Tag Archives: music
rolling down to old maui
Here’s that sea chanty, “Rolling Down to Old Maui,” sung by the great Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers: “We’re homeward bound from the Arctic ground, rolling down to old Maui.” The sailors have been catching whales in the Arctic, which … Continue reading
elements, j-pop style
Having blogged before on songs about the elements, and being a Japanese speaker, I believe I am in a position of unique authority to say: Yes, of course Tom Lehrer’s song about the elements needed to be translated into Japanese. … Continue reading
CHON CHON CHON CHON CHON CH CHON
A friend asked if I referenced the CHON movie in my story about the origins of life. I did not. Which is tragic, really – the CHON movie is an absolute classic of science cinema, and for more than a … Continue reading
origins of life
A story I worked on for nearly a year is finally out in Smithsonian. It’s about the origins of life. We’re talking way, way, way back, billions of years, to the time when Earth was rock and water and a … Continue reading
songs about the elements
A week or so ago I went to a party that was organized around singing the Pirates of Penzance in someone’s living room. It was a great party, and it reminded me of this excellent song, to the tune of … Continue reading
infographic video
Someone I used to work with at National Geographic just drew my attention to this totally cool music video – it tells the story of a woman’s day through infographics: It’s by the company H5, whose video Logorama just won … Continue reading
an A is not an A
The Washington Bach Consort is in the process of performing every one of Bach’s 215 cantatas at a series of free noon concerts at a church downtown. Actually, this is their second time through; they finished the first round in … Continue reading
next time, check with me
After I found out I was going to Berlin, I found out U2 was touring this year. And I was like, oh, great. I bet they play Berlin when I’m in D.C. and D.C. when I’m in Berlin. But I … Continue reading
best vacation ever
Whew. After 2.5 months in Berlin, I came home for a week, then went to Arizona and Nevada for a week to see U2 twice and do some sightseeing. Fellow science writer Kate flew in from Oregon, we rented a … Continue reading
simon and garfunkel
Wednesday afternoon I was reading a book on a bench by the canal, waiting for my neighbor to get back from the playground with his kids so I could get back into my apartment. And this guy came over and … Continue reading