Another day in Paradise

pool at Windward Point-Hyatt

so the KW Chamber of Commerce will have us believe. If Paradise for you means ocean, sand, beach, pool, sun, patio, thatched bar, iced drinks, party hearty (the famous bar where Happy Hour starts at 7 AM is right here in KW), water ski, parasailing, yachting (chartered or own) fishing, and shopping, ....

the other resort by Hyatt

then, chers readers, Key West is THE place for you!

If not, do not come down here!
And that goes for all the Keys.

Now you'll notice I did not say just Florida.
Because further up the peninsula there are diverse attractions for the visitor bored by sand, sea, etc.
Oh yes, there is  NHL hockey: Tampa and Sunrise. And Estero (Echl)
There are operas given in: Sarasota, Miami, Naples, Tampa. And other travelled to venues.
There are art museums... plenty to keep even the most discerning artlover happy.

shops in ft. Lauderdale

And for sure there is shopping, not only for beach wear and souvenirs.
Yes, those , too, but you'll find Prada, Hermes etc, so necessary for the happiness of the yachting class and second or nth # home owners, the 1 %ers still in the USA!... lol.
But don't just take my word for it.
Come on over or down...and see for yourselves.


After a spin through the volunteer staffed and created Botanical Gardens on Stock Island, right across the street from the gaol of Florida, (no the volunteers are not inmates)  :-), and a last visit to the Martello Towers we shall be heading back up on US1 to Sunrise for one more hockey night with the Panthers,

who have been rather unlucky lately.

Just yesterday they lost to the WILD/Aeros in a SO, providing us with quite an interesting view of Wild/Aeros via TV at the resort. Plus several other games on nbssports.Which was a good way to spend several nights here, since we are no bar hoppers anymore.

nhl photo: Wild 3 Panthers 2 in SO

Between the deep blue gulf and the deep blue sea

there lies Key West, the last pearl on the chain of keys - stretching to just 90 miles away from Cuba.

On the drive south, a visit to the Museum of Diving History will - perhaps - inspire you to take up deep sea diving, but at least to scuba dive, no?

Are you into birds? Then a stop at the rehabilitation facility is a must, where pelicans are more prevalent than visitors. But there also owls of all sizes and types, Hawks and Brown Boobies. All visitors are greeted by a snowy egret. And cranes and other birds fly around, while 2 parrots are caged but very vocal.

Into KW on US 1 toward Mile 0 side by side of the old road, and glimpsing the rusty remnant of Flagler's Railroad. Destroyed in Hurricanes after Henry Flagler used several millions of his own money, of which he had plenty being a partner in Standard Oil (with Rockefeller), to build.
Flagler also built luxury hotels for those trying to escape the cold misery of the north all along his railroad. Arrived in KW he simply loaded the RR cars onto ferries, equipped with rails, for trans shipment to Cuba. Quite innovative, wasn't he? Well, that was then.
Now the Only way to KW is via US 1 in cars, or fly onto the island. 
Being  a rather dry spot in the USA, water is piped into the Key West, thanks to the US Navy, which also created an extra mile or so of  land. Thus the key is becoming known as the 2x4 island.  Also as Cayo Hueso=Island of Bones as discovered by Ponce De Leon, wayyy back in history.
And of course, as the Conch Republic.. seceded briefly from the US in the 70's. ;-).
So one can get conked (here ch is pronounced as K) out at the Conk (ch) Motel.

KW prides itself as the Southernmost place in the USA, which it is not exactly.
But hey, who counts degrees, motels, hotels, restaurants, bars and more all carry that name proudly and prominently.

The busy town of Key West, is chock full of bars, little or not so little white houses, built by ships'carpenters from imported lumber, or imported bricks, usually as ballast in ships. Which kinda kept the building speed slow ..having to wait for the next ballast,  lol.
Plus elevating the house and using wooden pegs to tie planks together seem to be the pre-cursor of hurricane proof architecture..  as you know wood is flexible!

Industrious Key West inhabitants made out, and rather well at that, rescuing ship wrecks, later on treasure hunting, sponge diving and tobacco rolling. For a while.
But the golden times didn't last, UNTIL the tourist industry was started...palm trees were planted, hotels built and the business of fun in the sun took off big! Real big!
Helped by the year round balmy weather...79 average temperatures.
Although today IT reached over 80.
But the lowest temperature recorded was 41 degrees and required schools to declare "snow day" because-you guessed it- no heat in houses.
'Shotgun cottage' architecture with 'beetle browed' houses are the norm... providing through breezes and shade in pre-a/c days.
So you think the isle is surrounded by pristine white sand beaches? Well, not quite so.. some sand has to be imported from elsewhere. Mother Nature 's ocean action seems to take land away not built up.
Mangroves do work hard collecting sand, debris and more with their roots and eventually another key(let) is formed.
Otherwise traffic jams in KW are many. Mostly of bicycles, electric carts, tricycles, mopeds, and the sweet little excursion choo choos with microphone. Trolleys do same, all to point out bars where Hemingway drank, for instance; hotel where Tennessee Williams stayed; Harry Truman's Little White House; Flagler Station Museum, and of course Hemingway's mansion with garden and pool and 6 toed cats. A MAJOR attraction.
Plus there are The Shipwreck -, Ship Treasure Museum. 
The Grotto, said to protect Key West from direct hits by major hurricanes since the twenties; Sponge sellers,  Shell sellers, Yachts and seagoing charters galore, and more bars and shops. The 'Western Union' sail ship, so called because it laid cable to Havana, now restored to her wooden gleaming glory and available for charters.

And the laid back environment just beckons visitors to sit and sip in Margarita's Ville; and watch sunsets.
Sunrises are less watched, probably because those late nights sipping and sitting make one too tired to get up early enough.

Interestingly, cocks and chickens do roam freely and crow lots. And most flora appears to have been brought ashore from foreign lands by the numerous sea captains who called Key West home.

Shut outs tonight

Not only had the WILD a win vs Bruins, with Backstrom in goal (48 saves!!!), Chad Rau's second period starter goal from Hedley and Clutterbuck followed by Cullen's goal with Setoguchi and Spurgeon on a PP, the game was enlivened by a fight between Thornton and Kassian in the 3rd.

AND in Sunrise at the Bankamerica Center in front of close to 17,000 fans including yours truly and Better Half the Anaheim Duck's Hiller got a shutout (saved all 31 SoGs) as well , which earned him the Number 1 star honors. And was he ever hot, making saves that seemed impossible. Saves when it looked as if he just did it without really seeing the puck.Somehow he MUST have just sensed it. Stunning.

Not that the Panthers were sweet lil Pussycats on ice. They skated aggressively, gave him a work out. The goal by Ducks, Selanne  (number 2 Star) with Ryan and Koivu (not the Wild brother, a course) stayed the only one until the last minute of period 3 when Hagman from Perry and Getzlaf put the icing on the cake for the Ducks by getting, finally, an empty netter, after at least 4 attempts at such went awry.

Some familiar names were discovered on the various jerseys: 
Theodore (once a Wild) 60 in goal (getting number 3 Star), Yonkman as 34, Robak 47, Strachan 23 in the Blues of the Panthers 3rd. Jersey instead of the Black of the Rampage, or the White as the case may be.

Saku, that is) 11, Beauchemin 23 (no relation to Rejean Beauchemin, a once Aeros, now CHL Goalie), and Getzlaf 15, of course Hiller wearing the number 1, and getting the number 1 star, too.
As already said, he really was HOT tonight

And as entertainment of the masses a fight took place between a ducky Parros and Panther Barch.
Few penalties called, some apparently not seen by any ref- none leading to PP goals.
Even the double minor for high sticking by Visnovsky (Ducks pp kill was effortlessly in evidence here) after a blatent hit in the face of Samuelsson.

A fast paced game, and a rather exciting one, even though neither team is a favorite, except for my neighbours at the rail  a Quebecois couple on a lam from winter in warm Florida who favored the Panthers. With some difficulties in understanding their French I gathered that they promised to watch out for us next Sunday, when the Habs play at Sunrise and we will be there again while they are at home in Quebec and watch it on TV..
Me, wearing purple and black will be handily identified in center ice section 119 at railing, behing the penalty boxes, LOL. I swore I shall wave excitedly into the camera... "bon soir mes amis"!
Or wink :-) exaggeratedly...lookee we are still here.

Photos after returning next week...chers readers, be patient.

Liitle Havana full of chickens and one proud rooster

Yes, well, that was the case this morning.
Live chicks and a rooster the avenida, and sculpture roosters strutting their stuff on street corners.
Cigar store Indians and real hand rolled cigars..
now if one loves them a $35.00 one is certainly worth it -  or is it?
Murals and other fun stuff on walls.

Then taking time out to watch domino players en masse, before heading to Versailles for lunch.
The Versailles Cafe and Bakery that is, on SW8th at 35th Avenue. Where knowing Spanish is a must, the menu is printed strictly in that language and most of the waitstaff seems unable or unwilling to understand English and the diners all seem Cubanos y Cubanas, y chicos.
I healthy menu it is most certainly not.

All is fried or cooked in fatty sauces, which naturally really are tasty.
Rice and black beans abound. Plantains, rolled in honey and fried, THE accompaniment for just about every dish. And 'la lengua asada ' was very tasty indeed , even if the lengua's a bit fatty but was ah, so tender.
And the portions. Each dish feeds two, easily.
Or one could make it a take out for a second meal IF one were not a tourist staying in a hotelroom without a kitchen. Which we are. So lots went back uneaten.

After that huge meal we decided to head for Miami Beach and its Art Deco district and the Wolfsonian museum. also dedicated to modern and Deco art.
Which only opens on Sunday at noon.

Well, it seemed like a good idea to spend the rest of the afternoon that way. Culture vulture that I am.
Except, driving over the  McArthur causeway was more like inching and the vaunted Art deco area chock full of cars, pedestrians, Sedgways (?) riders and bicyclists.
After being cut off by some crazy oldster (and youngsters) in cars with Northern plates (they must have been blind to left turn lane arrows) we decided no more. And u-turned back onto McArthur to head north to Ft. Lauderdale so we would Not miss the Panthers and Ducks game starting at 6 PM.

But the VIEW from the causeway in both directions WAS breathtaking.. all those yachts and mansions lining the water edge-just like in CIS Miami.. lol. Just kept us looking for actors of that series toiling in their careers as Crime Scene Investigators....tee hee.

Instead we saw lots - poured into the tightest tees and shortest pants - persons ambling about in this balmy 80's plus degree sunny afternoon.

But the yachts.. omg those yachts, a veritable ocean of yachts :-)!!

Now to the game.

Stormy Weather

you can say THAT again. T
Flying this morning to Florida was an -adventure.
Driving soggy roads to airport (and we did not have to use a boat to get to the plane,.
Which was 2 hours late starting from San Antonio.
And then a wild ride....roller coaster style for us.

Arrived all shook up, but safely. lol

While the Wild loose on the road. Their roster is full of Aeros.
The Aeros loose as well. And their roster full of ECHL'lers :-)
Since lots of Aeros players are up, either injured or suspended the Aeros have become a real hot spot for players from the ECHL ....
C. J.Stretch to be back.. and who knows who else will start wearing the Green and Grey.

In other news for followers of Locke and Beaudoin, Dimples and O Sullivan who BTW skates for Portland Pirates as well as Beaudoin....hmm. Interesting.

Locke got the first goal for Binghamton in today's game.
Neither Beaudoin (back from injuriess just a few weeks ago) nor Sullivan scored
Khudobin's loss was Legacy (yes the Man'ino', that veteran of veteran goaltenders) gain.

Home vs Arena and more..

So, the sports leagues,
specifically at College level, wonder about diminishing audiences ?
Dare I guess?

• too expensive,
• no name players,
• no name coaches
• no need to dress (for success of YOUR team-lol)
• much to-ing and fro-ing between the same teams
• the birth of huge digital television sets
• the comfort of home
• the easy access to (better) food 
• and cheaper drinks (lol)
• the transportability via cell phones
• and staying in touch with one's world via cellphone for immediate updates.

Such as this clip... classical music a la cellphone

Do I really care?
Do you?

Whatever...
have fun listening to 4 Fagots = bassoons played by a Lady Gaga Clones Quartett ;-)!

NOT quite a massacre but

Aeros loose to Admirals  0-3 BUT Hackett gets the Nr. 3 Star of the game.
and
Wild loose to Ducks 1-2.

No flowers for the guys in both teams tonight.

Aeros sign Devin Di Diomete  at 24 he's been around and in several fights.

Celebrating a Birthday

Yes, this 2011/12 season is the 7th Birthday of the AHL Shootout.
Happy 7th Birthday, SO

In the 2004-05 season the shootout to settle ties in regulation games was re-instituted by the AHL And the NHL followed suit in 2005-06.
That is after a game stays tied at Overtime end of 5 minutes.
Three shooters are nominated by the each team. The starter can be from the home team or the visitor. And the SO begins after a two minute intermission and the ice has been cleared to provide a clean fresh surface down the middle.
Scoring no goal, teams continue in a "sudden death" mode.
Both teams have an equal number of shots.
The winning team receives 2 points for a regulation Win, 0 for a Loss
and 1 point for a loss in PT or SO. OtL or SoL.  1 SO point is added to the winner's seasonal stats - independently of the number of goals scored by the team in the SO.

Doesn't that remind you, chers readers, of a certain team  - LOL?

Points are not counted for the individual players stats, be they skaters or goalies and does not influence plus/minus in game stats.
Interestingly, a tied 0-0 game at the end of OT gives both goaltenders a shutout credit.
Individual SO stats are officially calculated separately.
A cool SO goal on 2/11/12

However in  Stanley Cup playoff games, the format remains unchanged. Overtime is the full 20 minute period as often as needed to break the tie, and a Shootout is not used.

And the Aeros play Milwaukee tonight!
A must listen and/or watch!
Just a new slant or is it?

Without Fontaine who was suspended for 2 games.
For more on that read Russo's Rants IF you are really that interested.
Personally, I am royally fed up with the scurrilous misuse of proper words...
go google THAT wind instrument
spelled with either 1 -more often, or 2 Gs) for more information.

Aeros, not so good NEWS

Per Russo-latest:

"The Wild will recall defenseman Marco Scandella and winger Kris Foucault on Monday to infuse some energy into a struggling lineup, sources say.
Scandella, who had six points and was minus-10 in 37 games with the Wild earlier this season, has five points in nine games with Houston. If Foucault, a 2009 fourth-round pick, plays Tuesday against red-hot Anaheim, it'll be his NHL debut. The winger has 10 goals and 23 points in 47 games for Houston.
I'd think this is an indication that Cal Clutterbuck (lower body) is doubtful.
He was hurt in the second period Saturday against Columbus.
The Wild took Sunday off. It practices at the X on Monday morning, followed by the Ducks"

So, methinks, Torchetti and Co. have their work cut out to integrate a Staubitz (who comes with an attidude-perhaps) into a newly diminished team.
And perhaps add more minor leaguers?
And what about the proven duo of Veteran Ortmeyer and Rookie Foucault?
A duo that produced goals in the past?
Does that bode well for Valentine's Day?
Or will it be a Massacre, as I hinted, I thought, jokingly, in a previous post?
Only time will tell.
And I, for one, will be glued to THE VOICE on February 14 clutching a heart as a talisman! :-)!

A voice - what a voice

Yesterday,  finally, I was able to see and hear LA TRAVIATA.
And was moved to tears at times by the stupendous voice of Albina Shagimuratova  (HGO Studio alumna). While her histrionic talents were not overly in evidence, her voice WAS, and HOW!
What can one say more. Opera is all about VOICE in my opinion, and she did it!
The (second, actually) Einspringer - a last minute call up - of Chad Shelton (ex Studio as well) for Alfredo - I personally was rather pleased with his singing.
And Giovanni Meoni as Germont acquitted himself rather well to great applause.
Several other roles were taken and done well by current opera studio singers.
Maestro Summers and the HGO orchestra did a stunning job.
Alas, no more performances.

All that's left for me to write is:
STUNNING, AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL. 
I really teared up at times.
Which I have never done before.
And I have seen La Traviata several times.. traditional, modern, Eurotrashy... you name it! With famous singers, to boot!

This one was a touching portrayal by a great voice.
A touching interpretation by the director-a mystical one, IMO.
And the lightning was superb too!
Setting the various moods so well.

Here is a clip of Shagimuratova but with a different Alfredo (originally scheduled Lomeli, then replaced by Hymel and finally by Shelton).

Giovanni Meoni as Germont pere with Albina Shagimuratova.

Chad Shelton as Alfredo

Enjoy!

Just the facts ....TWO



Jon DiSalvatore, previously,  with a goal at the TC!

Aeros win over Griffins 5-4 with an almost out-of-the-blue last second goal by Di Salvatore (Bagnall), which THE VOICE literally screamed himself hoarse over. 
Darcy K in goal stopped 30 of 34. Tom McCollum 17 of 22.
Now the Aeros seemed a bit challenged in shots on goals at this game - only
8 and 8 and 6 (of which 3 found the net!!!).
And it sure looked like the whole team stepped up to score .. goal by Scandella-Fontaine in the 1. a solo performance by Ortmeyer in the 2. and the other 3 in the third by Foucault (Ortmeyer, Cuma), McIntyre (Fontaine) and the vaunted winner by The Captain Di Sal. with Bagnall. I'm sure the Griffins didn't grasp what hit them.
The-Third-Period Aeros in good mettle... and on to the next enemy they go now.
The Aeros fans' "Sweethearts" to play Valentine's Day at Milwaukee!
Then on to a back-to-back bout with the Heat ( Feb 17/18).
And more on the road games, back at TC on March 10 vs. the Griffins once again!

And we hear Brad Staubitz has cleared waivers and will be on hand WITH the Aeros for the Valentine's Day Game (which - it is hoped - will NOT be a massacre by the Ads).

****************************************************************************************
Yours truly is winging to Florida for a couple games by the Panthers (vs. The Ducks on 19, and the Habs on 26). The starter team in the beginning of 2011/12 season in the video:

In  between the two games we'll be lolling in Hemingway land by way of Flagler route (lol) - see a previous post on Henry Flagler who wanted to build a railroad to Key West only to be bested by the Hurricane of 1935!


**************************************************************************************
R.I. P. Whitney Houston, the big voiced pop diva has died.

Even though I love opera, I must admit I did enjoy her singing.
What a huge gorgeous talent. 

Just the facts, Maam.. Just the facts!

Aeros win over a diminished (as one hears) Griffins 5-1.
With all 3 stars Aeros!
A good night for Hackett, who seems to be his old self, again.
And Taffe who scores again.
But most of the  kudos go to the youngsters on the team:
Fontaine, Foucault, Almond and Broda, even Fredheim.
And Cuma and Bagnall stepping up as defenders.
And there is another newbie: Rob Mignardiwearing the number 11.
So counting him, the Aeros Roster boasts of 7 players who have been called up from the minors.
While 13 of the 'old' sters remain or are being sent back form up North.
Some of whom are on the injured list (Penner, McKenzie).
2 recent newbies have been released from their PTO: Fischer and Montgomery.

Standings as of this date:

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS
OKC	48	31	12	2	3	67
CHA	49	29	16	2	2	62
TOR	49	26	17	4	2	58
HOU	49	24	13	3	9	60
CHI	48	26	18	1	3	56
ABB	48	26	19	3	0	55
SA	48	26	20	2	0	54
RCH	49	22	18	6	3	53
MIL	47	24	20	2	1	51
PEO	48	24	21	2	1	51
LE	49	23	22	2	2	50
RFD	49	21	23	1	4	47
GR	46	19	19	4	4	46
TEX	48	21	23	2	2	46
HAM	47	20	22	1	4	45

We certainly hope so!

Health snobs bug me..

Perhaps being achy makes me cranky. More so than usual ;-)!
Smug people's sneering comments really p.... me off - but royally!
As if they are of an elite, and disparage others who are not.
So maybe they have great genes, and others have not.
So maybe they have the funds to buy their looks, and others have not.
So they eat healthy, exercise hours per day, and others do not, or cannot!
You know, growing up in a relative safe environment makes things too damn easy.
 

Getting a kinda 'nostalgia for the Bad old days' attack, here.

But, you know what? I say this (should you complain about this post ) in the ways of Vienna:

'Du kannst mir den Buckel 'runterutschen'.

'Du kannst mich wirklich gern haben'

Don't try to google translate this. It will not work.

Do google Das Goetz Zitat by Goethe, which kinda conveys the same idea. And it will increase your cursing vocabulary ;-)!


Growing up in a war torn city is not.

Bombed out Vienna Street..courtesyVienna.com

Modern Kachelofen in a living room.

No refrigeration, no central heat and cooling.
No imports from around the world.
One ate what was seasonal.
One ate what was filling, cheap,  and available.
One shopped every day.
Cooked for the meal in question, and repeated it all over the next.


On the other hand, storing fall's apples in the cellar for months for use later was possible. They did not rot. Yes, they shrunk and got dry, but soaking them in sugar water for a while plumped them back up and were usable for baking or cooking.

Eggs had very thin shells then, and needed to be carefully carried.
And then stored in jars with calcium rich water. For use later when hens were not laying! Sure they were not edible as 'sunny side up', 'easy over' or 'soft boiled'.
But they could be hard boiled and used for cooking.
Vegetable were eaten as they were available in their season.
Or dried and soaked before cooking - mostly to remove any worms which floated to the top, they were scooped off and the beans, lentils, peas were ready to be cooked for hours. No such things as frozen peas, green beans, spinach, etc.
Sauerkraut, came brined in barrels, servings were scooped out onto waxpaper to carry home by buyer.
Beef was expensive and not really very good for rare steaks, so it was boiled (Tafelspitz) and eaten with lots of spices and sauces.
Chicken was a Sunday delicacy.
And horse meat was also available. And still is in Vienna (below) but needs spicing up, tasting rather sweet but was lean.
Veal only for special occasions as Wiener Schnitzel, pounded paper thin, drenched in egg and flour then breaded and fried in (oh horrors) Schmalz.. that was what gave it that unmistakable flavor and crispiness.
Pork was most often the preferred entree as in roasts, chops, etc.
And if one had access to farmers and hunters one could get venison as well.
And fresh water fish-if one fished and fried it up immediately-as I said no fridge then!
Saltwater fish, shrimp, etc. only if one could travel to the coast somewhere...
When it comes to Salads...
well, there were Krautsalat, Erdaepfelsalat, Eiersalat,Gurkerlsalat, Paradersersalat,  Ruebensalat!
Very little lettuce, but lots of radishes and small wild greens if available (Vogerlsalat).
Romaine lettuce (aptly named Kochsalad mit Erbsen) was cooked with peas in a cream sauce with new jacket potatoes and perhaps a Debreziner (spicy paprika'd) pork sausage for flavoring.


But the breads and
desserts were phenomenal.
And filling.
AND FULL OF CALORIES, ANATHEMA TO HEALTH SNOBS, EH!
And relatively cheap.
Warm Breadpudding, Rice cooked in milk with raisins and cinnamon served warm, were often the main dishes in the winter. With, perhaps, garlic soup from bones (Knochensuppe), with breadslices floating in it as a starter!  All warm and filling during cold winters when only one room in most appartments was heated via a coke stove!

Summers, when on a farm vacations, we ate, warm from the cow, milk, left outside to turn into butter milk, with collected tiny wild strawberries and other berries. And collected mushrooms to be cooked with freshly laid scrambled eggs.


Or if the farmer was hunting, and willing to share, fresh venison and yes, it tasted wild  alright, but a good taste IMO!
And lots of fresh cheese made by hand on the farm, looking a bit lopsided, but tasted great! With woodstove baked farmer's bread with a hard crust and solid centers..
And fresh churned butter! The real thing!
We also dried the mushrooms to take back to the city in jars.
They were used later to flavor many dishes.
And we made jams of berries and other fruits. And canned stuff to take back, as well.
The butter was wrapped in huge green leaves and taken back and used for a week as a fresh spread, before becoming a bit rancid, then we used it for cooking still if some was left over :-)!


Well, enough of this nostalgia - an UNHEALTHY nostalgia for health snobs :-)!

But life seemed so GOOD then, and we were so Happy!

Once again ...

I saw "The Rape of Lucretia"!
Could it have been done any better I cannot fathom that ?
It was as stunning, if not more so, than earlier.
See blog on it of 2/2/12 below.
But you HAVE to go yourselves!
Music truly sublime and the message touchingly thought provoking.
And somehow so apropos in this time!
A rather elite kinda selection of words in the libretto did NOT detract from it at all. Especially as sung and enunciated so beautifully by the cast!
Yes, it is sung in English!!
But I have been to several sung in English and felt they were sung in some unidentifiable language ;-)!
So this was a real Ohrenschmaus of music and words! 
A snippet from the opera.... for your listening pleasure!

And a few others by Britten:

A Birthday Goal for McIntyre

A ballet by Hackett

McIntyre, in honor of his Birthday - no doubt, scored the First goal vs. the Monsters, almost single handedly..Broda's assist was added a bit later.
Then the Monstrous (8 over 6.3 ft tall guys) Monsters scored in rapid succession - three in the 1. 1 in the 2... while peppering Hackett with18 SoGs. But our 'third period' Aeros came bouncing back a bit with a PP goal by Genoway with Fontaine, Stretch at almost last minutes of the 2. And in the 3. two more goals by Taffe (maybe his dry spell is over now?), Reed (an other newcomer-for the 2nd time, methinks) and Rau, and Foucault with Stretch (he seems to work out rather well!) and Radja.

Mcintyre on defense

Coleman saves

Coleman a monster goalie at 6.5 and 215 pds and

Hacket at 6.2 but much thinner at 176 pds, seemed about equal in talent.

On Hackett 4 of 25. In the SO he stopped  all 4.

Aggression by Genoway

Fontaine Nr. 1 Star

On Coleman 4 of 34.  Coleman stopped 3 in SO but let in 2 by Fontaine and Stretch (again -he is 'stretching' towards a permanent position for the rest of the season, maybe?).

Something struck me tonight: 

most of the guys scoring points were under 6Ft... Rau, Fontaine, Genoway, Stretch for the Aeros and Mauldin, Mercier and Strong for the Monsters.

Mauldin tries again!

Force Foucault ;-)!

In the end after 4-4 in regulation - one was pushed in by Hackett-really! No goals in Ot and Aeros 'shot out' the Lake Erie Monster, to add points.

BTW

Wellman had an assist with the Whale!

And the Wild lost to Dallas in a Shoot out.. alas.

Winners everywhere

While the Aeros recorded their first at home win over the Texas Stars WITH Hackett in goal (more on that below), I was delighted to find out that three of IMO best singers won the Concert Of Arias (Eleanor McCollum Competition) last night.

A truly impressive line up of 9 finalists sang their hearts out in front of a full house and 3 judges (Tenor Griffey, Maestro Summers and HGO Managing Director Leech).
The slate included singers from as far away as Russia, South Wales, Canada and China.

Prize ($ 10,000) plus Audience choice award went to the 22 years old soprano

Andrea Carroll,
HGOs Assoc. Music Drirector Eric Melear was the accompanying pianist for all!

2. prize to Welch born Natalya Romaniw  (24) and

3. prize to Bass Chen Peixin (30) from Beijing.
Carroll sang with purity and an extraordinary expressive voice from Mascagni and Massenet.. proving her familiarity with Italian and French works.
Romaniw sang from Mozart and Gounod with flexible strength and a depth that showed off her big voiced soprano.
Chen, a huge bass, with room to spare, and great stage presence wowed most by his choice of Verdi and even more so Rossini, showcasing his grasp of comedy.

After hearing all 9, my Nr. 1 too,  was Carroll, but followed by Chen as Nr. 2.
Carolyne Sproule (23), a mezzo with, to me at least, interesting vocal shading in her Strauss, and a very impressive presentation of an aria from Julius Caesar by Handel, would have been my Nr. 3.
And Romaniw I had definitely pegged as the audience choice.
I got three right, just not in the final order, lol.

Now to the three goals last night: Wellman - a single handed goal in the 2., Genoway (Fontaine ,Wellman) on a power play, and Broda (Fontaine) in the 3 on the empty net!
Sure looks like a very lucky night for the Aeros.
And yet, a sad ending to this has to be reported: Wellman was traded by the Wild to the New York Rangers! 
They also re-assigned Rau to Houston.
And re-signed C.J.Stretch to the a PTO. Poor guy having to pack and unpack his satchel in such a short period!
Now they'll play in Houston Saturday Lake Erie, AND Sunday..at HIGH NOON Milwaukee-not to conflict with the Super Bowl Parties awaiting football fans LOL.

"The Rape of Lucretia",

Botticelli-Death of Lucretia

Chamber Opera by Benjamin Britten as performed by the singers of Houston Grand Opera under the Direction of Arin Arbus" (freely after Peter Weiss) and the Conductor Rory MacDonald with Sets by Jean-Guy Lecat, costumes Anita Yavich and lightening by Michael James Clark. I just felt the plain The Rape Of Lucretia was not title enough :-) for such BIG :-) yet intimate, though moralizing opera, albeit set to often beautiful lyrical music with the occasional thundering passages played by just 14 musicians who are getting star status on the program, and well earned IMO!

HGO has outdone itself with this relatively unknown Britten piece.  With just 8 singers, everyone needs to be outstanding, there is no hiding among a crowd. And indeed they are. Very good! Certainly a piece that will catch your imagination, engage your ears, and leave you wanting to hear more of the rather sublime music.

Casting the male chorus with tenor Antony Dean Griffey
(as Peter Grimes, Lenny) was a stroke of genius. Griffey,well known for his deeply felt characters, was superb. Ably matched by the female chorus soprano Leah Crocetto.

The 6 protagonists were sung and acted by Ryan McKinny, warm bass bariton=Collatinus,

Joshua Hopkins, fullvoiced bariton=Junius,

Jacques Imbrailo, bariton=Tarquinius, and
Michelle DeYoung, dramatic mezzosoprano=Lucretia.
A well matched set of voices, with the ability of expressing the pains and joys imagined by the composer.
Judith Forst, mezzosoprano=Bianca and
Lauren Snouffer, lyrical soprano=Lucia and the only high voice in the opera, completed the small cast.

For me it was gratifying to see 2 Studio alumni (McKinny and Hopkins) and 1 current member (Snouffer) shine on stage. Holding their own against the more veteran singers.
And as it is often with Britten, we come away from it with our imagination fired up, and questions. Perhaps more so with Turn of the Screw, Peter Grimes than with The Rape of Lucretia.
But one thing, to me essential to better understand and enjoy his works, is the need to revisit his operas another time, maybe even several times!

Quick Aeros Update

Fischer, Martin, Stretch gone.
Clackson #24 and Radja #10  released and resigned.
Also added (again!) Mike Montgomery

Chers readers will recall Montgomery was signed to a PTO in December and released shortly thereafter. Now he's back again. In the video he is Nr.6.