The weather has really changed this morning. There's a refreshing breeze, the humidity is reasonably low and the temperature is about 74F. Lovely!
Ella is off to Maine on the Downeaster, Kim is in New Orleans, Miranda is at work, the dogs are happy/quiet and I have some time to myself. I've been a little too busy for blog posts lately. All five of my blogs are experiencing the dog days of journalism, although I did just post something for Letters to Europa.
Gastronomically, we've been having a wonderful time. Fresh vegetables from the CSA, a new pot of Ella's marmalade, a visit to Vincenzo's, brunch at Tryst in Beverly before going to see Gypsy at the North Shore Music Theatre. Five of us, including Will and Nilo, went to brunch and the show. We all enjoyed it, the production was actually very good (I particularly liked the theatre-in-the-round format), including a truly excellent orchestra with three fantastic trumpeters.
I have to admit a blind spot of total ignorance in respect of Gypsy, its history, background and its composer (Jule Styne). To be perfectly honest, I had never even heard of Gypsy, despite there being a Broadway revival as recently as 2008. Turns out that I did know a few of the musical numbers (Everything's coming up roses, for instance). At the intermission, after a somewhat tedious and over-long first act, I wasn't totally surprised that Gypsy hadn't been much of a success on Broadway. How wrong I was. The second act is totally different and much more entertaining and interesting as we now realize that it's Louise, the one with no talent, who is going to go on to stardom as Gypsy Rose Lee. And now, having researched it a little, I had misjudged it entirely: Gypsy has been a great Broadway (and West End) success over the years, having won boatloads of awards.
And I'm interested to learn more about Gypsy Rose Lee herself, someone I had only the vaguest notion of previously. The name was something of an accident as she had always been known as Louise before that first fateful Burlesque appearance and she was certainly no gypsy. Next year will be her centenary. And, as the nation remembers the McCarthy era (which ended more or less 50 years ago, see Truth, justice and the law), her name comes up as one of the celebrities who successfully challenged the reds-under-the-bed brigade.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Vermont
On our way home from our first bridge session (in Rutland), we had just passed a Moose Crossing sign on a quiet road when lo and behold there was the moose (a huge ole bull, the size of a horse) in the act of crossing! A firm application of the brakes ensured that we didn't collide. Venison might be tasty but it would be no good if we didn't live to eat it! On our return we heard about a fatal car/moose collision on I-95 in Maine. Nasty.We had some great meals, especially at a small local eatery in the middle of nowhere called Keepers. They were serving an excellent beer called Switchback. The dogs seemed to enjoy it all too (except the restaurant visits and bridge sessions when they were cooped up alone). On our last day, we hiked a small portion of the Long Trail (and Appalachian Trail) down to the lovely Big Branch (see left). Pixie seemed to really enjoy this hike. Perhaps she's finally become a hiking dog!
Unfortunately, we were rubbish at bridge. It's hard to switch from rustic getaway to bridge and back smoothly. But it didn't matter one jot. It was a wonderful place to visit. Definitely a place we'd like to revisit.
Meanwhile, I was very happy that Spain won the World Cup. Their skill level was considerably higher than that of any other team and while their forwards didn't always capitalize on their chances, the midfielders passed them up a seemingly endless supply of balls. I was disappointed to see that Holland, inevitably, had to resort to a physical game and several fouls were not called. Fortunately for those of us supporting Spain, the fairly obvious foul on Robben's scoring opportunity wasn't called either, otherwise the game would have ended in regulation time with a win for the Dutch. All in all, a very enjoyable and well run competition. Brazil is up next in 2014. Guess who's going to be the favorite?
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Dog days
We're now in the dog days of summer. The weather is sultry and oppressive. It's just plain hot. Sirius (the "dog" star) is in conjunction with the Sun (and therefore invisible) but gives rise to the name. Our dogs certainly find it too hot to go out. Yesterday, the Bedford temperature was 100F with high humidity and no wind. Boston recorded its highest temperature in several years.
I took the opportunity of driving down to Dedham for a "summer sing" with the Masterworks Chorale: Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. I've performed it (in the orchestra) three times but had never before sung any of it. It's tricky stuff! The melodies and harmonies are reasonably easy but the words, rhythms and timing are definitely a challenge. Consider for example two verses from the drinking song [bibit = (he/she) drinks] (all sung with essentially no breaks):
Primo pro nummata vini;
ex hac bibunt libertini;
semel bibunt pro captivis,
post haec bibunt ter pro vivis,
quater pro Christianis cunctis,
quinquies pro fidelibus defunctis,
sexies pro sororibus vanis,
septies pro militibus silvanis.
octies pro fratribus perversis,
nonies pro monachis dispersis,
decies pro navigantibus,
undecies pro discordantibus,
duodecies pro paenitentibus,
tredecies pro iter agentibus.
Tam pro papa quam pro rege
bibunt omnes sine lege.
Bibit hera, bibit herus,
bibit miles, bibit clerus,
bibit ille, bibit illa,
bibit servus cum ancilla,
bibit velox, bibit piger,
bibit albus, bibit niger,
bibit constans, bibit vagus,
bibit rudis, bibit magus,
Bibit pauper et aegrotus,
bibit exul et ignotus,
bibit puer, bibit canus,
bibit praesul et decanus,
bibit soror, bibit frater,
bibit anus, bibit mater,
bibit ista, bibit ille,
bibunt centum, bibunt mille.
Getting to know the music better made me realize that Orff was essentially a minimalist, in the way that Philip Glass and John Adams are. The music is fundamentally very simple (not in the sense of ease of performance) with many many sections which repeat almost ad infinitum. I think this must be a large part of its universal appeal. I don't know any classical music fan who doesn't love it. And even non-classical-music folks all know and love O Fortuna which probably holds the record for uses in movies, commercials, etc. Of course the universal and ageless subject matter, including fortune and fate, the seasons (esp. springtime), drinking, eating, gambling and sex, doesn't hurt even if there are at least three quite distinct languages represented in the text (none of which are English). But there is a reference to the English Queen (supposedly a reference to the beautiful Eleanor of Aquitaine who established in Poitiers a cours d'amour, the title of the last part of Carmina Burana).
And while we're on the subject of classical music, today is the sesquicentennial of Gustav Mahler. Happy Birthday, Gustav! He even made it to the front page feature article of the English-speaking Wikipedia (but not the German or Czech pages).
I took the opportunity of driving down to Dedham for a "summer sing" with the Masterworks Chorale: Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. I've performed it (in the orchestra) three times but had never before sung any of it. It's tricky stuff! The melodies and harmonies are reasonably easy but the words, rhythms and timing are definitely a challenge. Consider for example two verses from the drinking song [bibit = (he/she) drinks] (all sung with essentially no breaks):
ex hac bibunt libertini;
semel bibunt pro captivis,
post haec bibunt ter pro vivis,
quater pro Christianis cunctis,
quinquies pro fidelibus defunctis,
sexies pro sororibus vanis,
septies pro militibus silvanis.
octies pro fratribus perversis,
nonies pro monachis dispersis,
decies pro navigantibus,
undecies pro discordantibus,
duodecies pro paenitentibus,
tredecies pro iter agentibus.
Tam pro papa quam pro rege
bibunt omnes sine lege.
Bibit hera, bibit herus,
bibit miles, bibit clerus,
bibit ille, bibit illa,
bibit servus cum ancilla,
bibit velox, bibit piger,
bibit albus, bibit niger,
bibit constans, bibit vagus,
bibit rudis, bibit magus,
Bibit pauper et aegrotus,
bibit exul et ignotus,
bibit puer, bibit canus,
bibit praesul et decanus,
bibit soror, bibit frater,
bibit anus, bibit mater,
bibit ista, bibit ille,
bibunt centum, bibunt mille.
Getting to know the music better made me realize that Orff was essentially a minimalist, in the way that Philip Glass and John Adams are. The music is fundamentally very simple (not in the sense of ease of performance) with many many sections which repeat almost ad infinitum. I think this must be a large part of its universal appeal. I don't know any classical music fan who doesn't love it. And even non-classical-music folks all know and love O Fortuna which probably holds the record for uses in movies, commercials, etc. Of course the universal and ageless subject matter, including fortune and fate, the seasons (esp. springtime), drinking, eating, gambling and sex, doesn't hurt even if there are at least three quite distinct languages represented in the text (none of which are English). But there is a reference to the English Queen (supposedly a reference to the beautiful Eleanor of Aquitaine who established in Poitiers a cours d'amour, the title of the last part of Carmina Burana).
And while we're on the subject of classical music, today is the sesquicentennial of Gustav Mahler. Happy Birthday, Gustav! He even made it to the front page feature article of the English-speaking Wikipedia (but not the German or Czech pages).
Monday, July 5, 2010
Speed kills
No, this doesn't have anything to do with road accidents. What I'm referring to is speed in football (soccer in the US). This World Cup has demonstrably answered the old question: speed or experience? No game exemplified the dichotomy as clearly as that between perennial rivals Germany and England. England went with a very experienced team, sidelining the one player (IMO) on the team with any turn of speed, Aaron Lennon. Germany went with youth and speed, with one notable exception. The result was depressingly predictable. Germany's one exception, 32-year-old Miroslav Klose, was nevertheless the fast man on Germany's goal kick which went deep into England territory and where the English defenders were simply outrun. Klose continues to dominate defenders through his speed as he did against Argentina.
Meanwhile, our weather (sunny and 89F as I write this on July 4th) has been lovely lately. Just like the good old days. It's been relatively dry and hot. The mosquitoes appear to be a thing of the past. On the debit side, the grass everywhere is looking parched.
We really enjoyed watching Invictus. What a great story: the role of the 1995 Rugby World Cup in the crucial early months of a new (or reborn) nation. It reminded me what a great game Rugby is.
For our annual fireworks show, we selected Lincoln this year. For some reason, the fireworks displays of the various towns were on any of three different evenings, the 2nd (e.g. Bedford), the 3rd (e.g. Harvard, where we went last year), and the 4th (e.g. Lincoln and of course Boston). It's interesting to compare the experiences of these two years, perhaps with a mark for the various aspects (all very subjective of course):
Today the good weather broke somewhat. The temperature was high 97F with a little more humidity (82%). Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter and stickier.
Meanwhile, our weather (sunny and 89F as I write this on July 4th) has been lovely lately. Just like the good old days. It's been relatively dry and hot. The mosquitoes appear to be a thing of the past. On the debit side, the grass everywhere is looking parched.
We really enjoyed watching Invictus. What a great story: the role of the 1995 Rugby World Cup in the crucial early months of a new (or reborn) nation. It reminded me what a great game Rugby is.
For our annual fireworks show, we selected Lincoln this year. For some reason, the fireworks displays of the various towns were on any of three different evenings, the 2nd (e.g. Bedford), the 3rd (e.g. Harvard, where we went last year), and the 4th (e.g. Lincoln and of course Boston). It's interesting to compare the experiences of these two years, perhaps with a mark for the various aspects (all very subjective of course):
| Feature | Weight | Harvard (2009) | Lincoln (2010) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fireworks Length | 3 | 9 (a good length) | 9 (a bit too long) |
| Fireworks Quality | 4 | 8 (very good) | 9 (excellent) |
| Viewing Distance | 2 | 8 (good) | 10 (maybe a bit too close) |
| Scenery/Atmosphere | 4 | 10 (fantastic) | 6 (zilch) |
| Space | 3 | 10 (spacious) | 5 (sardines) |
| Wait to get in | 1 | 10 (what wait?) | 7 (long delay) |
| Wait to get out | 2 | 7 (wet grass: delays) | 7 (so many cars!) |
| Facilities | 1 | 7 (OK) | 6 (what facilities?) |
| National Anthem | 1 | 7 (don't recall) | 9 (lovely) |
| Weather | 3 | 8 (short shower) | 10 (perfect) |
| Bugs | 2 | 8 (mucho deet) | 10 (what bugs?) |
| Finding the way back to car | 1 | 9 (no worries) | 6 (night orienteering) |
| Vehicular transportation | 1 | 7 (two cars) | 10 (brand new Murano) |
| Overall | 28 | 7.57 | 7.04 |
Today the good weather broke somewhat. The temperature was high 97F with a little more humidity (82%). Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter and stickier.
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