Elizabeth Honer and I have finished watching the extraordinary Chernobyl miniseries. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a must imo.
My Top 11 reactions:
The writing is a masterpiece. It is a five episode triumph.
The overall attention to detail from the control room to Pripyat shows a deep seated respect for the lives lost and those still affected by the tragedy, some who weren’t even alive in April 1986.
The characters are thoughtfully written with nuance and grace. All have light and dark with varying degrees.….well maybe with the exception of a certain person in episode 5….
I was so moved and previously unaware of the self sacrifice and bravery of so many citizens. Their moral choices carried life or death consequences during this regime. Witnessing these acts changed my mind when admittedly at first I was angrily thinking that this culture should stick to singing and not be trusted with nuclear safety.
The series has extremely graphic moments. It pulls no punches with showing what happens to people so greatly affected by the radiation. Hard to believe that clothing dumped after that night still emits dangerously high levels of radiation and Chernobyl will be safe to inhabit in 20,000 years. Archaeologists are going to have quite a find.
There is an eerie moment at the end of episode one that definitely seemed to be a nod to Alfred Hitchcock.
The science of the film is accessible to the layman (eg me) especially as the episodes evolve. Episode 5 is especially coherent for the non native scientific minds.
One gripe: The animal episode made its point very clearly but in my opinion was overdone.
If only people listened to Rocky in Rocky 4 in 1985. He and Drago were ahead of their time.
USSR coal miners give life. My capitalist brain believes if they don’t already have one, they need their own calendar.
An uplifting side effect of this tragedy is that after three decades without humans in the area around the plant, it has become a haven for wildlife.
When my dad was feeling down about not having a full time performing career because of choosing to raise a family and teach junior high music/church choir direct, I would remind him of his impact and how many people he touched through his music ministry. I think I pounded him on the shoulders and said something eloquent like “cut the crap Dad. There are construction workers who sing phrases from Gilbert and Sullivan because of your legacy” 😉 Now thanks to the people he influenced, his memory stays alive 23 years after his passing. Sure do miss you, Dad. There’s a little bird who would love you.
Thank you so much for sharing this Janet Mensen Reynolds (I was at a wedding last night and sat next to someone who had your dad as a teacher! He had wonderful things to say about him. Small world 💜💜 Lori & Jay Aldrich)
(How I am surviving a week plus without a Facebook fix)
By E. Perryman 5.25.24
Hello friends. I have a sad tale to tell. It is NBD in the grand scheme but it has been life-affecting nonetheless.
Mischievous NJ gnomes have been hot on my trail this week forcing me off the grid. Prayers to the electronic patron saint “Isidore of Seville” were futile. IOS (clever;-) is NO CAP as the kids would say. A patron saint of electronics does exist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isidore_of_Seville)
My HTTP cloud clown began trending its innocuous internet reign of terror at the beginning of this week.
For the first time since I moved from MySpace to FB in 2008, Facebook incarcerated me from posting, reacting, sharing, and messaging from Tuesday to Friday.
Why, you may wonder? Well, I was fb jailed because I shared a meme on Facebook that I found shared widely on Facebook. My punishment also prevents me from sharing ads or going live for a month. Their algorithm got a good criminal for sure lol. :-(((
My exile this week made me realize how much I connect with people on this forum. I had to figure out solutions to contact folks with time sensitive networking information that I saw posted. So I powerlessly scrolled and did my time; this is virtual kryptonite for an enneagram 8.
On the morning my sentence was to be lifted, I happily picked up my phone to a frozen and lifeless apple logo. No amount of button pressing holding, pressing, charging, hail to Steve Jobs, or internet triage provided relief. Because I couldn’t verify my work Chromebook from my phone via duo mobile, I also couldn’t get online. Holy 1980s. Luckily Judd School’s very own Meghan and Husna secured me a manual code.
So after school, I journeyed to the posh Apple Store. A middle parted hairstyle and tube sock wearing young adult discerned that a factory reset of my iPhone 15 pro max was necessary. With tech support and iCloud data restoration however, my gridless malaise was extended to a full calendar day of no calls, texts, gps, allergy count, and Apple Pay.
Luckily I found a mall rando who was willing to text my wife explaining where I was and when I’d be home. I currently only know about 5 phone numbers now by heart. It truly escapes me why we don’t have pay phones anymore. It seems that we are overly optimistic about the infinite ease of current communication. It doesn’t take much from Mother Nature to bring us back to Walnut Grove. You betcha Mrs Olsen would have a say about me using her new telephone line…..but I digress.
Sadly, the trolls of my cyberspace were not yet done with me.
I may be out of jail now that I have a working phone but I am still unable to access my fb account. I am not able to verify from 2 sources on my factory reset phone. Now that I’ve scanned my ID, hopefully this will only be 48 more hours or so says the Meta bots.
My bank also thought I was interacting with a scammer and restricted my account.
This morning I didn’t have proof of my catering order so I had to rebuy the order. Wheeee I say.
Number 3 brought this whole scena to a screeching round of tears which actually felt nice.
So for now I have insta and Eliz’s page. Thank you, Eliz.
Most importantly, I now have a poignant reminder that I need to periodically practice being off the grid for good measure.
SUOR ANGELICA: SAINT OR SYBIL? Op-Ed by Elizabeth Perryman Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Suor Angelica’s 17th century Gualtiero/Clara aristocratic pedigree and extended noble Florentine family eg Parent’s Principessa sibling.
I first sang a scene of Suor Angelica at Louisiana State University from Senza Mamma to the end 24 years ago. It was a crossroad for me as a singer. It forced me to decide whether I had the cojones for this craft. It is quite a schism to face making the shift from being a measured public school teacher to putting it out there as a performer. I have been working on de-editing and leaving it all on the stage ever since. Last night after our final performance of Suor Angelica at Wagner College Main Hall Theater, an audience member kindly sought me out to share that she loved how much I put myself completely out there.
Since my first Suor in 2000, things have most definitely changed. From losing my 63 year old father to a sudden death to….Hey mom, I like chicks to….trying process all of all the terror and societal fissures that have scourged our world since 9.11.01….these life changes and the sands of time have helped me peel my emotional onion or so my wife would say. One thing is for sure. My 1999 vista operating system does not run like my current clouded/AI ram…..I do not memorize like I used to that’s for sure. My memorization process used to be monkey hear, monkey do. Now I have to actually know pronouns, verbs, articles etc to make sense of singing in another language.
So this May, with my Gen X brain, I boned up and coherently learned this score. As a result, these days I have some conflicting thoughts about Sister Angelica, spinto protagonist extraordinaire. I do continue to have empathy for her plight however my view has more shades of gray than my former habit like black and white perspective. So I give you the various sides of Suor Angelica as an acrostic poem. Is she a saint or Sybil? You be the judge.
S Selfless except when it comes to her figlio which is fair.
U Unique/poetic way to communicate her emotions eg. Senza mamma prose “con un leggero scintillar di stella” (with the faint sparkle of a star)
O Obedient to a point with her Aunt. I sense they were very close and she was her Aunt’s favorite. Perhaps Suor’s defiance broke the Aunt’s heart. She probably feels that she indulged her.
R Reliable fellow nun. She’s adept with plants knowing how scourge can heal wasp stings and often lauded for her diligent praying.
A Anxious and prone to anger. She shows much anxiety over the carriage identity and when she will die so she can see her son in heaven. Her anger flashes when her Aunt brings up her immoral discretions.
N Noble. Her nobility comes across in her interactions with her fellow nuns and her unrelenting commitment to her son. Her wishes that he would have known her kiss, embrace, and love before his passing is heartbreaking.
G Green thumb nun extraordinaire. She lavishes love on her herbs and flowers and as she says before she drinks the poison “oh quante cure vo prodigate ora mi compensate” (Ah how much care I lavished on you, now you reward me.)
E Effusive and passionate. Suor is all in on whatever she does whether it is living as a nun, caring for her plants, or being there for her son regardless of mortal sin. Her passion comes out as she sings over the choir of nuns various times throughout the score in one case exclaiming that she is “on fire inside”.
L Last word-itis. Suor seems to love to get the last word in from “I live to serve” to “The virgin watches and judges you”.
I Instigator when necessary. Suor bringing up her deceased mother to the principessa was understandable from the perspective of her hurt but not advisable.
C Contrasting emotions. Suor goes from her penitent Johnny one note phrases throughout the opera to her epic leaps when she sings about how long she’s waited to hear from her family about her son. She brings the tea with the nuns when she says “NO” to having desires. A 72 hour hold may have been an option considering Suor’s persevering and impulsivity (drinking poison after approx 32 measures.)
A Apostle leanings. She definitely has a religious streak especially when she cautions Sister Chiara not to moan in pain from the wasp sting; it is a small suffering compared to Christ’s sacrifice.
I went to @eiu for my undergraduate work along with my colleague @polenzanitenor. My embryo baby dramatic throat was trained by wonderful professors like @jerrydaniels4363. It was the nurturing foundation for the larger schools I would attend in the years following. I had a chance to perform with professors as well as wonderful performance opportunities. Thank you @wagnercollegevocalperformance for this opportunity with colleagues such as @giovanni_pianista @vinbass88 and @michellesiemensmezzo with the students. I wasn’t sure how this would evolve teaching full time with church gigs and having to memorize fully and sing Suor 2 nights in a row (it is easier for me to sing Wagner Walkure). But it came to pass and I’m forever grateful.
This word sorellina, little sister, appears so lovely and benign at surface level. However, in one word, this 4 syllable linguistic gremlin showcases the tumultuous, potholed journey of my Midwestern tongue. In short, my “o” diphthong habit and recalcitrant back R & L is recipe to give my Italian diction the morbs. As Jerry Daniels can attest, I am a self taught R roller so I’m up to the challenge however it doesn’t make it less annoying. #tonguesdontlie
My red headed Dad sang the Vaughan Williams 5 mystical songs as a graduate student at Northwestern. He sang “ The Call” to my mom Janet Perryman at their wedding. Tonight I am performing in a concert that includes these songs. It has been a joy to hear the beautifully round and elegant sounds of the baritone Bryan Murray who is also a red head like my father was. 🥰🥹❤️☺️ #cosmiccoincidences #mysticalsongs #vaughanwilliams #imissyoudad
