Universal Studios Florida (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Hollywood Rip Ride RockitSM, The Simpsons Ride™, Shrek 4-D™, Revenge of the Mummy®, MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack™, Terminator 2®: 3-D, E.T. Adventure®, Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast™, JAWS®, Animal Actors On Location!SM, Curious George Goes To TownSM, Fear Factor Live, Fievel’s Playland®, and TWISTER…Ride It Out® are some of the popular attractions at Universal Studios Florida which opened on June 7, 1990.
The iconic fairy-tale castle that's the Fantasyland gateway in the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Disney is the largest theme park operator in the world. Herbert “Herbie” Dickens Ryman created the first master drawing of Disneyland. He worked on every Disney theme park until his death in 1989.
As the chief designer of the castle, Ryman combined architectural elements from popular French castles with those from the fortress in the movie Cinderella. The iconic castle was constructed with a steel frame and fiberglass exterior to withstand Florida hurricanes. The mote around the castle holds more than three million gallons of water.
A popular attraction at SeaWorld Orlando (photo by Kenn Stearns)
The Blackstone Group, L.P. was founded in 1985 and over the last 25 years has evolved into one of the largest global private equity investment firms. The company has four primary business segments:
In October 2009, Blackstone acquired Busch Entertainment Corporation for $2.7 billion. When the acquisition was completed three months later Blackstone changed the company name to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, which in 2009 was the fifth largest amusement park operator in the world.
University of Texas Symphony Band, horn choir portion of the concert last weekend at the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Both my money and my daughter go to The University of Texas at Austin. The daughter is a music business major and her final concert of the season (the 458th event of the Butler School of Music’s 2009/2010 season) was last Sunday. The photo above is from a favorite – the horn choir playing “Canzon duodecimi toni” from Sacrae Symphoniae by Giovanni Gabrieli. “Finale” from Symphony No. 4 in f minor, op. 36 by Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky was impressive.
Horn Choir at the University of Texas Symphony Band concert (photo by Kenn Stearns)
April 13, 2010 – Iggy investigates an iPad (4.8+ million views)
More video
On April 10, 2010 an estimated group of 1,000 people were a part of a Glee flash mob in Seattle, WA that was organized/produced by Egan Orion and Bobby Bonsey of OneDegreeEvents.com and choreographed by Bobby Bonsey and Beth Meberg. The flash mob performed at three locations in downtown Seattle. This video shows one of the locations. Check out their website for more videos and learn more. Also check out their Facebook page. Caution: high degree of creativity, strong entertainment value.
Fantasmic! is a night-time show staged on the waters of the Rivers of America at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA (photo by Kenn Stearns)
I’ve been spending the week in Southern California and whenever I’m here Disneyland comes to mind. Before there was a Disney World, my family would visit Disneyland for summer vacations. My father usually combined our visits to the greater Los Angeles area with business. One year we stayed with business friends in La Cañada Flintridge – their daughter was in a music group that Disneyland had signed on as an act and we watched them perform at the park. Little did I know that decades later my own daughter would perform at the park during the summer of 2009.
You're Invited! Celebrate Today! Main Street USA at Disneyland (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Australian artwork at the Booker-Lowe Gallery in Houston, TX (photo by Kenn Stearns)
The Booker-Lowe Gallery is one of few U.S. galleries dedicated to Aboriginal Australian fine art. The word Aboriginal is used to describe all Indigenous Australians, the original inhabitants that were once 100% of the population but over the years have dwindled to less than 3%. There is a great deal of diversity within the Indigenous population of Australia – they’re essentially spread across various communities with hundreds of dialects, from Noongar and Yamatji in Western Australia to Murri and Murrdi in Queensland.
In 2008, I had the pleasure to meet gallery owners – Nana Booker AM (who also serves as Australia’s Honorary Consul of the State of Texas) and M. David Lowe. I believe the “AM” after Nana’s name designates she is a member of the Order of Australia, an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia in 1975 and is directly or indirectly connected to her consul status. The two personally select paintings, prints, and carvings for the gallery during their visits to Australia.
In many cases, the meanings of the artwork in the gallery extend well beyond mere visual appeal. Most of the pieces are figuratively multi-dimensional – they tell a story or can be identified to a family, community, or geographic place despite appearing to the uninitiated as little more than geometric shapes. A visit to the gallery is well worth the time.
Sam Lovell, Living Legend of the Kimberley, Western Australia, stands in front of the Booker-Lowe Gallery (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Earlier this evening we journeyed to/from Austin to hear our friend Liz Love at her Masters Recital. We expected her to play both the soprano and alto saxophone but were delightfully surprised when she topped off the performance with the jazz standard Sophisticated Lady (by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills) on piano with vocal.
The Program Notes Liz provided included an overview of the pieces she selected to play. My favorite comment was at the end of the section on Johann Sebastian Bach, “There is even a Bach action figure” (see photo of recital flier above). As the only non-musician in the family, I can only imagine the intense preparation and hard work that goes into a recital of this quality. The very first bars Liz played on Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord in B minor by Bach took my breath away (and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why they didn’t take her breath away too). The piano accompaniment by Dr. Carla McElhaney on the final Piece Liz chose, Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Orchestra by Ingolf Dahl, was passionate and dramatic – the interplay between saxophone and piano was masterful. Liz noted…
Even before I started my degree here at UT, I knew I wanted to play this piece. From the thrilling conversation between the saxophone and the piano in the Recitative, to the soul-wrenching melodies in the Passacaglia, to the bouncy rhythmic dance in the Rondo, this pinnacle of the saxophone repertoire showcases the versatility and virtuosity of the saxophone.
Indeed, this evening Liz demonstrated with aplomb the full range of the saxophone. The notes she crafted replayed for me on the late-night drive back to Houston. Thank you Liz and congratulations!
A 2009 Disneyland All-American College Band performance last summer in Disneyland featuring the Three Little Pigs (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Last summer our daughter and 20 other students from colleges and universities throughout the nation converged on the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calf. for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For 11 weeks these music students were provided the opportunity to perform with oversight from an impressive collection of Disney entertainment professionals, renowned clinicians, and accomplished musicians.
The photo above features the “Three Little Pigs” during a Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? medley segment staged on the forecourt of Cinderella’s Castle. This is Spring Break week in Texas. The three ladies crouching, including our daughter, reunited to attend the Houston Rodeo where Lady Antebellum performed. They moved their party to the Salt Lick Bar-B-Que for ribs and brisket. They jammed in our daughter’s apartment, celebrated on Austin’s famed 6th Street, and will soon be headed to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. They’ve been texting, Skyping, dancing, laughing, singing, and celebrating non-stop.
Scene from Guys and Dolls, a musical fable of Broadway, at the Iberia Performing Arts League (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Last weekend I journeyed to New Iberia, Louisiana to enjoy Guys and Dolls, a musical staged by the Iberia Performing Arts League (IPAL). The photo above is from one of the most popular scenes when Sit Down; You’re Rocking the Boat is performed.
IPAL exemplifies “community theater.” For this production there are 52 cast members in addition to the behind-the-scenes volunteers that include my mother’s expertise with props. My sister designed the program and marketing materials. My uncle helped with the HVAC systems. My father directs, acts, and revels in it all. The least I could do was photograph and applaud.
My father has been involved with IPAL since he “retired” to New Iberia years ago. His entry among the four pages of cast biographies: “Mac Stearns (Big Jule) is just plain doing what he loves. What a great way to celebrate seven decades of theater participation!” Over the years I’ve always enjoyed IPAL musicals. But this time I’m not sure which I enjoyed more; the great play or watching my father having so damn much fun.
Crouching Boy marble sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti (photos by Kenn Stearns)
The Russian State Hermitage in Saint Petersburg is one of the largest and oldest collections of art and culture in the world. It was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great.
Crouching Boy by Michelangelo is one of the most prized works of art in the Hermitage collection. The unfinished marble sculture was probably intended for the Medici Chapel in Florence, Italy during the 1520s. The statue is located in the Cabinet of Italian Art at the Hermitage Museum.
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni is perhaps better known for La Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica, David in Galleria dell’Accademia, or frescos on the ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel.
Joe Gavito with his soprano guitar (photo by Kenn Stearns)
When not all five singer/songwriter members of The Songbenders were available for a gig in the Houston area, our friend Joe Gavito was one of the musicians invited to sit in, along with Troy McConnell. As a show of support for Joe, last night we journeyed to the Crescent Moon Wine Bar in Spring, TX. We enjoyed the group’s performance, seeing Joe, and getting out on a Wednesday evening.
Our 16-year-old son managed to consume an order of beef tataki (seared rare New York strip served over honey-ponzu marinated onions), a 16-ounce bacon-wrapped filet, a serving of molten chocolate cake, a very exotic chocolate bar laced with applewood-smoked bacon, and a serving of Crescent Moon birthday cake (for their one-year anniversary). Yes, he did eat dinner before we left for the night out.
Songbenders Brian Kalinec, Danny Everitt, and James Sweat perform with Joe Gavito and Troy McConnell at the Crescent Moon Wine Bar in Spring, TX (photo by Kenn Stearns)
Houston Astrodome (photo by Kenn Stearns)
When it opened in 1965, the Harris County Domed Stadium was nicknamed the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Today the Houston Astrodome is living on borrowed time, one of many major city stadiums eclipsed by more modern corporate-friendly facilities. As a young boy I recall watching the Houston Colt .45s which were renamed the Houston Astros when the new stadium opened.
Opening with a Bermuda grass field and semitransparent Lucite panes in the domed roof, players complained about glare so two large sections of panes were painted white which killed the grass. A year later a new type of artificial grass was installed and AtroTurf was born. Of my many visits to the Astrodome over the decades that followed, I most recall the scoreboard. It was four-stories tall and was animated with indoor fireworks and thousands of lights. After every Astros home run, the scoreboard would come alive with a long animated celebration featuring pistols, bulls, and a baseball bursting through the domed ceiling. Houston Oilers owner Bud Adams caused the scoreboard to be removed in September 1988 to make way for renovations.
From Mickey Mantle’s first Astrodome home run in 1965 to the NBA All-Star Game in 1989 and many years of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo performances to Hurricane Katrina relief for 25,000 New Orleans evacuees in 2005, the Astrodome has lived a long and memorable life as a Houston landmark.
