I recently saw the wonderful movie "The Iron Lady." Â We wanted to see it because we are big fans of Meryl Streep and wanted to see her Academy Award winning performance. Â She was brilliant, as always, though as Lee says, we like her so much that we could watch her read the phone book and [...]
I recently saw the wonderful movie "Midnight In Paris" by Woody Allen. Â I recommend it highly to anyone who is involved in any sort of creative field...which will be anyone reading this blog, most likely! Â So put this film at the top of your Netflix Queue and watch it ASAP! In the "extras" on the [...]
I am dismayed that one of the trends in today's society is the tendency to isolate oneself in a bubble. Â People walk around with their head down, looking at their phone, and not interacting with the environment they are passing through...or others they may meet. Â Everyone at the gym has on headphones, which cuts interaction [...]
I attended a band rehearsal which was held after school on a hot September day. Â I was there as a clinician, working with the band on their show. Â During the course of the rehearsal, the kids started dropping like flies. Â At first a student or two asked to leave the field because they didn't feel [...]
Star Wars, Episode One: The Phantom Menace is back in theaters, this time in a new 3-D version. Â I'm not a fan of these "conversions" of regular films, as they often just make my eyes hurt. Â I feel that great movies are engaging enough without the gimmicks. Along with the release was a very interesting [...]
I can no longer force myself to watch all of the Grammy Awards. Â I'm not a fan of Awards shows in general (outside of the Oscars) and this show always seems particularly crass to me. However, my partner, Lee, did have the awards on and I did pop in for certain performances that I wanted [...]
We are about to pass the one year anniversary of the inception of the Marching Roundtable Podcast, and as I take a moment to reflect, there is one main point that strikes me the most. Everybody's Great! It hasn't mattered who we have talked to, they have just been wonderful! Â Our activity is full of [...]
"The Artist" is unlike any movie I have ever seen. Â Brilliant, engaging, surprising, and gorgeously filmed, this movie is an example of creativity and ingenuity at its best. It's a silent movie! Â The images are striking and the music throughout is perfectly suited to each scene. Â (What a monumental feat it was to score this [...]
January 1, 2012!  In reality, just another day.  But culturally, the start of a brand new year...and a whole new beginning. At the end of the year, we are given the opportunity to reflect on our lives the past 365 days, to look forward to the next 365 days of our life, and to reflect [...]
One must often be made uncomfortable to grow and improve.  In the gym, we all work hard, sweat, strain, and exert ourselves in order to grow bigger, stronger, and healthier.  Band rehearsals can be hot, tiring, and mentally taxing in a quest for better performances.  And sometimes looking in the mirror and honestly accessing our [...]