Blog of Roger Hyttinen » Fun Stuff

More Milwaukee Outdoor Concerts

Roger — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:33:36 +0000

In keeping with my promise to take advantage of the free music concerts in the Milwaukee Area, on Monday I went to “Musical Mondays” in Lake Park where I was fortunate enough to see flamenco guitarist Peter Baime and friends for an evening of Flamenco guitar and dancing. This was my first exposure to Baime and I was more than impressed. He has been playing flamenco guitar since the 1960’s and has studied in Spain with legendary guitarists Diego and Paco Gastor. He has also won numerous awards for his compositions. I wonder how he escaped my radar this long? This companions who danced to his playing were also stunning. I hope to see more of him in the future.

Then on Wednesday I attended “Music in the Glen” in the Milwaukee River Parkway, about a mile from my home. I am embarrassed to say that in all the years I’ve lived in my house, I have never made it to Music in the Glen. So Wednesday was my first time attending and what a treat it was! The evening’s concert featured Kay Stiefel and Jack Forbes Wilson, who sang a variety of fun Broadway Show Tunes, many of them favorites that most people would recognize. Not only was the music great but the fun and exuberant personalities of Jack and Kay really added to the performance. The only thing I didn’t like about the concert is that it was only an hour long – I wanted more! Apparently, this duo has been around for awhile and have done acting and singing work with the Milwaukee Rep has well. If you get a chance to see them, definitely go. They are a lot of fun!

Jack Forbes Wilson and Kay Stiefel

So far, I’ve had a blast checking out the local concerts and have yet to be disappointed. This week, I plan on going to a couple more if the weather holds out. Florentine Opera is playing again at Alterra on the lakefront and that is one that I definitely do not want to miss.
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Florentine Opera at the Lake

Roger — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:23:44 +0000

One of my goals for this summer was to take more advantage of many wonderful free concerts in the Milwaukee area. So last night I hopped on my bicycle and pedaled down to the Alterra on the lake for an evening of music with the Florentine Opera. The Florentine Opera is one of Milwaukee’s oldest and well-known performing arts companies (they are celebrating their 75th anniversary) and I have be fortunate to attend on of their operas a while ago.

But opera…outdoors! This was something I hadn’t done before. The concert featured R. Stuart Mitchell (who was a bit late as he got caught in traffic), Jason Melik, Doug Clemons and James Barany, with Anne Van Deusen at the piano. All I can say is…why haven’t I attended any of these before? The singing and music were awesome. I was more than impressed by the range of the voices and the talent of the performers.

The repertoire of music was also quite varied – we had songs from West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Kiss Me Kate, Carousel, Mexican Hayride, Man of La Mancha and more. They sang several of old favorites that most people would recognize as well. The song “If you’ve only got a mustache” was especially fun.

The concert took place right in front of the coffee shop, with guests spread out on blankets and portable chairs on the lawn (the grassy area is quite large actually). Some folks brought picnic baskets, complete with high-end wine and cheeses. Others enjoyed the array of sandwiches, desserts and coffee offered by Alterra. Alterra had a tent set up outside making it convenient to purchase goodies during the show. I was pleased to see that there were a couple of portable restrooms set up as well.

I’ll close by saying that I was thrilled by the performance and am already looking forward to their next one on July 23rd. It will once again be held at the Alterra, located at 1701 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive across from McKinley Marina.

If you’d like to find out more about the Florentine Opera, visit their Web site for news and information about their upcoming performances.

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Save Money with DVD Swapping Networks

Roger — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:23:14 +0000

Photo courtesy of Nickstone333

Awhile back I posted about book trading sites such as Bookmooch and Paperbackswap. A couple of days ago, I read a Lifehacker post talking about DVD Borrowing networks, such as Zunafisih and Lendaround (Paperbackswap also allows you to trade DVD’s). While I am unfamiliar with such networks, Lendaround did look interesting as it is more of a social site and only allows you to share DVDs with friends. Some of these networks also allow you to trade video games, CDs and audiobooks.

I personally do not belong to any DVD borrowing/trading networks as I either get my DVD’s from Netflix or from the library. There are people however, who prefer to own movies rather than rent. In such a case, a DVD exchange program might be a good idea. That is one of the reasons that I belong to Bookmooch and Paperbackswap – while most of the books that I read come from the library, there are a few for which I would like to find a permanent place on my bookshelf. In such a case, I log onto Bookmooch or Paperbackswap, put it on my wishlist and wait until it becomes available.

If you are one who loves to own movies, DVD-trading networks could no doubt save you money, especially considering the $30 or more price tag for a new DVD. It might also be cheaper than paying Netflix $17 or more every month (depending on how many Netflix movies you watch through them).

I’m not sure that I would want to go that route personally though. I am not much of a collector (I habit I’ve gotten rid of over the years) and so far, there has never been a movie I’ve wanted to see that I could not find at either Netflix or the local Library. But if owning is important to you, these networks might be worth checking out.

Some DVD-trading sites that I’m aware of:

Paperbackswap
Lendaround
Zunafish (site is down for upgrade at the moment)
Stuffopolis
Swapadvd
dvdswap

You might also want to check out Meetup.com to see if there are any DVD swapping meetups in your area. Meetups allow you to trade in person and offers the possibility of making new friends as well.

Do any of you belong to DVD trading/swapping sites? If so, has your experience been positive?
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Using Book Swap Web Sites

Roger — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:44:58 +0000

If you are an avid reader (like I am), joining one of the many Book Swap Web sites is a great way to save money. I have also found many out-of-print and hard-to-find books this way. I currently belong to two of them: Bookmooch.com and Paperbackswap.com. There are literally hundreds of thousands of books up for grab at any moment and the best part – it’s free! The only thing you pay for is postage when someone requests a book from you, which runs about $2.00 when using Media Mail.

How it works:

Sign-up and create a profile (user name, address, etc.)
List books in your inventory that own and want to give away. For every book that you send out to someone else, you receive a point or credit.
If you see a book you want, request if from the sender. You will receive notification when it is shipped.
If someone wants one of the books in your inventory, you will receive an e-mail with the requester’s name, address and book requested. You have the option to accept or deny the request.
Both sites offer a “WishList” where you can list all of the books you would like to obtain. When the book becomes available (i.e. someone lists it in their inventory), you are sent a notification e-mail.

Although I belong to both Bookmooch and Paperbackswap, I like Bookmooch a bit better. One of the reasons is that for every 10 books you list in your inventory, you get an extra point. Plus if you agree to ship books to countries other than your own, you receive 3 points for each book sent. The upside of Paperbackswap.com, is that you have the ability to purchase extra credits – 3 for $10.95. This is helpful if you find a book you want but but nobody has as of yet requested any books from you.

I know that there are many similar sites out there. Others that I have heard of are TitleTrader.com and FrugalReader.com, although I have personally not registered with them. Bookmooch and Paperbackswap keep me plenty busy!
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Matt Smith is the New Doctor Who

Roger — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:08:32 +0000

As a major Doctor Who fan, it was interesting to read in the news that Matt Smith, a British actor, will be playing the new Doctor Who. He will be the youngest person to ever play The Doctor…and just when I was getting attached to David Tennant. I must say that I really liked the first Doctor in the new series, Christopher Eccleston, and was a tad bummed when Tennant replaced him -- although it didn’t take me too long to get attached to Tennant.

I don’t know anything at all about Matt Smith -- don’t think I’ve ever seen him in anything. At 26, he is supposedly the youngest actor to portray The Doctor. Too bad we have to wait almost two years to find out how he does.

For a brief peak at an interview with the eleventh Doctor, check out the video below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhmWRjo7gKI

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Numa Numa

Roger — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:59:52 +0000

These two guys are great! This video brings a smile to my face every time I see it….