Chanson d'automne par Paul Verlaine

    While the words of Verlaine's poem sing a rather dark and bleak song, the verses and their rhyme scheme sing a song that is antithetical to the message of the work.  The French vowel sounds produce a beautiful symphony that contrast starkly with the content of the poem.  Overall, I found Verlaine's piece  to be substantively macabre, but phonetically beautiful.  -AMH

                                                            
(l'original)
Les sanglots longs                                                         
Des violons
    De l'automne
Blessent mon coeur
D'une langeur
    Monotone.

Tout suffocant
Et bleme, quand
    Sonne l'heure,
Je me souviens
Des jours anciens
    Et je pleure,

Et je m'en vais
Au vent mauvais
    Qui m'emporte,
Deçà, delà,
Pareil à la
    Feuille morte.


(la traduction anglais)
The long sobs
Of the violins
Of autumn
Wound my heart
With a monotonous
Languor.

Choking
Or pale, when
The hour strikes,
I remember
the old days
And I cry,

And I'm the
Ill wind
That carries me,
Hither and thither,
Like a
Dead leaf.

Bid Day 2012

Last Saturday Centre College celebrated an annual event for the Greek community known as "Bid Day." On this day, pledges for each fraternity run across campus to join their new brotherhood where they await dressed in bizarre, outrageous outfits to welcome their new members in uproarious celebration.  Bid Day is day where all inter-fraternal rivalry is shoved aside and there is a strong sense of Panhellenic unity that draws all Greek men closer together.  As a member of the fraternity Beta Theta Pi, I was pleased to welcome seven new members into our fold and joined in my fellow Greeks' enthusiasm for their new members as well.   -AMH

Why We Walk: Reflections from El Camino de Santiago

Some walk for wisdom while others for fun, 

Some walk for relief while others for sun.

We each keep our own pace on the camino, 

Some fast, some slow, all look for some free vino.

Through the rain and sun, through the heat and cold, 

We all press onward, a staff in our hold.  

Each step we take follows one before us, 

And leads for one who walks in our dust.

Our image is carved into every stone, 

Along these routes the pilgrim is well-known.

We depend on shell and yellow arrows, 

To guide us on the straight and narrows.

From hamlets to glades and pastures to towns, 

We walk through them all, cow shit sure abounds.

To pass the long days we sing and we dance, 

Our voices are sure to garner a glance.

Though we may carry very different weights, 

All hold burdens we wish to leave at these gates.

The cathedral beckons her brave pilgrims, 

Tolling her bell and with each ring she hums:

‘O Santiago blessed be your name, 

Watch over your pilgrims and ease their pain.’

Our skin is blistered, our muscles are strained, 

Though we have lost much, there’s so much we gained.

And though we each have cause for why we walk, 

We soon discover that as we talk, 

We all want to forget the world and its fuss, 

And uncover something new about us.  

-AMH

Robert Campin's The Annunciation at the Museo Nacional del Prado

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Prado art museum in Madrid.  While touring the wings of the museum, I came across a fascinating painting by a Flemish painter named Robert Campin.  The painting is a depiction of the annunciation scene found in the Gospel of Luke.  Attached is a link to the online gallery of the Prado where you can view the painting.  -AMH

http://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/online-gallery/on-line-gallery/obra/the-annunciation-3/

Selection of Photos from my time in Spain

Outside the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

Outside the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

Some of the old town in Bilbao

Chapel ceiling at the Cathedral in Burgos

Inside of the Cathedral at Burgos

Burgos Cathedral

Leon Cathedral

Leon Cathedral

Behind the altar at the Leon Cathedral

O Cebreiro

O Cebreiro

On the Camino

On the Camino

On the Camino

On the Camino

Cathedral of Santiago

Cathedral of Santiago

Cathedral of Santiago

El Camino de Santiago de Compostela

So far on my journey through northern Spain I have visited the cities of Bilbao, Burgos, and Leon.  Gradually, I am traveling to the city of O Cebreiro where I will officially begin my pilgrimage.  Over the past couple of days I have had the opportunity to to sample some unique Spanish and Basque cuisine, admire beautiful architecture-ranging from Romanesque to Modern, and explore some ancient yet vibrant metropolises.

Bilbao-
Nestled in a valley where the river Nervion snakes through the ancient and modern neighborhoods of the city, Bilbao is a city where old and new take part in a symbiotic relationship both culturally and architecturally.  One of the newest additions to the historic city is Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum.  The museum is home to some fabulous contemporary art and the architecture of the building itself is mind-boggling.  Overall, I found my favorite piece to be a work entitled "La fourmiliere"(the anthill).  While visiting the city I was fortunate enough to be there for the "Cabalgata de los Reyes"(Parade of the Kings)-a festival celebrating the eve of "Dia de Reyes"(Epiphany).  In brief, I found Bilbao to be a city that is culturally inviting, fashionably unique, and architecturally diverse.

Burgos-
While my time in the city of Burgos was short, the time spent touring the Cathedral was humbling and captivating.  The Cathedral de Burgos is a synthesis of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture.  It a massive, ornate church filled with detailed religious iconography and symbolism.  From the porticos and tympanums on the outside to the high vaults and sculptures on the inside, it is a church that exemplifies the power and majesty of the Catholic Church.

-AMH

New Year's 2012: Nashville

This year for New Year's some of the contributors took a capricious road trip to Nashville to see the city's music note drop.  Overall, the trip went well but we wished we could have spent more time in the city.  Once we got downtown we pushed our way through the street masses, down past the cacophony of bars and clubs, and finally reached the end of Broadway just in time to see none other than Lynyrd Skynyrd! Free Bird!  While the experience doesn't compare to spending last New Year's in Times Square, it was still a memorable night.  Nashville is definitely a city we would like to venture back to one day.  -AMH