WHY DO I DO THAT?

I love to write, whether it be in my personal journals, here on the blog, or on scraps of paper. I love to dance. I love to sing, I love to play the piano. I love to make videos. I love to photograph about everything.

But, what happens is that the things I love don't get done because, though they now make it on my list of "to do", I do the things that I don't love first. Why do I do that? The things, that when I die, won't matter that they got done are the things that crowd out what makes me feel full, most free, thrilled to be alive. There is no time left to do what I love because of my pattern of daily behavior.

Why do I do that?

Here's a little thing I did that is part of those things I love.
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IF WE ONLY HAVE LOVE ~ QUAND ON A QUE L'AMOUR from ilovemylifesblog on Vimeo.

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If you double click the video it will enlarge. To get it to return to the small size, click the esc key on your keyboard.

NOTE: I don't know what is going on with the internet. I don't think it is my computer. My videos aren't loading on the blog, Facebook is haywire, my emails won't load....you get the idea. So, you may have to click on the video link to see it, until the internet feels better.

Recorded at home with very minimal knowledge of Apple's Garage Band. No sound editing. Roland FP-4 keyboard. External microphone used for keyboard and vocal.

Lyrics

If we only have love
then tomorrow will dawn
and the days of our years
will rise on that morn'

if we only have love
to embrace without fears
we will kiss with our eyes
we will sleep without tears

if we only have love
with our arms open wide
then the young and the old
will stand at our side

if we only have love
love that's falling like rain
then the parch desert Earth
will grow green again

if we only have love
for the hymn that we shout
for the song that we sing
then we'll have a way out

If we only have love
we can reach those in pain
we can heal all our wounds
we can use our own names

if we only have love
we can melt all the guns
and then give the new world
to our daughters and sons

if we only have love
then Jerusalem stands
and then death has no shadow
there are no foreign lands

if we only have love
we will never bow down
we'll be tall as the pines
neither heroes nor clowns

if we only have love
then we'll only be men
and we'll drink from the grail
to be born once again
then with nothing at all
but the little we are
we'll have conquered all time,
all space,
the sun
and the stars

~ For Jacques and Claudette of France ~

Song composed by Jacques Brel.
Keyboard and vocal: Sandra Hammel

Video and photos by Sandra Hammel
in Newport, Rhode Island, USA
Narragansett Bay, Brenton Cove, Eastons Beach (statue), Newport (Pell) Bridge, opening with hollyhocks blooming along a sidewalk of a Newport Street .

♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩

Heath Ledger had a musician friend, Ben Harper. Below is Ben Harper's "band".

These young people have no problem following their passions, apparently
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Fistful of Mercy from Fistful of Mercy on Vimeo.

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If you double click the video it will enlarge. To get it to return to the small size, click the esc key on your keyboard.
Fistful of Mercy
Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur, Dhani Harrsion
Fistful of Mercy

Live

West Seattle scene: Fistful of Mercy a traffic-stopper at Easy Street

Source for below

Earlier this week, we introduced you to Fistful Of Mercy, a brand new super group consisting of Ben Harper, Dhani Harrison, and Joseph Arthur. However, other than the names of the parties involved, we didn’t any other details, such as what the band had planned or even what they sounded like. Hell, if you didn’t know who was involved and only saw the band’s name, you’d probably think we were talking about someone on this year’s Warped Tour bill.

Well, the trio made their debut performance on Tuesday in Los Angeles, which was then broadcast on KCRW yesterday. You can find video from both events below. As you’ll see, Fistful Of Mercy are anything but a death metal band. In fact, it’s pretty evident why Pop & Hiss described them as “a quirkier take on the Crosby, Stills and Nash model,” who collide “folk, blues, eccentric pop and gorgeous three-part vocal harmonies.”

So when can we expect to hear more from Fistful Of Mercy? According to Pop & Hiss, the trio’s debut LP, titled As I Call You Down, will arrive on October 5th via Harrison’s Hot Records West label. There’s no word yet on additional touring, but we have to assume more dates will be coming.

As mentioned, you can watch the band performing three cuts below. A full stream of the KCRW broadcast is available here.

♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩

Clicking post title will take you to Cherokee Morning Song

WE MAKE CHOICES EVERY DAY THAT AFFECT NOT ONLY OUR OWN LIVES, BUT OTHERS'

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Uploaded by kamikatze07

We Are The World

Click the post title to go to Michael Jackson's Official Youtube Channel

We are the world

Written and composed by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie
(USA for Africa)

Lionel richie
There comes a time when we heed a certain call

Lionel richie & stevie wonder
When the world must come together as one

Stevie wonder
There are people dying

Paul simon
And its time to lend a hand to life

Paul simon & kenny rogers
The greatest gift of all

Kenny rogers
We cant go on pretending day by day

James ingram
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change

Tina turner
We are all part of gods great big family

Billy joel
And the truth, you know, love is all we need

Chorus:
Michael jackson
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving

Diana ross
Theres a choice were making
Were saving our own lives

Michael & diana ross
Its true well make a better day
Just you and me

Dionne warwick
Send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares

Dionne warwick & willie nelson
And their lives will be stronger and free

Willie nelson
As God has shown us by turning stones to bread

Al jarreau
So we all must lend a helping hand

Chorus:
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So lets start giving

Bob dylan
There's a choice were making
We're saving our own lives
Its true well make a better day
Just you and me

Michael jackson
When you're down and out, there seems no hope at all

Huey lewis
But if you just believe theres no way we can fall

Cindy lauper
Well, well, well, well let us realize that a change can only come

Kim carnes
When we stand together as one

Chorus:
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving

There's a choice were making
Were saving our own lives
Its true well make a better day
Just you and me

We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving

Theres a choice were making
Were saving our own lives
It's true well make a better day
Just you and me

We are the world.

In 1985, "We Are the World", a song and charity single originally recorded by USA for Africa, was released. It was written by American musicians Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and co-produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World. The song was well received by music critics and was the recipient of several awards. The song was a worldwide commercial success, as it topped music charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling American pop single in history, as well as the first single to be certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. "We Are the World" was the best selling pop single of all time until it was eclipsed by Elton John's 1997 version of "Candle in the Wind".

"We Are the World: 25 for Haiti" is a charity single recorded by the supergroup Artists for Haiti in 2010. It is a remake of the 1985 hit song "We Are the World", which was written by American musicians Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and was recorded by USA for Africa to benefit famine relief in Africa.

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Uploaded by
Michael Jackson
Thriller

Rock With You - Michael Jackson

Cirque du Soleil and Michael Jackson
Coming together in 2011-2012!

PRECIOUS FOREVER - HEATH LEDGER

Things that last forever.

Ugly words.

Beautiful words.

Ugly deeds.

Beautiful deeds.

Memories.

Some people die, but we just can't believe it.

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A Knight's Tale Premiere
Uploaded by Monicabbm

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Heath touched us and moves us still
Uploaded by Monicabbm

Heath at Lords of Dogtown premiere in Los Angeles



Below is taken from Planet Heath Ledger forum

A comment by one of the members:

I just trotted over to the candle site to light today's candle and as I was writing a message I started crying and sobbing. How could he just stop like that? How could someone so full of life and generosity and wisdom and sweetness just cease to be? I don't cry as much as I used to, but when I do it's still with the same sad puzzlement and loss.

If I were elsewhere I'd apologise for the sudden little outburst but I know everyone here will understand.

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My response

Ahh, M......I want to thank you for letting me know what your signature is about. I have been lighting candles for several things and people. And my first candle that I lit for Heath has burned out, so I just followed your lead and lit another for him just now.

Today, I had my 19 year old neighbor girl help me out and she ended up staying the entire afternoon with me at the coffee house where I was singing...when we returned home her family wasn't home and so I brought her back to the house and we shared a pizza and I introduced her to Heath....first on some of my youtube tributes and then I put in the Sweet Bridget episode of Roar. At first sight of Heath on the tv screen, she said "he is cute! - the one behind." I said, yes he is....then she had to listen to me talk about Heath. Explaining he is gone...what happened...that he is the same one I had just showed her on my The Four Feathers youtube tribute and Ten Things I Hate About You . I told her "Maybe, you would like to go to the movie Dr Parnassus with me". She agreed. She loved Sweet Bridget.

When we had walked in the door this evening, I played back a message on my answer machine - so she and I listened together. It was Richard from Avon Cinema, which I had called a couple of weeks ago now to inquire when exactly The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasssus was coming to Providence, Rhode Island. He called to tell me....it is tentatively scheduled to open January 8, 2010, but told me to "call that week or day of - to see if it does show up".

Just a Heath experience....that I shared with someone who never knew of him...and now she does. I even took her over to the candle page for Darfur I had created....she loved it there.

So, we pass on who we are and share the things and lovely people who touch us. In that way it is a beautiful world.

I just love sharing. And hope you understand the joy that it brings to me to share about Heath, whether it be with Krista, my young neighbor girl, or you at the forum or on my blog, where I so often do.

The following is from we are the masses
Making "King Rat" by Daniel Auber

"When Heath asked me to collaborate on this video I found it more than just a good cause, I was incredibly happy to have that first experience of he and I sitting by a desk and giving life to something together....

...My favourite memory on this video is very far from its shocking and distinctive taste. It's quite cheesy, actually: whilst we spent long days working on the animatic, listening endlessly to interrupted bits of Isaac's haunting and cavernous voice, there was another song being played constantly coming from outside the window.

It wasn't annoying us because its paradisiac nature was having a complementary effect on us. It was Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Every time I randomly hear that song, I think of how lucky I was to be over there for a few wonderful weeks."

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Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole 'IZ' Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Uploaded by MicroNik95

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You may know about the lovely threads at Shekar Kapur's blog about Heath...
The Four Feathers Heath_ledger
and
The Four Feathers

This is a comment I left there a while back:

Some are born with a gift to shine a light for the rest of us to touch, connect to and receive their radiant beauty. Heath was one.

I love The Four Feathers...I just discovered it recently. I am moved by it and specially so by Heath in it.

"...And these for whom life has no repose, live at times in their rare moments of happiness with such strength and indescribable beauty, the spray of their moment's happiness is flung so high and dazzingly over the wide sea of suffering, that the light of it, spreading its radiance, touches others too with its enchantment..." Hemann Hesse STEPPENWOLF I love this quote and use it as a tribute to those like Heath who transcend the average and lift us up where our souls belong.

Some can move us for all time in just moments. Heath is one. In vital ways, he remains with us. A gift from Life and for our souls. Enriched by seeing in him, our own selves. We are all just a part of the whole of Life. Something about what Heath was able to present turned on a vibrancy in our own inner glow and light. He makes me feel more alive still. Sadness is there, too. But death doesn't end our feelings or relationships with those whose mortal bodies no longer inhale and exhale.

We are blessed by having lived when Heath was here.

Thank you, Shekhar for bringing us The Four Feathers. It stays with me. And in this transient world, that is an act of grace. I am grateful for the arts. For in them we humans can radiate and share our best selves.

It is lovely to share here and read the hearts speaking by all who have taken the time to write.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As you can see, feelings run deep for Heath and how he touches me.

We are given love to give it.

IT'S MAY - ROBERT SCHUMANN'S ART SONG ~ PAUL WARREN ALLEN CONDUCTOR ~ NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE CHOIR

MEMORIES WORTH REMEMBERING

Music is my Refuge
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It's May ~ Robert Schumannn's Art Song ~ Paul Warren Allen, Conductor ~ North Central College
Uploaded by me

ilovemylifesblog

This text is from my Youtube sidebar:

This recording was done in the spring of 1968 in Naperville, Illinois, outside of Chicago at North Central College. Three years later the college eliminated the music department.

The women come in for the second Schumann Art Song which follows this song. The second song is Where'er My Tears Are Falling, followed with The Rose and The Lily.

I will be uploading more songs from this long playing (LP) record.

If you were a member of this choir, would you be willing to contact me? I would like to hear from you. If you have a song from the album that you would like posted here at Youtube, please let me know. You can leave a Channel Comment here:
www.youtube.com/user/ilovemylifesblog

or in the upper right corner of my individual video page, find the logo for an envelope and click on it, in order to send me a private message. It is found between "ilovemylifesblog" and "Sign In" or "Sign Out" (whichever is relevant).

Also, you may leave a comment below or email me here at my blog by clicking View My Complete Profile under the text on my sidebar of the About Me section.

I have talked to Maestro Paul Warren Allen's daughter. I sent a letter to him in January 2010 and she called me. He is 96 years old. And later, I received a note that he heard the youtube video. I have since posted another video - The Eyes of All Wait Upon Thee - which I may eventually repost to correct the size. Until then, the link.

The second upload is up.

Here is an excerpt from Naperville Chorus...
In the 1960's Dr. Paul Warren Allen of the North Central College Music Department melded the vocal talents of students, college personnel, and community members into a forerunner of the Naperville Chorus. The NCC-Community Chorus flourished and performed contemporary and traditional choral works until 1971, when financial cutbacks at the college eliminated the Music Department.

Photos, except for ten (4 of children, 4 of birds and 2 of woods' scenes), are from my yard in Rhode Island, nearby where I live on Aquidneck Island and photos of flowers I took at the National Botanical Gardens in Washington, D.C (where I have lobbied four times for Darfur, in addition to several times in the US RI Senators and Representative offices in Rhode Island).

One of my blog posts regarding Darfur:

PROVIDENCE OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY ON BEHALF OF DARFUR AND SPEAKING TO CHINA:
ilovemylifebrothersandsisters.blogspot.com/2007/10

The video portion within the Youtube video is from the movie "The Four Feathers". The actors are Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson.
Other youtube videos of mine featuring The Four Feathers...
HEATH LEDGER ~ THE FOUR FEATHERS ~ TRIBUTE TO FRIENDSHIP, COURAGE AND INTEGRITY ~ BROKEN ARROW

and
HEATH LOVE ~ For the FirstTime ~ Lover's Such As I
(this one is only viewable OUTside the USA)

The picture of me included in the video on my parents' lawn is the day I graduated from college at Huntington College ~ after I transferred from North Central College mid-way through my junior (third) year. Going to Huntington College is what eventually led me to live in New England the whole of my adult life. I love it here.


I am a bit tired as the Youtube video and me were up all night...not uncommon for me, while creating youtube videos...so no sympathy needed .

I just went through boxes of memorabilia I have kept over my lifetime...what a ball! I found some very interesting things. No one should have this much fun. Or maybe, everyone should.

I did find a bonanza....when I was a freshman I got mono in the spring of 1968. And many of the NCC choir members - 39 - signed a "get well" card to me before going on choir tour. And I still have it! The back of the LP album says there are 60 members and I count 61 in the picture on the back of the album (which matches the one in the 1968 yearbook/Spectrum).

I have many terrific pictures from the NCC 1967 music camp of students, Prof Allen and *Prof Izzo, also of **Prof Marian Schapp, and other music people and experiences. And I have a specially typed note to me from Paul Warren Allen asking me to sing in his Swedish Chorus in Chicago,*a personal note in a "get well" card which is precious from Bernard Izzo - a vocal NCC prof and Chicago opera singer, along with **many handwritten notes from Marian Schapp - my piano professor - from when I transferred from NCC to HC near my home in Indiana midway through my junior year.

So special and heart-warming for me.

A special picture of Conductor Paul Warren Allen by the pool at music camp before the freshman year started, standing beside a bathing-trunks-wearing svelte Professor/Chicago Opera Singer, Bernard Izzo. Do I dare post it on my blog?

Hmmm, so tempting....

This student, Paul K. Ferington, conducted while at North Central College for Prof Allen.
Paul is pictured here in this article.

Also pictured in the second picture here. and at Buffalo News ~ Niagara County
now married to Karen

North Central College Choir 1967-68

I am the fifth person from the right in the front row.
Karen is behind me, the sixth person from the right in the second row.
Click on the picture and it will enlarge.

A click on this post's title will take you to North Central College's website and specifically the alumni page.

North Central College Choir ~ Year 1968 ~ Members

38 of 61 members' names were retrieved from a "Get Well" card to me in spring of 1968

By cross referencing my 1970 yearbook which has a list of choir members (though there are some obvious mistakes found when I cross referenced the list with the same yearbook's indexed names in the back of the book), I came up with a list for the 1968 choir as follows:

Choir member list is still incomplete, however.

Laurie Batha

Marsha Benton

Dan Berger

‘Nita Bohnsack

Pat Bruns

Bob Buckley

Cathi Bertram

Mindy Cody

Larry Cooper

Joan Crosby

Sara Ebert

Joe Enich

Paul K. Ferington

Jackson Ferch

Geof. Geither or Guiter

Sandra Kay Hammel

Dennis Huff

Jim Knol

Karen Kosloske

Virginia Marek

Linda Mootz

Al Murphy

Nancy Myers

Lois Newcomb

Verilyn Potthoff

Sandra Schaeffer

Lydia Schmidt, piano accompanist in the video above

Sue Schwen

Barb Shiffler

Bob Stevens

Oliver J. Taylor

Julie Tunison

Sue Wayo

Lois Wedell

Doug Wilkie

Marlene Yenerich

Cindy Young

Eildert Zwart

UPDATE November 6, Friday, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. USA EST

Kim, the North Central College archivist, has tracked down the 1968 Choir Christmas Program's inside and emailed it to me this evening:

and also Kim sent the 1969 Choir Personnel list:

Click on the images to enlarge.

"Big Thanks" to Kim!

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See what was happening in 1968 the year this music was recorded.

Here are some of the things that happened:

* April 4 Martin Luther King, Jr. is shot dead at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots erupt in major American cities for several days afterward.


* April 11 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.


* April 20 Pierre Elliott Trudeau becomes Canada's 15th Prime Minister.


* April 20 English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood Speech.


* April 23 President Mobutu releases captured mercenaries in the Congo.


* April 23 Surgeons at the Hôpital de la Pitié, Paris, perform Europe's first heart transplant, on Clovis Roblain.


* April 23 The United Methodist Church is created by the union of the former Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches.


* April 23 Thirty Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university (see main article Columbia University protests of 1968).


* April 29 The musical Hair officially opens on Broadway.


* June 5 U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California by Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy dies from his injuries the next day.


* June 8 James Earl Ray is arrested for the murder of Martin Luther King Jr.


* July 1 The Central Intelligence Agency's Phoenix Program is officially established.


* July 1 The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opens for signature.


* July 4 Yachtsman Alec Rose, 59, receives a hero's welcome as he sails into Portsmouth, England after his 354-day round-the-world trip.


* July 17 Saddam Hussein becomes Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Council in Iraq after a coup d'état.

IT'S THE DREAMS THAT WE OPEN OUR HEARTS TO THAT CARRY US

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Uploaded by qmoongb

I couldn't decide which one I liked the best.
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Uploaded by wynmarche
Gloria sings it live here

Reach Specifically written for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia

Reach

Sung by Gloria Estefan

Lyrics

Some dreams live on in time forever
Those dreams, you want with all your heart
And I'll do whatever it takes
Follow through with the promise I made
Put it all on the line
What I hoped for at last would be mine

If I could reach, higher
Just for one moment touch the sky
From that one moment in my life
I'm gonna be stronger
Know that I've tried my very best
I'd put my spirit to the test
If I could reach

Some days are meant to be remembered
Those days we rise above the stars
So I'll go the distance this time
Seeing more the higher I climb
That the more I believe
All the more that this dream will be mine

If I could reach, higher
Just for one moment touch the sky
From that one moment in my life
I'm gonna be stronger
Know that I've tried my very best
I'd put my spirit to the test
If I could reach

If I could reach, higher
Just for one moment touch the sky
I'm gonna be stronger
From that one moment in my life
I'm gonna be so much stronger yes I am
Know that I've tried my very best
I'd put my spirit to the test
If I could reach higher
If I could, if I could
If I could reach
Reach, I'd reach, I'd reach
I'd reach I'd reach so much higher
Be stronger

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Love