A Movie Set, in Three Takes

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Universal Studios Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, October 1990. We did a few touristy things during our first trip to California.

"And, there are simply too many notes."

Evidence emerges that Mozart and Salieri collaborated.

"War and Peace" returns.

Parts of the new movie were filmed in Lithuania.

My Mom and I watched the 1972 version in the weeks after my Dad died. We rented the VHS tapes of the production and did a 1980s-version of binge watching. We played the tapes on the small television in Mom and Dad's bedroom. I don't remember why, but we started watching the series installments late each night. Sometimes we didn't finish an episode until after 1:00 am.

Starlets

"Why do people like him flourish in old age?"

The New York Times profiles Lithuanian filmmaker Jonas Mekas.

Subject Matter

Raganų Kalnas (the "Hill of Witches"), Juodkrantė, Lithuania, August 2011. Filmmaker Frank Barn has made the "Hill of Witches" the subject of an upcoming documentary.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Musical Memory

My Mom has been a lifelong opera and operetta lover. She and Dad occasionally bought season tickets to Chicago's Lyric Opera, and we usually listened to Saturday opera radio broadcasts (but I always preferred ballet). We celebrated New Year's Eve by watching Die Fledermaus on television, and we caught a staging of The Merry Widow in Central City, Colorado.

When Mom was growing up, the three most popular sopranos where Jeanette MacDonald, Marta Eggerth, and Deanna Durbin. Mom collected cards with images of each singer, and she and her friends went to the cinema* to watch the dubbed movies in which the starlets appeared.

In about 1934 or 1935 Marta Eggerth arrived in Kaunas for a concert. The city officials prohibited Eggerth from singing in the opera house because Eggerth specialized in operettas, a musical form, according to authorities, beneath the dignity of the opera house. Eggerth therefore sang at an outdoor theater. My Mom's maternal Aunt Dora took Mom to that concert. Mom recalls Eggerth wore a white gown on stage. When we watched a few Eggerth clips on YouTube, Mom even got a bit misty.

Vienna, Austria, July 1971. This is the Vienna State Opera. It was natural for Dad to photograph this building when we visited Vienna.

*The same cinema at which Dora used to accompany the silent movies.

Exploring the Gardens

Salzburg, Austria, July 1971. We're visiting Mirabell Gardens and Palace, where everything is smaller than it appears in the movies.

Winter Walk

Door County, Wisconsin, January 1976. I give Gigi a lift so her paws stay dry.

(Gigi reminds me: RIP Louis Jourdan, who "described himself as Hollywood's 'French cliche'.")

The Unused Score ...

... for 2001: A Space Odyssey.

"Even those who actively dislike Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, for instance, would surely agree that its every last audiovisual nuance serves its distinctive, bold vision — especially that opening use of 'Thus Spake Zarathustra.' "

It's time again for the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival

Yesterday, two friends and I returned to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson.

We started the visit by pondering some of the bumper stickers in the parking lot.

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We're not in Dane County any longer.

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One uses angora yarns to knit these Bohus hats.

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Angora Rabbits.

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Show Angora Rabbit.

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Although we saw many angora rabbits, the focus is on the sheep.

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We watched some herding trials. We said, "That'll do, Pig."

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The lamb looks like a creature that isn't big enough for its skin. Think Lamb Chop.

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Waiting for the clippers.

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Cooling off.

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I was excited to see these puppies.

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These are not Border Collies. These are English Shepherds from Goochland Acres/Asylum Farm. The breeder is doing a great job of preserving the line of these marvelous dogs.

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The doggie wearing the yellow harness is a heart melter.

Visiting the Gardens

Salzburg, Austria, July 1971. We explore the Mirabell Palace and Gardens during the vacation built around The Sound of Music sites.

"You don’t think Venice is so modern until you try to make it look like it was 700 years ago."

Filming Marco Polo.

ADDED: Here's Marco Polo's Venetian home:

Venice, Italy, April 1984. Okay, that looks 700 years old.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu

The last of the von Trapp siblings, Maria von Trapp, has died. Heather Menzies-Urich portrayed her, as "Louisa," in "The Sound of Music."

Watch your step.

Suburban Chicago, January 1959. My Mom and my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, return from a shopping trip. Back then, people thought sixty-year-olds were "old," and stores sent you home with "brown paper packages tied up with string."

"The name of the film will be changed in order to avoid confusion with the upcoming adaptation of EL James' Fifty Shades of Gray."

A movie based on Ruta Sepetys's novel, Between Shades of Gray, will be filmed this year.

"Mutual, I'm sure."

Brookfield Zoo, January 1970. Even the Children's Zoo has a few turkeys.

RIP Eleanor Parker

Parker played the baroness in "The Sound of Music." In that role, Parker was glamorous and icy. She delivered one of the best lines in the film: "And somewhere out there is a young lady who I think will never be a nun."

A Review ...

... of Jonas Mekas's new website.

"Don't dress your age."

A documentary about senior style choices.