Creating the Garden

Posted on May 30, 2006 by sogalitno

And so we begin….

Memorial_day004_1

go to the photo album to see the whole story of today – Memorial Day 2006 in which I created beds where there were previously "who knows what" – ivy, vines, weeds, grass, you name it. 

tomorrow we turn the beds – they are FULLLLLL of roots and vines… ivy and grass – ugh – its going to be a long hard day.

and i am placing my order FINALLY with Graceful Gardens – tonight before I pass out – and then calling them in the morning.

hopefully my yard guy (nephew of my sister's nanny ) will show up – although i havent heard from him yet tonight.  and he baled on me today. 

i have three stumps that need to be dug up (you can see them in the photos) and then there are two stumps in the front of the house in barrels that need digging up – sigh.

and there still is no water – i will have to get an adapter to let my hose attach to the sink – i am ordering several hundred plants (yes) and will NOT carry buckets out from the house to the yard – NO. F>>>>>. WAY.

ok. i am hot (its 80 degrees in the apt) and exhausted – but a GOOD days work was done on the beginning of the garden.

more when i am more coherent.

Posted in Landscaping | 1 Comment

Stonehenge in the City

Posted on May 28, 2006 by sogalitno

29sunset.3372The sunset down 34th Street in Manhattan this evening. During the last 15 minutes of daylight, the sun fully illuminated every cross street in the borough. The phenomenon will occur again on July 13.

The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia.

 

Robert Caplin for The New York Times

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Saturday on BBC Radio 3 – Opera On 3 – GOTTERDAMMERUNG

Posted on May 12, 2006 by sogalitno

RO06_GotterdammerungWagner’s Götterdämmerung
Conducted by Antonio Pappano

Saturday 13 May 2006 18:00-23:00 (Radio 3)  (1 pm EDT)

“A dark day dawns for the gods” in the final opera of Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle.

Keith Warner’s brand-new production for the Royal Opera House is presented from Covent Garden by Stephanie Hughes, in conversation with the people who’ve brought the huge undertaking to fruition: Keith Warner, conductor Antonio Pappano, and the three singers at the heart of Götterdämmerung.

John Treleaven’s innocent Siegfried is hoodwinked, corrupted and destroyed by John Tomlinson’s scheming Hagen – but can Lisa Gasteen’s Brünnhilde snatch final victory from the jaws of defeat?

Duration:   5 hours

Brünnhilde …… Lisa Gasteen (soprano)
Siegfried …… John Treleaven (tenor)
Hagen …… John Tomlinson (bass)
Gunther, his half-brother …… Peter Coleman-Wright (baritone)
Gutrune, his half-sister …… Emily Magee (soprano)
Waltraute …… Mihoko Fujimura (mezzo-soprano)
Alberich …… Peter Sidhom (baritone)
First Norn …… Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano)
Second Norn …… Yvonne Howard (mezzo-soprano)
Third Norn …… Marina Poplavskaya (soprano)

Rhinemaidens:
Woglinde …… Sarah Fox (soprano)
Wellgunde …… Heather Shipp (mezzo-soprano)
Flosshilde …… Sarah Castle (mezzo-soprano)

The Royal Opera Chorus (chorus director Renato Balsadonna)
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (concert master Peter Manning)
Antonio Pappano (conductor)

BBC – Radio 3 – Opera On 3.

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RIP

Posted on May 5, 2006 by sogalitno

We learned that our “Uncle Jimmy” died last night.  He had had cancer that was in remission until about a week ago when he was having some tests due to a bad reaction to some medicine – the last MRI then showed that the cancer had spread so invasively that he was given days to live.

I will be on hiatus for awhile as we mourn and help his partner Ramon come to terms with the passing of his companion of 40 years.

Of course I will be knitting – don’t know what yet – but something soothing.

 

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Domingo dominates Classical Brits

Posted on May 4, 2006 by sogalitno

Placido Domingo will star at the Royal Opera House later this month
Spanish tenor Placido Domingo has picked up two prizes at the annual Classical Brit Awards in London.

Domingo received a lifetime achievement award and shared the critics’ prize for his part in the Royal Opera House’s production of Tristan and Isolde.

Katherine Jenkins won album of the year for Living A Dream while Andreas Scholl beat Bryn Terfel and Renee Fleming to the singer of the year crown.

TV presenter Michael Parkinson hosted the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Domingo dominates Classical Brits.

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if you like Mitsuko Uchida and Schoenberg..

Posted on May 3, 2006 by sogalitno

Mitsuko Uchida
Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire
Wednesday 3 May 2006 230 pm EDT (Radio 3)

Stephanie Hughes presents the second programme in a short series showcasing Uchida’s recent recitals. In this programme recorded at LSO St Lukes in London, Mitsuko Uchida teams up with an international group of musicians to perform one of the seminal works of the 20th century: Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire.

Berg: Lyric Suite
Schubert: Impromptus D899
Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire Op 21

Mitsuko Uchida (piano)
Barbara Sukowa (narrator)
Marina Piccnini (flute)
Anthony McGill (clarinet)
Brentano Quartet

BBC – Radio 3 – Performance on 3 – Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire.

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New Orleans Jazzfest – Bruce helps open …

Posted on May 1, 2006 by sogalitno

Bruce3600NEW ORLEANS, April 30 — The first weekend of the 37th annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival ended with a rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” When the familiar chorus arrived, the white handkerchiefs New Orleanians seem to keep handy on all occasions were waved high. Yet it wasn’t the jaunty, clichéd jazz version. Bruce Springsteen played “Saints” as nothing less than a hymn, and he sang a rarely noticed final verse: “Some say this world of trouble is the only world we’ll ever see/But I’m waiting for that morning when the new world is revealed.”

It was the fitting wrap-up for a weekend that found hope, and solace, in the continuity of tradition. Jazzfest, as everyone calls it, is itself a tradition after nearly four decades, and like Mardi Gras, it is not only a tourist magnet but a defining event for the city. “It’s bigger than just the music,” said George Wein, the chief executive of Festival Productions and the executive producer of Jazzfest. “This is people’s lives.”

New Orleans Jazzfest – Bruce Springsteen – Music – New York Times.

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Royal Shakespeare Company : Complete Works Festival

Posted on April 29, 2006 by sogalitno

0426theatreThe Royal Shakespeare Company has announced the full programme for its year-long Complete Works Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon. The festival, which launches on Shakespeare’s birthday, 23 April 2006, is the first time that all of Shakespeare’s plays and poems have been staged at the same event.

With 23 RSC shows, 17 international productions and 14 by UK-based visiting companies, the RSC is gearing up to host what will be one of the major international cultural events of 2006.

A complete at a glance schedule of the Complete Works Festival, from April 2006 – March 2007 is available to download, along with an A to Z of the Complete Works Festival.

Royal Shakespeare Company : Complete Works Festival – full programme.

Photo from Royal Shakespeare Company website: Patrick Stewart and Harriet Walter in the title roles of Antony and Cleopatra.

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bad news

Posted on April 29, 2006 by sogalitno

I received news today of a prognosis of terminal cancer for one of our “adopted” uncles.  He has been fighting this for 20 months and we had been told last month that all was clear.  A recent bout of bad reaction to medicine sent him to the hospital and the MRI discovered massive spreading… the timeline is weeks. 

This couple has been a part of our lives for over two decades – after my mom and dad divorced they befriended my mom and “adopted” our family.  Their graciousness and love for and to us has been a wonderful sustaining thread thru out the mindfield of the post divorce time and all of our young adulthoods.  

I can’t really write anything else right now.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

bad news

Posted on April 29, 2006 by sogalitno

I received news today of a prognosis of terminal cancer for one of our “adopted” uncles.  He has been fighting this for 20 months and we had been told last month that all was clear.  A recent bout of bad reaction to medicine sent him to the hospital and the MRI discovered massive spreading… the timeline is weeks. 

This couple has been a part of our lives for over two decades – after my mom and dad divorced they befriended my mom and “adopted” our family.  Their graciousness and love for and to us has been a wonderful sustaining thread thru out the mindfield of the post divorce time and all of our young adulthoods.  

I can’t really write anything else right now.

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