"Shattered fragments of the past"

Sunday marked the 55th birthday of the ever-lovely Siouxsie Sioux. So, our traditio for this first day of June, a first Friday for sure, is by Siouxsie and the Banshees. Also, on the old calendar, the one used by those who adhere to the Extraordinary Form, today is a Spring Ember Day.

I chose "Israel," a favorite song of mine from the Banshees ouvre. I always prefer to post live performances. I have to say, while I think Siouxsie very lovely, she bears a little too much resemblance to Robert Smith in this performance. Who knows, perhaps the follow-on number was a cover of The Cure's "Killing an Arab," which, just to be clear, is song that takes its cue from my dear Camus' L'Etranger (i.e., The Stranger), which features perhaps the best anti-hero in twentieth century literature, Meursault

Meet in veins of real stained glass/Like the lifeline in your palm/Red and Green reflects a scene/Of a long forgotten dream/There were Princes - and there were Kings!

Today is also the feast day of one of the greatest of the early Church Fathers, St. Justin Martyr: "Therefore neither Abraham, nor Isaac, nor Jacob, nor any other man, saw the Father and ineffable Lord of all, and also of Christ, but [saw] Him who was according to His will His Son, being God, and the Angel because He ministered to His will; whom also it pleased Him to be born man by the Virgin" (from chapter CXXVII of his Dialogue with Trypho).