Fragments, Sublime and Ridiculous

A few short pieces:

Music to my ear:

I am thrilled to see the British record label Lyrita back on the market. Lyrita in the 60s through the '80s recorded some of the most important modern British classical music with many performers and conductors that were at the peak of their creative years. David Atherton, Vernon Handley, Sir Charles Groves, Bryden Tomson, Sir Colin Davis,Norman Del Mar, Sir Adrian Boult were featured as conductors. Singers included Felicity Palmer, Stuart Burrows, and Benjamin Luxon just to name a few. Especially welcome are the composer conducts series with William Alwyn, Sir Malcom Arnold and Sir Lennox Berkeley. Rarely heard gems from Havergal Brian, Alun Hoddinot, Grace Williams and William Wordsworth.

The first of the series has been released. The Lyrita website (or less expensive at MDT) have the discs in stock. I have ordered the Hoddinot Symphonies, the Grace Williams disc and the Wordsworth symphonies.

Worthless creatures:

Someone said once that the best evidence against an intelligent being creating life was the june bug. I second that and add the locust. They are everywhere this summer. Buzzzzzing and acting as nature's morons.

A locust was laying still on its back at the bottom of the stairs leading to the parking lot at the Towers. I swept him up and immediately he started buzzing and spinning on his back, flopped over and banged repeatedly into the wall. He managed to head up the stairs, whereupon he flew behind the propped open door and buzzed and banged in there. I opened the door, he flew back into the wall, back down the stairs, flopped on his back, spun and buzzed some more and after banging the windows, finally managed to find the opening whereupon he landed on his back on the ground and buzzed a bit until he was silent. He is still out there, dead or alive I am not sure but I have no time for a further show. If he did fly, I am sure he'd head directly to the web Charlotte is building in the corner.

Cops and Donuts:

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) -- A stolen truck full of doughnuts? Better believe Tri-Cities police were on that in a hurry. Moments after the theft of the Viera's Bakery van was reported early Friday in Kennewick, police issued an all-points bulletin.

A Benton County sheriff's deputy quickly spotted the truck. After a chase at 30 to 35 mph, Richland police got it to stop and arrested the driver, Steve Swoboda, 19, for investigation of auto theft and felony escape.

Still intact was the entire load of glazed, sugar and cream doughnuts, as well as apple fritters, bear claws.

Just like in KC, if it involved donuts, the KCPD would be right on it. Drugs, prostitution, loitering, vandalism...not a priority.