Unfortunate Timing, Part #1121

Is it just me, or is it bad timing that Tropic Thunder is one of the primary movies of choice right now, when Hurricane Gustav is hammering Cuba, then bearing down on the Gulf Coast?

Make a Date with Johannes Brahms and My Friends

A dozen or so years ago, the department head while I was in grad school was Dr. Peter Cooper, an accomplished performer and educator.  Peter taught me conducting, theory, and several other subjects, often on a one-to-one basis.  (I was the star pupil and the class dunce all at the same time.)  He mentored me in many ways, and approved the meager stipends that, along with much heftier loans from Uncle Sam, allowed me to make ends meet while pursuing my degree.

A few years before that, I studied horn (that’s French horn to you) with the CSO’s principal, Gordon James.  Gordon, out of the four professional horn instructors who taught me over the years, was the one who helped me really “get” what the instrument is all about.  If I have any tone at all, it is thanks to Gordon’s patient guidance and creative illustrations.

Now the two of them will appear on stage together, at the first concert of UTC’s season, in an all-Brahms program.  Joining them is an ensemble collaborator of mine from many years ago (I’d say, but it might be considered rude), Laurie Redmer Minner; and a superb violinist with whom I am somewhat acquainted, Mark Reneau; among still others.

I can’t not be there, given this historic (to me) collaboration, and given that the Brahms Horn Trio will be performed.  I hope you will consider it, because it promises to be an excellent performance.  Thursday, September 4, 7:30 p.m.

Oh, and one final thing ties this all together: the excerpt chosen by Peter for the analysis portion of my comprehensive exam was the first movement of Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E Minor.

Be my guest! Or, on second thought, kindly refrain.

I’ve come to realize that I care not for hospitality.  I don’t like being a guest.

This sense is fed by my adherence to the so-called Golden Rule, along with an unhealthy dose of what the shrinks call “projection”: since having guests myself makes me uncomfortable (to put it mildly), therefore I do not wish this discomfort on others — even, and this is odd, if I’m paying for it.

I do okay in a chain hotel, where check-in and -out are performed by anonymous, bored desk clerks, but even there I cringe whenever I encounter one of the housekeeping staff.  I feel guilty when someone else cleans up after me.  Just show me where the supplies are, and I’ll scrub and vacuum and change the linens.  Um, and you can lower my bill, too, please.

Just now I am attempting to venture into the strange world of VRBO — that’s Vacation Rentals By Owner.  Some enterprising couple owns a cabin or a condo or a tiki hut igloo, and they hire it to strangers — guests — by the day, week, or month.  Lovely.

So “Danny and Shirley” put up a website with a phone number, and I’m supposed to call these people and arrange a vacation on their property.  In principle, it’s not that different than the aforementioned Wingate Inn or whatnot; but in practice, I can’t help the enormous amount of trepidation that I must toss and turn through tonight until their office opens in the morning at eight.

I should stop here and clearly state that my aversion to having guests does not spring from a dislike of the people themselves, nor from a necessarily selfish mindset.  I’m just particular about my space and my routine, and even the most wonderful and meek guests as there could ever be will inevitably crowd one and obliterate the other.  It follows that I stand no chance of avoiding doing the same when the situation is reversed, even if I am the meekest.

How do I vacation at all?  Museums, amusement parks, theatres, restaurants, and so many other places require one to be a guest.  The one exception I can name is national public land.  As a citizen, I belong to it and it belongs to me.  In the wilderness, I am a guest of the creatures, and we give each other space.  Routines are made of seasons and tides; and I could not disturb them if I tried.

However, to get close to the only places I feel comfort outside my own piece of real estate (bonus: no neighbors), I must visit an established guesthouse of some sort.  Backcountry camping is not an option for my wife and toddler.

Of course I know that staying in a VRBO is not inversely analogous to having people stay in one’s home.  The owners aren’t there at the time (at least, yikes, I hope not).  So, in the morning I will call “Danny and Shirley” and see if they will let me be yet another in a long line of human intrusions that they allow to stomp all over their idyllic plot of Earth.  And I will pay for some poor soul to mop up my greasy, slovenly mess.  And I will be polite and I will enjoy my surroundings and I will relax and have fun.

But I know that I will be glad to get back home.

I only thought I got up early

This is my annual complaint against Daylight Savings Time, especially now that they (that’d be Congress) have made it last even longer each year.  Give me my hour back — now, as I don’t want to wait until November.

“Yes We Can” the song

Via 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera; and Nashville for the 21st Century; and Newscoma:

Another link

UPDATE: Welcome, citizens of Brazil, Italy, and everywhere else in the world coming to this page. Obrigado e grazie.

The NewsHour in ten minutes: my conversation with Jim Lehrer

On Saturday, November 17, veteran newsman, executive editor of PBS’s “The NewsHour,” and acclaimed author Jim Lehrer gave a friendly talk to fans at downtown Chattanooga’s Rock Point Books, then autographed copies of his latest novel, Eureka (Random House, 2007).

Lehrer was also in town to celebrate the grand opening of local PBS affiliate WTCI’s new broadcast facility just off Bonny Oaks Drive. During his introduction at the bookstore, WTCI president Paul Grove joked that, long ago when Grove worked at PBS in Washington, DC, Jim Lehrer had once said to him, “I owe you;” and that Grove had simply called in that IOU to get him to come down for the ceremonies.

Whatever all the reasons were for his agreeing to it, it was apparent that Lehrer is more than welcome here, as a large crowd gathered that afternoon for the book-signing. So many people showed up that the schedule got squeezed. It turned out that only ten minutes were available for me to interview the journalism legend.

Small plane crashes in Chattanooga

A plane crashed in Brainerd Village, injuring people on the ground as well as those on board.

Chattanoogan.com (HT Alice)

More as this develops. I heard sirens too. This happened about 2 miles from the house.

Updates:
WDEF

WRCB

WTVC (Photo) (Video)

Chattanooga Times Free Press

9:48 The latest at that Chattanoogan link has a couple of photos, and I removed the strikethrough from the phrase about those injured on the ground, because that seems to be coming back pretty steadily.

Transylvania Joins EU

честита нова година! Un An Nou Fericit! Happy New Year!

Two former communist nations are proud new members of the European Union today. I first became interested in Bulgaria when cast as Nicola in a college production of George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man. Back then, all sorts of places I had a hankering to go were behind the so-called Iron Curtain: Poland, Lithuania, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and, according to some, Massachusetts. Wait — I was in Massachusetts. Three years there, and I could probably count the number of communists I met on one hand. (I did meet fascists in New Hampshire, but that’s another story.)

Last year a young door-to-door salesman named Gyorgy stopped by with some decent children’s learning aids, and so we purchased a set of books and posters. He was gratefully surprised that we had heard of his home country, and that we even knew that its capital is Sofia. He seemed to have experienced more than a few blank stares when presenting this information to other Chattanoogans.

I’ve had less experience learning about Romania, but it’s a fascinating place as well. I was just mentioning to my sis-in-law that the former dictator there was executed after being deposed, yet coverage of that event paled in comparison to that of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s demise. She kindly reminded me that one reason could be that the US didn’t have such a direct role in events leading up to Nicolae Ceauşescu’s execution (but don’t tell Ronald Reagan that).

In a very selfish way, I hope these two nations’ inclusion in the EU further strengthens the possibility that we can someday travel there, and visit Sofia, Bucharest, the Black Sea coast, the rugged interior mountains, and, of course, Count Dracula’s castle. (Note to eager commenters: I’m aware that it’s a tourist trap. Sometimes these kitschy things can be fun.)