Oboe Repair Fun!

John Peterson, oboe repairman extraordinaire at RDG woodwinds in Los Angeles, has created a series of videos for oboists looking to make their own basic adjustments on their oboes.

"At the College of Saint Mary Magdalen in New Hampshire, he commented on John F. Kennedy's famous 1960 separation-of-church-and-state speech delivered to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association.
'I had an opportunity to read the speech and I almost threw up,' Santorum told the small crowd, 'In my opinion, it was the beginning of the secular movement of politicians to separate their faith from the public square. And he threw faith under the bus in that speech.'" (http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/01/06/144767581/rick-santorum-the-underdog-with-a-loud-bark). 

Really, Mr. Santorum?  I would like to officially excommunicate you from membership in Italian/Irish Catholic community.  You have betrayed us. 

I've been playing Amahl and the Night Visitors.  It's really such a charming, sweet opera.  And in some ways, surprisingly relevant.  Alas, our version cuts the best oboe stuff, but I'm still enjoying it.  I am posting the version with Teresa Stratas that I remember watching as a child. 

Gabby

I am proud to share a first name with this courageous woman.

If your bus company gets in trouble for having women sit at the back of the bus, but you still want to keep genders separated for religious reasons, why not just have women on the left and men on the right? Or vice versa.  That way neither gender feels 2nd-class.  Just saying. 

Fabio Luisi on Sunday
Loved this NYTimes article.  Adorable.

In honor of Steve Jobs, a picture of my first Apple product:  my dad's computer that I loved to play games on as a little girl!  It didn't do anything until you put in a disk . . .  but it was great fun!