The war in Iraq and the war in this country (one a civil war, the other a war of incivility) have been discussed enough, for now. Time for a change.
Vitamin C
James Taylor
McFly
Jeremiah was a bullfrog, he was good friend of mine. I never understood a single word he said but I helped him drink his whine. He always had some mighty fine wine. Sing it Joy to the world...all the boys and girls now , joy to the fishies in the deep blue sea and joy to you and me. Jerimiah Was A Bullfrog Creedence Clearwater Revival
Two friends sing Girl From the North Country Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash"She once was a true love of mine."
Collen Ann Fitzpatrick, better known as Vitamin C , (Graduation) Friends Forever. Do you notice a smackering of Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D?
And this is a very friendly version of Mr. Pachelbel's famous canon, played on the electric guitar by a young man whose name I know not. His link on YouTube is http://www.youtube.com/user/Felonaz
Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross That's What Friends are For
James Taylor wrote and recorded You've Got a Friend in the 70s. McFly's music video of the song is quite unique and touching.
These guys apparently like each other. I suppose they're friends. They're cute I can tell you. What are they?
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. He was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.
YouTube has some excellent videos of Dizzy Gillespie performing. This is one. Follow link for more. [Link]
Christmas and Hanukkah songs you're not likely to hear on your radio are featured on this morning's The Best, Worst and Weirdest in Holiday CDs by by Stephen Thompson over at National Public Radio.
Did you know that Santa Claus has a secret agent working for him? I kid you not. What's more, he's a penguin. That clever and funny guy Brad Paisley has written a song about him. Penguin, James Penguin tells the story in black and white.
The Klezmatics sing Hanuka Gelt from their album of songs by Woody Guthrie.
The Klezmatics
There's one by the Chipmunks,
anda very nice instrumental, Christmas Time is Here, by jazz musician Vince Guaraldi . It's from the 1965 television special a Charlie Brown Christmas.
Engineering students in the Columbia University Orchestra. Shown are: top left, Alice Yuo'06, top right, Deum Jik Park '06; front left, Erica Yen '05, and front right, Ji Won Kim '05.
Review of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony
A managed care company president was given a ticket for a performance of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony. Since she was unable to go, she gave the ticket to one of her managed care reviewers. The next morning she asked him how he had enjoyed it. Instead of a few observations about the symphony in general, she was handed a formal memorandum which read as follows: 1. For a considerable period, the oboe players had nothing to do. Their number should be reduced, and their work spread over the whole orchestra, avoiding peaks of inactivity.
2. All 12 violins were playing identical notes. This seems an unneeded duplication, and the staff of this section should be cut. If a volume of sound is really required, this could be accomplished with the use of an amplifier.
3. Much effort was involved in playing the 16th notes. This appears to be an excessive refinement, and it is recommended that all notes be rounded up to the nearest 8th note. If this were done it would be possible to use para-professionals instead of experienced musicians.
4. No useful purpose is served by repeating with horns the passage that has already been handled by the strings. If all such redundant passages were eliminated then the concert could be reduced from two hours to twenty minutes.
5. The symphony had two movements. If Mr. Schubert didn't achieve his musical goals by the end of the first movement,then he should have stopped there. The second movement is unnecessary and should be cut.
In light of the above, one can only conclude that had Mr. Schubert given attention to these matters, he probably would have had time to finish the symphony.
For some excellent boogie woogie to put some hustle in your step and lift your spirit, ease on over to the Old Blue Bus and listen to Pinetop's Boogie Woogie.
Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart, Gene Kelly, Ingrid Bergman, Rudolph Valentino, Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Robert Cummings, Nelson Eddy, Jeanette McDonald, John Barrymore, Lon Chaney, Joel McCrea, Olivia DeHaviland, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracey, Carole Lombard, William Powell and --- Love.
Emmy Lou Harris sings the song (A Love That Will Never Grow Old) from Brokeback Mountain.
"Not only is it the best song I ever wrote, it's the best song anybody ever wrote." Irving Berlin
White Christmas, had its debut in the 1942 film Holiday Inn, starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire and Marjorie Reynolds. The song won Berlin an oscar for best music, original song in 1943, and became the title song of the film White Christmas in 1954 with Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Allen.
My wife and I had a debate about the cost of the wine I was to purchase for the evening's meal. I said "It doesn't matter. You're cooking it. Why waste money." "The recipe calls for Pinot Noir" she said. "Get Pinot Noir." "OK", I said. "But believe me it's just a waste of money." "Pick out a nice label", she said. I buy wine according to the label design. You're going to have to look at the bottle, so why not have something aesthetically appealing. I love the label of the Red Bicycle (bicyclette), a french Merlot--I think. They didn't have a Pinot Noir so I chose a rather attractive bottle from Smoking Loon Wine Company in Napa, California. Then I found a less expensive Australian wine for myself. Kelly's Revenge is a Shiraz with a delightful fruity flavor with just a suggestion of spring rain and orchids blowing in the breeze. I'm making all that up. The label says:
"Had a hard day? Stress getting to you? Packed full of ripe berry fruit flavours, this big Shiraz is perfect at the end of a long day. Kick back, relax, forget about the pressures and take revenge with Kelly. It's all about you now. Are you up to it?"
As I was leaving the store, I noticed they had this little bar set up with Absolut vodka bottles and tiny plastic cups. A very happy young woman called out to me as I passed to ask if I'd like a little sample. Now, I can't remember the last time I had vodka or scotch or any of the stronger stuff, but heck. "Why not" I said. "It's peach flavored Absolut with peach schnapps", she said, as I turned back the wee cup. "Peachy, isn't it?" "Yes", I replied. "Very peachy."
The coq au vin was the best I've ever eaten. Really. Probably had a lot to do with the wine. Just the aroma wafting from the kitchen as it slowly simmered while I sat pecking at this keyboard, wine glass at my elbow, and listening to death cab for cutie that my eldest boy thought I would like.
Summer Skin He was right. I liked them well enough to go to YouTube to hear more. What's in a name.
The last time I made coq au vin, the recipe called for whole chicken pieces--I think it must have been James Beard or Julia Child--whereas the Cook's recipe uses boneless parts. Man! What a difference. Not only is the taste superb, it requires a much shorter prep time.
Every year I promise myself not to get caught up in the frantic rush of Christmas and each year I find myself ensnared. Not unpleasantly, you understand. I've actually grown to enjoy it. ("Grown to" is an interesting phrase. I first "grew out of" and now I've "grown to".) It has become fun. When you have an eleven year old boy, how can it not be? I still grouse and complain about the commercialism and all that, but I do love Christmas. In my heart I love it. I just try not to let on.
It just occurred to me that I haven't heard Bing Crosby sing White Christmas this year. But wait. Here's a link to Elvis singing it.
When I was a kid, I dreamt a lot about a white Christmas. I don't recall that we ever had one, but it didn't matter. The dreaming was enough. Just imagining what I would do if the snow came. I was always trying to find some definitive evidence that Santa Claus existed. Reason told me it was impossible for an overweight guy in a sleigh pulled by tiny, flying reindeer to cover so much territory in one night. Still, I had no real proof that he didn't exist. A little snow on Christmas Eve would be all I needed. It would be impossible for him to get in and out of our house without leaving sleigh tracks, footprints, reindeer droppings. Some trace.
Now that I live in New York I do see a white Christmas now and then, but I've never think to check for footprints in the snow. Hmmm.
And so it was that tonight's theme became Christmas trees and lights. From Wales, Virginia, North Carolina and Louisiana.
David Armand is, in addition to being an excellent ensemble actor, (he is a member of the British comedy group the Hollow Men. They appeared on Comedy Central last year.)
This video LINK , in which Armand mimes the song Torn as sung by Australian actress, singer Natalie Imbruglia.
In this longer version, performed at London's Royal Albert Hall in October for Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball, Armand mimes the full three and half minutes, joined in the second verse by the very lovely Miss Imbruglia.
He was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.
