I want to
wish a Happy Easter to all my family, friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and
co-workers, even the 10 to 20 people who anonymously visit here every day!
Often I
feel weighed down by life, by circumstances, by choices made and not made, but
today I feel wonderful and I wish that wonderful part on all of you!
More details to follow tomorrow or Tuesday, a recap and / or some thoughts and some updates
The Mrs. surprised
me a few weeks back with tickets to the opera Romeo et Juliet. With the
exception of discovering and purchasing an antique triple-record recording of Turandot
in an antique store back in January, I haven’t really listened to any opera
in six or seven years. Since we’ve moved down here to Texas in the summer of ’21,
I had a hard time getting into anything musical. Then, I had a six-month fling and
re-acquaintance with the music of Yes, and then, about a year-and-a-half ago, I
started collecting classical music records on a whim, which I listen to on an
almost daily basis.
So I was
quite excited with this upcoming event.
The last
time the wife and I attended the opera was to see La Boheme at Lincoln
Center in New York City, a Christmas present for me from her. This was early
January of 2017. While not a big fan of the music per se, I found the
sets phenomenally imaginative and the performances incredible. Two
intermissions allowed us to stretch our legs and quaff some flutes of
champagne. During one of those intermissions I turned around and Nicolas Cage
was standing directly behind me, all alone, just soaking in the atmosphere. It
was all I could do to keep my wife from engaging him in conversation (as I got
the vibe he wanted to be alone), but in retrospect I should have let her
pounce.
Anyway, I
was looking forward to a little Dallas culture. We’d been to the city’s
classical enclave before, to see Little One in her final performance on stage
with her classmates at the Dallas Symphony one afternoon. I had just purchased
a new suit and a couple of shirts, so we all got snazzed up and motored down to
Dallas, a thirty mile trip directly south, after making sure Patch was safe and
secure and had supper ready and waiting to be reheated.
First we
had a delicious early dinner at a great little spot we found and often take the
girls for celebrations. Then off to the show itself, at the Winspear Opera
House, a few minutes’ drive away. True, we did have nosebleed seats, and also true,
it was extremely claustrophobic with the narrow seating, and further true, the
degree of elevation gave me a slight vertiginous feeling. But I enjoyed it
nonetheless.
Now, it
doesn’t compare to a New York City production. There was only one set, which
had to make do for everything from a castle celebration, the fields beyond the
city walls, and Juliet’s bedroom. But they made it work with inventive lighting,
even though it gave the whole thing more than a slight nod to (much despised)
post-modernism. The choice of clothing was interesting too – the Capulets
dressed in a cross between Southern Confederate haute couture meets Star
Trek: The Next Generation, while the Montagues were garbed in 1930s Prohibition
gangster threads. A gun was used to kill Tybalt. There was a female cast in a
relationship with the head nurse, either in an attempt to be “edgy” or maybe
the role calls for a mezzo-soprano, I dunno. The cast was multi-racial and
multi-ethnic, which was okay for me since this was definitely a meritocratic
venture.
The only
prior experience I had with Gounod was listening to the opera Faust for
two weeks borrowed from the library, something like fifteen years ago. I don’t
remember anything about it, except a vague feeling I liked it. To these
admittedly amateur ears, opera falls into two broad categories. Is the music in
an opera stand-alone, or is it only to strictly support the singing? I’m more a
fan of the former, which is why I prefer Wagner over Verdi, the latter of whom
I consider a master of the second category. Gounod, to me, is the French Verdi.
The music was quite good, but I couldn’t hum anything afterwards.
None if this
is to disparage the vocal performances. Juliet and Romeo were both phenomenal.
Juliet in particular, especially in her ability to sing and project while
laying down in her bed, running, dancing, you name it. They’re not just
standing still on stage belting it out. Romeo was fighting, running up and down
stairs, writhing on the floor at one point, all while singing perfectly in key
to the entire opera house. That part was simply amazing.
There was
one intermission, only 20 minutes in length so we could not stray too far from
our seats. Alas, no celebrity sightings – didn’t bump into Jerry Jones or
Matthew McConaughey or Mark Cuban. Regardless, it was quite an enjoyable
experience. Looking forward to a nifty gift of tickets to the symphony this
Christmas. And I will stay open to exploring more of Charles Gounod’s works.
Might listen to his Symphony No. 2 in Eb over the weekend one night while everyone’s
asleep in the house.
Happy
listening all!
Just some
ideas here, none really fully fleshed out or truly deep. Some observations I
had while reading The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
when I took the time to write them down. Something to review should I ever take
up and finish the book, which I probably won’t do unless I suddenly become
independently wealthy. (😊)
* I
started The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire on January
18, intending to finish my two-volume “Great Works of the Western World” set by
May 18. This was to be while my oldest daughter was studying abroad in Italy.
To do this I would have to read ten double-columned pages a day (there are
something like 1,270 of these pages to get through.)
* This
turned out to be a bit too ambitious. The work is divided into six volumes, and
I managed to get through the first two, 435 double-column pages, before eye
strain kicked in hard. Head-ache hard. So I stopped one-third of the way in,
and believe me, I didn’t like giving it up. But better to live to read another
day; this was not a hill I was ultimately willing to die on. Or, rather, go
blind on.
* The
theme of the work, to me: The history of mankind is one of never-ending warfare.
Peace is an anomaly. Such is the nature of this fallen world.
* Gibbon calls
Genghis Khan “Zingis”. I love the throwback spelling. Much like the 18th- and
19th century term “Hindoo” for Hindu, and like Lovecraft referring to Eskimos
as “Esquimaux”. Oddly-spelled wyrds fascinate me.
* Names of
the various Roman territories, such as Scythia, Dacia, Sarmatia, and others,
gave the whole work a “fantasy world feel.” Not sure if it’s ever been done
before (maybe by Turtledove or Saberhagen), but man is the Roman Empire a setting
ripe for fantasy fiction.
* The
first few chapters ended with some variation of the words “… the downfall of
the Roman Empire.” I thought this a neat literary device, very modern for a
work written near the end of the 18th century. Would every chapter end in such
a manner? But this was soon to be not the case as I quickly discovered. Oh well.
* Gibbon,
at least Gibbon the historian, is not a Christian. He struck me as a solid
proto-Nietzschean. I wonder if Friedrich read The History of the Decline
as a young man. Gibbon has mad love for emperors traditionally reviled by Christians,
such as Julian “the Apostate” and Diocletian, to name the most prominent.
* Even
though Gibbon is noted for being one of the earliest historians to rely solely
on primary sources (the History has an extensive, exhaustive footnote
section – 425 of those double-space pages), modern historians consider it rife
with error and subjective opinion. I chuckled realizing that one could go so
far as to refer to it as “fan fiction.”
* Lots of
new words, but the only one I (sadly) jotted down was “animadversion.” Dictionary.com
defines it as “an unfavorable or censorious comment” or “the act of criticizing.”
Synonyms include “accusation,” “faultfinding”, “slur.” A lot of animadversion
was slung between the emperors, co-emperors, and their senators.
* Trivia
tidbit: the epoch of the Roman Empire was the only time in history that the
entire shore of the Mediterranean Sea was ruled by a single entity.
* Christianity
owes a lot to the reign of Constantine (the whole making Christianity the state
religion and all), but he was no saint. The most egregious of his crimes was
having his eldest son, Crispus, murdered.
* No
political correctness here: “To these real terrors they added the surprise and
abhorrence which were excited by the shrill voice, the uncouth gestures, and
the strange deformity of the Huns. These savages of Scythia were compared to
the animals who walk very awkwardly on two legs, and to the misshapen figures
which were often placed on the bridges of antiquity. They were distinguished
from the rest of the human species by their broad shoulders, flat noses, and
small black eyes, deeply buried in the head … a fabulous origin was assigned,
worthy of their form and manners, that the witches of Scythia, who, for their foul
and deadly practices, had been driven from society, had copulated in the desert
with infernal spirits, and that the Huns were the offspring of this execrable
conjunction.” Sounds like orcs.
* More
trivia: two elite Legions frequently mentioned were called the Jovians and the
Herculians.
* The period
which the first two volumes of The History of the Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire cover is from the reign of Marcus Aurelius to that of
Valentinian, AD 180 to 375.
* It’s
best to read with one’s interior voice mimicking that of Sir Winston Churchill.
Slow, yes, but so much more entertaining and rewarding.
Little One posing in Ireland at the cliffs of Moher,
four hundred feet above the Atlantic,
over the weekend.
Last night
at the Oscars. We didn’t watch, of course, but I did see the movie with the
Mrs. back in July. When I read the news this morning, here’s what I texted her:
It
fluctuates somewhere around .800 and .850.
Not bad.
This has
nothing to do with baseball, by the way. It has everything to do with New Year’s
resolutions.
Now, I
love the idea of setting New Year’s resolutions. Not so much practicing
them, though. Usually, if I’m lucky and dedicated enough, my resolution will
last past the first weekend of the New Year. Maybe a whole week,
week-and-a-half. Then, poof, it vanishes into the ether from whence it
came.
Not so
with 2024’s batch. In fact, I’ve had so much success I’ve been hesitant about
tooting my own horn for fear of jinxing myself. But since I don’t believe in
jinxes and such, I’m here to tout my resolutionary success in these electronic pages.
I made
four resolutions on December 31st, after ruminating on them for some time. Two
dealt with my physical health, one a stubborn habit I’ve had for a long, long
time that I feel is time to go, and a third is a spiritual discipline I’ve been
interested in and now have taken up.
These last
two, the stubborn habit and the spiritual discipline, I am keeping under wraps
for the time being. But I have been taking daily actions, daily practice, and
so far I am batting one thousand on these two important-to-me issues.
The second
two I’ll publicize.
First, everyone’s
favorite New Years resolution (after going to the gym but in the same vein) –
lose the excess weight.
I’ve been 25
pounds over my ideal weight for at least a decade, maybe longer. Sure, I can
lose five pounds with effort, but then I gain it back a few weeks later. Eighteen
months ago I lost ten pounds for my awesome doctor down here in Texas, kept it
off for a month, and gradually put it all back on.
As of this
morning I am minus-7 from my January 1 weight. And really just by cutting back
on seconds, portion-size, and grazing. Still eating the same stuff, but less of
it and less frequently. Three pounds a month. Not bad. At this rate I’ll hit my
goal around Labor Day.
The second
“physical health” resolution I came up with was – to give up soda. And I have!
One thousand percent batting on this issue. In the past I’d average 1½ or 2
sodas a day. A dozen sodas a week, something like 650 eight-ounce cans of Diet
Coke and Diet Dr Pepper a year. After reading so much bad about soda
consumption over the years, I’ve finally stopped. Haven’t had a can or bottle in
nearly ten weeks.
So I’m batting
.850 regarding my 2024 New Years resolutions. Some points off for cheating and
zig-zagging on my weight loss promise, but otherwise perfect with the other
three.
Pray for
me!!!
Very busy at work and at home of late, but I am working on some posts to appear in the near future:
- I’ve
been reading and watching a lot about Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme after
watching the HBO movie The Wizard of Lies.
- The Mrs.
bought us tickets to see Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet this weekend. Last time I went to the opera
we rubbed elbows with Nicolas Cage. Who will we meet this time?
- I have a list of about a dozen items of interest (at least, to me and
my warped mind) regarding Gibbon’s History and the Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire.
- My take on True Detective Season One (Yes, I
know, always late to the party…)
- Progress on my New Years resolutions – I’m 100% perfect with three of
them and somewhat sporadically successful with a fourth.
- And more!
