Random thoughts

I have both the time and the inclination to write a few random thoughts:

1) I really like baseball, even when the Cubs aren't involved. Watching the level of play in the playoffs is very much like watching the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. Much appreciation for the skills. I am starting to think that there should be more use of replay, though. If the announcers in the broadcast booth can clearly show a mistake was made within seconds, a member of the umpiring crew in the booth could do the same and relay the information to the field. I don't think anyone, years from now, would look back fondly and say "I miss the days when botched calls could affect the course of a game".

2) Every winter is harder for me to approach. This year, we have had a very sudden transition, coupled with the fact that summer wasn't that warm to begin with. I'm feeling depressed and I know that temperature and shortened days have a major role. Moving south is looking more and more attractive.

3) If Iowa can beat MSU in East Lansing on Saturday, I'll start believing they're for real this season.

4) I enjoy the challenge and variety of working on pianos, but I also miss playing music with great musicians.

5) In spite of some things, life is, actually, pretty good right now.

6) The balloon parents should go to jail. That's all I have to say about that.

7) Facebook is interesting, intimidating, and annoying, in equal measure.

Taking one's own advice

The past few days have been an exercise in practicing what I preach, especially in terms of job applications. An opportunity has presented itself, one that I would have told anyone else they'd be crazy not to pursue, and yet I hesitated. "Applying doesn't mean anything except that you've applied" is what I would say, "it's free, and is infinitely more likely to result in something positive than not applying." "Let things take care of themselves from there". Good advice - and with the help of others, I took it, hopefully not too late to effective. We'll see.

Re-creation

Getting back into the swing after some time off and an excellent week spent at V's family cabin in NW Wisconsin. An actual vacation, my first in some time, and it really did what a vacation is supposed to do: rejuvenate and restore my energy. Now I feel ready to move forward in a way I didn't after returning home from T'wood. I needed some time to absorb the experience, I suppose. So - more letter-writing, resume-sending, phone-calling, and general pounding of the virtual pavement, in addition to responding to a couple of contacts attempted while I was out-of-service in the north-woods. Also getting ready to make a work/play circle through Iowa starting this weekend.

I'm glad there is - V

I listened to this twice on the way home on Saturday. It seems a part of the culture now, but I wish I could go back to 1969, with my 48-year-old ears, and hear this for the first time again. There is just SO MUCH here to delight the active listener. As a bassist, I can go through it and marvel at Sir Paul's playing; so active and melodic and ahead of many of his peers. The songwriting, well, not much to say there that hasn't been said elsewhere and with more eloquence. The guitar sounds! From clean to the dirtiest, all at the appropriate times. The singing, from all four boys. The Medley: pure inspiration, and I don't care how much of it was George Martin's idea. The metric modulations in "The End" and in the transition from "Mean Mr. Mustard" into "Polythene Pam" were the first I ever identified in pop music back when I was just learning what the phrase meant. I can't help but wonder how many times Freddie Mercury and the other members of Queen put this on their turntables before recording A Night At The Opera, and in particular, "Bohemian Rhapsody".

A recording completely of its time, yet still timeless.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig...

Ahh, nothing like being home again after an extended absence. Keeping busy with work, including updating the resume and preparing contact items for my existing customers. Also getting back into domestic duties, which feel surprisingly un-mundane right now. I made an heroic foray into the email in-box this morning, which had swollen to over 100 items in need of varying degrees and types of attention. Now down to only 3. I'm starting to formulate plans for a near-future trip to Iowa, for purposes both piano related and not.

Sadly, my Cubs appear to be backsliding into the bottom half of the NL Central, with uninspired play and silly mistakes abounding. I continue to blame Larry Rothschild (pitching coach), but that's an ax I've been grinding for years now. Here's hoping that in another month things will have turned around, in time for the game V and I will attend in Milwaukee to actually mean something, but it seems unlikely at present.

I saw the photo this morning of the assault-weapon-wielding protester at the Obama rally, and it made me shake my head. Can anyone truly see this as reasonable? I wonder: for people who support gun rights in general, but haven't given it any deep thought, does the image of someone toting an AK-47 at an outdoor public rally give them pause? Maybe there will be an effect from this photo that will surprise the nuts who support this piggyback fringe aspect of the gun laws. I'm no gun-control supporter, generally, but this is just plain silly.

Final Tanglewood post

Notes from the Berkshires, Day 75

Bernstein Pavilion, 8.50 a.m.

Waiting for the rest of the team to arrive at Ozawa for a final coffee run together. Last night was the last supper:


L-R: Steve Carver, John Stothoff, Yours truly, Emily Townsend

A nice gathering, with much talk of the future.

This morning I tuned the B in Maple one last time. This is a lovely way to wind up, as it was also the first B I put my hands on here, way back some ten weeks and 70 or so posts ago. Speaking of posts, I just noticed that I have surpassed 50 pages of writing in the Word document containing this blog; it’s been a great way to keep track of this amazing experience, and I’m hopeful that the writing bug will continue to afflict me in the months to come, back in Illinois.

In the spirit of keeping track, this was my reading list for the summer:

• Shopclass as Soulcraft; An Inquiry Into The Value Of Work, by Matthew B. Crawford
• The Lenox School of Jazz, by Jeremy Yudkin
• Slippage, by Harlan Ellison
• Foucault’s Pendulum, by Umberto Eco
• Four Freedoms, by John Crowley
• Girl With Curious Hair, by David Foster Wallace
• Armageddon in Retrospect, by Kurt Vonnegut

I hope to write a little about some of these in a future entry.

This will most likely be my final post from Tanglewood, as I leave very early tomorrow morning and will be spending most of the balance of today in preparations.

Wrapping up

Notes from the Berkshires, Day 74

Bernstein Pavilion, 8.44 a.m.

A grey morning, with sprinkles. Yesterday it was different at Ozawa Hall:




And tomorrow it should also be nicer, perhaps starting later this afternoon.

I’ve covered two pianos already this morning, the last two I really needed to check this week. I’ll probably tweak a couple later today and tomorrow, but for the most part, I’m done. One of the pianos this morning was a little exercise in speed tuning I set for myself, and I accomplished a complete tuning in 40 minutes. Not my best, to be sure, but not bad, and certainly better than I found it. Ten weeks ago I wouldn’t have been capable of that.

Today we get an opportunity to purchase Tanglewood-related items at the gift shop at a 30% discount, bringing it near the realm of the affordable for the itinerant piano technician. Also later, a last meal with the team. Really winding down now.

PotD – the C & A B in Ozawa Hall I:



II: