Martinis have now become synonymous with “cocktail.” There are many aspects of my personality that might be “girly” or [slightly] effeminate, but not in my drink of choice: a gin martini.
I love the new trend of going to trendy restaurants and being given a two page martini list. There are the children martinis, those that […]
Here it is, the encore piece for string quartet, banjo and bass called “Emily” after “Emily Dickinson.” This was of course the encore to FOUR POETS for string quartet which the Ives Quartet has just finished performing five times around the country. It was recorded on the fly by Daniel Shiplacoff with his trusty MacBookPro’s […]
My oh my. Google [I can’t imagine MGM is thrilled about this] video has a realization of the coincidental line up of the first 48 minutes of “The Wizard of Oz” with Pink Floyd’s landmark album, “Dark Side of the Moon.” If you’ve never seen it, and have 48 minutes to spare, click below and […]
Here is the entire list, but to sate your curiosity I’ve listed the top ten here. Judging by the first ten, I’d guess that the people who made or responded to this list were baby boomers.
The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
1. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan
2. Satisfaction, The Rolling […]
Alistair McCartney and Tim Miller.
We first met Tim Miller and Alistair McCartney at a resort in Palm Springs in 1994. Tim and I had both met new and younger lovers. We visited and made plans to get together in LA at some point in the future. Twelve years later we finally had them over for […]
From the Spectrum Series (2005) by Thomas Briggs.
One of Daniel’s clients is a body worker, Sean. He uses an amazing technique he calls the “Fijian technique, where he lies on the floor next to you or stands above you and works on your muscles with his feet. He is also starting a new business where […]
You may remember what I wrote the other day about my own history with early erotic imagery and praying, well, it seemed I was the only person on the planet not watching the World Cup. But since I’ve seen THIS participant, I could imagine a whole new interest in sports!
Violist, Scott Woolweaver (L) and Roger Bourland. Photo by Daniel Shiplacoff.
I was nervous about ripping myself away from my work to get down to San Diego to attend a performance of my FOUR POETS by the Ives Quartet for an annual gathering of [non-professional?] chamber musicians called the San Diego Chamber Music Workshop, and in […]
k. d. lost a lot of fans in the US red states with this advertisement. Although I am not a vegetarian, call me blue.
Here is a song I have listened to a thousand times. Not this performance, the one made by the Pat Metheny Group with Lyle Mays. This is one of those pieces that will lift you up into the clouds if you let it. In the original performance, it was a Latino (male) singer who sang […]
Dear Prof Bz
As you know, I’m on tour in Europe. I’m working on a whole variety of things and incorporating the things you ask me to consider, I’m just having a hard time doing “assignments” you know, I was a terrible student and I guess I still am. Cut to the chase: let me take […]
Some things in life are important to know. Like knowing what to do with your fingers, I mean, creatively. If you haven’t seen this dude at fingerskilz, be prepared: your life is about to be changed. Yes, it will is sponsored by HP, but hey. You will never look at your fingers the same way […]
Albert Einstein’s bookplate was designed by Erich Buttner in Berlin around 1917.
[via Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie]
“Marina” by Daniel Shiplacoff.
Friday we went down to the Marina and had dinner on an 85 foot yacht from 1926 (sic) with some friends who are living on it for a few months. The woodwork was elegant, although the boat is in “a state of disrepair.” The smell of diesel fuel was never too far […]
I always loved dancing to this song. I think the dance style was called the Pogo, where you jumped up and down like a pogo stick. It was part of the whole punk thing. My friends and I always understood that “turning Japanese” meant masturbation. Maybe it’s a British thing. I hear that French men […]
Here’s a real find: early Joni Mitchell (called Joan Anderson at that time) singing a song from 1965 called “Favorite Color.” In this song, she plays with a capo, a little bar that is able to be placed up or down on the neck of the guitar and a kind of instant transposer. Her guitar […]
k. d. lang sings Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams.” A star studded audience is blown away. Listen to the beautiful structure of the melody. Roy really knew how to build to a climax. So does k.d.
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