In keeping with the seasonal theme, I dug deep into the archives and dusted off the only rock opera with an Easter theme: JC Superstar. And now, after 100 minutes in the desert, I’m ready for something less seasonal.
posted in music, sports | Comments Off on The right movie for the season | 275 words
An out of the ordinary evening for me; I went to school. Not in the traditional sense, though. Instead, I returned to a classroom for one of those dreaded “information for parents” sessions, where you pick up five minutes worth of information in fifty-five minutes. On second thought, not that different from the way I remember school when I had a legal requirement to show up five days a week.
posted in music, travel | Comments Off on Your luggage allocation is severely compromised, son | 286 words
Why can’t every day be ECMA Day? I mean, other than the need to go to work without a set of headphone tying me to a webcast that lasted just short of four point five hours. Count them: 270 minutes, thanks to Bell Aliant. The times are changing.
posted in music | Comments Off on A cornucopia of talent | 441 words
Patty just asked me to send money. Or was it her identical cousin Cathy? To be fair, I hadn’t seen her in years, and I wouldn’t have recognized her except for that distinctive voice. Yes, it’s fund raising time again at my local PBS station, and there’s always a reason to become a member.
posted in music | Comments Off on Please, no more Tin Pan Alley Irish | 275 words
Feeling little cramped for space? I’ve found the solution: change your floor covering. By deciding to replace the carpeting with a simili-wood product, the room in question has gone from a “five bundle job” to an “eight bundle job” without my having to drive a single nail. Unfortunately, my budget didn’t find the same elasticity, so the hallway will wait.
posted in music | Comments Off on This really is it! | 270 words
Time to put the cynic’s cap aside and join in a salute of Olympic proportions. After all, there’s more gold here than anywhere.
posted in media, music | Comments Off on Finish the show and send them all home | 304 words
One more reason to avoid the iPod; the frustration level engendered by iTunes software. While I go merrily along with my little MP3 player, loading and unloading music with aplomb, son #2 is working on a personal version of apoplexy. Every time he tries to put order in his musical life, iTunes gets all higgledy-piggledy and then shuts down. When you hear someone swearing that he’ll forego changes to the soundtrack of his life, the state of the nation is clear. In passing, I’ve suggested that he seek a solution involving Linux.
posted in computing, music | Comments Off on Blame it on the user | 287 words
How time goes by when the blocks are dropping down! I watched a short interview with Alexey Pajitnov who wrote Tetris a short twenty-five years ago. The segue from Pacman to Tetris was effortless, because it’s easier to run out of room than to get eaten by a ghost. Machines have changed, over the years, but the game remains as popular as ever. His original platform: a Russian clone of the LSI-11 from the folks over at Digital. And yes, the LSI-11 is/ was really a PDP-11 with an improved chipset.
posted in media, music | Comments Off on Let the blocks fall where they may | 267 words
There is a Celtic notion of belonging to a place. Your community, your culture, your music; all find their roots in a particular physical location. The Irish word tuatha is succinct enough. My ancestors came from two political entities; Ireland and the Hebrides. Close enough in a world context to be twinned.
posted in music | Comments Off on Thirty years and counting | 284 words
In the movies, a remake can spawn disaster, or dismal disappointment. This, however, is not a rule.
Back about three decades ago, I joined some friends for an evening at the Confederation Centre Theatre.
posted in education, music | Comments Off on One place, many lives | 253 words
