Simoom
Simoom (Arabic: سموم samūm; from the root سم s-m-m, "to poison") is a strong, dry, dust-laden local wind that blows in the Sahara, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and the deserts of Arabian Peninsula. Alternative spellings include samiel, sameyel, samoon, samun, simoun, and simoon. Its temperature may exceed 54°C (129°F) and the humidity may fall below 10%. Simoom winds have an alternative type occurring in the region of Central Asia known as "Garmsil" (гармсель).
The storm moves in cyclone (circular) form, carrying clouds of dust and sand, and produces on humans and animals a suffocating effect. The name means "poison wind" and is given because the sudden onset of simoom may also cause heat stroke. This is attributed to the fact that the hot wind brings more heat to the body than can be disposed of by the evaporation of perspiration.
A 19th-century account of simoom in Egypt reads:
In North America
The only ever recorded simoom wind in North America occurred on June 17, 1859 inLuckily local inhabitants were saved from the heat by seeking shelter in the thick adobe walled houses that were the standard construction at the time.
Lois V Vierk
Lois V Vierk (born August 4, 1951 in Hammond, Indiana) is a post-minimalist or totalistcomposer who lives in New York City.
She received a B.A. degree in piano and ethnomusicology from UCLA in 1974. She then attended Cal Arts, studying composition with Mel Powell, Leonard Stein, and Morton Subotnick, receiving her M.F.A. in 1978. She has conducted extensive study of gagaku music, studying for ten years with Suenobu Togi in Los Angeles, and for two years in Tokyo with Sukeyasu Shiba (the lead ryūteki player in Japan's Imperial Court Orchestra).
She has written many chamber works for different ensembles which are multiples of the same instrument. Her work uses glissando prominently and builds exponentially in level of activity. More recently she has written for mixed instrument ensembles, such as in her piece Timberline commissioned by the Relâche Ensemble, and Red Shift which appeared on the CD Bang on a Can Live Vol. 2. She has also composed for gagaku ensemble.
Vierk received a 1993 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award.
Podcasts:
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by The Creatures
Simoom
by: The CreaturesDrifting in, carried on dry winds
From across the Nile, the sirens in exile
Driven to tell...
Floating on a cloud, your face out of the crowd
A blinding sun, purging everyone
Beautiful word, musical and sweet
Now all you can do is play the punishing beat
How harsh and shrill the word has become
Twisted and bent -- a hornet's nest stirred up by the beating stick
Simoom, simoom... increasing speed
Sucking in dry heat
Simoom, simoom... you breathe in suffocation
Relentless simoom, blow and whistle this tune
Pouring in, filling where once was space
Where once was light
Where once was a face
Driven to tell.