Sorry in advance if this post seems like a bit of a downer. I’m not sad or upset or in a bad mood, this is just a slight departure from the norm. I was recently reminded of an old short story which hit a chord with me that I would like to share, as well as a song that in a way made me think of the story.

The Yellow Wallpaper.

-this piece deals with feminism, mental illness, and PND. The ending left me with a haunting image that I have never been able to remove from my memory.

A song I have been loving.

We arrived home Monday afternoon and I wish we could have had a bit longer to explore Portland. There was so much to see! So much yet to be seen.

I didn’t get to do everything on my list, one really big one was the Japanese garden. I really regret missing this, but I keep telling myself I will be back. I’ll just put it first on my list next time.

I did, however, get to see what was on the top of my list this time: the Classical Chinese Gardens. They did not disappoint either. It was just stunning and the weather could not have been have been better. I did a thorough once around, just taking it all in and writing down the names of unfamiliar plants that caught my interest. I took a break and enjoyed a cup of green tea in the tea room and wow. I’m glad I sat by the window.

Then I milled around a second time taking pictures. I’m happy I chose to do it that way, because I tend to forget to experience the moment and get caught up with the camera. This time I fully enjoyed the moment.

To view more of the pictures I took of the garden, click here.

They played amazing music there, music with a distinctly Chinese flavor, you know, erhus and bamboo flutes and stuff. It sounded familiar, and then I remembered that when I was playing Guild Wars (online mmorpg), the soundtrack music had the same sound. I had always meant to look up more information about it, but simply forgot. So I decided to do a bit of googling and came up with this:

Sun Huang

I think can now add one more item to my “learn to do” list:

1. whip up a decent buttercream frosting.
2. prepare a whole chicken (yep, I don’t know how to do it…well, I probably could, I just have never tried!)
3. play the drums.
4. play the erhu.

So Joe and I will be heading off to Portland tomorrow morning. We’ll be back on Monday. I don’t know if I will be posting while there, probably not. Don’t want to waste too much time on that sort of thing when I could be sightseeing!

On a side note, I recently watched a great documentary on heavy metal. It explored the influences, history, censorship and genres of heavy metal, explained with a bit more intelligence than I expected too. For those who think metal is all about death and demonics, well, you’d be right, but it’s also more innocent than you’d expect.

On metal’s classical roots:

Here

When I was just a little kid, I was lucky enough to get to see Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford in The Phantom of The Opera. I became almost obsessed with the grandiose style of music. I was amazed at Crawford’s powerful voice mixed with electric guitar and violin. I was in heaven.

I’ve always enjoyed listening to classical and operatic vocals. I agree, it’s powerful stuff and I think that’s why I enjoy listening to metal, which creates the same sort of atmosphere and conveys that same power.

The history of the ultimate gesture in metal, the devil horns:

Here

On the issue of violent lyrics:

Here

And I’ll leave you with the other major contributor to the development of metal, the blues:

Here

You know what, I’ll bet you enjoyed that solo. I know, I know, Marty Friedman, that guy can rip. If you want to hear more solos that will make you swoon, here you go. I went a little crazy with the linking didn’t I? I just love this stuff so so so much!

Ballad style solo

Dragon Mistress

See you all next week!