Pentatonix - A post script

After watching Pentatonix in my previous post, I thought it would be a good idea to show you just how wide-ranging their talent is, and how diverse their videos are.  So here is two minutes and sixteen seconds of pure fun.

Pentatonix with Lindsey Stirling

OK, you all know how much I dig Pentatonix.  They are always doing something new and different, and their videos are really unique, e.g. their amazing medley of Daft Punk tunes ... see my earlier post.  

A while ago they teamed up with the gifted violinist, Lindsey Stirling to produce a terrific video cover performance of "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons.  As you can see from the Wikipedia quote below, the performance won the Response of the Year in the You Tube Music awards.  Anyway, I won't keep you any longer.  Check it out on You Tube right here.

She performs a variety of music styles, from classical to pop and hip-hop to electronic dance music. Aside from original work, her discography contains covers of songs by other musicians and various soundtracks.^[6][7] Stirling is also a YouTube sensation: her music video "Crystallize" finished as the eighth-most watched video of 2012,^[8] and her cover version of "Radioactive" with Pentatonix won Response of the Year in the first YouTube Music Awards in 2013.^[9] Lindsey has also sold more than 1 million singles worldwide^[10] and on May 2014 her second studio album Shatter Me peaked #2 at the Billboard 200. Her YouTube channel had, as of June 2014, more than five million subscribers and 675 million total views.

I'm totally a sucker for Pentatonix and Lindsey is as hot as her talent.

By the way, if you want hear the original version from Imagine Dragons, check it out right here.  Guess what, I like the Pentatonix version more than than the original.

Back at home...

Hi All:

Got home yesterday.  Stand by for pictures in the next day or so...

The rental house

Here is the house at about 6 pm.

Having a great time.

We arrived at the rental house yesterday afternoon. Even better than I expected. Mellowing out and playing games with the grandkids. Got 2 more days and then heading for home on Friday morning.

Vacation begins tomorrow

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we are taking off for a well-deserved vacation.  We will wend our way north with stops at Mt. Shasta and Eugene, to arrive on Friday for a big family reunion at my aunt's place in Longview, Washington.  We will hang out there with my brother and sister and children and grandchildren and hoards of cousins through Sunday.  Off on Monday morning to a large house near Mt. Rainier that I rented for four nights.  My daughter and the grand-kids will join us along with my sister and brother-in-law.  The place is awesome, with the White River running past the back yard.  Check out this little video, which will show you how cool it is.  

I'm planning on taking tons of photos, which I will share with you when we get home.  I am not taking my laptop so I'm not sure whether I will blog during the trip.  I have downloaded the Blogger app for my smartphone so I'm hoping to be able to blog that way.  We'll see.

Ciao for now,

~ Tom

I've checked out...

Here are the final two paragraphs of E.J. Dionne's column in today's WaPo:

Pelosi, for her part, went out of her way to praise “the Grand Old Party that did so much and has done so much for our country.” Commending the opposing party is not an election year habit, but her point was to underscore that Republicans had been “hijacked” by a “radical right wing” that is not simply “anti-government” but also “anti-governance.”

On balance, Washington gridlock has hurt Democrats more than Republicans by dispiriting moderate and progressive constituencies that had hoped Obama could usher in an era of reform. The key to the election will be whether Democrats can persuade these voters that the radical right is the real culprit in their disappointment — and get them to act accordingly on Election Day.

The second paragraph made me realize that I have fallen among the dispirited "moderate and progressive constituencies that hoped Obama could usher in an era of reform."  I rarely listen to the MSNBC shows any longer and I have given up political pod casts for pod casts aimed at the arts and sports.  I fall asleep each night listening to sports talk shows and spend a lot of time reading books on all subjects, EXCEPT current politics.  Guess what?  I feel a whole lot better.  Ain't nuthin' I can do about the FUBAR state of our government, so I'm going to avoid being "dispirited" by not paying very much attention to the stuff that makes me crazy-depressed.  This will probably change when the 2016 presidential election gets underway, but until then, consider me gone.  And, go Giants, 49ers, Warriors, and US women's World Cup soccer team (women's World Cup is in Canada next summer!).