I’ve attended regular season ballet performances since I was 18. But this is the first season that I’ve attended any of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s “extra” events – like performance previews, lectures, and now the Season Encore performance. Although it’s called a season encore, it’s not just a highlights reel of the most popular dances of the past season. The Encore program is also a farewell to company members who are leaving for other companies or retiring.
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Farewell Karel
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Income Tax – Constitution Article 1 §9.4
On Wednesdays we study the Constitution. I thought I’d never finish Article 1, Section 8, which lists the powers of Congress. I finally got to Section 9, which denies Congress specific powers. It started off weak with a 20-year timeline for denying the importation of slaves, but it’s getting better. Last week I learned about ex post facto laws. This week I’m on to Article 1 §9.4, which never uses the word “income tax” but used mean America didn’t have one. Read More
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Music I Liked – Hegemone and Maybe Pangyrist
As the weekend unfolded, I realized with a bit of panic that I didn’t really have any music to write about. Sofi Tukker has been on high rotation in my house this week, but I wrote about them last time. So with the limited time I had left, I dove into the blogs on a mission to find some new music. I found Hegemone, which I really liked, and Pangyrist which I – maybe liked?
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Black Bamboo
If there is a purple version of a vegetable, that’s the one I plant. If there’s a black-flowering variety of a plant, that’s what I want in my garden. In Seattle, black mondo grass is the go-to plant for dark foliage. In it’s small way, it’s awesome. I have some planted in my yard.
I’m scared of bamboo, with its kudzu-like tendency to take over the world. I don’t trust myself to be consistent in maintenance and keep it in check. But I covet Phyllostachys nigra, the black bamboo. It looks so cool. It’s the bamboo with a leather jacket and a tattoo. I think, as far as bamboo goes, it’s relatively well behaved. But I still wouldn’t trust it.
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O+E Chamber Opera by Seattle Opera
Philip Newton photo c/o Seattle Opera
Some people listen to opera for that one perfect high C, but my ear is not refined enough to detect the subtler wonders of the art form. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m drawn to opera for the spectacle. Seattle Opera’s newest chamber opera, O+E, was the opposite of their over-the-top main stage productions, and as a result, I liked it even better. Even without a single baritone.
Opera: come for the pageantry, stay for the beauty.