Open Thread May 24 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 242026
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Puccini’s “Turandot.” It was his last opera – and it’s not a pretty story. It has a happy ebding, in that the tenor and the lead soprano end up in love against all odds. But the road to that ending is covered with blood, and I have trouble with that. The big aria, which all tenors love, and which is often associated with Pavarotti (although every tenor who has ever recorded anything has recorded it – even Sarah Brightman recorded it, replacing “la principessa” with “il principe”) is “Nessun dorma” – None shall sleep – which makes sense in context, though out of context, not so much. Also – I can answer Randy’s quesiion. Congress is completely dominated by Republicans who are so terrified of the Saffron Sauron that they wouldn’t vote their conscience (those who have one) even if the sky fell. Let’s put a Democratic majority into the House and Senate and see what happens. We have a lot of people running who are real fighters, not DINOs, but many still need to win their primaries.

This from ABC news (ours) is on loop, but you will likely  need to unmute it. It’s still a work in progress, but, even so far, it’s pretty amazing.

From the Associated Press – This is good news for two states. Now we need the same for 48 more, two territories, and one district.

I assume Lona is well aware of this (from Good News Network), but thought the rest of us might also like to hear about it.

Also from our ABC News, Malcolm Nance often says “Coincidence takes a lot of planning.” (He calls that “Nance’s Law.”) And so do surprises.

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Open Thread April 12 2026

 Posted by at 6:04 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 122026
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Mozart’s Don Giovanni, as I said it would be. Don Giovanni is not the nicest person in opera (how’s that for understatement?) but he has some truly gorgeous music to sing, and Speedo handled it like silk. Made my day. Also, 81 years ago today, Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. May he rest in peace (unless he wants to come back and strangle the current office holder.) Now – as the original Pollyanna would do – here are some (actual) good news stories to help you get through all the (also actual) crap.

This from The Root doesn’t start so well – but turns around pretty sharply. I was touched.

This from CBS Pittsburgh is a new way to raise money for a good cause. The cause is for children, the idea and organization are from a child the products are all made by children. Apparently the kids are all right.

A very short video from ABC News (the American one), including some information of which I, for one, was not aware.

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Open Thread March 15 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 152026
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Madame Butterfly by Puccini – the first opera I ever saw – I was 8 years old. It’s one of three operas for which Puccini selected the subject after seeing a play in a language he didn’t speak but was still able yo understand everything happening (the other two were Tosca and La Fanciulla del West.) He figured correctly that an operatic subject selected on that basis would make the opera more accessible. I don’t know that I would recommend it as a first opera today, though – Butterfly’s line in the first act “Oh, I am very old – I am fifteen” has taken on too much additional weight in the shadow of the Epstein files.

The work that Ray Brown is doing has never been more important than it is now. He makes me proud to be a Coloradan

I was not surprised to read that mariachi runs in the family – rather, I would have been surprised if it didn’t. Mariachi just does. And not only mariachi. Look at the Romero family of guitarists – now in its third generation.

Technically, I suppose this is not a “good news story.” But it made me smile. (And I still wouldn’t go to a Chick-Fil-A myself.)

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Open Thread March 8 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 082026
 

Yesterday, much of the snow was gone. It took longer in my back yard, which is on the west side of the house. The radio opera was the second half of Les Troyens, about the Trojans’ time in Carthage before they made it to Italy so (in the myth) their descendants could found Rome. Although the inly singer in both parts was John Vickers, as in the first half, all the solo singers were people I remember fondly, including Judith Blegen, with whom I shared a violin teacher – not at the same time, but later, after the teacher had taken a job at the college (now a university) in Alamosa, where I moved after leaving the USMC. She was as fine a violinist as she was a soprano. (I should say is, actually, since she’s still living, only four years older than I am, but she’s no longer singing in public.) Our mutual teacher is not mentioned in the Wikipedia article, but pretty much all professional musicians have more teaches and coaches than could possibly fit into a brief article. He taught her while she was in Montana. There may still be a debate as to whether or not Menotti wrote “Help, Help, The Globolinks” for her – Menotti denied it – nut there just aren’t very many operatic sopranos who can play the violin at a professional level, so his denial is a bit hard to believe. Off to see Virgil now; will check in.

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/family-reunites-with-dog-lincoln-park/
OK, this story starts with a stupid mistake. But it gets better – and then just keeps getting better.

https://www.witn.com/2026/02/23/pactolus-global-school-principal-greets-students-daily-with-music-grooves/
This story – is a lot of fun. And about how fun can help kids learning.

https://www.cpr.org/2026/03/04/alzheimers-disease-misdiagnosed-rebecca-chopp-former-du-chancellor/
This is long for a Sunday – I try to keep them short and bright – but it is astonishing, at least to me. really though that if we knew how to diagnose anything, it would be this. Obviously I was wrong.

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Open Thread February 15 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 152026
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Mozart’s “Idomeneo” from 1986, chosen by Joyce Di Donato because of Frederica von Stade. I have a von Stade story from many years ago which appeared in Cat Fancy magazine, submitted by a vocal coach about the first time von Stade (“Flicka”) came to learn from her. At one point the coach’s cat threw up o Flicka’s foot. The coach thought she’d lost a student forever. But Flicka just deadpanned, “I hope it wasn’t my singing,” and stayed with the coach. She is a class act in every way.  It’s interesting to me (if no one else) that every time an “Artist’s Choice” is picked by someone I really like, that their choice is based on someone in a previous generation I also really, really like.

I would call this “mixed” rather than “good.” But for decades we have been thinking “doomed,” and “mixed” is definitely an improvement over that.

Now this is sportsmanship. This is how sports are supposed to work (and sadly often don’t.)

It’s always good news when someone gets to live his or her dream. And it’s always especially good when it’s a child, and particularly a child who’s experienced an illness that no one, and especially no child, should have to cope with.

Cat

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Open Thread November 23 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 232025
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Iolanta” by Tchaikovsky. It’s in one act with four scenes, and is set in the 1400s, which if not exact, is probably close enough to the era in history when Islam had all the good scientists and all the good physicians (although probably not good enough to give vision to someone born blind – but hey, it’s an opera.) Like the opera “Ruslan and Ludmilla”, it’s popular in Russia and little known elsewhere, but the Met did do it for a Saturday matinee some years ago and later televised it, so I have seen it once. It’s very pretty and has a happy ending. The Muslim doctor, I think, has the best line and certainly the most relevant today: “Without inner desire, change cannot take place.” Wikipedia has a great article on it, including (not that I think anyone but me cares) the fact that the name in the Danish play from which the libretto was derived was “Iolanthe” – like the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta – and that both names are forms of “Yolanda” – which makes perfect sense but was news to me. It’s also very short for an opera – well under 2 hours – so I was able to have a little additional treat. My local station, which could not afford the second half od the summer season, decided that instead they would play a recording of a complete opera starting at the same time, so I was able to hear a substantial part of Handel’s “Rinaldo” after “Iolanta” finished. I’ve seen it once – almost certainly during the pandemic, when the Met allowed people to stream a different opera every day/night for free. When I turned it on, it was during a recitative scene, but very soon it went to an aria, and lucky for me, it was the aria which has been frequently performed in concert and recorded away from the opera (including by Celtic Woman), so I recognized it and was able to identify the opera quickly.

“Friday” in this from Democratic Underground was probably the 14th. I didn’t receive it in time for the 16th.

From The Guardian. I am putting this into Sunday’s post as good news because the judge did the right thing. However, I personally have mixed feelings. I was hoping this would backfire – that reducing the number of Republicans in some of the darkest red districts would actually make them competitive and increase our representation, not theirs. Now that will not happen – at least not in Texas.

This was from a local ABC affiliate in New Jersey, but I found it through The Smile. (off topic, but the part of the URL I cut off ended with “bfd.” Yeah, I would say so.)

Randy Rainbow – Parody of “Pink Pony Club”

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Open Thread August 31 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 312025
 

Yesterday, I hadn’t slept well, and got up with a (fortunately mild) headache. But I managed to hear the radio opera anyway. It was “Der Rosenkavalier” by Richard Strauss. It’s technically a comedy, and it does have some humor, but the basis for the category is really just that there’s a more or less happy ending. The plot is complicated AF, and the premise of the tradition of the “Knight of the Rose” is something Strauss and/or his librettist made up. I first heard (and saw) it on TV when I was pretty new at USAA, and I vaguely remember dreaming afterwards I answered a call from the general’s wife (“Marschallin” in German) to add her as a driver on his auto policy. The Opera is late Strauss, and considered his masterpiece, so there is little if any deliberate dissonance, as there was (appropriately) in Salome or Elektra, and the waltzes in particular are gorgeous (anachronistic, but gorgeous.). Not much like those of the Johan Strauss family (no relation to Richard) but equally lovely in different ways. Also, I found and listened to a conversation between Heather Cox Richardson and Sherrod Brown – just under 30 minutes.

This was shared by Daily Dose of Democracy. There isn’t a paywall, but there is an ad blocker wall. My browser will allow me to turn off the ad blocker for just one site (and I can always turn it on again when I leave.) I thought the story well worth it.

This is from Wednesday, and it’s not as if you don’t know what happened. But the analysis about how rare it is is delightful so I saved it for Sunday.

The 6 Cheetah cubs at the Metro Richmond (VA) Zoo are doing well and have been moved to the public portion of the compound so visitors can see them in person. (photos at link)

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Open Thread June 1 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 012025
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” One of two operas based on Beaumarchais’s trilogy which caused somuch scandal inits day by dissing the aristocracy (They barely made it past the censors.) The other is Mozart’s “Figaro’s Wedding.” There have been numerous attempts at operas intended to get the third play, “La Mère coupable,” into the repertory. So far John Corigliano has come the closest, with his “The Ghosts of Versailles.” It has received a fair number of performances (including one in Los Angeles with Patti Lupone in the role which Marilyn Horne created), but it’s not really in the repertory yet. But I digress. The story in “Barber” is how Count Almaviva courted Rosina with help from Figaro and even more from Rosina, in spite of opposition from her guardian, who wanted to marry her himself – the last thing she wanted. The cast appears to be from all over, and unknown to me, but I never saw or heard a performance I didn’t enjoy. I will say there’s only one tenor who has ever given me chills at the end when the count, his character, threatens the guardian and his sidekick with the Italian 18th-19th century version of “Nice life you’ve got. Be too bad if anything happened to it,” and that was a fellow named Rockwell Blake who must have just leaned on his white privilege. It’s kind of a plot point, so it’s unfortunate more tenors can’t do it. Anyway, I’m off to see Virgil and will check in as usual upon return.

This is good news for a number of reasons, and probably different reasons for different people. For me, there’s the factor that Yosemite means so much to me.

Not exactly news, but definitely good. Even though it’s blue, I can’t always be proud of my state. I can about this.

Kermit the Frog‘s graduation address at the University of Maryland (ending with The Rainbow Connection” and the presentation to Kermit of a Citation from the Governor.) I did not set out to do an double-frog post, honest. (Off topic, but the best-known orange frog will kill you.)

We’ll never know for sure why Harvard picked this moment to back fown on this – but from where I sit, it looks as though being attacked by a corrupt administration has provided a sense of proportion previously masked by privilege.

Randy Trump Derangement (That’s Entertainment) I clipped the ad, but if you want the whole enchilada you can go to YouTube.

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