Tag Archives: music

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Sense of Hearing

Hearing two different kinds of music in January 2019.

January 12th -Denny Lane and The Moody Wing Band doing the music of Wings ‘Band on the Run’ album, including my personal favorite Mull of Kintyre.

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January 28th- Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at Carnegie Hall, NYC.

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https://nowathome.wordpress.com/2020/05/06/cees-fun-foto-challenge-sense-of-hearing/

 

Meeting Carly Simon, Finally…

What’s it like to finally meet someone you’ve admired for years, someone you have  come close to meeting through mutual friends but didn’t for one reason or another, and so you resigned yourself to the fact that it would never happen!  Carly Simon has always been an inspiration to me through her song lyrics and through her written words, and to meet her, although for only a few minutes…. well, it was down right awesome, nerve wracking and surreal and all I hoped it would be.

 

After 40 years of being a fan and admirer of Carly Simon – 5 concerts (MV with Harry Connick Jr, NJ art center, Lincoln Center, the Apollo and Joe’s Pub in NYC)…

 After a lifetime of both of us having a connection to Martha’s Vineyard and never ever meeting each other it finally happened on Oct 24th here in NJ at Carly’s book signing for her new book ‘Touched By The Sun’ about her long time friend ship with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

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How did this come to be after all these years?  Carly has done signings of CD’s and books over the years in NYC but I’ve never been able to make them, but when it was announced she was going to be on this side of the Hudson River in New Jersey and not far from where I live, and an early evening appearance… we knew it had to be now or possibly never.

My daughter got off from work early and we left around 3 for the 6 o’clock signing.  We got to Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ around 4.  There were already maybe 7 people in line outside, we went into the book store to purchase our reserved copies of the book which were our tickets into the event, got a refreshment and then got in line which had swelled to about 12 people by then.  I was so relieved to be near the front, and my daughter could relax knowing she had delivered me bright and early to the event.  I tend to get anxious sometimes and this was absolutely one of those times. The final estimate was between 250-300 people.  Around 5 they led us into the bookstore and downstairs into a large room where they had a sort of roped off maze of lanes which led up to the front of the room where there was a desk. My description is horrible but the concept was great as it kept everyone orderly and in order of how you first got in line.  As in most cases when you’re in a line for awhile for something you begin chatting with those around you, some were sitting on the floor already reading Carly’s book, my daughter was knitting socks, everyone was friendly, happy and anxious for 6pm to roll around.

A little after 6 we were all led back upstairs where Carly was seated behind a desk waiting for her eager fans.

 

Carly looked gorgeous, she was charming, gracious and warm, she didn’t rush anyone and spoke to you like the two of you were the only ones in the room.  I was afraid I would turn out to be one of those ‘gushy’ fans that says the same things she’s heard a zillion times so I practiced in my head what I wanted to say in the short amount of time I had.  I did not gush, I did not blather, I did not forget my name, or hers,  I was my version of cool.

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I wonder if we were both thinking the same thing…

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If you’re wondering why the pictures show the back of the jacket I have on, it’s from Carly’s tour in 1978 when her ‘Boys In The Trees’ album came out. I came into possession of the jacket through two mutual friends of mine and Carly’s and thought she might get a kick out of seeing it.  She did.

Thank you Carly for all the years of your incredible music,your heart felt lyrics (there’s a Carly song for every emotion),  and for books, you are truly an inspiration.

 

carlysimon.com

 

 

Photo A Day Challenge: Start With ‘V’…

Thomas Edison’s victrola.  Thomas Edison National Historical Park. West Orange, New Jersey

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Violin from the John & Priscilla Alden house in Duxbury, Ma. circa 1600’s.

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https://citysonnet.wordpress.com/2018/12/01/december-colors-and-letters-photo-a-day-challenge/

Christmas Songs For Me…

Pretty much everyone loves Christmas music and has a favorite song, or three, or twelve.  I love the classic carols like “O Holy Night” and  the standards like “White Christmas”.  However, there’s one song that makes me smile and bop around the house, or drum on the steering wheel of the car,  and that’s Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”.  I can never hear it enough times.

Knowing this, my daughter Deb made me a special CD which she gave me a couple of years ago.  Out of 21 songs “All I Want For Christmas” is on it SEVEN times.  At first I thought it was going to be every song, and Deb said she did think about doing that, but that would have been silly.  She did a terrific job of choosing interesting songs and I’m enjoying them but I have to say I like numbers 1-4-9-11-15-18 and 21 the best.

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(CLICK HERE for audio)

Thank you again and again and again, Deb ❤

Photo A Day Challenge: Looking Down…

The one below is looking down from almost next to last row in the top of the theatre when we went to see ‘Phantom of the Opera’ several months ago in NYC.  We were really looking down.

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https://citysonnet.wordpress.com/2018/09/01/september-photo-a-day-challenge/

Photo A Day Challenge: Inspired By Song…

The song is: ‘Never Been Gone’ by Carly Simon.

Every trip I make to Martha’s Vineyard this song plays in my head when I’m on the ferry because I truly feel like I’ve never been gone. Carly Simon actually wrote ‘Never Been Gone’ on the ferry Islander on her way home to the Vineyard 🙂

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https://citysonnet.wordpress.com/2018/09/01/september-photo-a-day-challenge/

Final Weekly Photo Challenge…

The prompt: Welcome to the final installment of the Weekly Photo Challenge.  We welcome you to share your favorites with us. Happy photographic trails!

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What I would post, what photo or photos would make it.  Pictures of the Vineyard which accounts for more than 75% of my photos, flowers, landscapes, black & white photos, what would my last installment be ?  And then I knew, it had to be the one below.  It’s not a great photo, it’s not artistic or beautiful, but it says ‘final installment’ perfectly.  This famous nightclub/coffee house/folk music venue in New York City known as…

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I’ll miss you Weekly Photo Challenge, it was always a challenge and always fun.

❤

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/all-time-favorites/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Favorite Place…

Prompt: Do you have a secret spot that you seek every now and then? A location in a faraway city that brings you joy? We all have connections to these kinds of places: places of solitude, of refuge, of wonder.

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Everyone who knows me knows my favorite place in the world is Martha’s Vineyard and here is my favorite spot to be when I’m in my favorite place.

I live in NJ but my heart and soul live on MV… and on MV they like to live here at the Tabernacle in the Campground . It is my favorite spot on the Island… an oasis of serenity and calmness in the middle of the Vineyard’s most bustling and lively town, Oak Bluffs. This magnificent iron structure was built in 1879… in 1979 was listed in the Natl Register of Historic Places… in 1999 a major restoration began, and in 2000 it became a project of Save America’s Treasures. Those are some of the facts of the building but not necessarily what constitutes the heart and soul of it.

Inside the Tabernacle is a banner that says “truly God resides in this place” and so he does. I am profoundly attached to the Tabernacle and visit it several times every time I’m on MV whether it’s in the heat of the summer, or the cold of the winter… I just magnetically gravitate there, I have no choice.

The Tabernacle.. Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard

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 These are only three of the memories I have of the Tabernacle.

DSC_0001As a summer kid I spent many hours here at Bible school…take a minu

te to read about my tussle with a church bell… CLICK HERE

pizap.com14711913349501 (2)The middle of August every year is Illumination Night.  It begins with a community sing in the Tabernacle and as the skies darken the Campground is transformed into a fairy land.  Every gingerbread house is decked out in Japanese lanterns… it’s a magical and special night.    CLICK HERE

100_6964 And then there was this concert, my very first time seeing my favorite singer/songwriter, Carly Simon who was appearing with Harry Connick, Jr.  What better place then on the Vineyard and in the Tabernacle.  I still get goosebumps.   CLICK HERE

 

 

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/favorite-place/

Weekly Photo Challenge: A Face in the Crowd…

Prompt : Create an image that represents being “a face in the crowd.”

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This isn’t a face in the crowd, it is however, a crowd of faces.

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I took this picture of the Phantom of the Opera poster outside the theatre in New York City in January 2016.  It shows faces of performers through its then 28th year on Broadway.  It celebrated its 30th anniversary in January of this year and in March I’ll be seeing it for the 3rd time.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/a-face-in-the-crowd/

Carly and Harry …

That’s Carly Simon and Harry Connick, Jr of course 🙂

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It all began with this little snippet in the Vineyard Gazette 27 years ago in September of 1990. My daughter Deb likes Harry Connick Jr and I’m a huge fan of Carly Simon, I have been even before I knew of her Vineyard connection. This seemed like a perfect weekend getaway for us but how could I manage to get tickets when I live in NJ and they were only on sale on the Vineyard !

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I did it. I was determined and when it involves the Vineyard my determination is un-stoppable. So off we went. There were a few glitches along the way concerning MV accommodations and ferry reservations so we decided to stay in Falmouth on the mainland and just go to the Vineyard for the day of the concert.

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It was a spectacular September Sunday afternoon on the Vineyard, the Campground was filled with happy concertgoers bustling around.

Before the concert began we were talking with a woman sitting next to us who was going on and on about how excited she was to be seeing Carly Simon. She said she had chatted about it with her seat mate on the small plane she had flown over to MV on that afternoon. She told him she had no idea who Harry Connick, Jr was, but that she was mainly there to see Carly.

When Harry stepped onto the stage she gasped and said “oh my god, that’s the young man I was talking to on the plane.”

At 3pm the concert began. Harry’s band was fantastic and Harry’s voice velvety smooth.

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After about an hour or so of great music the lights were turned off. The only illumination was the sun shining through the stained glass windows around the perimeter of the Tabernacle !! And out stepped…..

Carly

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I was beside myself. In actuality though the person beside me was Carly’s mother!! I have seen Carly in concert several times since then but seeing her on the Vineyard and at the Tabernacle was something really special for me.

Harry and Carly sang a few songs together, their voices meshed beautifully. Carly did a few songs alone and then way too soon it was over. What a fantastic day, one we’ll never forget.

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The reviews of the concert were glowing, much like the talents of Carly Simon and Harry Connick Jr. as they stood side by side on the stage of the Tabernacle.

After the concert we had ‘drinks’ with the band at the Oyster Bar in Oak Bluffs… us and about 100 other people and then we headed to Edgartown for dinner.

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Too quickly our lovely day on the Vineyard was coming to an end. We drove back to Oak Bluffs for one last look at the now darkened Tabernacle. We had booked a late ferry and it’s one of the few times I’ve sailed at night. The sky was star filled, a cool breeze was blowing and a young man on board was strumming his guitar and singing softly. Perfect day.

I’ve seen Carly 6 or 7 times but this was the first time and there couldn’t have been a more perfect place.

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(sorry for the graininess of some of the pictures, they are copies of the originals)