I'm posting only a few photos from Maui because (1) 97% of all vacation photos are a drag and (2) the satiation point for images of paradise is especially low. The first and fourth photos above are views of the beach taken from our room. The second photo is the Duchess posed in front of the Iao Needle at the Iao Valley State Park, and the third shot of the two of us was taken nearby.

The photo below is, however, a bit different. When the Duchess and I went on the Maui whale watching cruise, we certainly didn’t expect to catch a glimpse of this leviathan of music at his ease.

May all your seasons be joyous, resonant with the warmth of home and family, the cheer of friends, and the blessings of being loved.

~Allan

 

An Online Stocking Stuffer From DrHGuy

My favorite animated snow globe empowers viewers to grab the snow globe with a mouse, give it a shake, and watch the people inside tumble around shouting "avalanche," "earthquake," and general indicators of panic. Then, they return to their routine affairs - the people getting into fights, the snowman eating the snowman maker, fist fights, ski jumping, and an old man yelling out the windows.  If you wait long enough the old man will sleep walk into the glass.

The animation below is only a demo; click on the image to see what happens when a mouse shakes the snow globe..

The real fun is doing it yourself at  Interactive Snow Globe.

Credit Due Department: I found this dandy toy (3 years ago) at and lifted part of the description of it from The Coolest Christmas Snowglobe Flash Animation.

My Front Window

May all our houses be warm and safe and bright !

Love and Blessings,

L

This message and image were awaiting me in my email inbox  this morning; I was touched and thought it appropriate to share the caring and the hope expressed.

 

On the 12th day of Christmas, Leonard Cohen gave to me

Twelve drummer's doings
Eleven studio albums
The Ten New Songs CD
A lobby with nine hundred windows 
An end to 8 years awaiting
Seven lovers listed
Six live albums - and six books
Five gold awards
Four new live songs
Three years of touring
Two sisters singing 
And a bird on a wire, not in a tree

The Drummer's Saga: Leonard Cohen Introduces Rafael Bernardo Gayol

Leonard Cohen - Anthem  (Vancouver Dec 2, 2010)

Credit Due Department: Special thanks to Marie Noonan, who shot the performance of Anthem in Vancouver from which this segment was taken, and to Albert Noonan, who extracted this section from the Anthem video specifically for this post.

On the 11th day of Christmas, Leonard Cohen gave to me

Eleven studio albums
The Ten New Songs CD
A lobby with nine hundred windows 
An end to 8 years awaiting
Seven lovers listed
Six live albums - and six books
Five gold awards
Four new live songs
Three years of touring
Two sisters singing 
And a bird on a wire, not in a tree

Leonard Cohen Studio Albums

1. Songs Of Leonard Cohen (27 December 1967)  
2. Songs From A Room (April 1969) 
3. Songs Of Love And Hate (March 1971) 
4. New Skin For The Old Ceremony (August 1974)
5. Death Of A Ladies' Man (November 1977)
6. Recent Songs (September 1979)
7. Various Positions (December 1984)
8. I'm Your Man (February 1988) 
9. The Future 24 (November 1992) 
10. Ten New Songs (9 October 2001)
11. Dear Heather (26 October 2004)

Suzanne - Songs Of Leonard Cohen 
The 1st Track of the 1st Leonard Cohen Album

On the 10th day of Christmas, Leonard Cohen gave to me

The Ten New Songs album
A lobby with nine hundred windows 
An end to 8 years awaiting
Seven lovers listed
Six live albums - and six books
Five gold awards
Four new live songs
Three years of touring
Two sisters singing 
And a bird on a wire, not in a tree

Ten New Songs (2001)
Written and composed by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson 

1. In My Secret Life
2. A Thousand Kisses Deep
3. That Don’t Make It Junk
4. Here It Is
5. Love Itself
6. By The Rivers Dark
7. Alexandra Leaving
8. You Have Loved Enough
9. Boogie Street
10. The Land of Plenty

This enchanting photo by Karl Smyth shows members of the audience at Leonard Cohen’s Dublin Concert waltzing to “Take This Waltz.”

On the 9th day of Christmas, Leonard Cohen gave to me

A lobby with nine hundred windows
An end to 8 years awaiting
Seven lovers listed
Six live albums - and six books
Five gold awards
Four new live songs
Three years of touring
Two sisters singing 
And a bird on a wire, not in a tree

From Take This Waltz by Leonard Cohen [emphasis mine]

Now in Vienna there's ten pretty women
There's a shoulder where Death comes to cry
There's a lobby with nine hundred windows
There's a tree where the doves go to die
There's a piece that was torn from the morning
And it hangs in the Gallery of Frost
Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay
Take this waltz, take this waltz
Take this waltz with the clamp on its jaws

Leonard Cohen - Take This Waltz

On the 8th day of Christmas, Leonard Cohen gave to me

An end to 8 years awaiting
Seven lovers listed
Six live albums - and six books
Five gold awards
Four new live songs
Three years of touring
Two sisters singing 
And a bird on a wire, not in a tree

Leonard Cohen - Show Me The Place from Old Ideas CD

Show Me The Place by leonardcohen

On the 7th day of Christmas, Leonard Cohen gave to me

Seven lovers listed
Six live albums - and six books
Five gold awards
Four new live songs
Three years of touring
Two sisters singing 
And a bird on a wire, not in a tree

Lover Lover Lover by Leonard Cohen
[emphasis mine]

I asked my father,
I said, "Father change my name."
The one I'm using now it's covered up
with fear and filth and cowardice and shame.

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

He said, "I locked you in this body,
I meant it as a kind of trial.
You can use it for a weapon,
or to make some woman smile." 

 Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

"Then let me start again," I cried,
"please let me start again,
I want a face that's fair this time,
I want a spirit that is calm."

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

"I never never turned aside," he said,
"I never walked away.
It was you who built the temple,
it was you who covered up my face."

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

And may the spirit of this song,
may it rise up pure and free.
May it be a shield for you,
a shield against the enemy.

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me..

Yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me,
yes and lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover, lover come back to me.

Leonard Cohen - Lover Lover Lover (Bratislava - Aug 28, 2009)

Video uploaded by albertnoonan