Wynton Marsalis at the Thousand Oaks Arts Plaza

We attended the Wynton Marsalis concert at the Thousand Oaks Arts Plaza last evening. It was fabulous! A 15-piece band - Piano, Drums, Standup Bass, 3 Trombones, 4 Trumpets, and 5 Reeds (Sax, Clarinet, etc). They played in 2 sets of music and then 1 encore piece.

A highlight of the evening was that Dick Nash, the father of Ted Nash, the main composer for the group, showed up and played Trombone during one of the numbers. Outstanding!

Well worth the effort to get out and listen. The staging and lighting was very simple - the focus was on the music. The band was very tight and they obviously enjoyed playing together.

If you have the opportunity to see and hear the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis -- just do it.

AVAST! Ye Scurvy Dogs - We Be Talkin' Like Pirates Today!

ARRRRR!  It be me - The One Eyed Geek. This be a special postin' on me Blog. All of ye Mates and Wenches pay heed to what I have ta say 'ere --

September 19th be Talk Like A Pirate Day. You just have to talk like a pirate. There be no seawater or hardtack involved. Ye jus' Talk Like A Pirate. Ye Mates and Wenches are all obligated to parley and become Pirate Talkin' scum for a day. If'n ye are hankerin' fer more data - well - ye should be a'raisin' yer anchor and set sail fer the likes of this location on the Big Chart of the Open Seas - There be Pirates there! <- Talk Like a Pirate Website

There be technology involved fer ye what R Pirates and have a majik

computin' box - they calls it - a keyboardin' device -

So - ye all have a swell Pirate Talkin' Day -- may the wind back at yer backs and prosperous landfall soon in yer futures!

Rum all 'round me hearties.

And fer the rest of ye scalliwags what don't Talk Like a Pirate -- ye git ta Walk the Plank to be in Davy Jones' Locker.  Dead Men Tells No Tales!   Off with ye now!  Arrrr!

YO HO (A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME) <- click for song 

(Lyrics by Xavier Atencio and music by George Bruns)

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot,

Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot,

Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

We extort, we pilfer, we filch, and sack,

Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

Maraud and embezzle, and even high-jack,

Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

We kindle and char, inflame and ignite,

Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

We burn up the city, we're really a fright,

Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

We're rascals, scoundrels, villans, and knaves,

Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs,

Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

We're beggars and blighters, ne'er-do-well cads,

Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads,

Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho. 

Scientists Find Stuff Where No Stuff Should Be Found

The Hubble Spaced-based telescope has been put into the service of looking for galaxies where none should be located. They have been looking into the black and dark corners of the night sky. There seems to be so much open space out there...

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D

It is amazing the stuff that humans can find.... Amazing stuff that is in plain view....

• I wonder how those galaxies got there...
• I wonder how much other stuff humans haven't found yet...
• I wonder if humans really think they are the masters of their own domain...
• I wonder if humans will ever figure out that they are a small part of a vast and unimaginable universe and existence.
• I wonder if this is just another example of a NASA-invented conspiracy.
  
• I wonder if any human will read this Blog entry... ;-)

So, I was thinking --  How Big is God anyway?

The Butterfly Circus - a Short Film - Must See

I suggest that you take 20 minutes and view this film produced by The Doorpost Film Project. The writeup is this:

At the height of the Great Depression, the showman of a renowned circus leads his troupe through the devastated American landscape, lifting the spirits of audiences along the way. During their travels they discover a man without limbs at a carnival sideshow, but after an intriguing encounter with the showman he becomes driven to hope against everything he has ever believed. Starring Eduardo Verástegui (Bella), Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrinth, Fantastic Four) and featuring the debut performance of Nick Vujicic.

The Butterfly Circus

Focus Tape -- Santa Fe Opera Lighting & Electrics Apprentices Summer 2009

We were just in Santa Fe, NM - a few weeks ago. But what I wanted to share right now is -- a Music Video hosted on YouTube. It is titled "Focus Tape". The lyrics can be found to the right on the YouTube page.

The music is a version of Lady Gaga's Poker Face.

Some explainations: Source 4 is a type of lighting instrument, Lee-201 is a blue color of Gel. The Focus Tape is a black nylon strip with marking on it - that is rolled out on stage to help visualize a Grid on the stage when they are focusing the lighting for a show. My son Michael is the Lighting Supervisor this year at SFO.