Cynthia Closkey's blog
The first part of National Geographic’s adaptation of Guns, Germs, and Steel was broadcast Monday, but you can catch replays of it at odd hours through this week. The program is billed as a miniseries, which for me evokes images of fading movie stars dressed in period clothes, reciting hackneyed dialogue. In this case, the …
Continue reading “How the West was won (and the East, and the North, and the South)”
The newest soundtrack of my life: the self-titled album by The Ditty Bops. Enjoy all the songs via their online jukebox and check out the video for “Wishful Thinking.” Makes you realize there’s not enough sawing people in half, shooting arrows at apples, and knife-throwing in videos these days.
Trains pass by the Chevy Amphitheatre near Station Square in Pittsburgh every half hour or so, and the noise drowns out the music for a minute. Performers generally have to wait between songs for a train to pass. Last Thursday night, I didn’t notice a single one. I doubt the train schedule was any different …
Certain MIT grads have received unpleasant scrutiny of late, so it’s nice to turn attention to an Institute fixture whom everyone liked: Dr. Harold Edgerton, inventor of high-speed flash photography and many other electronic marvels. Pittsburgh-area residents have a few more days to see some of his classic photographs in person, at the Silver Eye …
Continue reading “Your mistakes are as valuable as your successes”
The only way this song could be any more perfect in my view would be for it to be peformed live in my living room. Having been exposed to it (via TMFTML) I googled up Devin Davis’s website and ordered the CD. In the week since it arrived, I have listened to the whole thing …
The Incredibles has been in national release for two days now. Have you seen it yet? If not, why not? My Brilliant Mistakes recommends it highly. We’ll be going again as soon as we can. You may join us if you like, and can get to Butler, PA — we’ll spring for popcorn. In the …
I understand about 3% of what Sasha Frere-Jones posts (in text and pix) in his blog. I understand his other writing a bit better, and on that basis I see that I can learn from him, and that I’ll be glad I learned it and will grow in positive, so-glad-I-got-here ways. His ears and eyes …
Danny Gregory recommends a book that helped him allow more creativity into his life: One of the suggestions I made to S. was that he buy a copy of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Everyone has heard of this book and many people own unread copies. I’m not much of a self-help book kind …
Tremble has been on a roll lately. Of course, last night he did a reading at the “Giant Tuesday Night of Amazing Inventions” so we shouldn’t expect anything new today or perhaps tomorrow. But there’s much to enjoy with the recent posts. I had the good fortune to be in NYC in September on a …
As part of the “Save the Strand” project — an effort to renovate the old Strand Theatre in Zelienpole, PA — there will be a band fest next Thursday, 3/25, at Sanctuary in the Strip. Details available here. I’m not familiar with these bands but it’s for a good cause. Rawk on!