STEPHEN FOSTER: "Beautiful Child of Song"That unique mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani (1933-1989) sings, and frequent collaborator Gil Kalish accompanies, this haunting Foster song, from their Nonesuch CD Songs of America.by KenThis is a somewhat unusual pr... »
With select updates (see text and below)A big fat liar? Sure, but it may be thathe thought he was telling a higher truthI'm telling a terrible story,but it doesn't diminish my glory,for they would have taken my daughtersover the billowy waters,if I had... »
We've been talking a lot lately about the Republican War Against Women, the Republican War Against Education, the Republican War Against Science, and the Republican War Against the 99%.Today's Republican Party may revere Reagan as the patron saint of l... »
The storm from Act III of Janáček's Kátya Kabanová, played by the Prague National Theater Orchestra under Jaroslav Krombholc."Storms are punishment, sent to usto make us realize the power of the Almighty!"-- the merchant Dikoj, in Act III of Janáček's ... »
Perhaps you never made time to read Ayn Rand's adolescent novels glorifying greed and selfishness-- books that have had far more to do with animating modern Republicanism than anything written or stated by any Founding Fathers, outside of Alexander Ham... »
Governor Bob, that cagy pol, knows there'sa line in there somewhere that got crossed.by KenJust last week we were talking about the runaway craziness exploding in the Virginia legislature, now fully Republican thanks to the old principle applied to the... »
There are funny storms too! Alexander Prior conducts the deliciously raging thunderstorm in Act II of Rossini's Barber of Seville at the Chuvash National Opera in the Volga River port of Cheboksary, capital of Russia's Chuvash Republic, November 2009. ... »
No, that $374,327 isn't in Monopoly money."Now is not this ridiculous, and is not this preposterous?A thorough-paced absurdity -- explain it if you can."-- the Dragoons, in Act I of G&S's Patienceby KenI think most of the numbers in the following parag... »
Homo-haters hate "gay" identity, selling Altoona, Orange County weasels' "wit," mean Charlie Manson, and a war on Easter?Without Altoona's railroad shops, once a crucial cog in ourindustrial machine, could we have won WWII? (See 4/18.)by Noah4/17/11 --... »
Mob mentality, dumb in Dixie, water! water!, AP punked, Jesse Ventura makes sense!, Repugs & government, and moreWhy do righties love royalty? Simple: status. And since to Bushies and their kind status is all about how you were born, is it any wonder t... »
Guvs do Big Oil's dirty work, a "human-decency gene"?, asleep at the air controller's station, shoot them immigrunts!, and moreShow of hands, how many people think Newt believed his March 8 position on Libya? Okay, then how many people think he believe... »
"America is not broke" (Michael Moore), real death panels, did she deserve to be beaten?, rehabbing the Bush name, and more"It's important to remember, no one was hurt at Three Mile Island"by Noah3/7/11 -- Quote of the Year nominee: Michael Moore, in W... »
Good afternoon, everybody. It is no secret that there hasn’t been an abundance of partisanship in Washington this year. And that’s why what happened on Saturday was such a big deal. Nearly the entire Senate -- including almost all of the Republicans --... »
Around the time Abraham Lincoln had decided to deal the rebel South a potentially crippling economic blow by freeing the slaves, Tsar Alexander II of Russia abolished the institution of serfdom in Russia, the last remaining feudal state in Europe. In 1... »
Naturally enough, gay people are always more than happy to welcome some admired historical figure into the fellowship. Last Saturday Alan Grayson introduced me to Alan Turing (video above) and I rushed home, read everything I could find on him and had ... »
