January 1, 2015

Midday on Lake Wingra.

P1130835

Looks like sunrise or sunset, doesn't it? No, it's absolutely midday in Madison. On the ice, beautiful light and intrepid skaters.

28 comments:

tim in vermont said...

OK, I have been watching Breaking Bad finally, and I just don't think it is that good. It is so formulaic.

lemondog said...

Happy New Year

Live Streaming The Mummers Parade in Philadelphia.

pm317 said...

Happy New Year!

Not wanting to think work just for today at least.

William said...

Can anyone explain why operas are always sung in their original language? I suppose you can make the argument that Italian is more mellifluous than English, but that's certainly not the case with German. I've got a few operas sung in English, and they're much more enjoyable to listen to when you understand the words. The whole thing smacks of elitism--a conscious, deliberate plan to keep opera from the masses.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Touchdown Auburn!

eddie willers said...

It is so formulaic.

Keep watching.

FullMoon said...


tim in vermont said... [hush]​[hide comment]

OK, I have been watching Breaking Bad finally, and I just don't think it is that good. It is so formulaic.


Oh, really? As opposed to what?
And, what is the formula?


Ignorance is Bliss said...

tim in vermont said...

It is so formulaic.

Much of chemistry is.

Hagar said...

I remember reading that some years ago the Stockholm opera translated a tragic opera into Swedish, but had to give it up because the audiences broke out laughing and otherwise became unruly at inappropriate moments.

chickelit said...

Images of people standing on "black ice" seem more interesting than those of people standing on snow-covered ice. I think it's because the water went through a more minimal in situ phase change: from liquid to amorphous solid. Plus in the snow-covered ice scenario, the water/ice/snow came from somewhere else. We subconsciously know that without thinking of it.


In other words, that's why it looks like walking on water.

chickelit said...

It was so cold here (29 F) this AM that the ground moisture was frozen and puddles had turned to ice. I normally have to give our tiny dog a sink rinse to clean her muddy feet but this morning they were dry.

tim in vermont said...

The formula is that you put the hero into a tough situation, keep piling on the impediments until it is an impossible situation, they you come up with some bizarre out that could never happen in the real world, then you start piling up the problems again.

caplight45 said...

lemondog, I left Philly twenty years ago and have never missed the Mummers Parade. I can't believe they still do it.

chickelit said...

@William: Modern lyrical work is rarely translated. Think of all the pop songs never translated into hundreds of tongues -- let them learn English!

If Verdi and Wagner were translated, the question would become whose translations would be trusted and adopted. Also, the originals would be forgotten, only to be "rediscovered" from time to time.
______________

When I was in college, I took 2 years of Italian which was unusual for a science major. But the class was filed with female music majors which made it all the more interesting.

mtrobertsattorney said...

Missed field goal Auburn

Wisconsin Wins!!

Humperdink said...

Big Ten looking good so far.

Need MSU to comeback against the Baylor Shiney LIds.

Quaestor said...

I just discovered Ann is married to the author of Reefer Madness.

Tell your children.

Christy said...

Don't know about opera, but I recently heard a favorite Edith Piaf song done in English and was appalled at how trivial and silly it was. I would have guessed the same would apply to La Boheme, but Rent disproves that.

Congrats on the Wisconsin win over Auburn. Exciting game. SEC is what, 0 - 3 so far?

Humperdink said...

So let it be written .....

MSU wins.

Original Mike said...

Way to go, State!

Now it's up to OSU and Iowa.

Michael K said...

"they're much more enjoyable to listen to when you understand the words."

Carmen has always been a favorite. I spent several evenings when I was in college listening while I read the libretto in the album copy. Adds to the enjoyment.

The local opera company had a screen above the proscenium arch with the translation in a continuous newsreel-style projection.

Quaestor said...

The local opera company had a screen above the proscenium arch with the translation in a continuous newsreel-style projection.

Known in theater circles as "supertitles."

Guildofcannonballs said...

Death control won today: Barry creates ownership of weapons.

Barry looked at Aubourn and said "what the fuck?" Who are these pricks?

Be said...

For a while Boston was a One-Opera Company town. On one of the rare occasions when they weren't performing a Warhorse, I attended (Massenet's "Werther."). Certainly got my money's worth based on the Italian Diction of French alone.

***

Someday, I'd like to see the full Ring Cycle (Wring Cycle? Sorry, the new Korean wash machine sings me a song when a laundry load's finished - happy / sad, not in Pansori) at the Met. I love Wagner's changes in atmosphere.

Off to change loads.

lemondog said...

@caplight45, not originally from Philadelphia, but I understand the Mummers have been strutting officially since 1901.

Be said...

The midday photo looks just like nearly sunset where I am. Madison and Somerville are on practically the same latitude, though separated by an awful lot of longitude.

I looked up the term "midday," and started wondering on what Noon meant to folks who get up at different times of the day.

Am glad to see the band of pastels in your neck of the woods.

Best wishes for a Good New Year .

kjbe said...

Hey, FSU Football -too many adjuncts died of starvation for you to have performed this way.

Ann Althouse said...

"I just discovered Ann is married to the author of Reefer Madness."

Yeah, when I was first arranging to meet Laurence Meade, I said maybe you should tell me your real name. I thought he'd adopted the name of the screenwriter of "Reefer Madness."