Monthly Archives: February 2011

Term Paper, again

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I finally finished revising the paper, using all those comments from my professor. It's much better than it was, although I don't think it's great. Anyhow, I'm finished. You can find it on my other website here, or download a pdf: Download Term paper 2.

On to better things. I'm still enjoying the music class. A different player from the Pittsburgh Symphony has visited us for each class, and it's been a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, Monday is the last one. I just hope they'll do it again soon.

The groundhog should be ashamed of himself. It snowed earlier this week and again today. I think next year I'll try to go away in February. It's really a bad month for me.

No, the groundhog didn’t go walking with me

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They aren't keen on sunshine. Today was supposed to be up in the 50's. Maybe it got there between 1 and 1:15, but it was cold by 3 o'clock. I know spring will come but it won't be soon just because that animal didn't see its shadow.

On another subject entirely, I keep thinking about this poster.

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I saw it in a window in Kentucky when I was down there. It's a simple message: buy your tickets for this special horse show, because you won't have another opportunity next year. Of course, I think of it a little more broadly. I liked it so well I asked Raja to get me a copy, and being a wonderful friend, she did. I know she thought this was just another example of what she sees as my pessimism. We've had a few discussions on the subject. I see myself as a thoughtful realist; she doesn't agree. I guess she thinks I wanted it because I don't think there will be a next year for me. Truth is, it reminds me to do things now, not postpone them. It's a good message.


Groundhog

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The groundhog did not see his shadow this year, meaning we would have an early spring. I've never understood what any of this had anything to do with weather, or why having no sunshine on Feb 2 could be a good thing. My friend Ivetta has been taking this seriously and I keep kidding her. If the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If not, there will be a month and a half of winter. So, maybe I'm wrong. The forecast is for 60 degrees by the end of the week. Of course, I don't think much of those long range forecasts, either. But today was a beautiful day; I didn't need my winter jacket, and I went out and took a long walk. Maybe we'll get lucky and I'll be able to keep taking those long walks. 

Andy and me

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We went to the Warhol Museum over the weekend with our visitors from New Jersey. It's not my favorite place, only rarely have I found things that interest me, but every visitor seems to want to see it. I was having a hard time explaining silk screens to one of our guests, so we all went downstairs to what they call the "weekend factory" where you can make a print from a silk screen. I also found that I could have my picture taken with Andy for only $2, a fantastic bargain considering he charged $25,000 to make your portait.

They stand you in front of a piece of green felt and you can see what the picture will look like on a monitor. The lights were in the wrong position for me, so I stood on a small stool, making me taller than Andy, but not as terrible as with the lights straight down at me. Here's the picture:

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I think it looks like some of those 19th C. photos of ghosts, or astral projections. Of course, Andy is the ghost, but he looks more solid than I do. I would pay $5 to have Andy wearing one of those wild hairpieces and both of us in focus. Well, maybe the focus is too much to ask for.

 

Japan Itinerary and a volcano

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I've been trying to plan my trip. On the second day I thought I would go to Mito, in Ibaraki to see one of the three noted gardens, which has a plum blossom festival in March. It can be a day trip from Tokyo.

Then I thought about getting on the train the next day and going to Kagoshima, at the bottom of Kyushu. Both places are supposed to be warm, which is what's tempting me. Yesterday morning I was greeted with the news of a volcano erupting in Kagoshima. It's a Mt. St. Helens type volcano, so lots of ash, no lava. Evidently ash has covered an area 5 km. around the volcano, and scientists expect the eruptions to continue for a year.

I hadn't planned to go to the volcano, but to several places nearby. I guess this will have to be a last minute decision.

Freezing rain and beautiful music

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The rain is  my excuse for staying home this morning, although I'm not sure it's even raining–just dark and dreary. Each year I'm finding it a little harder to deal with winter. It doesn't mean I'm off for warmer climes. Just more suffering. I think we are lucky here in Pittsburgh. This storm seems to be all over the country but we are seeing very little of it.

On to better things: the music. Yesterday was my first Osher class for this year, and it was fantastic. The teacher is Jim Cunningham, a host of our classical music station, WQED, who brought three members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to introduce us to the music of Erwin Schulhoff, a Czech composer and pianist. Schulhoff worked between the first and second world wars, was classified as "degenerate" by the Nazis and died in a concentration camp in 1942. Along with many other composers and musicians of the time, his work was essentially lost and only now is slowly being brought to light. Among other works we heard his concertina for flute, viola and double bass. The music was beautiful and there is something very special about listening when you are within 30 feet of the performer.