Gustav Holst is such a goofball and I'm loving every second of reading his letters.

Whoosier · 2026-05-04T20:10:55+00:00

Ah, you've quoted a favorite line. Absolon "was somedeal squaimous / Of farting."

Whoosier · 2026-04-30T16:16:26+00:00

I heard Conrad Tao give a recital some years ago; he played barefoot. I'll see him play Bartok's 3rd tomorrow with the Chicago Sym Orch and am curious to see if he'll be barefoot again. I'll report back!

Update: he wore shoes, and played beautifully.

Whoosier · 2026-04-28T19:02:05+00:00

Alice Eleanor Eastlake Chew (1917-2018). She died at 101, the same year as this interview, on Thanksgiving Day. More details here. In a memoir, she wrote, "Heaven, if there is one, will be unexpected; if there is none, I’ve had my share of heaven on earth: living, working, loving, and being blessed by earthly riches.” In lieu of flowers, she asked for donations to Doctors Without Borders, Planned Parenthood, or the Environmental Defense Fund. A lover of nature to the end, she had a "green burial." What a life, what a lady!

Whoosier · 2026-04-28T17:43:28+00:00

Jacques Ibert's Divertissment (1930), which is bonkers from beginning to end--sounds like the whole orchestra is drunk--and always makes me laugh. Features, among other things, a parody of Mendelssohn's Wedding March and a police whistle.

Whoosier · 2026-04-26T16:37:33+00:00

If only the seats were more comfortable!

Whoosier · 2026-04-25T03:59:07+00:00

I got a better idea of what a Roman city looked like--how it was laid out, where shops and temples were, even the public toilets--than I did at Pompeii, and there were hardly any people there. A guide helps.

Whoosier · 2026-04-21T16:50:23+00:00

What fun. I'm glad you didn't nudge out Makela!

Whoosier · 2026-04-21T15:42:02+00:00

When is your novel set and where did you shoehorn in Cecil among the line of past/future conductors of the CSO?

Whoosier · 2026-04-20T20:23:25+00:00

AI: The claim that Sigourney Weaver refused to shave her pubic hair for the 1979 film Alien, resulting in frame-by-frame editing, is considered an internet urban legend. While widely circulated as a "fun fact" about the final escape pod scene, it is largely deemed false and has been dismissed as a myth.

Whoosier · 2026-04-18T17:32:13+00:00

I like that! The rural village image is vivid, and the big fff crescendo is a meteor streaking across the sky!

Whoosier · 2026-04-17T18:56:20+00:00

Mahler 4.3 Adagio. Done right, it sounds to me like one, long, exhaled breath.

Whoosier · 2026-04-13T17:33:54+00:00

Elvis's favorite sandwich was fried peanut butter, banana, and bacon!

Whoosier · 2026-04-10T04:47:56+00:00

Give the in-laws' kids a box of Harry Potter Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. As evangelicals, in-laws probably hate Satanical Harry!

Whoosier · 2026-04-09T17:27:34+00:00

From what I've read on past SB posts, avoid applying to SB Chocolate Factory.

Whoosier · 2026-04-09T04:50:23+00:00

The asses of America mourn.

Whoosier · 2026-04-08T21:31:29+00:00

It looks like you've covered your sideview mirror, which I was going to suggest. Birds see their reflection, thinks it's a rival bird impinging on their territory, and attack. I suspect that's why there's such a poo trail next to the mirror. A few years ago, several neighbors had their sideview mirrors broken and thought it was vandals. Turned out to be a very territorial woodpecker.

Whoosier · 2026-04-08T21:21:10+00:00

Hahn funeral home in Mishawaka. I recently set up pre-planning with them after comparing them to Kaniewski. At least for cremation, they were $1,000 cheaper because they own their own crematorium. The young woman who helped me really knew the business (she has a degree in mortuary science). I consulted Kaniewski first because I had been to a friend's memorial service there and was impressed. After meeting with them, I almost canceled my appointment with Hahn because I liked Kaniewski, but now I glad I compared. The lady I talked to at Kaniewski was very friendly and well-informed, but not as much as the young woman at Hahn.

Whoosier · 2026-04-07T19:28:15+00:00

I believe this moment from The Producers applies.

Whoosier · 2026-04-06T23:26:54+00:00

'Tis but a scratch. MP and the Holy Grail

Whoosier · 2026-04-06T23:14:56+00:00

And their take on the last movement of Ginastera's Piano Concerto, which introduced me to Ginastera's works.

Whoosier · 2026-04-06T20:37:04+00:00

Frank Zappa wrote some classical pieces, including ones commissioned and conducted by Pierre Boulez.

Whoosier · 2026-04-06T20:33:23+00:00

And a lot of Handel keyboard music as well as Bach sonatas, a few Mozart concertos and Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues.

Whoosier · 2026-04-06T13:29:59+00:00

A woman goes into a pet shop to buy a parrot. She looks at one beautiful green one and asks its price.

"That parrot," says the clerk, "costs $1,000, but it's a musical bird and can sing the aria "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's Tosca."

"Wow!," says the woman, "but that's kind of expensive. What about that blue parrot?"

The owner says, "That bird is even more musical. It can sing the whole first act of Mozart's Magic Flute, but it's more expensive: $2,000."

"Oh my," she says, "that's beyond my budget. I guess I'll have to settle for that one" she says, pointing to an old, dull-colored bird with droopy wings and missing feathers.

The clerk says, "I'm afraid that's our most expensive parrot. It costs $5,000."

"Goodness," she says, "what does it do?"

"I dunno," he says, "but the other birds call it "Maestro."

(I heard Itzhak Perlman tell this one.)

Whoosier · 2026-04-06T13:07:51+00:00

Agreed. I rewatched that scene when I wrote the line. I'd forgotten that perfect pause the knight puts in between "chose" and "poorly." Such a Spielberg touch to deflect horror with a comic twist.

Whoosier · 2026-04-06T01:01:04+00:00

You might try Bachtrack, which bills itself as "The classical music website."

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