Long before she was elected the mayor of Boston, I met her when she was the maid of honor at my nephew Michael’s wedding. Here she is in her side gig, performing “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Boston Pops.
Author: DOuG pRATt
Tull’s Prog Rock Progression
I first saw The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in abbreviated form on a LaserDisc release. Filmed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg in December, 1968, only a few weeks before he started filming the Beatles for what became Let It Be.
I especially enjoyed Jethro Tull’s “A Song For Jeffrey”. Ian Anderson, in a fearlessly eccentric performance, was 21 here. Drummer Clive Bunker could almost be mistaken for Mick Fleetwood.
Tull’s first five albums, through Thick as a Brick, were a near obsession for me in high school. The fourth, Aqualung, was the big breakthrough. Tracks from Aqualung continue to be heard on American Classic Rock FM stations.
It’s a shame the first three Tull albums aren’t more widely played, because they clearly show Anderson’s rapid musical progression. Fortunately, they’ve been made conveniently available as official YouTube playlists.
This Was
Stand Up
Benefit
Elec-tion-tricity
This is a first for me, posting with my phone over the cellular network. The power is off here, due to a long-delayed utility project in the center of town. Scheduling work on this election day shows some very poor judgment.
Update: I’m using my phone as a wi-fi hotspot for my laptop PC, which is something I have done before. The power is supposed to be on by 10 AM and it’s 8:30 now… and just a few minutes later it’s back.
You know how people get with giant lottery jackpots? “You can’t win if you don’t play” is their logic. But on election day those same people have the attitude, “Why bother? My vote doesn’t count.”
Mother Russia Music
I consider Trump’s bromance buddy Putin to be so bad he’s something of a throwback to Stalin. Soviet-era composer Dmitri Shostakovich, after falling out of favor with Stalin, got back in Joseph’s good graces with his fifth symphony. It’s a favorite of mine, so I have that much in common with a brutal dictator. I wonder if Vlad the Invader likes it, too?
Fred Rogers, Communist
I became aware of the John Birch Society almost sixty years ago when, as a child in Norwalk, Connecticut, I saw the conspiracy-obsessed organization participate in a 4th of July parade. There was a Bircher chapter in nearby Bridgeport, as mentioned in this NPR report.
NONE of the crazy assertions made by the John Birch Society came to pass. A rational person would eventually realize they’re on the wrong side of reality, but fanatics aren’t rational.
Following the Fellowship
Brian Sibley’s 1981 adaptation of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings for the BBC garners well-deserved praise on Screen Rant.
https://screenrant.com/lord-of-the-rings-bbc-radio-adaptation-overcomes-trilogy-problem/
With Archive.org recovering from its recent hack attack, you can now listen to Brian’s radio play.
https://archive.org/details/lord-of-the-rings-10_202401/Lord+of+the+Rings+01.mp3