Bancrofts

KOHLER K-11416-CP Bancroft Hand Towel Holder, Polished Chrome
$46.10
Perfect size to hold a hand towel that is folded in half. Hand towel covers up the white part of the bar, so you just see chrome.

Kind of a pain to install, but I guess that is the case with most "fixtures".

Comes with all the parts needed to install. You will need a drill.

Great Recordings Of The Century - Humperdinck: Hansel Und Gretel / Karajan, Schwarzkopf, Grummer, Metternich, et al
$23.98
Can it really have been as long ago as 1953 that this famous performance was recorded? I can no longer remember how the original issue sounded, but the sound comes over very well in general on this remastered set. As often with analogue-to-digital transfers there is a slight `edge' to the effect, particularly of the voices, but that is a very minor matter when set against the flawless clarity throughout. It has been a real thrill too to be reminded of the tone of the great Philharmonia Orchestra in its heyday. The horn sound right away in the first bars is exquisite by way of getting off to a perfect start, and the engineers for their part have done a brilliant job with the echo-effects in the forest.

The only names among the singers that I have stayed familiar with down the years are those of the Hansel and Gretel themselves, Elisabeth Gruemmer and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. However the entire cast is, to my own way of thinking, something close to ideal. Shwarzkopf and Gruemmer do not attempt any childlike vocal tone, and thank goodness for that. These vocal roles are written for adult sopranos and they call for a good deal of power on occasions. It is the music itself that evokes childhood with its innocent and beautiful tunes, a number of which are songs that that would remain as songs if this opera were given as a spoken stage-play. The other singers all seem to me to understand their parts very well too. What they bring to them is what this music calls for - tact, sensitivity, beauty of tone and musicianship first last and always. Fairy tales only involve simple and schematic characterisation. The witch obviously has to sound witchy to a certain extent, and I find the effect nicely judged here and not overdone. Similarly with the jovial father after a good day's trading and a few drinks to celebrate. Perhaps Maria von Isolvay could have suggested a little more annoyance when she knocks over the milk-jug and have sounded a trifle more aghast when she becomes aware of the danger from the witch. However even if so I still prefer restraint to exaggeration. This is not grand opera, after all.

It is singularly beautiful opera. The witty and stylish, though desperately shallow, Viennese critic Hanslick quotes with rueful agreement someone's statement that Hansel and Gretel is the finest opera since Wagner. I sincerely hope that, superficial though he was, he meant German opera - Verdi's Otello was only from a few years earlier, and Falstaff must have been premiered at something like the same time as Hansel and Gretel was. Assuming this interpretation, I guess I would have to agree as well.

I like the composer's photograph, with his innocent, vulnerable features. I would have liked another, of Karajan as he was in 1953, and I'm trying to recall him as he was then with his hair brushed back from his temples as if in the slipstream of his powerboat. The years have softened a certain antipathy I used to feel towards his showman's approach, and I am coming increasingly to admire some of his earlier work. This is a reissue that I recommend cordially, but please be aware that at a budget price the full libretto is not included. However the German liner-notes on the work and the composer are translated into English, the story must be familiar to everyone and it is easy enough to follow what is happening. All these years later it is still as fresh as the strawberries that the children picked in the forest.

Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men
$16.00
Even though the author prefaces with, "the intention is not for you to read this & relive your experience", I have to admit, I had to book the book down after only reading a few pages. Once I realized that I was safe in my own environment, I, also slightly hesitantly, started reading again. This time, I could not stop reading. Some parts of the book were uncomfortable, but only because it was real. Then, the payoff: finding out why he had behaved the way he did & to be reassured that it really was not my fault.

The Little House on the Prairie
$29.99
The TV series was ok for the kids and my girlfriend but this tells more of a real tale.