A Tuesday Night Memo: Thoughts on turning nine

My blog, “A Tuesday Night Memo,” turns nine later this month.

People who know me well know that I've been interested in writing, reporting and storytelling for a long time. So, it's only natural that I turned to blog writing because it gave me an opportunity to hone my writing skills and provided a forum for writing about things that truly interested me that I wanted to share with others.

Here’s a little history about my blog:

I started writing “A Tuesday Night Memo” on January 26, 2010, as a means for sharing musings about my life filled with music, sport, and urban travel, and to foster community with my friends, family and Facebook acquaintances. More recently, I added a Twitter profile, which has allowed me to reach a wider audience across the country and the world.

People who read my blog know that I'm passionate about music, sport, and urban travel. Additionally, I have used “A Tuesday Night Memo” as a vehicle for writing about art, food, fashion, religion and gardening – and, in the age of Trump, about politics. Before we moved to the east coast, sharing news and photos about our former Oakland, Calif., flower gardens at home always seem to generate great interest and enthusiasm. Maybe, it was the pretty shapes and colors of our flowers that others found appealing, especially since we could maintain a garden all year long.

Up to now, I have "blogged" 439 entries for “A Tuesday Night Memo,” which collectively have received more than 161,700 page views. Among many subjects I have written about, some of my favorites have been: my appreciation of tennis champion Roger Federer; how the city of Seattle fosters community through international cinema; a history of the world as seen through 100 objects; classical music conductor Gustavo Dudamel; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr; my music love affairs with Pink Martini and Elvis Costello; validating our travel through our photographs; and Jerry Seinfeld's Internet comedy Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

Among my recent posts, I have written about the Golden Globe-winning film “Roma”; the humanitarian work of Washington, D.C. chef José Andrés; and recent books written by American historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham. Also, I have shared my interest in digital photography since beginning my blog, which has enabled me to illustrate many if not all of my posts with colorful visuals to match the words I've written.

The feedback I have received not only is very much appreciated, but I also find it very useful. Much of it has been positive, but sometimes it's also been critical. Whether good or bad, I've found the feedback readers provide to be a valuable learning tool. Occasionally, I like to sneak a look at my blog's statistics, which are the key indicators that show how many total "hits" my blog has received, which stories have been read the most, and what countries comprise the blog's readership. The numbers are modest but nevertheless interesting.

Here are a few fun facts about “A Tuesday Night Memo” I thought you might enjoy:

• Since my blog's debut, it has been read in dozens of countries, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, France, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Hong Kong – even Brazil, India, Vietnam, and Australia. The top five countries reading my blog include the U.S, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany and France. I hope Russia's interest in my blog has nothing to do with their wanting to hack me because of my occasional blog posts about President Donald Trump.

Looking ahead, two years since he was inaugurated, the Trump presidency continues to garner my interest and attention from time to time. How could it not? However, there's so much more to write about. Among things that I look forward to learning about include my continuing interest in exploring museums – and what we can learn from them. Also, I would like to explore the effect digital music and media have in connecting our world.

In the meantime, I thoroughly enjoy sharing my writing week in and week out, and I look forward to contributing more of my words and thoughts in what is shaping up to be another exciting year awaiting all of us.

Stay tuned! 

Gustavo and the L.A. Phil Live

Gustavo and the L.A. Phil Live / A hit at the multiplexes

On Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Philharmonic hit the big screen ~ more than 450 of them throughout the United States and Canada ~ in a high-definition, multimedia spectacle that allowed audiences to see and experience the larger-than-life passion and charisma of conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

My wife and I attended the L.A. Phil Live at the AMC Bay Street cinema in Emeryville, about a 15-minute drive from our house. It was a nice alternative to watching NFL playoff games at home on TV.  I was surprised by the near-capacity turnout for the afternoon event.  Last winter, I went to a mid-week closed-circuit broadcast of Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion that featured guests Elvis Costello and Heather Masse at the same multiplex that was modestly attended. Thus, I was skeptical.

However, I'm happy to report that the AMC Bay Street HD visuals and 5.1 surround sound audio looked and sounded terrific. And, just as importantly, the stadium seating was comfortable (with ample leg room) and provided excellent sight lines.  Added up, the $22 ticket price was worth it.

Inspiring performance / The L.A. Philharmonic  performed
works by Adams, Bernstein, Beethoven and Brahms.

Musically, Sunday's program at L.A.'s Disney Concert Hall was both interesting and inspiring.  It began with "Slominsky's Earbox" by John Adams, inspired by Stravinsky's "Chant du Rossignol," and was followed by "Symphony No. 1 (Jeremiah)" by Leonard Bernstein, featuring soloist mezzo-soprano Kelly O'Connor, who stood in the middle of the orchestra.  After intermission, the audience was treated to a wonderful performance of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92," whose second movement is featured in the climatic scene of The King's Speech.  For an encore, the orchestra performed Brahms's "Hungarian Dance No. 1."

All smiles / Gustavo Dudamel knows how to play to the camera. 

The closed-circuit broadcast included backstage interviews with Dudamel and O'Connor, before and during the concert, as well as rehearsal footage of Dudamel going over the repertory with the orchestra.  Clearly, the magnetic Dudamel was the star of the show ~ and throughout the broadcast, there were numerous close-ups of this dynamic, 29-year-old Venezuelan conductor.  Dudamel knows how to play to the camera, and he was very much at ease throughout the entire broadcast.  And, I learned, conductors like Dudamel come off the stage feeling quite thirsty after conducting a complex piece like Beethoven's Seventh, which he did from memory.  Quickly, a valet handed Dudamel a glass of water, which he consumed in no time at all before returning to the stage for further bows and applause.

With the exception of a couple of middle school-aged kids sitting near me who, judging from their inattentiveness throughout the event, looked as if they were dragged into this bit of high-brow culture by their mother instead of being allowed to see Tron or the Harry Potter movie that played next door, our audience was composed mostly of seniors ~ the same age-group that regularly supports the popular Live at the Met opera multiplex broadcasts.

Larger than life on the big screen /
Gustavo Dudamel

Sunday's L.A. Phil Live attendance and overall positive response (based on newspaper accounts I read in the Los Angeles Times and New York Times) gives me hope that this kind of event will become more commonplace. Think about it: It's great outreach for classical music and serves as an excellent vehicle for introducing Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic to a newer, broader ~ even hipper ~ audience.

I'm looking forward to the experience, again.

The L.A. Phil Live series (http://www.laphil.com/laphillive/tickets.cfm) continues on March 13 with Dudamel conducting an all Tchaikovsky program and concludes on June 5 as Dudamel conducts an all Brahms program.