Eritrea, Sierra Leone, and Somalia

Ahoy!

On Dec 27, 2018, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, and Somalia have tripped the Flag Counter to become the 210th, 211th, and 212th countries, respectively, to visit PhilosFX

Eritrea

Sierra Leone

Somalia

The recent flurry of traffic seems to be tied to an interest in our recent post about Marcus Aurelius. An updated Flag Counter and Table of Missing Countries is available here.

Cheers!

Congo (Brazzaville), Swaziland and South Sudan

Ahoy!

On Dec 27, 2018, The Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), Swaziland and South Sudan have tripped the Flag Counter to become the 207th, 208th, and 209th countries, respectively, to visit PhilosFX

The recent flurry of traffic seems to be tied to an interest in our recent post about Marcus Aurelius. An updated Flag Counter and Table of Missing Countries is available here.

Cheers!

Flag Counter Update

Ahoy!

We've enjoyed a flurry of International visitors lately. The Top 48 countries have not changed much for weeks, but what has changed--dramatically--is the situation at the other end of the spectrum. Countries which had not visited these pages previously are visiting in droves. The list of "never" countries is diminishing! Before this flurry, the most recent new country was Fiji in Feb 2018. Then on Dec 25, we had our first visit from Vanuatu. In the past two days (Dec 25, 26), we've seen 8 more "never countries" join the Parade of Nations, leaving only 36 of 242 countries that have yet to send their first visitor our way.

To what do we owe the honor and privilege? We had no new countries in 10 months, and then what--Santa Claus filled my stocking?! How has this phenomenon come to pass? If I knew for certain what caused this activity, I'd do more of it!

One clue: Someone has "liked" one of my posts enough to share it. And now that post has caught some wind and is swirling around the globe on ethereal currents. I typically see about 50 visitors per day, most of them from English speaking nations, and most of them interested in the popular Road King post. For some reason, the recent post about Marcus Aurelius garnered 250 visits in 2 days, double the views of my most popular post (Road King). At the same time, the traffic shifted and diversified. Traffic from Russia was four times that of the USA, and a total of 95 different countries tripped the Flag Counter.

These numbers absolutely floored me. Forgive the uncharacteristic hubris. I have good reason to be humble about the content on my blog and no reason to think that this flirtation with something like a viral post is an indicator of anything but luck. Yet I do hope readers can appreciate how thrilling this is for me! To think that something I created has been seen, appreciated, shared, and seen again by people all over the world... it's immensely gratifying.

Fig. 1. The Flag Counter is located near the bottom of the page

Fig. 2. A closeup of the Flag Counter, showing the number of unique visitors from the top 48 countries.

Since August 2015, I have been updating an older Flag Counter post. At that time, there were 53 never countries. I went back and updated the list as new counties joined at the rate of one or two per month. But then, after our 10-month dry spell, there have been so many changes lately that the old post just doesn't reflect reality. I decided to update the maps and the list of never countries. I will return to this post to count down the countries until at least one unique visitor from every one of the 242 recognized countries on this planet has stopped by for a little Philosophy + Special Effects.

Table 1. Distribution of Visitors Across the Globe

0 visitors = 36 countries
1 - 9 visitors = 108 countries
10 - 99 visitors = 58 countries
100 - 999 visitors = 34 countries
1000 - 9999 visitors = 5 countries
over 10,000 visitors = 1 country (so far!)

as of 2018 12 27

Fig 3. Map of the globe, with 206 of 242 flags on display

Fig 4. Closeup of The Americas

Fig 5. Closeup of Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia

Fig. 6. Closeup of Southeast Asia and Oceana

As of 11:00 AM Dec 27, 2018, 206 of 242 countries of the world had tripped the Flag Counter, meaning that we were down to only 36 countries who had yet to visit PhilosFX. Table 2. The "Never" Countries
American Samoa		Liechtenstein 1/5		Sierra Leone 12/27/18
Bhutan 1/3		Marshall Islands		Sint Maarten 3/2
British Indian Ocean Terr.		Mauritania		Somalia 12/27
Cabo Verde		Niue		South Sudan 12/27/18
Central African Republic		Norfolk Island		Svalbard 1/31
Christmas Island 12/31/18		North Korea 12/31/18		Swaziland 12/27/18
Comoros		Palau		Tokelau 2/16
Equatorial Guinea 4/18		Rep. of the Congo 12/27/18		Tonga
Eritrea 12/27		Saint Barthelemy		Turkmenistan
Falkland Islands		Saint Helena		Tuvalu
Greenland 12/18/2019		Saint Pierre and Miquelon 7/21		Vatican City 12/31/18
Guinea-Bissau 4/26		Sao Tome and Principe		Wallis and Futuna

Note: Updates are posted to the above table as they occur. As of December 18, 2019, we have 224 of 242 flags, and we are now down to only 18 remaining countries! The previous update occurred on July 21, 2019. When will the next new country visit PhilosFX?

Ladies and Gentlemen, by way of concluding this post, I certainly hope you occasionally find something of genuine interest here on these pages. Most of the content I provide has some redeeming value beyond self-congratulations. I blog mostly because I want to leave myself and my friends a catalog of interesting and thought-provoking posts that we can enjoy in our dotage. I trust that some social benefit comes from my effort--some greater good beyond my own entertainment. So, thank you for reading! Thank you to the creators of Flag Counter for enabling us to enjoy this mystery together. Thank you for sharing and commenting--these interactions inspire me to continue exploring, writing, and posting.

Please feel free to introduce your website in a comment. I will drop in for a visit sometime. We're all connected...

Cheers!       

Togo, Burkina Faso, and Guinea

Welcome to countries 204, 205, and 206!



Togo

Burkina Faso

Guinea

Only 36 countries to go until all 242 countries in the world have had at least one unique visitor to PhilosFX.

Djibouti and The Gambia

Today we cheerfully and gratefully welcome the 202nd and 203rd nations to visit PhilosFX. 

Welcome, Djibouti and The Gambia!

I would like to encourage readers to follow the links to the information provided via the CIA World Fact Book and Wikipedia. Enjoy learning about these countries whose citizens are discovering Philosophy with a side of Special Effects.

It is awesome to see the world get just a little smaller, and the connections that unite us grow just a little stronger.

Djibouti

The Gambia

If I am not mistaken, these visits were accomplished through the agency of one person, known to me only as GioVe1963, He runs a site called A World of Tickets. Please visit his site as I have done, to encourage the free-flow of ideas across many nations and cultures.

Samoa and Niger Join the Parade of Nations as the 200th and 201st Flags with PhilosFX

Just minutes ago, I wrote a little teaser wondering which country would be the 200th to provide a unique visitor to the pages of PhilosFX. Turns out, the question was being answered as I wrote it! 

We just learned that two more country flags have been added to the PhilosFX flag counter. Please welcome Samoa and Niger to the Parade of Nations! 

Samoa

Samoa is a Pacific Island nation located about 1400 miles east of Vanuatu, the 199th country to provide a unique visitor.

According to legend, Samoa is known as the “Cradle of Polynesia” because Savai‘i island is said to be Hawaiki, the Polynesian homeland. Samoan culture is undoubtedly central to Polynesian life, and its styles of music, dance, and visual art have gained renown throughout the Pacific islands and the world.

More information about tropical paradise Samoa is available here.

Niger

Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa named after the Niger River. Niger is bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin to the southwest, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest (Wikipedia). The capital city is Niamey According to World Bank, the population of Niger is 21.48 million (2017).

In 1960, Niger obtained independence from France. Despite the fact that the country has some of the world's largest uranium deposits, Niger is one of the world's least-developed and poorest countries in the world, A landlocked sub-Saharan nation, Niger's economy centers on subsistence crops and livestock. Most of the population, commerce, trade, and tourism is found along the Niger river.  

Did our visitor discover PhilosFX from the Cybercafé at the University of Niamey? More information about things to see and do in Niger is here.

More information about the global reach of PhilosFX is here.

On to #202!

Welcome Vanuatu: the 199th Country to Visit PhilosFX

Beautiful Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu

Today we welcome Vanuatu, the 199th country with at least one visitor to PhilosFX!

The flag of Vanuatu was added to our Flag Counter today

Vanuatu is a South Pacific Ocean nation made up of roughly 80 islands that stretch 1,300 kilometers. The islands offer scuba diving at coral reefs, underwater caverns and wrecks such as the WWII-era troopship SS President Coolidge. Harborside Port Vila, the nation’s capital and economic center, is on the island of Efate. The city is home to the Vanuatu National Museum, which explores the nation’s Melanesian culture.

The island nation of Vanuatu is located in the South Pacific Ocean

Multiple waves of colonizers, each speaking a distinct language, migrated to the New Hebrides in the millennia preceding European exploration in the 18th century. This settlement pattern accounts for the complex linguistic diversity found on the archipelago to this day.

Sail from Fiji to Solomon Islands to New Caledonia and back to Fiji, and you will sail a triangle around Vanuatu

Vanuatu is a Y-shaped chain of islands. There are four main islands and 80 smaller ones. Several of the islands have active volcanoes and there are several underwater volcanoes as well.

The population of Vanuatu is 277,554 (July 2016 est.). The largest city, Port-Vila (capital), has about 53,000 (2014) inhabitants. Agriculture, fishing, and tourism are the main occupations.

I would love to go island-hopping in Vanuatu!

I do not know the identity of the first-time visitors to PhilosFX unless they identify themselves. But this time I do know who checked in from Vanuatu. I want to thank Berni for stopping by and adding the 199th flag to our Flag Counter! Danke sehr, Herr Gollin! 

More information about Vanuatu is available here.

And more information about the global reach of this blog is available here.

Which country will be number 200? And on what date will we hit 242? Stay tuned!

2018 Cotton Bowl: My Fearless Prediction!

The 2018 Cotton Bowl will see #3 Notre Dame battle #2 Clemson

On December 29, in Dallas, Notre Dame takes on Clemson in the Cotton Bowl. The two are fighting for the right to play the winner of the Orange Bowl (Alabama vs Oklahoma) for the National Championship on January 7.

I pick Notre Dame to win the Cotton Bowl, and I base my prediction on tradition, strength of schedule, performance against common opponents, and more tradition.

Tradition

This is Notre Dame's first appearance in the now five-year old Championship Series format. Clemson has had more experience: this will be Clemson's fourth year participating. And they have been successful. They are 2-1 in previous appearances.

Notre Dame has had less time in the spotlight lately. As mentioned, this game will be their first appearance in the CFP. The last time Notre Dame played for a National Championship was under the CFP's predecessor, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS, 1998-2013). SEC juggernaut Alabama embarrassed the Irish 42-14 in the final BCS game (2012-13 season). Overall, the Irish were an unimpressive 0-4 in the 16-year history of the BCS. Furthermore, Notre Dame's last National Championship is now 30 years old (1988).

Despite lackluster post-season performance in recent years, Notre Dame football has one of the most impressive resumes in the sport: 7 Heisman winners, 34 All-Americans, 51 Hall of Fame inductees (45 players and 6 coaches), and 13 national championships recognized by the NCAA. On top of all of those athletic accolades, Notre Dame consistently ranks near the top of the NCAA for graduating scholar-athletes.

More:

Graduation Rates

College National Championships

Advantage: Notre Dame

Strength of Schedule

As an elite, independent program. Notre Dame typically has one of the toughest schedules in college football. During its 12-0 run, Notre Dame defeated #14 Michigan, Ball State, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, #7 Stanford, #24 Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Navy, Northwestern, Florida State, #12 Syracuse and USC. So they played and beat four ranked teams. Florida State, Pittsburgh, and USC are usually ranked teams that are having off seasons.

Meanwhile, Clemson only faced two ranked teams. To finish 13-0, Clemson took down Furman (are they even Division I?), #19 Texas A&M, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, #20 Syracuse, Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Florida State, Louisville, Boston College, Duke, South Carolina, and Pittsburgh.

Advantage: Notre Dame

Common Opponents

Safe to say, Notre Dame had the much tougher season. Despite the quality gap, you'll notice three teams in common to both Notre Dame and Clemson. How the teams fared against common opponents can be a proxy for head-to-head competition.

Here is how the two teams compare against three common opponents

Comparing the results versus common opponents, Clemson scored more points (132-111), Notre Dame allowed more points (44-36), and Clemson had the higher for-against delta (96-67). Based on how the two teams fared against common opponents, Clemson looks superior--on paper.

Clearly, Clemson's offense put up some big numbers, and not just against Furman and Georgia Southern. However, look deeper and notice that the Tigers barely eeked out wins against the two ranked teams they faced. They beat #19 Texas AM by only 2 points. Clemson's best win was versus #20 Syracuse, 27-23. In the most interesting result comparing common opponents, Notre Dame vanquished #12 Syracuse, 36-3.

Notre Dame also would have scored more points had they started quarterback Ian Book all season and had Dexter Williams not missed the first four games. 

Advantage: Notre Dame

Tradition, revisited

When I think of Notre Dame and the Cotton Bowl, I think of the famous Chicken Soup Bowl where a sick Joe Montana sipped soup on the sidelines between offensive series and led the Irish to one of the greatest come-from-behind victories in college football history. That was 1979: Irish vs Houston. I watched that game just after I learned that my application to attend Notre Dame the following fall had been accepted. The legend of Joe Montana was indelibly etched on my psyche that day.

What though the odds be great or small, I'll cheer for Notre Dame over all!

Advantage: Notre Dame

Prediction

I pick Notre Dame to win and I base my prediction on tradition, strength of schedule, performance against common opponents, and more tradition. Two explosive offenses, two stout defenses, and two impactful special teams meet in what promises to be one heckuva game.

Notre Dame enters the Cotton Bowl 12-point underdogs, but I'll take 'em straight up! 

As for what happens after the Irish win in the Cotton Bowl, I am somewhat more circumspect. I prefer to follow Coach Kelly and focus on One Game at a Time.

Go, Irish! Beat Tigers!

Aurelius' Razor?

For years, I have been quietly advancing the notion that the world would be a better place if everyone looked out for the common good. But sharing what seems to be an obvious idea has been an unexpectedly bumpy road--mostly because my words lacked the clarity of an ancient philosopher king.

Today, I stumbled upon the words 

I can now only wish I had chosen myself.

Photo by Eric Gaba
Wikimedia Commons user Sting, CC BY-SA 3.0

"Let every action aim solely at the common good."

--Marcus Aurelius

The reason my heart stopped when I read the above quote was that I had been trying to say the same thing for years, but my attempts lacked clarity and punch.

Inspired by Occam's Razor, my first attempt states that, when choosing between two courses of action, pick the one that has the best social outcome. With uncharacteristic hubris. I dubbed this idea Doane's Razor and waited for the royalty checks to come pouring in...

But of course, I never really thought Doane's Razor was sufficient. It's too vague. Actions come down to individual predictions of future outcomes, and under that "razor" nearly anything can be justified.

The next iteration came along with my re-reading of Robert Pirsig's classic, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I read it as a teenaged cyclist and rediscovered it as a motorcyclist, many years and many miles later.

"The place to improve the world is first

in one's own heart and head and hands,

and then work outward from there."  

--Robert M. Pirsig

Somehow when I was 17 I overlooked Pirsig's pearl of wisdom. But with the benefit of experience, the value of the approach became clear. If you desire to make the world a better place, start with examining your personal values. Make plans that are consistent with those values. And then spend time doing the things that will make your values come to life. The things you do and say reflect your thoughts and plans, and ultimately reveal your values.

It's my opinion that Marcus Aurelius captured the meat of this idea more succinctly than I ever did. Using the law of parsimony, I hereby suspend Doane's Razor in favor of a new, superior one which I now dub Aurelius' Razor.

"Let every action aim solely at the common good."

--Marcus Aurelius

Does this make sense to you? Are you willing to give it a try in your personal life? Share thoughts in comments!

We can learn much from the writings of the likes of a Roman soldier, statesman, orator, emperor, and Stoic philosopher named Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (26 April 121 – 17 March 180 AD). Here is a link to a previous post featuring his timeless wisdom.

Enjoy!

A Kinder and Gentler Nation

"Prosperity with a purpose means taking your idealism and making it concrete." 

--George H. W. Bush, in accepting his party's nomination as their candidate for the Presidency, August 18, 1988

On this national day of mourning, I offer a tribute to President George H. W. Bush. With hope for our great county, and inspired by today's solemn Google Doodle, let us search for a kinder, gentler Nation. 

Impossible FreeCell?

Any fans of FreeCell out there? I find FreeCell to be a fun and relaxing mental challenge. I enjoy playing a hand or two on my iPad to unwind. I often listen to a little Pandora or I Heart Radio in the background while I work out the solution to the next random puzzle.




I've played 1620 games of FreeCell on my iPad, and I've won 1590 of them. Once I figured out that every array has at least one solution, I stick with a game until I figure out a way to win. Clearly some starting setups are more difficult than others, but this one (Fig 1) nearly cost me my 1402-game winning streak  In all of that time, I've never seen a more difficult starting setup.

Fig 1. The most difficult starting setup I have seen in over 1,600 games

What makes this setup so hard? How can one tell at a glance that this will be a tough challenge? Look at the face cards. The topmost three rows contain only 3 face cards. That means 9 of 12 are in the lower half of the array. The aces are distributed widely (columns 1, 3, 7, and 8). But more importantly, notice how high they are in the array. Face cards low and aces high spells trouble! Now, look at the fourth column. The red 10s are inaccessible, meaning the black jacks in the bottom row of columns 1 and 3 are going to be anchors for many moves.



Fig 2. The red 10s are in place, but now what?

My initial strategy involved clearing my way to the red 10s, since I assessed that bottleneck to be my worst problem. I came close to a solution here. Look at where the red 10s ended up. However, there are too few remaining moves available. This interim arrangement (Fig 2) does not have a successful outcome--at least not one that I could foresee.

 



Fig 3. Victory is in sight.

Once I got to this point (Fig 3), I knew that victory was soon mine! Can you look at this interim stage and play the remaining moves out in your head? How many moves are left until victory?

Fig 4. VICTORY! (Finally)



Yes, I finally won this game, but it was a struggle. It took me just under 3 hours over the course of several days. For me, the feeling was similar to catching the biggest marlin I've ever seen.







Calculating the "Effective Temperature"

When does 50 deg F feel like 30? What is the effect on performance for a person with skin exposed to air that feels, for all practical purposes, as if it were cold enough to freeze water? It’s one thing to consider what a given thermometer reading actually “feels like,” and another to examine the actual impact of the effective temperature on a person's skin. Heat loss or gain on the skin can change a person's core temperature enough to affect performance. Untreated, conditions like frostbite and heat exhaustion can lead to permanent damage and even death. 

This post is written with the all-weather motorcyclist in mind, but it will benefit any outdoor enthusiast who wants to understand and prepare for the effects of wind-driven heat or cold on exposed skin. I was motivated to take this project on after seeing many inconsistent charts and graphs online. Not only do the numbers not match, but there seems to be a lack of information around the impacts on performance in extremes. I also felt frustrated over the lack of awareness about the difference between "Feels Like" calculators (windchill, heat index), and effective temperature. 

I intend to create and share an online calculator, where people can type in the two variables (ambient temperature, wind speed) and get a useful response. I’d like the response to include three important pieces of information:

• an effective temperature, in deg F. This value will be higher or lower than the ambient temperature due to the effect of wind.
• a description of the impact of the effective temperature on performance. This value can be expressed in terms of minutes to frostbite on the cold side, or minutes to heat exhaustion on the hot side.
• commentary on how to mitigate the effective temperature's impacts. This can include practical tips for preventing, recognizing, and countering the described effects.

In my ongoing research, I have confirmed the need for this calculator in that nothing quite like it yet exists. This calculator will be useful for people who perform outdoor activities in extreme conditions. The actual demand for the tool remains to be seen but I plan to do some market testing to collect some data and make customer-focused improvements.

Here is how the calculator looks now. It takes the form of an interactive chart. Type in the variables, and one gets a point value for the effective temperature, as well as a description of the likely effects and some guidance about how to mitigate the effects.

Here is a more legible view of the cold (left) end of the chart. The Effective Temperature (ET) formula is given as ET (deg F) = 35.74 + (0.6215 * Temp) - (35.75 * (Wind^0.16)) + (0.4275 * Temp * (Wind^0.16)). 

And here is a closer look at the hot (right) end. The ambient temperature has a 180 def F range. The formula for ET works at the higher temperatures because it measures the effect of wind, not humidity. These results will look different from a heat index chart.

Given a calculated point value for effective temperature, here are additional results obtained: the impacts are placed in a color-coded range, the impacts are described in terms of minutes until the damage can occur, and some strategies are offered.

This is what the data entry fields look like. Type in the ambient temperature (green cell), type in the wind speed (gray cell) and the effective temperature is calculated and color-coded (yellow cell in the illustration). The color code matches the ranges and leads to information about impacts and strategies for that range.

And now you can see how the whole interactive chart works to focus on a rider's sweet spot and the risks associated with performance in areas further from that sweet spot.

There is at least one decent calculator already in existence. You can check it out at this URL. It's accurate but it leaves a lot to be desired.

•Pro

•Uses the NOAA formula

•Works for both Wind Chill and Wind Burn

•Includes conversions for Celsius and Knots

•Con

•Does not use Color Codes to describe Temperature Ranges

•Does not provide Minutes Until Impact (Frostbite or Heat Exhaustion)

•Does not offer Prescription and Mitigation Strategies

The primary objective of this inquiry in into calculating the effective temperature is to understand the impact of ambient air temperature and the wind of motion on exposed skin. Armed with this awareness, the outdoor enthusiast can better assess and manage the environmental and personal risk factors before motorcycling, skiing, running, or boating in extremes.

Thank you for reading. Please leave comments or send me an email with your suggestions. 

What Leonard Cohen Taught Me About Being Human

Leonard Cohen: 1936-2016

Rest In Peace, Leonard Norman Cohen. Today, nearly two years after your death, you taught me all over again what it means to be fully, achingly human.

What's NOT to love? The Set-up

Among many other things, I love poets, philosophers, and musicians. I have a Pinterest board entitled Muses, Madmen, and Minstrels containing snippets about Van Morrison, Walt Whitman, Leonard Cohen, Elvis Costello, Mark Nepo, Robert Pirsig, and many whose keen observations of the human condition stir my soul. 

By nature, I am primarily a rational, pragmatic person. My artistic side is often well-hidden. Poets, actors, painters, philosophers, singers, and dancers interest and amaze me. That is why I love "muses, madmen, and minstrels" among many other things. 

Scan through the archives of PhilosFX and you will see that Leonard Cohen makes not infrequent appearances. So that explains how it came to pass that, flipping through the TV channels on a Notre Dame football bye weekend (Sat, Oct 20), I found something at the nexus of many things I love, something that made my jaw drop, my heart race, and my mind forget about everything else on my To Do list. Thank goodness I had the presence of mind to hit the Record button on my DVR.

Tower of Song

A Memorial Tribute Documentary

by Jack Bender

This moving documentary tribute to the life and loves of poet, artist, philosopher, monk, and performer Leonard Cohen was showing as a fundraiser on my local Public Broadcasting System (PBS) affiliate, Maryland Public TV (MPT). For those who may not recognize his name, Jack Bender, a producer and director, is known for Alias (2001), Lost (2004), and Game of Thrones (2011).

What's NOT to love? The Scene

I loved all of these aspects of this production:

• Leonard Cohen's autobiographical poems about pain, longing, hope, love, and loss were lovingly resurrected and re-interpreted by the likes of Elvis Costello, Bettye Lavette, and Sting
• I enjoy supporting Public TV and radio. 
• The timing and the location of this event were special. Leonard is Montreal's favorite son, and people from around the world came to see this show almost exactly one year after he passed. 
• The stage and set creatively evoked Cohen's overwatching presence

What's NOT to love? The Songs

These were just a few of the standout performances

• "Bird on the wire," the second of two powerful appearances by Elvis Costello 
• Leonard Cohen's son, Adam, singing "So Long, Marianne" better than his old man ever did, while backup singer Hattie Webb looks at him like she knows a secret. 
• The Lumineers (or, at least, some of them) did a great job on "Democracy." 
• "Suzanne" performed by Ron Sexsmith. Need I say more?
• Peter Gabriel's cameo at 47:43. Perfect!
• And so much more... For 90 minutes, one gut-wrenching moment was followed by another...

I want to circle back to Adam Cohen's twist on "So Long, Marianne," because that performance absolutely floored me. But first, I need to share what was, for me, clearly the most visceral moment of the show.

k. d. lang performing Hallelujah for Tower of Song

Maybe you have heard "Hallelujah" performed a few dozen times. It's a masterpiece. Many artists have covered it. I even wrote a post about the many different versions, concluding that none performed better than Cohen himself. But I must admit, I now must publish a retraction and an update. I had never heard this classic song performed to its soulful perfection until I heard k. d. lang's rendition for "Tower of Song."

I was mesmerized. Reduced to elements. When was the last time you cried? For me, it when k. d. lang reminded me why I love muses, madmen, and minstrels.  But the story does not end here. I mentioned the devastating twist Adam gave to his father's love song to Marianne. Let's look into that more deeply.

Cohen with Marianne Ihlen, his Norwegian muse

What is the story of Leonard and Marianne? 

As a young man in his mid-20s, Leonard Cohen moved to the Greek island of Hydra from Montreal to find his muse. There he met a beautiful woman named Marianne. The two stayed together through the 60s, raising her son and commuting between Hydra, her home in Oslo, his home in Montreal, and a home they made together in New York. Throughout their relationship, Cohen wrote about Marianne and dedicated many songs, poems, and drawings to her. The lyrics to "So Long, Marianne" offer many clues as to why the relationship did not last.

Time rolled along. Fifty-seven years after the two lovers first met, and when he himself was in failing health, Leonard received word that Marianne was on her deathbed. Cohen wrote to her in a letter read to her two days before her death, and again at her funeral, saying:

"Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine... Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road." 

Marianne died in hospital in Oslo on 28 July 2016, aged 81. Leonard died three months later, on November 7. Tower of Song, the memorial tribute, was recorded a day shy of a year later, in Montreal, on 6 November 2017.

Now you know the backstory about the namesake for Cohen's song, "So long, Marianne." One day short of a year after Leonard's passing, Adam Cohen performed his father's song. He looked just like his father, and accompanying vocalist Hattie Webb looked remarkably similar to Marianne Ihlen. These resemblances took my breath away, and I couldn't help but notice glances between the two. And then the kicker: the music softens, as do the lights, and Adam recites portions of his father's letter to Marianne. I lost it! You have got to see this! Total tear-jerker.

+++++++

There are too many other highlights to recount in this soulful summation of Cohen's life and loves. His was a complicated journey, one which has touched me deeply.

Hineni, Hineni

Here I am Lord

I'm with you, my Lord

"I don't consider myself a pessimist. I think of a pessimist as someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel soaked to the skin." --LNC

Here is a link to a video of the program. You will want to watch the whole thing. Of course, I also encourage you to purchase the two-DVD set, either directly, or via a donation to Public Broadcasting. Watch this tribute and connect with what it means to inhabit this mortal coil if only briefly. 

Additional Information

If you would like to read more about Leonard Cohen, his life and loves, or the Tower of Song tribute, please have a look at these links.

The Leonard Cohen homepage

The Webb Sisters homepage

Billboard article about the Tower of Song Tribute Concert

Leonard Cohen Files: Marianne Ihlen

Marianne Ihlen

Ring the Bells that Still Can Ring