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The Evolution of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Swan Lake

Lesley Rausch as Odette© Angela Sterling

Photo by Angela Sterling c/o PNB

Swan Lake is almost the definition of “canon” for classical ballet. What could be more rigid and tradition-bound than the most famous ballet? It turns out, a lot of things can. Swan Lake has changed a lot from its premiere in 1877, and even today, every performance is a little different. Since it’s also performed every three or four years in Seattle, we can actually watch the evolution of Swan Lake.   Read More

ByGD

Constitution Article 1 §8.4 – Bankruptcy

ConstitutionIn the wonderful anime series Kino’s Journey, a character who wanders the world in search of a place to settle down finds a country where people live in relative peace and freedom and are welcoming to newcomers. His companion comments that it seems like a perfectly normal place, to which he replies, “A lot of people have to work very hard to make a place normal.”

 

Democracy is not a spectator sport; but to play the game you have to know the rules. (Ok, it’s not a game, either, but just roll with it.) I’m studying the Constitution, one clause at a time. I’m up to Article 1 §8.4, on naturalization and bankruptcy. Read More

ByGD

Hello, Nurse

Remember the Animaniacs cartoon? Where the cartoon characters ran around acting crazy until they saw a pretty girl, then they’d stop everything and shout in chorus, “Helloooo, nurse!”

It’s funny how silly lines like that can work their way into your personal vocabulary.

This one time, at band camp, at a music festival, I was wandering between shows and caught a glimpse of this guy. I stayed to watch hear the set.