After church yesterday, Eileen and I grabbed something to eat then went off to Meijers to purchase a house warming gift. We were invited to an open house celebrating the purchase of a new residence for some friends.
Church felt pretty weird yesterday. The retiring assistant was the star of the show. He did a forum in which he played DVD recordings of Simon and Garfunkel (at least that’s what he said, I didn’t attend). Then some people asked if they could play music for him on his last day. So they did the prelude and postlude. He ended his sermon with a recording of Pete Seeger singing “We Shall Overcome.”
I felt pretty disconnected the entire service which is not that unusual I guess.
It was odd to have so many compliments directed at me when I had so little to do with most of the service, I accompanied the hymns and the service music as usual. Whippy skippy.
The open house was a very odd blend of people, church and college. The retired former chair of the music department at Hope was there, but he was busy drinking and chatting with other people. I’m not sure he remembers our little conference several years ago just before he retired in which he assured me that Hope needed me as an adjunct. Never happened. Both Hope and GRCC managed to lose my resumes at that point. Interesting coincidence but probably that’s all it was.
Another prof who is also connected to church asked me if I was still teaching at GVSU. Haven’t done that for several years. I told him working in the dance department is therapeutic for me. He said something about improvising in the style of Chopin. I was at a loss to explain that was not quite the deal. Certainly the chair of the dance department occasionally asks for something like that, but she really means something a bit more watered down. And I find myself improvising in many different styles and forms which keeps me interested.
I noticed how the people at the open house sort of divided themselves up into the old people and the young people. I guess that’s natural. Most young people at church seem to barely see me. This is sort of how I experienced the open house, but admittedly I was exhausted as I usually am on Sunday afternoon.
Came home and found this music video online:
I quite like the sound of this group and quickly found them on Spotify.
This morning Eileen has already left for a dentist appointment. I have read my usual poetry and then played some Scarlatti on the piano.
Life is good.
*********************************************************************
College spells success, except in Santorum’s mind
Article by Robert Reich.
**********************************************************************
The Power to Kill – NYTimes.com
I feel pretty strongly that states should not kill except in the most dire of circumstances (like a dam war that is unavoidable…. something we haven’t seen since WWII and even then I think war is to be abhorred must less the clinical ordering of a remote death).
*********************************************************************
Washington Has a Very Short Memory – NYTimes.com
I continue to be amazed at the confusion regarding the Republican rhetoric that somehow equates deregulation of corporations with liberty of citizens.
Never mind that reams of Congressional testimony, market analysis and academic research have shown that regulation has not been an impediment to raising capital. In fact, too little regulation has been at the root of all recent bubbles and bursts — the dot-com crash, Enron, the mortgage meltdown. Those free-for-alls created jobs and then imploded, causing mass joblessness. quote from above link
**********************************************************************
When States Put Out the Unwelcome Mat – NYTimes.com
Another popular hate message: fuck the immigrants and “illegal” aliens.
*********************************************************************
Odysseus Lies Here? – NYTimes.com
I love Homer. This article stirs the imagination about the verity of the story and suggests a new location.
*********************************************************************
Finally, Fake Chicken Worth Eating – NYTimes.com
Long article about fake meat.
*********************************************************************
At the Zoo, What the Monkey House Accommodated – NYTimes.com
This passage in this article caught my eye:
“In 2013, we’re going to prosecute the first cases,” Steven M. Wise, a lawyer and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project, recently told me. “Their goal will be to use the latest science to help persuade state court judges that such creatures as whales and chimpanzees should be accorded common law personhood and rights.”
*********************************************************************
Go to Trial – Crash the Justice System – NYTimes.com
So if all the criminals who took plea bargains went to trial the whole thing would collapse. It’s apparently prosecutors not judges who are running things.
*******************************************************************
Officer Sues, Claiming Police Retaliation for Truth-Telling – NYTimes.com
This article is about the same guy in a story in This American Life from 2010:
Right to Remain Silent | This American Life
I didn’t recognize his name, just the situation.
********************************************************************
Austin, Proud of Eccentricity, Loses a Favorite – NYTimes.com
Another man done gone. Sounds like a pretty interesting person to me.
*********************************************************************
Peter Bergman, Satirist at Firesign Theater, Dies at 72 – NYTimes.com
And then there’s the bald guy in Firesign Theater.
I was startled to find a bunch of their albums are available on Spotify.
Who knew?
***********************************************************************
In case you hadn’t heard I heard a rumore that today was National Poetry day. Since you all into that though I would pass it along..
David
I ment month not day and hope the grammar/spelling police are not watching as I typed it on the fly…
David
Thanks for the heads up….. I googled it and it seems that April is Poetry Month…. “April is the cruelest month” (from a pome by T.S. Eliot)