Gone!

Eva finally got her hair cut yesterday. She had been growing it out for quite some time but she had decided she wanted to make a donation to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that creates wigs and hairpieces for children with a medical condition that causes them to lose their hair. She took right to her new look and, although I'm biased, I think her new style looks great.

Ghost Image Capture

I retrieved this image from Eva's camera and tweaked it a little bit: I have no idea what it is but I like it.

I Know I'm Starting to Sound Like a Broken Record ...

... but if you lived in Utah County and voted for Obama, you'd know what it feels like to be besieged by subtle, and not-so-subtle, accusations that your political and religious views are not only incompatible but contradictory. To which I can only respond that I found this account of the participation of Elders Uchtdorf and Ballard in President Obama's National Prayer Service quite moving (not to mention feeling somewhat vindicated).

[update on Jan 22]
To sum up:
Elder Ballard: "I left with a feeling that the people of America are going to unite behind this new president and his administration and that we need to pray for him."

Rush Limbaugh: "Four words: 'I hope he fails.'"

Happiness is a Best Friend ...

... who totally knows what it feels like to be missing your two front teeth.

Eva's (Inadvertent) Photo Montage

LDS Church Leaders on the Day's Events

Elder Uchtdorf, who attended the inauguration with Elder Ballard, said the following:

"It was inspiring to be an eyewitness to this peaceful, impressive transfer of power and the swearing-in of the first African-American president. We pray for President Barack Obama's success in these challenging times and join in his expressions of hope and optimism."

For more on the story, click here. Of course it's pretty boilerplate stuff, given the church's strict political neutrality. But if Elder Uchtdorf is anything at all like the vast majority of Germans, I suspect he would be capable of personally expressing his support for Obama's presidency yet more forcefully. I've got no privileged inside info on this: I'm jus' sayin' (I won't venture a guess on whether we'll start to see Joseph Lowery-type benedictions in General Conference!). Of course I would be happy just to see ordinary LDS church members show a similar degree of thoughtfulness and appreciation for the truly historic events of the day, whatever their political persuasion.

The Right President at the Right Time

I had to let my class out early this morning and we pulled the kids out of school to go home and watch the inauguration together. Incredibly, BYU scarcely even recognized that the inauguration was taking place and offered no accommodation to students and faculty to view the proceedings or even alter previously scheduled events and classes. And the kids' school--ostensibly a civic-minded school--did absolutely nothing to take advantage of the opportunity for their students to witness history in the making. I guess it was better that we got to view the inauguration ceremony as a family anyway. President Obama's speech was (dare I say "predictably"?) eloquent: I think that few presidents in recent history have so thoroughly appreciated the art of oratory and so mastered its potential to bring listeners together. There is a sense in which a nation such as ours--in which we are not bound together by ethnicity or race or religion--requires us to continually reforge the bonds that give us a common, shared identity as Americans. Presidential rhetoric plays an essential role in this ongoing project (I continue to believe that it was not just president Bush's policy decisions but his inability to master the rhetoric of leadership that proved fatal to his tenure). There's no doubt that there are tough times ahead but I'm absolutely convinced President Obama is the right man for the job.

Is This Tomorrow?

Well, technically it's the day after tomorrow. But you get the point.

Maggot Cheese That Tries to Eat Your Eyes!

(could there ever be a cooler blog post title than that?). Somehow, this story, posted on boingboing.com, really spoke to the 14-year old in me. Here's the scoop:

"Casu marzu is an illegal Sardinian cheese that is served riddled with writhing maggots that try to jump into your eyeballs as you eat it. Casu marzu is considered toxic when the maggots in the cheese have died. Because of this, only cheese in which the maggots are still alive is eaten. When the cheese has fermented enough, it is cut into thin strips and spread on moistened Sardinian flatbread (pane carasau), to be served with a strong red wine.Casu marzu is believed to be an aphrodisiac by local Sardinians. Because the larvae in the cheese can launch themselves for distances up to 15 centimetres (6 in) when disturbed, diners hold their hands above the sandwich to prevent the maggots from leaping into their eyes. Those who do not wish to eat live maggots place the cheese in a sealed paper bag. The maggots, starved for oxygen, writhe and jump in the bag, creating a "pitter-patter" sound. When the sounds subside, the maggots are dead and the cheese can be eaten."

An "illegal Sardinian cheese." I just love the idea of cheese on the wrong side of the law. Buon appetito!

Before Jack Bauer, there was this:

The Tornado-Punch, courtesy of MacGyver.

Mikel Laboa hil da

Okay, it's not exactly news now, but it happened last month when my blog was on hiatus and I've been meaning to post about it. In December, renowned Basque folk singer Mikel Laboa passed away. It would probably be fair to say he was the Basque Country's Pete Seeger or perhaps even Bob Dylan (appropriately enough, his final concert took place in 2006, when he opened for Bob Dylan in Donostia at a concert for peace). His signature piece was probably "Txoria txori" ("A bird is a bird"). Originally a popular folk tune about a bird that couldn't fly, Laboa's interpretation of it during the last years of the Franco regime turned the song into a political allegory for the Basque nation. It has become one of the most familiar and beloved songs in the Basque Country and I confess that I find it tremendously moving (I used to sing it to my kids at bedtime, so they'll either grow up loving it too or having vaguely troubling recollections of their father trying to sing).

Here are the lyrics:

Hegoak ebaki banizkio,
nirea izango zen,
ez zuen aldegingo.
Bainan honela
ez zen gehiago txoria izango,
eta nik txoria nuen maite.

Here's a rough translation:

If I had cut its wings
It would have been mine
It would not have flown away
But, it would have been a bird no longer
And I loved the bird.

This is the original version of the song from 1974:

Txoria Txori (from Bat Hiru).mp3 - Mikel Laboa

And here is a full orchestral version from 2000. I'm usually not a fan of such arrangements, but I think this is really effective. Note how the fragility of Laboa's lone voice stands out against the powerful backdrop of a large choir of united voices: it underscores quite nicely the aesthetic and political dimensions of the song.

Txoria Txori - Mikel Laboa

It's Probably Good There's No Sound

Here's some super-8 footage that I recently saw for the first time in, oh, thirty-five years or so. My aunt and uncle's wedding reception in 1972 featured a number of talent-show acts: lots of singing and dancing relatives. So, here's my dad and I dressed up in Basque costumes singing an old folk song, "Jeiki, jeiki." If memory serves, and as the visual evidence would suggest, I was petrified with fear. We were followed by some cousins that actually were talented: they belonged to the Boise Oinkari dance group. Feel free to remix with the soundtrack of your choice.

Later in the evening, my aunt and uncle performed a Jewish folk dance (they had both been in folk dance groups in college). I was only five at the time, but I had always dimly remembered this. Watching it again, so shortly after my uncle passed away, has only made it more poignant.