Monthly Archives: January 2022

E is for “Ehh…”

Posted on January 30, 2022 by midiguru

This post will most likely be of no interest to you unless you’re a cellist and have some interest in electric cellos, either because you own one or because you’re wondering if you might like to buy one. But I … Continue reading →

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Fun with Pyramids

Posted on January 25, 2022 by midiguru

I recently bought Pyramid Arcade, a big box from Looney Labs that contains no less than 22 board games. Some of them are silly, and some are quite challenging, but they’re all a bit peculiar. Looney players have invented more … Continue reading →

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Woke Joke

Posted on January 25, 2022 by midiguru

I’ve struggled to understand how the nice, well-meaning people in the Unitarian-Universalist Association could be so dangerously misguided. John McWhorter’s new book, Woke Racism, explains it. McWhorter’s thesis is that the adherents of “woke” anti-racism are practicing a new religion. … Continue reading →

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Who Owns U?

Posted on January 20, 2022 by midiguru

The schism within Unitarian-Universalism continues to deepen. The UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association) has now sunk to a new low. You’ll find the details in last Sunday’s sermon by Todd Eklof; you can listen to it here, but for the benefit … Continue reading →

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Freedom vs. the Common Good

Posted on January 19, 2022 by midiguru

There is always, inevitably, a tension between individual freedom and the need to work together for the common good. Neither idea can ever vanquish the other, and in extreme forms both are evil. When individual freedom is elevated as the … Continue reading →

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The Politics of Naughty

Posted on January 18, 2022 by midiguru

Recently I read an article about how some museums and galleries are removing from their walls the work of R. Crumb. Crumb got started in the Sixties, and by today’s standards — or by any standard — some of his … Continue reading →

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Music and Senescence

Posted on January 17, 2022 by midiguru

There are two ways to make music. First, you can physically play an instrument. (For simplicity we’ll lump your throat and mouth in with the other instruments.) Instead, you can record it, most likely using a computer. What you’re recording … Continue reading →

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Swim with the Minnows

Posted on January 10, 2022 by midiguru

One of the nice ways to shape your Facebook feed is to click on an occasional ad. You will then be swarmed by ads for similar products and services. Once in a while I poke at an ad for a … Continue reading →

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Presentation & Substance

Posted on January 9, 2022 by midiguru

At what point does the presentation of a piece of music — its staging — become an essential part of the music’s significance? To look at it another way, at what point does the staging become a distraction? This is … Continue reading →

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Light Reading

Posted on January 4, 2022 by midiguru

Bingeing on reading mysteries. Not quite ready yet to think seriously about starting to write a new book of my own, and even if I were thinking about it I wouldn’t be spilling the details here. So I’m filling time. … Continue reading →

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