Kelly Blue

Recorded 10 March 1959. Amazon helpfully recalls

Instant Order Update for Thane Plambeck. You purchased this item on October 26, 2004.

Sure did.

So should you.

Lunar Eclipse

Using an image-stabilized telephoto lens, I tried to take photos of the 28 October 2004 total lunar eclipse from the street in front of our house. It was 7:20pm Pacific time, and the eclipse was not yet total. I kept having problems with overexposure and multiple images.

I did end up with a good picture of the great pumpkin.

From the archives (10 June 2002): Dozens of partial solar eclipse images cast onto our garage by light passing through tree leaves.

The wizards of career management

From an essay by the music critic Michael Steinberg:

At a recent concert I found myself seated next to a lively and charming woman, a retired professor, and at some point during our chat she said, "Of course, the greatest living artist is X." Now, X is a first-rate musician. What bothered me was the idea that there could be such a creature as the "greatest living artist." It is typical of the distractions that the wizards of career management set in our path daily. It is a distraction from music itself, and it is a disservice in that it promotes the lie that a Beethoven concerto becomes worth our attention only when it is performed by a superstar. Those eternal cocktail party questions, "Which do you think is the greatest orchestra in the world?" or "Who do you think is the greatest conductor?" are fatiguing and discouraging, not just because I don't know the answer, not even because there can be no answer, but because the sources of those questions are so confused. An outstandingly successful concert pianist remarked not long ago that this is fast turning into a society where merely to be very good at something is regarded as a birth defect.

Terminal Tours

We have escorted people like you all over the world. Our pilgrims have traveled to Lourdes, the Parthenon, Graceland, and other religious sites.

[My italics. The link]