Fun

Category: Fun

Buckaroo Ballads

Today marks the end of Youth Cowboy Poetry week, which inexplicably began June 8. But don’t get your chaps in a knot. Thursday is the start of the Youth Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Apparently young cowboys take four days to write the poems and another four to read, collect and trade ’em.

If you like your cowboy poets on the more mature side, we suggest reading something from cowboy poet and former large animal veterinarian, Baxter Black. You can also listen to some poems by cowboys gathered at the 2004 20th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, courtesy of NPR.

Here are some books of cowboy poetry in the Mudd.

The Rippin’est, Roarin’est, Fightin’est Man

Today, June 7 is “Daniel Boone Day” and the Mudd has a bunch of Daniel Boone-related books. Books were probably considered trial technology back when the Diamond Sutra was printed in 868, and today is also “Trial Technology Day.” If you’d like to view a videocasette concerning Daniel Boone (after all, it’s “VCR Day,”) the Appleton Public library has a videorecording titled The American frontier, Appleton child video, call number 978 Ame.

The Best of the Beatles

Maybe we’re still feeling a little Sgt. Pepper-y, or maybe it’s because in about an hour Starbucks® is rolling out Paul McCartney’s latest album, but we must call to your attention an upcoming PBS program. On Monday, June 11 at 10 p.m., Wisconsin Public Television is broadcasting Best of the Beatles, the story of the early Beatles as told by Pete Best. Best, as you know, was booted out of the group and replaced by Ringo Starr just after they recorded Love Me Do, but he’s “not bitter.” It’s a fascinating, albeit somewhat biased, view of those early years from someone who was intimately involved.

To get another pretty good look at The Beatles’ rise to fame, read Bob Spitz’s well-documented book, The Beatles, A Biography.

It Was 40 Years Ago Today

Sgt. Pepper

It doesn’t seem possible to those of us who were there, but The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was issued on June 1, 1967. Widely considered to be the first “concept album,” it didn’t start out as one. The group only wanted to produce something “different,” and different it is.

The Mudd not only has the CD, but also a book about the album, from the Cambridge Music Handbooks series, no less. Also check out the mash-up on the new Love CD.

Dress up in your shiny band director’s uniform and pose beside a wax likeness of yourself to celebrate.

Mozart’s Thematic Catalog

When you think Mozart’s Thematic Catalog, you naturally think Köchel. But did you know Mozart compiled his own thematic catalog? From February 1784 until December 1791 (three weeks before his death) he kept a record of his completed pieces. Here he included the dates, titles and sometimes instrumentation, along with the opening bars of each work.

The brilliant, technically advanced and well-funded people at the British Library have put together an online gallery called “Turning the Pages”. Here you can [virtually] flip through Jane Austen’s early work in her own hand; Mercator’s first atlas of Europe compiled in the 1570’s; the Diamond Sutra, the oldest printed “book” (China, 868) and Mozart’s thematic catalog, among many others.

You’ll need Adobe’s Shockwave plug-in to do the flipping. Mozart’s catalog also includes soundclips of the entries, text, and even the capability to hear the text read to you.

Heads-up for Tomorrow

Or maybe that should be Feets-up. Tomorrow (May 8) is No Socks Day. No Socks Day is a copyrighted holiday created by the people at Wellcat.com.

Before you commit yourself to going sock-less, check the weather for Appleton. You should be ok, but does anyone remember May 1, 2005? That’s hail, people.