the official start of summer activities; the first BBQ on the patio for the season; the beginning of travel season.
more important, the remembrance of all the women and men, living and dead, who served to protect us over the decades.
my father and my uncles served in WWII; my cousin served in Korea; many of my friends served in Vietnam and some of them are still there.
i've been surrounded by wars my entire life. i am, however, a pacifist - totally. i do not even believe that a government has the right to take a human life.
yet, i do understand that there are times when people and nations have to defend themselves. there are others in the world who do not believe in the concept of peace; there are groups who believe that to get what they want they must resort to violence and murder; and there are zealots who are convinced that their way is the only way to do things.
but, i strive, at least for myself, to push for the humanity of the world.
yesterday afternoon, i saw what i can only describe as the most haunting and believable argument against war - the opera Owen Wingrave by Benjamin Britten. commissioned by the BBC, it was first performed in 1970, at the height of the Vietnam Conflict. an irony that did not escape notice.
the story is about a young British aristocrat whose family was military backbone of Great Britain. after much thought, Owen comes to believe that war and violence has to stop, or at least the glorification of it. his family is distraught, not because of his stand but because of the disgrace it brings to them. his grandfather, Sir Phillip, disinherits him, his betrothed rejects him, his aunt repels him. Owen stays resolute.
he is branded a coward; he denies he lacks courage. his mentor and teacher of war tactics, Mr. Coyle, comes to realize he has more courage than most others and is torn.
of course, Owen dies at the end, but not how you would think. the original short story by Henry James and the opera are also a ghost story. the ghosts are woven in because they are Owen's ancestors.
it may seem ironic to talk about someone opposed to war as a way of honoring Memorial Day, but there are different kinds of heroes. one of Owen's lines in the opera is most prophetic and is actually by one of England's greatest war heroes: The Duke of Wellington
"Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained."
the opera also points out the irony that wars are fought to gain peace, a fact not lost on the character of Owen.
in the end, we must remember those who have served us. it is a dichotomy that is inescapable in the world.
Benjamin Britten also wrote a piece that was both a tribute to those who had fought and died in WWII and also something that remembered the horror of war and conflict. his War Requiem is one of the greatest musical compositions of the 20th century. i include below the last part of the Libera me what Britten called "Let us sleep now" in dedication to all those who served us.
Mayor Richard J. Daley has announced that this Thursday, April 23, 2009, is 'Talk Like Shakespeare Day' in Chicago.
April 20, 2009 (CHICAGO) -- In honor of William Shakespeare's upcoming birthday, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has proclaimed "Talk Like Shakespeare Day" in the city.
Although Shakespeare's actual birth date is not known, many scholars believe it to have been on April 23, 1564, since the poet and playwright is known to have been baptized three days later.
This year, April 23 is Thursday.
In his recent proclamation, Daley urged Chicagoans to celebrate the occasion by bringing the spoken words of Shakespeare into their daily lives.
ABC7 Chicago News via the AP
so what's the big deal?
i tried to find a video of how Da Mayor normally speaks, but couldn't. he speaks soutside. that's not a typo. there is no /sh/ sound in soutside English. i should know; i speak it fluently.
well, not on a regular basis. with education you learn to speak differently, but i can slip right into it when i'm with friends or family. as a matter of fact, i just got of the phone with my cousin. "i's speakin' soutside wid'im" the entire time.
so, for Mayor Daley to proclaim this Thursday "Talk Like Shakespeare Day" is wonnerfull.
actually, it's also in conjunction with the Chicago Shakespeare Theater that is one of the greatest in the country. it won a national Tony Award a number of years ago for top regional theater. i've seen many incredible performances there over the years.
so, thou may speaketh on Thursday yon as if thy were with the Bard
but you may need to "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" first...
yesterday was the 100th anniversary of Carmen Miranda's birthday. this is my favorite song for some obvious, and some not so obvious, reasons. enjoy...
Happy Birthday, Carmen Miranda.
she would have been 100 today. she's a hoot and always will be. this is my favorite of all the extant footage of her. yes... it's so gay!
The Lady In The Tutti Frutti Hat Sung by Carmen Miranda Written for: The Gang's All Here (1943) Lyric: Leo Robin Music: Harry Warren
I wonder why does ev'rybody look at me And then begin to talk about a Christmas tree? I hope that means that ev'ryone is glad to see The lady in the tutti-frutti hat. The gentlemen, they want to make me say, "Si, si, " But I don't tell them that, I tell them, "Yes, sir-ee!" And maybe that is why they come for dates to me, The lady in the tutti-frutti hat. Some people say I dress too gay, But ev'ry day, I feel so gay; And when I'm gay, I dress that way, Is something wrong with that? Americanos tell me that my hat is high, Because I will not take it off to kiss a guy; But if I ever start to take it off, ay, ay! I do that once for Johnny Smith And he is very happy with The lady in the tutti-frutti hat.
You hear a lot of people shouting, "There she goes! " You see a señorita dressed in flashy clothes, In Rio de Janeiro, ev'rybody knows The lady in the tutti-frutti hat. When she begins to sing a song in Portuguese, The temp'rature goes up a hundred more degrees; Although they're freezing prices, they would never freeze The lady in the tutti-frutti hat. It isn't any wonder that She likes her native habitat, 'Cause when she has to pick a hat, She picks it off the trees. She always has a half a dozen Romeos, And when they come to sing a serenade, she throws A lemon or banana like you throw a rose, But Casanovas still prefer That hep and happy character, The lady in the tutti-frutti hat.
they were really dirty lyrics back then... not to mention the bananas... i wonder what they were really thinking???
silly me...
Some people say I dress too gay, But ev'ry day, I feel so gay; And when I'm gay, I dress that way, Is something wrong with that?
i want to believe that the hope and dreams we carried and believed during the 1960's have a chance to be reignited next Tuesday.
the kids today, though they don't realize it and would probably deny it, are actually influenced in their hope for a better and brighter future by the ground that was laid with the battles of the 1968 Democratic Convention and the protestations against a dirty little war in Southeast Asia.
i want to believe. i hear the words in the change that Barack Obama wants to bring about. it has been a recurring dream for centuries of many men and women - the Martin Luthers, the Martin Luther Kings, the John XXII's, the Abraham Lincolns, the Susan B. Anthony's - only to be dashed by those afraid of loosing control and, most important, power. sadly, the power they fear loosing, they really don't have. no one really does...
Age of Aquarius from the movie version - Hair
When the moon is in the Seventh House And Jupiter aligns with Mars Then peace will guide the planets And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius The age of Aquarius Aquarius! Aquarius!
Harmony and understanding Sympathy and trust abounding No more falsehoods or derisions Golden living dreams of visions Mystic crystal revalation And the mind's true liberation Aquarius! Aquarius!
When the moon is in the Seventh House And Jupiter aligns with Mars Then peace will guide the planets And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius The age of Aquarius Aquarius! Aquarius!
what exactly is the Age of Aquarius? check it out at Wikipedia - HERE.
I'm intense on three big projects right now, and they are taking a lot of time.
I'm doing a two-day workshop Aug. 4-5 that takes a lot of planning. As a matter of fact, I discovered long ago that a 6-hour workshop usually takes between 48-60 hours of planning and you can't do it all at once. With this one being two six-hour days, that means 96-120 hours of work. It's one reason I'm so expensive when I do this kind of work.
A friend has a recital of his music coming up two weeks later (Aug. 17th) and I volunteered to do the publicity, press, and program for it. He's premiering a one-act opera-in-progress for the first half of the program that is really exciting.
It's an opera of Saki's (H.H. Munro) short story Sredni Vashtar. If you've never read it, you're missing a treat. It's barely three typed written pages in length and has so much symbolism in it about the changing of the guard between Victorian & Edwardian England and the struggles of being a colonial power beginning the slide from its zenith. You can find the complete short story here.
I'll be posting information about the concert closer to the date. It's in Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University in Chicago, if you're from around here. Oh, it's also gratis, though we do ask for a goodwill donation for the singers who give of their time and effort.
And, of course, the third thing is my work with H.E.D.A.C. I was recently voted onto the Board of Directors and elected secretary. We are in the planning right now for our big Annual Fundraiser in September. Also, 12 of the communities down in Honduras are in the midst of building the fences around their schools with money that has been donated. Fences are needed to keep the animals out, and I don't mean wild animals. I mean the goats and chickens and cows. See, it is very different in other parts of the world.
oh, yeah, as a result of this, i've started learning Spanish. ¡Hola!
Yes... here comes the pitch...
if you look on the right-hand side of the site or click on the link above, check out H.E.D.A.C.'s website and dig into your pockets. The kids will be very happy to accept your help through a donation. You can send a check or use Paypal. The only thing I ask is that you include my name (Mike) on the check or donation. We have to keep track of donation sources for accounting purposes, as I'm sure you know.
wow! this was a long post to tell you why i haven't been posting as much lately...
Bosom Buddies from Auntie Mame Lucille Ball & Bea Arthur
they are few and far between. i have been blest with a group of buddies for 40 years. three of us began working together 40 years ago and have been closer than any family could be. we've been through the proverbial thick and thin with each other. we spend holidays together, vacationed together, been through births and deaths together, supported each other and loved each other. we've picked up husbands and boyfriends and fiances over the years, but we've stayed constant and close. i wish everyone had friendship like this. it would make the world a better place for all...
wow... I find myself dealing with birthdays of celebrities, noted people and others that were part of what now has become my youth. today is Joan Baez's birthday - 67 years old. but, you know, she stills sounds exactly the same as she did in the 1960's when I first saw her live. it seems like only yesterday that i saw her in live performances and she didn't have any grey/white hair.
of course, neither did i. of course, i also had hair. now it's become more, maybe i should say less, of a pigment of my imagination. i realized about ten years ago that i had more and more forehead to wash and less and less hair to comb. now, i hardly ever bother combing it. of course, i have a barber who told me the trick to make it look like you have more hair is to keep your hair short. it works.
posting this week is light in both content and quantity. i have a busy schedule and am also doing some workshops and meetings a couple of days/evenings this week. [it's so nice to only work several days a month and get paid what i did working full time. i should have done this years ago. no one said it could be done. actually, they probably did, but i didn't listen.]
it's light in content because i'm getting really sick of hearing all this primary b***s***. it's the same thing over and over. we've had over a year of it and we still have 10-11 more months. i'm sick of hearing Jesse Jackson, Jr and John Edwards saying that real men don't cry and Hillary planned the whole thing. i'm over hearing about Huckabee's religion and Romney's flip-flops. [i like them better as things you wear on your feet.] i find myself turning off the television or watching the Bourne movies or Underworld: Evolution over and over because i don't have to think, only be entertained, and they seem to make more sense than reality - an overrated idea.
i have always loved Robin Williams' take on it: Reality! What a concept!
The Beatles had this big battle with Apple iTunes over the use of the apple logo. Beatles music cannot be found on iTunes.
Paul McCartney's solo music along with his group Wings can be found on iTunes.
Today, John Lennon's solo music and Plastic Ono was added today.
Yes, I know that McCartney's music is on the EMI label and Lennon's is on the Starcon label. Isn't it all the same music when you get right down to it? Isn't it a bit greedy?
