Skip to content

Author Flawed to Perfection

blogging a little of a lot

  • About
  • Art
  • Contact
  • Novels
Search

Tag: music

Being Less Blind

He started with a solo

unexpected, unplanned

It was more than a quartet when others joined in.

A sad event in American history

a funeral

an amazing song by Joan Baez

incredible drawing and animation

and a wonderful memory and reminder of the compassion of

President Barack Obama.

via Quartet

March 28, 2018

Carolyn Dennis-WillinghamLeave a comment

Bad Ass Grandma and the Van “Go” ‘s

I’m back in the sixties

They called me ‘Peacenik’

The stars were alive

and the smoke, it was thick!

peacenik granny

 

 

December 26, 2017

Carolyn Dennis-WillinghamLeave a comment

Sisters of Mercy

 

Oh the sisters of mercy,

they are not departed or gone.

They were waiting for me

when I thought that I just can’t go on.

And they brought me their comfort

and later they brought me this song.
Oh I hope you run into them,

you who’ve been travelling so long.

Yes you who must leave everything

that you cannot control.
It begins with your family,

but soon it comes around to your soul.

Well I’ve been where you’re hanging,

I think I can see how you’re pinned:

When you’re not feeling holy,

your loneliness says that you’ve sinned.

Well they lay down beside me,

I made my confession to them.

They touched both my eyes

and I touched the dew on their hem.
If your life is a leaf

that the seasons tear off and condemn
They will bind you with love

that is graceful and green as a stem.

When I left they were sleeping,

I hope you run into them soon.
Don’t turn on the lights,

you can read their address by the moon.
And you won’t make me jealous

if I hear that they sweetened your night:
We weren’t lovers like that

and besides it would still be all right,
We weren’t lovers like that

and besides it would still be all right.

–beautifully written by Leonard Cohen

3210A-GenerousMthrTeresa8x10

via Mercy

November 22, 2017

Carolyn Dennis-WillinghamLeave a comment

Plain or Pretty – we can all relate to this

A reminder about the challenges of growing into ourselves.

https://nohillforastepper.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/janis-ian-at-seventeen-live-1976-mp3-76576-ssradio-me.mp3
Unknown
I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear skinned smiles
Who married young and then retired
The valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth
And those of us with ravaged faces
Lacking in the social graces
Desperately remained at home
Inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say “come dance with me”
And murmured vague obscenities
It isn’t all it seems at seventeen
A brown eyed girl in hand me downs
Whose name I never could pronounce
Said: “pity please the ones who serve
They only get what they deserve”
The rich relationed hometown queen
Marries into what she needs
With a guarantee of company
And haven for the elderly
So remember those who win the game
Lose the love they sought to gain
In debitures of quality and dubious integrity
Their small-town eyes will gape at you
In dull surprise when payment due
Exceeds accounts received at seventeen
To those of us who knew the pain
Of valentines that never came
And those whose names were never called
When choosing sides for basketball
It was long ago and far away
The world was younger than today
When dreams were all they gave for free
To ugly duckling girls like me…
We all play the game, and when we dare
We cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone
Repenting other lives unknown
That call and say: “come on, dance with me”
And murmur vague obscenities
At ugly girls like me, at seventeen
                    by Janis Ian
photo credit
daily post prompt: Dubious

November 14, 2017

Carolyn Dennis-Willingham2 Comments

Feed the Birds

Come feed the little birds, show them you care
And you’ll be glad if you do
Their young ones are hungry
Their nests are so bare
All it takes is tuppence from you
Feed the birds, tuppence a bag,
Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag
“Feed the birds, ” that’s what she <he> cries
While overhead, her <his> birds fill the skies
IMG_2733
Lyrics by Songwriters: Richard M. Sherman / Robert B. Sherman (Mary Poppins)
Feed the Birds lyrics © Walt Disney Music Company
painting by CD-W from a photo I took in Italy

October 29, 2017

Carolyn Dennis-WillinghamLeave a comment

Rest in Peace Mr. Domino

Thanks for the thrill, on Blueberry Hill, and more.

February 26, 1928-October 24, 2017

81C8+GUjkBL._SL1300_

October 25, 2017

Carolyn Dennis-WillinghamLeave a comment

Try “Playing” Along even if it’s not on a keyboard

First Movement : I started taking piano lessons when my kids were young. It was, you know, one of those things you want to try. As it turned out, although I truly enjoyed making sounds on the piano, I never could manage to really play.

Second Movement: Before Ludwig Von Beethoven was completely deaf, he composed “Quasi una fantasia,” roughly translated as “almost a fantasy” but better known as Moonlight Sonata.

Third Movement: Around this time, I was also taking art lessons. I wanted to draw something other than stick figures. So, I tucked a bunch of art classes under my belt.

Fourth Movement: I watched a a movie about the great composer who left his estate to his “Immortal Beloved” – also the name of the film. I love this movie! Especially 2 particular scenes – the one at the end (you’ll have to watch), and the one where Beethoven, in his later years, plays Moonlight Sonata with his head rested on the piano so he can “feel” the notes.

Wrapping up this Composition:

So, I took a screen shot of that particular scene. (A great idea for practicing artists)

Screenshot 2017-10-16 22.25.49

And made my own interpretation.

File0053

As I assumed all along, we can’t all be Beethoven’s.

But in our own ways, we can play along.

(Even if it’s a play on words)

Playin Hard to Get

 

 

October 17, 2017October 17, 2017

Carolyn Dennis-Willingham2 Comments

Quite the Keyboard

On a scale from from one to ten

where do you fit in?

On a scale from high to low

which direction do you go?

On a scale from left to right

undisturbed or too uptight?

On a scale from A to G

what matters is the harmony

Whatever range in which we fall

Quite the keyboard are we all!

My Art 059.jpg

 

 

 

Weekly photo challenge: SCALE

October 14, 2017

Carolyn Dennis-Willingham2 Comments

The Sound of Muses

My Art 020

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

hundreds to choose from in worlds that were written

years ago back when this sketch was created

these were the titles I most celebrated

 

When the night comes

when the day hums

when I reminisce

I simply remember my favorite books

the ones I could not resist

 

200w.gif

 

 

October 11, 2017October 11, 2017

Carolyn Dennis-Willingham4 Comments

Chanting naked? You bet’cha!

“What are you going to do? Run around naked and chant?”

When my husband had asked me that question years ago, I laughed. When I returned from the Hilde Girls women’s retreat, I laughed more when I said, “Yes, we did!”

What is a “Hilde?”

Hildegard of Bingen, a German Benedictine abbess, was born around 1098. She first began experiencing visions at the age of three.

It wasn’t until she was 42 years old that Hildegard received a vision she believed to be an instruction from God, to “write down that which you see and hear.” And that is when she  became a writer and a healer through her knowledge of tinctures, herbs and precious stones. But that’s not all! She also became a composer, philosopher, polymath, and illustrator.

In this mandela, Cultivating the Cosmic Tree, the elements of fire, air, water and earth are seen in this “quartering of the circle.”

Back to the retreat – Yes, some of us stripped off our clothing but all of us stripped down to our core being. What’s not to like about drumming and singing around a fire under a full moon?

Unknown-2

Thank you St. Hildegard!

 

For “8 Reasons Why Hildegard Matters Now”, read here.

Daily word prompt: Circle

September 30, 2017

Carolyn Dennis-Willingham4 Comments

Posts navigation

Older posts

Recent Posts

  • Harvesting Wisdom
  • Program Instagram? Yes, Ma'am
  • My Unexpected, Wonderful Encounter with the Real Mr. Rogers
  • The Gift of Connection
  • Collections From Breathing

Archives

  • November 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2014
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011

Does the Internet promote depression?

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”  ― Blaise Pascal, Pensées   I learned of this quote years back during a yoga class. It’s stuck with me and I wanted to share it. That’s how I came upon this curious “wow” moment. So here’s what happened on the way… Continue reading →

September 14, 2017

Carolyn Dennis-Willingham

Do you have ASS?

I don’t want to cut my fu..king ear off like Van Gogh. Instead, I spit on creativity when I can’t sleep. (Not really. I love creativity) How do you bloggers and authors, when your cozy and warm in your bed, stop thinking about what to write next when all you really want is to sleep? I close… Continue reading →

November 14, 2016

Carolyn Dennis-Willingham

Blog at WordPress.com.
Cancel