Connecticut Wit

Literary Death Match #1: Papa vs. Joni

2012-01-28T16:07:00.002-05:00

Ernest Hemingway, from "Soldier's Home" (Our Time, 1925):

Krebs looked at the bacon fat hardening on his plate.

Joni Mitchell, from "Coyote" (Hejira, 1976)

He's staring a hole in his scrambled eggs.

THE SECRET OF (acro)NYM

2012-01-26T20:59:00.002-05:00

The new Board of Regents for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities have come up with the following acronym:

ConnSCU (pronounced "Conn-Skew," I assume)

Brilliant, eh?

May I humbly suggest two more appropriate and easily pronounceable options:

CoSTCUt

CutSCoUnt

Media notes...

2012-01-26T20:03:00.000-05:00

1. Who writes the descriptions of MSNBC television shows that appear on the screen when the INFO button is pushed? "The forever-wired host Chris Matthews..." and "Analysis by the quick-witted host (Lawrence O'Donnell)"... Really?

2. When did "prideful" replace "proud" as the adjective of choice in sports to describe people who believe in themselves?

3. Does anybody actually have the home phone number of their banker, as shown in those Webster Bank ads?
and

4. On The Food Network's Chopped, NEVER talk back to the judges.

Two very talented actors working very, very hard...

2012-01-26T11:49:00.001-05:00

...while making it look quite easy, in a well directed show, with a fairly funny script: That's The Mystery of Irma Vep at Playhouse on Park.

The actors, Rich Hollman and Sean Harris, play all the characters in this spoof of every horror film and murder mystery anyone has ever seen. Even in this most unsubtle of comedies, the two display deft touches of timing and chacterization each time they (re)appear on stage -- no matter the costume, the accent, the gender, or even the incredibly short time in which they have to make such changes! As directed by Peter James Cook, the actors give their all but, even granting the limitations of the spoof form, the script, I feel, doesn't carry its part of the load.

I learned (at the always engaging talkback after last Sunday's performance) that the play's been around for more than two decades and began at the playwright Charles Ludlum's own company and was first performed by the Ludlum and his partner for their friends. That history explains to me why, while an enjoyable romp, the play isn't as tightly constructed and, as a result, not as exhilarating a theatrical event as, say, The Complet Wks of Willm Shakes (Abridged), which POP produced with these two performers previously.

Oh, I quibble. The performances are indeed remarkable, and the show certainly enjoyable, and, since an evening of laughter is never something to sneeze at, you should take advantage of the kind of quality night out that we've all come to expect at Playhouse on Park.

The play runs through 29 January.

I saw "Macbeth 1969" last night...

2012-01-26T11:13:00.000-05:00

...at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, which is an adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy into a six-person ensemble -- always with the Bard's words -- set in a veterans' hospital in middle America during the Vietnam War. Macbeth and Banquo are wounded soldiers, Macduff a draft dodger, and the three witches, Ladies Macbeth and Macduff, and various other characters (like the Porter), all rolled into a trio of nurses.

While a fascinating, and fairly compact evening of theatre (less than two-hours no intermission), I'm not sure that, as a whole that the play really makes sense. Under what circumstances (tied to career/personal advancement), would a vet kill a political figure in an American VA hospital? I just don't get it.

That said, the play works best quite often when the nurses converse, while doing their nurse-ly duties...or in phone conversations, etc...THEN, the juxtaposition of the familiar with the Shakespearean really illuminates both the language and the actions. Unfortunately that didn't happen enough for me. The actor who achieved this synergy most frequently by far throughout was Jackie Chung, the "pregnant Nurse/Lady Macduff/Porter." A wonderful performance: at times controlled, manic, funny, casual...excellent.

Two (perhaps very nitpicky/idiosyncratic) things popped into my head as the evening progressed:

1) The rant by Sally Kellerman's Hot Lips to Col. Henry Blake (in the wake of the shower incident) from the film M*A*S*H: "This isn't a hospital; it's an insane asylum!"

and

2) A skill the nurses need to practice more, given that they are asked to make up a hospital bed or two throughout the play is how to do hospital corners! It's 1969 in a VA hospital; I think good crisp hospital corners would be mandatory.

While I respect tremendously Rep. Gabbie Giffords' decision...

2012-01-23T07:57:00.003-05:00

...to resign, I'm pretty sure that I'd vote for her right now over any of my current representatives or senators.

Gutsy and willing to do the right thing -- even when it's inconvenient?

That's pretty much a trait most of our current elected officials haven't demonstrated in the least.

My syllabus for a...

2012-01-19T08:00:00.003-05:00

...biblical business course would include, among other topics:

Using bad weather conditions to corner the animal market

Hardball negotiating tactics: When are frogs and locusts enough?

The profit you and your brothers should expect if you band together and sell the youngest

and

Resource growth: How to satisfy EVERYBODY and walk away with more than your initial investment of loaves and fishes

Which is the best marriage falls apart album?

2012-01-18T19:32:00.000-05:00

Linda and Richard Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights

Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks

Paul Simon's Hearts and Bones

I ALWAYS am amazed at the beauty that comes from pain.

The moral of the story?

2012-01-16T14:42:00.001-05:00

No matter how big you are, a Giglio[tti] can take you down!

(Well, a giglio[tti] and a really bad captain)

So, no new host yet to replace Regis!

2012-01-16T14:28:00.001-05:00

Keep alive the HOPE!

After all, how good would "Live with Kelly and Gilly Lee!" be!

NEVER underestimate the power of good editing skills...

2012-01-16T09:46:00.001-05:00

...because look what happens with when it's not done well:

We passed an Avalon on the road today, and older daughter made a Frankie joke, so I got to thinking...

2012-01-15T19:46:00.000-05:00

...about products that could be sold under the name FUNICELLO!

a wine: the Funicello Rosso is great with a good cut of beef

an opera: Il Funicello is best known for its wonderful aria in Act II

a Renaissance artist: the still life by Funicello is currently on loan,

but mostly

a sports car: Who wouldn't want to drive a Funicello Annette?

An extremely weird and incredibly odd experience...

2012-01-14T16:18:00.001-05:00

A couple days ago, Martha had in fact asked if we had a copy of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which I had read a couple years ago,because she wants to read it. I said that I'd find it for her. My bookshelves, much to her chagrin, are unorganized AND stuffed to the gills, making easy retrieval unlikely, so when she expressed interest I told her I'd get it for her. Which I did last night, taking it off the bedroom bookcase and dusting it off.

This morning, remembering that I had in fact found it but hadn't given it to her yet, I spent a good deal of time looking to see where I had put it. I looked all over our bedroom and was confused that I couldn't spot it right away since not enough time had passed that other things (clean laundry, mail, stuff for the new semester, my laptop, other books, etc.) might've covered it up.

I looked on the bookshelf to see if, after getting it, I had just put it back on the shelf, but it wasn't there -- and I was struck by how I couldn't even find a place where the book had been. (But then I remembered how crammed my bookshelves can be, so that tight-fittedness wasn't out of the realm of possibility either!)

So I looked all over the house (the kitchen, family room, dining room, living room, and basement) thinking, maybe, just maybe, on the way to giving it to her I put it down to do something else.

I thought back to last night and remembered being puzzled that the cover, which I couldn't now describe to Martha, was different than the one I was expecting (i.e., the one seen above).

Then, looking in the basement again, I found it -- with the correct cover -- on a bookshelf.

Clearly I had never found the book last night. Clearly I had never dusted it off last night. Clearly I had never seen a cover I didn't recognize last night.

It must have all been a dream. An incredibly vivid dream.

Either that or I'm being gaslighted!

Congratulations to our older daughter for winning ...

2012-01-13T19:59:00.002-05:00

...the Anne Bradstreet poem category of the first Norton Anthology Recitation Contest!

Here's her winning performance:

All that reading Anne Bradstreet from an early age REALLY has paid off, Cecilia! Excellent job!

So Hostess declares bankruptcy...

2012-01-11T20:53:00.003-05:00

...and there's no mention -- in any of the coverage I've read -- of the SNOBALL!?! Who's writing these news reports?!!! Snoballs are, after all, far better than Twinkies EVER could DREAM to be!

Busy reacquainting myself today...

2012-01-11T20:43:00.001-05:00

...with the great 1977 collaboration of Pete Townsend and Ronnie Lane, Rough Mix!

Here Pete is at his most relaxed and playful (since I usually find him a bit too, shall we say, earnest)!

For example, "(I Want to be) Misunderstood" (take that Eric Burdon!):

I wanna be obscure and oblique
Inscrutable and vague
So hard to pin down
I wanna leave open mouths when I speak
Want people to cry when I put them down

And Townsend's ten my babys before I LOVE her, yeah toward the end of "My Baby Gives it Away" even rivals Sinatra's ten-baby early-Reprise recording of "Don'cha Go 'Way Mad"!

Should I be amused or annoyed that...

2012-01-11T07:59:00.000-05:00

...the Doomsday Clock isn't digital?

Listening to too much Dylan on my walks obviously...

2012-01-09T15:00:00.005-05:00

...for, aside from learning today that the distance from my house to the WW I Memorial at the top of Walnut Hill Park in New Britain is the distance from "Rainy Day Woman" to "Brand New Leopard Skin Pill-box Hat," the walk inspired me to "create" the following cento --- the original sampling!**

A Petrarchan Blonde on Blonde Cento Sonnet

She’s delicateand seems like the mirror
of your balcony wond’ring where you are,
withpockets well protected and streetcars,
sayin “I’ll goout and say a prayer for
the crackedbells and washed-out horns
atyour feet while phony false alarms
furnishme with tape deep inside my heart.
I just can’t do what I done before…”
But you said, “Don’t forget everybody
must give these promises you leftfor me
with your silhouette, when the sunlight high-
way blues isso stuffy I can hardly
whisper, ‘Not even you can hide, you see,
but this time I’m notgonna tell you why.’”

**A cento is an ancient poetic genre made up of lines and parts of lines from other texts. In this case, all come from the lyrics of Dylan's 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. My favorite cento is Ausonius' Vergilian one about a marriage night: Taking a sword out of its sheath takes on a whole new meaning!

Ausonius

Dylan

Next time I win something, I want $1000 more per year than the highest paid Early American Neo-Latinist!

2012-01-09T08:35:00.002-05:00

From today's Chronicle of Higher Education:

A win in [tonight's] BCS national title game would give LSU coach Les Miles a $5.88-million salary increase, CNBC’s Darren Rovell reports. That’s thanks to a clause in his contract guaranteeing him a minimum of $1,000 more per year than the highest-paid SEC coach should he win the national title.

Who's got the bug-zapper?

2012-01-05T21:00:00.000-05:00

So, Randy Newman's "The Great Nations of Europe,"

John Wesley Harding's "Darwin,"

and Elvis Costello's "Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs are Taking Over),"

all deal with the end of human civilization brought by disease-carrying insects.

It's 2012 now, so why not, right?

But, am I missing any other good apocalyptic entomological tunes?

A couple quotations to sum up the last few days

2011-12-25T17:30:00.000-05:00

We should grey together
Not that pigeon-chested Trafalgar grey
The grey that greets you on that first October day
: The Beautiful South, "Have Fun"

How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your colon?
: Matthew 7:4 (adapted)

Merry Christmas Eve Day, all!

2011-12-24T08:06:00.000-05:00

So, which kind of Christmas ambulatory aid are you?

Tiny Tim's crutch (A Christmas Carol):

or

Kris Kringle's cane (Miracle on 34th Street)?

(Hint to my response: I miss Natalie Wood!)

A true cultural milestone: Either I'm too old or...

2011-12-20T20:56:00.000-05:00

...it's time for Hollywood to offer a film remake of The Lone Ranger (or both):

At last night's concert at Hartford Magnet/Trinity College Academy, the orchestra teacher, in introducing "The William Tell Overture," didn't mention (or even allude to) "The Lone Ranger."

I didn't think it'd ever be possible to separate the musical selection from the classic cowboy.

I was wrong.

Or so I thought, then I found this.

Ta-da-dump
Ta-da-dump
Ta-da-dump-dump-dump!

Hi-ho, Silver...and away!

In honor of Hanukkah...

2011-12-20T18:10:00.002-05:00

...and in the spirit of Judaeo-Christian ecumenism, I give you "Angelo Rosenbaum," a great seasonal love story!

In the December issue of the great British music magazine Mojo, Brian Wilson...

2011-12-20T17:03:00.001-05:00

...is interviewed regarding the recent release of the reconstructed Smile album, and he declares the Beach Boys' masterpiece to be...

PET SOUNDS!

And I must heartily agree.

No, humanity hasn't changed in 2500+ years

2011-12-20T14:38:00.000-05:00

10 Pieces of Nasty Ancient Graffiti Newly Translated

The older daughter is a national finalist...

2011-12-20T14:15:00.003-05:00

...in the poetry recitation contest sponsored by The Norton Anthology. She chose the 17th-Century American poet Anne Bradstreet's "Upon the Burning of Our House."

You can see the contestants and vote for your favorite (hint, hint!) here:

http://books.wwnorton.com/books/bradstreet-video-contest/

I know I'm biased, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. Hers is the best recitation of this poem!

Enjoy!

Man, Mr. Franco must've done REALLY BANG-UP WORK in the two class meetings he attended to even earn a D!

2011-12-19T16:16:00.000-05:00

NYU professor allegedly fired for giving James Franco a D?; ‘Survivor: South Pacific’ declares its winner

By Jen Chaney

According to one fired NYU professor, this guy is not as studious as he looks. Jose Angel Santana, a former New York University professor, has reportedly filed a lawsuit against the school in an attempt to get his job back. The reason he was fired, based on what Santana tells the New York Post? He gave student James Franco a D. Santana says the Oscar-nominated actor missed 12 out of 14 of his “Directing the Actor II” classes, earning him the low grade. Santana also asserts that other professors gave Franco high marks that were undeserved. “The school has bent over backwards to create a Franco-friendly environment, that’s for sure,” he tells The Post. Reps for Franco and the university have not commented. (New York Post)

Two more questions to which I have no answers

2011-12-18T09:28:00.003-05:00

1. Does it make sense that CT Attorney-General-turned-Senator Dick Blumenthal now gets front page coverage in the Hartford Courant for no longer being a front page story?

2. If "an educated consumer [was] their best customer," what does the demise of Syms say about the state of education?

For some reason, it's never really Christmas time for me anymore...

2011-12-17T15:35:00.000-05:00

...until I hear Sting sing "Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming"!

It's Christmas time!!!

Let's just say I'm underwhelmed by this response...

2011-12-16T14:04:00.002-05:00

As I responded to the X.U. President when he disseminated the video just a little while ago:

Everything that you say in the first minute would seem to suggest that you were leading up to some decisive action, some reaffirmation of core Jesuit values (i.e., something more than the rather light punishment that has been imposed upon the members of the XU team most involved).

Instead you simply state the obvious: that Xavier should be better than this. Well, the actions and aftermath would seem to suggest that, if we are better than this, it's certainly not by much.

Please count me among the disheartened.

(a few of the) Questions which I really can't answer

2011-12-16T08:14:00.000-05:00

1. Do people really have so much broken gold jewelry just hanging around their house that they can collect it, bring it to "Good Ole Tom," and get lots of money for it?

2. Why exactly does anyone need a boxed set with a regular DVD and a blu-ray disc of the same film?

3. The purpose of watching a radio program on television is...?

4. Once my free trial period is over, is there any compelling reason why I should PAY for HBO and Starz? (So far, Secretariat and The Green Hornet would argue "no.")

5. Wouldn't God, when Christopher Hitchens came knock, knock, knocking on Heaven's door just a few hours ago, want the old contrarian stayin' around there for some good rollicking conversations?

Well, I guess the argument goes, if you're going to have to cut the salary...

2011-12-15T14:53:00.000-05:00

...then, go ahead and just hire a woman!

If they're going to shut down the government...

2011-12-15T10:26:00.003-05:00

...then I say really shut down the government: send EVERYBODY, and I mean everybody, home.

Tell the soldiers overseas to make the best of it because they won't be getting any supplies (food, uniforms, transport, or weapons), until the government reopens.

Tell anybody who receives federal assistance, there will be nothing coming their way, until the government reopens.

Tell everybody there'll be no mail.

Open the doors of the federal prisons because we certainly can 't pay the guards. (Good news, Gitmo detainees and white collar criminals!)

Shut down the federal monuments, the museums, and all national parks, until the government reopens.

Tell ALL federal employees -- including all levels of all three branches of government -- that, until the government reopens, there will be no paychecks, no health insurance, no compensation of any kind....

If they're gonna do it, then they gotta do it right.

Of course, if the brave souls that are our Congress (I'm surprised I can even type those words!) ever REALLY shut down the government (and let just a whiff of the reality waft toward the American people), not a single elected official would EVER be returned to his/her post again.

Stop posturing. Make a deal. Solve a real problem for a change.

One important thing to remember about the Xavier-UC basketball riot...

2011-12-14T23:18:00.000-05:00

...is that such things never happen with the Xavier FOOTBALL team, which remains undefeated since 1973!

In tap class, I'm earning a whole new nickname!

2011-12-13T19:35:00.001-05:00

RBH

"Rhythm Black Hole"

(because, if there's any rhythm inherent in that combination,

it'll disappear once I get ahold of it!)

Happy 96th Birthday, Francis Albert Sinatra!

2011-12-12T08:42:00.000-05:00

A swell duet by Frank and Rosie from

the Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre's recording of

South Pacific,

produced by Sinatra.

Perhaps your daughter's high school is too big...

2011-12-11T23:36:00.001-05:00

...when you have to sign a permission slip for her to go on a "field trip" to the lecture hall.

And I'm NOT joking.

Yet another honor denied me because of my parents....

2011-12-10T14:11:00.001-05:00

Who can blame me for my blaming my parents for their not being celebrities, which, in turn, denies me the opportunity to be named Miss Golden Globe!

After all, aside from a famous mom (well, and also a pretty cool name, I have to admit), what's Rainey Qualley got that I don't?

Life IS unfair.

Company's way more than just three....

2011-12-09T11:44:00.001-05:00

Havingcut my musical-theatre teeth on Gershwin, Kern, Rodgers and Hart and the lyricist Stephen Sondheim, I have cometo the official Stephen Sondheim oeuvrequite late, thanks in part to Playhouse on Park’s previous Side by Side by Sondheim and the New Britain High School 2011 productionof Into the Woods, in which mydaughter played Cinderella. (Add yourown sarcastic theatre-dad comment here.)

Myaversion to Sondheim’s material, I know, stems directly from a bad experienceof turning on PBS years ago and seeing Mandy Patinkin’s dabbing paint on ascrim as he sang (seemingly endlessly and seemingly without melody) something like “Blue, Red, Red, Blue, Yellow,Blue, Blue, White, Blue, Green, Green Yellow, White…” in Sunday in the Park with George. Where, I thought, was the poetic wit of this guy’s lyrics for Gypsy and West Side Story wedded perfectly to the music of Styne andBernstein, respectively? Thanks, but nothanks, I said.

Playhouseon Park’s current production of Sondheim’s now classic Company (from 1970?!?) has pretty much got me on the Sondheimbandwagon…and, yes, I’m sure Stephen has been waiting breathlessly for thisdeclaration!

As tightly directed and choreographed by Leslie Unger, with the usualexcellent musical direction of Colin Britt and performed by a very talentedcast, the musical examines Bobby (Ryan Speakman) on his 35^thbirthday as he ponders his own lack of commitment, in light of the“commitments” of several of his couple friends. Many of the songs are now standards, like “Being Alive,” “AnotherHundred People,” and “Here’s to the Ladies Who Lunch,” and are powerfulstatements on the lives we lead, for better or worse.

As we’ve come to expect from POP, the ensemble of professional performers(Speakman, along with Amanda Bruton, Jennifer Lauren Brown, Kevin Barlowski, Hillary Ekwall, ErikAgle, Ben Beckley, Brian Detlefs, and Victoria Thornsbury), and the studentsfrom the Hartt School (Scott Caron, AlexandraCutler, Keisha Gilles, Lea Nardi, and MeredithSwanson) sparkle throughout. I enjoyed all the performances, each contributing to our understanding why Bobby, that thirty-something, is the way he is.

And the show’s dramatic and immediate intimacy is highlighted by the sparse set andthe proximity of the audience, which allows each of us to feel the tension, thelove, the heartbreak, and that sense of, well, “being alive” the characters areso eagerly want.

The show runs through December 18^th. So, give yourself a holiday gift, and enjoythe Company!

A FAR better answer would've been...

2011-11-22T16:28:00.001-05:00

...it's not about the subject of the classes as much as the pedagogy involved, a pedagogy that should lead the student to an understanding of the investigative nature of all knowledge and the impossibility of knowing anything in a vacuum, as somehow unconnected to the larger world around us.

Doh.

Not to complain about my being overlooked again this year...

2011-11-20T11:39:00.001-05:00

...and I don't necessarily think I'm sexier than Bradley Cooper (although I'm not exactly sure who he is), BUT among People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" "contenders" pictured in the on-line Hartford Courant piece is Alec Baldwin.

Now, c'mon, maybe in 1988, when Mr. Baldwin managed to show up naked in every movie in which he had a role (Working Girl, Married to the Mob...), maybe THEN he was a contender. But have you seen him recently?

Let me just put it this way, his aging hasn't gone as well as it did for Paul Newman -- who, for my money (even in his present condition), is probably still sexier than three quarters of this list AND me.

Dad Loves His Work (18 Nov 2011 edition)

2011-11-20T11:12:00.001-05:00

8:25-9:15 AM
More discussion of Antigone in Eng 110 ( Freshman Comp) in preparation for a performance at CCSU the class will attend on 30 Nov

9:25-10:15 AM
Introduction to the perfect tenses (active and passive) in Lat 111 (Elementary Latin I) together with some translation of a reading adapted from Pliny the Younger's description of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

10:50-11:40 AM
Finishing up of Hannah Webster Foster's The Coquette in Eng 340 (Early Am Lit) and a whole bunch of poetry recitations by students, completing the assignment on the very last day

Noon-1:15 PM
Various Department Evaluation Committee duties (for English and Theatre)

1:30-5:15 PM
Bridge on the River Kwai reception/screening/lecture (N.B., Alec Guinness can convey more in the simple act of walking than most actors can in a lifetime!)

5:30-8:30 PM
Stealing Rembrandts lecture by Anthony Amore / reception for Friends of CCSU Burritt Library

My Covington Latin School brick has been laid, I see...

2011-11-13T17:34:00.001-05:00

...and I can't wait to see all the new contruction in person, BUT doesn't a name with dates -- set with any kind of permanence -- give off the air of someone dead?

(photo: Jamie Lancaster)

I'm not, by the way.

So, is it just me, or are the Republican candidates for the Presidency...

2011-11-11T20:57:00.001-05:00

...appearing on-stage together as often as a punk band in 1977?

At this rate, why don't they all just get a bus and
barnstorm across the country?

Older daughter's op-ed on the recent storm (to be published in tomorrow's Hartford Courant)...

2011-11-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

...can be found on-line here!

Joe Paterno, please call John Wesley Harding...

2011-11-08T20:51:00.001-05:00

...he has a brand new song that's perfect for...er...how shall we say, your "situation."

I wasn't there.

I didn't see.

You'd be wasting precious time on me.

I didn't know.

It wasn't me.

Can I help with your inquiry?

You can bring me in for questioning,

But let me be quite clear:

I wasn't there;

I didn't see;

I didn't know;

It wasn't me;

I didn't cheat;

I didn't lie;

I have a perfect alibi...

John Wesley Harding, "The Harding Defense"

(bonus track from The Sound of His Own Voice)

"Yesterday, it was my birthday..."

2011-11-08T12:10:00.000-05:00

...
I hung one more year on the line
I should be depressed
My life's a mess
But I'm having a good time.

...
I don't believe what I read in the paper
They're just out to capture my dime
I ain't worrying
I ain't scurrying
I'm having a good time..."

Paul Simon, "Have a Good Time,"
Still Crazy After All These Years (1975)

Okay, this isn't me really at all, but it is the day after my birthday.

My birthday horoscopes from the Hartford Courant (or, "Erratic Uranus is in my 6th House"!)

2011-11-07T22:05:00.002-05:00

For Today, 7 November 2011: "Getting what you want seems really important today. You might even feel as if you'll do whatever it takes to make that happen. But before you make any major moves or burn any bridges, stop and consider whether it's really worth it. Deep down, you prize close, harmonious connections with other people. If you fight for something, you have a good chance of winning. But what will you lose in the process?"

(Keywords: hubris, pride; Mood: hungry)

For the next year:

Scorpio Overview 2011

Erratic Uranus stirs up restlessness with daily routines, and instability in your work life. Take charge and initiate creative changes.

Transformational Pluto, your ruling planet, continues plowing through your 3rd House of Thinking. A Solar Eclipse in this sector on January 4th alerts you to an old perception that could be holding you back from achieving an important goal. That same day, generous Jupiter and electric Uranus meet up in your 5th House of Self-Expression. A surprising insight or turn of events helps you break free from old inhibitions and get in touch with your spontaneity. This is the grand finale of Uranus's seven-year journey through this house, shaking up your love life and inspiring you to experiment with new creative avenues. Lucky Jupiter moves through your 6th House of Work and Health from January 22nd to June 4th. Seize this opportunity to improve your diet and self-care habits. A vigorous new exercise program could be ideal for recharging your vitality. Revolutionary Uranus joins Jupiter in this arena on March 11th, helping you break free from old patterns. Exploring unconventional approaches to health and healing could be beneficial. Erratic Uranus in your 6th House, for the next seven years, stirs up restlessness with daily routines, and instability in your work life. Best to take charge and initiate creative changes rather than waiting for external forces to disrupt the status quo. But be aware that taskmaster Saturn continues to journey through your 12th House of Endings. In October 2012, Saturn will shift into your sign, signaling a dramatic rebirth. In the meantime, focus on completing long-term projects rather than trying to launch major new beginnings.

Scorpio Love and Romance 2011

Lucky Jupiter enters your 7th House of Partnership on June 4th, offering opportunities to attract a mate or strengthen a relationship.

Chaotic Uranus exits your 5th House of Romance on March 11th, ending a seven-year period of instability in your love life. You may have experimented with dating different kinds of people, or tried new approaches to relating. The rollercoaster ride is coming to an end, although there's more unusual activity moving in. Dreamy Neptune visits this sector from April 4th to August 4th -- a preview of a fourteen-year journey that will start next February. Romance can be magical, but also confusing. You could be more prone to illusion or fantasy when it comes to love. On June 1st, a New Moon Solar Eclipse strikes your 8th House of Intimacy [OUCH], a potentially powerful time for a new beginning in partnership. Generous Jupiter moves into sensible Taurus and your 7th House of Partnership on June 4th, until June 2012. If you're single, this influence opens excellent opportunities for attracting a mate. If you're already in partnership, this is an ideal time to strengthen and stabilize your connection. Traveling together, or finding other ways to expand and grow as a couple is key. Jupiter harmonizes with potent Pluto on July 7th and October 28th, increasing your magnetism and ability to connect. On December 10th, a Lunar Eclipse lands in your 8th House of Intimacy, and an emerging relationship could come to fruition. But this might also signal an ending, or a time to clarify your priorities. Although you have a tendency to prefer being mysterious, open communication is key.

Scorpio Career and Money 2011

Two dramatic Eclipses shake up your 2nd House of Resources. Look for a new way to utilize your skills and talents to increase your income.

If you've been thinking about changing jobs, you've got a great opportunity to make a shift. Lucky Jupiter moves through your 6th House of Work from January 22nd to June 4th. Jupiter made a brief visit to this arena from June 6th to September 9th last year, and a possibility that opened up then could now come into reality. This can also be a good time to add new skills to your resume, or improve current ones. Adding an element of unpredictability, on March 11th surprising Uranus explodes into this sector, for the next seven years. If you can go with the flow, this could be an exciting time when you experience more independence, creativity and flexibility in your work life. Trying to hold onto the status quo is likely to backfire. Better to embrace change and take the lead to initiate a new direction that you're passionate about. Boldness, innovation and originality are rewarded. Two dramatic Eclipses shake up your 2nd House of Resources. The first is a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse on June 15th, which might alert you to a pattern of over-spending and the need to tighten your budget. At the New Moon Solar Eclipse on November 25th, you have the opportunity to hit the reset button in finances. The Eclipse harmonizes with inventive Uranus, suggesting that creativity and flexibility are key to making a positive change. You might see a new way to utilize your skills and talents to increase your income.

Older daughter's entry in the Norton Anthology Student Recitation Contest

2011-11-05T17:31:00.000-04:00

Anne Bradstreet's "Upon the Burning of Our House"

Yea, Puritan American literature!

Blog post #801 goes to a verse from a song from John Wesley Harding's latest album...

2011-11-05T10:37:00.000-04:00

...The Sound of His Own Voice, entitled "The Examiners."

The song is a poem by John Whitworth set to music by Mr. Harding (a.k.a. Wesley Stace).

They can parse a Latin sentence; they’re as learned as Plotinus,
They’re as sharp as Ockham’s razor, as subtle as Aquinas,
They define us and refine us with their beta-query-minus,
They’re the wall-constructing Emperors of undiscovered Chinas,
They confine us, then malign us, in the end they undermine us,
They are there, they are there
They are there, the examiners are there

If I were a leaf that survived the late-October snowstorm...

2011-11-01T14:11:00.002-04:00

...which included the severing and crashing to the ground of large, large, limbs from even larger trees, I'm thinking that, having lived through that, I'm not falling off my tree for a long, long time.

Leaf collection?

Forget about it!

(Written on the floor of the second floor of the New Britain Public Library, where we've gone to get warm and charge our various electronica on this fourth day of no power.)

Financial Aid Plan for Older Daughter's College Tuition (if she does not attend a CSU school)

2011-10-27T22:17:00.001-04:00

Step 1: Wife divorces me and becomes the sole custodial parent.

Step 2: Wife remarries.

Step 3: Step-parent gets stuck with bill.

Well, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor...

2011-10-24T19:07:00.000-04:00

...has just become another award which means less than nothing. Okay, Tina Fey's winning last year was a simple case of a prize being awarded much too soon, but, given her creative clout (quite remarkable for a woman in Hollywood), I understood. But Will Ferrell in 2011?

Think of the comic icons (and even not-quite-icons) who have not been so honored, despite a life of work in comedy: Alan King, Phyllis Diller, Carol Burnett, Dick Van Dyke, Sid Caesar, Robert Klein, Mel Brooks, Albert Brooks, Tom Lehrer, Martin Mull, yes, even Joan Rivers (for her earlier, funnier life), or Woody Allen (despite the personal issues) or Blake Edwards (even though I hate most of his films after, say, 1975). Hell, how about Jerry Seinfeld or Larry David? They at least changed the face of television comedy. I could go on, but QED.

ANY ONE of these people is more worthy of this recognition than Will Ferrell.

Man, you're killing Sam Clemens! Shame on you, Kennedy Center.

How would I dance early American Neo-Latin poetry?

2011-10-24T08:06:00.000-04:00

Well, it'd have to be a TAP number, for certain...Check out these "Dance your PhD" winners!

Microstructure-Property relationships in Ti2448 components produced by Selective Laser Melting: A Love Story from Joel Miller on Vimeo.

I LOVE scientists....

My Judas Iscariot weekend began...

2011-10-23T19:37:00.002-04:00

...on Thursday night with a production at CCSU of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and continued on Friday, Saturday, and today with a production of Godspell at the Newington Children's Theatre. Both productions (the latter of which, as my frequent attendance should suggest, including my younger daughter in its cast) were well directed and acted, but I can only say that one of the scripts actually worked.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is (unfortunately) a sophomoric look at the the role of Judas in the Passion. He's put on trial in Purgatory to decide whether he is, essentially, the worst human being ever for his betrayal of Jesus. The weaknesses of this show, however, were not the performances or the well-paced direction. I loved Bryan Kopp's Judas, Keith Johnson's Judge Littlefield, Zack Heidorn's Butch Honeywell, and Jake Frey's Satan and many other of the cast members' portrayals. It's the vast majority of the script that lets everyone down: cast and audience alike.

I simply don't want, for example, and can't imagine anyone really needing, as foul-mouthed a St. Monica as the script gives us (even as down to earth as Augustine's mother might have been in real life). There is a nice Augustinian moment when Judas is shown that evil is not an entity in itself (a.k.a., Satan) but rather the absence of God, but it takes a long time -- and an awful lot of silliness (and that may be way too positive a term) -- to get through the trial. Shame on Mother Theresa, for example, for not refusing donations to her missions from a dictator (Duvalier...or was it Noriega? I can't remember now) and Charles Keating, a central figure in the late 1980s saving and loan scandal (and imagine trying to equate those two figures with a straight face)! Most surprisingly, however, given the length of the play, is that there is no new insight offered into the Judas character or into the idea that maybe he was just doing what Jesus needed him to do, what Jesus wanted him to do. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Jesus Christ Superstar do this already...and didn't JCS do this better?

The only real redeeming script feature is the last 10-15 minutes when Butch Honeywell delivers his monologue about his wife and his infidelity. THAT'S the play, ladies and gentlemen, right there. All the trying-to-be-bleeping-metaphysical kerfuffle of the first two+ hours can be forgotten as a fleshed out character tells a heartfelt story of betrayal that can speak to an audience.

NCTC's Godspell, even with its new high school setting, offered no such problem. The truly ensemble cast, all 12-16 year-olds, acquitted themselves and the songs with aplomb. Well paced and executed, with fine musical direction, the production shows that a witty script with very good songs never goes out of style and can tell us much about human weakness -- and strength. (And the young thespians showed how much more energy they have than their parents.)

"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak"...indeed.

The only good Gaddafi lyric I know...

2011-10-20T16:56:00.001-04:00

...I offer on this, the day of the death of the Libyan strongman was announced.

...I blew up the bus

I started World War III

Hijacked the plane with Qadaffi,

Blew the hostages free

That was the devil in me...

(And I still prefer the Q to the G!)

I was never a fan of Orel Hershiser...

2011-10-20T15:54:00.001-04:00

...when he was pitching for the L.A. Dodgers against my Cincinnati Reds, but I just LOVE his radio commentary on ESPN World Series radio broadcasts. The play-by-play guy, Dan Shulman, is also quite good, but they gotta get rid of that Bobby Valentine since he adds nothing. Doesn't he have a Safety Director job in Stamford, CT, that can keep him busy? (And, yes, I know, he donates his salary for that position.)

BTW, Go, Cardinals!...and prove yet again that National League Baseball is real baseball...For example, St. Louis has to make the conscious decision to put a less-than-perfect fielder at third base, David Freese, because his bat's so hot, and they must risk taking out a pitcher who's pitching well for a pinch hitter -- when the situation demands. That silly designated hitter rule runs rough shod over all the tough choices that a manager should have to make for his team in the course of a game.

PS: Another ESPN-brand personality I really like is the eponymous star of Dan LeBetard is Highly Questionable (ESPN 2, weekdays at 4:00 PM). I can't catch it very often at all, but he (below on right with his father and show guest Pat Riley) can be quite entertaining.

There are no designated hitters in the fight against cancer...

2011-10-19T08:22:00.000-04:00

On the radio lately, I've been hearing a public service announcement (with Reggie Jackson, I think) about Prostate Cancer. It states that, in the time it takes to play one nine-inning game of baseball, nine men die of prostate cancer. A terrible statistic indeed, but is that the time it takes to play one nine-inning game of American League baseball (i.e., forever) or the much more efficient National League brand (under three hours) -- which, of course, would make the stat all the more frightening.

Just wondering...

I tried, but couldn't, come up with a good "Norwegian Wood" pun for a title! (A review of Playhouse on Park's An Enemy of the People)

2011-10-18T16:14:00.000-04:00

I have a fondness for the new production of ArthurMiller’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s classic An Enemy of the People at Playhouse on Park because, in my senioryear at the Covington Latin School in 1977,** the senior class mounted aproduction of the play. I offer thistidbit because I never have seen another production – and was quite bummed thatthe 1978 Steve McQueen film never made it to wide release, or at least was neverreleased in Cincinnati – and so I’ve been waiting a long time. (And, no, I don’t have Netflix.)

I’m happy to report that I enjoyed this production,directed by Kyle Fabel…especially the very strong performances of the twoleads. In their portrayals of thebrothers Stockmann (the doctor and the mayor at odds over the poisoned springthat jeopardizes the spa in which the city has invested its future), both JeremiahWiggins and Michael McKenzie earn excellent marks. In neither case is his character merely apolitical position masquerading as a character; there’s a richness and depth totheir brothers. The personal,professional, and political, all blend into a rough, dangerous mix that, one iscertain, cannot end well.

The supporting cast is less effectively dramatized byMiller…and results in more uneven performances. The “radical” editor Hovstad, for instance, makes far too swift aturnaround in his meeting with the mayor, but any whiplash suffered by theactor, Aaron Barcelo, falls solely at the feet of the playwright. The females, wife Catherine (Coleen Sciacca)and daughter Petra (Allison Layman) aren’t given a great deal to do either, butan audience cannot but like the spunky Petra…her father’s favorite, for sure!

The production, as is always the case at POP, is acleanly and effectively simple one in its set, lighting, and costumes. This, however, is the first time that I feltthe production was hurt by the small size of the cast. While crowd scenes can be problematic tostage effectively (and difficult to cast since the extras are only needed for asingle scene), the crowd scene at the Captain’s house needed, well, acrowd. The larger speeches were stillvery effective, thanks to the two Stockmanns, but the rest of it – which hingesso much on the dynamic of the crowd in relation to the speakers – fell a bitflat.

(One really nitpicky point: I’m pretty sure, given thedebate over how poisoned the city’s medicinal springs are, the one thing we donot want to see the good doctor do before he faces the angry mob at CaptainHorster’s house is take a big drink of water!)

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about An Enemy of the People is its bloodytimely message. From corporate greed andself-serving, political butt-covering, to the strength – and naivete – of the ethical,the play remains as true to our times as it was when Ibsen wrote it in1882. For that reason alone, it’s wellworth seeing, but the performances ofWiggins and McKenzie make it a treat.

Oh, btw, I was Morten, the older son, in the Latin Schoolproduction. Thanks for asking!

**This was back in the time before high schools were requiredapparently to select only shows that students know so that, the reasoning goes,they’ll want to audition. Anexaggeration? I think not. How else can it be explained that, despite acentury of great musicals from which to choose, both New Britain and NewingtonHigh Schools are doing Hairspray thisyear, while another three (yes, three!) area schools are producing the timelessLegally Blonde the Musical? (I simplydon’t get it, especially given that most high school performers will performanytime and anywhere in anything…indeed, open the refrigerator and, as soon asthe light goes on, the young actors will start emoting all over the kitchen!)

Christmas is coming...

2011-10-18T08:32:00.004-04:00

...and the cooked goose is getting fat! Now this would be a fun gift from 1960.

Ladies, are you listening?

A letter to the Hartford Courant editor...

2011-10-15T15:55:00.001-04:00

...that was published in the CT Section on Wednesday, 12 October 2011, in the additional letters location there because, although we apparently asked for more letters (along with more of many other things throughout the Courant), we clearly must not have asked for all the letters to be printed in the same place!

Re: “Keep Latin Alive” (10/10/11), I encourage all Latinstudents out there to keep studying because, if they know Latin, they’ll NEVERbe out of work.

When I was in graduate school at The Catholic University ofAmerica in the late 80s-early 90s, CUA surveyed high schools nationally andfound that many more would offer Latin if they had teachers to teach it. My own experience as a part-time Latininstructor proved those findings correct.

I taught at several schools, and each one asked me to befull-time. When I declined each offer(knowing that full-time teaching would delay my doctoral degree) andconsequently was let go at school year’s end, I would find another part-timeLatin job within weeks (often bybeing contacted by a school that had heard about my recent availability). Indeed, the only time there has been abidding war for my teaching skills was when I was a high school Latin teacher.

I am now a professor who has resurrected Latin at CCSU, andwhose first class of students is starting a classics club, so don’t tell methere’s no interest, and don’t ever believe there’s not a seller’s market forthat knowledge!

Tiger Woods's getting a hot dog....

2011-10-10T04:27:00.000-04:00

...thrown at him should remind us why, once Tiger Woods became TIGER WOODS, he stopped playing tournaments like the "Frys.Com Open"!

And, before we get too caught up in the morality play of "look how far he's fallen," we need to remember there are still only 51 people in the world who play golf better than he does.

Heck, I'm not even sure I'm among the top 50 Gilbert Gigliottis in the world!

When the dead bodies of British people start popping up...

2011-10-06T12:11:00.001-04:00

...all over Seattle, we're going to start thinking that maybe the first trial of Amanda Knox wasn't so flawed! Check out the link with the UNANSWERED questions...

(Okay, so I have no idea if this woman's guilty -- although, un-Americanly, I seem more frequently to think the accused are not innocent -- but my scenario above sure would have made a great Law and Order, when Lenny gets to go to Italy!)

Dad Loves His Work (Oct 2011 edition)

2011-10-05T18:55:00.000-04:00

A full day

8:25 AM Freshman Composition -- First Year Experience

9:25 AM Elementary Latin I

10:50 AM Early American Literature

12:15 PM Central Authors Book Talk -- Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus

1:30 PM The Future of Higher Education in Connecticut -- a panel with Michael Meotti, Merle Harris, Bill Cibes, and Ned Lamont

4:30 PM Andrew Mallory (CCSU History MA, 2008) talks about his book Saints, Sinners, and the God of the World:The Hartford Sermon Notebook Transcribed, 1679-1680.

My NEXT career move is to become the Chairman...

2011-10-04T10:39:00.000-04:00

...of the Joint Chiefs of Staff!

General Dempsey has a Masters Degree in English and loves Frank Sinatra.

He's my kind of guy!

(And I look pretty good when I get dressed up, too.)

(PS: Thanks, Ian.)

My "Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus" book talk...

2011-10-03T19:23:00.001-04:00

...for the Central Authors television program this Wednesday at 12:15 in the CCSU Bookstore was listed among the "Critics' Choices" in the Arts section in Sunday's Hartford Courant.

Booyah!

The REAL upside to a locked-out NBA...

2011-09-26T22:25:00.000-04:00

...is that, without all those god-awful regular season b-ball games, there'll be more Law and Order reruns on TNT!

BREAKING Latin NEWS!

2011-09-25T10:29:00.000-04:00

This just in: Latin's dead, well, except where it isn't (a.k.a., a story that has been written and rewritten for the past 30 years).

“Latin Vanishes From Some High Schools, But StrongholdsRemain”

By KIM VELSEY

The Hartford Courant

September 23, 2011

After Suffield High School's Latin teacher retired in June, the district struggled in vain to find a full-time replacement for the nine students — out of the high school's nearly 900 — still enrolled in Latin.

A few weeks after school started, the district discovered that one of its third-grade teachers was certified in Latin and could hold office hours and a Saturday class. But the independent study will only be offered to students already in the program.

"Fortunately, we found a solution for students who were invested in the program, but it's definitely being phased out," said Principal Donna Hayward. "If I found a teacher, I would consider [keeping] it. But for a caseload of five or six students, I just don't see it as a sustainable program. The students aren't as interested as they once were and we're not finding Latin teachers anyway."

Board of education Chairwoman Mary Roy said she took four years of Latin in high school and "found it very useful," but "whether I personally feel it's important is not really important, it's if the administration feels that they can support a program."

If Suffield High eliminates Latin, it will follow in the footsteps of many other schools in north central Connecticut — both Enfield high schools and Suffield Academy, a private school, are phasing out their programs; Windsor Locks doesn't have a program.

Enfield Superintendent John Gallacher said that Enfield decided to end its Latin program because enrollment declined significantly. This year, the district is offering only upper-level Latin to about 40 students between the two high schools, which share one part-time teacher.

But nil desperandum, never despair, say Latin enthusiasts. The language, though officially dead, has managed to survive for millennia. While it fades in some pockets of the state, it continues to thrive in others, like Glastonbury and West Hartford High schools, the Norwich Free Academy and Edwin O. Smith High in Storrs, said Roger Travis, an associate professor of Classics at UConn.

"Latin is doing very, very well," Travis said. "Since its nadir in the 1970s, it has rebounded tremendously, with bastions throughout the Northeast and Midwest."

Latin's resurgence in the 1970s was largely the work of a generation of Latin teachers who banded together to create a tremendously popular curriculum called the Cambridge Latin course, according to Travis. The course integrated Roman culture and history, making memorizing declensions feel relevant to ancient, and also modern, life.

But difficulty finding teachers is a frequent complaint among districts, Travis said — at UConn, only about one student every two years applies for the Latin teaching certification.

Travis, who is one of several Connecticut Latin teachers developing a game-based computer Latin instruction course called Operation LAPIS, said that he believes online resources will soon offer districts and home-schoolers the chance to incorporate Latin into their curriculum, even if they do not have the means to hire a full-time teacher.

"It's always been a problem; there are more jobs than teachers" said Sherwin Little, director of teacher placement services for the American Classical League. Little said that although difficulty finding teachers and funding have challenged many language programs, not just Latin, Latin enrollment is up tremendously at elementary schools, particularly charter schools in urban areas.

Nationally, Latin was the fifth-most-popular K-12 language in the 2007-08 school year, behind Spanish, French, other (a group that included American Sign Language, Arabic and Hebrew), and German, according to a survey done by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

Mark Pearsall, who teaches Latin at Glastonbury High School and is president of the Classical Association of New England, said that while Glastonbury seems to realize how much Latin and other foreign languages help its largely college-bound students, No Child Left Behind has not been friendly to foreign languages, and they are often among the first to go during budget cuts.

"It's a question of whether language programs can survive those cuts," said Pearsall. "If a language maintains some foothold in a school, it's easier to bring back."

Pearsall added that most of today's Latin teachers fell in love with the language as high school students.

"It's a trickle-up situation," he said. "High school Latin students feed into college programs."

But the language's champions say that Latin is nothing if not resilient, which, for the record, is from the Latin resilire: to leap or spring back.

"It's lasted for 2,000 years for a reason," said Pearsall, "because it touches on the human element."

Skylab redux!

2011-09-23T20:36:00.001-04:00

With space debris back in the news, I figured I'd repost this from 2009. Everything old is new again.

13 February 2009

The sky is falling (well, maybe)

News of the collision of US and Russian satellites in space earlier this week -- and the current watch on how the debris will fall to Earth and/or scatter in space -- transported me back to July 1979 when, a junior at Xavier University, I was working at a Cincinnati chili parlor, Skyline Chili, in nearby Norwood, Ohio.

(Yes, that's the "sweet" chili that's served on spaghetti with shredded cheddar cheese, onions, and beans that's not Texas, Memphis, or any other kind of chili of which most people think when they hear "chili," but don't condemn it unless you've tried it. It's GREAT. )

Anyway, it's 11 July 1979, the day Skylab I is scheduled to plunge to Earth "scattering debris across the southern Indian Ocean and sparsely populated Western Australia." Well, they say they know where it's gonna fall, but I'm no dummy: scientists predict things all the time that might or might not happen, so I'm taking no chances. I wear a hard hat to work at Skyline.

When I arrive at work, running into the restaurant like it's raining outside with my hand above my head, my boss, Corky, looks at me, looks at my hat, rolls his eyes, and asks,

"What's with the hard hat, Gil?"

(Corky was a great boss and put up with me a lot, but I don't think he ever quite understood that I was the kind of employee who, if Skyline had a theme song like McDonald's or Burger King, that I'd sing it all day long, while mopping the floor, wiping down the steam table, or cleaning the grill -- just like they do in the commercials!)

"Skylab's falling today, Cork. I want to be prepared"

"It's falling in the Pacific, Gil."

"So they say. You never know."

"So, you're going to wear that all day?"

"Yep. And I'm not going outside again until it's time to go home. Skylab's falling today."

"In the Pacific."

"So they say."

"What if I ask you to make the deposit at the bank today?"

"I won't go. I can't go. Skylab's falling today."

(If I were better read at the time, I probably would've "Bartleby'd" him, "I'd prefer not to," but I was but 17, and my Latin literary knowledge was better than that of the American Renaissance.)

"Oh, you're going, Gil."

(Somehow I knew he'd say that!)

So when the time comes to make the two-minute trip to the bank across the street, and using my best TV-learned spy/soldier/sneaking-around-teenager moves (slithering along the walls and the store-front window with frequent skyward glances), as the crosswalk signal turns green I dash across to the bank.

You'll be happy, if unsurprised, to know my trip return was without incident -- due, of course, entirely to my caution. Remember: Skylab fell that day.

I enjoyed myself tremendously that day at work. Corky got a headache, but that frequently happened to him when I worked.

Go figure.

For the next couple days, take a glance upward occasionally and watch out for space debris!

When appearing on "Wheel of Fortune"...

2011-09-23T20:04:00.000-04:00

...contestants, during the introductions at the beginning of the program, apparently need to use an adjective to describe their family members. I, for example, couldn't simply say, "I have a wife and two daughters;" it would have to be, "I have a lovely wife and two wonderful daughters."

For future reference here are some suggested adjectives for various family members:

Spouses/Significant Others:
swell
pretty or handsome
demanding
flirty
cheating
estranged
imprisoned

Children:
spiffy
well-behaved
spirited
rambunctious
annoying
silent

Parents
loving
aging
venerable
ailing
tight-fisted
ice-flow-bound

Timing is of the essence -- at Playhouse on Park

2011-09-22T14:40:00.000-04:00

Life, like comedy, is all in the timing, and no one knows that like Phileas Fogg, the uber-reserved English gentlemen traveler who accepts a trans-global wager in Around the World in 80 Days (at Playhouse on Park through October 2) with the same nonchalance most of us decide which tie to wear. Punctuality, he would say, is not about avoiding delays; it's the acceptance of -- and preparation for -- the delays that will inevitably happen. (That lesson alone is something contemporary Americans can learn from the Victorian Mr. Fogg!)

The adaptation of the Jules Verne novel of the 1870s, adapted by Mark Brown, and brought to vivid life by an ensemble of five very talented actors under the direction of Russell Treyz (who directed the equally exquisite Trapezium last season at POP), squeezes every last ounce of invention from the novel with such theatrical efficiency that Fogg's creator must be looking down quite fondly on how his creations have made so successful a transition to the stage. (If all you know of Around the World is the extravagant Michael Todd film with a cast of a 1000 cameos, then are you in for a pleasant surprise. And, if all you know of the novel is, well, the novel, you will not be disappointed.)

As brought to life by Russell Garrett (Fogg), Aiden O'Shea (Passepartout), Chris Mixon (Fix, et al.), Jef Canter (LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of characters), and Veronique Hurley (Aouda, et al.), the story lacks none of the thrills, laughs, and heart that Verne envisioned. And the director shows us how immense an intimate theatre can be when the stage is peopled by talented performers. (If Trapezium unfolded within a closed geometry, World accepts no boundaries.)

The remarkable virtuosity of Canter pleases at every turn, as do the many incarnations of Mixon and Hurley. No one works harder than O'Shea's back-flipping valet Passepartout, a performance of such physicality (not to mention tenderness) that I'm not sure I'll ever want to see the role played by anyone else.     Garrett's Fogg is the anchor by which all the craziness is held in check. A character that, in lesser hands, could be but a stick in the mud, he wins the audience by degrees as he learns to love Aouda and Passepartout.

Bob Phillips' set, dominated by a large late 19th-Century world map, helps to keep the audience's head in the journey, all the while giving the actors appropriate spaces for all the stops along the way.  The costumes (Jennifer Raskopf), lights (Will Lowry) and technical direction (Steve Mountzoures) continue the excellence I've come to expect from POP.

There's no reason you can't find the time to go see Around the World in 80 Days at Playhouse on Park. The trip, you will find, is its own, very entertaining, reward.

What's all this hullabaloo...

2011-09-13T19:39:00.000-04:00

...about the Mets not being allowed by Major League Baseball to wear DKNY hats?

Who knew they were such big fans of Donna Karan?!

My not-a-9/11 tale

2011-09-11T09:32:00.000-04:00

Re-posted from 5 March 2009

A Little Piece of Me is Missing

So, yesterday, former First Lady Barbara Bush had her aortic valve replaced. She is reportedly feeling fine.

Good for her, and a swift recovery to you, Mrs. Bush.

I've been there, done that.

On Friday, September 7, 2001, I had my aortic valve operation at Hartford Hospital. From what I understand (I was asleep at the time, remember!), it wasn't as easy as Mrs Bush's operation because my valve and the pieces on either end weren't in such good shape, so trying to attach the new human valve (I was too young, I was told, to use a porcine or an artificial one) was problematic, but I came out alright and am doing fine still.

That's not the story, however.

Flash forward to the following Tuesday, September 11, 2001. It's morning, and I am resting comfortably in the Cardiac Step-down Unit of the hospital. On my little t.v. I'm watching, quite by chance, High Society (Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelley, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong), when a nurse comes in and says,

"Why you watching this? Don't you know what's happening?"

She then switches the channel to NBC, and Today with Katie Couric and Matt Lauer.

A plane had just hit one of the Twin Towers, but no one had a clue what was going on.

In hindsight, one can legitimately criticize a nurse in a cardiac unit for making a patient watch tragic events unfold live before his very eyes, but that's not what I was thinking.

In the moment, I was just really peeved that this nurse turned off High Society (!?!) and was forcing me -- even for a short time -- to suffer Katie-and-Matt's conjectures on what might have happened/be happening. Could there be a greater waste of time than that? I think not. (And I LIKE Katie Couric!)

As soon as she left the room, back to High Society I went.

During the weeks of recovery time at home, I avoided 9/11 coverage as much as possible (i.e., I didn't watch television, listen to the radio, or read the newspapers hardly at all. Even Tony Kornheiser on ESPN radio was 9/11 far more often than not).

As a result of my self-imposed sequestration, I missed a defining moment of American history and contemporary culture. Even on my return to campus, having missed the communal experience of 9/11, I was a little out-of-step, and, to this day, remain fairly distant from its impact.

I probably should be more uncomfortable with that distance than I am, but, if I had to do it all over again, I'm not sure that I'd do it any differently.

"Chicago" at Playhouse on Park: And you think it's hot OUTSIDE?!

2011-07-23T11:16:00.000-04:00

There may have been record-setting heat throughout Connecticut yesterday, but it was even hotter inside Playhouse on Park as a talented cast sang and schemed and slinked and snapped and stomped across the stage in another sold-out performance of Darlene Zoller's new production of the classic musical Chicago.

The great news is that another performance has been added Sunday night at 7:00 PM, so it's not too late to bask in the heat of the remarkable Kander and Ebb score, performed by a hopping orchestra under the direction of Colin Britt, and Zoller's Fosse-inspired choreography. (Quick question: Has there been a better Broadway score since Chicago? If so, it's not coming to me...especially since the only one I can think of, A Chorus Line, debuted the same year -- 1975 -- but a couple months earlier.)

The proximity of the actors and action to the audience makes this Chicago an even more visceral experience that other productions I have seen, and, as is usual with POP, the costuming (Erin Kacmarik), set (Ryan Bell), lighting (Tim Hache) and sound (Mike Firnhaber) are simple yet evocative.

My favorite highlights (among many) of this production:

"Class" by Velma (Elise Murphy) and Mama (Keisha Gilles)

"Mr. Cellophane" by Amos (Rick Fountain in his best POP performance yet)

"Funny Honey" by Roxie (Bethany Fitzgerald)

and everytime the ensemble was on stage doing their thing.

My only quibbles:

Doug LeBelle's Billy Flynn was appropriately and persuasively slimy, but I wish his vocals were as up to the task as the rest of his performance.

Thao Nguyen's "Mary Sunshine" admittedly fooled me, but "A Little Bit of Good" is too funny a song to not have its lyrics better understood by the audience.

So, in short, take advantage of the additional show added this coming Sunday evening. Your daycation to the Windy City will be a joyous one -- filled with razzle dazzle. (Just avoid women with weapons.)

The theatre's cool, but the performances are decidedly HOT.

It's a Really Good Production, Playhouse on Park!

2011-06-24T10:50:00.000-04:00

I should start off this review of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at Playhouse on Park with an admission of my tricky relationship with the characters from Peanuts. On the one hand, I think A Charlie Brown Christmas is the second best Christmas show ever (sorry, nothing can top Greer Garson's narration of The Little Drummer Boy), and I remember, when I was about twelve-years-old, buying The Gospel According to Peanuts from the Walden Books in Beechmont Mall. (I'm bummed that I don't have that copy anymore.) On the other hand, I despise (and find rather creepy) the Hartford Courant's decision to run old Peanuts strips daily in the comics section; Schulz is dead, after all, and so his comics should not continue to run as if he's not. Calvin and Hobbes are alive in plenty of anthologies; Charlie et alia should only be there too.

I say all of this to make clear I'm neither a Charlie Brown lover nor hater.

And so it is with YAGMCB; while I'm not terribly fond of the show as written (see below), I liked this production A LOT: Lindsay Adkins' Lucy is remarkable; her self-revelatory moment of crabbiness is the laugh-out-loud funniest thing I've seen on stage in a long time! Hillary Ekwall, as Sally, has never been better. And, boy, can Joseph Fierberg's Snoopy dance! In fact, the entire cast (including Steven Mooney as Charlie Brown, Kevin Barlowski as Linus, and Dante Jeanfelix as Schroeder) is never less than engaging and is more than worth the time and energy to go and watch them bring these characters to life. (The show closes this Sunday; so hurry up.)

Sean Harris's direction is crisp, effecting, and effective in conjuring up the iconic characters, and the orchestra, under the direction of Emmett Drake, is equally good, but, in my opinion, just too loud, at times, for the space.

Any real criticisms I have is of the show itself. I know it is a perennial favorite among theatre groups (although this is my first time seeing a production of it), but, like the comic strip upon which is is based, the little vignettes that essentially comprise the script, while very nicely done by this talented ensemble, are never really that funny or witty or moving. (Although, given the recent hullabaloo over the marriage of Kate and Wills, I had to laugh when Lucy complained that her not being able to be queen even though she really wanted to be one was unfair and "undemocratic"!) And the songs, once again very well sung by this cast, are not really that memorable....although my two theatrically-inclined daughters (15- and 12-years-old, respectively) heartily disagree.

In short, I really like this cast and everything about the production, even if I'm unsure why the play itself continues to be so popular. But please keep in mind that I'm often told I'm out-of-touch in my taste in musicals.

The talents of the cast and crew are undeniable, so don't find yourself saying on Sunday evening "Good Grief, I missed that show!"

The power of the purse

2011-06-19T08:58:00.001-04:00

Let me just say this: If the proposed concession agreement doesn't pass because of those corrections officers, I'm NEVER sending any of my children to their prisons!

Waking Up to Emmylou Harris

2011-06-05T08:22:00.000-04:00

On this morning's early walk, I left the house at 6:40 accompanied by 1970s Emmylou Harris (Pieces of the Sky, 1975, and Luxury Liner, 1977). Now, I've always known who Emmylou Harris is, both abstractly and in recordings I've had for years with the Band, Elvis Costello, and John Denver, but this was a TREAT!

Her own "Boulder to Birmingham," Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors," Lennon and McCartney's "For No One," Chuck Berry's "C'est La Vie," the Louvins' "When I Stop Dreaming," and Merle Haggard's "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" are just a few of the gems, tied beautifully together with that voice.

Given her longevity and the names of those who have held her in such high regard, I shouldn't be amazed, and probably should be ashamed for taking so long to take this walk, but better late than never.

I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham

I would hold my life in his saving grace

I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham

if I thought I could see, I could see your face

June is bustin' out all over in New Britain...

2011-06-02T15:28:00.000-04:00

Seizing full advantage of the absolutely beautiful weather today (70s with a breeze!), I took a nice lengthy round trip walk (almost synchronized with Dylan's double album Blonde on Blonde) from home to Walnut Hill Park.

In case you haven't noticed, late Spring has arrived full blown in central Connecticut.

One can tell by:

the fountain at work at the corner of Lincoln and Corbin,
the number of mid-day bikers and walkers,
the return of sunbathers amidst the grove of "State" trees,
a batsman practicing his cricket swings,
and
the rose bushes a-blooming atop the Park!

Notes on some things I've seen on CBS this evening....

2011-05-22T21:35:00.000-04:00

1. No matter what she says, I'm pretty sure that Julianna Margulies would look great with gray hair!

2. I believe what Tyler Hamilton said about Lance Armstrong on 60 Minutes, but don't much like him.

3. It's pretty clear that being the anchor of the network evening news anymore, or else how would Scott Pelley have gotten the job at CBS.

4. It's good to see William Devane again.

WWPD (What would Petit do?)

2011-05-14T09:25:00.000-04:00

Now that apparently the testimony of one crime victim can stop legislation dead in its tracks (pardon the pun), I think we should turn to him for all decisions: the marijuana bill? The Shelton prom incident? The union concession agreement? The next Lakers coach?

Dear legislators, OF COURSE crime victims want to see the perpetrators of the crimes against them receive the harshest penalties. It's natural. If I were he, I'd also be asking the location and height of the nearest yardarm, but THAT'S why we have a judicial system: to take the vengeance factor out of decisions about guilt and punishment. (I'm still appalled that the two accused men's guilty pleas in exchange for the life-imprisonment without parole were rejected by court. The cost -- both financial and psychic -- to the state of dragging this through the courts and media for years and years and, yes, years just doesn't seem worth it.)

This personalization of law flies in the very face of the "justice is blind" concept that should underlie our legislation. This same concern is why I've always been against "naming" laws and procedures like "Emily's Law" or "Amber Alerts" because they only add fuel to the fire of pursuit and prosecution instead of encouraging reason to prevail over emotion.

A punishment should fit the crime, but that punishment should be dispassionately exercised, and enough research has shown (repeatedly) that the death penalty serves no higher value (like deterrence or rehabilitation or even cost savings) than vengeance -- and, as interviews in the wake of the Osama Bin Laden execution have shown most recently -- even such immediate justice as that doesn't bring any sense of closure to his victims.

If the good doctor had managed to kill the two men himself on that horrible day, I'd be completely supportive of a suspended sentence and immediate release for justifiable homicide. But once the arrests were made and the case arrived in court, his say should hold little weight...and, in the halls of the legislature, it should hold even less.

Bin Laden's Dead: Now What?

2011-05-02T08:22:00.000-04:00

Maybe it's because I haven't had a leader I could really believe in since I was 12 (and THAT leader was Sparky Anderson), but how's Bin Laden's death change much?

I mean, I can't believe that, given the news, any terrorist is giving up and packing his bags to go home now and become a cobbler, day care provider, or investment banker.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that OBL is no longer able to plan mass murders (but I'm not dance-in-the-street happy that he's been killed), because this ain't the end o' the war, is it?

Details will follow, I hope (naively perhaps), about how the troops were unable to capture OBL alive and not that they were ordered just to kill him. While a long, drawn-out, and expensive trial is not what I longed for, the sort of justice that comes through a trial, I think, is somehow more appropriate for the values we're supposed to be defending in this conflict.

An interesting day indeed in the history of 21st-Century America.

Top Ten Things I HATED about "Hair" at the Bushnell

2011-05-01T16:36:00.003-04:00

10. The astrology-themed cast bios in the program

9. That the "choreography" consisted of high-fiving and lying on one's back atop someone else who was crawling on the floor on all fours

8. The cast's insistence on rubbing the hair of the audience members in the first few rows of the orchestra section. (And, no, I wasn't jealous of them because I have little hair and was in the mezzanine.)

7. That we were somehow supposed to believe that the man who played "Berger" just got thrown out of high school when he seemed plainly older than the oldest cast members of Disney's High School Musical and the original 90210 combined. (Or the poor young lad simply has overactive glands!)

6. There wasn't a SINGLE tap dance number.

5. I couldn't find anything resembling a plot until 25 minutes in (trust me, I checked my watch!)...and even THAT modicum of plot was decidedly sketchy.

4. There were forty (?!?!) "musical numbers," a number that approaches the range of the ridiculously long New Britain YWCA dance recitals.

3. Most of the 40 (?!?!) "musical numbers" were hardly numbers at all but rather the loose scribblings of the drafts of songs. Most didn't last more than 90 seconds, and Ira Gershwin RIGHT NOW could whip up a better lyric.

2. When we arrived the two people in the adjoining seats were busy with their hand-held devices, and I feared I'd have to say something about turning them off. (They did at the proper time...unfortunately for me because, about 10 minutes in, I would have loved the distraction of watching something else.)

1. I simply cannot for the life of me figure out why they all (well, except Aquarius) took off their clothes at the end of Act I.

Now I wish Wills and Kate the very best of luck in their life together...

2011-04-29T18:46:00.000-04:00

...and I have no reason to doubt all that I've heard about their loving each other.

But, let's say, for a moment, that things don't work out for the couple.

If the marriage doesn't work, I fear that they both will be trapped in a way that even Wills' mom and pop weren't -- since this is the way it's supposed to be done.

For, if THIS doesn't work, who's gonna break it to a) the royal family, b) the British people, c) the world?

Not Kate and Wills, I bet.

The Tap Dance Forecast in CT: RIDICULOUSLY SUNNY (both in the short- and long-term)!

2011-04-29T10:02:00.000-04:00

Okay, Tap Fans, before Sunday evening, you gotta get to Playhouse on Park in West Hartford where the stop/time dance theatre is performing their latest show "Swing Set," a fast-paced joyous celebration of swing dancing and the music that inspired it. Conceived, directed, and choreographed by Darlene Zoller (also one of the artistic directors of Playhouse on Park), the show uses every inch of space in the Playhouse...and

there's something especially invigorating in feeling the tapping in your seats as the dancers go up the aisles (Think "Sensurround" but without the silly disaster movie!) The performers, as always with Zoller-choreographed shows, dance hard and often, with the necessary breaks filled with singing.

My favorite numbers were "Tuxedo Junction", "Sing Sing Sing," and "Sing You Sinners," although there wasn't a dance number that I didn't like. The entire company earns their just applause with their committed and enthusiastic energy and remarkable skill. A particular shout out to Ms. Zoller, who indeed practices what she teaches, i.e., tapping is all about the sound, and, when she was out on the floor, I could hear her tapping as clear as a bell -- no matter how many others were on the floor! Never showing off, just showing how it's done.

If I had two nits to pick, they'd be 1) bag the microphones for the singers since the space seems intimate enough for voices unplugged and a quieter pause may even be more refreshing, and 2) don't change the chorus of "I Got Rhythm" by replacing "my girl/guy" with "rhythm." Maybe it was just "old fogey" me (which wouldn't be surprising), but I got distracted for a couple verses in trying to figure out why the song wasn't sounding right.

The show only runs through the matinee on Sunday, 1 May, so "It Won't Mean a Thing" if you don't "Pick up the Phone." When you do, then, and only then, are you "Beginning to See the Light!"

***

As far as the longer-range Tap forecast here in Connecticut, it's just as bright because you have until June 25th to catch My One and Only at the Goodspeed Opera House. Billed a "Tap Dance Extravaganza," the show doesn't disappoint. The clever script and the kind of inventive staging for which the Goodspeed is known, not to mention a s'wonderful Gershwin score, make this a great springtime show!

***

And since the tap stars were out on opening night of Swing Set, I'd be remiss not to mention Josh Hilberman's upcoming show, “Lois’ Tap Lane” All-Star Tap and Jazz Salute, on Friday, May 13, at 8pm at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA.

A Holy Week Poem (Still Under Construction)

2011-04-22T17:04:00.000-04:00

SS.[1]

There’s something sobering about demanding
Barabbas’s release each Passion Sunday
(rehearsed again Good Friday) because, truth told,
I’m not a strong man and, had I been there that
day, I’d surely have cast my lot with the mob.

There’s something freeing in shouting “Crucify
him!” each Holy Week because, face facts, I’m
Simon: talking tough at supper, running scared
by midnight, praying that forty-plus days hence
Paraclete’s refreshing flames petrify me.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] The designation in the Roman Catholic missalette for the lines to be recited by "Groups of Speakers," i.e., the congregation, during Holy Week readings of the Passion.

A blessed Good Friday, all!

My contribution to National Library Week at CCSU!

2011-04-15T10:36:00.000-04:00

That's a copy of Pete Hamill's great book Why Sinatra Matters I'm holding

(a book I wish I'd written)

That should get the kids to read, right?

A Taxing Walk through New Britain

2011-04-14T15:49:00.001-04:00

Ever do one of those illogical things and assume that there MUST be some meaning to it?

Today I finally did our taxes (federal and state). The CT taxes must be filed on-line now -- alas, I miss the phone filing we used to be able to do -- while the federal ones can be done on-line or not. When I clicked the button to begin the on-line process for the IRS, it said that we would be leaving the IRS website to go to one run by a private company that "may use the information differently than the IRS" (or something equally ominous sounding). Well, THAT wasn't going to happen, so, instead, I completed the various forms in hard copy.

Now comes the illogical act. I decided that, since I needed to mail them (to Missouri, really?), I'd walk to the post office, which, from the house, is well beyond Walnut Hill Park, the usual opposite endpoint to my walks. In short, having rejected the easiest solution (on-line filing), now I was also rejecting putting the envelope in the mailbox right outside my front door, a mailbox down the street near Lincoln Elementary School, or even waiting until I went out with the car later on (or even tomorrow), since taxes aren't due until Monday, the 18th.

As I began my walk to the post office, with tax form under my arm, on this sunny, warm, mid-April day, I attempted to find some larger meaning to it. After all, that's a pretty good picture right there, right? But I wasn't walking in protest (against big or little government); I wasn't being ludditical (against e-filing); I was just walking.

But as I walked out of my neighborhood, through the park, past the hospital, down Arch Street, past some restaurants and matrkets, past the Friendship and Pathways/Senderos Centers, and some empty store fronts, past the Hole-in-the-Wall Theatre and Trinity-on-Main, and, on my return, past the courthouse, several small mom-and-pop businesses, and through the neighborhood that extends the full length of Monroe Street, I realized that all this is at least some of what our taxes go to support......well, that, and a huge military-industrial complex.

I'm pretty sure this won't become an annual walk to accompany the annual tax ritual (especially if it's not a pretty day), but, in the end, I'm quite glad that I took that walk.

"Charlotte, Meet Catullus"

2011-04-13T12:32:00.000-04:00

An original poem I shared with my Greek and Roman Lit and Latin classes (based on the sparrow poem of Catullus, specifically; the Catullan oeurve, generally; and the Sex and the City episode starring that device).

I'm not a fan of the show (finding it a more lascivious and less funny knockoff of Seinfeld), but it works nicely here, I think.

Enjoy.

Sex in the Eternal City

(a.k.a., “Charlotte, Meet Catullus”)

Rabbit,

joy of woman’s desiring

with whom in her lap she plays and replays

to whom selflessly she offers herself

receiving

repeated

release,

surely you satisfy my Sweet

soothing her hollowed sighs.

Would that I could

enjoy her as you do

lifting her spirits so.

On this date in baseball history (or "how to finish a triple")...

2011-04-13T08:11:00.000-04:00

From Today in Baseball History

1963

Reds' second baseman Pete Rose triples off Pirates' pitcher Bob Friend to collect his first major league hit. The future all-time hit leader had gone hitless in his first 11 major league at bats.

The REAL question, of course, is whether he slid head-first into 3rd base!

And nota bene: in all his head-first slides (and other base running collisions), he never broke his arm like that dope Josh Hamilton did last night.

A hit, no errors! (Playhouse on Park's "The Comedy of...")

2011-04-10T00:02:00.001-04:00

Playhouse on Park has brought Stages on the Sound's production of The Comedy of Errors to West Hartford, and it works very very well. The play, of course, concerns the confusion wrought by two sets of separated twins in the heart of Ephesus and is made even more manic here by all the parts being played by an ensemble of four (!?!) talented and high-energy actors, Brad DePlanche, Vanessa Morosco, Jesse Graham, and Brendan Norton. The audience was especially endeared to Mr. DePlanche (as the two Dromios and, especially, as the Abbess Amelia), but all four displayed the kind of total commitment that a small theatre space demands and rewards -- especially with audience members seated adjacent to the stage to assist with those scenes when four bodies just were not enough.

Directed by Will Ditterline, the production is a slam-bang 100 minutes without intermission. The action moves briskly and often hilariously...with every aspect of the performances (accents, costumes, set, and even the sound effects which are all generated by the actors themselves) aimed at making the audience laugh.

And laugh we did.

Catch it before it closes on 17 April, and, in the meantime, if someone mistakes you for someone else, well...have fun with it (you just may have a long-lost twin)!

Dad Loves His Work (April 5th edition)

2011-04-06T07:41:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, 5 April 2011

7:30 AM      Arrive at WFCS and begin pre-"Frank, Gil, and Friends" broadcasting
8:00 AM    "Frank, Gil, and Friends"
10:15 AM    In office, write test for Friday's Eng 210 test and other class prep
12:00 PM    Advising
2:00 PM      Run various errands on campus (library, Student Center, DiLoreto Hall)
3:00 PM    DEC meeting for non-English Department
5:00 PM    SA/LD Recognition Dinner
7:30 PM    Kentucky Cycle, Part II and post-performance panel
10:30 PM    Head home

Requiescant in pace (not war): Vandalism in Waltnut Hill Park

2011-04-02T13:23:00.001-04:00

While on a glorious sunny and breezy walk through Walnut Hill Park today (soundtrack by Elvis Costello variously solo, with the Attractions, and with the Brodsky Quartet), I was met with the disheartening sight of vandalism at the WW I memorial in the rose garden atop the park. Scrawled on the obelisk and its base, in blue spray paint, are the words "peace not war" and a peace symbol.

Clearly the ~~idiot~~ person who sprayed this doesn't understand that a war memorial doesn't celebrate war but rather soberly commemorates the human cost of such conflicts. That the aforesaid ~~idiot~~ person thinks (and I use that term very loosely) that a fairly cliched baby-blue spray painted slogan is, in any way, a bold political or philosophical statement shows how little (s)he knows.

While I heartily agree with the basic sentiment, its execution, placement, and the hardly-unexpected reaction to it suggests a thoughtless act of desecration rather than a profound cry for peace.

Whoever you are, grow up. And protest the wars productively.

Talkin' Childhood Play and Baby Boomers...

2011-04-01T22:32:00.000-04:00

...for the Free Play Project of National Wildlife Federation.

What did you play when you were growin' up?

Click the link above and listen to Mary Collins talk to me and others about our childhood play.

The Major League Baseball season starts today (my 2011 pre-season picks)

2011-03-31T08:14:00.000-04:00

National League

East Atlanta Braves

Central Cincinnati Reds

West San Francisco Giants

Wild Card Philadelphia Phillies

American League

East Boston Red Sox

Central Minnesota Twins

West Oakland A's

Wild Card Texas Rangers

In the World Series, we're gonna party like it's 1972 (albeit with a revised ending)!

The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Oakland A's (in 6 games).

When President Reagan was shot...

2011-03-30T20:39:00.000-04:00

...I was a senior at Xavier University in Cincinnati, and I heard about it around 3:00 PM, while walking through Hinkle Hall and passing the office of John Getz, professor of American literature and one of my favorites!, who was intently listening to the radio. I popped my head into his office, made a crack approximating "Is this what faculty do all day, sit around listening to the radio?" to which he replied "Reagan's been shot." (In the picture, he's the one on the right...and, nota bene, the picture was taken several years later.)

More personally (and significantly), this was shortly after returning from Spring Break in Estero Island off the western coast of Florida, where a group of us lived for the better part of a week -- at the family summer cottage of our friends Cathy and Mary -- on a steady diet of Product 19 cereal (in single-serving boxes) and Pabst Blue Ribbon (on a really good sale at the local Winn Dixie).

It was also here and then that I first set eyes on the woman who would become my wife. Yay!!!!!

And a few weeks before I would graduate.

30 years ago? Yikes.

And WOW.

"Into the Woods" at New Britain High School (a poetical recap)

2011-03-26T09:15:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to all the talented students who performed in New Britain High School's production of Into the Woods!

A fine job by all!

In their honor, a poem:

Stephen Sondheim Despises Singers

mens rea motives
wrapped with lacework word-
play, ranging against the
page, plus no way to
clap at number's end

Preview Pictures from "Into the Woods" at New Britain High School...

2011-03-24T22:52:00.000-04:00

...taken by the mother of Cinderella, to whom this blogger's a bit partial.

I'm pretty sure these aren't in the order of the action, but, hey, they're only a teaser.

Performances are tomorrow at 7 and Saturday at 1 and 7.

You can still get tickets on the New Britain High web site.

It's quite convenient that I like Mr. Costello, REM, and the riff A LOT!

2011-03-24T21:42:00.000-04:00

Does anybody else hear what would become the main riff in REM's "Stand" (1989) in the chorus of "Next Time Round," a 1986 Elvis Costello and the Attractions cut from Blood and Chocolate?

Frank Sinatra Song Bracket Needs Your Vote!

2011-03-24T17:24:00.000-04:00

Go to my newest blog for Blue-Eyes.com and vote for the Sinatra song "March Madness" tournament!

It says the deadline has passed, but it hasn't!

VOTE today!