David's Blogs

"Maazel presented himself to a gullible Wall Street Journal as a man of modesty"

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:00 GMT

“Maazel presented himself to a gullible Wall Street Journal as a man of modesty”

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Mark Swed, former Wall Street Journal music critic, writing in this LA Times article

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Profile Tree ...

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:00 GMT

Profile Tree

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"There had to have been Paganinis, Mozarts, Hendrixes"

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

“There had to have been Paganinis, Mozarts, Hendrixes”

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Dr. Nicholas J. Conard speaking about the people who played the recently discovered 35000 year-old bone flute. In this NYT article

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Mommy, who is Michael Jackson?

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:10 GMT

One afternoon last week, judging by the special coverage on every local Los Angeles television station, you'd have thought someone had flown an airliner into a skyscraper. The actual news, of course, was that Michael Jackson had died suddenly, mysteriously, before the world could even learn if his comeback would be a success.

The concerts next month could never have generated as much money as the act of dying will. The extra positive media exposure and public forgiveness are incalculably large. What a great, if unintentional, career move.

However high his psychic apogees as the "King of Pop" his low points must have been frightening. His parents rode him hard and put him away emotionally wet. He spent his adult life searching for lost youth, questioning his fading talent, explaining his bizarre behavior and hiding his face from cameras - a living hell like that could be no worse than the imaginary fiery afterlife everyone seems to believe in..

But everything is different now. (I heard someone say exactly that on a TV news program.) Amidst the OJ-like media excitement over the as-yet unannounced upcoming Jackson funeral plus expectations of lawsuits, box sets, tribute productions, interviews of his children (once they turn 21), documentaries, made for TV biopics and, eventually, enough tell-all books to fill an elementary school library, America wants to know right this minute how the future will remember Michael Jackson.

Many people think Mike will end up at the top of the dead media legend tree next to Elvis. Hardly likely. My guess is that he'll end up several branches lower as the biggest name from the second-most relentlessly conformist and trivial era of popular culture ever. But the post-baby boom generation finally has its own John Lennon. Or is he their Tupac Shakur.

The important issue is whether Michael's fan base will replicate itself over time. When the current five-year olds who are listening to their parent's Michael Jackson albums grow up, they'll reproduce. Here's an imaginary conversation around the year 2040 between one of those kids and her tweener daughter.

Daughter "Mommy, who is Michael Jackson?"

Mom "He was a singer your Grandmother used to like when she was your age."

Daughter "Why does he look so funny."

Mom "Because he had plastic surgery to make him look younger."

Daughter "His eyes are sad. Why was he sad?"

Mom "Because he was so talented and so rich and so famous that he became unhappy."

Daughter "I thought famous people were always happy. Where is he now?"

Mom "He died a long time ago when he was fifty."

Daughter "No wonder he was sad. Fifty is REALLY OLD."

Mom "Don't tell your Grandmother. Now finish your bowl of Mr. Fizzy Mango Flavored Enviro-flax Sugar Treats and then you can watch that new show that you like on the 3-D Disney channel. Won't that be fun?"

Daughter "Oh boy!" Long pause. "Mommy, who is Miley Cyrus?"

The Michael Jackson Through The Year 2022 graphic came from here. Gessner Allee is, apparently, a theater in Zurich. The graphic is at least 3 years old.

Big Eye Tags: Michael Jackson. . . King of Pop. . . Death of Michael Jackson

PPPQQRRSSTTTUUUVVVWWXYYZZ ...

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

PPPQQRRSSTTTUUUVVVWWXYYZZ

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"In America such ovations have become meaningless and, if they don’t occur, they indicate disapproval"

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

“In America such ovations have become meaningless and, if they don’t occur, they indicate disapproval”

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STANDING Ovations. From “The 15 golden rules of theatre etiquette” by Bernedict Nightingale in this Times of London article

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Orange Bladder ...

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

Orange Bladder

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"Played right, the city could have a new souvenir that sells like hotcakes on the Internet, but..."

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

“Played right, the city could have a new souvenir that sells like hotcakes on the Internet, but I’m sure they won’t be that smart.”

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Susan Farrell, who runs a “pro-graffiti” blog, speaking about Raleigh NC’s reaction to the sculpture “Barrel Monster” by artist Joe Carnevale (who was arrested for stealing the raw materials: plastic traffic-control barrels). from this article

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Squawk!

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:37 GMT

	Squawk! My original music with video of peafowl at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia CA.	From: docker1 Views: 8 0 ratings
	Time: 04:04	More in Pets & Animals

Bug Eyed Tomato ...

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

Bug Eyed Tomato

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Stop Needless Noise - Help America Keep Calm

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:27 GMT

I found these pictures reblogged on This Isn't Happiness. See if you can identify their common theme.

These pictures can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here or there. These links might help you find the original source blogs. Some of the pictures will enlarge if you click them. Ah ha.

Vinyl Tags: vinyl. . . records. . . photographs

"In our studies, volunteers selected music that made them feel good or feel bad."

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

“In our studies, volunteers selected music that made them feel good or feel bad.”

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Dr. Michael Miller who has researched the cardiovascular effects of music. from this article

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Roger and Wendy’s Morris Chair ...

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

Roger and Wendy’s Morris Chair

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"I’m a mom, limited means, so I’m not going to worry about it now"

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

“I’m a mom, limited means, so I’m not going to worry about it now”

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Jammie Thomas-Rasset who was ordered to pay a fine of nearly $2,000,000 for illegal file sharing. From this

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Clown Face ...

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

Clown Face

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"The national Philharmonic orchestra, with 85 years of tradition and a rich repertoire, can now play..."

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

“The national Philharmonic orchestra, with 85 years of tradition and a rich repertoire, can now play at your house for a reasonable fee,”

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Symphony in Serbia seeks gigs. A newspaper ad quoted in this FT article

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Penetration ...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

Penetration

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Green Leaf With A Black Device ...

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

Green Leaf With A Black Device

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Renewing My Blogging License

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:23 GMT

Ask any blogger. They'll tell you that keeping a valid blogging license means periodically posting pictures of your pets. Cute pictures are best. This humanizes us a little bit. We don't want you to think we're all cranky loners with strange ideas and unsupportable opinions who constantly misspell words while stealing copyrighted material from other websites.

This years parade begins with our dog Chowderhead. Not his best angle.

Here is Crackle. He's shy.

This is Spackle, twin sister to Crackle.

Finally, a serious portrait of Miss Ivy Turnstiles Smith-Perkette. She can be really annoying.

You'll have to ask for an explanation of Ivy's full name. Click any picture for enlargement.

Here's the previous Blog License preserving post (Jan. 08).

Here's another one - which includes a piece of my music entitled In A Pissy Mood - dedicated to our cats. (April 07)

Here are pictures of The Ackles (that's Crackle & Spackle) as kittens. They were cute kittens. They're now 3 years old.

Dog Tags: cat pictures. . . dog pictures. . . Chowderhead

Moving Towards The Light ...

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

Moving Towards The Light

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Trial and Error

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:29 GMT

I installed Sibelius 6, the music notation program not the symphony of the same name (for which I have no use). Instead of studying the updated features I wrote a new 30 Second Spot. This is it.

I played it for Leslie. She selected the title. Only she knows what it means.

Tell It To The Hand ...

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

Tell It To The Hand

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Eye in the Sky ...

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

Eye in the Sky

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We’re watching you.

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"If God had a voice, it would be Andrea Bocelli"

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

“If God had a voice, it would be Andrea Bocelli”

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Fund-raising pitch heard on KCET, Los Angeles’ PBS station

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Behind the Veil ...

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:00 GMT

Behind the Veil

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