Weather: RAIN! On top of lotsa snow -- get home early and STAY there before the roads freeze tonight.
BTW --- the snowpack is still below average -- so sayeth the Weather Bureau. Rain isn't going to help, unless it stays snowy in the upper altitudes.
Wildlife: The deer scrounge day and night. The two eagles frequent the open water, but I haven't seen them catch anything yet.
Charity Alert: The Animal Rescue Site : Feed an Animal in Need
At the College: Power Point use is more and more frequent. We are hustling data projectors around on wheeled carts, and also installing them in classrooms. Many visitors are bringing their own, and one of these broke down last night -- luckily we had a spare! Data projectors are also fairly good for showing movies on larger screens -- just run a video output from the in-class VCR/DVD player into the projector, select Video One, and ya' gotta show! Prof. Gerda Reeb showed Himalaya last night for the Intercultural Club (Global Friends) by using this method.
Here's some info about the flick:
HIMALAYA, a film by Eric Valli
Media Watch: FVCC Current Events didn't show on Cable Channel Nine today -- maybe tomorrow. Carolyn G. Heilbrun's collection of essays: HAMLET'S MOTHER AND OTHER WOMEN is really fine. Thanks Prof. Kabler!
I snoozed during NPR news, and saw a little of political comedian Bill Maher on Larry King (ruefully laughing a bit) before I started reading. One story Heilbrun alluded to was Sylvia Beach's publishing of James Joyce's Ulysses.
Want a virtual tour of her bookstore, Shakespeare & Co. in Paris?:
Shakespeare and Company - Virtual Tour by Robert Jeantet
How about hearing the voice of Virgina Woolf? One essay by Heilbrun compared her works with those of James Joyce.
The Hours - Virginia Woolf - at CTF
Thursday, January 29, 2004
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Weather: Threats of heavy snow -- hasn't quite happened yet, but we've added to our total levels of white stuff anyway. At least it's not worth your life to drive at a given moment. CORRECTION -- Just fifteen miles north of where I live, they had 30 inches of blowing snow, and US Highway 2 was closed all night!
Wildlife: I wonder what those two eagles are eating? They're hanging around the aereation pond in our lake, so it might be fish. At night the deer use Middle Foy's Lake as a highway, it's frozen everywhere except for that one spot.
Charity Alert: The Rainforest Site: Help Save Our Rainforests!
At the College: Christy Kabler, our literature professor, gave me a book of essays by Carolyn G. Heilbrun called HAMLET'S MOTHER AND OTHER WOMEN. I sent her the URL of this blog -- email me if you read this, please!
I'm back on cable TV! The "FVCC Current Events" tape was recorded and edited in less than a week. I'll get it down to Bresnan Communications after work.
Other Projects: Improved the John White Lecture Series page for the NW Montana Historical Society website:
The M -- Your Museum and More!
I've also updated the Hockaday Art Museum's site after a frantic New Year there (more to come):
Current Exhibits at the Hockaday Museum
Media Alert: Watched an interview with the late Ann Miller on TCM last night -- very good tap dancer, with a big ol' grin, from Hollywood's "Golden Age." Turner Classic Movies also showed a few of her movies -- she was "Too Darn Hot" in Kiss Me Kate for sure! It was great seeing clips of choreographer Bob Fosse in that film, and hearing her point of view about his early career as well.
New Hampshire Primary -- Saw a couple of speeches, heard a few pundits.
The horses are leaving the gate -- THEY'RE OFF!
Wildlife: I wonder what those two eagles are eating? They're hanging around the aereation pond in our lake, so it might be fish. At night the deer use Middle Foy's Lake as a highway, it's frozen everywhere except for that one spot.
Charity Alert: The Rainforest Site: Help Save Our Rainforests!
At the College: Christy Kabler, our literature professor, gave me a book of essays by Carolyn G. Heilbrun called HAMLET'S MOTHER AND OTHER WOMEN. I sent her the URL of this blog -- email me if you read this, please!
I'm back on cable TV! The "FVCC Current Events" tape was recorded and edited in less than a week. I'll get it down to Bresnan Communications after work.
Other Projects: Improved the John White Lecture Series page for the NW Montana Historical Society website:
The M -- Your Museum and More!
I've also updated the Hockaday Art Museum's site after a frantic New Year there (more to come):
Current Exhibits at the Hockaday Museum
Media Alert: Watched an interview with the late Ann Miller on TCM last night -- very good tap dancer, with a big ol' grin, from Hollywood's "Golden Age." Turner Classic Movies also showed a few of her movies -- she was "Too Darn Hot" in Kiss Me Kate for sure! It was great seeing clips of choreographer Bob Fosse in that film, and hearing her point of view about his early career as well.
New Hampshire Primary -- Saw a couple of speeches, heard a few pundits.
The horses are leaving the gate -- THEY'RE OFF!
Monday, January 26, 2004
Weather: No, we never set out to Missoula -- the weather was awful here, and worse down there. The roads have been icy, and the snow keeps falling. Our driveway will be dug out this morning, but there's more storms on the way. We are also beginning to develop ice dams over our frozen-full rain gutters. Will de-icer on the eaves help any?
Wildlife: I think that the big raptor who's haunting our bird feeders is a Red-tailed Hawk. The Bald Eagles are flying over the neighborhood, and hanging out in their dead tree across the lake. The deer are hungry and stressed in the deep snow.
Charity Alert: The Child Health Site : Help a Child in Need Lead a Healthy, Active Life
Media Watch: Lawrence Olivier's version of Henry V from 1944 -- this time I recorded the whole thing! My favorite scenes still feature Robert Newton's over-the-top "Pistol" character. (See the archive for my previous words on these subjects.)
Arrrrr, Matey! Website Ahoy!: Robert Newton (1905-1956)
I read a book over the weekend: Serious Music - and All That Jazz! by Henry Pleasants (1910-2000), published in 1969. Quoting from the International Herald Tribune's web site:
Mr. Pleasants, the longtime London music critic for the International Herald Tribune, was perhaps best known for his 1955 book ''The Agony of Modern Music,'' a polemical attack on the direction taken by much of 20th-century serious music, and an argument in favor of jazz and other vernacular styles as the true music of the time, both as entertainment and as art. He developed this theme in other books, ''Death of a Music?: The Decline of the European Tradition and the Rise of Jazz'' (1961) and (my book). Beginning in 1967, he was the London music critic for the International Herald Tribune.
The author stops listing names and examples from sometime in 1967, so I think it took him over a year to publish it. (More about the content later.)
Coincidentally, I also bought a couple of CDs which were originally recorded in the very interesting time between the writing and publishing of Mr. Pleasants' book: Al Kooper and Michael Bloomfied's Super Session (Remixed) and Live at the Fillmore East. The latter's importance is Johnny Winter's first appearence in New York City as a guest. Kooper admits admits to having a bad night in the album notes, and apologizes for the mismatch between the bassist and drummer. Bloomfield plays wonderfully and vocalizes quite well -- I wish that some of the second night of their gig, with B.B. King, was released too.
It's a nice thing that all those hums and buzzes from the original masters are able to be digitally removed.
It's very sad that Michael Bloomfield's quality recordings were so few in number, but I'm glad that his family and musical partners are keeping his memory alive. The Official Mike Bloomfield Web Site
Speaking of older Pop music, I also watched several Bands Reunited on VH1, in whole or part. "Berlin" was the best -- Terry Nunn still sings those songs regularly, and the original musicians seem to possess most of their chops. "Frankie Goes to Hollywood" achieved a speaking-terms reunion, but Holly Johnson seemed to have his reasons for not performing again. He might be correct in his choice -- I liked some aspects of "Flock of Seagulls'" reunion performance, but the singing was ROUGH, 'though it gradually became tolerable. (Maybe Holly Johnson wanted his fans to remember his best moments.)
Wildlife: I think that the big raptor who's haunting our bird feeders is a Red-tailed Hawk. The Bald Eagles are flying over the neighborhood, and hanging out in their dead tree across the lake. The deer are hungry and stressed in the deep snow.
Charity Alert: The Child Health Site : Help a Child in Need Lead a Healthy, Active Life
Media Watch: Lawrence Olivier's version of Henry V from 1944 -- this time I recorded the whole thing! My favorite scenes still feature Robert Newton's over-the-top "Pistol" character. (See the archive for my previous words on these subjects.)
Arrrrr, Matey! Website Ahoy!: Robert Newton (1905-1956)
I read a book over the weekend: Serious Music - and All That Jazz! by Henry Pleasants (1910-2000), published in 1969. Quoting from the International Herald Tribune's web site:
Mr. Pleasants, the longtime London music critic for the International Herald Tribune, was perhaps best known for his 1955 book ''The Agony of Modern Music,'' a polemical attack on the direction taken by much of 20th-century serious music, and an argument in favor of jazz and other vernacular styles as the true music of the time, both as entertainment and as art. He developed this theme in other books, ''Death of a Music?: The Decline of the European Tradition and the Rise of Jazz'' (1961) and (my book). Beginning in 1967, he was the London music critic for the International Herald Tribune.
The author stops listing names and examples from sometime in 1967, so I think it took him over a year to publish it. (More about the content later.)
Coincidentally, I also bought a couple of CDs which were originally recorded in the very interesting time between the writing and publishing of Mr. Pleasants' book: Al Kooper and Michael Bloomfied's Super Session (Remixed) and Live at the Fillmore East. The latter's importance is Johnny Winter's first appearence in New York City as a guest. Kooper admits admits to having a bad night in the album notes, and apologizes for the mismatch between the bassist and drummer. Bloomfield plays wonderfully and vocalizes quite well -- I wish that some of the second night of their gig, with B.B. King, was released too.
It's a nice thing that all those hums and buzzes from the original masters are able to be digitally removed.
It's very sad that Michael Bloomfield's quality recordings were so few in number, but I'm glad that his family and musical partners are keeping his memory alive. The Official Mike Bloomfield Web Site
Speaking of older Pop music, I also watched several Bands Reunited on VH1, in whole or part. "Berlin" was the best -- Terry Nunn still sings those songs regularly, and the original musicians seem to possess most of their chops. "Frankie Goes to Hollywood" achieved a speaking-terms reunion, but Holly Johnson seemed to have his reasons for not performing again. He might be correct in his choice -- I liked some aspects of "Flock of Seagulls'" reunion performance, but the singing was ROUGH, 'though it gradually became tolerable. (Maybe Holly Johnson wanted his fans to remember his best moments.)
Friday, January 23, 2004
Weather: Day-um it's starting to snow again! We were planning to drive to Misssoula tomorrow too.
Let's see -- 3 hours, driving slow, starting at 8AM gets us there at 11 AM -- three hours of shopping -- 2 PM -- heading home, if the snow doesn't get worse, will get us back around 5PM. Yuck! Maybe we should just lock the cats in, give 'em extra food & cat litter, and stay over until Sunday.
Wildlife: A miniature owl and a Sharp-shinned Hawk were spotted around the bird feeders!
Charity Alert: The Breast Cancer Site : Fund Mammograms for Free
Media watch: It's the Howard Dean Show -- Yeeeeaaaahhhhh! He not only looks like "Bob" (without the pipe), but he was caught ranting like a SubGenius last Monday after his defeat in Iowa. USATODAY.com - Televised tirade in Iowa dogs Dean after caucuses
What's a SubGenius? The Church of the SubGenius
Mr. and Mrs. Dean were on ABC last night, facing accusations-thinly-disguised-as-questions from former Republican staffer Diane Sawyer. Dr. Dean (the male) sneaked in about 40 seconds of talk on issues, instead of the campaign "horse race."
Dr. Dean (the female) seemed like a nice lady, who likes her job treating patients in Vermont.
ABCNEWS.com : Transcript: Howard and Judy Dean
I'm not exactly sold on Dean's candidacy, but he HAS shown some guts.
Let's see -- 3 hours, driving slow, starting at 8AM gets us there at 11 AM -- three hours of shopping -- 2 PM -- heading home, if the snow doesn't get worse, will get us back around 5PM. Yuck! Maybe we should just lock the cats in, give 'em extra food & cat litter, and stay over until Sunday.
Wildlife: A miniature owl and a Sharp-shinned Hawk were spotted around the bird feeders!
Charity Alert: The Breast Cancer Site : Fund Mammograms for Free
Media watch: It's the Howard Dean Show -- Yeeeeaaaahhhhh! He not only looks like "Bob" (without the pipe), but he was caught ranting like a SubGenius last Monday after his defeat in Iowa. USATODAY.com - Televised tirade in Iowa dogs Dean after caucuses
What's a SubGenius? The Church of the SubGenius
Mr. and Mrs. Dean were on ABC last night, facing accusations-thinly-disguised-as-questions from former Republican staffer Diane Sawyer. Dr. Dean (the male) sneaked in about 40 seconds of talk on issues, instead of the campaign "horse race."
Dr. Dean (the female) seemed like a nice lady, who likes her job treating patients in Vermont.
ABCNEWS.com : Transcript: Howard and Judy Dean
I'm not exactly sold on Dean's candidacy, but he HAS shown some guts.
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Weather: Warmer and clearing a little -- the sun came out for an hour at Noon!
Wildlife: Got to get some more cracked corn for the pheasants and doves. Yeah, the deer family will glean a little -- so what?
Charity Alert: The Hunger Site : Give Food for Free to Hungry People in the World
Media Watch: Indian movies for me! They last for three hours and more -- thank goodness for sub-titles. Last night I saw parts of two comedies -- one was a slapsick farce, and the other a black-comedy satire on the whole "Bollywood" genre of musical fantasies.
While eating dinner, I peeped in to The Temptations movie on VH1. I always wondered why Paul Williams did what he did, and what was up with Kendricks and Ruffin. A movie is rarely the whole truth, but the outline of this one resembles the few facts I happen to know.
Wildlife: Got to get some more cracked corn for the pheasants and doves. Yeah, the deer family will glean a little -- so what?
Charity Alert: The Hunger Site : Give Food for Free to Hungry People in the World
Media Watch: Indian movies for me! They last for three hours and more -- thank goodness for sub-titles. Last night I saw parts of two comedies -- one was a slapsick farce, and the other a black-comedy satire on the whole "Bollywood" genre of musical fantasies.
While eating dinner, I peeped in to The Temptations movie on VH1. I always wondered why Paul Williams did what he did, and what was up with Kendricks and Ruffin. A movie is rarely the whole truth, but the outline of this one resembles the few facts I happen to know.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Weather: Regular snow, morning fogs, the official drought may be declared over soon.
Wildlife: There's nothing left but a few feathers of the goose that died on the Lake. Two eagles haunted the carcass, and the neighborhood dogs did the rest. The regular gang is visiting our feeders -- flickers, magpies, chickadees, finches, and a huge flock of doves. Our cat Merry Gold is killing some of the latter birds -- there's more than usual this year, and they're swarming around the neighbor's feeder too.
Charity Alert: The Animal Rescue Site : Feed an Animal in Need
Media Watch:
NFL Football has been fun. The physically-damaged Green Bay and Philadelphia squads finally lost to younger, healthier teams. The Super Bowl ought to be a slugfest between New England and Carolina this Sunday.
I wasn't feeling very good last night, so I just sat and watched all of the chapters of "Barbarians" on the History Channel. The sameness of the production got boring, but I was more annoyed with the shallowness of the stories they told.
I know it's rare when stories of the Goths and Huns are told at all on TV -- but leaving out characters like Stilicho and Genseric makes history sound like "The barbarians came. saw, and looted," without any variety or color.
FYI -- After it's general Stilicho was executed around 408 AD, the Western Empire had no standing army. Flavius Aetius, the last Roman military leader of any consequence, was still a youth, and was likely living as a diplomatic hostage with the Huns. The Visigoth king had no effective opposition to his gang of raiders when he marched on Rome. How the sack of Rome in 410 AD came to pass is a very human story that could have/should have been told at least as well as they told their stories about Attila the Hun.
In 455, two years after Attila's death, Geiseric led the Vandals into Rome, devastated the place, and installed a puppet government which substituted as a sad shadow of the Western Empire for one more generation.
His nation's march around the Western Mediterranian, and their decades-long domination of the region did more to degrade agriculture and commerce, and initiate the "Dark Ages," than any other phenomenon.
Pope Leo's diplomacy with Attila, which might be a legend anyway, has very little relevance when compared to the effects of Geiseric's conquests. If the legend is true, the Vandals just had more to loot when they attacked Rome, but they were coming anyway, no matter what the Pope did!
No, I didn't watch the state of the union address -- i didn't tune in to the Sci-Fi nework at all!
My wife and I have been indulging ourselves in Indian movies for some good times (more later).
Wildlife: There's nothing left but a few feathers of the goose that died on the Lake. Two eagles haunted the carcass, and the neighborhood dogs did the rest. The regular gang is visiting our feeders -- flickers, magpies, chickadees, finches, and a huge flock of doves. Our cat Merry Gold is killing some of the latter birds -- there's more than usual this year, and they're swarming around the neighbor's feeder too.
Charity Alert: The Animal Rescue Site : Feed an Animal in Need
Media Watch:
NFL Football has been fun. The physically-damaged Green Bay and Philadelphia squads finally lost to younger, healthier teams. The Super Bowl ought to be a slugfest between New England and Carolina this Sunday.
I wasn't feeling very good last night, so I just sat and watched all of the chapters of "Barbarians" on the History Channel. The sameness of the production got boring, but I was more annoyed with the shallowness of the stories they told.
I know it's rare when stories of the Goths and Huns are told at all on TV -- but leaving out characters like Stilicho and Genseric makes history sound like "The barbarians came. saw, and looted," without any variety or color.
FYI -- After it's general Stilicho was executed around 408 AD, the Western Empire had no standing army. Flavius Aetius, the last Roman military leader of any consequence, was still a youth, and was likely living as a diplomatic hostage with the Huns. The Visigoth king had no effective opposition to his gang of raiders when he marched on Rome. How the sack of Rome in 410 AD came to pass is a very human story that could have/should have been told at least as well as they told their stories about Attila the Hun.
In 455, two years after Attila's death, Geiseric led the Vandals into Rome, devastated the place, and installed a puppet government which substituted as a sad shadow of the Western Empire for one more generation.
His nation's march around the Western Mediterranian, and their decades-long domination of the region did more to degrade agriculture and commerce, and initiate the "Dark Ages," than any other phenomenon.
Pope Leo's diplomacy with Attila, which might be a legend anyway, has very little relevance when compared to the effects of Geiseric's conquests. If the legend is true, the Vandals just had more to loot when they attacked Rome, but they were coming anyway, no matter what the Pope did!
No, I didn't watch the state of the union address -- i didn't tune in to the Sci-Fi nework at all!
My wife and I have been indulging ourselves in Indian movies for some good times (more later).
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