So my colleague pointed out to me an ad she had been seeing for the ballet “The Toreador”. It read like this:
A ROMANTIC COMEDY ABOUT LOVE, LUST AND LECHERY
But a few days later the ad had been altered just slightly to this:
A ROMANTIC COMEDY ABOUT LOVE, LUST AND LECHERY
…BUT STILL “FAMILY FRIENDLY”!
Too funny. If you ask me anyway.
The researchers have discovered that playing classical music to the animals reduces abnormal behaviours such as swaying, pacing and trunk tossing, although they said elephants don’t seem to have a favourite composer.
I read it here.
More:
She stressed that as yet the team can’t be sure why elephants react well to classical music or whether other genres would work as well. “We really don’t know what their perception of the music was,” she said. It may simply be that it masked unpleasant background noises – for example from the zoo’s visitors.
Field believes that as intelligent animals elephants may turn out to be quite discerning. “I think they would have very eclectic tastes actually,” he said.
Of course maybe the best thing would to not put them in a zoo in the first place …?
I have an evil confession to make. I think I like Rent better. I know, I know. I fully expect Puccini’s ghost to smite me anytime now. If one day I suddenly turn into a puff of smoke, you’ll know why. It’s just that I find myself very impressed with how well Jonathan Larson not only adapted the story but expanded it. He took the slightly dull supporting characters of Colline and Schunard and gave them a very significant story line in the 20th century version.
Plus, it’s easier to sing along with rock songs than with opera. And I like that Mimi lives at the end of Rent.
I bought a clock radio/CD player because it allows me to wake up to a CD rather than the radio. The reception in our bedroom with a clock radio isn’t great, so I prefer to use the CD player. Trouble is, I didn’t realize it would always start with the first track; I had made the assumption I could somehow program it and choose my own track. Instead, I wake up every single time to the beginning of the last movement of the Mozart Oboe Concerto. I hear the thing click on prior to the CD starting so sometimes I just click the darn thing off instead; hearing the same thing over and over gets a bit annoying.
But I ramble. Mostly I just wanted to share this video with you; there are some performers in costume, including the oboist. It’s kind of a kick to see and hear.
And now back to my un-regularly scheduled pesky stomach. (I thought it was better. It decided I was wrong.)
