the beauty of rachmaninoff's music

Monday, 5th December 2005

Those of you who've read my journal over the years might recall that I have a passion for the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff... I'm currently in a melancholy mood. But I confess I enjoy wallowing in sadness and quiet reflection sometimes. And in my melancholic, forlorn state, I love listening to Rachmaninoff. There are such powerful emotions in the music, such romantic feelings of love... whether gained or lost, but still those powerful emotions undeniably eminating from his music... straight from the heart. Right now I'm currently listening to "Vocalise" and up next on my iTunes list is the Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, then the 3rd movement of the Symphony No. 2 in E minor.... and if you sometimes love feeling "forlorn", then this is melancholic bliss!

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be kind to animals

Monday, 5th December 2005

"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated" ----Mahatma Gandhi The above quote is for my friend Tiffany, a devoted vegan and animal lover. Anyways, the Holy Bible sort of contradicts itself in regards to whether us humans can eat animals or not. And it seems that The Buddha himself ate meat according to this article. But one of the precepts of both religions is to not kill, and this includes animals. Just something for me to personally think about... so please forgive the short sermon. . . . . This past Friday and Saturday I neglected to do my yoga routine, and I truly felt it. I was a bit restless and uneasy for much of the weekend. Then I had a wonderful Sunday yoga routine which went on for 90 minutes in the early evening... finally! Followed by meditation in the lotus posture. This week is going to be rather busy for me, as I have big band rehearsal tonight, a gig tomorrow, and gigs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Friday gig will be at the Queen Mary in Long Beach! You can always check my gig schedule for my most recent upcoming gigs. Of course, most of these are either corporate and private functions. Except for Saturday at The Bistro which hopefully I'll be playing piano again. I miss playing piano!

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pasta vegetariano

Sunday, 4th December 2005

Here's my version of a (mostly raw) vegan "pasta vegetariano": penne pasta, linguine or spaghetti noodles add in olives, black beans, tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, cucumbers, mushrooms, parsley with 1 tablespoon of veganaise dressing. I think I'll try this tonight!

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so sacred

Friday, 2nd December 2005

it is with a lightness that i whisper your name... it is your kindness that surrounds me... can it be that our friendship is eternal? like the stars we gaze upon on this cool, clear night... the briskness of the air, so fresh and gentle upon my face... looking up at the vastness of the universe... looking straight up into infinite divinity... realizing that we are but a moment in time yet, time so precious... so sacred... © 2005 Carlos Rull

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the first day of december

Thursday, 1st December 2005

Last night I had a wonderful yoga routine. Everything went very smoothly. And I put up more x-mas lights outside. We were watching TV and it seemed the lights inside were flickering now and then. So maybe there are too many lights now? I'll have to check that out. It's the first day of December, and we haven't started our x-mas shopping yet. Some of it we'll do online I'm sure. And from here on comes the whole yuletide onslaught... a whirlwind of activity centered around the holiday season. It's funny... we're in December now and I've been hit hard by the "gardening bug", so I've been spending some time gardening, digging up the soil and planting new plants. The good thing is that I'm planting flowering shrubs that bloom in Fall and Winter. So, hopefully, the idea is to have continuous blooms throughout the year, and not just in Spring and Summer. The nights here have been very cold and chilly. I'm having a hard time staying warm with my diet, but I'm drinking lots of hot tea and soy mochas. And simply doubling up on clothing. We watched March of the Penguins last night... what an amazing movie! The crew who made the film had to where 6 layers of clothing in order to survive the 70 degrees below zero temperatures in Antarctica. Okay, now that I think about it, it's not all that cold here in San Diego...

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a new concoction of pasta

Monday, 28th November 2005

I've been a strict vegan for most of the year so far, actually starting in September 2004 but falling off the vegan wagon in Spring, and getting back on in May 2005. It hasn't been that bad actually as far as cravings for the "old foods" are concerned. Being vegetarian for most of my life and a strict vegan in the mid-1990's, it's been rather easy. But, being a "raw vegan", in which I eat vegan food that is raw and uncooked, has been fairly difficult during the Fall and Winter months when the weather has been getting colder. But I have been bundling up more, and that is better for me rather than putting on the weight and acquiring a layer of fat around my body to widthstand the cold. Plus, hot herbal tea and soy mochas do the trick too in keeping me warm! Anyway, I had a strange craving for olives this morning, and I cooked some pasta and added olives, fresh dill, sliced cherry tomatoes, chopped mushrooms mixed with a bit of veganaise.... it tasted very good! And I'll definitely experiment by adding other ingredients.

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