When memes jump the shark, or, artistic integrity at the pet store

I’m not sure where in the mists of Internet history the Jesus riding the dinosaur to church thing first happened.  To me it’s felt like it’s been around as long as the Westboro Baptist Haters or the crazy doomsday prophets on the street corners.  That is, always.

Today, however, I think the meme jumped the shark… as it were.  Today, it showed up in Petsmart.

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Tom Zajac, you will be missed

Unlike a lot of people in Boston I can’t claim I knew Tom well.  I’m sure that the couple of times we met didn’t make an impression on him at all, as a matter of fact.  But he was a bit of a legend in his own time and, unlike a lot of far less talented people I’ve met, he wasn’t a legend in his own mind.  That much was clear the moment you met him, he didn’t buy into the “Artist as Asshole” phenomenon.

I hate that particular phenomenon.

Regular readers will remember that not long ago I posted in this space about a benefit for Tom.  The link to that post is here.  Teri had told me recently that Tom was being moved into hospice care.  That’s never good.  People generally go into hospice care in order to peacefully move from this world into the next, not to return to the bloom of full health.  Tom had apparently been given about 6 months, maybe less, as a prognosis.

The Early Music community here in Boston has been collectively holding its breath while Tom’s illness has been unfolding.  He was not only a well respected performer here, he was also a teacher and friend to many.  He was also just unfailingly nice.

Tom died on Saturday.  And though I didn’t know him nearly as well as many, I still grieve for those who loved him, especially his lovely wife Lilli, the community of which he was a linchpin, and the rest of us who were touched by his presence.

There is a lovely post about his life here.  I encourage you to read it.  I do not know the author, I found the post by happenstance, but it is beautifully done.

“Good-night, sweet prince;
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 5, Scene 2

Rest in Peace, Tom.

~Kelly

4th Annual Helping Haiti Talent Show – Boston Medical Center

Many of the readers around here know that Geoff and I both have neurologists at Boston Medical Center.  You may also remember me singing in the Boston Medical Center Concert When Patients Heal You last November.  (Video is here, sorry for the sound quality)  I’ll be singing in the concert again this October.  Watch this space for more details.

Anyway, the BMC is loaded with great talent and with people who give their time and talent to not only give back to the community here in Boston but also but to raise money for others who need it, as well as to fund health care for those who would not otherwise have access to it.  I’m not performing in the concert listed below, the pianist/nurse/saint I’m performing with in October is.  Check it out.

stage lights

HELPING HAITI

BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGY
Haiti Show from Keith top
Want to make a difference?  Here’s how.
Haiti Show from Keith

That’s globalhealthneurology@gmail.com with questions or to volunteer.  To donate, click here.  The concert has a $20 ticket/donation at the door.

The Baskt Auditorium is in A Building at 72 East Concord St. Boston, MA 02118 on the Boston University Medical School campus.

~Kelly

 

Newton, Brookline, Boston, and local businesses!

If you want to appeal to a local audience and support the arts, check this out.

Regular readers of this space know that I’m the General Manager for Cappella Clausura.  Aside from looking for volunteers for our group, running front of house, and doing all the other things I do, one of my other responsibilities is to find advertisers who’ll help defray the costs of keeping the doors open and the lights on.

That’s where you come in, dear readers.  Do you own a small business that would benefit from advertising in Cappella Clausura’s programs?  Would you benefit from buying linkspace on our website?  If the answer is yes, (or even maybe) then I have all of the details below to help you contribute the arts and drive customers to your door at the same time.

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#WheresRory goes to @HarvardMuseum- The Glass Flowers part 2/2

Well, Rory has seen a lot in is trip at HMNH.  It’s taken four previous posts that you can view here, here, here, and here.  This is the last in the HMNH series.  Rory had a very busy day, but, as you’ll see, he got quite a sendoff from the staff when it was time to go home.

But first, more flowers.

Ok, technically, cacti.  Either way, they're really cool.
Ok, technically, cacti. Either way, they’re really cool.

Continue reading “#WheresRory goes to @HarvardMuseum- The Glass Flowers part 2/2”

#WheresRory goes to @HarvardMuseum- The Glass Flowers

Rory has made his way through much of HMNH at this point.  In my previous posts, he’s seen much of what the museum has to offer and even got a “backstage entrance”.  Thus far we haven’t seen Rory’s visit to the crown jewel of the HMNH collection, the Glass Flowers.

Rory is Furiously Happy about seeing the Glass Flowers.
Rory is Furiously Happy about seeing the Glass Flowers.

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Apparently, Dash does not like the Grateful Dead

Or, perhaps, it’s more accurate to say that he’s not a fan of tie dye.   He is, however, a fan of play.  And of stuffed toys.  And of absolutely killing stuffed toys while playing.  And, unlike Rerun, he doesn’t eat the stuffing.  WIN.

Which bring us to tie dye, dancing bears, and the Grateful Dead.

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#WheresRory goes to @HarvardMuseum- time for MORE #taxidermy

This is the third post in a series about Rory’s trip to HMNH.  This is the final taxidermy post and, as promised, there are some old friends in these halls.  Today’s photos are from New England Forests, The Great Mammal Hall, and the Arthropod Gallery.

We’ll start in New England Forests.

Rory!  Don't turn around...
Rory! Don’t turn around…

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#WheresRory goes to @HarvardMuseum- time for #taxidermy

As I indicated in my post from the other day, my trip to HMNH with Rory involved a lot of photography.  Enough that if I put it all in one post I’d either crash WordPress or everyone would give up because it was tl;dr.  So, today we’ll see the photos from some of the parts of the museum that feature more dead things, though not quite as old.  That’s right, I’m talking about taxidermy.

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#WheresRory goes to @HarvardMuseum

Today I took Rory out for his first Harvard adventure.  As I printed Rory at work at MIT he’s seen a little of that campus.  Tuesday, after I finished work at Harvard, Rory had a chance to see some of the, erm, flora and fauna of HMNH.  Ok, less flora and more fauna.

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