The Ramblings of an Artistic Equestrian

Bawling to this song this morning. I could have sworn I've translated it before, but I'm doing it again.

Was erklärst du deinem Kind
What do you explain to your child
Wenn es zu verstehn beginnt
when you begin to understand it
Und das Leben nicht kennt
and don't know life
Die Fragen, die es an dich stellt
The quesrion that stands before you
Sind das Universum dieser Welt
Is the universe, this world
Neu entdeckt und noch so fremd
newly discovered and still so strange
Das was es sucht
That (is) what it seeks
Das was es lenkt
That (is) what it steers
Ist das Prinzip Mensch
Is the human principle

Jedes Minus hat sein Plus
Every minus has its plus
Jeder Anfang seinen Schluss
Every beginning has its close
Jedes Chaos hat sein System
Every chaos has its system
Das was uns sucht
That's what we seek
Findet und lenkt
Find and guide
Ist das Prinzip Mensch
is the human principle

Was wir fragen
what we ask
Hat keinen Namen
Has no name
Keine Zahlen
no number/amount
Ist keine Physik
Is no physics
Wir können nur lernen
We could only study
Suchen und ahnen
Seek and intuit
Denn eine Antwort
if an answer
Gibt es nicht
there is none

Das Wunder bist du
you are the Miracle/wonder
In jedem Moment
in every moment
Denn was in dir lebt
if what in you lives
Ist das prinzip mensch
is the human principle

Was bestimmt wohin wir gehen
What appoints where we go
Wer erklärt uns das Verstehn
Who explains (to) us the understanding
Und das Ende der Ewigkeit
and the end of the eternity

Woher kommt mein gefühl für mich
Whence comes my sense of myself
Warum denke ich und fühl für dich
Why do I think and feel for you
Logisch ist nur das was ich weiss
Logic is the only thing that I know

Was uns verbindet
What we interconnect
Und gleichzeitig trennt
and concurrently separate
Ist das Prinzip Mensch
is the human principle

Was wir Fragen
What we ask
Hat keinen Namen
Has no name
Keine Zahlen
No number/amount
Ist keine Physik
Is no Physics
Wir können nur lernen
We can only study
Suchen und ahnen
Seek and intuit
Denn eine antwort
if an answer
Gibt es nicht
gives it not

Das Wunder bist du
You ate the wonder
In jedem Moment
in every moment
Denn was in dir lebt
Then what in your life
Ist das Prinzip Mrnsch
Is the human principle

This is a fantastic song by Christina Stürmer, and Austrian singer who has a range that reminds me of Alanis Morissette. This song is basically about the toxic ideas around female beauty. Lyrics and translation below the cut.



( Lyrics with my translation )

I had the gist of the song's meaning. A couple new words for sure in there and a few I was able to guess at fairly accurately.

Felt in the mood to do some translating and these two songs came on this morning.

"Dreh dich" by Nena
This is just a sweet song. It was also super easy to translate. I couldn't find a version on YouTube or Vevo, even on Nena's official one so you get this haphazard thing. I threw my "MacArena" challenge video on repeat to the music so ... just ignore the video and listen to the music.



Hoffnung ist
hope is
Wenn du nicht vergisst
when you don't forget
Dass es Liebe
that it (is) love
Und du ein Wunder bist
and you are a miracle
Hoffnung ist
hope is
Wenn du bei mir bist
when you are by me
Weil es Liebe ist
because it is love
Weil es Liebe ist
because it is love
Ich hab oft nach dir gesucht
I have often sought after you
Und dann warst du einfach da
and then you were simply there
Ich ging barfuss durch den Regen
I go barefoot through the rain
Die Liebe kam als ich dich sah
The love came as I saw you
Und ich guck auf deinen Mund
and I look upon your mouth
Und ich fühl mich so gesund
and I feel so well
Deine Lippen sind wie du
your lips are like you
Diese Tür geht nie mehr zu
this door doesn't close anymore
Und ich dreh mich
and I turn myself
Dreh dich und da steh ich
You turn and there I stand
Nimm mich in den Arm
take me in (your) arm
Und du küsst mich
and you kiss me
Und ich lass dich
and I let you
Und ich dreh mich
and I turn myself
Dreh dich und da steh ich
turn yourself and there I stand
Du bist mein Mann
you are my man (husband)
Und ich küss dich
and I kiss you
Und du lässt mich
and you let me
Hoffnung ist
hope is
Wenn du nicht vergisst
when you don't forget
Dass es Liebe
that it (is) love
Und du ein Wunder bist
and you are a miracle
Hoffnung ist
hope is
Wenn du bei mir bist
when you are by me
Weil es Liebe ist
because it is love
Weil es Liebe ist
because it is love
Du schenkst mir einen goldenen Ring
you gift me a golden ring
Ich trag ihn an der rechten Hand
i wear it on the right hand
Du hast mein Jawort und ich bin
you have my word of consent (vow?) and I am
Für immer deine Königin
for ever your queen
Und ich dreh mich
and I turn myself
Dreh dich und da steh ich
turn yourself and there I stand
Nimm mich in den Arm
take me in (your) arm
Und du küsst mich
and you kiss me
Und ich lass dich
and I let you
Und ich dreh mich
and I turn myself
Dreh dich und da steh ich
turn yourself and I stand
Du bist mein Mann
you are my man (husband)
Und ich küss dich
and I kiss you
Und du lässt mich
and you let me
Und ich dreh mich
and I turn myself
Dreh dich und da steh ich
turn yourself and there I stand
Nimm mich in den Arm
take me in (your) arm
Und du küsst mich
and you kiss me
Und ich lass dich
and I let you
Und ich dreh mich
and I turn myself
Dreh dich und da steh ich
turn yourself and I stand
Du bist mein Mann
you are my man (husband)
Und ich küss dich
and I kiss you
Und du lässt mich
and you let me



I always learn new words with Schilling. This is off of his newest album released last year "Vis Viva." I love his Sci-Fi lyrics, often full of thoughtful social commentary.

Peter Schilling "Hologram"

Du bist abstrakt
you are abstract
Bist ein Konstrukt
(you) are a construct
nur so gebaut
only so built
wie man dich braucht
as one needs you
Du hast kein Herz, keinen Verstand
you have no heart, no understanding
Du funktionierst
you function
bist topologisch alles logisch, linear
(you) are topoligical everything logic, linear
theoretisch & konkret
theoretical amd concrete
kontinuierlich unentwegt
continual/unwavering steadfast
Refrain
Und irgendwann
and sometime
kommt bei dir an
(it) comes to you
du warst ein Träumer ein Versäumer
you were a dreamer, a neglector
ein gelebtes Hologramm
a living hologram
Doch irgendwann
yet sometimes
war der Moment
was the moment
da hat das Leben gewartet
the life waited there
zu was du dich bekennst
to what you confess (to yourself)
Bist wie ein Bild
(you) are like a picture
aus Laserstrahlen
out of laserbeams
die dich weit und weiter tragen
that you carry farther and farther
Informanten sind die Quanten - irgendwie
information is the quantum-somehow
Du gehst den Weg
you go the way
den du dir baust
that you build yourself
bist eingestellt und wie verschraubt
you are adjusted and screwed
deine Augen schauen kalt und leer ins Nichts
your eyes look cold and empty, in nothing
Refrain
Und irgendwann
and sometime
kommt bei dir an
(it) comes to you
du warst ein Träumer ein Versäumer
you were a dreamer, a neglector
ein gelebtes Hologramm
a living hologram
Doch irgendwann
yet sometimes
war der Moment
was the moment
da hat das Leben gewartet
the life waited there
zu was du dich bekennst
to what you confess (to yourself)
In deinem Raum
in your room
in deiner Zeit
in your time
zu Empathie
to empathy
niemals bereit
never prepared
ich seh dich an
I look at you
als - Hologramm
as a hologram
Refrain
Und irgendwann
and sometimes

This felt appropriate.




Hello, God?
Are You out there?
Can You hear me?
Are You listenin' anymore?
Hello, God?
If we're still on speakin' terms
Can You help me like before?
I have questioned Your existence
My resistance leaves me cold
Can you help me go the distance?
Hello God?
Hello?
Hello?
This old world has gone to pieces
Can we fix it?
Is there time?
Hate and violence just increases
We're so selfish, cruel, and blind
We fight and kill each other
In Your name defending You
Do You love some more than others?
We're so lost and confused
Hello, God?
Are you out there?
Can you hear us?
Are you listenin' anymore?
Hello, God?
If we're still on speakin' terms
Can You help us like before?
Oh, the free will You have given
We have made a mockery of
This is no way to be livin'
We're in great need of Your love
Hello, God?
Hello, God?
Can You grant us
Love enough to make amends?
(Hello, God)
Is there still a chance
That we could start again?
Hello, God?
We've learned our lesson
Dear God, don't let us go
(Hello, hello)
More than ever
Hello God?
Hello?
Hello?
Hello, God?
We really need You
We can't make it without You
(Hello, God)
We beseech You
In the name of all that's true
Hello, God?
Please forgive us
For we know not what we do
Hello, God?
Give us one more chance
To prove ourselves to You
Hello, God?
Hello, God?

I have a rant brewing, but that will wait for another day because I need the time to finish it out.

More Peter Schilling, because I love his music so, even if some of it did not age as well.

"Die Wüste lebt" was one of his ealier songs and as such it also had an English translation, which somewhat follows the spirit of the original German, but definitely not a direct translation.

The English version is titled "The Noah Plan."



A million years have come and gone
The earth is shifting towards the sun
Synthetic atmosphere is lost
And forces the computers off
Communications are confused
The tides reverse
And start a chain reaction
The seismograph's consulted incredible results
It says we're losing all control, losing all control
The scientists around the world decipher everything they do
But they don't really know, they don't really know
Instead of systematic, the news becomes erratic
No one can agree, no one can agree
The world is getting frantic as people start a panic
What does all this mean?
The sun is moving closer and the atmosphere gets hotter
As the system overloads, system overloads
Fighting these adverse conditions loading for the expedition
Everyone must go, everyone must go
The fools that think the worst is over
They won't live to be much older
Why do they remain, why do they remain
Everything is ready
Everyone that's coming has been safely brought on board
The time has come
To leave again
Activate
The Noah plan
Returning to
The universe
Give out the word
Abandon earth
Magnetic fields surrounding us and pounding and increasing
As the ship is taking off, ship is taking off
The electronic shields protect us from the heat
We're slowly breaking lose, slowly breaking lose
The ship is lifting higher, the earth is growing smaller
As we leave the atmosphere, leave the atmosphere
We watch the earth get closer, getting closer, getting closer
As it drifts into the sun
The time has come
To leave again
Activate
The Noah plan
Returning to
The universe
Give out the word
Abandon earth
The time has come
To leave again
Activate
The Noah plan
Returning to
The universe
Give out the word
Abandon earth
The time has come
To leave again
Activate
The Noah plan
Returning to
The universe
Give out the word
Abandon earth



Here's the German version, performed live in '83.

Nach vielen Tausend Jahren hat
(After many thousands of years)
Die Erde nun den Menschen satt
(The earth was lush with people)
Sie gibt die Atmosphäre auf
(she dismissed the atmosphere)
Und schaltet die Computer aus
(and switched off the computer)
Die erste Fehlinformation
(The first misinformation)
Verursacht dann, die erste Kettenreaktion
(lead to/caused the first chain reaction)
Die Wüste lebt
(The desert lives)
Der Seismograph schlägt aus und zeigt uns das Problem
(The Seismograph rebounds and shows us the problem)
Doch die Gezeiten sind dran schuld, Gezeiten sind dran schuld
(Yet the tide is at fault, tide is at fault)
Der Wissenschaftler hat's geseh'n, er rätselt um das Phänomen
(The scientist has seen it, he speculates about the phenomenon)
Und bittet um Geduld, bittet um Geduld
(and pleads for patience, pleads for patience)
Indessen kämpft man weiter, um Sprossen an der Leiter
(meanwhile conflict springs up around the leader)
Von der Hierarchie, von der Hierarchie
(For the hierarchy, for the hierarchy)
Doch wenn man jetzt nicht aufpasst, den Augenwinkel aufmacht
(Yet if one does not pay attention now out of the corner of your eye it unfolds)
Dann kämpft man um Nichts
(Then one struggles over nothing)
Alarmsignal, die Sonne brennt
(Alert, the sun burns)
Heißer als man sie kennt
(Hotter than one knew)
Alarmsignal, die Steppe bebt
(Alert, the steppe shakes)
Die Luft vibriert, die Wüste lebt
(The air vibrates, the desert lives)
Die Sonne steht seit 198 Stunden regungslos
(The sun stands motionless for 198 hours)
Auf drei Uhr nachmittags, drei Uhr nachmittags
(At three in the afternoon, three in the afternoon)
Junge Mädchen, ältere Frauen die Blässe weicht
(Young girls, old ladies, the smooth pallor)
Sie werden braun, denn das ist angesagt, das ist angesagt
(They would be brown, for that is said, that is said)
Die Schönheitsindustrie stellt sich ganz blitzschnell ein auf sie
(The beauty industry deploys itself completely lightning fast on it)
Und jeder sucht nach dem Gewinn sucht nach dem Gewinn
(And everyone seeks after the profit)
Alles ist ganz easy, alles ist ganz happy
(Everything is completely easy, everything is completely happy)
Denn das Wetter ist so schön
(Because the weather is so beautiful)
Magnetfelder, die bauen auf und bauen ab und machen schlapp
(Magnetic fields, they establish and cultivate and become limp)
Das macht uns ganz nervös, manche ganz nervös
(That makes us completely nervous, some completely nervous)
Die Elektronik spinnt, die Zeit, die zeit verrinnt
(The electronics spin, the time, the time trickles)
Probleme ungelöst, Probleme ungelöst
(Problem unsolved, problem unsolved)
Die Luft wird immer dünner, die Hitze immer schlimmer
(The air will always become thinner, the heat always worse)
Jeder gibt dem andern schuld, gibt dem andern schuld
(Everyone blames the other, blames the other)
Der Wissenschaftler rätselt noch und rätstelt noch und rätselt noch
(The scientist puzzle still, and puzzle still, and ouzzle still)
Und bittet um Geduld
(And plead for patience)
Alarmsignal, die Sonne brennt
(Alert, the sun burns)
Heißer als man sie kennt
(hotter than one knew)
Alarmsignal, die Steppe bebt
(Alert, the steppes shakes)
Die Luft vibriert, die Wüste lebt (die Wüste lebt)
(The air vibrates, the desert lives [the desert lives])
Alarmsignal, die Sonne brennt
(Alert, the sun burns)
Heißer als man sie kennt
(hotter than one knew)
Alarmsignal, die Steppe bebt
(Alert, the steppes shake)
Die Luft vibriert, die Wüste lebt
(The air vibrates, the desert lives)
Alarmsignal, die Sonne brennt
(Alert, the sun burns)
Heißer als man sie kennt
(Hotter than one knows)
Alarmsignal, die Steppe bebt
(Alert, the steppes vibrate)
Die Luft vibriert, die Wüste lebt
(the air vibrates, the desert lives)
Eeh oh (eeh oh)
Eeh oh (eeh oh)
Eeh oh (eeh oh)
Yeah oh (eeh oh)
Yeah oh (yeah oh)
Yeah oh (yeah oh)
Yeah oh (yeah oh)
Yeeeeeeah oh, ooh oh, ooh oh, ooh yeah
Ooh, oh ooh, oh ooh, oh yeah
Ooh, oh ooh, oh ooh, oh yeah
Oooooooh yeah!

In 2003 he released Raumnot 6 v 6, which relaunched his career after a nearly ten year break from music. I couldn't find the 2003 version so you get the 2004 dance remix.



He redid it again in 2020 for his 2021 album Vis Viva and it has even more haunting undertones.



He keeps coming back to this song and it keeps being disturbingly relevant.

There's sonething to be said about rituals of rememberance. This song came on as I was riding April and when I recognized it I turned it up and skipped back to the beginning, letting the emotions rise and flow, feeling the pain and regret, loss, and commitment to continue.

I have some ritual in my life, but I admit I sometimes feel a lack and wish our culture had more ritual surrounding loss and rememberance so these things have their rightful place and avenue instead of feeling unmoored and drifting, destined to resurface when least desired.

By the way, the Vietnam Memorial is a haunting and beautiful work of art.

I had an indulgence the other day and acquired some wireless earbuds. I have more solo horses I'm working and I have been just using my phone as a tiny juke box and inflicting my eclectic musical tastes upon the world, but it is a little annoying having to reach down and pull it out of the leg case to turn it off if someone wants to talk to me.

Target was having a sale and they were over 40% off. I'm a little weird as I don't like things plugging my ear canal. I've always been this way. I can wear them and when it comes to ear plugs blocking harmful noise I'm fine, but I don't like the weird muffled sound of everything outside of the music when I'm listening to music. I generally listen at a volume that I can hear other things because I'm doing active stuff and the music is background noise and I want to hear that bicyclist saying "on your left" or the car or whatever else is going on.

I ended up with the Samsung Galaxy live buds and I really like them. They nest in the outer ear and don't have to be lodged in the ear canal so I hear everything without the distracting amplified head noise. My voice and chewing does reverberate, but I can tolerate that. It's the constant head reverberration of everything that really bothers me.

This is a roundabout way of saying I'm listening to more music and have finally found some earbuds that don't drive me nuts so I can listen to music out in the world (or first thing in the morning wandering around in the dark) without announcing myself to the world. The wireless is a bonus so I don't get hung up on things and they haven't fallen out of my ears yet. I suspect my left lobe is just a touch smaller than my right, but they fit well and if I put them on right I can't really feel them at all. Also, it tells me when I get messages and I can take hands free calls, sweet.

I've been on a Flogging Molly binge. Love me some Irish punk.


Classic Irish song brought into the 21st century.

One of my musical acquisitions this year was more music from them, which included the album "Float" which has this song, "Us of Lesser Gods."



I've shifted over to re-listening to Sarah Connor, who was a new-to-me German singer with this year's Oktoberfest order. I like her music, as much as I can tell from one album. She varies from deep, soulful use of her voice to light and airy.

Here's "Vincent" which is the opening song in the album Hertz Kraft Werk (Heart, Power, Work).


( Lyrics and translation )

This is "Unter alten Jacke" or Under old jackets. I'm not sure if she's talking about the memories of the guy are locked away or if she killed the him and stuffed his remains in a box. You pick! Not your typical relationship song.


( Unter alten Jacken lyrics and translation )

Had to use the dictionary more than I would like, but that's okay. I'm definitely a lot faster at translating than I used to be.

madman101 made a post about music in German and I made an entirely too long comment, but I'm going to share much of it in a revised and expanded version here:

I didn't know the Beatles sang anything in German, that's awesome. I may have to see what I can dig up during my "Oktoberfest" order (I order music and movies from Amazon.de in October, haven't done it for a couple years due to funds, but I feel like I can pick it up again this year!).

The German title translates to "Come, give me your hand," which is close enough to "I Want to Hold your Hand."



The Breeders song he shared isn't too shabby. I haven't heard of this band before.



The German version of David Bowie's song is "Heroes" is called "Helden" Nena actually did a cover of it on her album "Cover Me." Here she is singing live with some other guys (can you believe this lady is 60?!). She is amazing.



And Bowie's version for good measure.



As an aside, if you can only get one Nena album I think it should be "Cover Me" as it has her breadth and depth reflected between the original song "Mach die Augen auf" and the 30 covers from those who have, and continue to, inspire her. She also covered one of my favorite Peter Gabriel songs "Darkness." For lack of Nena's version here is Gabriel's from the album "Up."



I will admit to my disappointment that Peter Gabriel's own cover album "Scratch My Back" (which has a sister album of "And I'll Scratch Yours") failed to feature a song by Nena, but it did have Bowie's "Heroes".

Speaking of the Cover Me album, here is "Mach die Augen auf" for good measure as not only is it a beautiful song, but the video is quite good too.



And while I'm at it with my revised and expanded version, here are the lyrics with my translation. I'm proud of myself I only needed to look up two words:

( Mach die Augen auf (Deutsch und Englisch Übersetzten )

Bette Midler did a version of "Bei mir bist du schön" (basically translates as "to me you are beautiful/fine") in her album "It's the Girls" (quite enjoyable by the way!).



I found a version in Yiddish too, which explains why everyone is pronouncing schön like schän (though I think Bavarian German pronounces it a little closer to the latter?)... of course Wayne Newton's "Danke schön" didn't help either.



Funnily enough this French version of "Danke schön" here pronounces schön properly and is lovely in its own right.



There is some very interesting backstory on "Bei mir bist du schön!" on Wikipedia.

I hope you enjoyed this meandering musical journey in German (plus Yiddish and French).

Retro's music video isn't nearly so fun from Peter Schilling's official YouTube channel, but that's okay.



Even if I've said it once, I'll say it again, I love my Neue Deutsche Welle musicians. They are so much more than their one-hit wonders in America.

1. Vers
Der Ajatollah im Iran (The Ayatollah in Iran)
Die Russen brechen ein in Afganistan (The Russians invade Afganistan)
Geburtenkonrolle.R.A.F (Birth control R A F)
Janis Joplin auf Vinyl gepresst (Janis Joplin recorded on vinyl)
Waren die Amis wirklich auf dem Mond? (Were the Americans really on the moon?)
Man hat noch nicht in Containern gewohnt (one still could not live in a container)
Es gab keine Atempause-no future (It gave no breath holding)
Und kein Plan (and no plan)
Sex Pistols live (Sex Pistols live)
Der Punk Rock kam (Punk rock came)
2. Ref:
Ihr wollt Retro
Immer nur Retro (You all want retro)
Denn ihr seht doch (Since you still see)
Es geht nicht ohne Retro (It doesn't go without Reteo)
Voller Sehnsucht schreit ihr Retro (Full of longing you cry Retro)
Computerspiele made in Japan (Fomputer games made in Japan)
George Michael war noch bei Wham (George Michael was still with Wham)
Atomkraft-nein danke (nuclear power-no thank you)
Die Startbahn kam noch (The runway still came)
40 Jahre DDR-die Mauer fiel doch (40 years of the DDR [German Democratic Republic]- the wall is still felt)
Bob Beamon sprang den Weltrekord (Bob Beamon jumped the world record)
Dallas,Denverbiest-Beverly Hills Cop
Der säure Regen wusch Tschernobyl fort (The acid rain washed away Chernobyl)
Der Punk geht weiter an nem ander´n Ort (Punk goes further to other places)
3. Ref:
Ihr wollt Retro (You all want Retro)
Immer nur Retro (Always just Retro)
Denn ihr seht doch (since you still see)
Es geht nicht ohne Retro (It doesn't go without Retro)
Voller Sehnsucht schreit ihr Retro (Full of longing you cry Retro)
Ihr wollt Retro (You want Retro)
Ohne Veto (without veto)
Immer wieder Retro (always again Retro)
Bis es weh tut (until it hurts)
Retro, Retro
Instr
4. Ref:
Ihr wollt Retro
Immer nur Retro
Denn ihr seht doch
Es geht nicht ohne Retro
Voller Sehnsucht schreit ihr Retro
Ihr wollt Retro
Ohne Veto
Immer wieder Retro
Bis es weh tut
Retro, Retro

Had to look up a couple words again, but mostly to confirm my suspicion as to what it meant.

Goal; 100
Words: 163
( Various snippets that won't make sense )
I think I have decided that their ranks are not going to be used until after the official induction. It would make sense that they would keep the official names of the group's ranks under wraps. So then it is Mr., Ms, Mrs. or maybe just Ms because I don't know if some of them are maried or if that should be left open air at this point...

I also don't want to default to "professor" regardless of gender. I guess the good news is it's only for the first six weeks and then they shift over to their official Mime ranks. Something to chew on I guess.

In completely unrelated news my phone apparently has a crack onthe screen. I thought it was a hair, but it didn't brush away and when I angled it it looked much larger. The good news is that depending on the angle it doesn't affect viewing for the most part. It just stinks that the phone is under a year old, though. I think one of the boys must have done something to it.

Still other news I got in my "Oktoberfest" orders. Because I'm weird I have a little tradition of ordering stuff from Amazon.de to pseudo-celebrate Oktoberfest. Usually it includes a few movies, CDs, and a couple books (I have been admittedly bad about actually reading the books, but my "horse" German is even worse than my regular German so I would be glued to the dictionary reading them, granted some I have the English version of too so that helps. Anyway! This year I was a bit skimpier than usual for obvious reasons, but I still ordered a pair of CDs. A couple years ago I had taken a chance on some new-to-me artists that Amazon.de had recommended (and one Ola did) and enjoyed them, but hadn't sought out any more then last month I was thumbing through my iPod (which is probably close to ten years old now) and rediscovered Christina Stürmer's "In dieser Stadt" album and have been enjoying it over and over again. I went ahead and ordered two more of her albums, one I think is one of her first and the other was from 2013 and I am pleased to report I am happy with them and pleased with the quality of her music. I do still have some catching up to do with Nena and Peter Schilling (so happy he started making music again and Nena is just a music-making machine that has been going strong, if unheard of in the USA since 99 Red Balloons), but maybe next year.

Slightly more related,the boys are apparently obsessed with Elle King's "Ex's and Oh's" and have been rocking out to it nonstop. Needless to say I've had it stuck in my head.

I apparently need to make up my schedule for AFE in the Spring. I've also been asked about an art class for a home school group. We'll see how high the interest is. I need three at minimum to make it worth my while. I also need to decide what type of art class for AFE next semester. If I should offer the Intro again or do something else entirely. I'd really like to do a Visual Storytelling class helping them develop a visual narrative, be it a series of images or a comic, but I don't know. All things to think on and consider. It also depends on how invested I want to be in this and balance between it and my usual work. We're still just in the first year of the school so I don't honestly know where this will all end up. The Horsemanship portion has been very lucrative, the other two classes not so much, but a portion of those classes go back to the school for the facility upkeep, etc. whereas I get the bulk of the Horsemanship classes apart from a very small administrative fee. The school is still pretty small so the limited number of students makes me wonder at the longevity of any single class and how many times one will be able to offer it before interest peters out, unless they start really growing the school and broadening their base.

I think it is a really good idea having a private school/homeschool hub where people can take the electives or the full curiculum and I hope they can make a go of it and it'll be interesting to be along for the ride.