#AdventCalendar – Day 7: The Song of Shadows

December 7, 2022

Sweep thy faint strings, Musician,
With thy long lean hand;
Downward the starry tapers burn,
Sinks soft the waning sand;
The old hound whimpers couched in sleep,
The embers smoulder low;
Across the walls the shadows
Come, and go.
Sweep softly thy strings, Musician,
The minutes mount to hours;
Frost on the windless casement weaves
A labyrinth of flowers;
Ghosts linger in the darkening air,
Hearken at the open door;
Music hath called them, dreaming,
Home once more.

Walter John de la Mare – The Song of Shadows

architecture, engineering and construction

DIS/ISO 19650-1:2026 — New Concepts

Last week I tried to map the current ISO 19650-1:2018 with the concepts as they’re now laid out in the DIS/ISO 19650-1:2026, in public consultation until June 2nd. I hope if was helpful to all those who were feeling lost, but the changes aren’t the

March 25, 2026 9:00 am

music and theatre

Suzanne Vega in Milan

Yesterday, we went to see Suzanne Vega, one of the greatest artists and musicians of all times whom occupies a special place in my heart next to Tori Amos. It was a packed house at Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi here in Milan, with people belonging to

March 22, 2026 10:24 am

books and literature

Isaac Asimov’s Gold (and other stories)

It’s unfortunate that I’m coming to this after the very unsatisfactory collection of “fantasy” stories (Asimov never wrote fantasy: he wrote satire), because this was another disappointment. The book is half short stories and half non-fiction, for random reasons, and the non-fiction half is random writings

March 21, 2026 9:00 am