Monthly Archives: February 2014
Joyland
A friend posted a Buzzfeed photo set on my Facebook Timeline yesterday – it’s a stroll through the desolate remains of Joyland – the amusement park we Wichitans of the last half of the 20th century grew up knowing best. Though out of commission since at least 2006, the park’s remains still exist to instill […]
It Is Well with My Soul
Growing up, few songs moved me as much as The Great Hymn of the Faith It Is Well with My Soul. The head pastor of the church I grew up in had a near obsession with the hymn – though we always had a music minister in the church, the pastor often led the congregation […]
Vanessa Mae – Violinist, Olympian
I love a renaissance human. Vanessa Mae, world famous violinist, is also an Olympic athlete. She is the lone qualifier from the country of Thailand, in Alpine Skiing, and for the Olympics she is competing as Vanessa Vanakom, her Thai father’s family name. I have to confess to not knowing Vanessa Mae before seeing her […]
The Lipinski Heist – Solved!
The Lipinski Stradivarius has been recovered. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports two of three people involved in the heist are in custody. The New York Times identifies them as Universal Knowledge Allah and Salah Ibin Jones. Jones is identified as the primary suspect; he was also convicted about 15 years ago for the theft of […]
What’s in a Room?
I’ve written before about the joys of high rise living, worrying about the neighbors, and a desire to keep the peace as it pertains to subjecting people to the undeniably problematic sounds of a beginner playing the violin. Happily, our units do a pretty good job of soundproofing, but still, violins are made to be […]
Playing in G Major, Part II
This new song is really something. As I indicated in Part I, I’m playing it in G major, which takes only one sharp, so on the A string I play C natural, “low second finger.” At the moment C natural is anything but natural. I’ve only been training first position for a few months, if […]
The Lipinski Heist
The Lipinski Stradivarius was stolen one week ago today. As Frank Almond, steward of the violin and concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, walked to his car on the evening of 1/27 he was approached by a man with a stun gun. Stunned, he dropped the violin, which was then quickly taken into a waiting […]
Kimchi and Karaoke
Last night was a surprise 40th birthday dinner party for a friend – we went to an upscale Korean place. Korean is one of Michael’s favorite types of cuisine, but for my part I’ve always been slightly less than enthusiastic – kimchi, a staple of Korean meals, is something I cannot stomach – its olfactory […]
Ryan Libel 