2020 Concerts

It seems like just yesterday I was posting the list of shows I saw in 2019. Little did we know that this year would be so truncated. I miss live shows. Almost as much as I miss youth sports. Regardless, here's a short list of the shows I did see.

This first one is a bit of a cheat, but a New Year's Eve show of Dear Evan Hansen [listen on Spotify]. Thank you, The Unc.

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One month later was a difficult (to recover from) double-show week. First was Caspian [listen on Spotify], with The Velvet Teen [on Spotify], at The Casbah.

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This was followed by a dad's night out to see Canada's-own indie-rock supergroup, The New Pornographers [listen on Spotify] at the North Park Observatory.

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Finally (Finally. How incredibly sad.) was Robyn Hitchcock [listen on Spotify], at The Casbah. He's someone I've wanted to see live for years (decades) so even though by this point we knew tightly packed crowds in indoor spaces were maybe a bit unsafe, it wasn't something I was going to miss.

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There was a lot of chatter at the show and a very "this may be the last time we do this" vibe.

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Indeed, that's what happened. Here's hoping I can resurrect this post next year at this time.
"2020 Concerts" was posted Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Christmas Recital



"The Christmas Waltz" by Jule Styne

Watch Jenna play "The Christmas Waltz" here.

"The Christmas Waltz" is a Christmas song written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it in 1954 as the B-side of a new recording of "White Christmas",[1] in 1957 for his album A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra,[2] and in 1968 for The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas.[3]

Cahn recalls, "One day during a very hot spell in Los Angeles the phone rang and it was Jule Styne to say, 'Frank wants a Christmas song.'"[4] Cahn resisted. "Jule, we're not going to write any Christmas song. After Irving Berlin's 'White Christmas'? The idea's just ridiculous."[4] Styne was emphatic, however. "'Frank wants a Christmas song.'"[4]

The two met in Styne's apartment to begin work on the project, and Cahn asked the composer, "'Hey, Jule, has there ever been a Christmas waltz?' He said no. I said, 'Play that waltz of yours.' He did so,"[4] and Cahn began work on the lyrics of "The Christmas Waltz", which many other artists have also recorded. [via Wikipedia]


"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" by Jule Styne

Watch Jenna play "Let It Snow!" here.

"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945. It was written in Hollywood, California during a heat wave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions.[1][2]

Despite the lyrics making no mention of any holiday, the song has come to be regarded as a Christmas song in North America due to its winter theme, being played on radio stations during the Christmas and holiday season and having often been covered by various artists on Christmas-themed albums. [via Wikipedia]


You can also watch her previous recital, from September, and hear her original piece, "Everlasting".

"Christmas Recital" was posted Monday, December 21, 2020

Covers for Lives

Melanie is a member of the Scripps Ranch High School Covers for Lives club, which collects menstrual products for donation. The club was recognized for their work in October by the school's ASB (Associated Student Body - think student government).

Covers for Lives SRASB Instagram

Last week, the La Jolla Light newspaper published an article about them, and how they (unmentioned, but through Melanie) have been working with other schools to expand their reach and increase their impact.

There are a lot of things other than education that students rely on their schools for: access to adults they can talk to, free and reduced-cost lunch, socialization and so on. But one might not think of menstrual products.

When the state’s Assembly Bill 10 went into effect in 2018, California middle and high schools that meet the 40 percent threshold for pupils in poverty were mandated to stock at least half of their restrooms with feminine hygiene products.

But with many schools closed to in-person instruction because of the coronavirus pandemic, those items aren’t as readily available.

So students from The Bishop’s School in La Jolla partnered with students from Scripps Ranch High School — with help from San Diego’s Francis Parker and Our Lady of Peace schools — to hold a drive for menstrual products to donate to the San Diego Unified School District, where campuses are closed.

Scripps Ranch High is a public school and part of San Diego Unified. Bishop’s, Francis Parker and Our Lady of Peace are private schools.

In 10 days in November, they collected more than 20,000 pads and tampons and will distribute them this month. Some California school districts have added menstrual products to the items being offered to students and families at their food distribution sites, and San Diego Unified has that option.
"Covers for Lives" was posted Monday, December 07, 2020