Monthly Archives: July 2014

Songs to Write To

The creative process works differently for everyone.

Some people need absolute silence, others have to be in a certain physical space to work, and some can only be brilliant when they’re wearing their Doctor Who socks.

As for me, I accomplish most things while listening to music. I play my radio when I’m getting ready for the day, and I’ve got lots of playlists on my ipod: Cooking Mix, Driving Mix, Workout Mix, Year in Music, Nova Scotia, you name it.

And, most importantly, I’ve got a Writing Mix, which I’m going to share with you.

These songs all help me to focus in some way. Either because I simply love them, or for some ridiculous connection I’ve made in my mind between these songs and my creative process. Some will have loftier reasons than others, while some are on here just for fun.

Without further ado, I give you my Writing Mix:

The Adventure Begins,” from “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”: The Hobbit soundtracks have been great to write to! Of course I enjoy Tolkien’s work very much, but I also think of Bilbo, and how even the most unassuming folks can have wonderful stories to tell.

Anything Could Happen,” by Ellie Goulding.

Beauty and the Beast,” instrumental theme by Jim Brickman: This is my favorite movie/story of all time.

Captain America March“: Do I really need to justify adoring Captain America?

Carolina In My Mind,” by James Taylor

Chances,” by Athlete: This song was featured in my favorite “Doctor Who” episode, “Vincent and the Doctor.” It plays in the background when the Doctor and Amy take Vincent to a modern day exhibit to show him how much he is loved all over the world. This song makes me cry but I love it.

Dawn,” from “Pride and Prejudice”

The “Downton Abbey” theme

Drink Up Me Hearties,” by Hans Zimmer: From “The Pirates of the Caribbean.” I was listening to this once while reading Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV, and the music hit its sweeping crescendo just as Falstaff was expounding upon honor during the Battle of Shrewsbury. Now this song reminds me of Shakespeare.

Durin’s Folk,” from, you guessed it, The Hobbit. The dwarves are my favorite folk.

Everything Has Changed,” by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran: I know, I know. But it’s catchy.

“Fireflies,” by Owl City: Fireflies= Ray from “Princess and the Frog”= “Ma Belle Evangeline”= Astrophel and Stella, my favorite sonnet sequence.

Fix You,” by Coldplay: I love Coldplay.

The Game is On,” from “Sherlock”: The writing game is on, Mrs. Hudson.

Gangsta’s Paradise,” by Coolio: Yep.

Hedwig’s Theme,” from “Harry Potter”: As if I don’t love “Harry Potter.”

Ho Hey,” by The Lumineers

Howl’s Moving Castle Theme,” by Joe Hisaishi: Hisaishi’s best. This is my favorite song to write to.

“I Am the Doctor,” from “Doctor Who.”

“I See Fire,” by Ed Sheeran: From “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”

L.O.V.E. (French version),” by Nat King Cole: It’s Nat King Cole. In French.

La Vie En Rose,” by Louis Armstrong: I enjoy Edith Piaf, but this version is near and dear.

Le Festin,” from “Ratatouille”: Anyone can cook, and anyone can write. This one is all about motivation, but it’s also sweet-sounding.

Libiamo,” as performed by Andre Rieu and his orchestra

Ma Belle Evangeline“: See: “Fireflies.”

Misty Mountains,” from “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

Moon River,” sung by Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” This scene is so lovely it will make your heart ache.

Mozart/Figaro,” from “Beethoven’s Last Night,” by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra

My Name is James,” from “James and the Giant Peach”

Noble Maiden Fair,” from “Brave”: This movie encourages you to follow your heart, and to take heart and be strong.

Not With Haste,” by Mumford and Sons: There isn’t enough room on this blog to tell you how much I love their lyrics. Suffice it to say, they are brilliant, and the group would more accurately be named Humanism: The Band.

Once Upon a December,” from “Anastasia”

Once Upon a Dream,” by Lana Del Ray: From “Maleficent,” this song turns the original on its head. I like creative re-interpretations.

Sherlock Opening Titles: The game is indeed on.

Orange Colored Sky,” by Lady Gaga: We’ll talk more about this when her long-awaited jazz album FINALLY comes out.

Over Hill,” from “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

Painter Song,” by Norah Jones: I once wrote a fan fiction based on a Van Gogh work that I somehow worked into a conspiracy theory involving a sinister organization that threatened the very fabric of reality. Someone made me a mix to go with that work, and now this song makes me think of Van Gogh. That was my favorite fan work, too.

A Postcard to Henry Purcell,” from “Pride and Prejudice”

The Scientist,” by Coldplay

Sigh No More,” by Mumford and Sons

A Sky Full of Stars,” by Coldplay: It’s Astrophel and Stella all over again.

Song of the Lonely Mountain,” by Neil Finn, from “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

Sons of Odin,” from “Thor”: Marvel is making some of my favorite movies right now.

Soon After Midnight,” by Bob Dylan: He has a date with the Fairy Queen, and I’ve read Edmund Spenser.

Theme from “Jurassic Park.” I will never not love that movie.

Uma Casa Portuguesa,” by Amalia Rodrigues

Vacances,” by Georges Delerue

Well-Read Women

Author/Artist: Samantha Hahn

Samantha Hahn is an illustrator best known for her lovely watercolors. Her work has been featured internationally, and now she has a book of her very own.

Well-Read Women is her new collection of portraits of literature’s leading ladies. They are some of Hahn’s favorite heroines, and no doubt beloved by many others.

Each page contains a watercolor portrait, with a facing page featuring a hand painted quote from the book that the character is in. Hahn aims not only to capture her own mental image of each character, but to produce an image that exudes what it fundamental to each woman’s personality.

This is one for art and book lovers alike.

My favorites are Holly Golightly, Molly Bloom, Nancy Drew, Emma Bovary, and Antigone.

More information about Hahn, her work, and this book can be found at her website: http://samanthahahn.com/.

Keep Calm and Read a Book

Update on the Summer Reading:

It is progressing. I am well on my way through The Monuments Men, and Moby Dick. I’ve also got my Tolkien on deck and am working on procuring Don Quixote.

Until I can find adequate time to finish my next book, here are some lovely pages to keep you distracted–I mean, entertained. These are all on Facebook, and I have found that they brighten up my News Feed. Many are insightful, literature inspired pages that I follow. And often re-post, I must admit.

1) Old English Literature is a page dedicated to the classics, chock full of Dickens, Shakespeare, and Austen, among others.

2) A Love Affair With Literature is for all things literary. And for those that know that what we have with our books is a forever love.

3) Word Porn certainly has a cheeky name, but is a page devoted to language and the humanities. Many of the quotes on here are fantastic.

4) Readmore Bookstore is also on Facebook! They are you friendly local bookseller.

5) Just for fun: you can also follow pretty much any author you like, living or dead. My list includes the usual suspects, as well as Gertrude Stein and Emile Zola.

 

Rick Steves’ Portugal

Author: Henry the Navigator. Kidding. It is obviously Rick Steves my friends.

Publisher: Avalon Travel, a member of the Perseus Books Group (guide published in March 2013)

For years, I’ve been enjoying Rick Steves’ programs on PBS. He’s certainly a helpful and informative host of the program, and I’ve always admired the way he travels: thoughtfully, and with a sense of respect and wonder that really all travelers should have. Not to mention infectious enthusiasm and a willingness to see and try as many new things as possible.

Naturally, when I wanted to learn a little more about traveling to and within Portugal, my first thought was Rick Steves.

This book is not only helpful for experienced and inexperienced travelers, Steves really makes a point of ensuring that those following his guide make the most of wherever they are staying, and that their hard earned money is spent wisely and to their benefit. He provides a comprehensive list of transportation options, directions to and from each location, and many, many choices for overnight stays and whatever kind of meal a person might be looking for.

And he’s not afraid to call out some places that are known to take advantage of unsuspecting tourists.

Perhaps my favorite part is the information he provides on the culture, past and present, of each site he’s included in this book. I have learned more reading this book than I’ve ever learned before. Even if it will most likely be some time before I am ever able to see mainland Portugal, I’m very grateful I started my education with this book.

I won’t get into detail here, because the stories he tells throughout are rather fun, but as I read this book, I jotted down some interesting factoids that caught my attention, and I thought I would share them with all of you. These are my thoughts as they popped up whilst I was reading.

–Must look up Fernando Pessoa. He’s a poet, but for some reason he reminds me of Emile Zola. He’s on my to-read list.

–“Lucky Lindy” was a dirty liar, because the first trans-Atlantic flight actually happened in 1922, from Lisbon to South America. So there.

–King Sebastian is kind of the Portuguese Arthur. Maybe they’ve got a timeshare on Avalon.

–Algarve comes from the Arabic “Al Gharb,” just one of the many legacies from the time when Portugal was part of the Islamic empire. I think that’s pretty neat.

–Alentejo produces more than 1/2 the world’s cork supply, with Spain making up most of the rest.

–In Nazare, many women still wear several layers of petticoats, though most don’t wear the traditional 7 layers.

–Henry the Navigator was born to a Portuguese father and an English mother, and in fact there were centuries of friendship between the two countries. My Anglophelia is now justified.

–Dom Pedro and Ines de Castro are kind of like Romeo and Juliet, except I like their story better. They are actually buried feet-to-feet, so that, according to legend, when they rise again on Judgment Day, they will be the first thing that each other sees.

–Obidos was seized from Moorish rule by a ploy straight out Shakespeare. See: Birnham Wood marching to Dunsinane.

–Coimbra is Portugal’s Oxford, and, being founded in 1290, is the 3rd oldest university in the world. St. Anthony of Padua studied there as a young monk. And, in one of the greatest cultural crimes in history, Salazar tore down many of the old buildings to make room for new, fascist buildings. And that’s why I call him Salazar Slytherin. Also, repressive regimes need to just be a thing of the past already.

–THE KING JOHN LIBRARY. It’s like the one in “Beauty and the Beast,” but it’s REAL. I cannot even talk about how awesome this place is in a rational manner, but please do yourself a favor and Google it.

–Men sing fado in the streets of Coimbra, much like medieval troubadors. Sign me up for some caterwauling.

–The old town in Porto is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There should be more of these in the Azores.

–“Coimbra studies, Braga prays, Lisbon parties, and Porto works.”

–Porto= port wine. You’re welcome world. And 19th century British dudes.

–All of the museums listing in this guidebook are astoundingly affordable. Is this a European thing? Because, if so, get with the program America.

–There’s an altar in Porto made of 1500 pounds of silver. When Napoleon pillaged the city, its citizens plastered the altar over in order to hide it.

–Port is aged anywhere from 2 to 100 years. I know which one I want to try.

–The Douro Valley is the birthplace of port wine.

–“God made the earth, but man made the Douro.”

–Much like champagne, to be considered a true port, the wine must originate in the Douro Valley

–The region is a hotspot for British port enthusiasts.

–Many port wine makers still stomp the grapes with their feet. I really, really want to do this.

Meanwhile, in medieval news…

A slight variation from a previously promised topic, but I have news!

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is currently showing the Magna Carta, signed in 1215 at Runnymeade by King John. Basically, it limited the monarch’s power so that individual rights could be protected.

And basically that spawned our own Declaration of Independence, and THIS IS A COOL DOCUMENT SO YOU SHOULD CHECK IT OUT.

Those who know me well will by now have guessed-absolutely corecctly–that I freaked out when I heard the news.

Literary and historical news is always exciting.

So head out to the MFA today and check it out!