My review of the Metropolitan Opera's broadcast performance of Der Rosenkavalier is officially delayed on account of a lot of stuff on my plate right now. I'd rather take the time to write something thoughtful than churn out something slapdash.

- Matt

I've had my driver's license for a full year now, and, sure enough, that reality's become a decidedly mundane one to my understanding. That's not to say I take driving for granted in the same way I do English literacy, but it has moved/is moving toward that end of my internal taking-stuff-for-granted continuum ( Read more... )

I've figured out how to approach the task of giving a protective varnish to all my finished oil and oil-tempera paintings (mostly on canvas, some on panel) of the last six years. It would be nice to use a glossy synth-resin varnish for this purpose, and I hear that this doesn't have a very steep learning curve, but it's a fairly sticky, messy, ( Read more... )

I was in that situation last night where there's a huge stack of records and you have to pick one. Even though it was a big stack, and I hadn't handled a vinyl record since, I dunno, age four at most, I went pretty spontaneously with Hot Rats. Turns out I made the right choice.

I've (re)started reading Hermann Hesse's novel, Steppenwolf after an abortive attempt at getting through it years ago (when I was in high school). Apparently, it's the same English translation as before, too.

If Steppenwolf isn't a book to emphasize reflection over action the whole way through, that's still a good description of the beginning, if ( Read more... )

In discussing Louis-Adolphe Thiers' ruthless beatdown of the Paris Commune of 1871, Karl Marx dubs Thiers "that monstrous gnome." Wow. Could there be a better slam than that? At the very least, it's got a certain hyperbolic drollness.

I wonder if any political figures of today might qualify as monstrous gnomes.

- I've put it to the test enough times now to confidently recommend the trick of holding a tenaciously stuck cap or lid under hot water for about a minute before trying to open it. This is particularly useful for when a stuck cap/lid is so small (or otherwise unusual) that it prevents getting a grip that would be strong enough to open it ( Read more... )

- Managed to land a six-month internship position at the Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art. This was doubly validating in that I was 1) pleased to get the internship and 2) pleased to have my post-interview perception that I'd really made a good impression and "aced" the interview confirmed/corroborated ( Read more... )

I was in for a surprise this morning when I stepped into the backyard and began to hear the nearby clucking of a chicken. It was one of those "hey, I've never heard a chicken shouting out here before," moments. That sounds better than "getting complacent again, and, for all I know, continuing to assume that my memory is an objective record of my ( Read more... )

- I am about to explain my clever analogy for today. See, in my experience, the most ubiquitous marginal internet ads are about 1) "how to quickly lose x number of pounds of embarrassing stomach fat by obeying this one simple rule" or 2) "the secret to achieving whiter teeth." Well, cellular debris is always floating around inside of my eyes, but I ( Read more... )