It rained off and on all day. Cleaned the air, good for the land, good for any crops that may manage to grow this summer after the crazy winter and spring weather. A lot of things that would normally be starting to bear fruit have yet to bloom. I spent a good part of the day sleeping, because there were good reasons to stay awake all night, and most of the rest waking myself up with the mad mix of music e-friends had posted. Lots and lots of links came in today! And almost every one of them was to a book somebody wanted me to buy or sell!
Camping Weekend
The Bruderhof confirmed: it's free of charge. Three days in Walden, New York, good food, lots of Christian seminars and discussions, aimed at the Millennial Generation. They respect non-Christian beliefs. Of course, this weekend is especially recommended to those who think they might be interested in joining a Christian community, pooling resources and working for the good of the group. This is the real experience socialism tries (and fails) to replicate: people freely choose to live like an extended family. Each one has per own immediate family and personal paraphernalia. Other resources are pooled, so nobody has to buy a car and every licensed driver has the use of any of the cars the group agree that they need. The groups become very close-knit. Young people who want to stay in the group naturally want to meet people their own age who don't feel like cousins. If you ae young and think communal life might be for you if you found the right people, here is a chance to find out more about the lifestyle and a group that's ready to expand. You will not be asked for money. Poor but talented people can join. You should take a nice guest gift anyway.
It should perhaps be emphasized that a Bruderhof community is not for slackers. You will be assigned a job. You will be expected to work as long as you're physically able. The Bruderhof are best known for furniture factories. Some groups do other kinds of work, like looking after people with massive brain damage. You can drop out of the corporate rat race but you will be spending a good part of each day doing something that other people find useful.
Music
Sandy Denny.
Beethoven.
Tom Petty.
The Mighty Sniper.
Avishai Cohen.
Barcelona Gypsy Klezmer.
The Beatles.
Jack Soref Trio.
Fairport Convention.
Jesse Colin Young.
B.J. Thomas.
Bach.
Etienne de Lavaulx.
Elton John.
G.E. Schneeman demonstrates an instrument called the bowed psaltery.
Shirley Temple.
Ludovico Einaudi.
Neil Young.
ZZ Top.
Politics
Maybe some people can follow the concept better in a video.
Word
Although this web site has favorably reviewed novels by Lyssa Lund, this web site always wonders about people who name their daughters Lyssa...
In Greek the prefix A- meant "not." Alyssa, a traditional human name, means the opposite of Lyssa. Freedom from Lyssa. Alyssum, a fragrant plant that was supposed to deliver people from Lyssa's power.
So who was Lyssa? In Greek the word meant hatred, rage, fury, frenzy, even rabies. It was written with that letter that was transcribed as either U or I, apparently spelling the sound in between them as used in modern French and German; not "lissa" but "luessa." Wolves, lykoi, were noted as susceptible to rabies and lyssa was what drove them to attack humans, which they would not normally eat, as well as sheep. The ancient Greeks recognized that this was not a normal human emotion. It's not even mentioned in the Greek New Testament, which advises believers to resolve situations that provoke normal healthy human anger. Christians received spiritual deliverance and protection from Lyssa.
The Greeks thought Lyssa was a demon--in the modern sense of an evil spirit, as distinct from the classical sense of a spirit of place, person, mood--and a disease. In the Iliad, Lyssa was what brought Achilles out of his monumental sulk and drove him to kill men, and some say women, children, animals, and whatever else he saw, in an insane excess of revenge for Patroclus.
Lyssa was also what Odysseus or Ulysses' father lamented his son's being subjected to by envious relatives, as an island king. Odysseus' mother had given him another name but he was always called "the hated one." In the Odyssey he lingers too long with other island queens, rather than hurrying home, because he anticipates having to deal with those relatives who feel lyssa for him, who present themselves as "suitors" for Penelope's hand while blatantly just wanting her husband's title.
In modern Latin-English, Lyssavirus is the genus of virus that includes rabies:
If you want your daughter to know you were wishing her well when you named her, call her Alyssa, or Melissa, or Elissa, or Lisa, or Lucia, or some other name.
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