Christmas greetings!
Merry Christmas! For those of you who thought this post from yesterday too long to wade through, I thought I’d just put up a portion of the last video in that post here so you can enjoy it for Christmas. … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Arts
Hansel and Gretel: losing their religion
I love the opera “Hansel and Gretel,” by Engelbert Humperdinck (no, not that Humperdinck or this one; this one). His name may be a yuk, but the music he composed is among the masterpieces of opera, soaring and sonorous, tuneful … Continue reading →
Love found…
…and lost, and… A great story-song from the late Harry Chapin:
Continue reading →Run like a dancer
“Esplanade” is a work by modern dance choreographer Paul Taylor that highlights the difference between modern dance and ballet. Ballet dancers are sometimes drawn to Taylor’s more graceful pieces such as “Esplanade,” because at first glance seems it seems as … Continue reading →
The joys of amateur musicals
In the comments section of this thread from a while back, a number of people praised the old Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, and especially the charms of amateur productions. I’m in complete agreement. The librettos may be outdated in many … Continue reading →
Tolstoi on Chekhov
[Hat tip: Ann Althouse.] Excerpt by Peter Gnedich, “Memories,” from The Book of Life (1922): Lev Tolstoy sincerely loved Chekhov, but did not like his plays. He told Chekhov once, “A playwright should take the theater-goer by the hand, and … Continue reading →
Rescue 911
When my son was little in the 80s and early 90s, the whole family used to love the TV show “Rescue 911.” It was one of my guilty pleasures. A reality show that featured staged reenactments of actual 911 calls … Continue reading →
Send not to know for whom the bell tolls…
…it tolls for book publishers.
Continue reading →Somehow…
…I missed this the first time around: Certain events of Michael Bublé’s early life and teen years, detailed here, give strong clues as to why he may have invited this kid onstage, and why he got so very excited when … Continue reading →
Tourist in New York
Thanksgiving weekend in NY, and what to do? As in many years past, this year I spent a couple of hours at Rockefeller Center drinking in the season. It’s a classic: the skating rink, the holiday decorations, the huge crowds, … Continue reading →
DWTS: keeping up with Rob Kardashian
No, of course I don’t watch the Kardashian reality show or follow much about them. But I do follow the mindless entertainment of “Dancing With the Stars,” and the Kardashian known as Rob has impressed me with his progress as … Continue reading →
Graphic illustration of why the rise of photography…
…has coincided with a rise in the rate of depression. The ravages of time didn’t used to be so well-documented. Then again—there’s a genre of YouTube videos that feature the morphing of photos of the same person over a long … Continue reading →