Category: The Evening Pause
A nightly pause from the news to give the reader/viewer a bit of classic entertainment.
The Roman Legion at War
An evening pause: Following up Friday’s evening pause, here is a nicely done short explanation of the infantry tactics of the Roman military, using accurate footage from various Hollywood movies. There were reasons why the Romans conquered the world and held it for so long, and these tactics were basic to that success.
Hat tip Rocco.
Crystal Gayle – Cry Me A River
Maksim Mrvica – Bohemian Rhapsody
Using Roman tactics to quell riots
An evening pause: The following was a drill by South Korean police to practice the techniques they use to control demonstrations and riots. Anyone who knows anything about Roman military tactics will instantly recognize what they are doing.
While this is not a real world situation, in an actual riot these techniques are certainly going to be effective. They also illustrate who is the civilized side in these disturbances.
Hat tip Rocco.
Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly – True Love
An evening pause: From the 1956 film High Society. And for my wife Diane today.
Hat tip Edward Theen.
Jinan Acrobatics Troupe – Rings
An evening pause: Two things to note: First, they purposely knock the rings down periodically to show that they are not held up very firmly. Second, one of the musical pieces they play is the main theme from the film Exodus (1960). The score won an Oscar for Ernest Gold.
Hat tip Danae.
Gordo – street drummer
Billy Joel – Travelin’ Prayer
An evening pause: Stick with it, as they finish slightly early and need to improvise a bit at the end to fill time.
Hat tip Kyle Kooy.
Howard Shore – The Shire (Concerning Hobbits)
An evening pause: I am not a big fan of the movie adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. I find them heavy and over-wrought, focused too much on special effects and what I call “cool adolescent stuff”, none of which has anything to do with the very real and human story that Tolkien created about the battle between good and evil.
This short piece from the music score, however, evokes everything about hobbits that Tolkien intended. As he has Gandalf say, in describing hobbits, “Soft as butter they can be, but sometimes as tough as old tree roots.”
And since hobbits and the Shire are nothing more than Tolkien’s metaphor for England and the British culture he knew from before World War II, this song also evokes the quiet majesty and humbleness of that now lost world, “a nation of shop-keepers” who, like the hobbits in the Lord of the Rings, were in the end able to stand firm and beat back the evil of the Third Reich despite overwhelming odds.
Hat tip Rocco.
AirPano – Panoramas taken throughout the world
An evening pause: As they state on their webpaye, AirPano is a not-for-profit project created by a team of Russian photo enthusiasts focused on taking high-resolution aerial panoramic photographs. These are not videos, but stills. Quite amazing.
Hat tip George Petricko.
Captain & Tennille – Love Will Keep Us Together
Lonette McKee – Ill Wind
An evening pause: From the 1983 film, Cotton Club.
Hat tip to Phil Berardelli, author of Phil’s Favorite 500: Loves of a Moviegoing Lifetime.
Zagreb Guitar Quartet – Bach Little Fugue BWV 578
Patsy Cline – I Fall To Pieces
An evening pause: Performed live on “The Glenn Reeves Show” on February 23rd, 1963.
Hat tip Diane Zimmerman.
Four-wheeled robot climbs walls
An evening pause: This short video demonstrates that all is possible if one combines flying drone capability with that of a road vehicle. I’m not sure if this has any practical value, but it sure is cool to see 1960s comic book engineering come to life.
Hat tip Danae.
Daft Punk – Get Lucky
An evening pause: Hat tip Kyle Kooy. I don’t think the Chinese military realized that they were marching to this music, but gosh darn it, they sure appear to. As Kyle noted to me, “Somebody took a Chinese military parade and set the music to the American song “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk. … [It] creates a very mesmerizing video that is both upbeat and somewhat eerie at the same time.”
Glowworms in Motion – time lapse
An evening pause: What could be better? Glowworms, a cave, and beautiful music by Dexter Britain called Light Bridges.
Hat tip Danae.
“You’re just not couth!”
An evening pause: Judy Holliday and Broderick Crawford from the 1950 classic, Born Yesterday.
Hat tip to Phil Berardelli, author of Phil’s Favorite 500: Loves of a Moviegoing Lifetime.
2CELLOS – The Book of Love
Mark O’Connor & Wynton Marsalis – Boil ’em Cabbage Down
2014 Budapest Airshow highlights
An evening pause: Not only is the flying amazing, including some stunts under structures (which is usually forbidden in most cities), the music, a piece called Celestial by Audio Network, is great too!
Hat tip from both Edward Thelen’s, father and son.
Bob Stromberg with Ken Davis – Hand Shadows
Leningrad Cowboys & the Red Army Choir – Sweet Home Alabama
An evening pause: I can think of nothing more appropriate to begin the new year with than this performance. Nothing.
Hat tip hondo.
By the way, with the New Year I am in desperate need of more Evening Pause suggestions. If you’ve sent me suggestions in the past, you know the email address. If not, post a comment here saying that you have a suggestion (without mentioning what it is) and I will email you for it.
Robbie Williams & Frank Sinatra- It Was A Very Good Year
An evening pause: From a 2001 live performance. A fitting song, and presentation, to end our year.
Hat tip Danae.
Seth MacFarlane – What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson
Andre Rieu – 2013 Brazil Skater’s Waltz
An evening pause: Something for the party week between Christmas and New Years. Stay with it, because this orchestra really does know how to enjoy itself.
Hat tip Danae.
Pagagnini – Pachelbel’s Canon in D
An evening pause: Funny, and they demonstrate that it is possible to play the Canon in D as a tango, bluegrass, gypsy, and practically any musical style you can imagine.
Hat tip Phill Oltmann.
Jose Feliciano – Feliz Navidad
An evening pause: From this secular Jew to my Christian fans, please accept my sincerest wish that you have a glorious and merry Christmas.
Hat tip Tom Biggar. (I like this particular performance because it is so raw. Feliciano is blind, and the video shows it clearly. Yet he has the incredible courage to get up and perform to millions.)