Archive for August 28th, 2010

Pearls Before Commuters

Today I stumbled across this fascinating old article from the Washington Post about virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html A reporter challenged him to play in a Metro station as a street musician to see what would happen. Would commuters on their way to work recognize the transcendent beauty of his playing, or would they hurry on by? Bell had sold out Boston’s Symphony Hall three days earlier. Tickets for okay […]

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Mysterious Benedict, Part 2

I tried a new voice on as I read to the kids today. The character is called Constance Contraire, and she’s supposed to be a cranky, little thing. I decided she needed to sound nasal and annoying. My six-year-old stopped me after the first line. “Who is Constance?” she asked. I explained that she was the character we had just read about. She looked shocked. “My God!” she exclaimed, “she […]

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