British "Arts" & "Culture" - Simply The Best

I have never had the greatest affinity for the classical arts and "culture". I do however find that the odd operatic performance can be quite moving; a top rate performance of Nessun Dorma would be a great example. Paul Potts BGT audition version on YouTube has over 80 million hits so I guess I am not alone there though I have to say personally I prefer Pavarotti with a mere 12 million hits [but man oh man is the maestro badly in need of a trip to the barber shop]; check out the tone in his voice at a minute 26 and the power and duration of the final notes. You might want to check out his Ave Maria as well once the video ends.

Having said that the idea of sitting though a whole opera puts me in mind of sitting on the back patio and watching the weeds grow - there are things I would prefer to do. Ballet does nothing for me; I can accept that the dancers are probably supreme athletes but honestly, effeminate men in tights prancing about like nancy boys and heavily muscled women that would be more at home in a music box. I don't think so. Perhaps the symphony, not really. Like opera there are snippets of classical music that can be very stirring but in my world music is for listening to while doing something else not for watching [anyone for the back patio again]. Maybe art galleries; heck no. The art world is a complete mystery to me; paintings that look like the subject I can appreciate at times but get into Picasso like stuff that a chimp could have done or the "modern art" world of piles of bricks or plastic water bottles and you have lost me completely.

So is there a cultural or "arts" medium that can melt the philistine heart of the Grumpy Old Limey? Despite being a British expat I cannot say there is anything from the old country that I genuinely miss but if I was forced to pick a few things I could get into then I have to confess I would probably return to my roots for some real "culture".

What could I possibly be referring to - check it out after the jump!

Chooka Parker - AGT Finals [Video]

So Chooka got voted past the semi-finals to the next semi-finals? Well they had the semi-finals and then voted through 18 acts to go into two shows where 5 acts from each show would go on to the Grand Final. Seems to me they were the semi-finals but who knows. Anyway young Chooka was not voted through to the final show [if I was an Aussie he would have got my vote] but here is his last performance. I still think he is an absolute prodigy and that he will get a career out of his adventure on Australia's Got Talent. Check it out for yourself.

Joshua Bell Busks At A DC Metro Station [Video]

Thanks to the Limey's wifey for this one. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is an all too often quoted cliche though frankly in our modern society at times it seems like standards have been set that we all have to live up to. If ever there was something that went some way towards proving that the old cliche really does have some merit it is this.

The story unfolds something like this:

• In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
• After about 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule. 
• About 4 minutes later the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. 
• At 6 minutes a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. 
• At 10 minutes a 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
• At 45 minutes the musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
• After 1 hour the musician finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. 

Nothing very unusual or significant about any of that you are probably thinking. Not so my friend.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

  

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

 

The questions:

• In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?  
• If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
• Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

And what conclusions might we draw from this? One might be:

 

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

  

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

 

A very inciteful anonymous quote sums it up this way:

"It's not important the day we were born or the day we die...what is important is the dash between these two. It's the dash that tells how we lived!"

So son't be a "grumpy" like me - enjoy the dash, expect the unexpected and relish it, stroll through life with wonder in your heart at the marvels of nature and this world we all share. You just never know what is coming next but it just might be glorious if you take the time to stop and notice.

Revisiting "Where In The Hell Is Matt?" [Video]

Most likely you have seen the "Where In The Hell Is Matt" videos. Matt of course would be Matt Harding and not that other Matt [Lauer; who has also been known to travel a bit]. I have watched these videos several times, and yet I still seem to come back around to them every now and again. They just seem to put a smile on my face [and maybe cause just a little hint of jealosy]. Talk about travelling and seeing the world. I doubt many see even a fraction of what Matt Harding has seen. I know it is highly unlikely that I will ever see most of the places he has visited. I particularly enjoy the 2008 video; I think it is partly the change up with other people dancing with Matt and I know it is the music [Praan by Gary Schyman]. The music fits with the video so perfectly but is also without any doubt a beautiful and enchanting piece of music that stands just fine on it's own.

There have of course been articles a plenty suggesting these videos were all an elaborate hoax, videos by Matt himself confirming that the whole thing was indeed a hoax and then videos by Matt saying the "hoax" was a hoax. I am absolutely of a mind that it is all real but I guess with the never ending advances in technology who knows. You can make up your own mind; or perhaps you already have. Google Matt Harding and you will find a bunch of references or check out his website http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/. Incidentally his website says he is doing another video; there is even a form to suggest somewhere he could dance [which also gets you a chance to dance in the video]. I haven't seen Dallas yet.

I will continue to come back from time to time and revisit these videos and maybe do a little idle day dreaming. "Where in the heck is The Grumpy Old Limey". Quite a ring to that don't you think? Well maybe not. But Matt was not the best dancer either and it didn't stop him so my two left feet should really not be a problem. I just need a sponsor; anyone?

2005 [The Original]



2006



2008

Chooka Parker [Video]

Simon Cowell; gotta love him. America's Got Talent, Britain's Got Talent and so on and so on. I have the same first name but I certainly don't have the bank account. Anyway as a limey by birth and a resident of the US by choice it pains me to say that perhaps Australia's Got (more) Talent and Simon Cowelll was never on that "Got Talent".

So Chooka Parker is from out in the middle of the back of beyond somewhere and has an incredible talent. Only 16 and yet already a wizard on keyboard he takes it a step further by playing music he makes up as he goes along. He wowed the judges in both his audition and his more recent semi-final appearance on Australia's Got talent. He wowed me as well. Check out the videos; the first is his original audition and the second his semi-final performance. Final still to come and I for one am looking forward to that.