Bought a copy of this flicker’s “final cut” on DVD to share with Mr. Boy at our new movie-of-the-week-at-home suggested by our counselor. Mr. B.’s never seen it. I remember liking it when I saw the classic scifi tale back in the day in one of the houses of sticky floors.
Been listening to the original soundtrack by Vangelis for several weeks now. Can’t remember how I got hooked back up to the music aspect. Hope the visual and story are as good as I remember. At least the flying cars were cool.
Made a new friend the other weekend at Torah Study at Beth Shalom, a fellow a few years older than my almost 72 who is from Round Rock, up the road north from the rancho.
Turned out we were driving the same make and model of cars, Honda CRVs, though his was newer. Did not however snap to his interest in Frank Sinatra. Said he was playing Ol’ Blue Eyes’ CDs everywhere he drives these days.
I still prefer Andrea Bocelli, among others, but I was curious to learn of the land rush in Sinatra memorabilia and recollections since his 100th birthday back on December 12. A Jack Daniels commemorative whisky, among other things.
And that his body was secreted in a Jewish funeral home prior to burial in 1998 to spare the family from the inevitable paparazzi:
“Though Sinatra wasn’t Jewish, he was a big activist for Jewish and Israeli causes, including a youth center in the Arab town of Nazareth. It seems fitting then that when he faced ‘the final curtain,’ he was given the solemnity he deserved…”
Via Jewniverse.
The city government played along for a while. Then they got serious.
Yesterday they removed the David Bowie street sign that Ziggy Stardust fans had got up in place of Bowie Street, an apparent reference to slave dealer and Alamo icon James Bowie, though the history on the original sign is unclear.
The change was less about slavery than about the rocker who finally fell to earth the other day, dead at 69 from cancer, the great destroyer.
Nice try, Ziggy fans. Keep pushing the formal petition. You never know, what with the slavery angle in a city as politically correct as Austin, you just might succeed. After all, Ziggy already has a whole constellation to himself.
Via KVUE.
Posted in Blogosphere, Cancer, Music, Science/Engineering, Space, Texana, The Culture
Björk Guðmundsdóttir, the Icelandic pop singer known by her first name, and her infamous swan dress. Her haunting songs, such as Bachelorette (with its fiddle and cello string section and lyric “I’m a fountain of blood in the shape of a girl”) and Joga, are just as memorable.
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Tagged Aish, Shana tova ve metuka
My fiddle teacher James Anderson’s tango/jazz band on tour in Boulder, Colorado. Complete with dancers. This is new, original music from their latest self-titled album, APQ—which stands for Austin Piazzolla Quintet. Which you can buy here. And keep up with them here and here.
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Posted in Fiddle Stuff, Music
Tagged Austin Piazzola Quintet, James Anderson, Jonathan Geer
Another arduous hour-long rehearsal last night of the four American pieces the new orchestra workshop I joined will perform Aug. 1 at a South Austin nursing home. The young teacher/conductor is diplomatic. “If you’re not sure you’re in the right place,” she said to everyone, “play softer.” She wasn’t looking at me, but I knew who she meant.
Looking forward to LOCO’s two hours tonight which is tiring in its own way but easier all around because after two and a half years of jigs, reels and Old Time, I’m comfortable with it and am always in the right place. Even if I wasn’t, since fiddlers all play loud there’s no need to “play softer.”
My teacher encouraged me to try the orchestra stuff and we go over the pieces in advance, but he warned me what to expect, too. Faking is common in symphonies worldwide, he told me, and it’s always advisable to underplay even when you’re sure your intonation is good and you’re in the groove. And play things shorter than written so you’re not still playing when everyone else has stopped… Oops.
As for the nursing home, yeah, good works and all that. The venue is free to the teacher/conductor and comes with a built-in audience. All but one of the other players are young and will just come and go feeling they’ve done their civic duty. Me and that other older one will look around and feel a bit threatened, more determined than ever not to wind up in such a place.
UPDATE: The concert went well. No major goofs. And the nursing home was the nicest one I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t mind being “incarcerated” there, if it came to that.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 