RIP Nelson Mandela, paragon of the human race, first on line on the way to heaven. Bravo, sir.
Bravo Carrie Underwood, who was wonderful in last night’s live broadcast of The Sound of Music. I knew her singing would be excellent, but I was unsure how her acting would be, as her experience in that phase is very limited. She was at the very least competent. Then again, I have an extreme bias toward beautiful women who take huge artistic risks. Although I’m not a big fan of the show, I enjoyed it. The younger children were phenomenal. I am always floored when I see pre-teens in such roles. Their poise is astonishing. Elizabeth Vincentelli, writing in the NY Post, gave the production a tepid review. She was hard on the male lead, Stephen Moyer, whose previous work is unfamiliar to me. I thought he was fine. Vincentelli views such fare regularly, so who am I to take her to task, especially given that art is subjective? I chuckled when John Bolger, playing a Nazi officer, entered late in the show. He was a member of the Willow Cabin Theater Company, as were my friend John and his wife Verna. John thought Bolger was a little too full of himself, which made him perfect in last night’s part. He has had modest success in television, having appeared in all the Law & Order incarnations as well as other shows. Broadway superstar Audra MacDonald played the abbess. She has a great voice. I’m just not a fan of semi-operatic singing. Underwood had tears in her eyes as MacDonald sang Climb Every Mountain. I wonder if she were acting or genuinely moved on a night when emotion must have been running very high in her. Imagine the butterflies she must have had before the start of the show. Kudos to NBC for airing it. Curiously, there is no director listed in the credits at IMDb.
There is a great op-ed piece by Jonah Goldberg in today’s Post touting the “rise of the machines.” Chilis restaurants have placed tablets at their tables. Applebees will soon follow suit. Customers place orders through them, eliminating the need for wait staff. The devices cost $100 per month to operate, which comes to .42 cents per table per hour. This is an especially interesting development in light of the recent demonstrations outside fast food restaurants. Unions hired people to protest, to demand a wage of $15 per hour. Smart businesses adapt. Goldberg also points out how technology has eliminated much of mankind's drudgery. At one time seven of ten Americans lived on farms, doing backbreaking work. Automation has eliminated all but one percent of farm jobs. Goldberg concludes the piece wishing that policy-makers will some day be replaced by machines. Bravo.
The floating book shop was rained-out today. It gave me a chance to get the Christmas cards done. I will not mail them until the 15th. I may be crazy but I'm not nuts.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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