Tag: entertainment
New York Mets – September 24, 1969
An evening pause: In 1969 the lowly New York Mets, doormats in the National League from the moment the team was created in 1962, came out of nowhere to win the pennant and the World Championship of baseball. Forty-two years ago tonight I and my friend Lloyd attended the game in which the Mets clinched first place in the National League Eastern Division. Below is video showing highlights of the game plus the final out, with the crowd pouring onto the field. Though you can’t see me, I am in that crowd, jumping for joy at this most unlikely sports miracle. There was no rioting, only happy fans chanting “We’re number one!” in exuberant disbelief.
And I still have that small piece of turf from Shea Stadium, collected on that night, proof that the unexpected and improbable is always possible.
Moody Blues – Forever Autumn
Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers – Follow the Fleet
Clark Jaman – a song from Shakespeare
An evening pause: Words by Shakespeare, one of Feste the clown’s songs from Twelfth Night, Act 2, scene 4. Music by Clark Jaman, done, as he says, “for a school project.” Very nice.
John McDermott – Voyage
Bjork – It’s oh so quiet
Gordon Lightfoot – Canadian Railroad Trilogy
Walking on water
An evening pause: Walking on water. As the youtube website explained, “They filled a pool with a mix of cornstarch and water made on a concrete mixer truck. It becomes a non-newtonian fluid. When stress is applied to the liquid it exhibits properties of a solid.”
Jack Benny meets Twilight Zone
Demi Lovato – Skyscraper
An evening pause:
You can take everything I have
You can break everything I am
Like I’m made of glass
Like I’m made of paper.
And go on and try to tear me down
I will be rising from the ground
Like a skyscraper.
Manfred Mann – Blinded by the Light
An evening pause: I dare anyone to watch these guys perform this song and still claim that rock stars aren’t talented musicians.
Andrews Sisters – Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B
An evening pause: From the Abbott and Costello film Buck Privates (1941).
To me, the word that best describes this is exuberance. Faced with war and threatened with destruction, the American nation responded with defiant humor.
Symphony of Science
Holistic ER
The via ferrata in the Italian Dolomites
The Westerner
Annie Lennox – Into the West
Connie Dover – I am going to the west
An evening pause: Words and music by Connie Dover. With this video, it is the words that matter.
In this fair land, I’ll stay no more
Here labor is in vain
I’ll seek the mountains far away
And leave the fertile plainWhere waves of grass in oceans roll
Into infinity
I stand ready on the shore
To cross the inland sea
I am going to the WestChorus
You say you will not go with me
You turn your eyes away
You say you will not follow me
No matter what I say
I am going to the West
I am going to the West.I will journey to the place
That was shaped by heaven’s hand
I will build for me a bower
Where angels’ footprints mark the landWhere castle rocks in towers high
Kneel to valleys wide and green
All my thoughts are turned to you
My waking hope, my sleeping dream
I am going to the WestAnd when sun gives way to moon
And silver starlight fills the sky
In the arms of these last hills
Is where I’m bound to lieWind my blanket, earth my bed
My canopy a tree
Willows by the river’s edge
Will whisper me to sleep
I am going to the West
John Denver – Wild Montana Skies
Stan Rogers – Northwest Passage
An evening pause:
Ah, for just one time
I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line
Through a land so wide and savage
And make a northwest passage to the sea.
Bo Jackson running
Judy Collins – Danny Boy
Phil and John Cunningham plus others
An evening pause: To quote from the youtube page: “A live session from the 1991/92 BBC Scotland broadcast, featuring the Cunningham brothers from Silly Wizard, Charlie MacKerron and Donald Shaw from Capercaillie, Ian MAcDonald from Ossian and various members of the Rankin Family, from Canada.”
It’s all good, but stay with it for the Irish dancing near the end.
G-Male by Google
Alison Krauss and Yo Yo Ma – Slumber my darling
Big Sky Country – A Montana night sky time lapse
An evening pause: In Glacier National Park in August 2011. From Mark “Indy” Kochte.
Hunkering down during the hurricane
Update: We lost power at around 12:30 am, and as of mid-morning Sunday the power was still not back. Thus, my posting will be light today. At the moment we are out at a local restaurant that has power (and food!), so I am using my laptop to post.
As I sit here waiting for Hurricane Irene to speed past Washington, DC, leaving behind a lot of water, some fallen trees, and the likelihood of a power outage, I thought I’d mention that I will be doing a special 30 minute appearance tonight on the nationally syndicated John Batchelor radio show at 9 pm (Eastern). Should be fun, with New York City shut down and me possibly doing the interview in the dark, with no power.
Update and bumped. The hurricane where I live here in the DC area has so far been quite mild, with only a few short bursts of heavy rain and hardly any wind. However, John Batchelor had so much fun with our discussion at 9 pm that I am coming back for another half hour at 11:30 pm (Eastern).
One more note: I consider the decision of Mayor Bloomberg in New York to shut down the subway and buses for the weekend to be downright madness. The subway should run until the last minute, in case people need to leave. Closing it so the government employees can get out is like a captain deserting his ship ahead of the passengers.
Unfortunately, this kind of political overreaction is what you get when you cede too much power to politicians. They have to act, if only to appear as they are doing something.