obligatory

Yeah I think it’s kinda like, Kelly Clarkson could put out a jazz album, but that doesn’t make her a *jazz musician*.

He’s trained as far as I know, he just isn’t terribly good, and the instrument itself is, when you take away the microphones, pretty below-average. It’s pretty! But it has very little resonance (which is exacerbated by the technical problems).

yeah when he first burst on the scene I was flabbergasted at how popular he was. The guy has a nice voice, sure. but no emotional range, no resonance, no volume........you know, not an opera singer. But whatevs

Actually, I think that’s a really good analogy. As a former dancer who was good enough for a student but not good enough to actually go pro, I think you’re dead on. My family still sometimes refers to me as a dancer or ballerina, and I’m like, no. I have taken class with professional dancers and I had no chance of…

It’s defined, in a nutshell, as the ability to sing acoustically over an orchestra. He can’t. He sings with microphones. The handful of times that he has sung, un-amplified, alongside legit classical singers didn’t go well. For instance, he sang at the Richard Tucker Gala last year with Renee Fleming and you simply…

He honestly might have some training, I’m not sure. I imagine that he does, but it takes more than training to declare oneself an opera singer. Think about it like calling yourself a ballerina. You wouldn’t call yourself that if you’d just taken some classes as a kid, you’d probably only call yourself that if your…

My mom is a huge opera fan and would regularly mock Bocelli! It was great!

He’s what we call a popera singer. He really has no business on the operatic stage.

When I was in music school, one of the opera professors had an article on his door about Bocelli and how when he debuted at the Met, people couldn’t hear him beyond the second row. BECAUSE HE IS NOT AN OPERA SINGER.

Clearly. It was stunt casting. As a “Happy Days” fan, I remember that they brought in Chachi to appeal to a younger audience when Richie and the gang got too old. Bob Loblaw made a joke about skewing younger. His name and his casting were his two jokes. He was in an ensemble with amazing actors and impecible writing,…

The definition of a Republican is someone who campaigns on the premise that government doesn’t work and once elected sets about proving it.

You, sir, are a mouthful!

My wife and I have been on an Arrested Development marathon over the last week. We just got to Bob Loblaw Law and man, Baio just fucking sucked the wind right out of that show knowing what I know now.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late/ Before you’re six, or seven or eight/ To hate all the people your relatives hate/You’ve got to be carefully taught.

If you’re a book lover, you will fall in love with Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series. Starts with The Eyre Affair. Absorbing, witty, crazy at points, and consistently hilarious.

Thanks. This is especially meaningful because I carry a lot of guilt over wanting more than two - both guilt for my kids “not being enough” and for wanting more when others don’t even have one. I’ve also had people tell me that I don’t deserve to be sad. You get all these weird conflicting responses. But the…

Oh come on, these folks’ pregnancy is not about the OP, but the OP’s feelings are sure about the OP, and they’re also totally understandable and she’s allowed to have them. Since when has scolding grieving people been an elegant move?

The Discworld Series from Terry Pratchet are going to be my go-to recommendation. There are 40-some books, but they’re split into groups (a half dozen are about some rural witches, 8 or so are about the police in the world’s major city, a few are about the running of the city itself). They’re charming and smart and…

That house Asian thing is particularly bullshit when Cho has put herself out there as a critic of Swinton getting the role. It’s like, “I speak for Asians when I say we’re upset at you.” “Can you explain why you think people are upset about this thing, so I can understand.” “This bitch thinks I speak for Asians, fuck…