So, how are things going with my list of things to do? Last Friday night we met some friends for Hakka food...was tasty- intensely so, in a way that can't be explained to someone who hasn't already tried it- however at four dishes for four people (and one of them was steamed broccoli, none of them was meat, and they never did bring us the steamed rice...) we could have probably used one more dish. We have tried St. Johns Wort as well as valerian in Mother's Little Helper tea from David's Tea and smoking lots of lavender. Maybe I will try cooking with lavender, too. Cooking- must do more of. I've got lots of muffins to bake. Lavender muffins, anyone? I found some things online that might interest people interested in Hegel and Spivak. Also, reading about WW1 and listening to Dan Carlin has gotten me interested in Rasputin in this song with a melody based on a Turkish folk song by a band created by a German record producer featuring a line-up of musicians born in the Caribbean. Who was Rasputin really? It doesn't matter, because his image was what was important- epitomizing Russia's self-image in the dramatic shift in world order. Hey, I went cross-country skiing for the first time last week. A little wobbly but tranquil and surreal nonetheless, just like smoking lavender, indeed!! While I am on the subject of music... this song and the Great Big Sea version. Or this and this. Funny how the '80s took folky music and made it dancey while the 90s took 80s dancey-sort-of music and made it folky again. But to me the most fascinating remix I can think of is Lambada. According to Wikipedia, Lambada, which translates as strong hit or slap, isn't a song, it's a Brazilian dance that became popular in the 1980s, however it is based in Carimbo, also known as the forbidden dance, which dates back to colonial days. The above song by the French band Kaoma is an unauthorized direct cover of Chorando Se Foi by Marcia Ferreira which is an authorized remix of Los Kjarkas Llorando se fue or she ran away crying. The original music is very much in the Andean folk style. And somehow it all came to this Jennifer Lopez song.