Itzhak Perlman: Ravens Fan

If you know me, you know that I love the violin. Although I like to focus on rock, folk, and pop outside practice time (electric strings are so sweet),I was ecstatic to see Itzhak Perlman, arguably the world's best classical violinist, in concert yesterday. He played Vivaldi's "Winter" and "Summer" brilliantly with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and then he conducted two pieces by Mozart and Brahms. The music was, frankly, amazing.

Unless you are a classical music fan, however, you probably couldn't care less about what he played. But Perlman was more than a stony-faced maestro. He was down-to-earth and he had a prominent sense of humor. While he played "Winter," his sheet music kept blowing off his stand, probably due to an draft on stage. When he finished, he just laughed it off, remarking that it is usually windy in winter.

That day, the Baltimore NFL team (the Ravens) were playing a home game against Texas crucial to their season standings. Perlman seemed aware that many in the audience, while enjoying the performance, had football at the back of their minds. He made a couple jokes about this between pieces. Before conducting the Mozart, he deadpanned, "It's the fourth quarter, 20-13" with a wry smile on his face. After the intermission, he gave the audience members a thumbs-up. The Ravens had won. That was one of the best symphonies I've ever heard, and the football game wasn't too shabby, either. Itzhak Perlman is now my favorite violinist and one of my personal heroes. It almost makes me forget about the Ravens' upcoming match with the Patriots.

Two Spies of the American Revolution Have Failed Somewhat in Impressing Me

After a not-so-brief break/long lazy lack of commitment, I'm back! I am many movies, school days, books, websites, videogames, and TV shows older, and perhaps even a bit less immature.

Today, I'd like to say a few words on the topic of espionage. Most Americans know about Nathan Hale, the Yale grad who supposedly said he only regretted having one life to give for the good ol' USA. He has a lot of statues and is the namesake for many places of interest in Connecticut and elsewhere, including a freshman girls' dorm in a secondary boarding school (don't ask). He was brave and patriotic, to be sure: I am not challenging that. As a spy, though, he was less than stellar. He was recognized (RECOGNIZED!) in a pub, mistook the people who asked after him for patriots, and spilled the beans to them, getting himself in very hot water very fast. Definitely an "Oh crud" moment.

Fewer people know about Major John André, a British officer-turned-spy. He was a friend of Peggy and Benedict Arnold, and a minor figure in the American Revolution. His situation was eerily similar to young Hale's. He thought some patriots to be redcoats, and the rest, as the kids say, is history. Like Nate, he was even caught with the secret papers in his shoes. A note to spies: avoid storing things in your shoes. It seems to be the first place people look and would perhaps be uncomfortable should you have to transport documents in thumb drive form.

These musings were inspired by:

-Reading about poor Amir Mirzaei Hekmati in the New York Times. Like the majority (I assume), I don't think he is a spy and hopefully he will be acquitted.

-Rewatching the "One Life to Give" episode of that old PBS Kids! show "Liberty Kids."

-The biographical book "The Traitor and the Spy," an excellent read for anyone wanting to learn more about Major John André, Benedict Arnold, and Peggy Shippen Arnold. (population: 1 so far)

-Thinking about how awesome a spy Rose O' Neal Greenhow was, as I tend to do in my spare time.

Why I Like Dr. Strangelove

I just watched it. Best...movie...ever ( of course this is just post-movie glow and the Harry Potters are the best)
Besides liking all comedies except for the lovey-dovey ones, this is why I liked it:
1. I just studied the Cold War, and I could appreciate it for this reason
2. I love sarcasm and irony, considering them the highest form of humor since puns
3. Peter Sellers is a great actor in all 3 of the roles he played
4. I like movies where the protagonist doesn't always win. Sure, you get the warm fuzzies at the end, but after 17,371,936 movies end the same way, it gets kind of boring. This is why I love "Julius Caesar" and also why I was sorely disappointed at the respective ends of "WarGames" and the Karate Kid remake (which could have used the subtitle "A Disappointing Remake of a Good Movie That Also Features Zero (count 'em) Female Martial Artists and has Nothing To Do with Karate Whatsoever").
If you have different views, please do not flame me.

Memory

On Thursday at the audition, I saw a girl that I used to play with in 1st grade. We weren't in the same class, but she was really nice and I played with her. So I went up and said hi. She didn't remember me. I thought she would, so I was kind of disappointed. I wonder if she remembered me a bit after the audition or if she still thinks I am a complete stranger. Why does memory work like it does? I can remember that girl from 7 years ago AND my lines from a play 3 years ago but I can't remember the commutative property of whatever that I studied in algebra a month ago. My great-grandma can remember stuff that happened to her in the '30s but can't remember what she did yesterday. The mind does not make much sense.

Auditioning!

Today's the audition for The Little Prince. I'd like to go out for the fox or the snake, but really it'd just be cool if I got into the ensemble. This is my first audition for Cary Applause, so I'm kind of nervous, but I think it's going to be great!

I join Teenink

For those of you who don't know what Teenink is, it's a place where teens can post short stories, poems, essays, etc. and other kids can come and read them. I already wrote a small story, but it might take a bit to get approved. I'll let you know if it gets published.

What I thought about Mockingjay (spoiler alert)

Ok so recently I read the last book of the Hunger Games trilogy. I found it to be somewhat confusing and disappointing at times, but pretty good overall. Here is my main complaint:

-Katniss should have gone with Gale! She's known him longer and Peeta, once you take away all the lovey-dovey stuff and all the acting during the Games, is an uninteresting sack of mush. (some of you will disagree but this is my opinion)

-Cinna should not have died!

And here is what I did like:

-I like that Gale went back to help in the district that he bombed out. It shows his conscience.

-Absolutely LOVED the ending with Katniss's decision to shoot Coin instead of Snow. Snow wasn't a threat anymore. Coin would have ultimately killed her.

All in all, good book but I still like the first one the best.