You've been hanging around for a while, always gentle and compassionate, be good and hope you have had a wonderful birthday.

Happy Birthday Peter. Ernie

As always, I'm late to the party.

Have a wonderful day Peter!

Cheers,

Cainanite

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! --FLO--

I wish you a Happy Birthday!

Thank you all for the good wishes! And a Happy Birthday to Ernie of Maine! Yes I'm hanging around for a while and I was in the beginning so in fear of my own feelings and my desire for a castration. I'm happy that this has changed.

I had a wonderful day, but different than I had planned before. At the age of 65 I'm now officially retired and I wanted to give a big party on sunday the day before, but last month my mother died and I didn't want the party anymore. My direct family came over to my place in Amsterdam. We had coffee and cake, went to a museum and had a wonderful vegetarian dinner in a vega restaurant. For my real birthday I took the opportunity to buy two tickets, for me and a friend, for a concert in the great hall of the famous Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, where the played a 450 years jubilee concert around the Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621). You probably never heard about him and the most Dutch people only know him as the portrait in red on the 25 guilder banknote that had to disappear in favor to the euro. During the last years the Gesualdo Consort recorded all the unknown vocal works of Sweelinck, his chansons, madrigals and all the psalms. I already had some of these CD's and love them, but hearing them live in the concert hall was so special. Also in combination with other composers 'around' Sweelinck and beside the singers there was a small baroque ensemble with strings, trombones, cornettos, a harpcichord and small church organ in the pure tuning of those days. The miracle was that his music sounded so fresh, even witty also as dull seen organ phantasies. Ever heard a witty psalm? They are right Sweelinck the "Orpheus of Amsterdam" who influenced indirect J.S.Bach, has been wrongly forgotten. What a great evening!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvlIkNiW-yk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2gDfVWFOvM

Happy Birthday and

Please, Please, Please

Come back to the Off Topics Forums.

Miss you in Political Discussions and Deep Dark Cellar.

Thank you moi621 for the birthday wishes. But about the political discussions? I'm sorry, I'm not very fond of political discussions. They have a very high testosterone level, not only here on the EA but in general. The will to look at a case from several points of view and to transcend the own point of view is rare and not easy. All politicians, no one excluded, want power. Saying I am ( we are) better than you, better than those is so short-sighted, so egocentric. This is of course not only in politics but also in daily life.

Let me give an example. I was once very hurt by someone and for days the merry-go-round in head said: "How could he do this to me! He has to apologize for this!" After some days there came a question in my mind: "How about you? How do you hurt other people?" This was the turning point. Now I felt ashamed for my behavior towards this person. I was the one who had to apologize.

I'm longing for such turning point in the political discussions and in the politics in general. I'm very pessimistic about it, maybe on the long term there is some hope.

Happy Birthday to you. I hope you had a great day and celebration. I should say Happy Belated Birthday but either way I am wishing you the best.

A belated Happy Birthday