“… one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969 from Tranquility Base on the moon.
Forty years ago today, long before manned space flight came to be defined as a quick jaunt around the Earth, man reached higher and further. Apollo 11 and the men who blasted off atop its Saturn V rocket – Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins – took mankind to the moon. It was a unifying moment for mankind as a billion people watched men from the planet Earth step onto the surface of the moon.
A plaque marks the spot at Tranquility Base where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked the lunar surface. It reads: “Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind.”
Sarah Palin just resigned as Alaska governor. She announced her resignation in an odd rambling speech. Pundits in the media are speculating the resignation frees her up to run for president in 2012. Hogwash. No one resigns their first term as Governor with such a nutball speech and expects to have a national political future. She is a trainwreck.
I am guessing the real reason for her resignation will come out in short order. When it does, it will sell a lot of tabloids.
The King of Pop is dead. He was a man of unparalleled talent, a musical genius. His impact on the world of music and the medium of music videos is without equal.
Beyond the music he lived a troubled life. Today that life came to a sudden end. May he finally find peace.
Michael Jackson sang “Gone Too Soon” at President Clinton’s inauguration ball. The song is dedicated to the brave young man Ryan White. Jackson asked the Clinton administration to dedicate resources to find a cure for AIDS.
President Obama and Vice President Biden were at Ray’s Hell Burger yesterday for lunch. Ray’s is a burger restaurant in Arlington, Virginia and one of our lunch hangouts. I am generally not a burger lover, but Ray’s makes some awesome burgers. My personal favorite from their menu is the Big Punisher with a side of tots. Yum!
Now that the President has visited, I expect the crowds in the already cramped restaurant will be much worse.
Now for something completely different! Consider this therapy:
I am sure by now all of you have heard of the Susan Boyle phenomenon. I saw it last week on YouTube. To me what was amazing was not that a so-called “frumpy” woman was singing with a gorgeous voice. To me the amazing thing was that someone on that show was singing “I Dream A Dream” with both skill and passion – two traits the song demands. The song has heart and it demands it of the singer.
“I Dreamed A Dream” is a fantastic song and the showstopper of the musical Les Misérables. It is one of those songs that is not just heard, but experienced. And for the singer it is technically a very difficult song. But a singer could hit all the right notes and the song would still not come alive like it is meant to. Only a special singer – one with both heart and talent – can belt out the lyrics of this beautiful and moving song.
Few singers can and few singers have.
Les Misérables has played in London and on Broadway, as well as around the world, The song in the play is sung by the tragic Fantine. And the first Fantine was Patti LuPone. She was the first to sing on stage in London “I Dreamed A Dream”. It was the first, and considered by some the benchmark, but it is not my favorite.
To me, the song belongs to Ruthie Henshall. She played Fantine at the 10th anniversary concert of Les Misérables at Royal Albert Hall in London. She was also, for a time, Prince Edward’s girlfriend. Too bad the Prince couldn’t hold on to her. Here is Ruthie Henshall as Fantine at Royal Albert Hall, singing the quintessential version:
In the stage version, Henshall sings the first verse. This verse is sometimes left out in other versions. Listen for the word “shame” that ends the third verse. At that word, either the singer servives or the song wins.
Here is Ruthie Henshall in concert singing the song. This is a slightly different rendition and you can actually see what she looks like (without a fake wig):
For a different take, consider New Zealand’s National Treasure, and really the World’s Treasure, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa singing her version of the song:
Now, to see how the song sounds, when sung competently, but without heart, consider Judy Kuhn’s rendition of “I Dream A Dream” for the President and First Lady Clinton in 1988. Judy Kuhn was a cast member of the Broadway version of Les Mis but she didn’t play Fantine. And it showed:
If, by the way, you want something completely different, you can also listen to Aretha Franklin’s version at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration (the purists cringe!):
Then there is Susan Boyle’s version. It was sung with talent and heart. It was well worth a listen. Embedding of this song is disabled by YouTube. So, here is the link.
