The Chimney Sweeper

 

Last year around Christmas time I featured a video about a couple who, for some inextricable reason, kept receiving hundreds upon hundreds of letters addressed to Santa.  It’s quite a fascinating story and if you haven’t seen it then take a couple of minutes and watch it.  (DO IT!!)

This year’s bizarre letter to Santa story, courtesy of io9, comes to us from our friends across the pond in Dublin, Ireland.  Per the Irish Times:

It may have been slightly scorched over the years but a letter to Santa written 100 years ago, which was later discovered in a Dublin fireplace, has the magic of Christmas written all over it.

 

On Christmas Eve 1911, a brother and sister, who signed their names, “A or H Howard”, penned their personally designed letter to Santa with their requests for gifts and a good luck message at their home in Oaklands Terrace, Terenure (or Terurnure, as the children spelled it) in Dublin. They placed it in the chimney of the fireplace in the front bedroom so that Santa would see it as he made his way into the Howard household in the early hours of the morning.

The letter was discovered by the house’s current occupant, John Byrne, when he was installing central heating in 1992. […] Ownership of the house changed over the decades, with the Byrne family moving there in 1961, but the letter survived. “At that time, the fireplaces were made of brick with a shelf on either side,” said John Byrne who works in the building industry. “The letter was found on one of the shelves.”

The letter remained remarkably intact given the passage of time and was only slightly burned from fires set in the house over the years.

Does this mean there’s still hope for that Teddy Ruxspin I wanted when I was four?!?!?!?!

 

Artist: Benjamin Britten and Dietrich* Fischer-Dieskau / Album: Songs and Proverbs of William Blake

*Interesting music nerd/pop-culture reference.  Rain (Dwight from The Office) Wilson’s actual middle name is “Dietrich” because his parents were ardent opera lovers.

 

At the Round Earth’s Imagin’d Corners

 

2011 appears to be a great year for the notion of the sudden appearance of another planet in the night sky, at least as far as the cinema-scape is concerned.  Lars von Trier’s Melancholia opens today in theaters, the narrative of which “…revolves around two sisters during and shortly after the wedding party of one of them, while Earth is about to collide with an approaching rogue planet.” (via Wikepedia)

I’m pretty sure this will clobber the competition for best comedy of the year … … …

 

Earlier this summer another movie, this time focusing on the appearance of not just a rogue planet but another Earth itself, was released.  The aptly titled Another Earth follows the story of “…Rhoda Williams, a bright young woman accepted into MIT’s astrophysics program [who] aspires to explore the cosmos.  A brilliant composer, John Burroughs, has just reached the pinnacle of his profession and is about to have a second child.  On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, tragedy strikes and the lives of these strangers become irrevocably intertwined.” (via the films homepage).

 

So you’ve got your rogue planet and you’ve even got your parallel Earth… but let’s take it a step further, shall we?  Last week NOVA began a new four part series, The Fabric of the Cosmos, based on (and hosted by) the work of acclaimed astrophysicist Brian Green. In the summation of the first episode, which focuses more specifically on the notion of space itself, the scientists delve into a new theory about black holes and the notion that perhaps our Earth is merely the projection of an astral hologram, a universal imprint on the edges of a black hole.  I’ve embeded the video to start at the relevant time but watch the whole episode if you’ve got an hour to kill!

Mind = BLOWN!

 

Artist: Benjamin Britten / Album: Holy Sonnets

Fools! Fools! Blundering Fools!

 

In honor of April Fools I thought I would post my favorite choice from i09’s early post on the “Web’s Best Optical Illusions”.  Follow the link to see the others!

So… APRIL FOOLS, BISCUITS!!!

 

Artist: Benjamin Britten/ Album: Albert Herring

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

 

Now, if you frequent the blog with any sense of regularity you probably know that I am a pretty big TV/Film fan, so when I saw Netflix was offering one free month (as opposed to the week that I was used to seeing) I immediately pounced on the offer.  I had perused their archives before when at Matt and Joanie’s and was overwhelmed with the number of documentaries they offered, with one in particular catching my eye.

Were I to see this in Toledo, OH they probably would have just called it Europa.  My friend Jamison played for Toledo Opera when they did a production of Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucrecia and fearing low ticket sales due to, you know, the word “rape” in the title they decided to change it to simply Lucrecia.  I’m pretty sure I also remember hearing that the Britten society got (rightfully so) really upset about it. 

 

I vaguely remember seeing a preview for The Rape of Europa before it came out years ago and then kinda forgot about it, but with instant view I was able to watch it immediately! I’d love to blather on about how fascinating it is, but just watch the trailer instead:

 

The film begins with a discussion of Hitler’s original desire to become a painter and how his rejection from art school was utterly devastating to him.  Interestingly enough, I have actually seen a Hitler painting; while living in Waco I went to see one of his still life’s on display at the Red Men Museum.  Looks like Jack Donaghy was wrong in this week’s episode of 30 Rock!

 

Artist: Elton John/ Album: Honky Chateau

Albert!

 

Last night I was supposed to go see my friend, Molly, sing in the U of H’s production of Albert Herring, Britten’s comic opera which is also known as “Is that the one where that boy get’s away with it?” by my mother, who saw the production I was in at U of M. (The title character squanders money and prizes given to him by the town on alcohol and when caught he basically snubs his nose at them and the opera ends with all the adults waiting for a redemption that never comes, and if that isn’t Britten in a nut shell then I don’t know what is!)  Needless to say it was too much for my Southern Baptist mother… maybe if she were a German-Jewish-Presbytarian-Southern Baptist like Jan’s mom it would have made a better impression?  When I told her Baylor was doing it recently she just said: “WHAAAAT!??!!??”

My favorite quote was a response to a question from my friend, Kelley, who sat next to her for the show, and I think it perfectly encompasses a certain southern charm needed to navigate thorny situations:

Kelley: So, Mrs. Roberts, what did you think?!  I knew nothing about it but I’m pretty sure it’s my new favorite opera.

Mom: WELL, it certainly seems like they did put a lot of hard work into it, doesn’t it!” 

 

The runner up would have to be a conversation with my roommate, Lembit.  For a little backstory, I played the role of the town Vicar.

Lembit: (Knowing that mom’s experience of opera didn’t involve the more chromatic, less “sweeping” melodies of Britten’s style.) Wasn’t it nice that Joseph had a lot of the pretty music in the show to mirror the music of hymns and church litergy?

Mom: Oh… that was the pretty music??

 

Now to be com.plete.ly fair my parents are amazingly supportive and have seen me in many many productions, from Puccini to Mozart to Smetana.  If you know Britten, then you know that it is a different animal than its predecessors and isn’t the most easily accessible for the casual opera goer.  I totally get that it’s probably not the easiest thing to sit through. These are more just anecdotal episodes I remember and think are funny.

ANYWAY… that being said, I didn’t actually get to go to the production last night, which really bummed me out because: A. I have been excited for months since I found out they were doing it and B. my friend Molly was in it and I absolutely love her voice and I imagine she was a fantastic Ms. Wordsworth.  I got a text from Mallory, who was to join Jennifer and I:

Mallory: Hey, so I woke up feeling really clammy and I think I have a fever.  I don’t think I’ll be able to make it tonight.

Me: Ugh, I was literally just thinking I might have a fever.

Mallory: Looks like we got sick together when you stayed over the other night :(

 

Sadly I wasn’t able to make it, but this is probably the only time for a while that I can retroactively post some pictures from our U of M production!

PREACH IT!!

 

The Town Council: [L-R] Elizabeth Stoner, Miss Wordsworth; Brian Tanner, Mayor; Jonathan Christopher, Superintendant Bud; Jody Doktor, Lady Billows; Joseph, Vicar Gedge; Monique Holmes, Florence Pike

 

SISTERS!!

 

Artist: Benjamin Britten/ Album: Albert Herring