Paul Potts - Brittain Has Talent

On June 14th, Yahoo posted a link to a video clip of Paul Potts, the winner of "Britain Has Talent." Out of curiosity (and because I like classical music in general), I checked out the clip, and wow. Here was this unassuming 36 year old who looked very much out of his element, until he sang the first note to Nessun Dorma. His short performance made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. He sang from the heart, and I felt it. The judges did as well. I loved Simon Cowell's look of unbelief as he listened to the song. I forwarded the Youtube link to family members, and their reaction was pretty much on par with mine. Music's ability to touch the soul is one of life's wonders.

The response to Paul Potts' performance was overwhelming; he touched a lot of folks with his singing. Last time I checked, one of his clips on Youtube had over 5 million views with mostly positive reactions! But as usual, the detractors climbed out from under their rocks. Snobby opera afficionados, Morons, and ne'er do-wellers all chimed in with negative comments. I am not placing them all in the same category, believe me. But most of the "hating" towards the Paul Potts phenomenon was clearly silly.

He sings nice, but he's no Pavarotti.

Who is? Pavarotti is a legend, and only a handful of individuals have that quality of voice. Does that take away from Mr. Pott's performance?

He has had classical training, he attended a couple of master classes with Pavarotti.

And the point is? Master classes are a good way to get insight from a professional, but they do not make you a better singer. There's no short formula, there's no magic wand--you still have to have the voice and the self-discipline to evolve your talent and craft.

Paul Potts will never be a professional singer, Carusso is much better!

Sad but true, there are morons who have nothing better to do than to fill comment sections with this type of drivel. And we wonder why a lot of kids hate going into classical music. Aspiring classical musicians will feel this sort of unwarranted criticism througout their careers. Even established artists get slammed by talentless critics. Kissin sucks, Horowitz was much better, etc. Insane.

Well, aside from the recording contract and money that Mr. Potts won, there was something else that happened: people started listening to opera! Even people who aren't into the genre. All of a sudden, we saw not only Pott's Youtube clips gain an increase in views, but also clips by great tenors like Domingo, Pavarotti, and other heavyweights. This humble man accomplished in a span of several weeks what thousands of artists haven't accomplished in a lifetime. Brilliantly done, Mr. Potts!

Life is Short Folks...

A co-worker called this morning, informing me that she would be late to work. She was distraught as 3 of her nieces died in a car crash early this morning. She started breaking down in between sentences--this was tragic.

Her sister-in-law was driving from Arizona, along with her 4 daughters and 1 niece. They were making the trip to California to attend a wedding near Modesto this coming weekend. It was early in the morning when at 65 mph, the right side of their Chevy Tahoe rammed into the back of a stationary big rig parked along the shoulder of the highway. The right side of the Tahoe litterally ripped appart from the car, ejecting 2 daughters and pinning the other girl amidst a tangle of metal. I hope they all passed away instantly.

I told my co-worker to take the day off--she sounded in no condition to come in to work--but she felt that she didn't have enough PTO available, and she would have to take a day off for the funeral. So she made it in to work. Life's a bitch, isn't it?

She e-mailed me the article, which happens to be on-line, and I was overcome with emotion. I gave her my condolences and choked up a bit. What can you say to someone after such a tragedy happens? Can you imagine the parents?

You just lost 3 out of 4 kids, sorry about that.

She told me that her Dad had been unable to tell her Brother. The father of the girls didn't know until he made it out here to California. His wife had to give him the knews. Something like this is enough to crumple anyone to the ground. It is a stab in the heart, a wrenching of the proverbial serrated sword in the gut.

Life is short, Folks. We can be here one second, and gone the next.

Gone in the blink of an eye.

Tell your loved ones that you love them. Settle your scores. Forgive those who have offended you. Three little girls lost their lives in an instant and a beautiful family from Arizona was broken forever. This can happen to anyone at any time. To paraphrase the Good Book: No one knows the day or the hour...

Conan III

Recently went to Walmart and found a DVD containing both Conan The Barbarian and Conan The Destroyer, all for the great price of $9.95!

Can't beat those type of deals. I prefer the first movie, but Destroyer is not bad either. Yes, there's a couple of cheezy 80's elements, but come on, they didn't have CGI back then. Still, classic productions in my opinion.

I have heard that John Milius (director of Conan The Barbarian) is planning on filming a 3rd Conan. All I can say is: About Freakin' Time!

I hope they don't skimp on production costs. A legendary character like Conan deserves a great movie. I also bought the 2 Conan compilations: Conan The Cimmerian and The Bloody Crown of Conan which contain a plethora of Conan short stories by the former master and inovator of the Fantasy genre, Robert E. Howard. Furthermore, for those of you who are interested in Howard, you might want to check out The Whole Wide World, a 1996 movie starring Renee Zellwegger (of Jerry McGuire fame) and Vincent D'onofrio (Law & Order...forget which one). Howard was somewhat of an eccentric character, but boy could he write.

Peter Gibbons Syndrome...

I cannot believe that we're already in April. I feel like I've gotten so wrapped up in putting my head down and forging ahead with my life that I've missed something (ok, maybe lots of things)... I feel young (generally), at times THINK young (ok, immature is more accurate), but when I look in the mirror, I see this tired face, wrinkles when I smile, not to mention my pudgy appearance (been working on those 50 pounds on and off for a while) and I get smacked back to reality with the fact that I'm "old." Wow, 1988 doesn't seem like that long ago, but hell, it's been almost 20 years since I graduated from highschool. Holy crap. And it seems like a week ago when I was thinking, "Maybe I should make a list of New Year's resolutions." but we're now in freakin' April! What the hell??? It's so easy to get buried in work and menial bullshit and feel like you're missing out on what's really important. I don't know, I'm thinking "Trip." I haven't taken a real vacation in maybe 3 years. What to do? It's gotta be out of Northern California. Out of the country, preferably. The Mayan pyramids in Yucatan or Guatemala sound appealing. Shoot, even Iceland sounds alluring, especially after recently seeing the movie "Beowulf and Gretel" which was filmed there (such beautiful scenery!). Of course, coordinating a trip with my wife and kids is a hassle, not to mention expensive, but damn it, I have to do something. I fear that in the end, I'll settle for a weekend in Monterrey, or a trip to Southern California, but that's better than nothing.

Half An Hour To Go...

Time is crawling.

Could I be going through emails?

Could I be generating reports?

Could I be formulating business plans?

Yes, yes, yes...but damn it, I just want to go home right now. I have to be out of here in time to pick up my 2 little ones from Daycare.