Auld Lang Syne

For some reason, this year I've managed—on this most excellent eve/day for simultaneously looking forward an considering the past—to avoid one of my most favorite songs: the adaptation of Robert Burns' beautiful poem, "Auld Lang Syne."



So, friends:  Here's wishing you a most excellent 2015.  My most fervent wish for the new year is that my auld acquaintance not only not "be forgot," but that each be renewed and flourish for many years to come.

Don't Go, Mr. Christmas!

Generally, at this point in the holiday season, I'm about ready to take down the tree and get on with the new year, but I have to say, I'm going to have a hard time letting this one go.  I salute you, Mr. Christmas Tree.

You were really pretty awesome.

I love this

Paper City from Maciek Janicki.

This Is Water

A friend posted this on Facebook, with the caveat that he wasn't sure David Foster Wallace would have liked it very much, but that it made a lot of sense, and it's something we should all consider.

It certainly made me stop and think.

A Good Kind of Nostalgia

I was only about 10 or 11 years-old when my eldest brother passed away unexpectedly, and it just so happened that Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" was at that time just becoming an iconic, zeitgeist-consuming, monster hit.

I guess it's for that reason the song reminds me of that terrible time, but not in a terrible way.  I find it oddly comforting and mildly unsettling; even at its most fevered pitch, it makes me suddenly introspective. 

I was really touched by Heart's cover/tribute to the band at The Kennedy Center Honors, and Robert Plant's reaction to hearing the song performed.  It always makes me react the exact same way he does in the clip below.

Cliff Diver @ Rosa Mexicano

LEGO TIGER

...at the Bronx Zoo. Someone put some serious time into this.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Another Exciting Friday Night!

Lordie.

Friday's historic events kinda left me in the mood to celebrate Pride this year, even though I've been kinda worn down and apathetic about... well, pretty much everything.

I got up rather early (for me) on Sunday and got a boatload of chore-like housekeeping stuff done, then headed off to Manhattan to meet up with Topher, with whom I took in the wonder that is the West Village during the Heritage of Pride March and Pride Fest.

I found the mood of the place rather placid, or, rather, no more raucous than it had been in years past, despite the stunning and heartwarming victory the community had scored in the legislature just two days before. And even though I'd carried my camera around for most of the day, I didn't really capture many great photos. But I did capture this.