From "The Art of Worldly Wisdom" by Jesuit Scholar Balthasar Gracián:

#28 Be Common in Nothing:
First, not in taste. O great and wise, to be ill at ease when your deeds please the mob! The
excesses of popular applause never satisfythe sensible. Some there are such chameleons of
popularity that they find enjoyment not in the sweet savours of Apollo but in the breath of the
mob. Secondly, not in intelligence. Take no pleasure in the wonder of the mob, for ignorance
never gets beyond wonder. While vulgar folly wonders wisdom watches for the trick.

Today I had a lesson with her (which rocked) and I found out that one of her fans was a professor and botanist at Yale, and he developed the hybrid and named it in her honor. Isn't that too cool?

Rufus Wainwright's Biography that is accompanying the release of his little mutant semi-"opera":

“The best songwriter in the world”, according to Sir Elton John, Wainwright was born in New York to Loudon Wainwright and Kate McGarrigle, the singers, and performed on stage from the age of 6.
A self-confessed egomaniac, he once went blind while living in the Chelsea Hotel, New York, addicted to crystal meth."

That's inaccurate. He went blind AND deaf. And still hasn't recovered.

I found out that my voice teacher has a kind of Iris named after her.



I'm curious to find out the story behind it.

I have an idea, peeps. Since Michael Moore hates capitalism so much, go ahead bootleg the hell out of his movie when it comes out and give it away in the streets for free. Since Moore hates capitalism, he won't care about such ridiculous capitalistic notions as "copyright" and "royalties", right? After all, it doesn't belong to him, "it belongs to the people"- what better way to get it to "The People" without accidentally committing an act of capitalism?

Michael Moore has titled his upcoming documentary Capitalism: A Love Story, which of course blames Capitalism for everything.

"It will be the perfect date movie," Moore said in an announcement Wednesday. "It's got it all -- lust, passion, romance and 14,000 jobs being eliminated every day. It's a forbidden love, one that dare not speak its name. Heck, let's just say it: It's capitalism."

The film is described as focusing on "the disastrous impact that corporate dominance and out-of-control profit motives have on the lives of Americans and citizens of the world."

Calling any of his movies a "documentary" is about as accurate as Anne Coulter calling what she writes "Literature."


Anyways, you'd think he'd be pretty gleeful about all those McDonalds he gorges himself on. Someday that little piggy will go to the market and choke himself on a capitalistic burger, then we shall all sing and dance "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead"

From Al Sharpton's radio show:

FEMALE CALLER (31:50): He (Michael Jackson) is truly the soundtrack of my life. I also have a theory about Sarah Palin as well and I'm going to put it out there on radio, hopefully someone can investigate.

But, I think maybe she did something to Michael Jackson. Maybe there's a scandal there. Maybe she's stepping down because something's about to come out. I don't know, but I'm gonna just put it out there on your show so we'll see.

SHARPTON: All right, thank you for your call, Ashley. That's interesting. I'll put it out, we'll see. I don't know.


So now you know why Palin quit- SHE IS FLEEING THE POLICE!

I wonder how fast she can drive a white bronco over there in Wasilla?

Read this, gentle readers: This is what being a true professional is all about. This is a good "The Show Must Go On" moment.


Mezzo Soprano Hobbled but Still Singing

LONDON — On Saturday night at the Royal Opera House here, the American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato brought literal meaning to the old theatrical motto “Break a leg.”
Hiroyuki Ito/The New York Times Joyce DiDonato as Rosina in a 2007 production of “The Barber of Seville” at the Metropolitan Opera.
( Read more... )

See if you can spot me in the poster, too.

"A friend won tickets to the Michael Jackson funeral. In his words, "this is such a disaster. i'm so excited!"


....

The ever so charming Benjamin Britten. A man whose approach to composition could be summed up by one of his quotes:

"Composing is like driving down a foggy road toward a house. Slowly you see more details of the house-the color of the slates and bricks, the shape of the windows. The notes are the bricks and the mortar of the house."

It is quite true that Benjamin Britten's music and bricks have a lot in common. They are both rather painful to endure when they are hurled at you.

Aside from that, though, the quote makes no bloody sense since he's *driving* past the house, not *building* it, so his analogy misses the mark completely. And that is a more fitting analogy for his compositions than any other I could fathom, really.

All in all, I will be in the Picnic Scene from Albert Herring for the gala - but I swear to you this is probably the last time I shall ever sing a note Benjie Brits has ever composed.

Here you have a few words from Penn and Teller (well, Penn really) during their Vegas show, which I consider appropriate for today.

I just watched this tonight. You know I am not a huge anime fan and I only like certain movies.
Well, this one is definitely worth it. Watch it, rent it, buy it. Just DO IT :)

Dear goodness,

What have I gotten into?

This is exciting. I'm tap dancing on the edge of the frying pan and looking down at the fire and thinking "Man, that's gonna hurt." Why couldn't I have been born a baritone?


Post-study downer is inevitable, must find something to occupy my mind

Nana Mouskouri, one of my childhood singing idols and an inspiration to me, has now officially retired. The image above shows Nana (born Ioanna) at her farewell concert at the Opera Garnier, at the age of 75.

I know it wasn't easy- she never wanted to say goodbye to the stage, but unfortunately her voice deteriorated towards the end and she knew she had no option but to retire, even though she postponed it as long as she could. Not everybody is blessed with an eternal voice like Kraus.

Now she's faced with something she has always admitted she wouldn't want- a world without the stage. She once said ""I am a singer out of necessity, just as the cicada up its tree does not sing because it wants to be a cicada, but because it is one. And that's all it does. People ask me why I don't stop. How could I? I wouldn't be able to live otherwise. It's the substance of my life."

If you've ever felt pleasure or touched by her music, go ahead and write her a letter. I think singers who have had such an illustrious career have earned it.

The sad thing about the good singers is that, no matter how long they live or how long their careers lasted, it is never long enough.

Alright, try to caption what's going through the host's mind as he pulls that precious face after Britney's... um... performance.