sunrise rainbow

potluck

James Butler (who creatd the role of Fredrick Douglass in the 1985 opera) had one today at a nearby park. it was rich with laughter. I was happy to have been invitd.

Regina Resnik (1922-2013)

today's hike

Valles Caldera

John Grimes (1947-2013)

I met the timpanist when he performd a George Crumb piece on campus in the summer of 1973.  he was there as part of Blossom Festival School & returnd the following summer as well.

over the years he introduced me to composers Lee Hoiby & Daniel Pinkham (who dedicatd his 1974 piece "Liturgies" to John). I in turn introduced him to poet Ron Schreiber   my dear friend David Meredith & my cousin Regina Yando.

John visitd Santa Fe for the first time in the summer of 2005.  here we are together at Camel Rock:

when he returnd 2 years later we began looking at possible places for him to move to after retirement. here is a picture I took of John in Taos:

this past mar John performd Beethoven's 7th Symphony & got this review from the Boston Globe: The finale had some raucous outbursts, especially from timpanist John Grimes, who was the first to take a well-deserved solo bow at the end.

 I applaud a friend & musician as he takes his final bow.

for years

it was my belief that Shep Houghton was the only actor to have appeard in both of MGM's 1939 classics "Gone With the Wind" & "The Wizard of Oz."

if Houghton is still alive he'll be 100 next year.  he began his career as a child in silent films & appeard in small roles (often as a dancer) in countless hits. but he is not one of the 2 surviving Munchkins the press mentiond yesterday.

& in fact his Oz credit is suddenly gone from his IMDB credits.

also -- while factchecking this I discoverd that 96 year-old Dorothy Barrett who I met when the Munchkins got their star in front of Grauman's also had a bit in GWTW (altho IMDB fails to include that as well).

another Munchkin gone

Margaret Pellegrini (1923-2013)

I took this at the Hollywood Roosevelt before the Munchkins got a star on the Walk of Fame.

most sources claim only 2 actors who playd Munchkins remain alive.

dreamt

I was F. Scott Fitzgerald playing a sailor in a silent film

trying to grow a beard

searching for something else I discoverd this ancient photo of me as an undergrad:

in the past week

this blog got 66 hits from Latvia

before leaving

Regina shared this video. her husband Dr. John Mordes gave this '59 Olds to Jay Leno.

today's hike

Rio en Medio

Wilde & Whitman singing

a duet in jail.  like that?  how abt Whitman welcoming Wilde to heaven?  that's all part of the silliness of the new opera we saw last nite.

I really wantd to like Theodore Morrison's "Oscar."  sometimes his music is lovely.  but there are so many problems with the libretto.

for me the difficulties begin with the decision to make the role of Oscar Wilde in the range of a countertenor. that pegs the character immediately.  & for this listener it's tough going to spend 140 minutes with a piece whose lead is a countertenor.  it's simply hard on my ears.

I understand using Walt Whitman as a sort of narrator to frame the action but ultimately don't approve. 

then there are the cliches which end both acts.  the first turns the trial into an actual circus. but the major laugh is a stage full of angels welcoming Wilde to the afterlife.

on the plus side I did like the decision to make Bosie a non-singing dance role. perhaps some of his choreography was too much but the basic decision works.

opera week

Regina is here for her annual visit

one year ago

violent storm

woke me in middle of the nite.  when I got up I discoverd electricity went off abt 3:30.  another one set for this afternoon.

IMDB

look who's listd

Mary Leed (1930-2013)

I've learnd that Mary Leed died last month. I'm still in shock.

I've known Jake & Mary for 50 years. there are too many memories to record them all here.  the earliest were their legendary parties.  often they were for visiting poets -- such as Denise Levertov & James Dickey. & of course there were the famous G & Ts. in fact when they left Kent I got their gin & tonic glasses which are still in my kitchen.

here is a Guy Berard portrait of the couple:

for many Jake & Mary are best known for their acting in several of the films of Richard Myers.  my favorite is "Jungle Girl" (1984):

Jake took this of Mary with me in their backyard in Cambridge in 1997:

Mary kept her final illness private & there have been no obituaries publishd. but her life was important to me & I feel the need to share the grief of her passing.

Joseph O'Sickey (1918-2013)

Joe & Algesa askd me to come to their house just before leaving Kent for Santa Fe. each presentd me with a work of their art as farewell gifts.  here I am with Joe & his painting.

& here's an earlier picture of the pair at one of my gatherings on Morris Rd.  they're chatting with novelist Thrity Umrigar.

feeling like a daddy

before watering this morning I noticed that a cactus I brought back from Palm Springs is sprouting babies. so I had a look around & was delightd to see 2 tiny shoots coming from the batterd fig I recently brought from Culver City.

& of course in my front yard there's this lovely Crassulaceae (hens & chickens) from Elyria: