Tony MacAlpine Band – Tears of Sahara
An evening pause: Hat tip Danae. Like Danae, I don’t go in much for progressive metal, but the playing here is so good. And if you like the music, even better.
Tag: entertainment
Kingston Trio – They’re rioting in Africa
An evening pause: The amazing thing about this song is that it was written in the 1960s and does a good job of describing the insanity today. In the 60s it was actually exaggerating the chaos a bit. Today, it probably understates it. The only thing about the song that I objected to then, and now, is its eventual pessimistic view of humanity. We ain’t perfect, but we ain’t all bad either. In fact, I think there is probably more good than evil in most of us. We just need to listen, think, and choose. Chaos happens when we don’t, and instead act like mindless instinct-driven animals.
Hat tip Tom Biggar.
Excommunication scene from Becket
An evening pause: On the eve of this year’s election day, this scene from Becket (1964) expresses well what I wish the American voters would do to both the Democratic Party and the Republican leadership in Congress. They all need to go, for the health of the country and because of their repeated malfeasance in office.
Hat tip to Phil Berardelli, author of the new edition of Phil’s Favorite 500: Loves of a Moviegoing Lifetime.
John Jorgenson Quintet – Ghost Dance
Camille Saint-Saëns – La danse macabre
An evening pause: Performed with spirit by the Radio France orchestra, in anticipation of Halloween.
Hat tip Danae.
Moon buggy saved from scrap heap
The Apollo-era prototype lunar rover that had been thought lost when it was sold for scrap has been found and is actually possibly going to go up for public auction.
The Apollo-era prototype lunar rover that had been thought lost when it was sold for scrap has been found and is actually possibly going to go up for public auction.
Boots Randolph – Yakety Sax
John Williams – Dry Your Tears, Áfrika
Mason Williams & Deborah Henson-Conant – Classical Gas
Chris Botti & Sting – Bourbon Street
Tom Lehrer – The Irish Ballad
An evening pause: Recorded live, September 5, 1967, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Having some fun with the old folk ballads.
Hat tip Danae.
MTNS – Lost track of time
An evening pause: The song, which is really nice, is really just background music to a beautiful video of what it is like to fly fish in Montana. As always, I want to note the sophistication of the human engineering and design that makes this activity possible. It is as beautiful as the countryside and the music.
Hat tip Rocco.
Mark Knopfler – Last Exit To Brooklyn
Ben-Hur – The Chariot Race
An evening pause: This clip is actually only the last half of the chariot race scene from Ben-Hur (1959), still one of the greatest action sequences ever put on film. And not only was it on film, but they did it without any computer animation. What you see is real, real horses and real chariots and real actors and real very skilled and brave stunt men. (See this short film on how the even earlier 1925 silent-era epic film Ben-Hur version was made, in a similar manner.)
If you get the chance, watch the 1959 film. Truly a great Hollywood epic.
Hat tip Phil Berardelli, author of the new edition of Phil’s Favorite 500: Loves of a Moviegoing Lifetime.
Don Henley – Take A Picture Of This
Ella Fitzgerald – Angel Eyes
Joaquin Rodrigo – Concierto de Aranjuez, 2nd movement
An evening pause: One of my favorite pieces of music, performed by Xuefei Yang and Barcelona Symphony.
Hat tip Danae.
Next New Shepard test flight expected before December
The competition heats up: Blue Origins has revealed that the next test flight of its suborbital New Shepard capsule and launch rocket will take place before the end of 2015.
They also noted that they will not be selling any tickets for suborbital flights for at least two more years, until they are satisfied that the test flights have proven the system. This is a far cry from other suborbital companies like Virgin Galactic and XCOR, who have made big promises to garner ticket sales, and have yet to deliver. Jeff Bezos’s company has instead decided to deliver first, and then sell tickets.
In the end, we shall see who wins the race to put the first tourists into space. What is certain in all this however is that Virgin Galactic has squandered the ten-year headstart it had when it started out in 2004.
In related news, Virgin Galactic says that construction of its second SpaceShipTwo ship is progressing well.
The competition heats up: Blue Origins has revealed that the next test flight of its suborbital New Shepard capsule and launch rocket will take place before the end of 2015.
They also noted that they will not be selling any tickets for suborbital flights for at least two more years, until they are satisfied that the test flights have proven the system. This is a far cry from other suborbital companies like Virgin Galactic and XCOR, who have made big promises to garner ticket sales, and have yet to deliver. Jeff Bezos’s company has instead decided to deliver first, and then sell tickets.
In the end, we shall see who wins the race to put the first tourists into space. What is certain in all this however is that Virgin Galactic has squandered the ten-year headstart it had when it started out in 2004.
In related news, Virgin Galactic says that construction of its second SpaceShipTwo ship is progressing well.
Sounds of a Glass Armonica
Nat King Cole – Red Sails In The Sunset
The Lion Roars
An evening pause: A very short pause, but one that I think is appropriate today with the success of the grassroots tea party movement in forcing John Boehner out as House Speaker.
Hat tip Diane Zimmerman.
Harvesting tulip bulbs with modern engineering
An evening pause: The harvester is the equivalent of a mobile factory assembly-line that operates in the field. It also reminds me of the animated cartoon Transformers.
Hat tip Phill Oltmann.
Robert Tiso – Moonlight Sonata on glass harp
Around the World in 80 Days
An evening pause: Hat tip to Phil Berardelli, author of the new edition of Phil’s Favorite 500: Loves of a Moviegoing Lifetime, who notes, “Producer Mike Todd lured dozens of stars to appear in cameos in his still-glorious take on the classic Jules Verne novel, and nowhere were they more delightful than in the San Francisco saloon scene.”
How many well known actors and performers can you spot doing cameos in this short clip?
Philomena Cunk’s Moments of Wonder: Time
An evening pause: This hilarious parody of BBC science documentaries, which are not much different than many American PBS science documentaries, captures perfectly the typical empty-headed interviewers that I myself have sometimes had to deal with during too many of my television and radio appearances. They are not only often ignorant of some basic science, they are also ignorant of their own ignorance. They think they know a lot, and thus are easily confused and defensive when suddenly confronted with that ignorance.
I especially like her description of “the famous Greenwich Marillion line.”
Hat tip to Danae.
Auckland Symphony Orchestra – Angry Birds
An evening pause: I must admit I am entirely ignorant of what the Angry Birds game is. The music here and the playing however is stellar.
Hat tip to Danae.