QUOTE
You can't possibly hear the last movement of Beethoven's Seventh and go slow.
- Oscar Levant (explaining his way out of a speeding ticket)

Via Reflections in d minor


And as long as we're all catching up with Lynn, and Beethoven Symphonies, here's another gem

If anyone has conducted a Beethoven performance, and then doesn't have to go to an osteopath, then there's something wrong.
- Simon Rattle

A CAR STORY
Girl Scout cookie pick up was last week.

It was a rather humorous sight - imagine this great big parking lot with 6-7 semi trucks all in a row (filled with boxes and boxes of cookies!) Running parallel to the trucks is a sea of mini-vans picking up cookies. And then there was my car!

I started humming the song from Sesame Street "One of these things is not like the others, One of theese cars just doesn't belong." And my car told me that she was really happy not to be a mini-van. (By the way, my car is named Harriet).
I told Harriet that it wasn't nice to talk like that, but confided that I was also happy that she was not a mini-van.

Then, I turned away for 20 seconds to count cookies. And, Harriet got into a fight with this Town& Country infront of us. I don't know the details, but when I came back the Chrystler was crying, and Harriet was acting a little too smug.

Of course, Harriet says that the other car started it (making faces, pointing and such) and she was just defending herself. (I'm inclinded to believe her, Mini-vans are so cliquey. But that's still no reason to make a soccer-mobile cry). Harriet got a stern talking to and appologized to the other car (After all, the other vehicle couldn't help that it was made into a mini-van).

We left shortly after that, and Harriet has been sulky ever since. I explained that as a non-mini-van she was held to a higher standard than other cars, but she's not buying it. (Poor car - and it doesn't help that she's overdue for an oil change).

You may recall my last oil change.

There is a sequal, which I'll write about as soon as the second oil change happens.
This could be a pivitoal event in the life of the Mechanic's Daughter and Harriet
Stay tuned!

The [insert explicitive of choice] paper is gosh darn close to being done. With a bit of "umph" I can have this sucker finished tonight (At least that's the goal!!!!)

As a premature "completion celebration," I went to the Dakota Valley Sympnoy's concert last night. They played a Daniel Bukvish piece, From the Journals of Lewis and Clark, which was totally and completely fabulous. Wow! Amazing! Cool! (I won't mention the painfully out-of-tune Chadwick piece that opened the program -yikes!)

You may recall the difficulty I had in dropping out of orchestra. But right now, at this paricular moment, I am ok with that choice. (Had I stayed in orch., this whole weekend would have been consumed with rehearsals and concerts - which would have killed me).

T'was a very nice night.
And now, the home stretch!
With any luck, you'll see me here tomorrow!

GREAT QUOTE WITH NO PLACE TO GO

Generaly speaking, most of us learn what we have been prepared to learn. When students have . . . little or no experience with the art form to which they are to be exposed - the act of watching an hour-long theatrical, dance, or musical perofrmance is unlikely to afford them much more than an hour's pleasure or boredom and, of course, the experience of seeing a live perofrmance.

While an hour's worth of entertainment and a moment of exposure to live theatre may be considered "better than nothing" by some, others (myself included) persistently challenge the legitmacy and deny the tolerability of such a "standard" for student learning in the arts.

- Constance Bumgarner
in Arts Education Policy Review. Jan. '94

MINDY'S RULE
When I was in college, my friend Mindy had a rule that we could not start working on school stuff unless it was the top of the hour, or half past. (So if you finished dinner at 5:48, "Mindy's Rule" said that you might as well chat and hang out for 12 more minutes - because you weren't allowed to start doing school work until 6:00.

(And if you got to talking and didn't happen to look at the clock again until 6:07, Mindy's Rule said that you had waste another 23 minutes with your friends).

Sometime exceptions could be made to start at quarter past, but in general, Mindy's Rule was strictly enforced.

It's 6:24.
Mindy's not here, and I *could* start working right now.
But that would just be dishonest.
For the sake of morality everywhere, I'll have to waste six more minutes.

Mindy dear,
wherever you are,
Please know that you're absolutely brilliant!

This is where a lot of people quit,
Drop out,
Move on.

Now I understand why.


Math has become my new friend.
I never much cared for math before, but math says I only *need* a 50% on the paper/presentation to pass the class
And be done.

Bad Attitude or Survival?
(Do I care?)

* ** * * * * * * *

Have I recently mentioned that this little project is IMPOSSIBLE? (Fuzzy feedback, weird requrements, and a gerneral bad attitude abounds). I've talked to my classmates they agree that it's impossible.

The only reason I haven't quit, is I KNOW I can write a 50% paper. (Not that I want to write a crappy paper, but the realization that this isn't necessarily the big hairy deal we've been lead to believe it to be helps).

Today's Goal - clean up the introduction and finish writing the body.
(Although I'd much rather do laundry, clean the house, update some things on this site, shovel the driveway, bake muffins, or scrub toliets).

FABULOUS TRUMPS PAPER WRITING
We interupt this haitus for a quick smile brought to you by Not for Sheep

The only thing worse than having a REALLY gruesome nightmare is when the nightmare is punctuated by public service commercials.

Apparently, my subconscious has a grisly sense of humor. Bad enough the nightmare had me so deeply in its grip that when I woke up sweating and shaking I wasn't sure that I WAS awake when I woke up, but to have it interrupted every 15 minutes by a public service commercial (in my dream) really is the end.

And what my therapist will make of the nightmare, who knows. Probably that I'm repressing my sexuality, since in the dream, I was looking for the police phone number, but since PORN comes right after POLICE in the phonebook, I kept accidentally dialing porn numbers when I was just trying to report a dead body! (And you have no idea how upsetting it is to keep getting pornographic callbacks when you're trying to report a dead body! In my dream, I kept yelling at the porno people that they weren't taking this seriously! Because there was a DEAD BODY here! And then a sultry voice would interrupt me to ask if that was "good for me." I was so mad at the entire pornographic industry for asking stupid questions and tying up the phone line when I was JUST TRYING TO REPORT A DEAD BODY TO THE POLICE!)

(My mom pointed out to me that I should have just dialed "911" in my dream. Do you know, that never occurred to my subconscious self?)

We not return you to your regularily scheduled thesis-induced-silence!
(Of course, I have other fabulous things to share, but section III ("Principals of Effective Arts Partnership Development") awaits my immeidate attention).

I’m still alive. People have asked, so I’m answering.

Actually, I’m only certain that I’m alive as I write this, not necessarily as you read it. It’s possible I died at the moment I clicked “Publish Post,” or perhaps died many years later, by some other means, and now many years have passed and you’re reading what I wrote before I died.

I’m serious: this could (and will someday) be true.

Today, though, I’m alive.
Today meaning: the day I write this, not necessarily the day you read it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


They say if you want something done, to give it to a busy person
I'm a busy person
And yet . . . my thesis is not done
("They" lied to me!)

Life is good
I am happy
But my creative energies are gone
Missing
Stolen
Dead
So dead that I plagerized the first four paragraphs from Oblivio (a very interesting site if you're not already reading it!)

Thesis (version 1.0) is due March 2
And I'm not allowed plagerize
So, until I get the bloody thing written, there are no promises of regular updates happening here
All brain power has been re-routed to finishing school

I'd much rather be writing here.
Because I can plagerize here, and because there are people that READ this.
(Exactly TWO people will read the Thesis, and that's only because it's they're job to read thesis papers).

Of course, if something FABULOUS comes up, I will most certainly bring it to your attention
(I do have priorities; FABULOUS definately trumps paper writing).
Mark your calendars
I'll be back on March 3

P.S. Just in case you care, cinnamon Valentines Day candy = REALLY GOOD!

JUST IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T YET SEEN IT
Here is a nice little article on Yo-yo Ma.

One of the most frequent modern criticisms of classical music and the people who play it is the aloofness of the form; the grand, formal presentation of performers who don't speak, don't interact with the audience, and acknowledge accolades with only a stiff bow. Offering the counterpoint to that perception is cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who seems to delight in passing on his passion for music to the next generation of young performers, and thinks nothing of offering a starry-eyed 17-year-old a chance to play alongside him.

Via ArtsJournal

SMILEY FACE
It's a Vicky Austin kind of feeling
And if you don't understand . . . then I can't possibly explain
(But it's a good thing!)

PERFECTLY TIMED
Last week was monsterous!
My advisor wanted an "extensive" thesis outline (ugh)
I wrote and wrote and wrote until I had nothing left in me
She got her little outline on Wednesday
And I really can't/shouldn't work on the paper until she's had a chance to review and comment on the outline.

We're in the middle of some really nice weather (50 degrees, sunny, and spring-like enough to play outside without a coat!)

And if you don't understand the chronology -
I turned in the outline on Wednesday
And the weather got unbelieveably wonderful on Thursday!
I don't have any homework (And it's really nice outside)
(Life is good!)

QUOTE
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind.
- Rossini

HOW I BECAME A "COMPUTER GEEK"


Via Planet 501(c)3

BALLOON ON A STICK

There’s a balloon on a stick taped to the wall of my VE cubical.
My predecessor told me, that her predecessor told her, that the balloon on a stick was there when she started. (That’s at least 4 generations of VE Education staff!)

It’s a Mylar smiley face balloon, with a great big (really big) red nose and multi-colored hair. (Sort of scary) I’m thinking about taking it down - it’s not exactly my style. (Besides it could be a bad luck charm that’s been spreading bad karma throughout the education dept. without us even knowing it - - you know --kinda like the necklace that Bobby Brady found when the Brady bunch went to Hawaii).

My VE-partner-in-crime, however, says I can’t take the voodoo balloon down - It’s a VE Education tradition (besides, she thinks it could be a GOOD luck charm!)
And there is the great divider of humanity.
(You didn’t know a dumb balloon was profound enough to divide humanity did you?)

The way I see it, there are two types of people. The first type of person loves the way things are now (or the way they have always been) and hold onto now as tightly as they can. They scream “Change is bad!” anytime anyone offers a new way of doing something.

The other half of humanity embraces change just for the sake of doing something new – even if the new things are just hyped up garbage. They scream “Change is Good” anytime someone wants to re-do something (even if it’s a bad change).

If you want to see both ends of the spectrum, come sit on my planet for a while and watch this 89.3 radio station “debate”. Half of my life is spent around classical people that are weeping and wailing over the death of a really great classical radio station. They are sad, and angry and say things like “M.P.R. = Mediocre Public Radio.” They hear the “I Love Minnesota Rap Song” and immediately discount the entire station. They don’t like the changes to the Morning Show, get angry quickly, and don’t like the young punk kids taking over their airwaves.

The other half of my life is filled with the hip, cool demographic that is supposed to fall head over heals in love with The Current. (You don’t have to look very deep into the blogsphere to find them – some fell in love before it launched). These folk are already clamoring for bumper stickers and t-shirts. They want to be “founding members” and are doing the underground marketing street team thing. Some of them are even dissing (“dissing” that’s a hip, cool, sort of word) the “classical snobs” that used to live at WCAL.

Me??? I’d like to think I was somewhere in the middle – a balanced person that gracefully accepts new things, but doesn’t buy into the hype of every new-fangled contraption; I'm the observant one that declares everyone else insane while sitting in my Little Miss Superiority chair and staring at a voodoo smiley face balloon.

(BTW, The Current provides rotten news coverage and they removed my favorite part of the Morning Show).
But they play Joseph Arthur which almost makes up for it).

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
This page is the #1 Google result for the search Toilets flush in what key?

Yeah, I just thought you'd like to know!


UPDATE: The American Music Scene has just claimed my number one spot. I would be sad except their page has a lot of interesting information (like the etimology of the word "toliet"). If I have to be beaten, at least I'm beaten by something interesting!