Olman's World

When walking around by a nice day, i always carry my camera and sometimes i end up taking some interesting shots. Nothing seems to be better than a slow pace and a look around,  the flicker was feeding on a lawn and did not seem to be disturbed by me sitting at the foot of the tree, the barn swallow is standing  in her new nest with a second batch of eggs hoping no one will come and bring it down again.

We used to have thousands of those birds flying around during the early part of the summer but now there’s less and less every year since the locals started interfering with the nests and crushing them as they are found. Their reason is simple, the birds droppings are not esthetic. I guess that in their mind, a world without birds  will be aesthetic. I just hope never have to see and live in such a world.

Less than a week later, this is what was left of the nest. Taken down by some young adults in need of excitements and for no real purpose, the building having been abandonned years ago.

The first time i heard Meta Epstein play i was taken by the beautifull sound of the harp. She was playing in an Ottawa shopping center in the middle of the saturday afternoon crowd. I sat there on the floor not too far from her and listened to the upliftiing sounds coming from that instrument. Later i bought two of her cd’s just to be sure i would hear this beautifull music again.

Meta Epstein was born in New York. She began studying the harp at the early age of eleven with the great Marcel Grandjany. She then went on to study at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where she graduated with a Premier Prix de harpe.
 Meta received her Masters degree in music from Laval University in Québec City and then toured her show Les ailes de la harpe in regional schools across Canada for Jeunesses musicales du Canada. She later founded the Ensemble de harpes de Québec and has taught the harp to students of all ages.
 Meta Epstein has performed in numerous concerts in Canada and the United States including Québec’s Grand Théâtre and the Château Frontenac. Her recordings for Radio Canada have allowed her to share her love of the harp with a wide audience who have enjoyed her virtuosity and the exceptional depth of feeling she achieves in her interpretations.

I hope you will be able to listen to her music one day.  A search of the Amazon.com site brought two used cd’s for sale, i have no idea where we can find new recordings of her works.

During the last weeks, i heard on the news about the production of the new “We are the World” song dedicated to the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

You can  give by following this link to Unicef

Help is still greatly needed

$100 can provide a basic family water kit for ten households, with detergent, soap, wash basin, towels, bucket and water purification tablets.

$500 can provide 16 emergency first aid kits, helping to provide crucial medicine and equipment for communities devastated by disaster.

$1,000 can provide one water pump and 22 water sanitation kits to help provide access to clean, safe water to a community in need.

Recorded on February 1st, 2010, in the same studio as the original 25 years earlier (Henson Recording Studios, formerly A&M Recording Studios) “We Are The World 25 For Haiti”, in which Jones and Richie serve as executive producers and producers, was created in collaboration with executive producers Wyclef Jean, Randy Phillips and Peter Tortorici; producers Humberto Gattica and RedOne; and co-producers Rickey Minor, Mervyn Warren and Patti Austin to benefit the Haitian earthquake relief efforts and the rebuilding of Haiti.

Academy Award-winning writer-director Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby), whose own personal efforts as well as those of Artists for Peace and Justice have already saved countless lives in Haiti, filmed the private recording session to create the accompanying video and behind-the-scenes production, and serves as Film Director and as an Executive Producer with Jones, Richie, Jean, Phillips and Tortorici.

The 25th Anniversary recording features over 80 artists and performers. The recording of We Are The World 25 For Haiti embodied the same enthusiasm, sense of purpose and generosity as the original recording 25 years ago. Every one of the artists who participated, regardless of genre or generation, walked into the room with their hearts and souls completely open to coming together to help the people of Haiti.