World Party - Ship of Fools

Another favorite song with a nautical theme--released in 1986......

It's how I often feel these days with everything that's going on in the world "Oh, save me, save me from tomorrow, I don't want to sail with this ship of fools, no, no. I want to run and hide right now"

Ship of Fools (lyrics) 

We're setting sail to the place on the map

From which no one has ever returned

Drawn by the promise of the joker and the fool

By the light of the crosses that burned

Drawn by the promise of the women and the lace

And the gold and the cotton and pearls

It's the place where they keep all the darkness you need

You sail away from the light of the world on this trip, baby

You will pay tomorrow

You're gonna pay tomorrow

You will pay tomorrow

Oh, oh, oh

Save me, save me from tomorrow

I don't want to sail with this ship of fools, no, no

Oh, save me, save me from tomorrow

I don't want to sail with this ship of fools, no, no

I want to run and hide right now

Avarice and greed are gonna drive you over the endless sea

They will leave you drifting in the shallows

Or drowning in the oceans of history

Traveling the world, you're in search of no good

But I'm sure you'll build your Sodom like you knew you would

Using all the good people for your galley slaves

As you're little boat struggles through the warning waves, but you don't pay

You will pay tomorrow

You're gonna pay tomorrow, yeah

You're gonna pay tomorrow

Save me, save me from tomorrow

I don't want to sail with this ship of fools, no, no, no

Save me, save me from tomorrow

I don't want to sail with this ship of fools

Where's it comin' from?

Oh, where's it goin' to?

It's just a, it's just a ship of fools

All abord now

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo...

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger

Ship of Fools lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Watching a magpie build its nest

We are privileged to have a birds-eye view (literally) of magpies that are building/renovating their nest, right outside our bedroom window. They are very shy birds that don't really like human company, so my filming was done from indoors. Somehow, they seem to discover that they are being filmed, but I have managed to get some footage of them. Once they find out they're being filmed, they go into their nest or fly away. They are very protective and territorial concerning their nest; we think the same magpie couple has come back each year for the past few years to raise another family. Since last year, we've had some intense storms with high winds, which damaged the nest considerably. So they've been working hard to repair and renovate it. 

Here is some video footage I got this morning:

Beth Rowley - I Walk Beside You (from the BBC series C.B. Strike)

Honeybees enjoying the snowdrops

It's still quite early in the season, but the snowdrops have bloomed first as they always do, providing food for the honeybees that are no longer dormant in their hives. We've had exceptionally nice weather in Oslo for the past two weeks, with daytime temperatures around 50 degrees F. So the bees are out in force during the early afternoon when the sun is at its warmest. I took this video the other day and wanted to share it with you. Turn up the volume for full effect!

The fast-moving Akerselva river in Oslo--December 2020

This past Friday, we were out walking along the Akerselva river in the vicinity of where we live. The river is a swollen and fast-moving river these days due to almost daily rainfall during December and to attempts by the city of Oslo to regulate the river flow and level. This video of the Vøyen falls was taken near Hønse Lovisa. The walking paths along both sides of the river as well as the bridge you see in the video were wet and slippery due to the spray of water from the falls and the churning river. Oslo has warned dwellers not to go too near the river's edge; there has been erosion along the banks and flooding here and there, which can increase the risk of slipping and falling in. The speed of the river is so fast that it would be difficult to rescue a person and for that person to survive.

The bird bath is a popular meeting place

A few days ago, it was the sparrows who were enjoying a communal bath in the birdbath in the garden. Today, it was a meeting place for many of the garden's honeybees who were eagerly drinking the water. It was a warm and dry day, so that was probably the explanation for why there were so many (at one point I counted up to sixteen bees sitting on the rim of the bath). I have never seen so many of them gathered at the 'drinking hole' before. They were buzzing to and fro, landing on the rim of the bath and then taking off again. A few of them ended up in the water, twirling about like whirligigs. If they don't get find their way out of the water quickly, they can drown. So I have helped them out a few times, offering a (gloved) finger or a stick for them to climb on. They grab on eagerly, and if they're not too waterlogged, they fly away fairly quickly, which always makes me happy. This is a video of the bees today in the garden. 

Sparrows having a communal bird bath in the garden today

This is the second time I've seen the sparrows do this. The first time was about a month ago and I tried filming them but something didn't work out right and the videos I took were blank. Today I managed to shoot three short videos of them enjoying their bath, splashing around. When they're done, there are huge drops of water all over the place. They are an endless source of entertainment--I love watching them. 

Blackbird in the birdbath

I've been wondering why the birdbath is nearly emptied of water when I come to the garden many days. I think I know why now. I caught this little fellow enjoying his bath, and he wasn't afraid of me at all. So I captured him on video. In addition to him, there are the sparrows that alight on the edge of the birdbath to drink water, and sometimes to bathe. I'm just super-pleased that they are using it--makes me so happy to see them!

Supalonely by Benee ft. Gus Dapperton

Loved this song from the first time I heard it.....

It's getting some airplay now during these quarantine times--Supalonely.

Plums, butterflies, and bees

I took this video of the butterflies and bees in the garden at the end of August, when they were happily enjoying the plums that were rotting after having fallen to the ground from my neighbor's plum tree. They were completely wild about the plums, and the butterflies especially flew around as though they were a bit drunk. It was fun to watch them. Of course I would have preferred that the plums would not have rotted, that they would rather have been collected and used in preserves and other food items, but it was not my call because it was not my garden. But at least they provided weeks' worth of food for the butterflies and bees.

Love this song--Juice, by Lizzo

Loved it from the first time I heard it--pure funk.......Lizzo's having fun. Definitely makes you want to get up and dance. Works for me!!....Enjoy.

Nature is a good reminder of all that's right with the world

I saw this video for the first time tonight, and loved it. Beautifully-filmed nature shots, a reminder that the world really is a wonderful place. Every time I need a reminder, I'll check out this video......

A dog rescued by a kind person

If this video doesn't break your heart, I don't know what will. Even though this poor dog was rescued, it breaks my heart to know that someone or some family left him/her behind when evacuating their home due to hurricane Florence. If you have a pet, it is part of your family, and you should take your pet with you in situations like this. Your pets love you and trust you to do the right thing; how can you live with yourself if you don't make the effort to take them with you when you evacuate?

I thought about this story for hours after I saw the video. It made me cry, and that's a good thing, because I haven't been able to cry much lately. I think I've become too inured to the crazy, cold, inhumane and unjust world we live in. I need to see more positive stories; I need to know that there are still good people in the world. Because there are. All the media ever tells us about are all the bad people and situations in the world.

https://www.facebook.com/CBSNewYork/videos/263733037814957/

Grace Jones and Slave to the Rhythm

Just felt like listening to Grace Jones this morning--my favorite song by her--Slave to the Rhythm.......

Wondering if the song title reflects my thoughts about going back to work after a long summer vacation, back to the grind, to the daily routine of 'woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head' (apologies to the Beatles) and a bit of the rat race.

Bumblebees and lavender

I've planted a lot of lavender plants in the garden, and the bees--both honeybees and bumblebees--love them. There are always a lot of them hovering over the plants, flitting from one flower to the other. When I am weeding the flower garden, I can often hear the bumblebees' characteristic buzz; neither they nor the honeybees are aggressive in any way. I call it peaceful coexistence in the garden. They don't like it very much when I water the flowers, but they deal with it. I took a video of the bumblebees enjoying the lavender......Enjoy!

A good song by the Greenhornes ft. Holly Golightly--There is an End

Whenever I travel to the States, I use the time on the plane to catch up on music I haven't heard in a while, and on films that I haven't seen. On this trip, I listened to this song There is an End by the Greenhornes featuring Holly Golightly (from Broken Flowers Soundtrack). The lyrics are poetry, and such songs always make a deep impression on me........

Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode

I'm posting the video of Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode, along with the lyrics to the song.

Lyrics

Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can't you understand?
Oh my little girl
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm
Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And forgettable
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm

Enjoy the silence

Songwriters: Martin Gore

Enjoy the Silence lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Sparrows and hens

The sparrows in the community garden enjoy the birdbath; I've watched them having a ball splashing around and bathing before they quickly fly away. Sometimes it's quite funny to watch them and the bees enjoying the bath together. They seem to be peacefully co-existing.

And who would have thought that you would hear hens clucking and cackling in the city of Oslo? The owners of the house across the street installed a hen house in their garden several days ago. The hens are getting used to being there, and it's clear that they like their owner, because whenever he comes into the hen house, they start 'talking' to him. Of course, he has food for them. I enjoy hearing them at different times of the day. There is no rooster (yet), as far as we can determine. If a rooster arrives, we can kiss our alarm clocks goodbye, as they enjoy waking up the neighborhood at the crack of dawn.

I'm posting two videos, one of a sparrow and the birdbath, the other of the hens clucking....Enjoy!

Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man

Another good song......Portugal. The Man--Feel It Still.

Dua Lipa and Calvin Harris--One Kiss

Catchy dance song...............