Virgin London Marathon

Well, the news is in today...for the third year, I have not been successful in securing a ballot position on my own for the London Marathon next April.

No worries, I have 2 charities offering me a charity place....so am all set if I want to run.

As of now, the "12 in 12 in 2012" (12 marathons in 12 months in 2012 for those of you who missed the post) is officially in full swing with 7 marathons secured (Januuary through July). As soon as the other races open registration, I will be full steam ahead.

While we are on the subject of marathons, how about my gal, Paula Radcliffe, and her showing in the Berlin Marathon 10 days ago....placed 3rd and is definitely on the comeback trail for the Olympics.

call me crazy

I know...I am SOOOOOOOOOOO out of touch. I mean, I totally missed all the FB hoopla on the new format and functionality. Guess I need to get a life b/c everyone else on the planet clearly was clued in.

Wacky, I know, but I was following those other big news stories of the day...Athens riots, Texas execution, release of the US Americans from Iran.

What was I thinking?

Hard to believe it has been a year

A year has come and gone since the passing of my funny and smart aunt, Peggy. A day does not go by that I do not think of her or reach to pick up a phone to call her.

Thanks to everyone who remembered this special person today and the gift of healing she gave to others.

She was definitely one of a kind. I know she is up in heaven "flinging her green and gold afar"...

Fall semester is here

I am not in school, but yet there is something about September that reminds me of the start of fall term. September kicks off everything....American football (which I desperately miss), the start of the return of cooler weather, the new fall TV line-up....even the start of fall choir.

The Chiswick Choir is no exception, and this fall, for our "big" work, we will be performing the Brahms Requiem...a personal favorite. There is a little concert in early October that is introducing me to a lovely new bummer crop of British composers that I have never sung, such as Cyril Bradley Rootham.

In his work "For the Fallen", I am reminded why I sing....a line from that work, "There is music in the midst of desolation...."


Indeed.

BBC Proms #38

I always love the musical tributes to Hollywood - last Friday's prom was no exception. The program of famous film scoring was divine, with one major exception - who is Jonny Greenwood and has anyone ever seen Norwegian Wood? Nope, not me either.

* Scores from The Man Who Knew Too Much, Prelude: Citizen Kane, and Pyscho: A Narrative for Strong Orchestra - Bernard Herrman

* Cinema Paradiso - Ennio & Andrea Morricone, arranged by Angela Morley

* Henry V - Suite - William Walton, arranged by Muir Mathieson

* Scores from Star Wars, Title from Schindler's List, and Theme: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Hedwig's Theme - John Williams

* Norwegian Wood - Suite - Jonny Greenwood, arranged by Robert Ziegler

* Murder on the Orient Express - Overture, Waltz, and Finale - Sir Richard Rodney Bennett

* Scores from Out of Africa - Love Theme and On Her Majesty's Secret Service: The Music of James Bond

Sirens starting in Birmingham....

Sitting in my hotel conference room...and the screeching sirens from police cars and fire trucks have already started rolling by....and it is not yet 5 pm...does not bode well for tonight...

For those interested...here is the scope of riots from last night.

Mob rule

It was crazy for a third night in various parts of London, where mobs of youth "simply causing trouble" took to the streets to vandalize stores, set stores, homes, buses, and cars on fire, and terrorize citizens with their behavior. Total criminality.

Riot police were called to areas of Hackney, Clapham, Ealing, Lewisham, and Peckham overnight to try to bring order, but with little success before whole blocks burned down and looters carted away what they wanted for over 2 hours in some cases.

There seemed not to be enough police but one felt for the Met last night. Even the PM and London Mayor have flown home early from their holidays to meet this AM on a plan to get the riots under control. If anything, the riots were worse last night than any of the previous evenings, even after the Tottenham incident of a few nights ago.

It angers me to watch the city burning and general anarchy on TV as it is happening.

To all my London peops out there, "be safe"!

Happy Birthday to Me

Thanks to all those family, friends, and colleagues who wished me well on my birthday. What a wonderful gift of love and friendship I received today!

FB Friend Requests

Has everyone become as "strict" as me on accepting Facebook requests to people either (1) they don't know, or more importantly, (2) can't remember?

Don't get me wrong, I think FB is great for reconnecting to people in your past, i.e. high school, hometown neighborhood, college, first employer, etc.

I am continually perplexed though when I see a name and I think "Do I even know this person?" and "Do I accept a FB request when I am not sure I know this person" Sometimes, I try to look at the requester's friend list to give me a clue where in my past I might have known this person. Even that does not always solve the mystery. Then the inevitable...I sometimes feel a bit guilty for just a brief moment that my memory has gone blank. Or should I?

But only for a moment....then I decline the request.

Sorry if I have offended anyone b/c I "should've but didn't" remember you. Blame it on age :-)

BBC Proms #26

A slighter cooler (only slightly) Royal Albert Hall was the venue once again of last night's Prom. A mixed program in my view, but then again, I will be the first to admit that the modernistic Dutilleux piece circa 1965 was not my forte. Still, the Ravel Bolero is always a crowd favorite and the Debussy opening piece just exquisite.

An entire French composer program included:

* Prelude a L'Apres-Midi d'un Faune - Claude Debussy
* Tout un Monde Lointain - Henri Dutilleux
* Bolero - Marcel Ravel
* Daphnis and Chloe - Maurice Ravel

BBC Proms #24

A really nice Proms program...
beautiful music, with a gorgeous acapella rendition of Irish Tune from County Derry (i.e. Danny Boy).

Full program included:
* There is Sweet Music - Edward Elgar
* Violin Concerto in B Minor - Edward Elgar
* Irish Tune from County Derry - Percy Grainger
* Suite 'In a Nutshell' - Percy Grainger
* Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche - Richard Strauss

Thank goodness the second half of the program was lively...the heat was SO heavy in the non A/C Gallery section...I almost gave up at the interval (intermission, for you Yanks) and headed home. My perseverance paid off.

Less than one year...

It is less than year before the capital city of UK will be awash with Olympic fever....

So, how's the progress thus far?

* UK Olympic sites are either finished or on target to be ready in plenty of time for the events.

* Marketing for event tickets has been "smashing"...so much so, that only 700,000 people got any tickets with another 1.2 million people missing out altogether. From an event promoter perspective, the marketing worked. From an attendee perspective, kinda a bust.

* Everything now is about "Team GB". Athletes are participating in a vast array of world events as we speak, with an eye to the Olympic games next July. Almost reminds me of US Presidential elections...I have an entire year to "listen" to all things "Olympic"....ugh!

* every company seems to be an "official sponsor" of the London Olympics, i.e. "McDonald's is the official restaurant of the London 2012 Games." Don't get me wrong, thanks McD's for the sponsorship, but (1) are you really a "restaurant" and (2) most of the menu kinda flies in the face of healthy eating.

My personal favorite is the "advice" being given by employers to staff about how to deal with the inevitable transportation challenges, A YEAR BEFORE THE EVENT EVEN TAKES PLACE, including:

• Taking vacation around the Olympic games to avoid travelling.
• Working from home or relocating to other company office locations outside of the London area for the 6 week games period (Olympics and Paraolympics)
• Altering working hours to avoid busy times on the public transport system.
• Using alternative types of transport to get to work (e.g. walking or cycling).
• Changing the way you meet clients and partners - use video or web conferencing).

Great suggestions but somw a bit more possible that others (i.e. not planning on walking the 37 miles to work southward or 8 miles into central London)...

Personally..I like the vacation one the best...hmmm...sounds like a perfect excuse for a trip!

BBC Proms #20

Before I launch into tonight's Proms review, a few queries from my Texas pals as to "How did the BBC Proms get their name?"

Well, the Proms began in 1895 when the founder-conductor Henry Wood decided to hold a series of concerts each year at a host of venues, including the Royal Albert Hall, to introduce the best of classical music to the widest possile audience in the UK. These concerts were named "The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts" and were presented by the BBC; the name was shortened through the years to BBC Proms.

Additionally, "prom" is short for promenade concert, a term which originally referred to outdoor concerts in London's pleasure gardens, where the audience was free to stroll around while the orchestra was playing. Promming now refers to the use of the standing areas inside the hall (the arena and gallery) for which ticket prices are much lower than for the reserved seating). Yep...that is where we are for each concert.

That said, tonight's concert was FAB!!!!! Program as follows:

* Don Juan, Op. 20 - Richard Strauss
* Violin Concerto - William Walton
* Alexander Nevsky - Cantata, Op. 78 - Sergey Prokofiev
* Salome, Op. 54 - Dance of the Seven Veils - Richard Strauss

Not only was the program well performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, but the highlight of the program was the guest violinist, Midori! Such tenderness in her playing. A solid program all way 'round.

BBC Proms #19

I sorta suspected that it might turn out this way, but as the concert started, less than half the seats were full. A light, and perhaps less than mainstream, program at tonight's BBC Proms was probably the culprit:

* Pacific 231 - Honegger
* Pastoral d'ete - Honneger
* There is a Willow Grows Aslant a Brook - Bridge
* Der Wein - Berg
* Inverno in-ver - Castiglioni
* La Mer - Debussy

Surprisingly, my musical knowledge did not extend to Honegger; it was a pleasant surprise. Sadly, not so for the other selections...and a long night in the cheap seats.

Had Debussy's La Mer not been last on the program, we'd been outta there. Need something meaty for this later this weekend...perhaps Sunday night's Rachmaninov?

BBC Proms #10

Two nights in a row...kinda like wearing the yellow jersey (Tour de France reference)...and we were headed back to the Royal Albert Hall for Proms #10.

First, the program....let's just say, it was interesting but did not light my fire tonight, although I am personally a Debussy and Ravel fan.

* Images - Gigues - Debussy
* Rapsodie Espagnole - Ravel
* Images - Rondes de Printemps - Debussy
* Alborada del Gracioso - Ravel
* Nights in the Gardens of Spain - Falla
* Images - Iberia - Debussy

Secondly, I am a quick learner. Following last evening's gallery seating (or standing as is the case), I fell into the BBC Proms Season Ticket Holder routine quite nicely. Into the RAH I walked tonight with my stadium seating pads (i.e. Wimbledon branded, I might add), my munchies for the concert picked up enroute to the concert at my local Pret, and into the queue I assembled. "Early bird catches the worm pays off" as I had front and center standing spots at the gallery railing. Yes!

Only one small process improvement: pack the opera glasses for the next performance.