Category Archives: General

R.I.P. Anna Russell

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Anna Russell, the “prima donna of operatic parody,” has died. This is one entertaining obituary.

Ms. Russell gave a number of explanations for why her ambitions changed from being a serious singer to being a serious satirist. Ms. Russell said that one factor was that when she was 16, bones in her face were broken by a hockey stick: “That ruined my acoustic.”

…

The main inspirational trauma for her career may have been a British touring company production of Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana,” in which she sang Santuzza as a substitute. The tenor, who was supposed to shove her, did not expect her considerable girth and fell backward. She herself then tripped and literally brought the house down, the sets collapsing to the accompaniment of an audience roaring with laughter.

TTT:CR

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Two Towers Complete Recordings cover image

Coming Tuesday, November 7: The Two Towers: The Complete Recordings.

Like The Fellowship of the Ring: The Complete Recordings, it consists of three CDs, holding the complete soundtrack of the movie – just over three hours of music – as well as a DVD-audio disc containing the entire sountrack. I own the first recording and I’m looking forward to this one as well.

Here’s the track listing.

Here’s the press release.

Whither Lewis?

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Why is the New Jersey Supreme Court taking so long to issue a decision in Lewis v. Harris, the same-sex marriage case? The word is that the decision will be announced by October 25 (eight days from now), the day before Chief Justice Deborah Poritz reaches mandatory retirement age and must step down. That’s just 13 days before election day.

Same-sex marriage hasn’t been a galvanizing issue for Republicans in this election cycle, but a decision from New Jersey’s high court in favor of it could certainly make it one. New Jersey has a relatively liberal high court compared to other states; the New Jersey Supreme Court, after all, is the body that ruled that the Boy Scouts had to let in gays, before that decision was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. New Jersey is more likely than New York or Washington to issue a pro-gay-marriage decision.

The court heard oral arguments in the case in February. That was eight months ago. The U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t take this long to issue decisions. Why are state courts taking this long? New York took a long time to issue its marriage decision, and Washington State took fifteen months. Courts must be aware that the issue is a big hot gay potato, and perhaps the judges take time to craft their language. (That doesn’t explain the shoddy workmanship and thinking behind the anti-same-sex opinion in New York, though.)

I want the decision to be announced already. Enough is enough.