Friday, August 26, 2011

Friday Night Frolic — Reckoning With Forces

Downtown Providence, RI--1938 Hurricane (RI Historical Society)

Today's Frolic will be brief as we have visitors from Quebecnot to mention a swirling and churning she-storm making its way up the East Coastconverging upon us at any moment.

Our French visitors should be here this afternoon. Irene, if her wrath shan't dwindle, will make her presence known Saturday evening and she may prove to be a force that we New Englanders haven't encountered since the great New England hurricane of 1938. (Though we've weathered significant storms since, but not the sort labeled "Category 3" that also make landfall.)

All this dark, tempestuous she-talk of late reminds me of another force: Danish singer/songwriter Agnes Obel.




Obel's power can be found in the substratum of classical music, simple melodies and often morbid lyrics. You can find more about Agnes here. Her debut album, Philharmonics, was released in September, 2010.



Obel's pitch perfect voice lingers long after the storm has passed. 

Be safe, my East Coast friends. Be safe.

34 comments:

  1. Thank you for Agnes. Swooning.
    Be safe.

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  2. Jayne, Thank you for the frolic. I intend to introduce myself to Agnes after dinner, with a glass of wine;)
    Enjoy your company and please be careful. Sending safe thoughts your way.
    Leah

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  3. I hope you weather it well, Jayne. No blowing away in the storm!

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  4. Is it really supposed to hit that high up for you guys too, by Saturday night? We're on LI, and that's what theyr'e saying, around 8pm. Actually, we're on a vacation in PA which we now must cut SHORT a day so we don't have to drive HOME in the storm....the whole prospect has taken a bit of the relaxation edge off of our trip...

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  5. ahem...They have ordered evacuations in Manhattan! That is indicative of how terrible this storm will be!
    Hugo hit roughly 200 miles inland when it reached North Carolina.I surely hope you have an umbrella at the very least!

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  6. You be safe my friend and I'll be thinking and praying the she-storm spares you. :)
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  7. Stay safely moored to the ground.

    On a pragmatic note, unwelcome reminder of the possibility of wrangling uncooperative felines into small spaces.

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  8. I just looked at her path and although she is still aiming straight up the coast they have her labeled as a cat 1. So shouldn't be too bad. Just hunker down.

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  9. Thanks for Agnes.

    Enjoy your guests...and stay safe.

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  10. Kind of unusual that the hurricanes hit that far north, isn't it? Maybe the water temperatures have been higher than normal this summer; that's what fuels the hurricanes

    Cold As Heaven

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  11. attach yourself to a tree with roots,
    you ain't going nowhere.

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  12. Munk- You're most welcome. Yes, safety first!

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  13. Leah- Agnes after dinner with wine. Perfect, Leah! I think you're going to have a nice time.

    Always careful, here! Well, sometimes not too careful. But I've stocked up for this one! ;)

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  14. DB- Thanks for the wishes. You know, when I was a little girl I used to think it would be pretty cool to get blown away by a storm--as long as I had an umbrella to steady myself. My, my how things change. Such a drag.
    I don't think an umbrella will do much good for this storm. ;)

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  15. Sandra- Looks like we won't see or hear too much until Sunday morning. We are hearing the damage could be extreme which doesn't help my anxiety level. See, this is why I stay away from the TV!

    Get home safely! Funny, our Canadian visitors weren't even aware that a hurricane was tearing up the coast! They enjoyed their time on the Cape without worry. Once I put them on notice, they realized that they needed to get ahead of the storm as well.

    Hope you enjoyed your vacation (even if cut short a bit). :)

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  16. Nessa- When the Pres. calls a state of emergency then you know it's serious. Hard to imagine NYC shut down--without mass transit. That's insane!

    I think we're going to need more than an umbrella for this baby. ;)

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  17. Antares- Ha! That's worse than wrangling kids! ;)

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  18. Ellen- Hunkering... though sleep won't be easy tonight!

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  19. Loree- Thank you! Glad you're enjoying Agnes. :)

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  20. Cold- It's been a very warm summer, and not much rain, so waters are definitely warmer. The hurricane is heading as far north as Canada! She's a real beast, but New England will tame her. ;)

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  21. I will be back for Agnes. Meanwhile, be safe and, it is hoped, remain downgraded to a tropical something. Hope all you care about are doing well. Good thing the Cape visit was then, not now. xo

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  22. Hopefully you are weathering the storm well!

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  23. There was no FEMA back in 1938. I wonder how people weathered the storm back then?

    I feel so disconnected; you know you are in Oregon when the TV weather man here says: "It's 72 degrees with no relief in sight!"

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  24. [laughing at RtS's "You know you're in Oregon..." comment] That's good!

    Counting on hearing that Irene was as anti-climactic for the RI contingent as it was for the NJ ones. As Irene headed north from the Carolinas, it interested me that The Weather Channel had someone stationed in Narragansett for ongoing reports.

    (One passing little featurette from there was about people whose weddings were scheduled for Saturday, advancing the time so they could get it over with soonest. One couple they talked to had advanced the I-do's all right, but would probably have to postpone the honeymoon... for which they had reservations along the North Carolina coast. Heh.)

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  25. Hi All- After three days without power, electricity (which means internet and phone) was restored last night just as the sun retired for the day.

    Thanks so much all, for all your well wishes. We had substantial damage her in Rhode Island but nothing like our New England neighbors in the green and gorgeous state of Vermont who will be struggling for some time post the great floods of Irene. They're in my thoughts.

    Billy- Turns out it wouldn't have done much good to attach myself to a heavy rooted tree. We had several very old trees get pulled up by their roots, taking half of the yards with them!

    Marylinn- Irene came through as a tropical storm but we had some tremendous funnel winds that caused much damage in the valley. Much more damage than I'd witnessed from other hurricanes!

    Loach- Well, the first couple of days without power were a fun little adventure. Then, it became a history lesson, recreating the days before electricity, and realizing how hard those folks worked!

    Robert- Seriously funny! And I can't imagine weathering catastrophic events like a hurricane without the aid of FEMA. I heard some people complaining that the phone service wasn't restored quickly enough (making several cell phone calls to the phone company)! Are you kidding? We had over 20 major transformers come down in this state alone. In the days of instant everything, people forget that it takes a lot of manpower hours to pick up the pieces and put them back together so they're once again suitable for instant everything.

    JES- When we still have power, I love watching the poncho-covered correspondents fighting off the wind and water by the ocean. I don't know why, but Narraganset is always featured. It is of course, a pretty place. When I was in college, I lived right up from the pier in a rented summer cottage. Now I could barely afford to rent one of those cottages for a week in the summer!

    And yes, as you mentioned, many couples are married in the Narragansett area--often at the historic Narragansett Towers (my brother included)--and I'm sure they wouldn't want to be ocean side when a hurricane comes roaring through. Although it's pretty cool to see the waves make their way over the sea wall. ;)

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  26. Glad you survived the storm Jayne - we lost power but it was only out for about three hours by the time we got back Mon; for a change the north east seems to have been hit harder

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  27. Stormy weather .... yeah was thinking about you folk up in that lil corner of the woods copping a spray from the storm....pretty heavy stuff...oh well rest assured Oz will be on fire in about 3 months time...predictions have forecast a monster fire season.
    Wow...you are messin with my mind putting up all this music I've never heard but thanks for the Agnes...what a voice...kinda like Diamanda Galas except she doesn't scream and carry on like a pork chop at a bar mitzvah..I'm gonna try n find some more of her stuff...oh and I have some music I will put up for you that will blow the socks off your mind....great post again J girl ;)

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  28. Mark- I'm typing again, so that is a good sign. ;)

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  29. David- Yes, usually our storms are found in the winter. We aren't necessarily as equipped for the summer variety. Glad you escaped significant damage! :)

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  30. Dan- Fire season? Now that would make me run for the hills. Though that may not be the safest place. Oz has had more than its share of disasters--I hope the prediction proves false.

    "...scream and carry on like a pork chop at a bar mitzvah." That is funny! Looking forward to your music... I know you're always foraging for some interesting stuff... ;)

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  31. Well, funny you should mention that as I have done a reprise as such of the Burn in Hell promo....now with video!! Come check it out J :)

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