Coffee To Rave About

I found an incredible coffee-to-go shop in London which deserves being recommended. There is a choice between coffee from the espresso machine and filter coffee. If you choose the latter - which I did - they grind coffee beans especially for you, pour the powder in a filter and brew the coffee as you wait. You see it drip directly into the paper cup. Not very economical, I admit, but obviously successful. Each time I go there to pick up my hourly dose, I have to stand in line. I don't mind though, the shop is filled with smells of warm pastry the likes you can only find in Vienna. Next time you're in London, go to Monmouth Street in the West End and spoil yourself. 

Poetic Language

"A true poet does not say 'azur', a true poet says 'blue'."

Else Lasker-Schüler

Good Story

There are many movies that inspired musicals, but it is a rare exception that one inspired two different shows. This exception is the American comedy Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968) which tells the story of a woman who is uncertain which of her lovers is the father of her daughter - and therefore regards all three responsible. In the 1970's Joseph Stein, Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane based their musical Carmelina upon the film. The Broadway production closed after only 17 performances in April 1979. Twenty years later the British playwright Catherine Johnson was luckier. Her version of the story, enhanced by the hits of Benny Anderson and Björn Ulvaeus, has become one of the biggest musical hits of all times: Mamma Mia!

Master Rule

"There are only three principles necessary for a lyric writer. They underlie everything I've ever written. In no particular order, and to be written in stone: Content Dictates Form, Less Is More, God Is in the Details - all in the service of Clarity without which nothing else matters. If a lyric writes observes this mantra rigorously, he can turn out a respectable lyric. If he also has a feeling for music and rhythm, a sense of theater and something to say, he can turn out an interesting one. If in addition he has qualities such as humor, style, imagination and the numerous other gifts every writer should use, he might even turn out a good one."

Stephen Sondheim

Culture

Culture is the sum of all the forms of art, of love and of thought, which, in the course of centuries, have enabled man to be less enslaved.

André Malraux

Farewell, Paul!

Paul the octopus, who successfully predicted all of Germany's results and the outcome of the World Cup final has died in his aquarium. Argentina's fans hated him, Iran pronounced him decadent, but a lot of people all around the world revered him as some kind of new Nostradamus. The accuracy of his predictions was stunning, but Paul was not the only animal ever to be blessed with the power of prophecy. In the 1930's, Jim the Wonder Dog, drew crowds by predicting the winners of seven Kentucky Derbies. And Oscar, a hospital cat in Rhode Island, indicated which patient was to die by curling up with the respective one. 

Mysterious Left

Studies show that sleeping on your left side is best. The reason is not entirely clear. One hypothesis holds that right-side sleeping relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter, between the stomach and the esophagus. Another holds that left-side sleeping keeps the junction between stomach and esophagus above the level of gastric acid. In a study in The Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, scientists recruited a group of healthy subjects and fed them high-fat meals on different days to induce heartburn. Immediately after the meals, the subjects spent four hours lying on one side or the other as devices measured their esophageal acidity. Ultimately, the researchers found that “the total amount of reflux time was significantly greater” when the subjects lay on their right side.

It Started With A Fifteen Dollar Idea

In the early 40's Joseph Stein had a career as a social worker for several years. Then he happened to meet the comedian Zero Mostel through a mutual friend. Mr. Mostel mentioned that he was looking for comedy material for a radio show, Mr. Stein threw out an idea, and Mr. Mostel paid him $15 for it. His writing career had begun. In 1948, Mr. Stein made his Broadway writing debut, creating a single sketch with Mr. Glickman for “Lend an Ear,” a musical revue that starred Carol Channing and was choreographed by Gower Champion. And he became part of the writing staff of Sid Caesar’s classic 1950s comedy-variety series “Your Show of Shows.” He won glowing reviews for his book of “Enter Laughing,” a comedy, based on a book by Carl Reiner, about a Jewish boy who wants to become an actor. In 1964 Joseph Stein's  "Fiddler On The Roof" opened on Broadway, a musical based on Sholem Aleichem’s short stories about a Jewish milkman and his family who face terrifying change in a small Russian village in 1905.  Sheldon Harnick’s lyrics and Jerry Bock’s score captured the high notes of the praise, but Mr. Stein’s book hardly went unnoticed. Joseph Stein died last Sunday in Manhattan. He was 98.

Attention Sondheim Fans!

Today, Tuesday October 26th, a DVD of the 1966 television musical "Evening Primrose" is being released. It is the first time the work will be available to the public. It was broadcast only once, on Nov. 16, 1966, on “ABC Stage 67” . By that time Mr. Sondheim had already achieved success with “West Side Story,” “Gypsy” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” For Sondheim fans the "Evening Primrose" is what the Black Mauritius is for stamp collectors.

Advice To A Young Songwriter

"Listen kid, take my advice, never hate a song that has sold half a million copies."

Irving Berlin