
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Best musical performance I saw in 2007, Celtic division
The lovely, talented and always energetic Natalie MacMaster, from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. March 2007 at Burlington's Flynn Theater.
Seven months pregnant and still step dancing! Cape Breton is home to some wonderful musicians, as well as a number of distant relatives.

Friday, December 21, 2007
Best ambiance at a concert, 2007
Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra at the Concert meadow of the Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe. July, 2007.

Mozart, mountains and cows. The concert was on the day that the new Harry Potter came out, and there were 20 or so kids in the audience with their noses buried in the book. Perfect weather, sunset over the hills, and surprise fireworks following the show. During intermission, we paid our respects at Maria Von Trapp's grave, located in the garden between the meadow and lodge. In winter, the concert meadow is the center of the cross-ountry ski trails (link at right).
Most pathetic performance by an audience, 2007
Awarded to the audience at the December 1 concert (see below), which politely clapped for the unbelievably good Vanessa Perez/VSO performance of Bartok, and then gave a standing ovation to a completely lackluster performance of Tchaikowsky's 4th symphony.
The four of us who stood up for Ms Perez were appalled, and the orchestra looked embarassed at the reaction to the Tchaikowsky. Philistines.
(Second thought, more charitable). Misplaced enthusiasm is better than no enthusiasm at all.
The four of us who stood up for Ms Perez were appalled, and the orchestra looked embarassed at the reaction to the Tchaikowsky. Philistines.
(Second thought, more charitable). Misplaced enthusiasm is better than no enthusiasm at all.
Best Performance I saw in 2007, Classical Division
Vanessa Perez, Bartok's 3rd piano concerto. With Vermont Symphony Orchestra at Flynn Theater, Burlington, December 1 2007.
Our music director, Jamie Laredo, is from Bolivia and has been bringing in some unbelievable soloists from South America. I haven't especially enjoyed Bartok in the past, but Vanessa Perez laid it out clearly and eloquently, like an inspirational teacher. Plus she's really cute. And geeky. Have I mentioned that I love geeky?

Labels:
2007 December,
Music,
Other Photographers,
Vermont
Best performance I saw in 2007, Blues Division
Marcia Ball at the Higher Ground Ballroom (South Burlington) September 8, 2007. Check out her solo starting at about 3:30.
If you ever get a chance, get yourself to one of her shows. Incredibly talented and a ton of fun. She's done wonderful work for Katrina relief, and bragged about her new grandbaby at the show we attended. What's not to love?
If you ever get a chance, get yourself to one of her shows. Incredibly talented and a ton of fun. She's done wonderful work for Katrina relief, and bragged about her new grandbaby at the show we attended. What's not to love?
Monday, December 17, 2007
A pause in the snowstorm

Labels:
2007 December,
Lake Champlain,
Olympus E-1,
Vermont
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Pirates!

Yes, the pirate ship tour is a tourist trap. But it adds to the ambiance. Cayman Pirate Week happens every November.
Snark at Rum Point (click to enlarge)
Dr Mrs Gromit swims by
My camera hates me
Monday, December 10, 2007
Cayman parrot (unfriendly wildlife)
Overly friendly wildlife
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Galapagos penguin doing Orca impression
The secret to successful wildlife photography: Find friendly wildlife

Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Ready for the start
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Mount Rainier

Labels:
2005 August,
Mountains,
Olympus E-1,
Washington State
Summer is gone...

The snow is already starting to pile up in the mountains, and the ski areas have had a couple of feet of snow in the past few days. Stowe and its ski areas are on the far side of Mt Mansfield, about an hour's drive from Burlington.
Labels:
2005 September,
Lake Champlain,
Lakes,
Mountains,
Olympus E-1,
Vermont
Friday, November 16, 2007
Public transportation done right
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Woo-hoo! Grab the skis!
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY
A CHANGEOVER TO SNOW WILL OCCUR AT LOWER ELEVATIONS ACROSS THE
ENTIRE NORTH COUNTRY LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT. CURRENT
ESTIMATES SUGGEST THAT SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OF HEAVY WET
SNOW ARE POSSIBLE ABOVE 1000 FEET IN THE NORTHERN ADIRONDACKS...
AND CENTRAL AND NORTHERN GREEN MOUNTAINS LATER TONIGHT INTO
FRIDAY...WITH LESSER AMOUNTS ACROSS LOWER ELEVATIONS OF THE
CHAMPLAIN VALLEY AND IMMEDIATE CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY. SNOW
TAPERS OFF TO FRIDAY MORNING...BUT WITH PERIODS OF SNOW SHOWERS
CONTINUING AND CONCENTRATED ALONG WEST AND NORTHWEST FACING
MOUNTAINS
Ski areas opening this weekend!
Lake Champlain & Adirondack Mountains

Labels:
2007 August,
Lake Champlain,
Olympus E-1,
Vermont
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
More moose in the city (tragic)

Errant moose shot, killed in Burlington
September 25, 2007
BURLINGTON -- A bull moose that found its way out of the woods and into a backyard on Mansfield Avenue in Burlington this morning has been shot and killed by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department officials. State officials said the moose, which was in close proximity to a school and residents, posed a threat to the public. The approximately 900-pound animal had been spotted before 8:30 a.m., running through backyards on Mansfield Avenue, across the street from Mater Christi School. At one point, it was lying down near a residential hedge row. Area residents, parents, University of Vermont students, and even a class of young students from Mater Christi stood a respectful distance from the creature, taking pictures with cell phones and recounting their stories of how the moose found its way into the city. Earlier this morning, Williston State Police dispatchers said the moose would have to move on in its own time, but it never did. Fish and Wildlife experts said they had to shoot the moose because it would have been too risky to tranquilize it.
...and then a moose swam by

Labels:
2006 July,
Lake Champlain,
Olympus E-1,
Vermont
Monday, November 12, 2007
David Ortiz at Fenway
Sunday, November 11, 2007
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