by Carolyn Bickford
We have always enjoyed going out and seeing live shows, which were all cancelled or postponed as we deliberately distanced ourselves to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Watching recorded performances is not the same, and likely for performers, putting on a show to an empty room is also unsatisfying. But in this time, a new…
We had seen the concert we’d come for, but we had another day to spend in Minneapolis, and I wanted to see and experience what Minneapolis had that I would not find anywhere else. It was already clear that it’s a cultural nexus for the upper Midwest. So for breakfast, we went out to Caribou…
Nashville audiences have made me soft. No matter the artist, no matter the venue, no matter how many hundreds of thousands of people there are in the audience, they don’t crush or shove one another, except by accident. As the crowd gets bigger and the show more exciting, there is simply a folding forward, and…
Yes, it has been 6 weeks since I last updated my blog–odd for someone who used to post multiple blog entries a day. Despite my best intentions, my job became became less optional–we depend on it now. That said, the job and I have grown to suit one another, I find the field I’m working…
Last night, Peter and I had a chance to watch a movie together, something we haven’t been able to do for quite a while. We chose one of our Netflix options, a movie called The History Boys. It seemed like it ought to be good: it was about British prep school boys (and who doesn’t…
I was pleasantly surprised to find out, on a recent trip to the farmer’s market downtown, that one of the little theatres was going to be putting on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s been fun to insert Shakespeare plays into our history education, but the result has been hit or miss. The 1953 movie version…
I have to say this year has been exciting, and at times spectacular for me. In February, I got to revisit Germany for the first time in many, many years. I had a great time, but I missed my family much more than I expected to. And one lasting part of the experience is that…
When we went downtown to visit Peter and have fun on Friday, Kelly and I got off a different light rail stop to see if it was any different to get to the office. As it turned out, the sidewalks in front of the Tech Museum were being closed off an we had to wander…
My favorite radio station is XM Ethel, a satellite station that purports to play current alternative music. And about half the time they do. The other half of the time, they play Nirvana. It puzzles me, because Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1993, effectively ending the band fifteen years ago. And personally, I was already…
Last night, Peter and I went to San Francisco to see Stan Ridgway perform at the Great American Music Hall. It was one of the most enjoyable concerts I’ve seen in a long time, and the acoustics at the Great American Music Hall (which I’d never been in before) were great. I haven’t really been…