Just some randon thoughts.

[plunkybug]

I am really getting into Marc Almond's Russian cd, Heart on Snow. It is not new, it came out in 2003, and it is definitely, not new in style. But the appreciation for music I gained as a child from my parents definitely helps me here. Think Jacques Brel, only in Russian, and you can understand why Marc Almond was chosen for the project. I have a few of the songs in my head now. A few of the memorable lyrics.

"Galina dances under red stars
Throwing kisses to the dead Czars"
-Sleeping Beauty

"All we love is who we are
All we were is who we've loved
Just to love we pay a cost but
What was loved is never lost"
-Gone But Not Forgotten

For anyone intrigued enough to hear the old Russian songs, both in English and Russian, you can here them at the iTunes Music Store.

****

I burned tomorrow night's dinner. The broth had evaporated in the pan and I had thought that it wouldn't since the temperature was as low as it could go. Silly me. On the other hand, tonight's dinner went well. Baked Salmon with Feta and Red Pepper Sauce served with Greek Oven Roasted Potatoes and French Cut Green Beans with Almonds. Orange Cranberry Scones for dessert.



Not that much *I* actually did, other than orchestrate the meal. Most of it came prepackaged in some way or another; the potatoes were the most involved thing. Mixed lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic with a whisk. Added to peeled and wedged yukon gold potatoes in a baking dish with a heavy sprinkle of oregano and a cup of chicken broth, put in a 300F oven covered for a while...not sure how long, but turned up as I was getting ready for the salmon (after about an hour?). Seasoned salmon with a little kosher salt and pepper. Cooked at 400F about 10-15 minutes. Spooned a few big scoops of the feta/roasted pepper spread from Whole Foods and put back in the oven to make a sauce. Meanwhile, took the French Green Beans with Almonds, from Cascadian Farms, and heated in a skillet with a pat of butter. That was about it. The dessert was also prepared from the bakery at the store.



****

My paid account expired this weekend, but I am broke. I feel bad about it lapsing, but will pay again soon. Nothing has changed much though. Except for phone posting.

I have been wanting to do a phone post, but it seems no one listens, or maybe knows how. So I don't know what the point is of renewing, other than being good and supporting the folks that host my space.

****

We have a new houseguest. Friend of our roomie from Indiana. Having a fun time showing him around town, and sharing cooking knowledge and stuff. Might become our roomie later this summer if our current one moves out like the plan is so far.

****

Well, I have to go to bed now.

Comments

[ex-mamarose134.livejournal.com]

I listen to you phone posts, I justed you to know that, I just don't know how to transcribe them :)

[plunkybug.livejournal.com]

Thanks for letting me know. Transcribing is easy...write down what I said, click transcribe, and type what you wrote down and save it. I feel weird making them, like I am leaving someone an answering machine message. :)

[katykate.livejournal.com]

I don't think you've made any phone posts since I've been on your list, but I'd listen :)

I think I uninstalled my iTunes player, but I'll see if I can check out the songs. My favourite Russian folk singer is Vladimir Vysotsky, but I can never find his stuff :(

[plunkybug.livejournal.com]

I haven't done a phone post im a while, :)

There may be VV on the disc; I;ll have to check the liner notes.

Vladimir Vysotsky

[plunkybug.livejournal.com]

There aren't any of his songs here, but he is mentioned in the liner notes for one track, Nuit de Noel. The notes are as follows:

Nuit de Noel is a song by Alexander Vertinsky.He started singing in 1913-1914 in Kiev, later went to St Petersburg where he very quickly found success. He was also a long time drug user (mostly cocaine). After the October Revolution/vertinsky emigrated from Russia to China, and later livibg in the Middle East and Paris, among other places. In 1943 Vertinsky returned to Russia, where he enjoyed even greater success; despite never enjoying mass media attention from tv or radio, nor having recordings of his songs available until after his death. His last concert was in 1957 in Leningrad. The tension between his personality and the regime would always affect his career: official culture could neither ban him nor ignore him. Vertinsky was the first recognised Russian singing poet and inspired such artists as Bulat Okudjava, Vladimir Vysotsky, Alexander Galich, and Boris Grebenshikov, This song came to Marc's notice through a fan in St Petersburg.

Most of the songs are at least 50 years old, most being 100 or more. Old gypsy romance tracks from what the notes say. I have an interest on hearing the originals now, and maybe more Russian music in general. :)

Re: Vladimir Vysotsky

[katykate.livejournal.com]

wow, interesting! Thanks for looking that up :) The Vysotsky song I am forever looking for is called Fastidious Horses. His voice is just so amazing! But I can never find it :( I did find it once actually, through a girl on a message board who was from Russia--she looked at some Russian mp3 sites (of which there are many) and found some stuff for me. I actually found it, downloaded it but then my computer died so I lost it, and the address to the site. Sadness. There are several arrangements of it too, and when I do luck out, it's always the wrong ones that I find.

I don't know if you've ever seen the movie White Nights? If so, the scene where Baryshnikov is dancing in the empty Bolshoi theatre with his old girlfriend watching--he's dancing Balanchine, and it's to this song. It's SO awesome!

This site has some info on him, and even though it says you can listen to the songs, it's never worked for me :/
http://www.kulichki.com:8105/vv/eng/

I still haven't checked out this guy, but I will :D

Re: Vladimir Vysotsky

[plunkybug.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I haven't seen it, but I will look into it. I am going to see if Borders or someone has a Russian Gypsy song cd or something. At least I know some of the artists to keep an eye out for now.

Re: Vladimir Vysotsky

[katykate.livejournal.com]

OMG I FOUND IT!!!
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/vladimirvysotsky/
in the files...

I don't believe it! :D :D

Re: Vladimir Vysotsky

[plunkybug.livejournal.com]

What media format do they use? Guess I have to check. Last I saw, yahoo launch was not Mac compatible. This computer is limited until we get our new one this weekend. Maybe we can do a swap?

Re: Vladimir Vysotsky

[katykate.livejournal.com]

They are mp3s--you have to join the yahoo group (easy) and then go the files section and you can download them :)

Re: Vladimir Vysotsky

[plunkybug.livejournal.com]

Will check it out later when we get the new computer, as our main iTunes library is on the other machine. And it will be much more powerful. :)

Phone posts

[markjrubin.livejournal.com]

I'm summarizing this from many articles I've read about people not listening to phone posts. I can find some research results if you'd like...

When you do a phone post, your readers lose their ability to skim over your blog. When you have a diverse reader base, there are often posts or sections of posts that don't interest the user that they can skim through. That's not possible with phone posts. It's also much faster to read your post than it is to listen to it (including the time it takes to load the software to play the post). Many people are at work when they read blogs and can't hear what's being said because they don't have speakers or do have speakers but can't risk the off chance that a phone poster will say something that offends nearby coworkers. Just my 2 cents.

Re: Phone posts

[plunkybug.livejournal.com]

There is a transcribe function, and of the many people on my list, it only takes one person to listen and type. I could do it myself when I got home, but sometimes it is faster for someone else to do it. I do have readers outside the country and time zone, though I can understand the whole work thing for those in nearby timezones. I suppose it depends when I post it. And who has the software installed (though most people with paid account so do). Nice to hear from you here. :)