Karl-G

Matthew Shepard died in the early morning of Monday, October 12, 1998, from severe injuries due to a brutal beating and torture in Laramie, WY. He was attending the University of Wyoming, majoring in political science/foreign relations with a minor in languages at the time of his death. He enjoyed soccer, swimming, running, camping, hunting, fishing and snow skiing. He was 21 and he was gay.

Matthew Shepard died in the early morning of Monday, October 12, 1998, from severe injuries due to a brutal beating and torture in Laramie, WY. He was attending the University of Wyoming, majoring in political science/foreign relations with a minor in languages at the time of his death. He enjoyed soccer, swimming, running, camping, hunting, fishing and snow skiing. He was 21 and he was gay.

Matthew Shepard died in the early morning of Monday, October 12, 1998, from severe injuries due to a brutal beating and torture in Laramie, WY. He was attending the University of Wyoming, majoring in political science/foreign relations with a minor in languages at the time of his death. He enjoyed soccer, swimming, running, camping, hunting, fishing and snow skiing. He was 21 and he was gay.

Matthew Shepard died in the early morning of Monday, October 12, 1998, from severe injuries due to a brutal beating and torture in Laramie, WY. He was attending the University of Wyoming, majoring in political science/foreign relations with a minor in languages at the time of his death. He enjoyed soccer, swimming, running, camping, hunting, fishing and snow skiing. He was 21 and he was gay.

Matthew Shepard died in the early morning of Monday, October 12, 1998, from severe injuries due to a brutal beating and torture in Laramie, WY. He was attending the University of Wyoming, majoring in political science/foreign relations with a minor in languages at the time of his death. He enjoyed soccer, swimming, running, camping, hunting, fishing and snow skiing. He was 21 and he was gay.

Matthew Shepard died in the early morning of Monday, October 12, 1998, from severe injuries due to a brutal beating and torture in Laramie, WY. He was attending the University of Wyoming, majoring in political science/foreign relations with a minor in languages at the time of his death. He enjoyed soccer, swimming, running, camping, hunting, fishing and snow skiing. He was 21 and he was gay.

Matthew Shepard died in the early morning of Monday, October 12, 1998, from severe injuries due to a brutal beating and torture in Laramie, WY. He was attending the University of Wyoming, majoring in political science/foreign relations with a minor in languages at the time of his death. He enjoyed soccer, swimming, running, camping, hunting, fishing and snow skiing. He was 21 and he was gay.

The featured work of fiction in the New Yorker this week is by Douglas Stuart and is a gay chronicle of an encounter in London. I don't think I have read anything like it in the New Yorker before.

The Vienna State Opera announced yesterday that they will be live streaming free all of their productions (that's 45) this year. They started with "Elektra" today. It is amazingly generous, and a marvelous opportunity for us.
 
And if you like classical music, Wigmore Hall in London will stream free 100 concerts over the next three months and starting Sunday. On Monday, etc. there are frequently two concerts per day, one at 1:00 p.m. and one at 7:30 p.m. (London time). They are superb. Each is a little over an hour.

The featured work of fiction in the New Yorker this week is by Douglas Stuart and is a gay chronicle of an encounter in London. I don't think I have read anything like it in the New Yorker before.

I just watched "Latter Days" for the first time and enjoyed it. So I decided to look up one of its stars, Steve Sandvoss, who played the very beautiful young Mormon Missionary, Aaron, in the movie, with memorable nude scenes. There are many pictures of Steve on the web, and he was very beautiful, with a magnificent body. He seems to have posed for many pictures , although I am not sure of the purposes.
 




Steve was from Westchester, NY, and attended Harvard, where he graduated with honors in 2002, majoring in Literature. Then he and his two brothers went out to L.A. to get into movies. Steve was hired in two weeks to be in "Latter Days." His two brothers became producers in L.A. For seven years, Steve acted in various movies and tv programs, but in 2010, he and his brother Trystan decided they really wanted to be farmers, and they left L.A. Their father had died when they were teenagers, and their mother remarried, a man who had a large dairy farm in upstate New York. Steve, who now changed his name to Max, and his brother Trystan, bought a small farm next to their parents and began raising goats, to make artisanal cheese. They have now been at it for eight years and are very successful, selling their cheese in eight East Coast states. Steve frequently travels and gives talks about cheese making and what can be cooked with their cheeses. I do not know if he is married.
 

 
There are a number of shots of Steve with very low slung pants on the web, and there is even an article entitled, "There are no low-slung pants which Steve hasn't tried."

Historic Note:
 
Stock was originally located above a Vietnamese Restaurant across the street from the St. André Hotel on Rue St. André. You climbed a wrought iron staircase outside to get up there. In winter, when the steps were covered in ice and you had a couple of drinks, it was a bit dicey.

The last train on each metro line leaves between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m. After that, it is taxi or walk. There is a taxi stand with a line of taxis always outside Taboo's door.
 
Many of the reviews of the Dupuis look bad. All I can say is that I stayed there in September. The room was large and clean. I got a low price, so I did not have a premium room. It was perfectly quiet. The a/c and heating worked just fine. All hotel staff were warm and helpful: the desk clerks, the concierge, the chamber maids. When I go out in the morning, I always make a point to say good morning to the maid on the floor and tell her I am leaving to go out and my room number. Always, the room is clean with lots of fresh towels by the time I get back at 1, or 2 or 3 and expect company. The towels were always clean, and many of them, as were the bed linens. The shower pressure was just fine and hot water fine. The coffee maker worked fine. I don't use refrigerator or microwave, so I don't care. I had no problem finding an outlet to recharge my camera battery. There were no stains on my carpet or ceiling. I never saw a bug. There is a popular bar for drinks on the 2nd floor, so I don't understand the criticism. It was much used while I was there.
 
Delvalboy asked for hotels in a certain price range. None of the downtown hotels fall within this category, I think. The Sheraton has dates in March, but starting at $270. Etc.
 
There have been several good reports about airbnb, so that might be the way to go.

Delvalboy,
 
The Gouverneur Hotel is not shabby. It is very acceptable and used by Quebecois, French-Canadian visitors, and families on many repeat visits. It is not luxury, but there is nothing wrong with it. It is 29 stories high (I think), so you have size, services, and anonymity, if you wish. No problems or questions with guests.
 
You can find good prices for it on many of the discount sites (priceline, hotwire) and sometimes the hotel site itself. You can usually get it for a base price of $104-$127 (and sometimes under $100), plus taxes and fees. It is your best buy in the Village.
 
The Gouverneur is part of a full square block of buildings, including offices, banks, shops, drugstore, etc. On the ground floor of the complex is a large, new food court with a dozen different fast casual cuisines with large open area for seating; many singles eat there. There is also a large IGA grocery with a superb bakery, where you can get fresh croissants every hour of the day. They also have many prepared salads, veggies, sandwiches, etc. which are sometimes useful. There are numerous fast-casual restaurants along Ste. Catherine, which is right outside the hotel. St. Hubertus is fine and inexpensive and plenty of room for singles.
 
From the Gouverneur you walk underground to the Berri-Uqam metro station and also to the splendid national library and the campus of UQAM (University of Quebec in Montreal). It is an urban campus with all buildings connected underground. Montreal also has an Underground City downtown filled with shops and restaurants and connected to all the major buildings downtown, so winter or bad weather is no hindrance. A different approach to intense winter than the skyway system of the Twin Cities. And March will still be part of winter in Montreal.
 
Getting from the airport to the Gouverneur is very easy. Get on the 747 bus at the airport and ride to the Berri-Uqam stop (simply ask the driver). It is the last stop before the bus station and one block away from the hotel, straight ahead. Or take the 747 to its first stop, Lionel Groulx Metro, and transfer to the Green Line or Orange Line metro and ride to the Berri-Uqam metro stop. Your bus ticket is good for all buses and metros for 24 hours. So you simply use that ticket. If you plan much use of the metro, the next day is a good time since you have a free pass for that 24 hours. The ticket costs $10 CD. (That's about $7.50 US these days and a great bargain.) You buy them from a machine in the airport, close to the doors to outside. Get two and save the other one for when you return to the airport; you won't have to fool around with buying a return ticket.
 
The Gouverneur is a 5 minute walk to Campus, another 2 minutes to Stock and another 5 minutes to Taboo. If this is your first visit to Montreal, you ought to at least stop in at all three venues for a few minutes. Be aware that they will vary from night to night, so try them more than once, and they will be busier after 9:00 rather then before. Their best nights are usually Wed-Sat.
 
The hotel is a 15-20 minutes easy walk down to the Old City, harbor, and Place Jacques Cartier. This is the 18th century part of town, filled with restaurants, tourist shops, art galleries, and the Grande Roue, a very large ferris wheel with little cabins, from which you get splendid views of the city and harbor.
 
Bon voyage!

The Metropolitan Opera has cancelled all performances until at least January 1. To respond to music lovers' demands, the Met will be presenting twelve live concerts with its brightest stars in a streaming format, once every two weeks, on a Saturday afternoon at 1:00, and charging $20.00 each. The recital will remain up for ten days, so you are not limited to that one time, and you can listen and watch as often as you like. Each recital will take place in some dramatic venue without live audience. The first performance, by Jonas Kaufmann, was last Saturday and is still available. The next will be August 1 with Renee Fleming from the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, D.C. This is the full planned schedule:
 
August 1: Renée Fleming, from the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, D.C.
 
August 16: Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak, from the Château de la Chèvre d’Or in Èze, France
 
August 29: Lise Davidsen, from the Oscarshall Palace in Oslo, Norway
 
September 12: Joyce DiDonato, from the Fundació Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona, Spain
 
September 26: Sondra Radvanovsky and Piotr Beczała, from Barcelona
 
October 10: Anna Netrebko, from Liechtenstein Palace in Vienna, Austria
 
October 24: Diana Damrau and Joseph Calleja, from Malta (castle location TBD)
 
Nov 7: Pretty Yende and Javier Camarena, from Zurich, Switzerland (location TBD)
 
Nov 21: Sonya Yoncheva, from Berlin, Germany (location TBD)
 
December 12: Bryn Terfel, from Wales (church location TBD)
 
December 19: Angel Blue, from New York City (location TBD)

The Metropolitan Opera has cancelled all performances until at least January 1. To respond to music lovers' demands, the Met will be presenting twelve live concerts with its brightest stars in a streaming format, once every two weeks, on a Saturday afternoon at 1:00, and charging $20.00 each. The recital will remain up for ten days, so you are not limited to that one time, and you can listen and watch as often as you like. Each recital will take place in some dramatic venue without live audience. The first performance, by Jonas Kaufmann, was last Saturday and is still available. The next will be August 1 with Renee Fleming from the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, D.C. This is the full planned schedule:
 
August 1: Renée Fleming, from the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, D.C.
 
August 16: Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak, from the Château de la Chèvre d’Or in Èze, France
 
August 29: Lise Davidsen, from the Oscarshall Palace in Oslo, Norway
 
September 12: Joyce DiDonato, from the Fundació Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona, Spain
 
September 26: Sondra Radvanovsky and Piotr Beczała, from Barcelona
 
October 10: Anna Netrebko, from Liechtenstein Palace in Vienna, Austria
 
October 24: Diana Damrau and Joseph Calleja, from Malta (castle location TBD)
 
Nov 7: Pretty Yende and Javier Camarena, from Zurich, Switzerland (location TBD)
 
Nov 21: Sonya Yoncheva, from Berlin, Germany (location TBD)
 
December 12: Bryn Terfel, from Wales (church location TBD)
 
December 19: Angel Blue, from New York City (location TBD)

Excellent review of concert:
 
https://operawire.com/metropolitan-opera-stars-live-in-concert-review-jonas-kaufmann-in-polling-bavaria/

LIVE: Saturday, July 18 at 1PM EDT
 
Superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann opens the new Met Stars Live in Concert series, performing 12 of the most popular, show-stopping arias in the operatic repertoire. The concert will be broadcast live via satellite from the ornate Polling Abbey, located in the rolling Bavarian countryside outside Munich, Germany. The grand Baroque interior of the historic venue serves as a perfect setting for a performance showing off Kaufmann’s prowess in a collection of strenuous and spectacular showcases for the tenor voice, including “Nessun dorma” from Turandot and “E lucevan le stelle” from Tosca, among many others.
 
Tickets for this live concert are $20, and the performance will remain available for on-demand viewing for 12 days. If you are unable to tune in live, you may purchase a ticket at any point during the 12-day window to access the concert on demand.
Saturday July 18

LIVE: Saturday, July 18 at 1PM EDT
 
Superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann opens the new Met Stars Live in Concert series, performing 12 of the most popular, show-stopping arias in the operatic repertoire. The concert will be broadcast live via satellite from the ornate Polling Abbey, located in the rolling Bavarian countryside outside Munich, Germany. The grand Baroque interior of the historic venue serves as a perfect setting for a performance showing off Kaufmann’s prowess in a collection of strenuous and spectacular showcases for the tenor voice, including “Nessun dorma” from Turandot and “E lucevan le stelle” from Tosca, among many others.
 
Tickets for this live concert are $20, and the performance will remain available for on-demand viewing for 12 days. If you are unable to tune in live, you may purchase a ticket at any point during the 12-day window to access the concert on demand.
Saturday July 18

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Two concerts by Maria Callas from Paris in 1958 and 1965 are being streamed by medici.tv tonight. She was at her height and glory at the time. The sound is quite good, and her jewels are amazing. "Una voce poca fa" is delicious. She was my first love in opera, and I played her "Carmen" over and over.

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Two concerts by Maria Callas from Paris in 1958 and 1965 are being streamed by medici.tv tonight. She was at her height and glory at the time. The sound is quite good, and her jewels are amazing. "Una voce poca fa" is delicious. She was my first love in opera, and I played her "Carmen" over and over.

Wigmore Hall in London is presenting a free luncheon hour concert in streaming every day in June. I just listened to a lovely recital by Paul Lewis of Beethoven and Schubert. It is broadcast in Britain on BBC3 and around the world on streaming video. There is no audience except for us, but these musicians had prepared recitals, and BBC wishes to broadcast them. The audio and visual are HD and excellent. They leave them on-line for 24 hrs.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHzwE2EiFXo

Wigmore Hall in London is presenting a free luncheon hour concert in streaming every day in June. I just listened to a lovely recital by Paul Lewis of Beethoven and Schubert. It is broadcast in Britain on BBC3 and around the world on streaming video. There is no audience except for us, but these musicians had prepared recitals, and BBC wishes to broadcast them. The audio and visual are HD and excellent. They leave them on-line for 24 hrs.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHzwE2EiFXo

The Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires has announced it will stream a number of productions in the coming weeks, appearing first on Sunday evenings at 7:00 EDT. (I can't figure out all the details, so I don't know if these will be live performances or taped.) The Teatro Colon was once one of the greatest theaters in the world. It is splendid. All of the greatest artists from all over the world came to perform there - Caruso, Callas, Diaghalev, Pavarotti. It is still a great theater. This "Merry Widow" is a ballet, and one of their most famous and popular productions. The music is from Franz Lehar, but the arrangement is quite different from the operetta we are used to hearing, but very enjoyable. Marianeli Nunez, star of the Royal Ballet, came to headline. If you have the Met's operetta production in mind, you will be very pleasantly surprised to see what else can be done with the story and music. The set for Maxim's is more splendid than the Met's, and the costumes are more gorgeous. It is a delightful production. The other major dancers are Alejandro Parente (Ms Nunez' real life BF), and Camilla Bocca and Maximiliano Iglesias, two very exciting young dancers. All four are native Argentinians from Buenos Aires. Argentinian ballet dancers have long been very famous.
 
This is the first Latin American production I can recall seeing on streaming; I hope it is a harbinger of many more. I don't know how long the streaming video will be available, but I have watched it three times so far.
 

Sarah Cooper is one of the best lip sync artists around. Her take on presidential news conferences is superb. If you have not yet watched her, it is well worth it.