Category: Books and Movies
I’m about as non-musical as a person can be. I can’t tell Beyonce from a bass fiddle or a minor chord from a high c. I listen to very little music and like even less of it. My efforts to change that have, dare I say, fallen flat, allegrissimo. But I’ve always had a soft spot for opera. Maybe that’s how I found myself reading Sing for Your Life, the beautifully written and unlikely story of Ryan Speedo Green, the rising young bass-baritone who has sung with the Metropolitan Opera and the Vienna State Opera. Reading Sing for Your Life…
Yesterday evening as darkness fell, I went to close the blinds and discovered the planet Venus beaming in my face. Then there was tiny red Mars above and to the left. This time of year it’s rare to see anything in the sky except clouds and occasionally the obscured light of the moon. So behind am I on my astronomy that I had to doublecheck that it was Venus, not Jupiter, that bright and that high above the horizon. The website I consulted even said Mercury should have been somewhere in view, but there were hills in the way. I…
We had our first snow last night. Didn’t amount to much. Barely stuck and was soon washed away by 35-degree rain. Only reason I mention it is because it’s the first lowland snow we’ve had in more than two years. It’s normal for us to get snow anywhere from one to five times a winter, but the last two winters have been too warm (not global warming but a big warm “blob” offshore). Very wet, but warm. Well, as winters go, anyhow. More snow expected in the next few days. Me, I’d chose warm and dry, were it an option.…
I don’t mention Claire’s Cabal much. But it seems time for a small update. First, we have a couple of public areas in the forum, to give a small taste. I’ve just posted a copy of this excellent article by Silver where anyone can see it. If you thought you knew every malign effect of the Federal Reserve, he describes one you probably hadn’t considered. Second, we’re in the process of starting up a “Members Helping Members” section where volunteers can offer assistance with anything from transportation and a place to stay to professional advice. Just announced it today and…
Good riddance, Fidel So one of the world’s most long-surviving dictators has died, too late for his corpsification to do anybody any good. I was amazed by some of the glowing “official” responses to Fidel Castro’s belated kicking of the bucket, particularly the now-infamous proclamation by Canada’s latest infestation of Trudeau, Justin. I knew he was far left. But frankly, I didn’t believe you northern types when you said he was such a complete moron. Consider yourselves vindicated. Trudeau’s excuse-making for monsters has even spawned a blackly hilarious #TrudeauEulogies hastag on Twitter and Gab. Which even MacLeans noticed. Even the…