jumping clapping man

2 Followers
5 Blog Followers
Following:
Following Blogs: 8

Latest Activity

The View From My Seat: San Jose 2012 Nationals

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Feb 1, 2012, 1:33 am
I enjoyed capturing the magic of the US Nationals Long Programs and Free Dances from my 16th row seats. My Canon PowerShot SX 2010 IS, although not a professional SLR, gets me close to the action, with its 14X zoom. There were so many unforgettable moments, more predictably including the tributes t...
Comment - Like

jcm's Top 10 SF Performances of '11

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jan 7, 2012, 1:00 am
It’s time for my third annual Top 10 round-up. These don’t attempt to be comprehensive reviews…but rather an Amuse-bouche of the most stellar performances I witnessed by the Bay, in ’11. How in the world can I compare a Pop Star to a Handel opera, you ask? Well…I warm up the jcm-ulator, an...
Comment - Like

jumping clapping man ornament sighting!

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Dec 25, 2011, 12:55 am
My dear friend Jeff just shared the good news (and this photo) of his sighting of a jumping clapping man ornament on his Christmas Eve host’s tree! It’s kismet, I say. Enjoy… It makes me wonder…are there polite applause man, sitting man, sleeping man, or worse yet MIA man ornaments too?
Comment - Like

In the Bleak Midwinter

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Dec 23, 2011, 1:16 pm
Happy Christmas to you! Click on the image or link below (and turn up your volume) to enjoy my favorite performance from Christmas in the Ballroom 2011 (a track off our live CD). It features our chorale of 9 and pianist in a simple, largely unison arrangement of the Holst classic, by Catherine ...
Comment - Like

"Christmas in the Ballroom" 2011

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Dec 5, 2011, 10:22 pm
I’m thrilled to be taking part in a musical reunion, reviving this Bay Area tradition with a small chorale of very talented friends! This will be my 4th year taking part in “Christmas in the Ballroom” (and the 9th for its founders!). So, gather up your friends and family for a festive evening...
Comment - Like

SF Opera's RING "Valhalla Blog" Post

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jun 7, 2011, 1:22 am
Enjoy an updated and edited version of my previous post on San Francisco Opera’s “Notes from Valhalla: The RING Blog”: A Journey Through the Fire
Comment - Like

A Journey Into the Fire

jumping clapping man posted an article on - May 28, 2011, 1:13 pm
SFO’s Ring Two years ago I began a journey into the fire…into San Francisco Opera’s new production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. That journey comes full circle (pun intended) this month. It all started when I was invited to collaborate on the iconic brand image and identity for this Ring (with...
Comment - Like

Three Notable Female Vocal Jazz Discoveries

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jan 18, 2011, 1:46 am
Since I run my design biz from my home office, I have the freedom to follow my musical whims throughout a workday. But, I tend to craft a pretty predictable soundtrack. Almost without fail, I start the day with the equivalent of aural wallpaper: low-key, instrumental, classical music (ie: KDFC, or ...
Comment - Like

jumping clapping man: 2010 in Review, A Blog Assessment

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jan 2, 2011, 12:42 pm
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how jumping clapping man did in 2010, and here’s some interesting data on how the year looked!: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow! Crunchy numbers Madison Square Garden can seat 20,000 people for a concert. jcm was viewed about 68,000 ti...
Comment - Like

jcm's Top 10 Best LIVE Performances of '10

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Dec 29, 2010, 1:59 pm
It’s that time again! I’m serving up my second annual Top 10 LIVE Performances of the year. It’s a follow-up to my ‘09 list. Sadly, there are no Broadway shows on this list. I plan on remedying that in 2011! 1. Die Walküre, San Francisco Opera (Details) This production offered one of the ...
Comment - Like

Animated Holiday Greeting: from jcm to you!

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Dec 9, 2010, 3:52 pm
Dear Readers & Friends,   Please click on the image or link below (and kindly turn up your volume) to enjoy my holiday greeting to you: “Winter Gifts” Many blessings & best wishes to you and yours!
Comment - Like

Soprano Rhoslyn Jones' Official Website Launched!

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Dec 2, 2010, 9:35 pm
Enjoy the newest in my “Diva Website Series” (that’s tongue-in-cheek…well, perhaps it shouldn’t be?): www.rhoslynjones.com just went LIVE! Visit this new website to keep up and connect with San Francisco Opera Merola & Adler alumni, “The delicious diva,” soprano Rhoslyn Jones. E...
Comment - Like

Best Skating Programs of the Season: 2010

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Nov 16, 2010, 2:55 pm
The Grand Prix Landscape It’s that time of year, when we’ve witnessed 4 of the 6 Grand Prix events, and can now step back and assess the choreographic and program landscape, to compare and contrast what the skaters have put out there. Just a few of these skaters (and a single musical selection)...
Comment - Like

A Manifesto: To iPhone or Not to iPhone?

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Nov 12, 2010, 3:24 pm
I share here a recent solicited (and edited) opinion from a friend on my impending new phone purchase. The 7-year old Samsung Clamshell that came free with my Sprint plan finally kicked the bucket. His manifesto is chock-full of ruminations on the perks and disadvantages of both options. Perhaps it...
Comment - Like

"When Harry Met Salvatore"

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Nov 5, 2010, 5:18 pm
A gay take on a great scene from one of my favorite movies, and arguably one of the best romantic comedies of all time (which I just gladly rewatched). ❤       ❤       ❤       ❤       ❤       ❤ Harry: You realize of course that we could never be friends. Sal: Why not? ...
Comment - Like

Dramatic Soprano Heidi Melton's Official Website Launched!

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Oct 21, 2010, 12:29 pm
I’m ecstatic to announce the launching of Heidi Melton’s Official NEW Website! Click on the image or link below to visit her site. Once there, review her upcoming performances (book your flights!), sample her incredible artistry (via multimedia), read her blog musings, and more! She’s taki...
Comment - Like

A Koken's "Butterfly": Chapter 2

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Oct 16, 2010, 1:25 pm
The Adventures of… “Look! Up on the stage! It’s a samisan, it’s a parasol, it’s SUPER-KOKEN! Slower than a drifting glacier, more stealthy than a leopard on the hunt. Able to spin the turntable in a single hook.” Further Feats: 40 minutes of standing in a demi-plié, 6 child’s pose...
Comment - Like

"Toi Toi Toi" on SFO "Butterfly" Opening Night!

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Oct 12, 2010, 11:58 am
Inspired by a comment from La Cieca on one of my recent facebook statuses…here is the opening of my greeting to all my fellow Koken, cast, and creative staff tonight, on Opening Night of San Francisco Opera’s Madama Butterfly:
Comment - Like

NorCal (Less Tragic) Parterre Gathering: Part the Second

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Oct 7, 2010, 2:10 am
Casta Divas The City* might have been fogbound and frigid, and parterre.com may continue to offer up the occasional chill (via the Comments’ peanut gallery…aka The Real Housewives of Parterre?), but there was plenty of warm sunshine and good cheer still to be found in Petaluma. On Oct. 2nd, Ba...
Comment - Like

Creating Kabuki Illusions in San Francisco Opera's Upcoming "Madama Butterfly"

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Sep 14, 2010, 3:24 pm
Honored & Humbled I’m about to embark on one of my most exciting stage opportunities to date. Tomorrow night I dive into rehearsals for the San Francisco Opera production of Madama Butterfly. It’s the acclaimed 1982 Harold Prince (Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd, etc.) production from Lyric ...
Comment - Like

My Favorite Divas of This Generation

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Sep 11, 2010, 11:21 am
My responses to La Cieca’s quizzes and inquiries are often worthy fodder for re-posting here on jcm. Her current call for nominees is for “your favorite opera diva of this generation,” from which the surpreme list of ten will be crafted. The acceptable career range is onstage between 1980 and...
Comment - Like

"Turn the clock to zero…"

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Sep 8, 2010, 12:10 am
I have no idea which interpretation of this Sting song will hold true for me on this most important of days, but it inspires me to start anew, continue looking and building forward, and choosing love and truth: “I’m thinking in a brand new way… The river’s wide, (I’ll) swim across. We...
Comment - Like

The Buddhist "Middle Way" & Balance

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Aug 20, 2010, 11:04 pm
“The Buddha said, ‘I’ve discovered a new way to go, and it’s not the path of asceticism, and it’s not the path of sensory indulgence. It’s the Middle Way…everything needs to be balanced.” — Mark Epstein, psychiatrist “Fair goes the dancing when the Sitar is tuned. Tune us ...
Comment - Like

Wisdoms on Nirvana

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Aug 20, 2010, 10:23 pm
“There is no where else than here. The only gate is now. The only doorway is your own body and mind. There’s nowhere to go…there’s nothing else to be. There’s no destination. It’s not something to aim for in the afterlife. It’s simply the quality of this moment. Just this…this...
Comment - Like

Tales of an Opera Standee

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Aug 17, 2010, 4:45 pm
The Omniscient Mussel, hostess of the famed OperaPlot contest is writing a piece about opera standing room culture, and has put out a call for standees’ tales on the experience. Below are the my submitted musings. Standing in San Francisco I’ve enjoyed standing room at San Francisco Op...
Comment - Like

"Just as Long as I Have Breath"

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jul 25, 2010, 11:24 pm
The gift of a song at the “right” time Sometimes your first experience of a song can come at such a ripe, “right” time, it feels as if it were written expressly for you. The words seem to speak directly to you, and the state or space you’re currently in. Today that hap...
Comment - Like

Parterrians Partake in Gaiety @ The Pagoda!

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jul 13, 2010, 4:50 pm
Brace yourself for this historic and tragic first-ever NorCal gathering of parterre.com fans and followers! La Cieca has sanctioned it with an amusing post. We hope you can join us…I know I’m just itchin’ to get on with it. Opera fanciers, queens and lovers are encouraged and welco...
Comment - Like

A Very Short Video History of "Bel Canto"

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jul 7, 2010, 4:10 pm
My submission to La Cieca’s “You Can Ring My Bel Canto” competition, over at parterre.com was deemed one of four runners-up, from what must have been close to 50 submissions, I’m guessing. The challenge? To post a youtube video that serves as a sterling example of the art of bel...
Comment - Like

Inside Die Walküre @ SF Opera: A Photo-Narrative

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jun 26, 2010, 3:43 pm
Being a part of Francesca Zambello’s production of Die Walküre has raised the bar for me yet again on my operatic excursions as a “Super” at the San Francisco Opera. CHECK!…another dream fulfilled. This time Wagner! When I pass over the scratched and worn stage floor, I stil...
Comment - Like

Our Pink Martini Music Video Won 4th Place!

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jun 17, 2010, 1:50 pm
Our prizes? Two guest list tickets for an upcoming Pink Martini show, as well as some “other gifts” (possibly P.M. schwag?!). We’re contemplating one of the Hollywood Bowl Pink Martini shows in September. But, it’s tempting to save up for a European concert locale. What peo...
Comment - Like

The Final "Cut": Music Video Contest Entry

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jun 7, 2010, 3:42 pm
I now present to you my entry for La Cieca’s (parterre.com) light-hearted lip dub video competition: Although a winner hasn’t been announced, happily, my entry was featured today on parterre.com: Darkest Before the Dawn The song is opera diva Renée Fleming’s recent crossover sin...
Comment - Like

Identifying "The Good Guy Contract"

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jun 5, 2010, 7:17 pm
I recently read a revelatory article in Psychology Today by a Dr. Alex Lickerman (a Buddhist Physician). It is titled “The Good Guy Contract.“ It spoke volumes to me about many of my own interpersonal stumbling blocks. It identified some of my challenges in ways I had never considered or...
Comment - Like
jumping clapping man has updated the About Me section

"When the River Meets the Sea"

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Jun 2, 2010, 7:51 pm
Back in february, CJ and I performed with our friends in “EMERGENCY Cabaret Relief: Haiti.” It was our cabaret debut together, and our first performance together since we met six years ago, in ROLT’s production of The Wizard of Oz. We performed a song very near and dear to my heart, Paul ...
Comment - Like

"Ohayoo Ohio" Music Video Contest Entry

jumping clapping man posted an article on - May 28, 2010, 1:59 pm
Eleven months ago CJ and I launched the plans for my 40th Birthday celebration at the stylish, Mid-Century resort: The Century Palm Springs. Taking our favorite band’s festive inspiration, and our plans to imbibe cocktails aplenty, we named the weekend “Pink Martini-Land!” Fast fo...
Comment - Like

My 40th Bday in Palm Springs: Pink Martini-Land!

jumping clapping man posted an article on - May 27, 2010, 1:36 am
My head is still a bit in the clouds, after an unforgettable 40th birthday celebration in Palm Springs, entitled “Pink Martini-Land!”. It was our second time at The Century resort, and I already can’t wait to go back. My friends made it so very special, *sigh*! Wanna stay there you...
Comment - Like

Is Kristi Yamaguchi Jewish?

jumping clapping man posted an article on - May 22, 2010, 11:21 am
On our way to Palm Springs we discovered a wondrous thing: the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame Kristi Yamaguchi relief sculpture portrait and placard. It deems her “one of the most electrifying skaters in the modern era.” That’s not a word I would associate with her…perhaps R...
Comment - Like

"Pink Martini-Land!"

jumping clapping man posted an article on - May 14, 2010, 12:36 am
I’m off to the second installment of my 40th B-day festivities, entitled: Toodles for now! Meet me at poolside!
Comment - Like

"Halestorm": a Masquerade for Denise Hale

jumping clapping man posted an article on - May 13, 2010, 10:23 pm
Lucky me that my 40th B-day landed on the same day as one of the most fabulous San Francisco parties of the year: “Halestorm.” It was a masquerade hosted by Ken Fulk at his SOMA interior design/staging studio, in honor of socialite Denise Hale. It also marked the creation of the Denise H...
Comment - Like

The Fine Art of Plate Portraiture

jumping clapping man posted an article on - May 11, 2010, 9:08 pm
For my 40th Bday (last saturday) I commissioned some of the finest artistes in the Bay Area to create a distinct portrait of me or other luminary present. (Translation: A bunch of friends drew a face on a plate.) Here are the results…from brilliant, to f!@#$d up, to amusing: Me as Chang, in...
Comment - Like

My Drag Name: Lost & Found!

jumping clapping man posted an article on - May 7, 2010, 1:13 pm
Well, my over six month search for my drag name has come to an end. I (think) I found the pot ‘o gold at the end of that rainbow! But, the fun of getting there is worth sharing. You  may remember last October, I included an online poll here on jcm to help make the selection, and some of you ...
Comment - Like

Giddy With #OperaPlot Nods & Early Booty

jumping clapping man posted an article on - May 5, 2010, 8:27 pm
Wow, the pleasing aftershocks of #OperaPlot have proven to be just as fun as the contest itself. Here’s my latest happy news! Short Lists & Nods #OperaPlotter extraordinaire, and former winner muzicbizkids posted “Highlight Reel,” featuring his favorite “top 3%” on his bl...
Comment - Like

Weir & Lysacek Immortalized

jumping clapping man posted an article on - May 3, 2010, 10:22 pm
All the recent Weir/Lysacek mud-slinging, via the media is so silly and meaningless to me, I won’t even detail the ongoing bitch brawl here (and you likely already read it elsewhere). Clearly, they’re milkin’ this opportunity to increase their media presence (ie: “No press i...
Comment - Like

jcm's Best of #OperaPlot

jumping clapping man posted an article on - May 1, 2010, 3:15 am
In attempting to peruse all 907 entries of #OperaPlot, I realized that there are so many great ones, taking so many diverse approaches that the result is and will be HIGHLY subjective. Honestly, there are probably 20-30 deserving tweets. But, it will all come down to Jonas’ particular funny bo...
Comment - Like

jcm's #OperaPlot Contest Entries: Redux

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Apr 30, 2010, 3:10 pm
Thank goodness today is the final day of The Omniscient Mussel’s contest. I’m feeling the need to race off to #OperaPlot 12-Step after this week (it’s insanely addictive)! I want those tickets to Ireland so bad, I can smell the shamrocks. Now, cross your fingers with me, and pray ...
Comment - Like

The 2010 #OperaPlot Twitter Contest Begins!

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Apr 26, 2010, 12:59 pm
Today, The Omniscient Mussel launches her second annual “OperaPlot” contest. The goal? To synopsize any opera in 140 characters (including the hashtag #operaplot), and post up to 25 on twitter.com, before midnight EST, friday, April 30th. Anyone can enter, so hit her with your best sho...
Comment - Like

Alonzo King's LINES Ballet with SFO Adler Fellows

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Apr 23, 2010, 4:02 pm
The Melding of Classical Voice & Dance Thanks to my friend Sara, last night I attended one of the freshest, most daring shows I’ve seen in a very long-time. Somehow, it hadn’t even entered my radar before her mention of it. The first half was the World Premiere of “Wheel in the Mi...
Comment - Like

"The 40 Year-Old Homo" Blog Roast!

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Apr 22, 2010, 3:15 pm
Alas, it’s true…I’m a mere 2 weeks away from this notorious milestone. I aim to make it as whimsical and festive as possible. I welcome a blog roast here on jcm! So, fire away…hit me with your best shot! Whatchyoo got on me? Make Joan Rivers and Kathy Griffin proud. roast ...
Comment - Like

A French Delicacy Discovered: Andrée Esposito

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Apr 18, 2010, 1:46 pm
L’Objet du Désir Back in the pre-youtube days (yes, a mere 5+ years ago), presumably in one of my crusty old opera books, I came across this photo of a french diva who performed to acclaim from the mid-50′s through 70′s. I remember being smitten, and trying to imagine experiencin...
Comment - Like

The Cultural Phenom of the National "Diva"

jumping clapping man posted an article on - Apr 12, 2010, 1:10 am
Thanks (again) to Vinyl Divas, I discovered the singer “Gohar Gasparyan.” I youtubed her, simply because her name was so eccentric, and her mug not exactly the prettiest. I immediately smelled a camp classic discovery. Well, I was both wrong, and right. Turns out, she was very lovingly c...
Comment - Like

About Me

I lived most of the first 23 years in “The Queen City,” Cincy, Ohio (apart from design internships in The Big Apple; Andover, MA; and Worthington, OH). I then heeded the call of the left coast, accepting my first post-college job offer, diving into the deep Bay Area creative community, and discovering a new life.

I’m a freelance art director and graphic designer (web, brand & print). I live in San Francisco with my partner CJ, and our sassy orange tabby Sammie. We explore our spirituality in our UUSF community, and all around. We revel in our “backyard”: Golden Gate Park. I pursue my performing interests in local venues.

jumping clapping man's Blogs:

jumping clapping man's Followers

jumping clapping man is Following

Invite Your Friends

Invite your contacts to blogged from:
gmail yahoo