Rants, Rumblings and Ruminations in D minor

Friday Fives

2006-05-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

1. Do you squeeze the toothpase tube or roll it? What's the advantage of your method?

I roll and squeeze my toothpaste tube. They work equally well in my estimation. To get to that last bit of tooth-whitening goodness though, I cut the end of the tube off and swab the inner remnants with my brush.

2. How many siblings do you have? What's your birth order?

One younger brother by about 2 years and a step-brother who is only 6 months separated from me. Even my grade school friends could recognize that 6 months was not enough time for a woman to gestate another kid, so that was always interesting to try and explain in my earlier years without somehow making my step-brother any "less" of a brother.

3. What is something you won? How did you win it?

I won a state-wide art prize in high school for a stippling drawing of a german shephard.

4. What is one of your nicknames? What do you prefer to be called?

I have more than one nickname. In no specific order, they are: Beaker, Beaks, Markus, Marky ( one of the oncologists I work with calls me this.....go figure ), M&M ( by virtue of my first and last names starting with the letter "M" ), or Marcus Aurelius. I prefer Beaker actually.

5. What's something your parents used to say to you as a child that you promised yourself you'd never say - but now you catch yourself saying it?

Praise Jesus? HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA. Just kidding. My parents didn't even say that. Um, I can't think of anything really except something along the lines of " music today isn't what it used to be".

Draw me a Picture.................

2006-02-07T10:57:00.001-08:00

Anyone who has been following the news for the past 3-4 days is well aware of the Muslim outrage over satirical cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. According to Muslim law, it is forbidden to draw the Prophet as it could encourage idolatry which is against Muslim teachings. Radical Muslims also see this as yet another attack on Islam by the West and have since taken to the streets around the globe in violent protest. Quite frankly, I find the entire thing incredibly insane. Foreign embassies are being attacked, people have been KILLED and trade routes are being cut off all because of a cartoon? With respect, these radical Muslims need to realize that there is a good part of the world that does NOT practice their religion and thus could give two wits about a cartoon that--quite frankly--showcases the face of Islam that many of us are familiar with.
A couple of talking points:

First off, what this is REALLY about is a classic case of East meets West. What these enraged Muslims do not seem to grasp is that in a free society, the press is not controlled by the government and thus they can print whatever they damned well please. The press corps of Denmark, Germany, Italy ( and a host of other countries ) are under no obligation to recognize or adhere to Islamic law as these countries' laws are based on secular thought and not on religious texts. ( Kudos to the Europeans for giving the Muslims the proverbial "fuck you" by re-printing the cartoons to illustrate their commitment to freedom of speech. ) Muslims living in these countries would do well to remember that when you live in another country, you are making a social contract with the native people to adhere to the mores and laws of the land in which you are living. Thus, in a free society, you are certainly entitled to be angry about something which you find offensive, but you do NOT have the right to violently attack other people and their property. You do NOT have the right to quote scripture as some sort of justification for your actions because that is not the law. If these enraged Muslims feel that this is unfair, I suggest moving back to a Middle Eastern country where religious law is the norm.

The origin of these satirical cartoons can be traced right back to Islam itself, or at least the militant wing of it. By taking to the streets and shooting, looting and going mad, these Muslims are reinforcing the very stereotypes that were showcased in these drawings. In addition, I find it highly amusing that these very same people who are protesting in free countries can only do so because of the freedoms guaranteed them under these countries' unholy, secular laws. Funny how that works..................

The assertion that these cartoons are an attack on Islam is absurd. At best, they are a means to satirize the very real association of Islam with violence.......which has been going on since I can remember ( about 36 years ) and I think at least a few thousand years before. Newspapers and magazines in the U.S. routinely satirize Christianity and publish images that I'm sure right-wing Christians find offensive. And yet you don't see them on the streets looting and setting things ablaze and suggesting that our government censor our press. The price of living in a free society is having to deal with ideologies or points of view that are at odds with your own and in my estimation, it makes a country richer and fosters intelligent debate.

Finally, the latest rumblings from Iran suggest that an Iranian newspaper is soliciting cartoons satirizing the Holocaust to " test the West's resolve concerning free speech". To wit:

"Does Western free speech allow working on issues like America and Israel's crimes or an incident like the Holocaust or is this freedom of speech only good for insulting the holy values of divine religions?" wrote the Iranian daily Hamshahri, according to the Reuters news agency.

Clearly, these folks have never read The Onion or seen The Daily Show.

Glücklicher Geburtstag!!!!

2006-01-27T08:26:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 250th birthday of one W.A. Mozart. I could run on and on about his genius, his prolific output, his influence upon the greats which followed him, or his desire to be classical music's first "star". But I won't. Instead, I will simply revel in his music and sit in awe that 250 years later, we are still worshipping at the altar of Amadeus.

2006-01-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

1. If you perform a good act, but with bad intentions, does it still count as good Karma?

I'd have to say yes. To say no would imply that the "Karmic Force" could know my true intentions and I don't believe that there is some all-knowing force that can delve into my inner machinations. And besides, I'm sure we all have inadvertently performed good acts without even realizing it. In these cases, if you were to assume that INTENT was paramount in determining Karma, then even these unintentional acts would not count as "good" when clearly they result in a favorable outcome. In the end, its the RESULT that supersedes any INTENT............in my humble opinion anyway.

2. If there's an accidental good outcome to something you did, can you count it in your karma column? Is there truly such a thing as an accident?

I guess I partly answered this in Question One when I was speaking of inadvertent "good" acts. The take home message is: Outcome supersedes Intent.

As concerns whether there are true accidents, I guess it depends on what you think an accident "is" ( sorry to go all Clinton on you guys ). I like to think of accidents as a convergence of unforeseen events that result in equally unforeseen consequences. Therefore, if I accidentally perform a "good" karmic act, it really is not the result of my singular act, but rather the convergence of several events at a particular time. Had I performed this act at some other time it would not have the same effect. The "good" act arises out of my being in the right place in the right time. To believe that all karmic acts must be preconceived is irrational as we can never control all the variables the Universe hurls at us daily. Think of it as a bonus point to your "good" Karma Score!

3. What about white lies? Is it bad karma to say something you don't mean--knowing that it's nicer than what you were thinking?

I think white lies are a necessity for society to exist. If everyone went about spouting off what they really thought, we would have Anarchy......or at least more domestic violence. So my answer is that white lies are actually "good" because they foster a more functional society. As concerns Karma, since the white lie functions to make someone feel better or to prevent an unnecessary conflict, it is good, hence the modifier of White. If the lie is told, say, to seed discontent or to shift blame to someone else, then it ceases to become a White lie and becomes its antithesis: the Black lie. Or what we just normally call a lie........
Again, it all comes back to the OUTCOME, not the true INTENT.

4. Is a bad intention at all on the same level as a bad act? (For example, is thinking "I'd like to see him killed," on the same degree as 'pulling an MJ?') Christianity, and some criminal statutes seem to think so, but I don't happen to agree.

Absolutely not. It is human nature to have vicious thoughts from time to time. We are, after all, just highly-evolved animals with millions of years of instinct ingrained in our DNA. However, our social conditioning usually precludes us from acting on these feral and mean-spirited instincts, hi-lighting the importance of CHOICE. Feelings are not altogether controllable or even anticipated, but how we deal with them certainly is.

5. Is it good/bad to stick up for yourself, knowing that doing so will inflict harm on others?

I have to play Scientist here and play the "Survival of the Fittest" card. Sticking up for yourself is a pure act of self-preservation. I do agree with Roy though, that the manner in which you do so is very important to the larger Karmic balance. If you unnecessarily degrade others to elevate someone's view of yourself I should think that to be Bad Karma. If, on the other hand, you are defending yourself on the principles of rational thought and logic, then you get a gold star in the Good Karma column.

6. What obligation, if any, do we all have to look out for each other?

I don't know if we're obliged to help others, but I think we should help others. Once again, I'll play the Darwin card and suggest that ultimately we are all personally responsible for our own well-being, whether that entails relationships, ethics or moral values. I agree with Sage that we NEED to be advocates for those who cannot defend or be advocates for themselves. As far as Karma goes, I do think helping others certainly makes the world a better place and also enriches a person's life experiences. And in that case, Good Karma can be attained. But what about the person who performs good deeds for purely selfish reasons (i.e. to make one's self look better to one's peers)? I still think they can get Good Karma as the OUTCOME is still good, but they have to live with the knowledge that they are, in fact, not being genuinely altruistic. Which goes back to a person being ultimately responsible for their own well-being. Good Karma can be attained in many ways, its our choice on how we get it.

Friday Fives

2005-12-30T09:54:00.000-08:00

1. What Is Your Most Prized Material Possession?

My stereo speakers. I bought these monsters in 1988 and they still sound better than anything I've heard to date. Big, bulky and unwieldy, I will nonetheless amp those woofers and tweeters until they burst in a cacophony of sound.

2. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest?

A quick search through the files in my head ( my god it's dusty in here! ) leads me to my collection of Star Wars comic books which I collected from 1979-1981. There may be something from an earlier time, but its the first thing I can recall without digging through all my stuff.

3. Are you a packrat?

Sort of. I've kept a few things that take me down Memory Lane from time to time and some odds and ends from my childhood. I'm not particularly sentimental; I don't feel I need "things" to recall my past and besides, my vague memory edits my past into a much more pleasing and abridged version.

As concerns everyday life, I don't really stash stuff away. I routinely clean out my wardrobe at least twice a year, although I do hold onto some stuff that will, quite frankly, come back into vogue. Then how cool will I be? I may be 60, but I'll be fashionable dammit!

4. Do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? Or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum?

I like a clean house, especially since I have a very liberal "10 second rule" as concerns food hitting the floor. While our house isn't a museum, it is tidy and relatively clutter-free. However, my ever-growing collection of CDs is threatening to take over the living room and has metastasized into the bedroom.

5. Do the rooms in your house have a theme? Or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there?

Not really. If there is a Themed Room per se, it would be our reading alcove off the living room. We call it our Cost Plus/World Market World Tour Room. We essentially have a mix of bogus things on display that we have picked up from said stores and some genuine things that we have picked up in our travels.

Friday Fives

2005-12-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

1. What book has had the most significant impact on your life?

Curiously enough, the Holy Bible, for it was this book that helped me to form my views on life. At a rather early age ( around 10 ) I began to realize that:

the Bible was a essentially a collection of morality tales, kind of like Aesop's Fables but with a decidedly wackier twist. To wit: the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, a world-wide flood and the erection of a tower to the heavens are just some of the more fantastical elements in this "historical document". But beyond all this fantasy is a book which generally gives instructions on how to live a better life, much like the hundreds of recipes in my Mr. Boston's Bartender Guide----- and who can say that's a bad thing?
people who took the Bible literally were just as wacky as the stories contained in it. I found these people to be uninformed about the world about them and generally ignorant and thus found myself attracted to non-church-going folk, ergo my assorted and motley friends that have drifted in and out of my life over the years.

2. What is the worst lie you've ever told?

I take the 5th. Some things do not belong on a public blog.

3. If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?

I plan on being cremated and allowing the winds to scatter my remains to the four corners of the earth. Think of it as a delicate sprinkling of Fairy Dust over the entire globe. If I had to write an epitaph though, it would be: Have I Been Raptured Yet?

4. If you could have chosen you name what would it have been?

Actually, I have always liked my middle name--Christopher. I contemplated using it when moving here, but its probably a good thing I didn't, as several of my friends are named Chris or Christopher. Did you know that Christopher means "full of Christ"? We soooooo didn't get *that* memo.

5. What is in the trunk, or back, of your car?

A spare tire and jumper cables and a tarp. Don't ask what the tarp is for....................

Friday Fives

2005-11-18T08:40:00.000-08:00

1. What is your favorite "Friends" episode?

Hands down, the Thanksgiving episode where Brad Pitt plays the old high school friend who used to be fat. One of his best roles ever, right up there with his tic-ridden activist in Twelve Monkeys. YAMS!

2. Who would be in your historical threesome?

I have no idea as my knowledge of historical likenesses ranks right up there with my knowledge of 17th century Dutch mercantile practices. If the young, 12 century King Philip looked anything like the young Timothy Dalton who portrayed him, he'd definitely be a candidate. Oh and I guess I'd throw in England's contemporary Prince William . Viva la France and God Save the Queen!

3. What foods have you forced yourself to eat this year that you usually don't eat?

Nothing. I have never "forced" myself to eat anything. I'll try anything once. If I don't like it, I'm not going to eat it again. Period.

4. Given the opportunity and a clear shot, what would you most like to steal?

Without a doubt, the winning lottery numbers. Unfortunate as it sounds, money is the means to many ends, not least of which include the wherewithal to pursue your fancies and the freedom to do so.

5. In life, we make choices. What have you chickened out of doing?

Hmmmmmm. The first thing that comes to mind is lacking the balls to break up with my ex-lover. I wasn't good at dealing with conflict ( and still don't really like it, but have learned that it is a sometime necessity in life ) and in the end, Robert ended up being the de facto heart-breaker. To this day, it is something I regret and am ashamed of, but something which made me grow.

Rip now or forever hold your peace

2005-11-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

iTunes is a smash. Over 500 million songs have been legally downloaded at the wildly successful site and millions more at other less successful ones. Score one for the music industry. Peer to peer networks have been shut down or have been forced to go legit, but this has failed to marginalize rampant piracy. Let's take that point back. And so it goes, a series of victories and defeats for the music industry, a sort of tennis match where the players are us (The Consumers) and them (The Music Industry) and at stake is copyright protection. All the while, the music industry still continues to "hemorrhage" cash and whines that people aren't buying music anymore.

Perhaps realizing that it will never stamp out internet piracy, the next strategy is to schedule a re-match. At stake this time is DRM. And from the looks of it, The Consumer is getting ready to climb the net and beat their opponent silly. DRM, to date, has been an abysmal failure. Sony BMG recently was accused of installing malware on consumer's computers via its DRM software and had to release a "patch" to overcome it. No consumer I know wants to be limited in how they use their legally purchased music, but the music companies STILL don't get it. Don't believe me? Read this little ditty that came from a Times article I read just this morning:

After years of battling users of free peer-to-peer file-sharing networks (and the software companies that support them), the recording industry now identifies "casual piracy" - the simple copying and sharing of CD's with friends - as the biggest threat to its bottom line.

That, my friends, turns my blood cold. The only thing that can come from this is an even more draconian attempt by the RIAA and the music industry to limit what we do with our legally purchased music. How, exactly, is this different than copying a cassette tape? And does the RIAA interfering with the use of my music infringe upon my fair-use rights guaranteed in copyright law? I think it does and as a consumer, the music industry would do well to listen to me and others like me. We purchase their music ( or at least the stuff that's worth buying nowadays) and will cease doing so when it becomes too cumbersome to simply load a CD into our players and press play. As it stands now, different DRM schemes from different companies make interoperability a quaint fantasy. The music companies can't even decide upon ONE copyright protection scheme so how can we possibly expect them to agree on what is important to consumers? The sad fact is that music companies are not interested one whit in artists' rights. They are only interested in their bottom lines. And until that paradigm changes, we'll all suffer for it...............

Friday Fives

2005-11-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

1. What is your favorite noise to hear?

That single isolated note from an oboe followed by the rich tapestry of an orchestra tuning itself to it. Gets me every time..........

2. If you could live in any era of time, what would you choose and why?

18th century Vienna: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven. Enough said. Of course I'd need my Life Longevity pills so I could witness the flowering of all three, so to that end, I'd need to live in the future first.

3. You just found $50 while cleaning your house. Where do you decide to spend it?

I'd use it to buy our Thanksgiving turkey.

4. What magazines to you subscribe to/read on a normal basis?

I don't currently subscribe to any magazines. I get all my juicy gossip and fashion advice on the interweb.

5. If you could witness any event in history, but not change anything about it, what would you choose and why?

That's a tough one. I think I would've liked to see the premier of Beethoven's 9th symphony. It is said that the composer had to be turned towards the audience to hear its thundering applause. A tragic and ironic moment to be sure, but I think that seeing his face upon realizing the outpouring of love for his grandest symphony may have moved me to tears.

George W. Bush & the Temple of Doom

2005-11-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

I love being right. Not only does it serve my sense of ego ( who doesn't like to be right? ) but more importantly, when things play out as I had predicted, my thought and logic processes-- two things near and dear to me-- get validated. Why this sudden rumination? The Republicans, dear reader, are imploding. Those good folks who have lead our country into our current economic, political, ideological, scientific and domestic morass are starting to show their true colors to Everyman Joe. It's almost too good to be true. Sad that it takes this much scandal and bad judgment to wake Idiot America up, but still welcome. Better late than never.....so they say. What will eventually come from all of this has yet to be determined, but it sure is a hoot to watch. Much as the Jews weep over the ruins of the temple that Herod built, the Republicans must be fast erecting their own Wailing Wall to weep over the house that W. built. So many cracks have appeared in Bush's Temple that one more might just bring the whole teetering contraption down. Let's look at the Temple's current state of affairs..............

Plamegate continues to nip at the President's heels. Even when he's out of the country ( provoking mass anti-Bush demonstrations ) he can't escape this transparent retaliation against someone at odds with his administration's policies. Funny thing is, the Republicans have just started their own investigation into how details about the U.S.'s secret prisons were leaked to the Washington Post. As Salon reports, Senator Frist and House Speaker Hastert were first "alarmed" by the "dangerous trend" concerning the leaking of sensitive information. This smacks of so much irony; apparently the outing of a CIA undercover operative doesn't alarm these folks. They quickly changed their story though when it was revealed--by Trent Lott nonetheless-- that the leak was most likely connected to Republicans. Now they seem more worried about the existence of these secret prisons rather than how they came to light. Secret prisons in the shadow of Abu Ghraib does not look good for our Fearless Leader. But its a nice seque into the next crack in George's Temple!

Dick "Big Time" Cheney has spent the better part of the past week lobbying in the Senate for a CIA exemption on torture. When confronted with this astonishing fact, Bush and mouthpiece Scott McClellan answered with their usual directness. Scott suggested we check out Dick's website for answers. WTF? For this administration to be contemplating government-sanctioned torture is almost unthinkable. Apparently, the Geneva Conventions don't apply to the War on Terror. Rumsfeld and Co. plan to get their faulty intelligence........one way or the other.

All 8 members of the crack Dover, Pennsylvania school board who approved the inclusion of Intelligent Design in biology classes were given the heave-ho. I now have renewed faith in my home state. Now if Rick Santorum would just spontaneously combust................

In light of "scooter" Libby's indictment, Bush is sending everyone back to ethics school! Wow, I feel better now. The Times also reports that Libby is accepting donations for his legal defense; sorry Salvation Army, I already gave!!

Senator Carl M. Levin released a 2002 intelligence report to the Times detailing how the administration was warned about likely faulty intelligence. Of course, little things like this were not going to deter Our Fearless Leader from marching us to war, so he ( and a good many others ) used this information to convince the American people that war was justified. This is a particularly damning piece of information and I hope it serves as the kindling that will light a much larger, all-consuming bonfire.

Tom Delay may actually have implicated himself in the fund-raising scandal swirling around him. In what amounts to an admission of guilt, Delay " acknowledged that he knew about and supported a plan to transfer $190,000 in mostly corporate campaign contributions from his political action committee in Texas to the RNC in Washington and then back to Republican candidates in Texas. " Who did he say this to? The lead prosecutor Ronnie Earle. Delay may want to get a copy of " Campaign-finance Money Laundering For Dummies " and skip to chapter 5 where it covers the topic of "the coverup". Silly me.........he probably doesn't read.

None of this changes the fact that we have 3 more years under this corrupt, inept administration, but at least with all of this drama, it will be fun to watch. With Bush's popularity at an all time low, he is desperately clinging to the events of 9/11 to keep his administration afloat. He invokes it constantly, using it as a pretext for his War on Terror and to keep the "fear of a terrorist attack" alive and well. If I didn't know better, I'd say he's planning a sequel to building his Temple of Doom: George W. Bush & the Last Crusade.

.....and I'll huff...and I'll puff..........and I'll vote for I-100!!

2005-10-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

As anyone in Denver knows, the upcoming elections have been dominated by referendums C & D which, if passed, will essentially unlink the draconian ratchet-effect of TABOR from Colorado's budget. I'm certainly voting for it as I think its the fiscally proper thing to do; as a citizen of Colorado, I can't have my cake and eat it, so if I want services---like, say, higher education---than I have to ante up. But I'm not here to rave about C & D. Nope, I'm here to alert you--dear voter-- to another issue that will be on November's ballot. It's certainly not getting much press-- which is not surprising given the nature of this obscure ballot measure-- but the Denver Post did run a little article on it a few days ago, detailing how councilman Charlie Brown reacted to the manner in which the measure was being marketed. So what is this measure and what's the big deal??

A "yes" vote for ballot measure I-100 would essentially make it legal for anyone over 21 years of age to legally possess 1 ounce of marijuana IN DENVER. Bear in mind that if the measure passes, state law would still make possession a misdemeanor, but in Denver you'd be off the hook, technically. Alas, the local cops have decreed that they will continue to prosecute anyone in possession under state law, which essentially yanks the teeth from the ballot measure's maw. But that's not the real issue I want to visit. While I agree with councilman Brown that the way in which this measure is being marketed is misleading ( see article ), I disagree with him on the fundamental premise of the measure which suggests that limited marijuana consumption is less dangerous that an equivalent consumption of hooch.

Look, I don't smoke pot. It burns and makes me cough and besides, I prefer to burn my esophagus the old-fashioned way--with delicious, hearty booze. But do I think booze is more dangerous than marijuana consumption? Without question. How many people get shot, raped, hit by a drunk driver, beaten up, gay-bashed, or worse when there is alcohol involved? ALOT. How many of these things happen when someone is stoned or just a bit hazed? I'd venture to guess it doesn't happen alot. I'm 36 years old and have been around my fair share of drunks and stoners in my life and I can unequivocally say that the drunks are ALWAYS the ones who are belligerent and quick to start a fight. The stoners just lay back and enjoy the show. Sure, there are people who abuse marijuana and commit crimes and these folks should be arrested and punished, but what about all of the people who don't abuse it and use it recreationally? Why should they be prevented from using a mind-altering substance based on others' actions? It certainly isn't that way with alcohol. When a drunk Joe Sixpack down the street decides to hit little Susie with his car and then flee the scene, I'm not held accountable for his actions or prevented from consuming the same fifth of gin he did before he decided to be irresponsible. So why should it be ANY different for marijuana? Logically, it shouldn't. But those in power have deluded themselves into believing that marijuana is THE gateway drug to a spiraling vortex of soul-sucking, self-destruction. That's just pure BS. Wanna know what the REAL gateway drug is? 100% Legal Booze!! How many of you can say that marijuana was your FIRST drug? I'd think fairly few. Most of us as teens first experimented with altered states with whatever was in mom and dad's liquor cabinet ( or closet ). I know I did. And from most of the other anecdotes I've heard, so did almost everyone else.

So, I'm voting for ballot measure I-100 for several reasons, despite the fact that it will be a largely symbolic vote:

I truly believe that most marijuana use is less dangerous than 2-3 legally consumed stiff drinks
By legalizing a reasonable amount of weed, our jails would become less crowded, the police could focus on REAL crimes, and our citizens wouldn't be harassed for something which is largely a personal choice and affects no one else
to stand against the utter hypocrisy of allowing citizens to walk 10 blocks in any direction and purchase something far more dangerous than a joint

This ends my Get Out the Vote initiative. Early voting has already started folks so BE...BE...BE BE AMERICAN!

Friday Fives

2005-10-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

1. Have you ever been to the emergency room?

Yes; surprisingly enough, never as a youth. All my trips have been post-adolescent.

2. What's the worst pain you've ever had?

This one is easy. About a year ago, I somehow scratched my cornea in three places. It started out as a mildly irritating nuisance which I attributed to a dry contact lens or a piece of Honey Bunches of Oats lodged in my eye. By noon, my eye was twitching uncontrollably as it attempted to find some state of existence that did not result in searing pain. By one o'clock, I had to go to the emergency room where I quickly became addicted to some numbing drops they gave me. Oh Heaven! Then the bitches took them away, because apparently the drops were fairly acidic and overuse could result in even more corneal damage. At that point I didn't care: eyeballs be damned! Make the pain stop! At any rate, I suffered through 2 days of pain and goopy antibiotics. During the ordeal I learned two things:

The cornea has the highest density of nerve receptors on the body, which makes sense considering how vital this "vision shield" is. This fact has the undesirable side effect of producing the searing pain I experienced.

The cornea heals VERY quickly and in 2 days I was as good as new.

3. If you could choose your doctor, do you prefer someone of the same or opposite sex?

Is this a trick question? I prefer someone of the same sex. I just think a guy knows more about my body than a woman. I certainly wouldn't know the first thing about how a woman works. " Sssssssso...........how's everything up there?"

4. Do you take vitamins?

I take them sporadically. The tablet forms really aren't very bio-available and I refuse to pay $60 for a bottle of vitamins that I can get for free in my food.............like Honey Bunches of Oats!

5. Would you prefer to go to the doctor, the dentist or go sky diving?

I'd *prefer* to go skydiving with my hot, male doctor after we'd just had our teeth whitened. Fabulous!

Friday Fives

2005-10-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

1. What kind of lighting is around you?

My new lab has a wall of windows facing east, so currently I am surrounded by an aura of natural sunshine goodness.

2. What do you think of your singing voice?

We've had this question before....and since that time, my singing voice has improved not one whit. To describe my singing voice is to use one word: untuned.

3. Who do you try to please?

Usually myself, because if you're not happy with yourself, there's little chance of making others happy.

4. Describe your last dream:

I don't recall dreams. This is something that has plagued me for the better part of my life. I know that I DO dream, because I can remember wisps of them from time to time, but I do wish I could remember them in all their detail. I'm sure they would be fantastic.........

5. When is the last time you bought flowers?

About 3 weeks ago and I just threw them out this morning which will warrant a trip to the flower shop to replace them. I heartily believe in fresh flowers at all times. It's part of my cheery chic design philosophy.

Friday Fives: Santa Fe Edition

2005-10-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

1. When is the last time you lost your keys?

I've never lost my keys, as in never being able to find them again. However, being a.) blonde and b.) perpetually absent-minded, I lose my keys on an almost-daily basis. The last five minutes before my leaving for work are puncuated with harried questions as to the whereabouts of my keys and/or wallet. Fortunately for me, Robert or I ( usually Robert ) can track them down, saving us a small fortune in replaced locks and newly cut keys. We have a nice harlequin table in our foyer, perfect as a key repository. But why use that?

2. Are you likely to ask for directions when lost or to continue to wander?

Continuing the blonde theme....as most of my friends will tell you, my sense of direction is curiously mis-aligned with the earth's magnetic fields, rendering my navigation skills to the trash heap of dead and broken compasses. As a result, I have learned to ask for directions. To recognize one's weaknesses is a sign of intelligence and strength.....at least that's what I tell myself.

3. Numerology: reliable or just a load of bunk?

Numerology is right up there with those wacky stories of the Bible. Bunk, bunk, bunk.

4. Marilyn Monroe. Conspiracy or tragic accident?

Accident for sure. Tragic? Not so much. She was the 50s version of Anna Nicole Smith: a big-chested, kinda dumb, blonde bombshell who starred in so-so movies and liked exccesive amounts of pills and booze ( even by teen standards I might add ) making her even more dumb than previously alluded. If Anna Nicole bought it, would anyone care? I never understood the whole Marilyn thing. I mean she was fun, but her death was no tragedy; rather just a good old-fashioned scrubbing of the proverbial gene pool.

5. Favorite childhood sweets/candy?

Growing up I loved all candy. Halloween was a orgy of sucrose! If I had to pick a favorite though, it would be..........hmmmm. This is hard. I guess Twizzlers. They are still one of my favorites today.

Friday Fives

2005-09-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

1. What is the most fun things you have done this summer?

It has been a curiously "non-event" summer for me. It hasn't been bad, but nothing leaps out at me as Great Fun. Sigh..................

2. What are you listening to now?

I've been listening to Kasabian's self-titled release, Hold On Little Tomato by Pink Martini and quite a bit of Sibelius' violin concerto.

3. In what state do you live?

Buoyant energy coupled with a healthy dose of pragmatism.

4. Last book/s you read?

The latest Harry Potter ( agree with Roy---plodding but the payoff was good )
The Historian
Currently reading The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time.

5.Are you ready for fall?

What a silly question. I am looking forward to the cooler weather and , more importantly, the ability to begin layering my clothes. I think autumn lends itself to fashion much more easily than the other seasons and fall colors go with my complexion :) Have I outed myself yet?

Friday Fives

2005-09-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

1. Name one thing you've quit:

Listening to the radio; even public radio where all the fancy classical music is. The endless, repetitive loops of music played on commercial radio serve no other purpose than to transform the occasionally entertaining song into one which grates on every nerve I have, thus ensuring that I will hate it for all eternity. Public radio suffers from the seemingly relentless onslaught of begging for funds. I recall that this used to occur bi-annually but now it seems that every time I tune in the hosts are shilling for funds. I know times are tough for public radio, but I can't deal with it. Thank Christ/Allah/Buddah/FSM for the digital age where I can play what I want when I want it.

2. Name something you've won:

One time in Austin, on New Year's Eve, at a hot sweaty gay club, I was the winner of $100 at the midnight balloon drop. This of course allowed those in our party to get even MORE drunk than we already were.

3. Describe a subject in school you do poorly in:

Organic Chemistry. This subject is used as a "weeder" course in the pre-med curriculum. I struggled my ass off to learn about enantiomers, the differences between an aldehyde and a......um..... I don't know, a potato? I ended up with a C in the course, my only one in college.

4. Have you ever purposely not done your best?

No. I may do it subconsciously, but never purposefully.

5. Do you lead, follow, or get out of the way?

Depends on the situation. I do like teaching people but can't stand those who require the same thing be explained to them over and over. I will get out of the way and follow if I realize that I'm in over my head. I have no problem admitting I don't know something. How else to learn about it if you can't admit you don't know about it? DUH!

Friday Fives

2005-09-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

1. What was the first song you remember hearing and enjoying on the radio?

This makes my head hurt. I am almost uncertain that it was something by Creedence. Maybe Green River? Then again, maybe not.

2. If you could only listen to five CDs for a year, which five would they be? (Boxed sets can count as one CD. Sigh.)

This is kind of difficult for me as my tastes in music range from gritty, goth-industrial to chruch-going Bach. My eclecticism demands a panoply of choices, but here it goes.......

Mozart's Requiem
Music For the Masses- Depeche Mode
Mendelsshon's Octet in E
When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog- Jens Lekman
Beethoven's string quartet No. 11 in F minor, "serioso"

3. What was your favorite year, music-wise?

That would be 1988, the year I escaped to Europe and subsequently battered the door down to my dreadfully cramped closet. Until that time, my concept of "pop music" consisted of whatever drivel Casey Kasem foisted over the airwaves every Saturday. The Big Gay World exposed me to great bands like Front 242, Skinny Puppy, New Order, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Erasure, Sisters of Mercy and all that faboo dance music that the gay boys writhe to on the meatmarket dance floors of Europe. It's not only the sheer amount of music I was exposed to that makes this year noteable but also the fact that it was so DIFFERENT ( and better I might add ) from what I had been listening to. Needless to say, it changed my listening habits for the rest of my life. As I write this I'm listening to a little ditty called Una notte a Napoli performed by a great ensemble who call themselves Pink Martini. Now where's my wine?

4. If you could witness one historical music event through all time, what would you pick, and why?

Most likely the premier of Haydn's "miracle" symphony. Why? Well, as history has it, during the performance a great chandelier came crashing down on the unsuspecting crowd. The image of all that mayhem set to classical music is just too much to resist. A small historical footnote........the symphony which we ascribe the title "miracle" is the 96th when in fact, this event occurred during the 102nd symphony. I'm not sure how the moniker got attached to the wrong symphony........maybe the 102nd symphony sucks and the story was just too good to let disappear into the ether. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've even heard the 102nd symphony............

note to self: procure recording of 102nd to see if it does indeed suck.

5. Do you have a song that never fails to cheer you up? What is it and why does it do that for you?

Not really a song but rather a piece of music. The third movement to Mendelssohn's Octet in E is pure magic. Whimsical, light and cheery, it can always pull me from the grasp of my doldrums and realign my emoto-meter. Hey, we Vulcans need all the help we can get! A very close runner-up is Dayful of Song by Gershwin. Toe-tapping, finger-snapping music that is sure to blow the blues away..........

.........but gas prices are going up!!!

2005-09-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Katrina has wrecked havoc like no other, essentially inundating an entire American city and seemingly, our ability to deal with it. Nearly four days after Katrina slammed into the gulf coast, people are still awaiting rescue, awaiting food and water, awaiting evacuation. We've all seen the images and read the reports and seen the TV footage. It's deplorable and at the same time mind-boggling that this government's response has been so utterly lackluster. What exactly has the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) been doing since 9/11? Given that everyone knew that a category 5 storm was headed towards New Orleans almost a week before it actually hit, the government's response is truly appalling and reveals just how unprepared this nation is to deal with a major crisis four years after 9/11. Even more unsettling is the fact that this very same scenario could've been played out as a terrorist attack, without the convenience of weather report warnings and such. Had this been a terrorist attack, how much worse would the response have been? Given the government's recent show of ineptitude, one can only surmise that a terrorist attack would've been even more devastating........

As if all this is not enough, the suffering in New Orleans is being eclipsed by everyone's fear and apprehension about gasoline prices. I know that for those of us far-removed from the utter horror of the Superdome, this is the most tangible effect of Katrina, but the human devastation far eclipses your average American having to dig a little deeper into his pocket to fill his gas tank. I'm sick of people complaining that gas prices are soaring. I don't understand this. People are DYING from lack of food, medicine and water! People are surviving ( you cannot call it living ) in unsanitary conditions, sweltering in the heat surrounded by feces, urine and dead bodies covered in blankets. Corpses are floating in the streets. Looting is rampant. Civilization has collapsed. Who gives a damn about gas prices? They were escalating anyway and now they will be even higher. You know what I say? It's been a long time coming so get over it. This country has been spoiled by cheap gasoline prices and the resultant orgy of truly energy-inefficient vehicles for far too long and the chickens are coming home to roost. Yes, higher gas prices are going to hurt your pocketbook and strain some families but the time to air those grievances is not now. Maybe after the city of New Orleans has been drained of all floodwaters, its infrastructure re-built, its homes and property rebuilt, its businesses re-opened and its people return home..................

yeah, then we can bitch about high gas prices.

Friday Fives

2005-09-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

1. Link to your local news source: Denver Post

2. Link to your favorite dessert: Raspberry chocolate mousse baby!!

3. Link to a band that you despise: Mariah. Even her web-site spouts innane pop drivel.

4. Link us to a good book: Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond.

5. Link to your favorite Muppet: Statler & Waldorf

Friday Fives

2005-08-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

1. What if any instrument do you play?

I played the e-flat alto saxophone for 9 years....from 3rd to 12th grade. I was pretty damned good too. I played in the concert, marching and jazz bands ( the latter being my favorite ). I remember, one time in concert band, that we did this concert version of Careless Whisper and I got to do the sax solo. That was as close to musical stardom as I've ever come. I also taught myself to play somewhat good piano; at my pinnacle I had learned the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and now I'm lucky to be able to clack and peck through "chopsticks".

2. If you could choose to play an instrument what would it be?

I would love to learn to properly play the piano. I'd like to be able to walk into a bar--- or even better, a quiet hotel lobby--- and hammer out some boogie woogie in the manner of Chopin. How fun would *that* be? As a back up, the violin would be my second choice. I wonder if Sarah Chang is giving lessons?

3. If you were in a band, what would your band's name be?

I've never really thought about it. I will mull this over and get back to you through the power of the blog edit.

4. What type of music would your band play?

I like so many kinds of music that this is difficult to answer. I think I'd like my band to be versatile. That way instead of doing one 2 hour show, we could do 4-5 mini shows. We'd segue from synth-pop to shoe-gazing to goth to classical and maybe end up at swing. Think of the queue line for *that* show.

5. Would you continue to be good for years to come, or would you and your band end up in Branson playing for bus loads of elderly?

We'd be good for years to come because we wouldn't pigeonhole ourselves and could adapt. But when we did get old and the heralded gates of Branson beckoned, we'd just play things that Depends-wearing, intubated, oxygen-huffing geezers could enjoy..........like a looping TV commerical jingle CD.

When Doctors Go Bad...........

2005-08-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

Bill Frist is an idiot. Notwithstanding that he is a staunch Republican, Bill Frist is an idiot for being an embarrassment to the medical community and to doctors in particular. Here's the latest statement concerning Intelligent Design from the man whose website proudly announces him as Bill Frist, M.D. ( as if somehow being an M.D. makes him a better senator ). To wit:

"I think today a pluralistic society should have access to a broad range of fact, of science, including faith,"

He then follows it up with this intellectual gem:

"I think in a pluralistic society that is the fairest way to go about education and training people for the future."

Let's dissect the first statement shall we? I'm all for a pluralistic society having access to facts, science and even faith. And we do. We get facts and science in school and faith at church. But once again, this administration-- beholden to the right wing, bible-thumping, lobby-- seeks to introduce Creationism into our schools under the cleverly invented moniker of Intelligent Design ( ID ) after failing to do so using the oh-so-Christian Creationism label. Let's face it folks, Creationism isn't supported by facts, observations or testable hypotheses. As far as proper science goes, its loony and unsupported and it has no place being presented in a science class. Period. Now let's look at that second phrase. This strikes me as even more surreal as on the one hand senator Frist is touting the need to "train" people for the future and on the other is actually suggesting that our schools take time away from meaningful science to teach this religious mumbo-jumbo that is already taught in the church. Doesn't that strike you as odd? At a time when U.S. students are performing miserably in math and science, Dr. Frist would rather have us learn how God is somehow responsible for evolution rather than chance mutations, something generally accepted the world over. This sort of teaching will, of course, propel American students to the fore-front of science. The hell with Newtonian Physics and the Theory of Evolution, let's study how God made the sea snake! Flying Spaghetti Monsterism is looking better all the time.............

Here's more food for thought.......

This is the same renowned cardiologist who was able to diagnose Terri Schiavo after viewing a video tape for just ONE HOUR, essentially refuting the observations, data gathering and expert medical opinions amassed over the past 15 years. Now that's some medicine!

This is also the same guy who when asked by George Stephanopoulos (on his ABC news show) if HIV could be transmitted by tears or sweat, indicated that it could happen, which of course has been resoundingly refuted by almost everyone from medical groups to AIDS activists to those of us who have lived under the spectre of AIDS our entire adult lives. Oh, and he also said that condoms have a 15% failure rate, another outright lie. A doctor takes an oath to "do no harm"; clearly, Dr. Frist needs to review that oath as he is willingly spreading misinformation about this deadly disease and its prevention.

This guy is an embarrassment not only to himself but the entire medical community. I wouldn't let this hack near my heart if he were the last cardiologist on the planet. And besides, he probably wouldn't want to work on me anyway.......you know, he might catch "gay"...cause you know, in terms of infecting somebody, it would be hard, but possible.

Dumbass.

Friday Fives

2005-08-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

1. Flu season is around the corner. How do you handle the seasonal head cold?

I don't really get sick, and if I do its usually the "scratchy throat" sort of cold. So, head colds are sort of foreign to me.

2. Aspirin? Tylenol? Motrin? Which side of the line are you on?

I don't usually take pills. I should take an aspirin a day for my heart as I'm approaching 40, but I don't. I run, which has the added benefit of cleaning out my pores via sweat. I do take the occasional tylenol when I get the occasional hangover, but that's fairly rare ( although becoming a bit more common as I get older ).

3. What was your favorite meal served at your elementary school?

Wow, that would have to be a dead-heat race between the Mystery Meat and whatever gruel was served on fridays to clear out the kitchen for the following week of culinary atrocities. Seriously though, I did pack my lunch quite a bit, so my favorite "meal" was a ham and cheese sandwich with mustard, on white bread, with Lays potato chips added for that extra crunch. YUMMY. Damn, I forgot how much I loved those.......I may go home and make one this evening.

4. One preseason game is out of the way. Do the Broncos stand a chance this year?

Preseason? Are we talking fashion here? I don't know if the Broncos stand a chance........all I know is that Jake Plummer needs to get that freakin' lazy eye fixed. I can't be rooting for someone who looks like Quasimodo. In fact, can't we trade for Tom Brady? He's so dreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeamy.

5. What does your mom do to make you cry?

My biological mother passed away when I was 4 and my stepmother and I haven't spoken for the last 7 years. So nothing.

Birthday Musings

2005-08-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

36. Thirty-Six. 30 + 6. However you parse it, I'm rapidly approaching 40. I don't feel 36....more like 26, but Time is an insufferable bitch for details. So I grudgingly accept the fact that I'm a 36 year old who feels 26, and pays his friends the mighty sum of $1 to keep my public age below 30. Although, I guess by writing this, I'm sort of subverting the concept of said dollar. Sorry bitches, no more dollars for you!

That's me on the left ( with the unkempt hair) with my good friend Ed (foreground) & one of my other good friends Roy ( in the background). Eddie and I celebrate our birthdays together as we're only 5 days apart and this year marked the 4th Anniversary of the Minor Celebrity Birthday Extravaganza. This year, we went to a relatively new Czech sports bar down on South Broadway. The food was good and the Czechvars better. The surprise highlight of the evening was the karoke rendition of Strokin sung by a rather portly guy sporting white socks with sandals, who had clearly consumed a copious amount of alcoholic Czech goodness. Surprisingly, he was pretty good, even with his weird can can-like dancing. This was followed by an en masse re-location to Charlie's, the local gay country-western/dance/bear/twink/pick-up bar. No boot-scootin' took place, I can assure you, although I think I cleaned the house of gin. All in all, a good birthday. I scored great gifts which included a swanky dress watch, a distressed blazer, some music, and an ice cream maker. I HEART ice cream. Stay tuned for the upcoming "before and after" pics.

Now on to the musings, the subject of this tirade:

I'm not afraid of getting older per se. I find that as I'm getting older, I tend to take stock of things a bit more though. Where am I in my life? What have I accomplished? What do I still have left to accomplish? Am I where I want to be? What WILL happen when I die? As concerns the latter, I have a pretty good feeling that I'll be worm food, but that's for another day's post. Gone are the simple questions and musings such as "which action figures will take on my weeble army today? Stormtroopers or Shogun warriors?"

I find as I get older, I am preoccupied with things I never dreamt I would be. Case in point: Politics. I remember sitting at the Kids' Table with my brothers and cousins at Family Gatherings ( a euphemism for a DrunkFest to be sure ) and hearing the raucous and downright violent discussions over Nixon, or Carter or some such pol. I'd always wondered what all the fuss was about. Now I get it. As we get older, that blissful state of worldly ignorance which characterizes so much of childhood oozes away. Nature abhors a vacuum, and so our ignorance is replaced with all manners of detail on the environment, war, oppression,success, death, economics and race. Sometimes Nature forgets to do this I think; ergo the teeming masses of mouth-breathers breeding and voting today, which in the end, is just another thing for people like me to stress over.

One thing I always vowed I would never let happen to me as I aged was to lose my sense of humor and that sense of playfulness which characterizes our youth; essentially, to never grow up entirely, to be a bit of a Peter Pan. I'm pleased to say that I've been true to myself and accomplished this quite well, balancing it effortlessly with my "adult" life. I'm a professional, I've always had a job and have never asked for anything ( well I asked once and was refused, so I vowed never to do it again ). I put myself through school, have been in the Army and live a decent life, pay my bills and taxes and do all the things required of a responsible adult. But I also do things that are downright silly and/or youthful. Go out dancing and drinking until 4am? Sure! Host parties at my place that last until the sun comes up? Why not! Enjoy turning my house into a danceclub using strobe lights and a fog machine? You betcha! Do silly things around the house which only my other half knows about? Absosmurfly! Enjoy Harry Potter? Sure! Conduct a symphony standing in front of my stereo? Sure! Roll around in the grass? Sure! Display toys in my office? Sure! ( I currently display a model of the Millenium Falcon and a lunchbox which says " Syphilis is the Enemy! " ) The list of silly things goes on and on and I've been blessed with friends, a partner and a brother who actively engage in these sorts of things as well. For instance, my friends and I have concocted no less than 4 imaginary characters of which, Patty the Triangle Player, is the latest addition. ( Patty is an alcoholic triangle player for the Denver Symphony Orchestra. She has just released the Best of Patty, her debut CD. ) "What's the upshot to all of this silliness?" you ask. All I know is that my friends and I have more fun than we should be having at our ages, and probably more than most people are right now. We are a shining example of what we call the "teen spirit", and only those able to enjoy our odd humor and wackiness get "in" with us. Many have been shown the door after only one introduction. Sorry folks!-- but I just don't have time to be reminded that I'm getting older. That bitch Time does a fine job of that every 17th of July and besides, I'm planning my next encounter with Patty when the symphony season starts. God I've missed her!

Friday Fives

2005-08-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

1. Do you exercise on a regular basis?

I'm not sure if its "regular", but I try to exercise 3-4 times a week either by lifting weights, running or a combination of the two. I refuse to get that damned "spare tire" as I approach 40.

2. Name one person that raises your blood pressure.

Our Fearless Leader, George W. Bush.

3. You need to go up two floors in a building: do you use the stairs or the elevator?

Stairs. I even do push-ups in the dark room while I'm waiting for the film processor to regurgitate my film. Every little bit helps!

4. Have you ever participated in an "Extreme" sport?

Rock/face climbing is about as extreme as I've gotten.

5. Imagine that you have the opportunity to become a foreign correspondent for a week. Where would you want to report from, and what types of stories would you be interested in doing? (In honor of Peter Jennings.)

I want to start a male escort website and then get a White House Press pass so I can ask George questions. Has that been done yet? I hope not, 'cause that's what I want to do.

Beethoven As Muse

2005-08-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

I was riding the shuttle this morning listening to music on my MP3 player knowing that I wanted to write something in my blog today. But what? The Colfax Soundtrack was a great concept, but in the end, it wasn't my cup of tea..........I'd found myself composing and arranging my playlists to fit the wackiness and grit that is East Colfax, and without spontaneity the whole endeavor lost its allure of the seemingly incongruous juxtaposition of my musical tastes and the Otherworld of Colfax; so I ditched the idea as a running feature. Now then, what to write about? And then it dawned on me. Music of course..........my first love. And not just any music, mind you, but the stuff that stirred me to discover the heights to which music can be taken and even transcend. If you know me, you've already guessed that I'm speaking of what has come to be known as Classical Music---a misleading term at best. "True" classical music is generally music that was written from 1750-1820, a time period which begins with the staggering geniuses of Mozart and Haydn and ends with the emergence of the Romantic Period via the revolutionary Beethoven ( consider Beethoven a cross-over artist ). So if we confine ourselves to true "classical" music, we restrict ourselves by quite some measure, missing out on the brilliance of Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Gorecki and a host of others, not to mention the entire Baroque period which paved the way for the Classical Period. So, when I speak of "classical" music, I am talking about ALL of the great instrumental music written over the past 500 years, including the music written for cinema. But I digress..............

What stirred me this morning to write about this sort of music were two things: first, that I was listening to a piece of music that was over 200 hundred years old and second, the title of my blog. Without even thinking, I had incorporated music into the title, and this coupled with the fact that I was re-discovering a 200 year-old piece of music drove the point home. I should right about what I love.................so here I go.

But first, you may ask: why do you love classical music so much? It's simple really. This is music which transcends race, age, sex, nationality and more importantly, time. Beethoven's music is as relevant and accessible today as it was some 200 years ago because it appeals to our basest emotions: fear, love, hate, sorrrow, happiness. And because it is not limited in meaning by the addition of words, the music can mean many things to many people, further widening its appeal. Its always fascinating to me to discuss a piece of music and discover how each person related or withdrew something different from it. This is why we are still listening to Beethoven today, and while I'll be listening to him at the end of my days, nearly 300 years after he wrote it. But again, I digress.............

It was 1801-02 when Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his 2nd symphony. He was residing in the pastoral setting of Heiligenstadt outside of Vienna, on his doctor's orders, in the throes of a deep depression. Beethoven's impending deafness was getting much worse, so bad in fact that he actually considered committing suicide. In letters found written to his brothers at his death, Beethoven wrote: "How humiliating was it, when someone standing close to me heard a distant flute and I heard nothing, or a shepherd singing and, again, I heard nothing. Such incidents almost drove me to despair." Amid this turmoil and personal anguish, Beethoven composed his second symphony. While Beethoven's 3rd symphony-- subtitled the "Eroica" ( or heroic )-- is truly heroic in scale and in sound, his 2nd is much more heroic on a personal level. Even with a cloud of depression hanging over him and deafness squelching the thing he cherished most, Beethoven managed to compose one of the lightest and most capricious pieces of his life. It was if it had been written by someone who had not a care in the world, rather than by someone so unhappy as he had been at the time. Through this, one can see the dedication Beethoven gave to his art and one must assume that his art is what gave him the strength to live, for it was the one thing that sustained him and gave him happiness.

The second symphony is important for two reasons. Foremost, it is the first symphony written that does away with the stately and predictable minuet as its third movement, supplanting it with the playful and aptly named scherzo. ( Scherzo literally means "joke". ) The scherzo added more verve and energy to the piece and this was to be a hallmark of most symphonies written during the Romantic Period and was to pre-sage the radical overhaul Beethoven would give the traditional symphony when he unleashed his masterpiece, Eroica. Secondly, the symphony is of greater scope that previous symphonies ( although some could argue that Mozart's 40th and 41st symphonies influenced Beethoven in this respect ) with its codas, introductions and expositions being of greater lengths. This too was a portent of things to come as Beethoven would stretch the playing time of his 3rd symphony to almost 45 minutes, a feat unheard of in 19th century Vienna. The symphony was premiered in April of 1803 and Beethoven himself conducted. The critical response was expected: ranging from gushing adulation to the critique of one Leipzig critic who called Beethoven's finale "a repulsive monster, a wounded tail-lashing serpent, dealing wild and furious blows as it stiffens into its death agony,". History, has of course, proven this guy wrong.......which got me to thinking. Are there geniuses amongst us now, composing music that we deem too radical? Surely there are. Hindsight is always 20/20 they say, but I have resolved to be one of those to at least seek out the new music. I may not like it, but I'll at least give it a try. And if I find it objectionable, well, there's always Beethoven and the exalted company he keeps. They'll do just fine..................