Project Day/Truck Night

Yesterday was project day around the house and of course last night was the first of two truck nights this week.  Project day actually began Monday night before work and continued on into Tuesday when I returned home from  work.  What my challenge was  was to take a 4 x 2 x 1 box full of parts and make something usable out of it.  I would have to say I was infinitely successful when after I was done, I ended up with this beautiful piece of furniture:  

 

It is a rolling Kitchen Island with a Stainless Steel top, wine rack and an adjustable shelf inside the cabinet.  The door and both drawers actually work as they should.  The big rubber casters allow easy movement and lock down to hold the island in place for a usable work surface.  The expansion of our storage and counter space in the kitchen area is most welcome indeed.  My counter top was beginning to look like the gadget counter at the Home Goods store, so the extra space was definitely needed.  

After too little  sleep, I headed into work to find two trucks had already arrived and a third was on the way.  Nothing  like walking into work and being deep off into it before you even clock in.  But things settled down and we got everything done as usual in a timely manner.  So all in all a good day.  

Today has not been too bad so far but I need to sleep soon or I will be groggy again tonight.  So lets get to the Music and the Men, shall we?  Your musical interlude today features the Music of the most successful of JS Bach's sons, Carl Philipp Emmanuel.  Posted down below are his Berlin Symphonies 1-5 for 2 oboes, 2 horns, strings & continuo.  Today's performance is by the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra with Hartmut Haenchen as your Conductor.  Over on my tumblr, CPE Bach's Cello Concerto in A Minor is performed by The Academy for Ancient Music Berlin with Peter Bruns as the Cello Soloist.  

And now it is time for a little splashy skin fest which you will find frolicking about the page in this week's edition of Wet Wednesday posted down below.  Over on my tumblr, Your Hottie of the Day! is definitely all about 'Maxx Attitude'.  Thanks for the visit, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

What's Up for Friday and the Weekend?

By the time I returned home from work yesterday, I was completely exhausted from a week of burning the candle at both ends and the middle.  So I napped most of the morning, did some running around in the afternoon, and watched a couple of my backlog of TV shows. Then I took a Klonopin a customer had given me and two over the counter sleep aids and slept for about 10 or 11 hours.  I awoke fairly refreshed and ready for today.  Of course, it is Friday and truck night, but I can do one 10 hour shift standing on my head because I have the whole weekend to recover.  

I put the weekly shopping of until tomorrow morning, then I plan a video marathon in the afternoon and evening .  Hopefully I will be able to clear my backlog of TV episodes I have not seen yet this season.  I keep track of what I have and have not watched with a site called TVMaze which is and interactive TV guide and social media site that makes keeping up with what you have missed easy and gives you an outlet to discuss you favorite shows with the TVMaze community.  Will turned me on to this site and it has been a wonderful tool to keep the video portion of my life organized.  Then on Sunday it is an NFL marathon.  So I should have fun this weekend

After nearly a week on the new computer, I continue to be amazed at the ease and speed with which I can accomplish things.  The HD video is absolutely stunning on the new monitor, and posting to my blog and tumblr is really a snap.  The only thing I can think of tho improve my computing platform would be new, larger faster HDDs, like the 1TB 7200 RPM  Western Digital ones I put on my Newegg.com Wish List.  But there are a couple of other priorities that will come before that purchase.  However, it will all come in good time with the appropriate diligence and patience as Will and I work toward our goals.  

Now, I have some great Music lined up for your listening pleasure today as well as a few visual delights to feed your over active imaginations.  Today's featured composer is Edvard Grieg (1843-1907).  Grieg produced only one complete mature string quartet, the String Quartet in g minor, Op. 27 dating from 1878 when he was 35. The historical record indicates that it was a challenge for Grieg, a composer who was perhaps more accustomed to writing in smaller forms such as his celebrated art songs and Romantic piano miniatures. Yet his remains one of the most original and influential string quartets of the late 19th century, approximately contemporaneous with the first important quartets from Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Borodin and Dvořák. It was written in the same year as César Franck's piano quartet with which it shares some prominent elements of innovative cyclic design. Grieg's quartet even managed to impress the aloof Debussy who, fifteen years later wrote his only quartet in the same key, with more than a few striking similarities. 

Like many composers (notably Schubert, Mendelsohn and Shostakovich), Grieg borrows from his own music for the main theme of the quartet: a portion of his somber song Spillamæd (Minstrels). The icy theme is announced in unison by the quartet right at the beginning, the emphatic slow introductory andante before the bristling allegro. Almost all of the musical material in the first movement is derived from it including several creative variations of the full theme itself in a wide range of expression and affect. There are at least eight clear permutations for the listener's delightful discovery. But like the cyclic designs of Franck and, later, Debussy, the theme extends beyond the bounds of the first movement to obliquely influence the second, reappear in the third and frame the fourth including a nearly literal restatement of the quartet's beginning just before the final conclusion. Though the complete work comprises a four-movement design with a great variety of music, it is fused together with a rare artistic unity.  Today's performance was recorded in the 1960 by the Copenhagen String Quartet.

Over on my tumblr, I have Grieg's Piano Concerto In A Minor, Opus 16 which was initially panned in the reviews at the time, but has gone on to become one of the most often performed Concerti in the modern Classical repertoire.  That performance is by the Danmarks Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Thomas Dausgaard with Alice Sara Ott as you Piano Soloist.  

As for the visual delights to feed your  imaginations, I have an eclectic collection of handsome hunks ranging from the innocence of youth and young love to the more mature and somewhat more intriguing flights of fancy in this week's edition of Fantasy Fuel posted down below.  Over on my tumblr Sasha Kosmos, Your Hottie of the Day!, seeks to entice you into his bed for what would surely be one intense encounter.  Thanks for the visit, see you again on Sunday for the Morning Concert.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Happy Hump Day!

My Monday was even busier than I expected, steam rolling its way non stop right into Tuesday Morning about 9 AM.  As a result, I accomplished pretty much nothing yesterday but watch a couple of TV shows and nap... a lot!  Of course then I headed off for truck night at work.  As I am, still recovering from Monday's 25 hour marathon, I have been pretty much napping off and on all morning.  I am just about to arise out of my grogginess to tray and get something of value done today, starting with these pages.  

I have no clue what is happening in the world as I have pretty much ignored it for the last day and half.  I am sure there are plenty of things to talk about in the news, but at this point I really don't give a fuck.  The world can take care of itself, I have more important things to do than mind the world's  P's and Q's today.  Maybe by Friday I will be able to catch up with myself and have something more enlightening to share with you.  

As it is, I do have things to do and so I best be getting started pretty quick like.  For your Musical Interlude today, I am in the mood for a little mellow music, so I went looking for something appropriate to share with you when a wonderful Baroque Lute Suite came on Venice Classic Radio.  That inspired me to find it on YouTube which I have.  Posted down below are 4 Lute Suites by Johann Sebastian Bach performed elegantly Eduardo Fernandez.  Included in this play list are BWV 996, 997 (the one I heard on VCR), 995 and 1006a.  Over on my tumblr, I have more Baroque with Bach with some Lute and Harpsichord suites, BWV 999, 998, 996, 908, 907, 823 and 1007.  That performance is by Robert Hill, who recorded both the Lute and Harpsichord parts then mixed them beautifully for this recording.

As this is Hump Day, why do I really feel like the one that has been humped?  If I had my druthers, I would turn tail up for almost any one of today's seriously sultry models in this edition of Wet Wednesday posted down below.  If that is not enough to boil the water on your personal beach, head over to my tumblr where Your Hottie of the Day! is one super sexy 'Nature Boy' and I am sure he will be able to do that for you.  Thanks for the visit, see you again on Friday for more Music, more Men and whatever else I can discover to share with you between now and then.  Until next time as always, Enjoy! 

And Away We Go!

After several days of rain, Monday has dawned clear, crisp, bright and beautiful.  If it wasn't a Monday with clouds expected to move in, it would be a perfect fall day.  But it is Monday and most of us have to head back to our assigned drudgery wonderful work places, including me.  However, I really like my regular work schedule which we are finally back to once again.  I work Monday - Wednesday and Friday with Thursdays and the Weekends off.  Although with my 'part time  profession' taking up more and more time, the schedule does get a bit crowded at times as you can tell from the erratic timing of my posts the last few weeks.  Hopefully my work schedule will continue to be the same or not changed too drastically for the time being.

 Because of my hectic schedule, the rain and the computer builds Will and I accomplished over the weekend, I have managed to procrastinate on my chores and errands making today the day I have to pay the piper.  That means I am going to start the week with a another busy day trying to get this all done and get some nap time in before work too.  So I best be getting started on that pretty quick like.  Before I run off though, I will leave you with you daily dose of Marvelous Music and Gorgeous Guys. 

Your Monday with Mozart features my favorite among Mozart's Symphonies, Number 40 in G Minor,  Today's performance is a public domain recording  by the Columbia University Orchestra.  Over on my tumblr, because I am in a symphonic mood this morning, I have Mozart's Symphony Number 33 in B Flat Major from a 1996 recording by the Bavarian State Orchestra.  The Bavarian State Orchestra is the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, one of the oldest and most prestigious orchestras in the world. Founded in 1523, it is one of the best German orchestras, rivaling the Berlin Philharmonic.  The German born, Austrian conductor Carlos Kleiber, (who passed away in 2004), who is widely regarded as being among the greatest conductors of the 20th century, conducts this classic performance.

Now comes the really pretty part, your daily dose of art in the male form.  I think you know what this means with this being Monday and all.  It is time to indulge ourselves in our mutual underwear fetish with this week's edition of Monday's Undies posted down below.  Our selections today are all sleek, hard bodied hunks looking scrumptious in their skivvies,  Over on my tumblr, Santiago Peralta, Your Hottie of the Day!, sizzles off the page just standing there.  Thanks for the visit, we will see you again really soon and away we go!  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

It's Friday and I am Ready for my Weekend!

I had a great day off yesterday.  Even with all my usual payday chores and errands I managed to work in a nap and an 8 hour sleep session.  As a result, I feel well rested going into Friday truck night, then it is on to the Weekend!  I have no specific plans, but time off is time off and I plan on enjoying myself!  But first, I have some Music and some Men to share with you today.  

Here of late I have come to really appreciate the works of Czech Composer Bedrich Smetana.  I have to great live performances for your listening pleasure today.  First up down below,  you will find the opening concert of the 2015 Prague Spring Concert Series with the NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg,
Thomas Hengelbrock Conducting.  Their performance?  One of Bedrich Smetana's greatest symphonic triumphs, his salute to his Czech homeland 'Ma Vlast (My Country)'.  It is a marvelous suite and a beautiful performance.  Over on my tumblr is one of Smetana's more intimate works.  The Seoul String Quartet Concert was held at Chamber Hall of Seoul Arts Center on December the 8th, 2011 as they perform Smetana's String Quartet Number 1 "From My Life".  The Seoul String Quartet members are Violin Wayne Lin; Violin A-Rah Shin; Viola Hung-Wei Huang & Cello Sangmin Park.

As for visual excitement, it is Friday after all, so of course we want to feed that active imagination you all possess.  You will find nutrition aplenty posted down below in this week's sexy edition of Fantasy Fuel.  Over on my tumblr, you will find the Hottie of the Day! offers you an 'Inviting Island in the Sun'.  Thanks for the visit, see you again real soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!   

Twe'n'sday All Day!

My Monday ended about 7:30 Tuesday morning as usual.  It was when Tuesday got rolling and picked up steam that it barreled headlong into Wednesday.  Thus creating that rare phenomenon known as "Twe'n'sday".  And oh what a day it was!  It began when I again ran up against legislative and corporate bullshit thanks to those charming Assholes in Austin (laughingly called the Texas legislature)!

You see they, in league with the insurance companies got SNB1657 passed and signed into law by Governor Fuckhead.  SB1657 states that if your car insurance company is not domiciled in Texas (their home office) then the insurance companies could add a surcharge to the premium.  In addition, SB1657 allowed an across the board rate hike which all companies doing business in TX did.  The result, my invoice for the last 6 months was $497.  This time the invoice was for $732.80, a difference of some $235.80.  The form I need to sign and return was included with the invoice and included the following at the bottom of page 1:

 Therefore I went to the website, initialed and signed the form electronically according to their instructions, then saved a copy for my records.  This was about a month ago now.  I then awaited an adjusted bill.  It never arrived and the rate was not adjusted on the website.  So I called up my agent last Monday (a week ago) and asked him to see what was up.  He called back and said they could not find the form I signed in their records.  I retrieved my copy of the form from My Documents, attached to an email to my agent who then printed and faxed the document to the insurance company.

The insurance company came back with "well that's not the form we need".  The insurance company then faxed the form needed to my agent.  I had to drive last Wednesday almost out of Tarrant Count to my agent .  His office is out by Eagle Mountain Lake about 17 miles from my place.  I then initialed and signed the very same document that I had signed electronically 3 weeks before.  All of the sudden, that was what they needed because it was a fax of an original signature not an electronic representation.  Go fucking figure!  Anyway, the website was supposed to be fixed by the next day.  They promised the same thing the next day, and the day after that.

Yesterday when I checked the website, it was still not fixed or updated.  I was livid as my insurance expires on Thursday and I needed to pay the premium but I still did not know what it was.  So I told my agent either I have a price by noon or I would cancel their policy on expiration and take my business to a company that actually does what they say they will.  Miraculously within the hour I had a price.  It still went up 15 dollars but not 35 dollars a month thanks to that rate hike their buddies allowed them after a session of whiskey and cigars (maybe even hookers, oh my!) in the backrooms of Austin.  I then told my agent to shop around and ind what else was out there and get back to me by end of day, which he did .  I stayed with my current company for one last renewal with the proviso that this was the last policy I would ever buy from them and my agent will find me a better company for my next renewal. Mission accomplished after a shit tun of heartache and hysteria on my part in the last month.

On to the next project which to affect the purchase of a new bed.  Will and I share a one bedroom apartment, each with our separate spaces, although my space is the more public of the two.  I had gotten rid of my old couch due to a few problems with it, and replaced it with a series of air beds.  One new one every few months or so.  I have been looking for a solution to my bedding crises  and had decided to go the daybed route.  I had spent some time shopping both physically and on line and had decided which bed I wanted and the price I wanted to pay.  This is the bed I wanted:

I did not particularly want that bedding set however, it was just a little too pink for me.  This is the set I found on Amazon and ordered today:

That is more to my liking than the one in the illustration for the bed itself, and it goes with our current color scheme.  Win!!  All that remained was the purchase of the bed.  I had shopped and compared and this one store had everyone beat as far as price and terms were concerned.  Their website lists two versions of this bed with a $100 difference in price.  The more costly one has a platform trundle that rolls underneath and which I did not need.  They wanted to charge me for the trundle even though I did not need it as in the description it said the bed comes with the spring  platform for the lesser price without a trundle.  The man said the website was wrong.  I said 'not my fault', if the bed does not come with the platform at the price quoted, I do not want it.  That's false advertising if you don't sell it to me at the advertised price.  I walked out to smoke a cig before returning to the store.  Amazingly enough they bent over backwards to kiss my ass and make sure I was happy.  The bed will be delivered next week and I paid the price that was advertised with all the parts included.

By the time all this had transpired and I had taken care of the rest of the crap I had to do it was 6:30 PM before I got in bed.  I slept so hard my alarm rang for half an hour before Will woke me up wanting to know what all that noise was.  Then I had to get up and head into truck night which is a whole 'nother story in itself.  I finally got off around 7:30 and today had been just as busy in a different way.  That is why this is posting so late.  I am tire and have to work 11 AM to 8 PM tomorrow, so I think I will try to head on to bed.  But first a little entertainment!

For Music, there is Symphony Number 4 written in 1888 by Charles Villiers Standford with a performance by the Ulster Orchestra under Vernon Handley.  Over on my tumblr, I have Standfor's Piano Concerto Number 2 in C Minor with the Ulster and Handley with Magaret Fingerhut as the Piano Soloist.  

I had a couple of eye candy collections together, a Men In Jeans and a Wet Wednesday which I combined in a Double Feast 4 Your Eyes posted down below.  Over on my tumblr, I have two Hotties of the Day! for your viewing pleasure.  There will be no post tomorrow but I will return on Friday.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Of Meat and Men

Yesterday was a long and tedious day and one where Uncle Gerry was not feeling his finest.  I had a nagging headache that would not go away added to being on the edge of nausea all day.  Events precluded much rest, really only a couple of hours before I had to go to work.  The first thing I did upon my arrival is proceed to the men's room to totally toss my cookies in the toilet.  I got to feeling a little better after that until about 2 AM when I did it again, just for good measure.  After that I got to feeling a lot better and that has continued into today so far.  I have had a busy morning and when I got back to the house, I slipped right into a dozing session on my patio.  

Anyway, somewhere between bar/lunch  (for late night workers) rush and coffee rush, I had a customer come in and bring some items to the counter.  Among the items he brought for purchase were a couple of Jack Links Squatch brand Meat Sticks.  Nothing too remarkable about that except for the marketing slogan on each stick.  There is a little sasquatch like character on the label purportedly spouting the little slogan printed there.  The slogans are in the sasquatch/caveman type vernacular with sayings like "Meat Good" and "Life is better with Meat".  I read that one and remarked to the customer in a joking manner that there were thousands of Gay Men who would agree with that statement.  This brought the intended guffaw and a "well, there is that!".  I would have to say the most homoerotic sounding of all and my favorite of course was "Meat Me, Eat Me".  I know there are thousands of you guys out there who live and die by that one (circuit party or Saturday night at the bars, anyone?).

This of course reminded me of an incident a few months back late on a Friday night.  I had these two young ladies come in after a night on the town.  They messed about choosing drinks and snacks while conversing about the night out and how hungry they were.  They came to the counter, one with snacks and drinks and one with just drinks.  The one without snacks remarked to the other one "I really don't want to buy anything to eat, I have this big Meat Stick at home.".  Never one to miss the opportunity to walk through an open door in the name of humor, I piped up with :oh, really?  What's his Name?" which brought an OMG and immediate laughter from both of them.  The lady with the snacks then related that they were both 8th grade teachers blowing off steam after a tough week in the classrooms.  She said she taught math and in one of her afternoon classes filled with jock types, they played a counting game.  The amusing thing about the game?  Only the name, Balls Galore, which of course brings a room full of junior high jocks into an immediate tizzy of juvenile humor.  The "Oh I got some balls you can count" train of thought, etc.  We all got a good laugh about that one too. 

Funny what you find to amuse you in the middle of the night at a 7-Eleven.  It sure does help to pass the time on a slow night.  Anytime you get late nights, slightly to greatly inebriated customers and a clerk with  a ribald sense of humor, you get get lots of juvenile humor, laughter and stories to tell here on the blog.  I will be sure to keep you posted on the next amusing incident in the continuing saga of late night events known as the tales 'Of Meat and Men'.

That bring us to the Music and the Men.  As this is Tuesday, Random is the call of the day and the long straw is drawn by......(drum roll, please).... Domenico Scarlatti.  I thought I remembered a play list or two I had put together previously and sure enough I found it.  The play list contains Sonatas for Viola d'Amore and Harpsichord by Scarlatti.  Included are Sonatas K77-80, K88, K89, K90 and K91.  The performance is by Valerio Losito on a 1775 Guadagnini Viola d'Amore and Andre Coen on a replica of a 1620 Italian Harpsichord.  Over on my tumblr, I have more of Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas, but with a twist.  That play list is transcribed for Guitar and performed by Edoardo Catemario.  

Then keeping with the randomness of the day, the sultry sexiness on display down below is superb in this week's edition of Random Hotness posted down below.  Then over on my tumblr, your random Hottie of the Day! is both "Ruff and Ready' for whatever hotness you can come up with.  Thanks for hanging around til I got here.  See you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Twurfday...

Have you missed me (and the Music and the Men)?  If you have, you have probably wondering just where the hell I have been the last couple of days. And therein lies the tale to be told.  When last we communed in these pages, it was Tuesday looking forward to Wednesday and a whole lot has happened since then.  

Let's start with truck night on Tuesday, which all in all was not a bad night, but it had its challenges.  I sometimes wonder if some sort of signal goes up when the McLane truck arrives that urges everyone with a screw loose and/or time to waste within a 20 mile radius to pay us a visit.  This is in accordance with Rule #3:  If you have something to do, there will surely be someone to interrupt you.  And they did!  However, we managed to muddle through to the end of the shift.  That is when things got hectic.  

On Wednesday I was scheduled for a training session from 9 to 11 for software changes that will go into effect on September 11 that affect the check in procedures.  I check in a lot of orders, so it is best I'd understand how to do it.  The major change will be in the recording of shortages and damaged goods.  Now instead of confirming a list of those damages, we will have to confirm each item shortage or damage individually.  Then before we can proceed to finalize the receipt, there will be a screen on the scanner that tells you the total number of exceptions.  You have to remember this number because you have to enter that same number in the next screen.  If you enter the wrong number, you have to go back and get it then proceed again.  It is basically dumbing down the process  for those less than adequate associates that cannot seem to grasp the concept as it is resulting in erroneous data. So us associates with a sliver of intelligence have to speak baby geek so the clueless can understand, maybe.  

The only problem with going to the training was its location.  I had to go through the single busiest traffic jam corridor in Fort Worth to get there.  However by maneuvering the back roads, I was able to avoid most of the traffic and arrive on time.  It was afterwards I had more on my agenda, so off I went to take care of the next item.  

The next item on the agenda was a brake job for the front of the car.  While not an unpleasant experience, it did take a couple of hours and $268.  I had to replace the rotor on the driver's side which upped the ante by $113 and I went with the premium pads with a lifetime warranty.  I plan on keeping this car, so the investment there was worth it.  Still I did not get home until 2:30 on Wednesday.  By that time I was tired and frazzled, so much so I did not feel I could do justice to a post on our featured composer this week.  So I postponed that for next week's edition of New Adventures in Good Music.   My day did not stop there as the phone kept ringing with clients for my side job, so that took some more time and I ended up with only a couple hours sleep before I had to return to work on Wednesday night.  

I got off on time on Thursday morning but the agenda was not yet finished, so off I went to get that started.  The exterminators were due to come out for a major treatment that day.  So I got to go home and disassemble my entire kitchen, stacking it in the LR and DR.  All of which has yet to make it back into the cabinets as of this writing.  I waited for the guy forever it seemed like, so I called the office to see what was up.  The guy, when he came last week, planned to do this treatment this week and said he would put us on the list.  That did not happen, but as he was still on the property when I called, they sent him over to do the job.  By this time I was pissy and hungry, so I went to get something to eat as I could not use my kitchen to fix something.  Then I came home took a couple of sleepy meds that let me sleep for good long while.  Little did I know my adventures were not yet at an end.  

I sleep on a nice air bed I got on Amazon that has been a very sturdy sleep platform.  Until last night when it decided to spring a leak.  When I awoke this morning, still groggy from the meds and having to take a major leak myself, I found myself on the floor looking up at Will sitting at my computer trying to figure out why we had no Internet.  As connected as we are to the world via Internet, it is a major inconvenience to be without it.   Believe me I am not happy camper without access, but a Will without Internet is not something you want to be around.  A mama bear protecting her cubs is no more fierce and formidable than a Will minus access.  I thought he was going to scorch my phone when he called the ISP, lol.  After they 'reprovisioned' our modem, basically a reboot, Will did a factory reset on the router.  This meant he had to then reconfigure all the settings and ports which takes a while.  However we (obviously) are back on line now. 

So Tuesday managed to steam roll its way all the way into Friday, seemingly non-stop, thus creating the new term Twurfday.  The term does not really fit into the traditional TGIF idiom, howsomever, I am so totally glad that it is over I should be thanking God!  Now all I have to do is get through Friday truck night (always an adventure) and then I have the weekend to recuperate and recreate.

But first I owe you guys some Music and some Men, so here goes.  I had already decided to feature the Music of Franz Liszt today, so I had a starting point.  Liszt was a prolific composer who was just as adept at transcribing other composer's works for Piano.  My favorite of these is Liszt's transcription of Beethoven's Symphony Number 5.  I have a marvelous performance by Giovanni Belucci of this transcription posted down below.  While over on my tumblr, I have a twist on the transcription thing with Liszt's famous Hungarian Rhapsody Number 2 in C Sharp Minor transcribed for Piano and Double Bass Quartet.  That performance is by Bassiona Amorosa with Elena Rachelis joining them as the Piano Solist.  

As for the men, it is Friday so that means Fantasy Fuel which you will find sizzling off the page down below.  In addition, you will find your Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr, Gregory Stiles, scorching the sheets while he is awaiting your arrival.  Thanks for your visit, be sure to check back for the Sunday Morning Concert during what I hope is a most Fabulous Weekend for us all!  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Friday (and oh so very TGIF!)

I have not done too much of anything the last day and a half except work and sleep.  So how come I still feel tired?  It doesn't really matter, after truck night tonight I have the weekend off, Yippee!  I will probably bar the door and man the barricades to ensure a little peace and quite around the house, lol.  

Because I have not done anything but work and sleep, I have no idea if someone has finally managed to blow up the world or if Tinker Bell was named successor to Vladimir Putin (wouldn't that be a hoot!).  So I guess we will skip the part where I make wittty reparte' with the news and move on into some great Music and some really hot Men, mmm?

Your featured composer for today is Franz Schubert and in particular two of his Piano Sonatas.  Posted down below is Sviatislav Richter's marvelous 1972 performance of Schubert's Piano Sonata, D 960 recorded live in Prague.  Over on my tumblr, I have Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata posted.  Most of you are familiar with the Arpeggione, most often heard in its Cello transcription, sometimes in the Viola transcription.  

My tumblr has the original version, the Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano, D821 performed on period instruments by Alfred Lessing on Arpeggione and Jozef De Beenhouwer on Pianoforte.  That recording was made between 2000 and 2001 using a copy by Henning Aschauer of a 19th-century Arpeggione built either by J. G. Staufer or by Anton Mitteis (part of the collection of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) and the 1824 Conrad Graf Pianoforte from the Beethoven House in Bonn.  There is a movement to revive the Arpeggione as an instrument which you can read more about at the Arpeggione Project.

Then what would Friday be without a little eye candy to whet your appetite for a fun weekend?  I have hotness galore posted down below in this week's edition of Fantasy Fuel.  I am sure you all will find someone there that will trip your trigger!  Meanwhile, the Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr wants you to know he is a real 'Outlaw' in bed.  Thanks for the visit, see you again for the Sunday Morning Concert.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Monday With Mozart

Good morning to you all.  I thought I would get an early start on things as I have a doctor's appointment this morning at 9:30.  I have a new schedule this week which I am mostly happy with.  Although I did not get my Thursday off as I had hoped, I did end up having this entire past weekend off.  This will be my regular schedule for the foreseeable future.  As such I really should have no complaints.  How many people who work retail have weekends off?  So I guess I should consider myself fortunate to be one of the few who have such a rare pleasure.  

I have something  marvelously mellow for your Monday with Mozart today.  Posted down below is Mozart's String Quintet Numbers 3 in C Major, KV 515 and 4 in A Minor, KV 516.  The Quintets are scored for 2 Violins, 2 Violas and a Cello.  Josef Suk joins the Smetana Quartet for this recording of two of the longer of Mozart's chamber pieces with the run time of nearly three hours.  Over on my tumblr, I have a recording of Mozart's 17 Church Sonatas in the order they were written along with a bit of discussion of the sonatas themselves.  

Now it is time for some eye candy and because it is Monday, we all get  to celebrate sexiness in skimpy scraps of material once again with a particularly winsome bunch in this edition of Monday's Undies posted down below.  Meanwhile over on my tumblr, your Hottie of the Day! is definitely 'Thinking of You'!  Now I have to make myself presentable for the doctor, thanks for stopping in.   See you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Ready for the Weekend

Thursday was busy as usual, although I did train a new girl last night so that maybe I might get next Thursday off (let's hope!).  Thursdays will still be busy because of payday etc., but it would be nice not to have to throw that extra shift in there on top of everything else.  As a result of yesterday's activities, I have been a lazy slug this morning, generally meandering through the morning more or less aimlessly.  I am so ready for the Weekend, luckily I could be a little lazy as I had already selected the Music and the Men for today's post as part of my furiously busy Thursday. 

It has been a good music morning on the radio too with an bit of an operatic bent.  VCR played orchestrations from Puccini's Madama Butterfly earlier and have now moved on to Bizet's Carmen Suite Number 1.  My selections are not so operatic in nature but wonderfully melodic none the less...

Posted down below is Daniel Barenboim's marvelous recording of the complete Lieder ohne Worte (Songs Without Words), Opus 30 by Felix Mendelssohn.  It is a wonderful 2 hour soundtrack digitally remastered for your listening pleasure.  Then over on my tumblr I have a terriffc live performance by Anne-Sophie Mutter of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, Opus 64 accompanied by the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under the baton of Kurt Masur.  

As always on Friday, I like to feed your fertile imaginations with a bits of firm flesh and rippling muscles to get you in the weekend  state of mind.  You will find a virtual banquet of Fantasy Fuel posted down below.  And one of my favorite fantasy fucks of all time is your Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr as Andrew Stetson sizzles from the page.  Thanks for the visit, have a Fabulous Weekend.  Be sure to join me for the Sunday Morning Concert to round out the Weekend.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Looking Ahead, Puccini and Fantasy Fuel!

The boss asked me to double back and work at 5 yesterday, so I made no attempt to accomplish anything on line.  I opted for a little rest instead, not that I got all that much.  However, I will take what I can get when I can get it.  That leaves everything I was to have done yesterday still to be done, yet I feel disinclined to do so this morning.  I will probably still do it, but I won't like it, lol. Which brings us to today and the start of a new pay period and schedule.  For the last little while, I have had 3 days off while still getting nearly 40 hours a week.  That little slice of heaven is now over.

Starting today with my usual long shift from 5 -2.  I then return tomorrow at 5 and work until 11.  On Sunday, I finally get a day off this week, but only one.  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday remain my 11-7 days with the addition of now doubling back and working a 5 pm on Thursdays until 8.  That is a scheduled 42 hours which with the vagaries of our staff's arrival times, will probably grow some what.  The extra hours are caused by the resignation of one of our weak links and the dismissal of the waste of breath that was taking up time, space and money but contributing little else.

I really should not bitch, it will help to advance my financial agenda which is fairly aggressive for the next few months .  The major item on the agenda is a major upgrade to the home of Nichevo.  I recently upgraded the RAM as a stop gap measure until new components can be purchased with which to build a new Nichevo platform.  The upgrade includes a new tower, motherboard, processor, RAM and power supply.  I already have two DVD Burners and a card reader plus assorted fans that I can combine with the new components to create Nichevo's new home.  The parts for which Will diligently searched and selected can be found in a wish list of sorts over at PCPartPicker a website that facilitates DIY folks who want to build their own computers by checking for compatibility issues between components.  As you can see from the list it will only be about $450 to complete the upgrade, which is really not so expensive when you consider the computing power I will receive in return for that small amount of money.  Small $$ in comparison to what I would spend retail for a machine with the same components prepackaged on the shelf.  By no means is this the only item on the financial agenda, but it is the largest and most important thing on the list.

Musically today, we have a wonderful collection of highlights from the Operas of Giacomo Puccini orchestrated on themes from those Operas and performed by Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra.  You will find this play list down below.  Over on my tumblr, I have a non-Operatic work by Puccini, his Preludio Sinfonico performed by an unnamed orchestra under the baton of Claudio Scimone. 

Finally, what would Friday be without some Fantasy Fuel?  You will find a scrumptious, mostly naked edition of sultry studs to fire your desire posted down below.  Over on my tumblr, the Hottie of the Day! is an artistic photographic rendering of a callow 'Youth in Repose'.  Thanks for the visit, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Boccherini Quintets

After a long, wet weekend, events have conspired to delay my arrival in these pages today until now.  I was going to rant a little about the some nefarious doings down in the TX Legislature, but I will save that for another day when I have more time.  I still need to get some rest before truck night so I am heading straight into the Music and the Men. 

Your Featured composer today is Luigi Boccherini.  Boccherini is in that trio of Italian Baroque Composer I love so well, Boccherini, Corelli and Vivaldi.  I woke up in a Baroque mood and Luigi beat out Antonio and Arcangelo for today anyway.  I have Boccherini's String Quintets, Opus 27 posted for you down below.  Today's performance is by La Magnifica Communita and a complete play list may be found here.  Over on my tumblr, you may join Lucca Baccion Flute and Rossella Isola on Harp for 3 of Boccherini's Sonatas for Flute and Harp.  That play list is over on my tumblr. 

I did not forget the Men either, you will find a plethora of sexy studs in this edition of Random Hotness posted down below.  Then the Hottie of the Day! begs you to "Wrestle me....Please?!?!?!", check him out on my tumblr.  Thaks for hanging out til I got here, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Running on Empty

My life this week feels just like that old Jackson Browne song.  I really have to stop letting my days run smack dab into each other on a regular basis.  It not only stresses me to no end  and wears me out, it makes me really, really bitchy.  (just ask Will, go on, I am sure he will gladly inform you of obstinatiousness)  At any rate, I am tired but feel like I have made some progress.  I have moved into the modern age with the purchase of my first smart phone.  Granted it is not the latest and greatest, but I got a good deal and a great plan for unlimited everything for a great price.  Now as Will is so apt to remind me, let's see if the proof is in the pudding as far as performance on their part is concerned.  

As I changed carriers it was easier to get a new number than port my old one over which meant I had to get a hold of everyone by voice or text to give them the new number.  I also had the enviable task (NOT!) of manually transferring all my contacts over to the new phone.  I am happy to report after much tediousness that task is finally finished.  I even managed to get some ringtones set.  When I first began messing with the phone, I definitely thought it was smarter than I was, however it is a learning process.  Just like with a new computer with an unfamiliar OS.  I am sure I will get better at it as time goes by.

I was really excited to get an app that allows me to now carry Venice Classic Radio with me wherever I go.  The radio in the car has an aux input that may allow me to hook a cable to the phone and play it in the car too.  That would be sooooo cool to be driving in TX and listening to radio from Venice on the car radio.  Awesome!  I also like the talk to text ability that should come in handy when I want to get windy via text message.  Anyway, so I have some good shit happening as well as the ton of crap that is on my plate to get done.  However, one more shift and the Weekend in s mine, TFGIIFFF!!!!! (Thank Fucking God It Is Finally Fucking Friday!!!!!)

Now to soothe the savage beast that resides within all of us, I have some lovely pieces from one of the most prolific and inspirational composers of all time.  Franz Joseph Haydn, the Father of the Symphony with over 100 to his name, was a friend to Mozart, a teacher of Beethoven and an inspiration to generation after generation of classical composers, musicians and enthusiasts even unto this day.  In addition to his Symphonies, his Chamber works fill volumes as well as his Piano works.  Posted down below are 4 Piano Sonatas by Haydn recorded live in Budapest in 2009 by Dezső Ránki.  Included in the play list are Piano sonata n°33 Hob.XVI:20, Piano sonata n°58 Hob.XVI:48, Piano sonata n°60 Hob.XVI:50 and Piano sonata n°62 Hob.XVI:52.  While over on my tumblr you may join the Van Swieten Trio for their performance of Haydn's Piano Trio in C major, Hoboken XV:C.  

Then as always on Friday I like to feed your Fantasies in prep for a bodacious weekend and today is no different.  You will find this week's edition of Fantasy Fuel down below chock full of sulty sexiness waiting to inspire your desire as you cruise down the page.   Then the Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr will show you 'Ecstasy in XTG!'.  Thanks for the visit see you again tomorrow for the Satiurday Evening Concert.  Until next tiem as always, Enjoy!

'A Genuine Wish In One Hand Situation'

When I got off work this morning at 7:32 AM, I had completed working 20 of the previous 32 hours.  However I did not feel I should miss two days in a row just because Uncle Gerry is a skotchie bit tired (crass understatement).  At any rate, just before letting me clock out this morning, the boss man asked me the wrong question.  Oh I had an answer for the question, it was even the one he was expecting to hear.  But I must first lay some background for said question.  

On Monday and Tuesday nights, I come on at 11 PM and 10 PM respectively.  The previous shift on both nights is a team made up of a couple of peeps I will call XM and XF (ones a guy, the other is a gal).  Now if my buddy and I, to use a baseball analogy, are the Big League A Team, then these guys would have to be considered 'zzz' league or whatever is beyond backwater bush leagues.  These guys are so far removed from the big leagues they make the Backwater Bullfrogs look like the DamnYankees!  Yes I know there is supposed to be a space between Damn and Yankees!, but my Mother (whose 85th Birthday was yesterday, may she RIP) was a Dodger fan.  Now my Mother was a good Christian woman who did not hold much with the cussin part of cussin and discussin.  However, before the Dodgers vacated the Big Apple for La La Land, there were two baseball teams that mattered to my Mother.  The Brooklyn Dodgers and The DamnYankees!  I was about twelve before I discovered there was a space that was supposed to be there.  My Mother rarely said a bad word, but there was always the Dodgers and the DamnYankees!.  However, I digress...

The Boss man asked me if XM had left me a mess to clean up when he left last night.  Biting my tongue and taking a long deep breath, I turned to answer him.  My response was: "Just one night a week, I would like to come in to find that XM and XF had actually done their jobs."  This was followed by a mini rant on the evils of team XMF knowing that hoping to find they would actually do their jobs is 'a genuine wish in one hand situation'.  He then asked for some specifics and I rattled off a list of about 20 items and asked for half an hour to compile 20 more lists of 20 items once I had a chance to really think about the matter.  

You have to realize that when I turn over a shift, the store is totally prepared, spit shined and running like a well oiled machine.  I rarely receive the same treatment in return.  I also told the boss man if I am going to have to keep doing their jobs for them, they need to start paying me part of the money they "earned" for my trouble.  Fat chance of that, lol.  But I got it off my chest and turned the store over in its usual immaculateness and came home to chill out and get this post put together.  I already had the music picked out, I had that ready yesterday before I ran outta time (so sorry about that).  So let's get off the story board and into the Music Hall and the Art Museum, shall we?

I heard some Music by today's featured Composer on both Venice Classic Radio and XM76 Symphony Hall and I love his works for the Cello for which I was in the mood.  So today you get  the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in D Major, Ben 105 by Ignaz Joseph Pleyel which is posted down below.  That performance is by the Erdõdy Chamber Orchestra with Péter Szabó as both the Cello Soloist and the Conductor.  Over on my tumblr, you may hear the Academy for Ancient Music's performance of Pleyel's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in C Major featuring Ivan Monighetti as the Soloist with Stephen Mai conducting.

Then I have a squadron of sultry studs splashing about this week's edition of Wet Wednesday posted down below (or is it down low?).  While you are over on my tumblr, be sure to check out 'Surfer 19' who is your Hottie of the Day!.  Thanks for the visit, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoyu!

A Slow Process Today

Tuesday's truck night literally kicked my ass.  After coming home and falling asleep while watching NCIS: New Orleans, I took an impromptu day off from the blog and slept all day.  I mean all day and into the evening before arising in a fog around 9:30 PM.  I also found the urge to nap irresistible around 10 AM this morning.  I lay down for a 'short' nap and slept until 1 PM.   So I am gradually getting my act together enough to put together this post.  Bear with me, it is a slow process today, lol..  

Luckily for your and I, I was productive over the weekend.  When I decided to create Ensemble Week, I went looking for some excellent examples of the form to share with you all week.  I was eminently successful, bookmarking all the videos into an Ensemble Week folder.  So the Music all week has been basically plug and play.  The Men, however, are another matter entirely.  It is my duty on a daily basis to sort through my over 150,000 photographic man art portraits to decide which ones to utilize for display that day.  Always a pleasurable task but somewhat time consuming nevertheless.  Once the Music and the Men are together, then it is a simple matter of putting all the pieces together both here and on tumblr.  That brings us to now.  

We therefore continue our exploration of the Musical Ensemble with this lovely Quintet in C Major, D 956 by Franz Schubert with an unusual score.  In classical instrumental music, any additional instrument (such as a piano, clarinet, oboe, etc.) joined to the usual string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), gives the resulting ensemble its name, such as "piano quintet", "clarinet quintet", etc. A piece of music written for such a group is similarly named.  This Quintet however,  is scored for 2 Violins, Viola and 2 Cellos giving it its unique resonance.  Today's performance posted below is by the Brandis Quartet plus Wen-Sinn Yang as the 1st Cellist.

Over on my tumblr you will find one of Brahms most beautiful works in his String Quintet in F Major, Opus 88, also with an unusual score.  It is a "Viola Quintet" in that it is scored for String Quartet with a second Viola.  Brahms composed the work in three movements and described the quintet to his friend Clara Schumann as "one of [his] finest works".  He also told his publisher Fritz Simrock, "You have never before had such a beautiful work from me.".  The performance there is by musicians from Marlboro Music, Mitsuko Uchida, Artistic Director. 

Then, porque es Jueves, esta tiempo para mucho, macho hombres en pantalones fecha de denim (bacause it is Thursday, it is time for many macho men in pants made of denim).  You will find them in abundance in this edition of Men In Jeans posted down below.  Then over on my tumblr, you will find Colin Wayne, Your Hottie of the Day! who is so hot he makes you want to slide those jeans right down to the beach and worship at his alter.  Thanks for the visit, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy

Busy, Busy, Beethoven & Boys

Well, hasn't this week just flown by.  The older I get the faster the time seems to fly.  Either that or I am just incredibly busy.  I did manage to catch some rest last night after  a rather long day of chores, errands, hunting, gathering, sharing and caring.  My busy schedule continues this morning.  Next up is the dreaded laundry chore.  It only takes a couple of hours, but I have to go out to do it, so I find it hard to multi task when this chore comes up.  It has to be done though, that or I go to work tonight bare ass naked.  That might not necessarily be a bad thing, but a Friday truck night is not the venue to have my dangly bits dangling about unprotected, if you catch my drift.  At any rate, busy or not, there is still time for the Music and the Men.

We continue our ersatz Violin Week and our exploration of the great Concerti and Sonatas written for this most versatile and expressive instrument.  Today we feature the Music of Ludwig von Beethoven, who like Sibelius, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky, wrote only one Violin Concerto (in D Major, Opus 61).  However, Beethoven also wrote 10 Violin Sonatas as well.  As for his Violin Concerto, it is posted down below featuring a classic 1977 recording of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under a young Daniel Barenboim's baton with Pinchas Zukerman as the Violin Soloist.  Over on my tumblr, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis beautifully perform Beethoven's Violin Sonata Number 9, Opus 47 "Kreutzer" recorded live at the Theatre des Champs-Elysee in Paris. 

Before I head off to begin yet again another busy day, I had better fulfill my passionate 'obligation' to share some Man Art with you.  As this is Friday, it is time for some Fantasy Fuel to kick start the Weekend which you will find posted just below this post.  Then today's Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr, besides being a really cute Ginger Snap, begs you to ask the question, "A Penny for your Thoughts...".  Now I gotta go get things done, be sure to tune in tomorrow for another Fabulous Liver Performance on the Saturday Evening Concert.  Thanks for stopping in, until next time as always, Enjoy!

Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Men In Jeans!

Am I ever glad it is my day off, I am so ready for it.  After a brutal schedule over this week of 11.5, 9.5, 10.5 shifts and a short 8.5 shift, I am one tired puppy.  Add to that the fact that it is Pay Day and jam packed with chores and errands and you can plainly see there will be no rest for the weary today!  Anyway, we still have Music, Men and Merriment on tap, so let's get on into it.  

Our exploration into Violin Concerti and Sonatas this week has taken us on a pleasant journey so far and today, we cruise on over to Russia  to see what we find.  Tchaikovsky, like Sibelius and Dvorak wrote only one Violin Concerto, the one in D Major,  Opus 35 and no other works dedicated to the Violin.  Tchaikovsky was born on this day in 1840 and he was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally.  He bolstered with appearances as a guest conductor later in his career in Europe and the United States.  One of these appearances was at the inaugural concert of Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1891. You will find a marvelous performance of his Violin Concerto by Staatkapelle Dresden with David Oistrakh as the Violin Soloist posted down below.  

Because I wanted to stay with the Russian theme for the day, I thought I would look at the two Sergeis, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev.  I never made it to Rachmaninoff, as Prokofiev wrote 2 Violin Concerti, the more famous of the set being Number 2 in G Minor, Opus 63 of which I found a fantastic recording.  The 1956 recording of Leonid Kogan as the Soloist accompanied by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra under Kirill Kondrashin's Baton will be found over on my tumblr.  

Then let us not forget the denim dynamite available for a cruise and peruse in this week's edition of Men In Jeans posted fdown below.  Then your Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr is looking all Hunky in  a Hoodie.  Thanks for the visit, see you again tomorrow when we explore Beethoven's only Violin Concerto and his Kreutzer Sonata to kick off the weekend.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Hump Day

Truck night last night damn near kicked my ass.  I worked from 9:30 PM to 8 AM this morning checking in and putting away 5 separate deliveries after midnight.  As a result, when I go home this morning, it is I who felt like he was the humpee in a rough sex scene.  After a short chill period, I began preparing for this post, gathering the Music and the Men, before succumbing to the irresistible  urge to nap.  Upon arising, events have conspired to preclude my arrival in these pages until now.  However, I do have Marvelous Music from 2 different composers as well as some Super Sexy Studs Splashing about to keep you entertained.  

As we continue what for lack of a better title is Violin Week here at Nichevo, we explore two very different concerti that while being different, both offer many similarities as well.  Our composers today wrote but a singular Violin Concerto each and no accompanying Sonata.  Antonin Dvorak, born in 1841 and Jean Sibelius, born in 1865, both used traditional themes and folklore from their native lands which inspired their compositions.  Other than his Violin Concerto in D Minor, Opus 47, Sibelius composed 7 Symphonies using each successive work to further develop his own personal compositional style similarly to Beethoven before him.  His works continue to be performed frequently in the concert hall and are often recorded.  You will find his Violin Concerto with a live performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim with Maxim Vengerov as the Soloist recorded at the Kolner Philharmonie posted down below.  In addition to his Violin Concerto in A Minor, Opus 53,  Dvorak wrote 9 Symphonies.  Four of those, including one lost to the composer himself, were only discovered after his passing.  You will find his Violin Concerto over on my tumblr with a marvelous 1965 recording by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra featuring Isaac Stern as the Violin Soloist. 

Then for the aforementioned Super Sexy Studs Splashing about, check out this week's edition of Wet Wednesday down below.  There is also the Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr who shows us how to 'Shower in a Sea Shell'.  Thanks for sticking around, join me tomorrow as we celebrate Tchaikovsky's birthday with his Violin Concerto.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

And Then The Phone Rang...

I think I made it to Friday.  Let me check that Thursday is ACTUALLY  over...  Last we spoke I was saying my Pay Day was to be jam packed with activity.  Boy was it ever.  I thought it would never end.  I had made good progress through my list. So much so, I eliminated the last errand as it had become unnecessary.   I was winding down getting ready to head off to some much deserved rest.  And then the phone rang...

It was my boss of course saying some waste-oid had called in for some flimsy excuse or another (For a waste-oid, almost any one will do!) and wanting me to cover the shift.  I did it of course, but by the time I did get around to getting that much needed rest, it was nigh onto 10 PM.  As a result, both my body clock and my schedule are kinda whacked today.  No matter, after truck night, I have the weekend off and all will be OK!  Luckily as I began my process to put this post together, a beautiful thing popped up in my You Tube Subscriptions In Box.  I would thus like to share it with you now.  

Today's Musical Moment is the first recording ever released of the Sonata for Cello and Piano by Dimitri Shostakovich.  The recording is by the Moscow Radio House from 1959 and features the Composer himself at the Piano and Mstislav Rostropovich as the Cellist.   It is a monaural recording, yet the mystery of Shostakovich and the rich masterful tones of Rostropovich ring out  in this marvelous classic recording.  Fast forward a few years and you will find this performance of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto Number 1 by  Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra with  Yo Yo Ma as the Soloist to be equally intriguing.  You may hear that recording over on my tumblr.  

Then Friday would not be Friday with just a bit of Fantasy Fuel which you will find posted down below.  There is also the Hottie of the Day! who wants to take you on a Picnic in the Park over on my tumblr.  Thanks for the visit, stop in tomorrow for another Fabulous Live Saturday Evening Concert, see you then.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!