CHAZZY(BLO)G

I’m a big fan of Terry Teachout’s blog, ArtsJournal: About Last Night, and his entry on the occasion of the new NY production of The Fantasticks is a particularly good one. I like the part about the experience of “making music,” and the nostalgic perfume that pervades the whole piece. Check it out, and you may wind up bookmarking his site like I did.

Interesting piece published on the web by Stanford University, outlining the president’s initiative for a richer arts component in their educational mix:

Arts essential to multidisciplinary research, teaching

On that page, there’s a link to a video clip in which the president of Stanford and several faculty members speak.

Char and D’Ar at the beach

Originally uploaded by Chazzyg.

We just spent the past week with D’Arcy’s sister and brother-in-law, and a more pleasant week would be hard to imagine. Their being here was an incentive for us to sample many of the entertaining and delightful things our city has to offer. We started out last Saturday with a stroll down Doo Wop Avenue looking at classic cars on Passyunk Ave. in our neighborhood. Sunday we took in the final performance of Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam, which was awe-inspiring. Other activities during the week included a trip to the beach at Strathmere for a cloudy stroll by the shore and a pile of Uncle Bill’s Pancakes; a visit to the Barnes Foundation; a trip to the Independence Seaport Museum and a tour of the Olympia (historic steel ocean liner built in 1898) and the Becuna (WW II submarine in pristine condition); street theater at Betsy Ross’s House and a discussion of American values in the Arch Street Friends Meeting House; and everywhere, food, food, food! We finished up the visit in fine style yesterday: coffee and Metropolitan Bakery pastries on the banks of the Schyulkill while watching the scullers to start; then a trip to the Ritz at the Bourse to take in the new film The Illusionist (excellent); and then lunch in Old City at Cuba Libre, where the menu included rum drinks and exotic Havana delicacies. Other people come to Philly to visit, but we get to live here – how cool is that?

No more blogger – I’ve switched my hosting over to 1&1, where I’ve been hosting my site for several years. There’s a link on the left if you want to investigate their very reasonably priced plans.

If you haven’t read him yet (or lately), check out the website of investigative journalist Greg Palast, whose most recent column asks the musical question: “…if [airport] security�s no joking matter, why does this guy dressed in a high-school marching band outfit tell me to dump my Frappuccino and take off my shoes?” Palast’s articles on the Mexican election, the politics of petroleum, and the scary freaks currently governing our country are funny, provocative and completely disquieting.

I’m busting out the camera and heading over to the
Doo-Wop Avenue Claasic Car Show and Street Party, taking place around the corner from our house. Look for pix here.

That was so easy (see post below) that I’m posting a second video from “Einstein’s Dreams,” this one a trio of short original songs I wrote for the character of Mileva Maric, Einstein’s wife at the time Lightman’s novel takes place (Einstein’s “annus mirabilis,” 1905). The singers are Abby Grenda, Carleigh Smith and Danielle Westhead; all of them learned these songs overnight and performed them with skill and sang-froid. Thanks, ladies!