“Who publishes the sheet music of winds . . . ? “
Nobody. The wind improvises. Watch Ken Burns’ Jazz.
Lost and Found
There are four kinds of people in the world. Those who are/aren’t into American Idol, and those who aren’t/are into Lost. Ok, I’ll confess–I’m addicted to Lost. Not that I can figure it all out: I gave up on that years ago. There are too many literary and Biblical references, too much symbolism, and too much physics that wouldn’t really work. It’s best just to turn off the intellect and hang on for the ride. Interestingly, the very people one thinks would be into Lost pay it no attention. (John?)
Lost is wearing a little thin, however, and I miss Dominic Monaghan’s character, Charlie (which was the name of the character that Matthew Fox played on Party of Five–it’s jarring to call PO5’s Charlie “Jack” for Lost, but I digress).
Hey, I did finally figure out who Michael Emerson (Ben, Leader of the Others on Lost) resembles: IT”S WOLFIE (who didn’t really look like Tom Hulce, you know). As for that other show, I did find an old elementary school friend of mine (well, his double) on American Idol–stay tuned!
You Know It’s Shopping Season When . . .
The Chia Pet ads start, as they did today. The Clapper ads will be next. And about this time that version of “Jingle Bells” barked by dogs (with cat descant) starts to pollute aural space, but I digress.
Years ago, it was Ronco products, magic card tricks, the Drinking Bird (Dunking Duck), and my all-time favorite, the Inertia Nutcracker. My family actually bought one of those nutcrackers off the TV, despite a tinge of skepticism, since somebody always gave us a whole heap of pecans in shells–always hard to crack. The Inertia Nutcracker was supposed to crack a nut cleanly between a rubber-band-fired piston and a big steel weight. A cover slid over the nut, to shield the operator from mayhem. Needless to say, the laws of physics were fickle when the original band broke after a dozen or so firings, and the rubber bands that came wrapped around the Birmingham News weren’t adequate replacements (not that it worked that great with the original band). But, hey, the Inertia Nutcracker made a great doorstop.
And don’t even get me started about making a Dunking Duck drink!
Generic Peanuts
I just discovered that at some forgotten point in the past, I purchased the piano solo score for Linus and Lucy. You know, the Charlie Brown theme. Playing through it feels like Christmas . . . or Thanksgiving . . . or Halloween . . . or Valentine’s Day. In fact, there is a Peanuts special for just about any and every holiday, although few of them are seen anymore on TV.
So, can I buckle down, really learn Linus and Lucy, and have every holiday covered, as far as anybody over 40 who actually remembers specials like It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown is concerned?
Of course, one also has to know Misty, As Time Goes By, Für Elise, and Ashokan Farewell, for some reason, no matter the occasion.
How Novel, Culture on PBS!
There is a series on PBS of which until of late I had not been aware, Classical Destinations: An Armchair Guide to Classical Music. This is a travel type show featuring the places where the great composers lived and worked. Despite a tendency to talk too much over rather oddly selected music of the featured composer (and a tendency for a violinist to pop up playing the show’s theme at odd moments), the series would be stunning for the helicopter shots over European cities, alone.
The last episode I saw was a Bach one, which featured some Martin Luther connections. I never knew that some portraits of Martin Luther have him looking like Jack Black of School of Rock fame!
(Off topic, when I spell checked this, the checker didn’t recognize BACH! **Gasp**)
The Forgott’n Olympic Theme
Another Olympiad has come and gone. We got a bellyful of Leo Arnaud’s Bugler’s Dream and John Williams’ Olympic Fanfare and Theme. Musical works so indelibly linked with the Olympics on ABC and NBC that a broadcast without them is unthinkable.
Yet, CBS chose to use a lavishly orchestrated theme by Tamara Kline for their 1992, 1994. and 1998 Winter Olympics coverage, which I think I like better. This can be heard on the YouTube clip of the closing montage of the Lillehammer Games.
Greetin’s Mateys
Perhaps I’m getting too old for silliness, but why shouldn’t a blog have a silly name, like a TV production company, and its author a silly identity? We’re all about fun here, anyway: quirky observations of life, culture, and more than you probably want to hear about the piano. So keep it relatively clean and comment away. Or lurk in the shadows. Or ignore me completely in gnawing guilt. It’s all good. (Please comment.)
Hey, speaking of silly production company names, I like Worldwide Pants, UBU (“Sit, BooBoo, sit! Good dog!” ), and Bedford Falls (“And Dance by the light of the moon!” [sung out of tune]). What are your favorites?
