Forget Domani

Do you recognize this angel?

 Bucharest, 2011

My clue for you is the song Forget Domani sung by Katyna Ranieri. Listen to it, if you have a few minutes, it's so fun (right click on the title to open the link in a new tab).

Here is a longer view for the answer.

 

She is called Spirit of Ecstasy and has quite the romantic history. This hood ornament has adorned the RR since 1911. And the whole yellow car...

 

And what has that to do with Forget Domani? The song won Best Original Song at the 23rd Golden Globe Awards. It was for the movie The Yellow Rolls-Royce. It looks like a good film, but I've not seen it. Have you?

This post links with Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday.

Z is for Zither

A zither is any stringed musical instrument whose strings are the same length as its soundboard. There are many styles of zithers. Typically it is composed of a flat sound box with 30 to 40 strings stretched over it and played horizontally with the fingertips, a plectrum, or a bow.

The yatga is a traditional Mongolian plucked half-tube zither and can have 10-21 strings with movable bridges. When I was in Ulaanbaatar, I heard this woman play a 12-string yatga.

Ulaanbaatar, 2007

If you'd like to hear the sound, here is a 23-second video taken in the same small theatre you see in my photo. This tune sounds to me like a pleasant traditional folk song. For a more sophisticated sound, listen to this award-winning player on what looks to be a 21-string yatga.

This is my Z contribution to ABC Wednesday. Check out how others fared with this challenging letter.

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To my regular blogger friends, tomorrow I will slip behind the Great Firewall of China, so I may be unable to post or visit any blogs for the next 10-12 days. See you when I return!

E is for Entertainment

To be honest with you, I'm usually a titch cynical about "cultural" shows put on for tourists. But we were in Ulaanbaatar on a special mission and we could not say "no" to our hosts when they suggested we go. A nudge is sometimes a blessing. 

The show of traditional Mongolian musicians, singers, dancers and acrobats in a small intimate theater turned out to be one of the delightful highlights of our stay in the capital.

 

 

 Ulaanbaatar, 2007

If you'd really like to be entertained here today, I gladly nudge you to visit this video (after you say hello to me) and learn a little about the music made with the two-stringed marin whoor (horse-headed violin) that often accompanies khoomii, Mongolian throat singing. It's a treat to the receptive ear.

I'm linking with Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday. Go check out other fun takes on the letter E this week.

[SkyWatch] Spirit in the Sky

I'm on a roll. Rock and roll. Well... maybe just old classics.

Yesterday while posting my King of the Road it was the song I had in mind. Fellow blogger Louis gave the link to the original 1964 Roger Miller version. Yay! 

I was out on my late afternoon walk when I saw this action in our sky and I was compelled to step up my pace to the beat in my brain of Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum circa 1970).

Life does that to me... connects me to music, I mean. You too?

 Manila, 2010

There are many more interesting and beautiful skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.