Is this a joke?

Is there such a thing as chicken poodle soup?

Orfeo ed Eurydice at Symphony Hall, Phoenix

That is Mr Gluck to the right, the composer of this no-nonsense little opera, an opera for ordinary people.

We have not seen or heard this delicate beauty before this last Sunday afternoon. There was no fireworks, either vocal or instrumental. We enjoyed the nice integration of dance and choral music, and only rare big arias.

I was surprised to see and hear Orfeo sung by a mezzo-soprano. According to Wikipedia that started sometime during the 19th century and now it is the usual way that it is done, although counter-tenors sometimes give it a go.

Eurydice was resurrected in the 2nd act and sounded great. If you are going—sorry, Sunday afternoon was the closing for this season in Arizona—you might check out Greek mythology for Dummies.

Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix isa good place to listen to music whether in the orchestra or in the balcony. Lighting and stagecraft was nicely done.

From the Wilds of Wisconsin

The MSM doesn't pay much attention to Wisconsin unless the Packers are winning Super Bowls, but they may have something to say in the upcoming recall election. Just a reminder. This will be a hard fought battle. The unions are very worried because they don't have the advantage of being able to count the votes all by themselves.

The Next Grand Minimum

There are some who think that the warmists have failed to make their case. Some argue that agriculture may be affected by cooling. This blog has a sensible way of presenting that argument. The above graphic demonstrates that in a low pressure way. The interesting thing about the changes in agriculture is that they could happen relatively quickly, like a lot less than a lifetime.

I Am Saddened Too

I have been reading this blog, AWOL Civilization, for some time now. I initially found it a little too much dis-heartening, but I have come around to the position of fully embracing Gary Wolf's depressing central ideas. Check out this entry.

From City Journal: Growing Out Of Poverty

There are lots of surprisingly good things that have happened in the world in my lifetime. Lifting people out of poverty is one of those things. Check out this article. How did this happen?

Aging Again

The only names I recognize at the Masters are Fred Couples and Tiger Woods: would you attribute this to aging or not paying attention.

Justice For Trayvon

From TownHall cartoons.

Windy in Peoria: Moyer is Wild & Gently Whacked by Former Team-Mates

Yes, I said Moyer, Jamie Moyer that is. I thought he had retired a year or two ago but he fooled all of us, checking into a hospital for Tommy John surgery, and then signing a minor league contact with the Rockies. When I saw the familiar motions and number (50) too, I gave a shout of glee at the Mariners v, Rockies game in Peoria this afternoon. 49 years! At this rate Jamie may beat Satchel Paige's numbers.

What a lovely serendipitous pair of starters: Felix Hernandez and Jamie Moyers. The former looked sharp, striking out 6 in 4 innings and as usual getting a little upset when the home plate umpire called an inadvertent quick pitch a balk. He will be the Mariners' ace for sure this year.

Moyers' line didn't look quite as good: 5 innings, 4 runs, 9 hits, no big flies: not really bad but not as good as usual. His control seemed a little off, e.g. he walked 1 and hit the same batter twice. I'm not sure if the decision has been made or not yet but we are for him.

I heard the distinctive plonk of a thrown baseball on plastic helmet today: Future star Mariner Jesus Montero was hit by Edgmer Escalonte and clearly dazed. I hope things work out. As soon as I heard the sound I had a flashback some 60 or so years when I saw and heard my father hit on the head with a thrown baseball in the years before they wore helmets. He dropped like the cows that were dispatched in his slaughterhouse. Eventually he got up and dizzily stumbled to first base, where his manager decided he could not make it any further and replaced him. No wonder we all have to overcome the fear of someone throwing baseballs surprisingly close to us.

Gatsby Play Grabs Many

Arizona Theatre Company's production of The Great Gatsby was as "titillating, fascinating and shocking" as the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel was in 1925. Thank Goodness there was enough stagecraft magic to keep the show moving as it was meant to be. Of course, the audience was not empathic with any of the characters. If we did we were not paying attention to the author of the book or the playwright both on the same page in my opinion. Still on through this weekend. Worth a trip to downtown.

There was an absent-minded review of the play in the Arizona Republic by Kerry Lengel last week sometime, I think it was 27 March. Apparently he or she disagreed with the campy nature of the hydroplane scene. And then there is this:

"In the book, Fitzgerald paints images of emptiness. But in this production, it's the imagery that lacks substance,"

says Ms Lengel in a final paragraph of wisdom. Hmm. I, for one, have trouble understanding the difference between "emptiness" and "lacks substance." Fortunately, the last Sunday afternoon matinee was well attended and the audience thought the show was pretty good. Keep up the good work AZ Theatre Company. Maybe you just need to buy some advertising to get a decent review.