"Beannacht" by John O'Donohue
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Downton Abbey Episode 4 Tonight
As much as I love a good Broadway musical, last Sunday's episode came close to giving me my first cringeworthy Downton moment. When Lady Mary strode up the aisle to join Lady Edith at the piano, I felt myself panicking, No, no, please, no singing. But my nervousness paled in comparison to the appalled reaction of the Dowager Countess when the entire room began to sing along. (There is nothin' like a Dame!) Enter stage left . . . Matthew with his servant William and . . . a duet with Lady Mary. When I re-watched the episode midweek, I wondered why it had bothered me really. They sing very well . . . and they look so bloody cute together.
Here's a preview of tonight's episode.
Watch Downton Abbey Season 2 Episode 4 Preview on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Spellbound
by Emily Brontë
The wild winds coldly blow;
But a tyrant spell has bound me
And I cannot, cannot go.
The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow.
And the storm is fast descending,
And yet I cannot go.
Clouds beyond clouds above me,
Wastes beyond wastes below;
But nothing dear can move me;
I will not, cannot go.
But a tyrant spell has bound me
And I cannot, cannot go.
The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow.
And the storm is fast descending,
And yet I cannot go.
Clouds beyond clouds above me,
Wastes beyond wastes below;
But nothing dear can move me;
I will not, cannot go.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
American Dream
Tonight Samantha Garvey will be a special guest at President Obama's State of the Union address. Samantha Garvey is an 18-year-old senior at Brentwood High School on Long Island and an aspiring marine biologist. For two and a half years she researched the effects of the Asian shore crab on the ribbed mussel population in a salt marsh on the North Shore of Long Island. This work won her a place as a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search, the premier science competition for high school students.
Now here's the amazing part of her story: Samantha got news of her award while she was living with her family in a homeless shelter. Her family was evicted from their home on New Year's Eve. Despite the family's hardship, Samantha maintains a 3.9 grade point average and is president of her school's chapter of the National Honor Society. She is ranked 4th out of 433 students in her grade and hopes to attend Brown or Yale.
Now here's the amazing part of her story: Samantha got news of her award while she was living with her family in a homeless shelter. Her family was evicted from their home on New Year's Eve. Despite the family's hardship, Samantha maintains a 3.9 grade point average and is president of her school's chapter of the National Honor Society. She is ranked 4th out of 433 students in her grade and hopes to attend Brown or Yale.
And now some help has arrived. The Suffolk County Department of Social Services has located a house for the family. In addition, during a recent Ellen DeGeneres show, AT&T presented her with a $50,000 scholarship. Whole Foods and J.C. Penney have also made contributions.
On Wednesday Samantha will find out if she is one of the 40 Intel finalists for a top prize of $100,000. We hope there's more good news.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Good Luck, Gabby
Gabrielle Giffords said today that she is resigning from Congress this week. Here's her inspiring statement.
Downton Abbey Episode 3 Tonight
Despite criticism that it's a historically inaccurate soap opera, we're still obsessed with Downton Abbey. In Episode 2, which aired last Sunday, the Crawleys watched as their beloved Downton was turned into a convalescent hospital for wounded officers. Even their dog Isis was fair game as Isobel—in her newfound pushiness—ordered the family and staff around. Luckily for Isis, the Earl insisted that the dog continue to have the run of the patients' rooms. For us, one of the high points of the second episode had to be Anna running through the house after she found Branson's note to Sybil. It felt like forever as she searched for help to avoid a crisis in the dining room. And what was up with that nasty concoction of Branson's—oil, ink, cow pie and sour milk in the soup tureen!
Here's a preview of tonight's episode.
Watch Downton Abbey, Season 2: Episode 3 Preview on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.
Friday, January 20, 2012
PSO Broadway POPS!—The Broadway Tenors
The Broadway Tenors (left to right): Ron Bohmer, Matt Cavenaugh, Brent Barrett
On Saturday, February 11, 2012, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Rossen Milanov, will present its annual Broadway POPS! concert. This year's production, The Broadway Tenors, features a trio of Broadway's popular leading men—Brent Barrett, Ron Bohmer and Matt Cavenaugh. The program includes favorite songs from hit shows such as West Side Story, Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, Guys and Dolls and much more.
Brent Barrett, the founding member and producer of The Broadway Tenors, performed in last year's Broadway POPS! concert. He recently reprised his role as Billy Flynn in Chicago on Broadway and has appeared in productions of Kiss Me, Kate, The Pajama Game, Camelot, Annie Get Your Gun and more. Ron Bohmer has played leading roles in A Little Night Music, Ragtime, The Woman in White, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Fiddler on the Roof, Les Miserables, Sunset Boulevard and The Phantom of the Opera. Matt Cavenaugh most recently starred on Broadway as Tony in West Side Story and in Grey Gardens, A Catered Affair and Urban Cowboy.
The concert will begin at 8 pm in Richardson Auditorium on the Princeton University campus. Tickets are $25 to $68. For more information, call 609-497-0020 or click here to visit the PSO website.
Photo: Princeton Symphony Orchestra
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Happy Birthday, Betty White
Today is Betty White's 90th birthday. In honor of her birthday, President Obama sent her a video message. Check it out.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.
Photo: Scott Ableman
Sympathy
I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting—
I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free,
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—
I know why the caged bird sings!
Downton Abbey Wins Golden Globe
While you were watching Downton Abbey last night, it was winning a Golden Globe . . . .
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Downton Abbey Episode 2 Tonight
Last Sunday night's premiere of season 2 of Downton Abbey averaged 4.2 million views according to a press release from PBS. The Masterpiece Classic series doubled the average PBS primetime rating and exceeded the average of the first season by 18 percent. Executive producer Rebecca Eaton said, "Downton Abbey officially takes its place among the best of Masterpiece titles since the series began in 1971."
Episode 1 moved quickly and forced us to stay focused. It's 1916, England is at war and there's a lot to take in—white feathers, trenches, mustard gas, shell shock. Story lines are taking off, familiar characters are shifting and new ones have arrived. (Does anyone else miss Gwen?) If you didn't catch episode 1, you can watch it here.
Here's a preview of tonight's episode.
Watch Downton Abbey Season 2 Episode 2 Preview on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Children's Event at Terhune Orchards
On Tuesday, January 17, Terhune Orchards will host the first 2012 winter session of their Read & Explore Program at the farm. The topic of the session is The Gingerbread Man. The classic tale of The Gingerbread Man will be read and each child can have fun decorating a large gingerbread man cookie to take home. The children will be able to see how many ingredients of the gingerbread man come from farms.
Read & Explore is Terhune Orchard's winter education series with sessions in January, February and March. The program combines reading stories and doing related craft activities. Parents/guardians and young children (ages preschool to 8 years) are welcome. The sessions begin at 10:00 am and last about one hour. Each session costs $5.00 per participating child, which includes the materials for the activity. Parents should call ahead to register. The number at the farm is 609-924-2310. Check-in is at the farm store. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Terhune Orchards is located at 330 Cold Soil Road in Princeton.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Cleanup Event for Martin Luther King Day
The members of the Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands invite you to join them on Monday, January 16, for a cleanup at the Mapleton Preserve on the National Day of Service honoring the 26th anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. From noon to 3 pm volunteers will be clearing small trees, brush, vines and trash in the historic Mapleton Preserve. You are asked to bring any tools you may have, such as saws, clippers, loppers and rakes. Be sure to dress appropriately for the weather—work gloves, sturdy shoes, warm clothing and hats are recommended. For more information, visit the FPNL website or call 609-683-0483. Mapleton Preserve/D&R Canal State Park is located at 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston.
Photograph of European Weeping Beech at the Mapleton Preserve by Tari Pantaleo
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Theft Reported
On Friday, January 6, the West Windsor & Plainsboro News reported in its Police Blotter that "Signature Property Group was the victim of a theft on Sayre Drive. Someone cut the piping and stole an irrigation backflow device valued at $700 on December 20." See the report here.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Downton Abbey Season 2
The second season of Downton Abbey premieres this Sunday, January 8, at 9 pm on PBS. My friends and I admit we're a little obsessed with the series. Are you? We've watched season 1 so many times we could probably stand in for some of the characters. Elizabeth and I would fight over who gets to be Anna (loser takes Cora).
Lest you think this is not a very big deal, Downton Abbey set the Guinness World Record for the "highest critical review ratings for a TV show." It displaced Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy and Modern Family, who shared the title since 2009, making it the most "critically well-received show in the world" according to the record book. The drama, created and written by Julian Fellowes, was nominated for 11 Primetime Emmy awards and won six, including Outstanding Miniseries or Movie and Outstanding Supporting Actress, Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham.
Thank goodness the long wait is finally over.
Watch Downton Abbey Season 2 With or Without You Preview. on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
The Old Year
by John Clare
The Old Year's gone away
To nothingness and night:
We cannot find him all the day
Nor hear him in the night:
He left no footstep, mark or place
In either shade or sun:
The last year he'd a neighbour's face,
In this he's known by none.
All nothing everywhere:
Mists we on mornings see
Have more of substance when they're here
And more of form than he.
He was a friend by every fire,
In every cot and hall—
A guest to every heart's desire,
And now he's nought at all.
Old papers thrown away,
Old garments cast aside,
The talks of yesterday,
Are things identified;
But time once torn away
No voices can recall:
The eve of New Year's Day
Left the Old Year lost to all.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
January Recycling Dates
The recycling dates in Princeton Landing for January are the 2nd, the 16th and the 30th. There is also a link to these dates in the right-hand column under Popular Posts.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
'Twas the night before Christmas . . .
A Visit from St. Nicholas
by Clement Clarke Moore
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."
Friday, December 23, 2011
Christmas Postcard
Photo: Dave Shafer
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
Paris, France
Duomo di Milano
Milan, Italy
The Church of St. Peter Mancroft
Norwich, England
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
First Night of Hanukkah
To our Princeton Landing neighbors
and all of our readers
celebrating the Festival of Lights,
Happy Hanukkah to you and your loved ones.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Christmas List
Paul suggests Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens
Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings by Alison WeirSaturday, December 17, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Happy Birthday, Jane Austen
If there is anything disagreeable going on
men are always sure to get out of it . . .
— Persuasion
Thursday, December 15, 2011
PSO Holiday POPS!
Don't forget this Saturday, December 17, is the PSO Holiday POPS! concert. More information about it here.
Photo: Princeton Symphony Orchestra
Christmas List
Jon suggests The Letters of Samuel Beckett, Volume II: 1941–1956, edited by George Craig, Martha Dow Fehsenfeld, Dan Gunn and Lois More Overbeck (Volume I: 1929–1940 here)
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Christmas List
What I Hate: From A to Z by Roz Chast
Roz Chast's the In Crowd dinnerware, available at Fishs Eddy. Read about it here.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
There's a certain Slant of light
by Emily Dickinson
There's a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons –
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes –
Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
We can find no scar,
But internal difference,
Where the Meanings, are –
None may teach it – Any –
'Tis the Seal Despair –
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air –
When it comes, the Landscape listens –
Shadows – hold their breath –
When it goes, 'tis like the Distance
On the look of Death –
Photo: Shimrit Abraham
Friday, December 9, 2011
Christmas List
A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording of the CBS Television Special by the Vince Guaraldi Trio
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)