A nightly pause from the news to give the reader/viewer a bit of classic entertainment.
An evening pause: On this, the birthday of Ronald Reagan, I think it appropriate to get a taste of the man’s humility and humor in the face of the pressures of politics. If you are too young to remember him, you might want to get this short taste.
A evening pause: Performed live June 13, 1987. I think of these words whenever I am in a truly glorious place underground:
My life goes on in endless song
Above earth’s lamentations,
I hear the real, though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation.
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear it’s music ringing,
It sounds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?
While though the tempest loudly roars,
I hear the truth, it liveth.
And though the darkness ’round me close,
Songs in the night it giveth.
No storm can shake my inmost calm,
While to that rock I’m clinging.
Since love is lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?
An evening pause: Make sure you watch for at least 20 seconds. You will watch the rest. As the website notes, it’s “the only thing that works every time.”
Hat tip Jim Mallamace.
An evening pause: A very nice overview of the SR-71, the fastest plane ever built.
Hat tip Mike Nelson.
An evening pause: This performance is especially interesting in its unusual use of instruments.
Hat tip Danae.
An evening pause: I’m not sure if his concept for a different way to interact with the computer is really the best way to do it, but his willingness to try something new makes it all worthwhile. There will — and have been — payoffs.
Hat tip Edward Thelen.
An evening pause: From the 1949 musical comedy Neptune’s Daughter, with Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalbán, Red Skelton, and Betty Garrett.
Hat tip Edward Thelen.
An evening pause: Recorded live October 20, 2012 at Christians Church, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Hat tip Danae.
An evening pause: Hat tip Jim Mallamace, who asks the valid question, “What is our ethical responsibility to machines once they have feelings?”
An evening pause: From the youtube page: Clayton Boyer demonstrates a variety of square, oval, pentagonal, organic and other unbelievably-shaped gears–and they really work!
Hat tip Edward Thelen.
An evening pause: I can never get enough of this John Denver song, a fact that anyone who has every spent any time in West Virginia will understand completely. This beautiful performance by Olivia Newton-John was performed live in 1972.
An evening pause: It is the quality of the sound that especially impresses me.
Hat tip James Mallamace.
An evening pause: A great cover by a group of Russians, who did it, as they say, “as a tribute to the one of the greatest bands in the world!”
Hat tip Frank Kelly.
An evening pause: For the New Year, this short film epitomizes the modern computer world. Do you use an iDiot?
Hat tip Jim Mallamace.
An evening pause: Written by Michael Hunter Ochs and performed to celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashahah, this song applies now as well. As it says, “As long as there are stars above, there comes a new year.”
An evening pause: Performed in 2011 by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as part of its annual New Year’s Eve performance.
I like how little conducting the conductor does. This is music his orchestra can play in their sleep.
Hat tip Danae.
An evening pause: Some true silliness for this truly silly season, between the holidays.
Hat tip Jim Mallamace, who notes that this Danish comedy group’s name translates to “Sons of the Desert” in English.
An evening pause: Here’s some more Jewish music to celebrate Hanukkah, though somewhat different from yesterday’s piece.
Hat tip Jim Mallamace.
An evening pause: A fitting musical piece in the middle of Hannukkah. Performed by the Orchestre Nouvelle Génération.
Normally I don’t post orchestra performances filmed in their entirety from only one wide shot, as this is. I make an exception here for three reasons: 1. The music is good. 2. It is not well known, and should be. 3. Unlike most orchestras, this string orchestra performs while standing, and the high angle looking down allows you to see them all as they play together, almost like a choreographed dance. It works.
Hat tip Danae.
