I Scare Myself

Some people may be wishing for a white Christmas, but I'm a California boy and I like my Christmas' bright and sunny. None of this gloomy weather for me, thanks. This is an El Nino year so the weather people were all predicting heavy rains and above average temperatures this winter, so, of course, it's December and we're freezing our butts off under clear skies. I'll take it, though. Just give me more of that California sun.

Other than that there's not much happening around here. Guess I'll just open up the ol' miscellaneous file.

The big news is that tomorrow night Tan Dun's opera "The First Emperor" makes its world premier at the Met, and we Sirius subscribers will be able to tune in to the live broadcast. That's pretty cool, and Placido Domingo will be singing the title role. I guess it just proves that tech isn't just for tech geeks anymore. The new digital world has something for everybody - tech geeks and opera geeks as well.

Speaking of opera, I just added "L'Amour de loin" by Kaija Saariaho to my DVD collection. Actually, to call it an opera is a little of a misnomer; it's more of a meditation. The score, however, is fantastic. I didn't really understand it the first time I watched it, but the second time through I became mesmerized by the primal, dreamlike mood of the piece. It might not be to everyone's taste, but Saariaho is really trying to do something different here and I admire her for that. I particularly like how she ladles great big gobs of sound on to the canvas to create a dense, rich, and yet almost monotone atmosphere. Interesting stuff.

Gerald Finley stars as the poet Jaufre Rudel, and his rich baritone is more than up to the task. I think he overdoes it a little as an actor, but his singing is superb. Dawn Upshaw plays Clemence, the soprano lead, and mezzo Monica Groop sings the role of the pilgrim. Again, both superb singers. The story itself concerns Rudel's love for a woman who lives far away ("L'amour de loin' or "Love from afar") and whom he can never have, but we won't go into that here. Great DVD for anyone in the mood for something downbeat and different, and I just ordered a CD from Amazon to hear some more of her music. The CD has Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gidon Kremer and Dawn Upshaw all performing some of her pieces. Pretty good bunch of players, and I hear she's working with Emanuel Ax on something new as well. Can't wait to hear it.

Let's see what else is happening. Oh yeah, there was a story on the news that said that doing mental exercises can help the elderly slow memory loss. The actual study was very limited in its focus so it's not exactly clear which exercises can be beneficial, but the general principle seems to make sense to me. You gotta keep those neurons firing if you want them to stay healthy, and that's why a little blogging every now and then should be an important part of your weekly routine. Even if you have nothing to say (ahem...) at least you're thinking.

And if blogging's not your thing, then why not write a sonnet.

(Note: I Scare Myself was a song from the early 70's by Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, but when I googled it I found that Thomas Dolby is being listed as the author. That ain't right, and it just goes to show that you should never believe what you read on the internet)