. She uses mathematical theorems to create unique pictures and tiles. Her fine pieces of art look rather photographic and tend to be quite colorful. Her website, corneliayoder.com is linked here.

In her art, there are layers of "tiny spirals embedded in the larger ones." She claims to like "the challenge of harmoniously blending colors into unusual shapes" and loves "the combination of experimentation and serendipity that play equal roles in giving a new image its unique beauty."

Her pictures are attracting serious collectors of art. Fractal art developed after
Benoit Mandelbrot's mathematical discovery of fractals around 1982.

In case you want to add a slideshow to your computer -- to brighten your screen when you're talking on the phone or away from your desk, you might want to consider having Cornelia Yoder's fractal art. The photo above can be enlarged when clicked. Here's a demo I noticed: Permanent Treasures, and there isn't any financial connection, except for the tile pictured above that I bought.