The All-New Bunrab

1. angevin2, have you seen this cartoon in the Jan. 26 New Yorker? Roz Chast cartoon entitled "Grad-School Parent-Teacher Conference" shows somewhat older couple sitting in front of desk of frizzy-haired, tweed-jacket type, who is saying "Barbara is very mature for a 28-year-old." and (next balloon) "And she certainly isn't drinking as much as she used to!"

2. Ad in the January 2009 The Progressive for this t-shirt and other items with slogans such as "Future Librarian" and "Knitting is Knotty."

3. I seem to have saved a page from the Nov 08 issue of Metropolitan Home, showing the new Long Center in Austin, built on the skeleton of the old Mueller Auditorium. Says the old roof tiles, hail dents and all, now line the elevators and lobby walls. I haven't been there since it was finished; what kind of effect is that, really, someone?

4. I got the subscription for free, that's why I get Metropolitan Home. I am not normally in the market for $5000 furniture and $1000 bedside lamps, though some of them are cute. It is interesting to look at the ads for the latest in sleek, modern Murphy beds.

5. An interesting article from the July 2008 issue of Discover (that shows you how long this pile of magazines has been sitting next to my computer) about Laughing. Refers back to the essay "The Laughter of Copernicus" by Jim Holt in the book Year Million: Science at the Far Edge of Knowledge edited by Damien Broderick. I believe I meant to make a note to myself to look for this book and Holt's Stop Me If You've Heard This. Is that what I meant?

Yes, I have a huge stack of recent reading, and a report from the Tuba-Euphonium Conference, and numerous other things to tell. Perhaps I shall manage a post after rehearsal tonight.

Book list:
( The 133 books that for one reason or another I saw fit to mention in my blog this year )

Not all of those were books I liked. The ones with asterisks are the ones that I guess I'd characterize as my "favorites" for the year. Hmmm, two science fiction, one historical fantasy, one fiction classic, and two nonfiction - not bad! One thing I was pleased at was meeting the goal I had set for myself back at the beginning of the year, of reading a bit more nonfiction, and rather fewer murder mysteries; there are only 30 books on the list that are mysteries, and considerably more nonfiction than last year! 48 of them are nonfiction - an average of nearly one a week! I feel so intellectual.

Found via urbpan:
Slow-moving art:
http://innercitysnail.blogspot.com/

edited to quote the article so you don't have to jump to manjinakon.
( article about it )

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I'll miss Alex - I thought the work Irene Pepperberg was doing with him was just wonderful, and I have enjoyed reading about him over the years.

So, continuing the saga of What I Did Last Weekend with Sally:
Saturday evening, we went out to Mastic (about an hour east of Wantagh) to some friends of hers who were having a "house sing." This involved pot luck supper too - and there was lots of good food. There were people singing when we got there, from the book Rise Up Singing, which I have a copy of somewhere and know much of by heart, so I was able to jump right in, alternating between singing soprano and tenor (my middle range is quite weak, though). Talked to a few people, pulled out my recorder but never actually got around to playing it because I was busy singing; the other person who brought recorders didn't get around to playing his much either. There were three guitar players. I got to be useful almost immediately, guarding the kitchen garbage can while it had no bag in it, while people who knew more about the house than I did went looking for some more garbage bags. Made me feel right at home.

Nice people all around. More than a few computer geeks. Wide variety of musical interests - at least one woman who sings in a Sweet Adelines group; several people who expressed a bit of interest in my soprano saxophone, which I had not brought with me but was still excited about. People who wanted to know how I knew Sally - and many people who told me they were extremely glad I was there to help Sally clean house; apparently, quite a few of her friends worry about her apparent hoarding. I guess I have the edge, since I've known her since forever, and knew her mother, and knew that house when she was little; this makes it possible for me to move stuff around and choose what to throw out and what to keep with more knowledge of the sentiments involved than other people, which is why she would trust me to do it but has never allowed them.

Anyway, besides the stuff from Rise Up Singing there were a few anti-war songs from Tom Lehrer and Phil Ochs. Then I retreated to a relatively unoccupied room so I could rest, and hide, and I wound up chatting with my host, who was doing the same. I think I'll probably pursue staying in touch with my host and hostess, as they seem like people who have interests that have more than a little overlap with mine. And stay in touch with at least one other person, as well, one of the guitar players, who once had a job doing singing telegrams. People to exchange science fiction book references with! To meet up with, perhaps, at cons at some point in the future! (Stuff Sally isn't into.) One can never have too many friends.

Coming up in the world of music: this Saturday evening, we have tickets to a Marine Band concert in Randallstown, and we're hoping sanada can join us for that. And then, the following weekend is the Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Conference! Which is just as wild as any other kind of con, except that most SF cons, for example, do not involve large hunks of brass being toted around. We will get to see more long-distance friends in person there, too!