[originally from 2.14.2007]
From Café Hayek:

Hmmmm:
What a world we live in. At Midomi, you can hum or sing a few bars of a song and it will find a recording of the song for you along with a bunch of amateur renditions. It’s a great time waster and a way to amaze your kids. It actually works which is marvelous and beautiful, though it may not have your song in the database, yet. Why is it called Midomi? Check out the logo.

(HT: MyDigiMedia)

Starbucks To Give Away Free iTunes Songs:
by Associated Press

Starbucks Corp plans to give away 50 million free digital songs to customers in all of its domestic coffee houses to promote a new wireless iTunes music service that’s about to debut in select markets.

From Oct 2 to Nov 7, baristas in the company’s more than 10,000 U.S. stores will hand out about 1.5 million ‘Song of the Day’ cards each day. The cards can be redeemed at Apple Inc’s online iTunes Store.

Also such luminaries as Dennis Arrowsmith, Dan Buchannan, Allison Greene, John Weinel, and more!

The Museum of Fine Arts, Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens:

Opera Under the Stars at Bayou Bend

Presented by Opera Vista

Cabildo
Amy Beach (1867-1944)

Saturday, September 22, 2007 8:00 PM
(Rain date September 29)

TEXAS PREMIERE!

$20 General Admission
$15 MFAH Members & Students with I.D.

Purchase Tickets

A first at Bayou Bend! A modern opera performed outdoors on the lawn of the expansive Diana Garden, with the 1920s mansion as the backdrop. Bring your folding chair or blanket and join us for a memorable evening of music and beauty. Opera Vista’s cast of 11 singers accompanied by a small orchestra will delight us with the Texas premiere of Cabildo, composed in 1932 by American composer Amy Beach, but performed for the first time in 1995 at Lincoln Center in New York.

In the opera, a group of tourists are led to the Cabildo, the old Louisiana governor’s mansion in New Orleans, and into the cell of the notorious pirate Pierre Lafitte who was imprisoned there during the war of 1812. One of the tourists accidentally stays in the cell and falls asleep. She dreams of Lafitte, his beloved Lady Valerie and his escape from prison.

Opera Vista is a new organization in Houston dedicated to presenting modern and contemporary works in innovative, interactive performances: www.operavista.org.

Gate opens at 7:30 p.m.; performance begins at 8 p.m. Door prizes during intermission presented by KUHF 88.7 FM – Houston Public Radio. Beverages available for purchase. No outside food or drink (except water). The evening will conclude before 10:00 p.m.

Call 713-639-7758 for more information and alternate parking arrangements for people with disabilities.