Judy Garland: The Concert Years- The Greatest Entertainer of All Time John Roberts 2023-02-12 | I now have over a 100k views of my talks on Youtube. I did this a decade ago but bad video quality made it languish so I redid it with better technology and after a decade of experience in Toastmasters International. In it I explore the most significant period of Judy Garland's artistic life: her concert years- the last 15 years of her life and deconstruct a couple of songs to show why she was so great. You might also enjoy my video on why I prefer early Barbra Streisand.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZGIlJy9Uvc&t=62s
AIDS Killed 27 Of My Friends. How I Coped With The Loss. John Roberts 2024-10-16 | I've never met anyone who went through what I went through so I had to find my own way to deal with the enormity of the loss of almost my whole circle of friends back in my 30s.The volume goes up mid way through****** I only have 3 gay friends from tha period who are in my life today and none went through what I went through. This talk does get a bit New Age-ish before the end if that bothers you. I hope this might help someone.
Dogo Argentino And The Ten Breeds That Went Into Creating The Breed John Roberts 2024-10-12 | I discuss the complicated pedigree of the great boar hunting dog, The Dogo Argentino.
More Astonishing Historic Giant Trees of the Pacific Northwest John Roberts 2024-07-13 | The Nooksack Fir and more unbelievably big trees that were cut down in the Pacific Northwest over a hundred years ago. I have three other videos on Youtube about our lost giant trees.
The Mountains With The Greatest Vertical Ascents: The Vertical Height of the Peaks. John Roberts 2024-04-11 | I don't like the online lists of these so I made my own from Google Earth. To illustrate what I mean, Mt Rainier is roughly half the elevation of Mt Everest but when looking at it in person is appears just about as impressive in height as Everest really only rises 1000 feet higher above the surrounding terrain than Rainier, believe it or not. I am an amateur seeking to fill a much needed gap in mountain knowledge. I don't see this subject discussed much at all on the internet and it fascinates me.
Superstar Tenor Joseph Schmidt and His Unusual and Extraordinary Career John Roberts 2024-01-15 | The media in the presentation was blocked that I spoke about but I was fortunately able to include a bit of him singing O solo mio, which is very beautiful. I never had media blocked in my presentations before.How did a Jew from Romania become the leading German tenor in the era leading up to WWII???!!!!!I want to correct something I said in the speech that was not correct. He was turned over to the Swiss at the end but they were not connected to the Nazi Party. Their immigrant work camps were not concentration camps.It is an extraordinary story.Like, subscribe and comment
The Divine Rosa Ponselle: Three Octaves of Double Dark Chocolate John Roberts 2023-11-20 | Ponselle was likened to Caruso for her glorious sound and powerful voice. I have 64 videos on my channel with 150k views and 17 talks are on opera singers. I illustrate her exemplary singing by exploring her Casta Diva recording by Bellini. Some people have written to me that there is now evidence that Ponselle did have at least some vocal training.
Tigers in Europe????!!!! The Caspian Tiger story. John Roberts 2023-11-15 | I discuss primarily the story of the now extinct Caspian Tiger that once ranged into Europe. I have over 60 videos of me talking about myriad topics on Youtube with 110,000 views.
Franco Zeffirelli Transforms Joan Sutherland Into Lucia: The Performance That Made Sutherland A Star John Roberts 2023-08-23 | I have over 60 videos on myriad topics on my channel with over 150k views. On my opera talks I try to use terminology from everyday life so an Opera 101 class as well as opera aficionados alike can understand and appreciate how I describe the singing. All of my talks I present to my Toastmasters Club where I have been speaking now for 17 years. In this talk I speak about how.Franco Zeffirelli transformed Joan Sutherland from a stage wallflower into a great star!!! This made her an overnight international star. I made a mistake in my speech: she was from Sydney.
David Grusch UFO/UAP Whistleblower And His Congressional Testimony John Roberts 2023-08-13 | My take on Grush's revelations to Congress and their importance to the world at large. I have over 60 videos and 100k views.
Amazing Pigeons: My talk on pigeons will blow your mind!!! John Roberts 2023-06-10 | I have researched pigeons and have had my mind blown by their amazing abilities and their service to humanity.This was a good source for my info, especially their hearing.ericsson.com/en/blog/2014/11/carrier-pigeons--once-a-central-part-of-the-networked-society#:~:text=From%20the%20Middle%20Ages%20to,send%20messages%20back%20to%20Paris
Mexican Ranchera Musics Glorious Vocals John Roberts 2023-05-19 | In this talk I tell you about my love and enthusiasm for Mexican Ranchera Music, it's origins, why it sounds different from American Pop and I illustrate this playing video clips of great Ranchera singers. I have 60 talks on Youtube on very diverse subjects and have well over 100,000 views. I was inspired by this NPR podcast:npr.org/2022/10/09/1124403545/how-italian-opera-influenced-mexican-rancheraLike and subscribe please.
New Guinea: The Incredible Island!!!!! John Roberts 2023-04-06 | I have over 100,000 views on my channel with talks on various subjects. I am fascinated by New Guinea - the largest tropical island is for most of it's Texas-sized geography a world where time has largely been forgotten. Odd animals, strange cultures and astonishing geography make this a fascinating place to study and explore, although it is very dangerous to visit in person. NOTE I SHOULD HAVE SAID NEW GUINEA HAS . O5% OF THE WORLD'S LANDMASS BUT HAS 7% OF THE WORLD'S BIODIVERSITY. I repaired this speech for my Toastmasters club.
Jeff Buckley: Elton Johns Desert Island Artist and My Favorite Rock Singer John Roberts 2022-01-30 | I'll do this for my Toastmaster Club. His first nightclub is actually pronounced Shin-nay . Sorry. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Sufi singing master he revered was actually from Pakistan. Brad Pitt's plans fell through. I did a video on him 7 years ago and wanted to do a better version.
J P Morgan: Art Philanthropist John Roberts 2022-01-04 | I did this speech for my Toastmaster club on the greatest art philanthropist of all time, J P Morgan
My Favoritie Soprano High Notes John Roberts 2021-10-02 | Created with Wondershare Filmora. I presented this to my Toastmaster Club. The singer they singled out was Montserrat Caballe. Who do you like of these? My editing software wouldn't let me insert an intro page on Caballe, who demonstrates her incredible high notes here, and Alessandra Marc, who had the most thrilling high notes I heard in person. The singers featured are Renee Fleming, Helen Traubel, Alessandra Marc, Birgit Nilsson, Joan Sutherland and early Maria Callas.
Diva Behavior: Two Opera Greats of the Past: Patti and Stignani John Roberts 2021-07-27 | Adelina Patti and Ebi Stignani were not just great opera stars of the past but were much more colorful than today's divas. At the beginning I was trying to say Patti was of Italian heritage but it got garbled. Sorry. The photo of the lady with the crown on the Youtube title page is Adelina Patti. Big Error: I mispronounced Stignani's name.G is y.
Truly Gigantic Historic Redwoods: They Dwarfed General Sherman-The Giant Sequoia John Roberts 2021-05-16 | This is the third part in my series on giant trees of the past. Apologies as I ate before this and needed to use a napkin ! Today the General Sherman sequoia is the largest tree in the world but back when they were first logging redwoods there were trees that dwarfed the giant sequoias.I have good slides to go with my talk. I make an error around when I speak about football fields and say cubic feet when I mean square feet.
Seattles Ravenna Park: Would Be The Greatest Grove of Douglas Firs Today John Roberts 2021-05-09 | I will tell the story of Ravenna Park's grove of great trees which were obliterated from the earth by the city of Seattle around 100 years ago. If still extant they would be the greatest grove of Douglas Firs in the Pacific Northwest today and be taller than the California Redwood giants. At one point I say 30 Douglas firs over 30 feet in height and that should be 300 feet in height.Be sure to check out my video on The Mineral Tree, the largest Douglas Fir ever recorded.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI1cn1kx9Lw&t=79s
Giant Historic Douglas Firs of a Century Ago John Roberts 2021-04-26 | I am indebted for the material on the Lynn Valley Fir and the Mineral Tree to Micah Ewers big tree blogrephaim23.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/tallest-douglas-fir-and-redwood-in-americaThe video on the Red Creek Fir is found here:youtube.com/watch?v=eztCHpm07GU
Dimash: An Intro to the King of Singers:Part 2 John Roberts 2020-07-05 | I had to edit out video excerpts from first version of this. I talk about his family life, his schooling and his rise to fame. There is a part 1 in this series here :youtube.com/watch?v=9uk5slkqZIk&t=24s
Dimash sings coloratura John Roberts 2020-07-04 | Someone posted this very short clip on Facebook which displays Dimash singing the type of ornamentation you hear in coloratura soprano singing.
Dimash: An Intro to the King of Singers John Roberts 2020-06-19 | I will talk about his country, his preparation for his career, and his extraordinary voice. In the video I say I will have three examples, but I only have one because when I used 3 my video was banned. I picked a great one, though. Here is my link to my second video in this series:youtu.be/gQN9KZZeirk
The Renovation of the king Edward Hotel Jackson, MS John Roberts 2019-02-25 | The King Edward Hotel in Jackson MS was a empty ruin for over 49 years till New Orleans Saint running back Deuce McAllister and other investors brought it back as the Hilton Garden Inn. This is the story of the renovation., The hotel was right by the train station which has also been renovated.I made a mistake in the talk saying the Standard Life Hotel. It was an office building and part of it was converted to apartments recently.
The Great Jessye Norman John Roberts 2019-01-30 | This is a presentation I plan to give for my Toastmasters Club in Seattle. I focus on Jessye Norman singing spirituals
Mt Pinatubo:The Truly Gigantic Volcanic Eruption In The Philippines John Roberts 2019-01-05 | A description of the massive eruption of the Mt Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines in 1991 and ti's effect on the land and the people around it. I will do this speech later for my Toastmasters Club. It was 20 times bigger than Mt St. Helens.
The Most Stunning Male Models John Roberts 2018-10-07 | I follow around 500 male models on Instagram. This is my subjective list of the most stunning models I have followed. Most are not top models in the industy except for Chad White, Augusta Alexander and Sahib Faber. Some are not still working. The most gorgeous 2 models in my opinion are Denek Kania and Sahib Faber.. I was not able to edit out the last 4 minutes of blank video.
An Introduction to Verdis Nabucco John Roberts 2018-09-29 | I did this speech at my Ballard Weekenders Toastmasters Club as an operatic introduction speech
The Eruption of Mt. St. Helens John Roberts 2018-08-26 | This is a speech I have prepared for my Toastmaster Club as an introduction to the eruption of Mt. St. Helens and what has happened to the mountain since then.
Peter Paul Rubens: An Introduction John Roberts 2018-06-02 | Some people think the sound is too low on this so I improved the sound and you can find that version here: youtube.com/watch?v=JKQQI23lGfM&t=218s gave this introduction to Rubens speech to my Ballard Weekenders Toastmasters speech in Seattle. I LOVE Rubens and hope to convey my enthusiasm for his work.
Birgit Nilsson: An Introdiuction John Roberts 2018-03-04 | Forgive the fact the camera cut off my head at times please. This is an intro to Birgit Nilsson for non opera lovers.
Netherlandish Painting And Jan Van Eyck John Roberts 2017-12-03 | A Toastmasters speech at Ballard Weekenders Club in Seattle. NOTE: the images are repeated full screen after the speech. The colors on the TV I presented on are a bit off, but in the full screen version you will see the correct hues and colors. Nederlandish painting is not only extremely beautiful but very very important in the development of post Gothic paining. The joke about the Blue Angels involves the war planes that fly here at Sea Fair.
Mt Tambora: The Jaw Dropping Super Volcano John Roberts 2017-09-24 | If you enjoy this video it makes it easier for others to find it if you click like or leave a comment.I was blown away with the facts about the 1815 eruption of Mt Tambora and the lasting horrible weather effects. I did this for my Toastmasters Club. This is the main book where i got my research:amazon.com/Tambora-Eruption-That-Changed-World/dp/0691168628
Helen Traubels Popular Music Career Pt. 2 John Roberts 2017-08-06 | Helen Traubel was the most successful opera cross over artist, having a second career in musicals, night clubs, 2 movies, and 24 appearances on variety TV shows.NOTE: This video for some reason recorded in 5 parts so it is slightly choppy.
The Oceanic Voice of Helen Traubel Part 1 John Roberts 2017-07-08 | First of a two part speech on the great opera speaker Helen Traubel, active in the 1940's and 1950's. This speech has anecdotes about her career in opera. The second speech will be on her popular music career.
Rudolf Nureyev: The Celebrity Lifestyle John Roberts 2017-06-10 | A Toastmaster presentation in a series of 4 speeches I am doing on Rudolf Nureyev's life.
The Most Beautiful Car Dashboards of All Time John Roberts 2017-05-28 | I have long been fascinated with car dashboards. I generally prefer luxury cars and I have a strong predelection for wood dashboards. One of my greatest disappointments is how Jaguar has for the most part abandoned the English Old World wood dash look!!!! You will notice, though, some notible exceptions from the mid century that use other materials to great effect. Let me know what you think.
Nureyev: Partnerships- Friendships, Professional, Romantic John Roberts 2017-05-06 | Please like or comment:-)Created with Wondershare Filmora This is a series of talks I am doing at Ballard Weekenders Toastmasters on the great Russian danseur Rudolf Nureyev. This talk focuses on Erik Bruhn and Dame Margot Fonteyn, two of the major relationships of his life and career. Be sure to check out the other 3 videos in the series. My favorite is Nureyev: The Russian Years.'
Rudolf Nureyev: His Astonishing, Mind-Boggling Russian Years Before Defection John Roberts 2017-04-09 | Out of my four speeches in my Nureyev series that doing this is the most interesting one in my opinion. I am doing a series of speeches on the life and career of Rudolf Nureyev .My research is from Nureyev: The Life by Julie Kavenaugh and Perpetual Motion: The Public and Private Life of Rudolf Nureyev by Otis Stuart.This was a Toastmaster presentation for Ballard Weekenders Toastmasters in Seattle.TO ME THIS IS THE MOST INTERESTING PART OF HIS CAREER! HE WAS EXTRAORDINARY FROM HIS YOUTH ONWARDS. THIS HAS THE LEAST VIEWS OF MY SERIES BUT THIS IS THE PRESENTATION I AM MOST PROUD OF. This speech is only 14:45 minutes long, but the Youtube Video Editor is not letting me trim the excess. I also add 10 years to his birth year in the beginning. I forgot to mention that his father was dead set against his aspirations to be a dancer and would beat him up before he went to dance class on many occasions. Be sure to check out the other 3 videos in this series on Nureyev. I now have 10,000 views for the whole series.
Rudolf Nureyev: Part 1 of a Series of 4 Speeches John Roberts 2017-01-29 | I am doing a series of speeches on the life and career of Rudolf Nureyev.My research is from Nureyev: The Life by Julie Kavenaugh and Perpetual Motion: The Public and Private Life of Rudolf Nureyev by Otis Stuart.This was a Toastmaster presentation for Ballard Weekenders Toastmasters in Seattle.
An Introduction to Joan Sutherland John Roberts 2016-12-04 | Please like or comment;-)I gave this speech to my Toastmasters club in Seattle. This was my 16th speech on opera appreciation It was my third speech on Joan Sutherland. The last speech which is on Youtube was centered on Joan's triumph in her first Lucia, the signiture role of her career: youtube.com/watch?v=rAsERp3NGPA .In this speech I attempt to explain to people not familiar with opera why the size of Joan Sutherland's voice and the longevity of her career were so extraordinary. The first clip of her singing was from I Puritani, the second was from L' Hugenots and the third from Anna Bolena
Is This Nilssons Best Recorded High C?? Siegfried 1960 Bayreuth John Roberts 2016-11-23 | The climax of this live recording of Siegfried's final scene conducted by Kempe is to my hearing the best and fullest high C I ever heard from Birgit. I never heard her live much to my chagrin.So many overtones, so massive, so... Nilsson!!!!
Nilsson Live Immolation Scene John Roberts 2016-11-23 | Live from Bayreuth under Kempe. People often say that her recordings paled in comparison to the real thing. Her voice was supposed to be light within darkness. In this recording to my ears it sounds much like that with a much more 3D and dark sound underpinning the brilliant laser you typically only hear in her sound.
Why I Prefer Early Streisands Vocals John Roberts 2016-08-21 | Please like or comment;-)NOTE: there is a revision in my current thinking to what I have said in this speech at the end of this intro. I have always preferred Barbra Streisand's vocals in her first decade but find little on the web discussing why she was at her best in this period. In my speech I use the word vibrato which means that the voice is alternating subtly and very quickly between two pitches that are very close together. I did this talk for my Toastmasters Club in Seattle, but thought the intimacy of filming the speech at home would play better on Youtube. Forgive the flickering images on my TV. I thought some images of Streisand from then would enhance. My featured song is C'est Si Bon from Color Me Barbra. I have done Toastmasters for 8 years now with over 80 speeches and 8000 views on Youtube of my speeches. Revision in my thinking. I discovered Barbra's Love Is The Answer album from 2009 produced by Diana Krall. Krall was able to bring out the same early magic I talk about here in late Streisand and disrupt her predictability which I felt had seeped into her later work. She sounded like she was 30 at almost 70!!! You also might enjoy my brand new first of two parts on Judy Garland: Judy Garland: The Concert Years youtube.com/watch?v=ftFrdgqSCQI
Montserrat Caballe: A Toastmaster Speech John Roberts 2016-06-05 | An intro to the Spanish singer Montserrat Caballe' for my Toastmaster Club. I talk about her training, her truly spectacular break into stardom, and her work with Freddie Mercury. I spoke incorrectly at one point in the speech by getting the names of two singers mixed up. It was Marilyn Horne who was 7 months pregnant and had to cancel a performance of Lucretia Borgia by Donizetti in New York in 1965. Also, the Barcelona Olympics were in 1988.
My Garden and the Magic and Madness That Helped Create It John Roberts 2016-05-03 | I speak about my struggles with mental illness when I was younger and how it played a part in the creation of my greatest work or art- my garden.
Why We Should Eat Bugs: A Humorous Speech John Roberts 2016-03-02 | My speech" Let Me Bug You" is not HD by any means, but the audio is clear and you can easily see all of my body movements, which were very essential for this speech.. I won two Toastmaster humorous speech contests with this speech and it was by far my most humorous speech. I did this about 6 years ago.
