Much deep thinking makes me sleepy.
DB - The Vagabond
******************
Step this way.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Beth says that some of the things I write make her brain hurt. I can relate to that. I'm very familiar with the pain in the brain. I have found that many complicated problems can, if not be solved, at least be eased by a good nap. And yet I knew someone who carried sleeping a big step further and actually solved complicated problems in his sleep.
This is about one of the most interesting people I've ever been blessed to know, a college roommate named John. I don't know all the facts about John's life but for the few years I knew him I got to experience the activities of an eccentric genius.
He came to college knowing three languages and became a classical studies major. He graduated in 3 years. He quickly mastered Greek and Latin, He memorized and recited ancient poetry at great length. He went through all the courses of the Classics Department in 2 years and took on special translation assignments.
In the meantime he mastered everything else he set his mind to. He was an actor in the Drama Department productions. He fulfilled his science requirement in his second year by taking an advanced mathematics course. When he was a teenager he had made the money for his college education by playing pool. During one summer he took a job selling encyclopedias, sold his allotted number by midsummer, sold the one he was given as a bonus, then sold magazine subscriptions door to door.
He fulfilled his Phys Ed requirement in his final year by learning tennis.
Besides his knowledge of languages and all the other things he did he could talk at length about world history and he was knowledgable opera lover.
But John had one major flaw. Once asleep it was impossible to wake him up until he decided to wake up. I got a phone call for him one day while he was napping. No amount of shaking him or pounding his head on the pillow would do it. He bought an alarm clock with two bells on the top of it and a hammer that went back and forth striking them. It would ring until it ran out of power. He tried mounting it on a pie tin to increase the sound. The whole contraption slid off his desk and crashed to the floor. He never heard it.
What was worse was that he was a sleep walker. He would start talking in his sleep, or appear out of his room and start doing things. You could swear he was awake. But he didn't respond to anyone. He might start doing things and then stop and go back to bed. One day he came out, fully dressed, lit up a cigarette, turned on the shower, got into it, stepped back out, turning it off, placed the soaking wet cigarette carefully in an ash tray and went back to bed, sound asleep the whole time.
But the brain didn't stop when he was asleep. One night I saw that his light was still on after he had gone to sleep. I went in to turn it off. He sat up in bed and started dictating a mathematical problem and its solution. I wrote it down on his pad and when he was finished his head went back down on the pillow, he never woke up. In the morning he was puzzled to find the math written out and thought I had done it.
I and his other roommates got used to him and his odd behavior. But one day he got married. She was a simple girl, a dairy farmer's daughter, but she knew just what buttons to push and chains to pull, and from then on when it was time for John to be up and awake he was up and awake.
DB
********
May you have a joyful week.
__________________
SUMMER QUIZ
This is not a contest.
A young man out west just took home 88 million dollars from the lottery.
Whether you play the lottery or not, if you suddenly had 88 million dollars, or the equivalent of whatever your currency is, what are the first three things you would do with it?
You have all summer to answer if you wish.
21 responses so far.
DB
Showing posts with label summer quiz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer quiz. Show all posts
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Voracious Virtuosity 9/09/09
Depressing things are somewhere around, all the time. Look them in the face when you have to, but don't give them any rights.
DB - The Vagabond
********************
Today marks the 8th anniversary of my moving into this town and this apartment building, 2 days before the World Trade Center came down. If I hadn't moved here I would have been right underneath it when it happened.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Come sing with me.
_________________________
This is not an essay about Beethoven. It's one about Dmitry Shostakovich and about looking demoralization in the eye and staring it down. But as I was sitting here thinking about how to start this I put on a CD of Beethoven symphonies and was reminded that he began his very first symphony with an unresolved chord. It is a very quiet, modest, unassuming beginning and yet it is outlandishly revolutionary. Nobody ever began, would ever begin, a piece of music with a "dissonant" unresolved chord. And Beethoven did it in his very first symphony. "What on earth was the man thinking of?"
Beethoven was not well liked by the critics and others in his early days. He was staring into the face of a tradition of western European music. He eventually achieved success even though he went deaf, a condition which depressed him beyond what I can imagine. At the end he turned the tables on that tradition once again by introducing singers into his final symphony. But he was never threatened with arrest and imprisonment as far as I know.
Dmitry Shostakovich, 1906 - 1975, was a Russian composer who is and will always remain one of the most important voices of 20th Century music. His works were widely acclaimed and performed all over the world, and yet in Russia he was constantly in trouble with the authorities. Stalin didn't like him and the critics agreed with Stalin, of course. Dmitry lived under the constant threat of being arrested and sent off to Siberia as had happened to many of his friends. He was forced to write under very strict, imposed standards of traditional tonality and musical expression. He pushed those limits out to the very edges. And he was harshly judged for it. He was so certain of his arrest that he kept a packed suitcase under his bed in case they came fo him in the middle of the night, as they were known to do. And if he was sure they were coming for him he would take his suitcase out on the landing and wait for them so as to spare his family the humiliation of his arrest. It never happened but the threat and fear of it lasted for many years. And yet all that time he continued to compose his music. If he had made a single step into atonality, the musical aesthetic of the day, he would certainly have been hauled off in an instant. What his critics were hearing from him was a muddy mess. What the rest of the world was hearing was genius.
How many of us could continue to live and work under that kind of danger? Why wasn't Shostakovich demoralized and turned away from any further hope of recognition and accomplishment? He lived and worked under conditions more depressing than I can imagine. Why didn't he give up?
"Aw, give it up. Don't be crazy. It'll never work. You'll never be rich and famous, so why bother. Don't waste your time. Find something practical to do." I was never in danger of being arrested for my work as some actors have been. But I heard those words when I was young(er). I'll bet 90% of the artists of the world have heard the same things. They are designed to demoralize, frustrate, dissuade and depress. And a great deal of the time they come out of envy. So what do you do? Do you throw down your flute and your paint brush and quit the field? Do you keep a suitcase under your bed just in case? Or do you look all the wrinkled nihilisms in the face and say "I don't care what you think or do. Your rights do not extend over my music."
Yeah, Mama don't allow no guitar playing 'round here
Yeah, Mama don't allow no guitar playing 'round here
I don't care what mama don't allow I'll play my guitar anyhow.
(JJ Cale)
DB - The Vagabond
************************
May you find and enjoy the last rose of summer.
_____________________________
SUMMER QUIZ
This is not a contest.
A young man out west just took home 88 million dollars from the lottery.
Whether you play the lottery or not, if you suddenly had 88 million dollars, or the equivalent of whatever your currency is, what are the first three things you would do with it?
You have all summer to answer if you wish.
21 responses so far.
DB
DB - The Vagabond
********************
Today marks the 8th anniversary of my moving into this town and this apartment building, 2 days before the World Trade Center came down. If I hadn't moved here I would have been right underneath it when it happened.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Come sing with me.
_________________________
This is not an essay about Beethoven. It's one about Dmitry Shostakovich and about looking demoralization in the eye and staring it down. But as I was sitting here thinking about how to start this I put on a CD of Beethoven symphonies and was reminded that he began his very first symphony with an unresolved chord. It is a very quiet, modest, unassuming beginning and yet it is outlandishly revolutionary. Nobody ever began, would ever begin, a piece of music with a "dissonant" unresolved chord. And Beethoven did it in his very first symphony. "What on earth was the man thinking of?"
Beethoven was not well liked by the critics and others in his early days. He was staring into the face of a tradition of western European music. He eventually achieved success even though he went deaf, a condition which depressed him beyond what I can imagine. At the end he turned the tables on that tradition once again by introducing singers into his final symphony. But he was never threatened with arrest and imprisonment as far as I know.
Dmitry Shostakovich, 1906 - 1975, was a Russian composer who is and will always remain one of the most important voices of 20th Century music. His works were widely acclaimed and performed all over the world, and yet in Russia he was constantly in trouble with the authorities. Stalin didn't like him and the critics agreed with Stalin, of course. Dmitry lived under the constant threat of being arrested and sent off to Siberia as had happened to many of his friends. He was forced to write under very strict, imposed standards of traditional tonality and musical expression. He pushed those limits out to the very edges. And he was harshly judged for it. He was so certain of his arrest that he kept a packed suitcase under his bed in case they came fo him in the middle of the night, as they were known to do. And if he was sure they were coming for him he would take his suitcase out on the landing and wait for them so as to spare his family the humiliation of his arrest. It never happened but the threat and fear of it lasted for many years. And yet all that time he continued to compose his music. If he had made a single step into atonality, the musical aesthetic of the day, he would certainly have been hauled off in an instant. What his critics were hearing from him was a muddy mess. What the rest of the world was hearing was genius.
How many of us could continue to live and work under that kind of danger? Why wasn't Shostakovich demoralized and turned away from any further hope of recognition and accomplishment? He lived and worked under conditions more depressing than I can imagine. Why didn't he give up?
"Aw, give it up. Don't be crazy. It'll never work. You'll never be rich and famous, so why bother. Don't waste your time. Find something practical to do." I was never in danger of being arrested for my work as some actors have been. But I heard those words when I was young(er). I'll bet 90% of the artists of the world have heard the same things. They are designed to demoralize, frustrate, dissuade and depress. And a great deal of the time they come out of envy. So what do you do? Do you throw down your flute and your paint brush and quit the field? Do you keep a suitcase under your bed just in case? Or do you look all the wrinkled nihilisms in the face and say "I don't care what you think or do. Your rights do not extend over my music."
Yeah, Mama don't allow no guitar playing 'round here
Yeah, Mama don't allow no guitar playing 'round here
I don't care what mama don't allow I'll play my guitar anyhow.
(JJ Cale)
DB - The Vagabond
************************
May you find and enjoy the last rose of summer.
_____________________________
SUMMER QUIZ
This is not a contest.
A young man out west just took home 88 million dollars from the lottery.
Whether you play the lottery or not, if you suddenly had 88 million dollars, or the equivalent of whatever your currency is, what are the first three things you would do with it?
You have all summer to answer if you wish.
21 responses so far.
DB
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Hollow Histrionics 6/30/09
America's present need is not heroics, but healing.
President Warren Harding
**********************
Come visit.
----------------------------
Are we creating a nation of belligerent fools? Sometimes I think so. I wonder if I am the only one appalled at the juvenile behavior of many members of congress, governors and politicians, spokespersons for various political ideologies, talk show hosts, news programs and late night comics.
We have already had too many examples of why we should not trust CEOs of large corporations to act like honest citizens. Now we watch Congress people, with sibling rivalry, vote against a bill not because it's wrong but because it comes from the other side. So called responsible government officials caught in some scandal or other. Talk show hosts who won't shut up and let their guests answer the questions, TV panels where everybody yells at once, late night comics who put down everyone and everything with vicious humor, a media that thrives on gossip and new's anchors who are simply ignorant. More and more people are practicing road rage. Soccer dad's are beating up referees. Children are in peril. Fists are flying all over and the fingers of blame point in every direction.
Some people are still beating the bushes for Communists, the monster in the closet. Some people still claim the old style economic patterns are the only ones that work even though they have brought us to our knees financially. Some people still carry on the cave man mentality that we should not deal with nations who hate us. But it has been said many times that if you want peace, talk to your enemies.
I don't know about you, friend, but I'm sick unto disgust of it. What kind of a nation are we leaving for our children and grand children if this sort of stupidity is held up as an example of adult behavior.
Some people feel we are a nation in decline and I'm not sure I disagree with that. How can this nation perpetuate itself as a world leader when we can't put forward grown ups as examples of who we are.
I love my country and, as we approach another birthday, I want to feel that we can become a nation of decency, compassion, cooperation, friendship, neighborliness and hope. We need a re-creation, a revolution, to kick through the doors of hate, rage, scorn and selfishness and let some positive light shine in on us.
DB The Vagabond
*********************
Have a sunny thought today and share it.
____________________________________
SUMMER QUIZ
This is not a contest.
A young man out west just took home 88 million dollars from the lottery.
Whether you play the lottery or not, if you suddenly had 88 million dollars what are the first three things you would do with it?
You have all summer to answer if you wish.
6 responses so far.
DB
President Warren Harding
**********************
Come visit.
----------------------------
Are we creating a nation of belligerent fools? Sometimes I think so. I wonder if I am the only one appalled at the juvenile behavior of many members of congress, governors and politicians, spokespersons for various political ideologies, talk show hosts, news programs and late night comics.
We have already had too many examples of why we should not trust CEOs of large corporations to act like honest citizens. Now we watch Congress people, with sibling rivalry, vote against a bill not because it's wrong but because it comes from the other side. So called responsible government officials caught in some scandal or other. Talk show hosts who won't shut up and let their guests answer the questions, TV panels where everybody yells at once, late night comics who put down everyone and everything with vicious humor, a media that thrives on gossip and new's anchors who are simply ignorant. More and more people are practicing road rage. Soccer dad's are beating up referees. Children are in peril. Fists are flying all over and the fingers of blame point in every direction.
Some people are still beating the bushes for Communists, the monster in the closet. Some people still claim the old style economic patterns are the only ones that work even though they have brought us to our knees financially. Some people still carry on the cave man mentality that we should not deal with nations who hate us. But it has been said many times that if you want peace, talk to your enemies.
I don't know about you, friend, but I'm sick unto disgust of it. What kind of a nation are we leaving for our children and grand children if this sort of stupidity is held up as an example of adult behavior.
Some people feel we are a nation in decline and I'm not sure I disagree with that. How can this nation perpetuate itself as a world leader when we can't put forward grown ups as examples of who we are.
I love my country and, as we approach another birthday, I want to feel that we can become a nation of decency, compassion, cooperation, friendship, neighborliness and hope. We need a re-creation, a revolution, to kick through the doors of hate, rage, scorn and selfishness and let some positive light shine in on us.
DB The Vagabond
*********************
Have a sunny thought today and share it.
____________________________________
SUMMER QUIZ
This is not a contest.
A young man out west just took home 88 million dollars from the lottery.
Whether you play the lottery or not, if you suddenly had 88 million dollars what are the first three things you would do with it?
You have all summer to answer if you wish.
6 responses so far.
DB
Monday, June 22, 2009
Zenith Zeal 6/22/09
A genius is one who sees what is not yet and causes it to come to be.
Peter Zarlenga
*******************
Welcome.
------------------------
Question: What do the space shuttle, the 747, a blimp, a hot air balloon, a mountain climber, a tight rope walker, a pole vaulter and a good thinker have in common?
Answer: They all overcome gravity.
.......................................................................
We all daydream. A genius is one who takes his daydreams seriously. All the great and important things that have come to be have all started with thought. Not just any kind of thought, but the thought that reaches out beyond the established limits of what we suppose reality is made of. Not the downbeat thinking Loretta Young spoke of in my last entry. We dream of things that are not possible. We laugh at the absurd ideas that crop up in the free floating mind. And if, by chance, we perceive that there may be a remote possibility that what we dream of may someday become a reality, we turn the whole project over to the mysterious "They." "Someday they may figure out how to do so-and-so." Meanwhile the genius isn't content with waiting for "They," he becomes the "They" in question.
We are all capable of genius on one level or another. The "down beat" thinking that most of us engage in sometimes is one of the worst culprits in the world. It's the voice that says things can't be done, are impossible, against the laws of nature and morally wrong. "If God had meant us to fly he would have given us wings."
I'm an artist, and I know that an artist is also one who takes his daydreams seriously. Sometimes, when I view or hear the work of another artist I'm fascinated to think at what point the artist was in his life when the idea first occurred to him to try to create such a thing. I am equally fascinated by where my own ides come from.
I wonder the same about the great inventions of the world; some are magnificent, like the space shuttle, some are mundane, like the can opener, And yet they are all fingers pointing to the sign that reads "Genius At Work."
DB - Vagabond Journeys
__________________
Do a little summer dance today. Just a couple of steps will do.
********************
SUMMER QUIZ
This is not a contest.
A young man out west just took home 88 million dollars from the lottery.
Whether you play the lottery or not, if you suddenly at 88 million dollars what are the first three things you would do with it?
dbdacoba@aol.com
http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/
Peter Zarlenga
*******************
Welcome.
------------------------
Question: What do the space shuttle, the 747, a blimp, a hot air balloon, a mountain climber, a tight rope walker, a pole vaulter and a good thinker have in common?
Answer: They all overcome gravity.
.......................................................................
We all daydream. A genius is one who takes his daydreams seriously. All the great and important things that have come to be have all started with thought. Not just any kind of thought, but the thought that reaches out beyond the established limits of what we suppose reality is made of. Not the downbeat thinking Loretta Young spoke of in my last entry. We dream of things that are not possible. We laugh at the absurd ideas that crop up in the free floating mind. And if, by chance, we perceive that there may be a remote possibility that what we dream of may someday become a reality, we turn the whole project over to the mysterious "They." "Someday they may figure out how to do so-and-so." Meanwhile the genius isn't content with waiting for "They," he becomes the "They" in question.
We are all capable of genius on one level or another. The "down beat" thinking that most of us engage in sometimes is one of the worst culprits in the world. It's the voice that says things can't be done, are impossible, against the laws of nature and morally wrong. "If God had meant us to fly he would have given us wings."
I'm an artist, and I know that an artist is also one who takes his daydreams seriously. Sometimes, when I view or hear the work of another artist I'm fascinated to think at what point the artist was in his life when the idea first occurred to him to try to create such a thing. I am equally fascinated by where my own ides come from.
I wonder the same about the great inventions of the world; some are magnificent, like the space shuttle, some are mundane, like the can opener, And yet they are all fingers pointing to the sign that reads "Genius At Work."
DB - Vagabond Journeys
__________________
Do a little summer dance today. Just a couple of steps will do.
********************
SUMMER QUIZ
This is not a contest.
A young man out west just took home 88 million dollars from the lottery.
Whether you play the lottery or not, if you suddenly at 88 million dollars what are the first three things you would do with it?
dbdacoba@aol.com
http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/
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