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Reposted by Anne Midgette

Tim Carvell @timcarvell.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

We’ve entered the period of the evening when I can’t tell whether the “it’s all over now” vagueposts are about Platner, the USMNT or McConnell.

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Reposted by Anne Midgette

Adam Weinstein @adamweinstein.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

I'm so disillusioned, I almost don't even care who gets the FIFA Peace Prize next year

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Always match your cats to your china. #catsofbluesky (Sadly the vase was broken and mended long before kintsugi was widely known in New England, so instead of veins of gold it shows veins of brown glue. But they match the cat's markings.)

A chunky white cat with blue eyes and some cream/tan markings sits next to a pot-bellied blue and white Chinese vase that has tan marks where it was mended with glue.

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Reposted by Anne Midgette

Jan Carson @jancarsonwrites.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

It’s mortifying to be scrambling to fill a bookstore event but that’s the reality. I’m in Scotland and England next week. There are tix left for these events. The London one will be cancelled if I don’t sell some tickets soon so all pre-bookings and help with getting the word out is appreciated.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

My husband has just purchased a book containing hundreds of haikus about sea cucumbers/sea slugs. "This book has brought me so much joy," says one Amazon review. Seriously, who can resist?

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

This is what doing the right thing looks like. Kudos to Jonathan Biss for resigning his post in protest and for this strong op-ed. www.thestar.com/gift-redeem?...

thestar.com

Gift-redeem

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

Congratulations to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which managed to upstage the flaming dumpster fire that is the Kennedy Center in the collective mind of the classical music world this Friday by dismissing its very fine music director, Andris Nelsons. Can't wait to hear the back story.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

If you're anywhere in the area, don't miss this! It's a great piece and I'm really looking forward to it.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

I'll take Heartwarming Media Posts for $1000, Alex. Remember how everyone screamed when the New York Times turned its sports department into something called the Athletic? Well, the Athletic has just hired the cream of the Washington Post sports department, who were fired earlier this month.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

There are still humane editors at the @washinpost.com, because someone let one of the journalists they'd fired reach out to readers one last time to announce her own newsletter for local news in the DMV. Sign up and support Alisa Tang's new venture; we need local news! alisadailydose.beehiiv.com

alisadailydose.beehiiv.com

Alisa’s Daily Dose | Alisa's Daily Dose

Offering you comfort & community in the DMV

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

In the mail today: a card from my friend in Germany -- dated December 10. Today is February 13. When people say the mail is slow these days, they aren't kidding.

A German Christmas card with the words "Frohes Fest" over a Santa and a Christmas tree -- which took two months to arrive.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Just in time for Valentine's Day: "Quartet for Anne," which my husband Greg Sandow wrote years ago as the best birthday present ever, is now streaming on Apple Music. music.apple.com/us/album/qua...

music.apple.com

Quartet for Anne by Terra String Quartet on Apple Music

Song · 2026 · Duration 4:49

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Such a great review of "Wuthering Heights" - "a large dumb terrarium of sensation: a slick, sweaty, chest-beating, garment-rending, gloopy-albumen total eclipse of the heart." Dave White in SLUGGISH. sluggish.ghost.io/wuthering-he...

sluggish.ghost.io

"Wuthering Heights" - when loving lovers love

It begins with a very horny public execution. Don't remember that from the book? It's fine, that's why Emerald Fennell's film adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights is called "Wuthering ...

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

I would be willing to bet that someone at the Pentagon who issued this directive thought El Paso was in Mexico. And the FAA had to step in with a map.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

I used to focus on what classical music the #olympics figure skaters chose for their programs - but this year they appear to have entered Wagner's Siegfried himself in competition. (I kid, I kid. I know this is Ilia Malinin, the top American man. The visuals, though.)

Blond-haired, blue-eyed American figure skater Ilia Malinin in the warrior costume he wears for his short program, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Wagner's Siegfried.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Everybody watch the trailer for this important movie on sexual abuse, "Dear Lara," and hope that after its success at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, distributors will pick it up. Ask the young violinist who choked out a tearful Thank You in the Q&A. share.google/hBosgncNRAev...

share.google

"Dear Lara" Trailer

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Many @washingtonpost.com international reporters were laid off while working overseas and left to figure out for themselves how to get home. This fundraiser is for them and other former staffers who worked to help get the news out about what was happening in their countries. gofund.me/232347921

gofund.me

Donate to Support for Washington Post international employees, organized by Michelle Lee

Among the hundreds of journalists laid off by The Washington Post on … Michelle Lee needs your support for Support for Washington Post international employees

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

The Washington Post has only a single arts critic left - everyone else got fired today, along with all three arts editors. (There are still a couple of excellent arts reporters.) I was so upset I dusted off my blog to have my say: annemidgette.com/blog/f/a-req...

annemidgette.com

A requiem for arts coverage

I used to say I wished that newspapers would treat their arts sections the way they treated their sports sections. What I meant was that sports sections offered a balanced mix of news stories, feature...

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

I was intensely annoyed by this sentence in a book review. One woman produced brilliant work in a tiny room; therefore we shouldn't complain that women's lives have historically been circumscribed? Wow. (The book is "One Aladdin Two Lamps" and he does like it, but jeez.) @hamiltoncain.bsky.social

A print quote from a Washington Post book review

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Wrapping presents is going fine, thanks for asking. Happy Christmas to all who celebrate, and peace and love to everyone in this holiday season. #catsofbluesky #christmascat #christmaspresent #happyholidays

Black cat sitting in an Amazon box looking uncertain.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

I was looking for images of 18th-century silver online as reference for my book-in-progress, and now there's an excited eBay seller out there who thinks I'm about to make an offer on a mustard-pot.

An ornate 18th-century silver mustard-pot with a cobalt-blue glass insert from Augsburg, Germany, for sale on eBay - it's under $600; should I consider it?

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Turns out I was right about the Kennedy Center trees (see last Skeet). It was the last administration that decided to take them down, because they were old and the root systems were affecting the structural integrity of the building. Let's see what the current administration does to replace them.

Night view of a now-empty stretch of the Kennedy Center terrace, where the willow trees were felled due to their age

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

When I heard the @kennedycenter.bsky.social had cut down half the trees on the terrace, I was prepared to be upset - until I looked for myself after a concert on Saturday and saw how sickly the remaining trees are looking. 54 is old for a willow. Maybe it was just their time.

The Kennedy Center terrace at night, with four remaining trees, three with significant dead limbs reaching up into the darkness.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

I raised a windowblind that we usually keep closed, and the cat thinks I got him a new streaming service. #catsofbluesky #cats #easilyamused

Black cat sitting intently staring out the window at the side of the neighbor's house.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Tonight: check out this webinar Greg Sandow and I are leading about singing actors, acting singers, and the myth that today's opera performances are better acted than those of the past. Register here: jussibjorlingsociety.org/events/midge...

jussibjorlingsociety.org

The Myth of "Park and Bark" with Anne Midgette & Greg Sandow — Jussi Bjorling Society

Thursday, September 18, 7pm - 8:30pm EST GUEST SPEAKER SERIES WEBINAR Members - FREE Non-Members - $35 Join former Washington Post chief classical music critic Anne Midgette and composer, vet...

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Doug McLennan once said criticism should be like a watering-hole, where people with different opinions can gather. I quote that all the time. It's not about thumbs up/down, but sparking discussion. We know there's not one "right" opinion about art; why pretend that's what criticism should offer?

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

So the Metropolitan Opera can castigate Anna Netrebko and get on its high horse about Ukraine -- and then get in bed with the Saudis? And at this point it seems everyone is too punch-drunk even to be outraged. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/a...

nytimes.com

The Met Opera Turns to Saudi Arabia to Help Solve Its Financial Woes

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Peak August, unlocked. (No, I didn't bake it, but I bought it at the local orchard, which has its own virtues.)

A piece of peach-blueberry-cherry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a ceramic plate

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Possibly my favorite AI mis-call ever.

An AI overview that says the name "Midgette" is most commonly associated with a low-maintenance ornamental shrub.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

My 13-year-old just told me he found a great way for a kid to earn money: you can get paid to write reviews about things on Netflix. I pointed out that he was sitting at the table with two parents who had supported themselves for years by writing reviews. He was unimpressed. 🤣🤣🤣

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Wordle 1,434 3/6* ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I don't usually share Wordle results, but this one made me cackle.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

"What have you done with the sun?!"

Two cats, one black and one white, sit just inside an open door looking out at the rain.

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

I fly a lot, and I've learned the drill: take off shoes, computer out of bag. So this morning I took off a shoe - and noticed no one else was. Then the TSA lady yelled at me - "Did you hear anyone tell you to take off your shoes?" as if, where would I have gotten such an odd idea. 🤣 #timeschange

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

TFW you are searching online for a cheap household item you once bought at IKEA, and you find it listed as "Vintage IKEA item from the second half of the 20th century" for $60 #ifeelold #notselling 🤣🤣

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

Is anyone else finding that various GPS apps are having more trouble locating their house? I live directly on a fairly main street in DC, and increasingly people are being directed to the alley behind my house, or spots a block or more up or down the street. Just me?

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Reposted by Anne Midgette

Laura E. Hall @lauraehall.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Today, March 24, at 1:30 AM, silent film star Don Lockwood and his friends Kathy Selden and Cosmo Brown realize they can save flop film The Duelling Cavalier by turning it into a musical (🎥 Singin’ in the Rain, 1952)

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Reposted by Anne Midgette

Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

It’s worth it to read the whole thing but here’s how it begins, and for something so connected to the time Chaplin made it, boy it also seems prophetical

I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor.
That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone - if possible - Jew, Gentile - black man - white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness - not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone.
The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.
Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost...

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Anne Midgette @classicalbeat.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Resolution: put on workout clothes when you get up so you'll be all ready to work out, no excuses! Reality: put on workout clothes when you get up so you can be very comfortable and energized when sitting at your desk all day.

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