Saturday, July 21, 2012 @ 11:49pm
Dave's Reviews (three of them anyway) Are In!
One more weekend to see Iolanthe at the Bagley Wright Theater, Seattle Center. Tickets are here:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/249073
Your secret discount code is Peri20Cast12
And now (this is the part that makes me tremble) -- excerpts from the reviews:
...Dave Ross (KIRO-FM), fast-talking, lightfooted, quickwitted and devious as the Lord Chancellor, is as always a delight to hear and watch. Alyce Rogers brings excellent comic timing and dramatic skills to her role as the Fairy Queen. Rachel Brinn as Iolanthe carries her role well, while Hayley Gaarde as Phyllis and John Brookes as Strephon look and sound perfect as the young lovers—kudos to costume designer Candace Frank for Phyllis’s enchantingly pretty outfits.
http://www.cityartsonline.com/fairies-and-politicians-anyone
...The entire company was excellent, with special praise for Alyce Rogers' nasty-but-redeemed Queen of the Fairies, Rachel Brinn's fine Iolanthe, John Brookes' soaring vocals as Strephon, Hayley Gaarde's thrilling trill-a-minute soprano exploits as Phyllis (Kathryn Grayson lives, methought), James Caspers' perfectly proper scene-stealing as Private Willis, and - a tradition since 1979 - the incredible work of Seattle's 'Patter King,' Dave Ross...
http://www.sgn.org/sgnnews40_29/page24.cfm
...the climax turns from farce to pathos when Strephon's miscegenating parents finally reunite: Rachel Brinn, as the title character, gets one of Sullivan's most heartrending arias, and Ross, as the periwigged Lord Chancellor, shows he can handle drama as expertly as comedy...
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2012-07-18/arts/peerless/
OK, so there is some miscengenation. But it's subtle, and it will not corrupt your children.
Three more magical performances -- don't be left out!
Saturday, March 24, 2012 @ 11:40pm
Dave Waves Flag of Former Imperialist Oppressors
Actually, just raising money for the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society...
You missed the gala, but the full production is in July at the Bagley Wright theater -- and if you can sing, you can audition next week.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 @ 11:35am
The Viralest of Viral Videos (Wednesday Morning Edition)
A driver in North Carolina was videotaping the two trucks on the road in front of her when one of them hit a 2x4 sitting on the road and sent it through her windshield. The video is making the rounds. Check it out below, and see if you don't wince in anticipation the whole time.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 @ 10:41am
The World's First Live Broadcast of a Music Video
Today at 10:30, we talk with Ben Gibbard, front man for the band Death Cab for Cutie, about the band's video for "You Are The Tourist", which they performed and broadcast live yesterday. They set everything up in advance, then streamed it on UStream. Listen to our interview and check out the footage below.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 @ 10:12am
Dave's Treasure
Dave -- back home visiting his Mom in New York -- came across a childhood treasure today: His baseball signed by the New York Yankees back in 1961 (or was it 1962? Dave's trying to figure that out.)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 @ 10:00am
Where Eagles Nest
The world is obsessed with this live-cam of a bald eagle's nest, and we at Ross & Burbank are no exception.
The eagle is guarding two chicks and one still-unhatched egg in her nest in Decorah, Iowa. From time to time, the male comes back with food (rats, birds, your usual light eagle fare) and helps feed the young.
Watch for five minutes, and you might just find that five hours have slipped away in no time.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 @ 8:28am
So just who IS essential in a government shutdown?
Dave Ross Commentary - Listen: So who IS essential?
Job one now facing the government of the world's last superpower - how to shut itself down.
Oh, the terrorists must be beside themselves - hey wait! That's our job!
Sorry guys - we beat you to it.
Watch and learn! For example - Here's how we'll handle the military:
"The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would continue to be operated by the US military, but in some cases troops wouldn't get paid."
Essential employees must continue working without pay! Even if they're risking their lives!
And non-essential employees:
"If they're not essential. They better not be working. They better not even be checking their blackberry, or they could get fired in the event of a shutdown."
Yes - if you are a non-essential employee, do NOT work or you'll be FIRED. The federal government: one of the few employers where working - is a firing offense.
But again - this is the will of the people as expressed through our elected representatives.
We want essential government services, we just don't want to pay for them, so that will happen now. And as for non-essential services- we're saying "why do we provide them at ALL?"
You keep what's essential, you cut what's non-essential: What could go wrong!
"The IRS said it would continue collecting taxes. That's one of the essential services of governments. Not clear if refunds would be processed."
Whoa whoa - not clear if refunds would be processed? So you're saying the people who COLLECT the taxes are essential employees:
"But the IRS might not send out all the refunds on time."
Well - the animals at the National Zoo will still be fed. And Congress gets paid either way.
Subscribe to The Dave Ross Commentary podcast
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 @ 11:30am
Just Ducky
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried used to be the voice of the duck in the Aflac commercials. This fact eluded me (Andrew) until I heard he got fired from the gig for tweeting some unfunny yet pretty offensive jokes about the Japanese tsunami.
This could have been a PR nightmare for the insurance company, but Aflac turned the the situation into viral video gold. It launched a series of open auditions and invited anyone -- with or without a background in voice acting -- to try out to replace Gottfried.
