Realization

I just realized I did not post a single word in 2017 - so here are a few for 2018. This gets me all caught up. 

Forrest Fenn's treasure

We will soon give our search for Forrest Fenn's hidden treasure another go, even if we live so far away from New Mexico and the mountainous areas nearby. This nut is really hard to crack. Eventually, someone has to find it, preferably before Fenn kicks off. In the end, it will seem so obvious. People will just say, "Oh, that was so simple, we should have figured it out long ago." 

Not Dead Yet

I'm just writing this to quell any rumors that perhaps I may have already died (prematurely, of course) and gone to hell. I have not. I hope you can accept this as proof. (That is not me in the photo - take my word for it.) 

Getting Lost

Don't ask me what I was doing there but I found myself in a very large military installation some time ago - it was nighttime, close to 10 pm. I don't know how it happened but I got lost trying to get out to the civilian side. Due to the time of day (night), there was little traffic on the fort's streets. After about thirty minutes of going to and fro and getting completely disoriented, I decided I would have to plan a strategy if I wanted to get out before running out of gas. I could have called someone but that would have been too embarrassing. Instead, I parked at an intersection and left my emergency blinkers on. Sure enough, after a while, a car passed by and stopped at the stop light where I was parked. I quickly jumped out of my car and without appearing too nervous, I told the soldier that I couldn't find my way out. He was very polite and told me exactly how to get to the nearest exit. You guessed it - I was a mere four blocks away from the exit but I am certain I would never have found it on my own. That's what happens when you don't know your way around. 

Eye gouging for IDIOTS

On an absolutely gorgeous day, I am reminded of the story of a poor music consumer. A man bought a Chinese violin (with case and bow included) for $32.75. The violin arrived but was not set up - basically, the bridge had not been set in place nor calibrated. He took it to a local shop to have it taken care of and was told it would run him $79.00 to have this done, plus TAX, of course. He then asked if they could also TUNE the violin, whereupon they said they would be glad to tune the instrument for him but he would need to pay an additional $39.00 for that - plus tax. He would owe them about $127.00 for the service he required and they could not offer him a discount because he was not a regular customer. 

Political Correctness Inc

What can I say about political correctness?





Not for me.

I Am Not A Critic But I Know What I Like

I was listening to performance of some work with the great Concertgebouw orchestra the other day - it was on YouTube. I am sure you will agree that the preponderance of listeners on that video channel are poorly-educated and small-minded persons - I am guessing about 98 percent or thereabouts. Then again, you might not agree with me about that but it matters not - not to me, anyway. I know whereof I speak and I cannot change my opinion about that. Now and again, one comes across a really intelligent comment, but those are few and far between, as the cliche goes. I am digressing. Sorry. My post is about my experience with the Concertgebouw post on YouTube. That particular performance was superb, as I expected. However, toward the end, a scramble in the strings (which probably lasted no more than three seconds but which my ear caught instantly) marred the ending just a trifle. I made a comment to that effect. Almost immediately, some person who obviously has little musical education, no ear training whatsoever, and poor manners attacked me for pointing that little fault out. Another moron jumped in and defended the first ninny. What to do? One cannot engage ignorant people in a dialogue - it would be like talking to or arguing with a chair. I enjoy pointing out errors when I hear them. Nothing is perfect - not even Heifetz. Hilary Hahn comes close - damn her.