Phantom of the Opera

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“We never said
Our love was ever green
Or as unchanging as the sea
But if you can still remember
Stop and think of me”
Andrew Lloyd Webber

Recently on the TCM network, they highlighted the work of the great Lon Chaney. I am quite familiar with Chaney’s work but one movie I had not watched was the 1925 silent film, The Phantom of the Opera. This American silent horror film was an adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel of the same name. I was captivated by this movie and Chaney’s performance as the Phantom.

What surprised me as I watched the movie, was how it transported me back to a time when I was honored to see live performances of The Phantom of the Opera not only once but twice. Back then, I was obsessed with the music and for weeks I played nothing but the Broadway soundtrack in my house, in my car and even on my walkman. My 4-year-old son became familiar with all the music as well and learned the lyrics to every song just like mom.

Sarah Brightman sang the iconic title duet and played Christine Daaé alongside Michael Crawford in the Ahmanson Theatre production of The Phantom. After watching the silent film and craving to watch a musical version of the movie, I found a 2011 video production on line.

As I watched this updated performance, I found myself remembering all the lyrics to this iconic music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. But, the music hit this musical empath emotionally different after 35 years, especially the opening song, Think of Me.

Thirty-five years is a lifetime to some people who never make it to thirty-six. Webber’s poignant lyrics to his song, Think of Me hit home; remembering all the people I have lost the last three decades since my first experience listening to the music from The Phantom of the Opera.

Shine On

If you would like to watch the Royal Albert Hall, London England production of The Phantom of the Opera, click on the link below: https://archive.org/details/The_Phantom_of_The_Opera_Full_Stage_Show

Thanks For Following

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“Appreciating others is a reflection
of celebrating oneself.”
Walt Whitman

It’s hard to believe
It’s been over a decade
Since that first blog post
On 2015 New Year’s Day

I began this blog
As a writing exercise
To practice each day
Writing whimsical prose

Through these many years
I never would have dreamed
My followers could grow
To 50,000 plus from Zero

Thanks to all who’ve visited
Who’ve liked and commented
Thanks for all your support
Thanks for following

Shine On

Rachmaninoff

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“Music is enough for a lifetime
But a lifetime is not enough for music”
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff

I listen to music daily. My music repertoire is extremely diverse and includes a great deal of classical music. Mostly because when I write it’s my background music of choice. The past months while working on my current novel, Without Warning, I only listened to Rachmaninoff.

The first time I heard his music was in the movie, The Seven Year Itch; where Richard Sherman (played by Tom Ewell) is a married man whose wife is away for the summer. He famously uses Rachmaninoff music as a cynical tool of seduction, while hosting his attractive upstairs neighbor, Marilyn Monroe in his apartment.

I was writing and half listening to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 when it completely stopped me in my tracks. I recognized this same tune from Eric Carmen’s 1975 hit song, “All By Myself”. Carmen died in 2024 but some of you might know him as the lead vocalist of the Raspberries, with whom he recorded the hit “Go All the Way”.

Anyway, I looked up information about Carmen and his song “All By Myself” and lo and behold, the verse melody comes from the second movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Apparently, when Eric Carmen composed his song, he thought Rachmaninoff’s copyright had expired, but he was wrong and later had to share royalties with the composer’s estate.

If you’re not familiar with Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, he was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. He started playing the piano at the age of four. By the time he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, Sergei was already the author of the First Piano Concerto, the one-act opera Aleko and a number of piano pieces and romances. 

Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. “Composing music is as vital for me as breathing or eating: this is one of the essential functions of life,” I love this quote and must agree wholeheartedly with Rachmaninoff.

Shine On

Bittersweet Song

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“Bittersweet song
Memories gone
Bittersweet song
Remembering you”
J R Malmquist

The music and lyrics I create always come from the heart. This song I just wrote and created is no different.

I continue to add songs to my Dragonfly album and here’s one I just uploaded for your listening pleasure titled, Bittersweet Song.

Taking my brain
Back to memory lane 
Thinking about you 
Warms me to my core

Once every minute with you 
Was never too long
Every kiss from you 
Was like a bittersweet song

Once every embrace with you 
Was like a blanket of love
Warming my heart
To the depths of my soul 

Bittersweet song
Memories gone
Bittersweet song
Remembering you 

Once you said 
I will never hurt you
But now you say I’m sorry 
I never meant to harm you

I forgave you 
For what happened
But I will never forget 
What you did

People that are hurt
Well they hurt people
I understand that 
Perfectly now

Bittersweet song
Memories gone
Bittersweet song
Remembering you 

Bittersweet song

Wrote and created by J R Malmquist
September 20, 2026

Shine On

Harvest Moon

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“We cling to our own point of view,
as though everything depended on it.
Yet our opinions have no permanence.
Like autumn and winter,
They gradually pass away.”
Chuang Tzu

Welcome fall, my favorite season of the year. Although I’m a fan of evergreen trees, deciduous trees with their spectacular burst of color is always a welcome site.

The autumnal equinox, also called the September equinox or the fall equinox will arrive on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Not only do temperatures drop, but plant life slows down, and so do we. The autumnal equinox is an astronomical event that marks the start of autumn or fall. In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox occurs every September whereas in the Southern Hemisphere, it occurs every March. 

During an equinox, the Sun crosses what we call the “celestial equator”, an imaginary extension of Earth’s equator line into space. The equinox occurs precisely when the Sun’s center passes through this line.

Surrounding the autumnal equinox is the relationship with the full Moon. Curiously, the full Moon that occurs nearest to the autumnal equinox is always called the Harvest Moon. Why is that?

Well, surprise, surprise the name has to do with farming. Around the fall equinox, the full Moon rises around sunset for several nights in a row, traditionally providing farmers with just enough light to finish their harvests during the arrival of the Harvest Moon.

Shine On Harvest Moon