Yesterday was the first time I actually looked forward to and enjoyed my daily organ practice since getting back from China. I returned to continuing to rehearse the big Mendelssohn sonata movement I learned and performed before. I added some Bach trio sonata practice and several variations of the Sei Gregrüsset variations by Bach.

I performed the latter  a zillion years ago in undergraduate school and have always liked them.

I think that spending time composing yesterday put me in a good space and I was relaxed and energized for the rest of the day.

I also practiced some upcoming Vaughan Williams organ stuff I will play Sunday. This put me in the mood for Vaughan Williams and I came home and exercised to two of his symphonies.

I am enjoying Roz Chasts’s Can’t We Talk about Something more Pleasant? 

“Taking care of my father didn’t bring out the best of me,” she writes. I keep laughing out loud and relating to her grappling with the death of her elderly parents.

I finished the other two comic books, One! Hundred! Demons! by Lynda Barry and The Graveyard Book volume 1 by Neil Gaiman.

Barry was fun. The graphic novel rendition of Gaiman left me thinking I should either read the original regular book or see if the library has volume 2.

Shit. I see the old clock the wall is telling me to get moving. Gotta skate.

In Book, Panetta Recounts Frustration With Obama – NYTimes.com

I am surprised the press is giving Panetta a pass and treating him like a wise  person. I remember his aggressive policies and being relieved when he stepped down.

Our Understanding of Giraffes Does Not Measure Up – NYTimes.com

Wow. I never understood that Giraffes were so unique and interesting.

Protest Organizers Claim Progress for Hong Kong – NYTimes.com

I hope that something comes of this demonstration and at the same time I am relieved that there has not been a massacre of civilians.

New Image of the Hong Kong Protests: ‘Umbrella Man’ – NYTimes.com