1. If I weren't so scatterbrained and, at the same time, single focused, I would have figured out a long time ago that I can listen to Leonard Oakland's Sunday morning classical music program from 10-12 on Spokane Public Radio's classic music station, KSFC. I would have figured out there's more to the world of classical music on the radio than SiriusXM's Symphony Hall.
Leonard was an English professor for decades at Whitworth. I took a course from him and I looked to him for guidance and inspiration when I taught at Whitworth.
Today I finally got my head on straight, figured out how to stream KSFC, and listened to Leonard's show. I loved hearing his voice again, experiencing his mind at work, listening to his comments about the music he played, and relishing his music selections. I also deeply enjoyed when he took a short break from playing music and read Billy Collin's superb poem, "Forgetfulness".
I must, now, whenever possible, and that should be almost all the time, listen to Leonard Oakland's program on Sundays. I cherish the thought.
2. I put on Lecture 11 of the Great Courses series I'm listening to. It, along with Lecture 12, focuses on opera in the Baroque period. It was during this period that opera was invented. I got the gist of the lecture, but I fell asleep during it (I like to nap) and so I'll go back and listen again. Professor Greenberg shares his unbridled enthusiasm for opera, repeatedly arguing that it is the most complete form of musical expression, combining instrumental and choral music with dramatic storytelling and theatrical spectacle, bringing together sophisticated music and stagecraft in service to rich and powerful human emotion.
3. We had a terrific pasta and meatball dinner tonight at Carol and Paul's house. We began with Christy's perfect appetizer, Carpaccio. Alongside the penne, sauce, and meatballs Carol prepared for dinner, we enjoyed the green salad I brought and the fresh homemade bread Carol baked. I honestly wanted to sit for hours and eat countless helpings of everything. I love pasta meals like this.
I really can't even begin to list all the different things we talked about tonight, but subjects ranged from the Seahawks and the Zags to The Scarlet Pimpernel. It was fun bouncing all over the place and we topped off the evening with a piece of the yellow cake with vanilla frosting that Carol baked.
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