A diet of Music

I came across notes I had made about my music collection quite recently and one of the ideas I had come up with was a musical diet, which is detailed below.

Monday – Rock and Pop

The Beatles, the Doors, the Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Kate Bush

Tuesday – Alternative

Enya, Portishead, Tori Amos, Bjork, Vashti Bunyan

Wednesday – Folk

Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Pentacle, The Wicker Man, Into the wild

Thursday-Electronic

Jean Michel Jarre – Oxygene, Equinox, Tubular Bells, OMD, ELO

Friday – Movie

Amelie, Chocolat, Road to Perdition, Gladiator, Blade Runner

Saturday-Classical

The Planet Suite, Carnival of the Animals, New World Symphony,

Pictures at an exhibition, The Four Seasons

Sunday – Jazz

Midnight, Experimental, Free-form, Improvised, Relaxing

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Humility

I started my virtue project in 2007. Since then I have created artwork, writing and crafts, all reflecting the qualities of the various virtues. Humility is sometimes described as the greatest virtue, from which all other virtues flow. Whether it is the greatest or not is debatable, but I still think it is highly important. I use purple to portray humility, as it is the contrary virtue to the vice of pride and pride is often illustrated with a purple peacock.

Celebrating Libraries and Buddhism

  

I had been planning my visit to the Buddhist exhibition in the British Library at St Pancras for several months.

   

I thought it would be a good way to celebrate, not only three decades of working in libraries, but also the last two years of practising mindfulness and other Buddhist psychological techniqes.

    

I was feeling a bit cold and tired on the day, it has been a particularly dreary February, but I think the experience and my time exploring libraries and Buddhism will be good to reflect on in the future.

        

Creative projects 2000 to 2020

 

Being creative has been important to me since I was little. Over the first twenty years of the 21^st Century my creative projects have been important to keep me going through difficult years; working, looking after my home and family, raising my daughter. Popular projects have been SubVerse, possibly my favourite, from the early noughties. It has also been good to keep my blog going from 2013 until 2023. Running my craft stall in the twenty-teens has been an interesting experience and playing classical piano pieces in public has been quite rewarding. More information about my creative projects over the years can be found on my blog at amilofinn.blogspot.co.uk .

 

Thirty years a librarian

To celebrate my thirty years as a librarian I have chosen thirty favourite books from five decades of reading.

1970s (childhood)

My two chosen books from the 1970s showcase my life long love affair with a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.

1980s (education)

In the 1980s I studied English at O'level and A'level and acquired a degree in librarianship. My choice of books reflect what I was studying at the time; the Bronte sisters, George Orwell, The Great Gatsby and EM Forster.

1990s (work)

I did a lot of commuting when I started work and found that the tube was an ideal place to catch up with my reading. I enjoyed Dracula and Frankenstein, HG Wells and Stephen King, Gone with the wind and The mill on the floss.

2000s (relationships)

I was busy with my young family in the early noughties, I read and wrote more poetry. By the end of the decade I was back on novels again, I particularly enjoyed Chocolat, The other Boleyn girl and the Thirteenth tale by Dianne Setterfield.

2010s (escape)

My escape in the 2010s was more virtual than actual, books I escaped into include Never let me go, We need to talk about Kevin, The girl on the train and Room. I can imagine that the theme for the forthcoming 2020s will increasingly be 'Letting Go'.

An Anatomy of Love

'An Anatomy of Love' is my seven poem cycle of reflections on romantic relationships from waiting for something to begin through enjoyment and endurance and finally coming out on the other side. 'Anything but love' is a poem about distraction, about what you might concentrate on when trying to move on from a broken heart. It is more descriptive of my life since 2008.

First book of the year

This is the first book I have read in the new year (and the new decade), below is a review of it.

Eat, pray, love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I really loved watching the film of this book on Netflix, so I was really looking forward to reading the book itself. Luckily the book did not disappoint, although I found it strangely lighter in many places than the movie. The first part is thirty six chapters on enjoying food in Italy, as well as some story background and an introduction to Liz, I found it quite delicious. The middle section, Pray, is set in an ashram in India and features a lot of reflection on meditation. The final, Indonesian section, Love, seemed less well-defined as the eat and pray sections, it was about finding balance. I found the whole book was a very enlightening read.

I have changed my reading plan slightly for the year, while also working on a three year plan, covering the years 2019 to 2021. The three books below are helping with my mindful home and slower living projects.

 Below are four poetry books I hope will help guide me through the months ahead.

Musical Heroines

Below are my paintings and sketches of eight of my favourite musical heroines. You can listen to some of the wonderful music created by these women on my AmiloFinn playlist Music Mistress Please.

Jazz is inspired by Ella Fitzgerald, apparently she was Marilyn Monroe's favourite female singer and Marilyn gave her a small helping hand in the early years of her career. Songs I love Ella singing are My Funny Valentine, Every time we say goodbye, The lady is a tramp and a host of other jazz standards.

My ultimate rock chick is Debbie Harry of Blondie. The first music album I bought was Parallel Lines. She is responsible for my lifelong obsession with New York City. She is wonderful to watch and to listen to. Sunday Girl was my favourite song for a long while, nowadays I really admire Atomic, Call me and Rapture.

There exists a lovely film of Jacqueline du Pre's life called 'Hilary and Jackie' about her complicated relationship with her sister, it stars Emily Watson as the cellist. Listen to Jacqueline du Pre playing Elgar's cello concerto for a really moving musical experience.

My alternative songstress is Enya. She is a visual and aural treat, just listen to Orinocco Flow or Carribean Blue and watch their accompanying videos and you'll see what I mean. I don't know if I'd guess she was Irish from her music, but I do think there's definitely something of the mysterious, emerald isle about her. My favourite Enya piece is Boadicea from the Celts.

My favourite folk songstress is Joni Mitchell. My favourite song is the very famous 'Both sides now'. Other lovely thoughtful pieces are Woodstock, Chinese Cafe and a Case of You.

My pop princess is Kate Bush. I've loved Kate Bush for as long as I've loved Debbie Harry. My favourite music by Kate is The Ninth Wave, the B Side of the Hounds of Love album. I recently bought her triple album 'Before the Dawn'; a new live version of The Ninth Wave fills the second disk as Act Two. It is my favourite music to listen to; it helps me get to sleep.

Punk rock was full of rude, scary men, although some of them were also quite attractive. Siouxsie Sioux looks a little scary, but also very appealing, with very artistic make-up and very strong, tuneful music. My favourite song is Spellbound. I also love Happy House, Israel and the Banshees' version of the Beatles' Dear Prudence.

Sade was quite a unique act in the 1980s, sophisticated and soothing, a real 'Smooth Operator'. Favourite songs incude Your love is King, The Sweetest Taboo and 'Why can't we live together'.

Maybe my tastes are getting a little old, I think my daughter's list of musical heroines would include, Adele, Florence Welch, Amy Winehouse, Rihanna and Lilly Allen, among others.

Ten Years of Arts and Crafts

I don't consider myself good on home decor, but after discovering 'Kirsty's Homemade Home' in 2009 I thought I would make more of an effort to bring inspiring art and craft into my house. After Christmas 2009 I had a strong feeling that I needed to improve the overall ambience of my home. I bought picture books, calendars with pictures I could frame, prints, attractive frames, cushion covers and I specifically ventured into charity shops to buy knick-knacks. I'm not very materialistic but the things I bought I now find useful for the mindful meditation of homely things.

13 Books for 2020

It took me a long time to find 13 books I might like to read in 2020. 

I'm not sure how I'll get on, some of them may be too heavy, some too light. 

I'll see how I go.

First Six by Six Book Challenge - Film/Book tie-ins

1. Eat, pray, love by Elizabeth Gilbert

2. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre

3. Different Seasons by Stephen King

4. The Kite runner by Khaled Hosseini

5. Stories of your life and others by Ted Chiang 

6. The Light between Oceans by ML Stedman

Second six by six book challenge - Autumn and Winter Reads

1.  My year of rest and relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

2. Circe by Madeline Miller

3. The Hoarder by Jess Kidd

4. The woman who went to bed for a year by Sue Townsend

5. A gathering light by Jennifer Donnelly

6. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

 

Buddhism Extra

The Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield

Spring Term Therapy

January is a traditional time for making resolutions. According to quite a few studies it is also not a very good time to be making resolutions. March and the beginning of Spring are the best times to be making positive changes. The therapies I have been exploring in the Spring Term reflect the fact that January and February are still winter months, a time to enjoy indoor activities like arts and crafts, watching films, reading books, listening to music and playing games.

Lorna's Songs on YouTube

Twelve of my songs feature on the Lorna's Songs playlist on YouTube.



Stargazing
A song written with passion about an obsessive love which leads to a tortured, sleepless night.

Island of Happiness
This song is about the few wonderful times in life and love that are highlights in an otherwise bleak existence.

For What I Am
This song is about being yourself, warts and all, and finding love as a flawed being.

Alive at Last
Romantic hope is renewed after recovering from a broken heart.

Jazz
Jazz is a carefree, attractive girl, a popular, social butterfly, the singer of the song can only look on with envy.

That far away look
This song was written on a moonlit evening near the sea, when the cool air was full of promise and excitement.

The feeling's always there
The remnants of an intense love affair, the lover may have gone, but heartbreak takes much longer to move on from.

I can see you
A song written when I was seventeen, when I was contemplating future love and relationships and was rather apprehensive as to what awaited me.

Scorpio Eyes
This song concerns superstition and astrology. What does the second water sign of the zodiac have to say about love?

New Ways
My songs are mostly about love. This one concerns exploring new opportunities, possibly as a result of a recent break up.

Richard's Things
Richard's Things is a novel by Frederic Raphael. This song is inspired by the title rather than the novel itself. It is about a woman constrained by a possessive man and her attempts to break free.

Waiting for me
I wrote this song on a European tour in the late 1980s. It is about longing for adventure.

Saturday Night at the Movies

One of my big projects for 2019 has been writing reviews for 52 of my favourite 'positive psyche' movies. Two recently purchased 2020 diaries have been upcycled into a movie schedule for the upcoming year; they feature a positive film review for every Saturday of the year, as well as accompanying artwork, lists of positive virtues contained in the films and ideas for book/film tie-ins.

13 Books for 2019

2019 has been a good year for reading. 

These are the books I have been enjoying, since January.

 The first 6 by 6 book challenge - Mood Boosting Fiction

1. Kafka on the shore by Haruki Murakami

2. The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

3. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

4. This book will save your life by A.M. Homes

5. The reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent

6. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

The Second 6 by 6 book challenge - Autumnal Reads

1. We have always lived in the castle by Shirley Jackson

2. Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

3. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

4. Wabi-Sabi by Francesc Miralles

5. Cloud atlas by David Mitchell

6. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Buddhism Extra

The things you can see only when you slow down by Haemin Sunim

Stargazing by LJ Finnigan

 
Stargazing is, perhaps, my favourite of the songs I have written. It is now accompanied on YouTube by, perhaps, my favourite of my daughter's paintings, also called Stargazing. The earlier music video to my song includes a montage of Amy's space pictures and also a space poem written by Amy and me called 'Planet Renga'.

 

Six by Six Book Challenge - July to December 2019

My second six by six book challenge was just as rewarding as the first. I would strongly recommend reading fiction if you need some deep escapism in your life. The following are my six related book reviews.

​We have always lived in the castle by Shirley Jackson

This is a strange little book concerning sisters Constance and Merrycat and the strange little lives they live. I wasn't sure if I was reading about ghosts or real live people, the sisters and the big house they inhabit become more mystical as the story wears on. There is an interesting essay on the story and its author at the end of the book, written by Joyce Carol Oates. It makes me think that Shirley Jackson was as strange and sad as the stories she created.

Dark Matter by Michele Paver

This book is what it says on the tin. It is a dark and disturbing read. I read it at the height of summer; I thought it would help me cope with the excess of light and heat. The book is mostly set in the arctic winter, with four moths of cold and darkness. The book is quite horrible in places. I read it in the mornings. I can imagine it would be much scarier reading it at night.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

I read this after being so taken with the film. I think the film is funnier, but the book is intriguing and entertaining. It is written in first person so you can really connect with R, the zombie at the heart of the action. He falls in love with a human girl called Julie, there is even a balcony scene, you can definitely see Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' shining through the zombie apocalypse.

Wabi-Sabi by Francesc Miralles

I read this book while on holiday in Eastbourne, while taking a break from Cloud Atlas. It is quite a light read, although there is a tone of sadness and disappointment in it. Wabi-Sabi is a Japanese philosophical concept which embraces life's imperfection, impermanence and incompleteness in alignment with nature. The book livens up when Samuel's Japanese adventure begins and he starts living this new philosophy in real life.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

I enjoyed this film enormously, but it took me two attempts to read the book. The first time I found it too difficult, but the second time I seemed to understand it all quite perfectly. The book comprises of six stories arranged in a kind of pyramid structure so you sort of end up back where you started. The first story involves slavery and a sea voyage, the second is a series of letters from the 1930s, the third a 1970s political mystery, the fourth a contemporary story involving an old people's home, the fifth a futuristic interrogation and the sixth a post-apocalyptic tale. All in all it is a very good read.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

This book is full of animals, human and otherwise, Pi is a very entertaining storyteller telling a fascinatingly long tale about an ill-fated sea voyage. I watched the film first and that is quite faithful to the book and just as entertaining. I would recommend them both very strongly.

Poe Therapy

 

After the difficulties of 2018 I decided that my coping strategies needed reconsidering and recalibrating. I realised that some of the 'distractions' I had developed over my previous 50 years had great value. I'm not so sure that 'distractions' is even the right term. I decided a few years ago that what gave my life most meaning was music, art and creative writing.

Edgar Allan Poe has long been a source of comfort for me. He died poor at the age of 40 in Baltimore in mysterious circumstances. He left behind morbid tales of psychological torment and human frailty. I have always felt a connection between me and his fragile characters, the overly sensitive, sickly Ushers, the tormented souls in the Tell-Tale Heart, the doomed party goers of Prince Prospero. He doesn't go in for happy endings, he didn't get one, maybe no one does. There is something therapeutic about him and his tales of frailty and failing. I've found Poe Therapy to be a thing. I've also found solace in Dr Who, films, books, ghost stories, poetry, Shakespeare. I've started making more lists.

Below are some pictures I took of Poe Cottage, The Bronx, when I visited New York City at the end of October 2017.