Sunday morning music

  Finnish composer Jean Sibelius had a remarkable effect on his country and his countrymen during his long life (1865-1957).  His music embodied and inspired the Finns’ search for a national identity, and became a rallying point for their independence as a nation.  Few composers have ever had such a markedly nationalist inspiration and effect… Continue reading Sunday morning music

Is this the most over-the-top fight scene ever?

  The Telugu action movie RRR is the latest thing out of India, and it’s making waves in this country too after Netflix bought the US broadcast rights.  I think this fight scene is perhaps the weirdest and most over-the-top I’ve ever seen! It’s not the only over-the-top scene, either.  How about this dance number?… Continue reading Is this the most over-the-top fight scene ever?

Sunday morning music

  Courtesy of Spin, Strangeness and Charm, here’s an entire album of piano sonatas by Baroque composer Domenico Scarlatti.  It’s an excellent recording of a very skilled musician, Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy, at work.  Enjoy! Beautifully played, sir! Peter

Sunday morning music

  I’d never heard of “Bardcore” until, quite by chance, I came across the Youtube channel of a lady calling herself Hildegard von Blingin’ (an obvious play on the medieval abbess, musician and composer, Hildegard von Bingen).  She has this to say: Bardcore for the discerning clergyman, noble, or muck-gathering peasant. I am a Canadian… Continue reading Sunday morning music

My wife’s latest book is published!

  My wife’s latest book – her sixth, and the fourth in her “Combined Operations” series – has just been published.  It’s titled “Between Two Graves“. The blurb reads: He swore he wouldn’t be back while his parents lived… Now, almost thirty years later, AJ is going home. Ordered to attend his mother’s funeral in… Continue reading My wife’s latest book is published!

No, we can’t save the planet – it’ll do that on its own

  The late George Carlin left us (among many other performances) this eight-minute rant on “saving the planet”.  It had me in stitches.  As always, he releases numerous F-bombs, and is rather blunt-spoken, but he’s very much to the point.  If you can stand the profanity, I highly recommend watching this video clip. Inimitable! Peter

“I want to put drinking beer in the Olympics”

  I’m sure many readers have indulged in Wiki-wandering from time to time.  That’s what happens when you look up something on Wikipedia, and something on that page catches your eye, and you click through to find out more about it, and that leads you on to something else, and so on, and so on.… Continue reading “I want to put drinking beer in the Olympics”

Don’t send up the Bat-signal for this nightmare!

  I was astonished to see this mask, representing an ancient, evil bat-deity named Camazotz.  The resemblance between it and the comic-book figure Batman is uncanny. Collective Spark reports: Camazotz, (meaning ‘death bat’ in the Kʼiche’ Mayan language of Guatemala) originated deep in Mesoamerican mythology as a dangerous cave-dwelling bat creature. A cult following for… Continue reading Don’t send up the Bat-signal for this nightmare!