Think of this as Merry Christmas from us

This photograph and the initial video form a portion of the ending scenes from the 2018 film, "Alpha," a very imaginative and yet very plausible story about how mankind and the wolf and its descendants learned to accept one another and to cooperate. I would recommend you watch this motion picture, if for no other reason than to give you something to think about other than politics and the challenges of living day-to-day life, as well as for the absolutely stunning visuals. According to "experts" from the Smithsonian, gray wolves and dogs diverged from an extinct wolf species some 15,000 to 40,000 years ago .... seems like yesterday; I remember it well ....

 

To borrow and to bend from sports parlance (usually used in hockey is this northern neck of the woods), this year I have sort of a "hat trick" in regard to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This will be the third December in a row I have seen the group's show .... or should that be groups' shows, since there are performances going on in at least two other cities on the same day as here? This time around there will be two shows at 3:00 and at 8:00 on Saturday, December 28, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul. This particular clip is of "Christmas Canon Rock" as performed in Hartford, Connecticut, on November 24 with Georgia Napolitano the lead singer. If the piece sounds familiar, it is Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D Major with lyrics composed by Paul O'Neill ....

 

"What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" was composed by William Weatherspoon, Paul Riser and James Dean, and became a hit single for Jimmy Ruffin in the summer of 1966. The song centers upon the struggle to overcome sadness while searching for peace of mind after a relationship ends. The song has been recorded many times, this version by Joan Osborne and The Funk Brothers from a 2002 documentary film. It is here for no particular reason other than I like it .... baby. Among the adaptations I have heard, this is my "preferred" piece. A fascinating element to this rendition is that one mind and one body seem to be controlling both drummers. I cannot recall seeing two drummers in such perfect unison.

 

 

 

Never try to second-guess a Marine

Which caption best fits this photograph and these videos?


I knew there was a catch to the "no smoking indoors" sign.


Count to ten and pull what?


Practice session for the USMC high dive team ....


Deep down inside, all Marines are frustrated actors.


Are you sure you have her address right? All I can see is water!


This is how you guys play "follow the leader?"


U.S. Marine Corps / November 10, 1775 / Happy 244th Birthday!


Marines are much more multi-talented than you might think ....


I thought this was the chow line.


You wanna make a memory?


This is what the recruiter meant when he promised me flight school?

For whom the bell chimes

For better or for worse, this snowy scene is what the bell tower on the campus of Minnesota State University in Mankato looked like in the pre-dawn hours of today -- November 6, 2019. As much as I would like to take credit for this photograph, it is not mine and was sent to me by a friend who awakens mornings much/much/much earlier than I do. There was measurable snow "up north" long before today and a trace amount twice "down here," but this is the first measurable snowfall this season in my neck of the woods.

 

Just to warm you up a bit, also here is an old/old/old song entitled, "Everlasting Love," performed by a Brit group named Love Affair. The singer is Steve Ellis, who was 17 at the time of recording, and the band itself fits my definition of "teeny bopper." I like the song and it certainly is made for dancing -- shove the furniture aside and try it ....

 

Serenity on an almost-winter day

There was no bride involved here, but the photograph brought to mind an old saying: "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe." The old and the silver sixpence came in the form of a creative imagination and an 1876 dime I carry with me .... it would be complicated to try to compare the value of the two coins, but they are (were) roughly the same size. The new and the borrowed is the Oru kayak. Just for good measure, you might notice the pair of moose in the "blue" water on the opposite side of the river. It is a river, somewhere between Minnesota and Michigan (hmmmm), albeit one with a slow/slow/slow current. It was a pleasant day in many ways: Not too cold, no wind, no snow or sleet in the air -- and, what better way to enjoy a few hours than by paddling on a pristine body of water among snow-covered trees?

This model kayak goes for about $1,600 with paddles bouncing the price upward at $130 apiece. Oru kayaks can be broken down and carried in an optional backpack which will ring the bell another two hundred times. Very handy, though, at only 28 pounds.

Ricky Nelson, Cherilyn "Cher" Sarkisian and the band Boston provide a musical interlude for those who wish it. I like them all. I will not elaborate why I enjoy Ricky's music. Cher has sort of a unique way of pronouncing some words which is not exactly a regional accent. Accents and varying pronunciations of words intrigue me, which is one reason I like her songs / her voice. Perhaps, I should write a post about pronunciations some day and further bore you to death. When playing with the original lineup, which means Brad Delp singing, I think Boston is pretty much the best of the best.

You will excuse me this time around, I hope, because serenity, like happiness, is temporary and fleeting. This is the first day of FramWinter, which makes me contemplate hibernating from now until midnight on March 31, which is the end of it. Due to my mood, I am in "hanging out" mode at the moment and suspect I will be for some months.

 

 

Lucky us ....

While sights like this are not common, neither are they rare in many places such as Minnesota. They happen in the autumn -- at least that is when I have seen them -- and involve thousands of "winged things" such as starlings or black birds and probably other species, as well .... and truly are marvelous to watch. The event is called a murmuration and can involve hundreds of thousands of birds. Should you see one, remember it. Who knows how much longer birds will be here to do it?

"If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time"

Those words form the title and are among the lyrics of a song written by James Beck and William "Lefty" Frizzell and recorded by Frizzell in 1950.

Neither money nor time are in short supply for me at the moment, but glancing through the arts section of a Saint Paul newspaper made me appreciate that fact that probably no one has enough of either to keep pace with entertainment opportunities in and around the Twin Cities of Minnesota.

Upcoming at the Guthrie Theatre in coming weeks, for instance, are these:

The Glass Menagerie

Steel Magnolias

A Christmas Carol

The Minnesota Opera will be presenting The Barber of Seville.

Both the Dublin-based dance group, TeacDamsa, and the Russian Ballet Theatre will be offering Swan Lake beginning Thursday.

There are innumerable authors making presentations and offering readings and holding autograph sessions during the days ahead -- some of them famous and others, well, sort of local.

Being a devotee of classic rock, I simply will say everyone ranging from "newbies" to senior citizens who have been around since the 1960s and 1970s has the Twin Cities on their itineraries. Not to worry, all genres of music will be similarly represented.

Some might argue "sports" are another form of art (not I), so add to this there are six professional sports teams in the Twin Cities representing football, baseball, hockey, soccer and two basketball.

Less exciting, but more relevant, I think, was an article which stated the United States and Canada have lost an estimated three billion birds -- nearly 30 percent -- since 1970. Most of the losses have been among birds which occupy grasslands from Texas north into the Canadian prairies. Suspects are the usual: Habitat loss and more intensive agriculture, and greater use of pesticides that kill the insects birds eat.

So, while we who have enough time and money to seek out our favorite forms of entertainment, we can prepare ourselves for fewer sights and songs from Nature, it would seem.

Lucky us ….