la blog strangiato

07:05 pm - Some thoughts about The Musical Experience

Novelty of Gesture - ways in which music is both a universal and individally unique experience.

08:56 am - Hong Hao

10:25 am - doug's afikomen story

at the beginning of the seder the head of the household breaks one of the ceremonial matzahs in half...he hangs on to half, and the other half (the afikomen) gets wrapped in a decorative cloth (often designed by a grandchild) and hidden during the meal, somewhere in the house....often by a grandma who stashes it someplace the youngest grandchild might be smart enough to find it. At the end of the meal, the search is on...the seder can't be continued until the broken halves are reunited. The finder of the afikomen is usually rewarded w/ $ or a sticker book. My always over-generous grandfather used to give all 5 grandchildren a 20 dollar bill, much to the distress of our parents, who thought (in the early 70's) this was too much dough for a small child. They had a massive house in queens, ny, and the search could be pretty extended....for, if during the meal you excused yourself to the bathroom (actually meaning to search for a minute or two) and FOUND it, you needed to re-hide it, so your brothers and cousins couldn't find it when the time cames to produce it.) Famous afikomen stories in my family include the time I found it and rehid it under the powder room carpet, only to have it simultaneously found and noisily reduced to crumbs by my big brother. not bright...even as a child I suppose I was destined for the soft arts. d

10:47 am - Mimi

Cruda sorte, Isabella's aria from L'Italiana in Algeri

Cruda sorte! Amor tiranno! Cruel fate! Tyrannical Cupid!
Questo æ il premio di mia fé: Is this the reward for my constancy?
Non v'è orror, terror, né affanno No horror, terror or anguish exists
Pari a quel ch'io provo in me. compared to that which I now suffer.
Per te solo, o mio Lindoro, For you alone, my Lindoro,
Io mi trovo in tal periglio. I find myself in such peril.
Da chi spero, oh Dio, consiglio? From whom, oh God, can I hope for counsel?
Chi confort mi dara? Who will give me comfort?
Qua ci vuol disinvoltura. Keeping cool is what's wanted here,
Non più smanie, né paura; no more rages or terror:
Di coraggio è tempo adesso, now is the time for courage;
Or chi sono si vedrà. now they'll see who I am.
Già so per pratica From experience I already
Qual sia l'effetto know the effect
D'un sguardo languido, of a languishing look,
D'un sospiretto... of a slight sigh...
So a domar gli uomini I know what to do
Come si fa. to tame men.
Sien dolci o ruvidi Be they gentle or rough,
Sien flemma o foco, cool or ardent,
Son tutti simili they're all alike.
A presso a poco... more or less...
Tutti la chiedono, They all seek,
Tutti la bramano they all long for,
Da vada femmina from a pretty woman.
Felicità. happiness

I will never forget the arias she sang for us, the lessons she taught me, the love she gave everyone, or the significance she brought to my life.  I will always miss her.

Mimi Lerner, the best singer, teacher, and friend there could be.

03:28 pm - Holding Accountability Accountable

Individuality and Identity Interrupted.

01:47 pm - the cello chix!

play!

09:42 am - the case of the missing teaspoons!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7673280

08:50 am

Life is too short for only opera.

04:29 pm - Study Group Meeting 2/21

Some notes and thoughts from last night:

We discussed my recent paper about eurhythmics for quite a while.  Jack was curious as to the idea of quality.  How do we measure it - what terms are there - what are the standards we use - are there any?  Someone else brought up a great point - what would Dalcroze think about the work being done in eurhythmics?  Put this in the perspective of one's analyzing Dewey or Marx - there are many points of view and even actions concerning work of one from the past.  I do wonder what Dalcroze would think, sometimes.  Mimi was curious as to the universal aspects of music and art.  What is it about these things that is so easy to communicate and understand across cultures?  Then, I wondered about the universal aspects of learning and education.  What is universal about humans desire to learn?  Is education a universal concept?  And, taking a comparative look, there may be issues regarding the fact that at least in the U.S., education is not voluntary.  People of other cultures do not share our beliefs and values in terms of education.  

Just a few quick thoughts.  Perhaps one day I will have time to explore some further! 

05:51 pm - Abramson Critique

In light of my studies of theoretical perspectives, or paradigms for you old timers, I critiqued a text book entry in Teaching Music in the Twentieth Century, written by Robert Abramson. 

You can see it here.

01:47 pm - student quote of the week

 As I was practicing while walking home from our lesson, I hit a
really high note and the dog in the yard next to me freaked out! It
was pretty funny.

10:25 am - what if?

what if imagination and art are not frosting at all, but the fountainhead of human experience?  what if our logic and science derive from art forms and we are fundamentally dependent on them rather than art being merely a decoration for our work when science and logic have produced it? 

-Rollo May

02:29 pm - interesting questions raised in "education and the social sciences"

this is from chapter 1 - historical and philosophical influences shaping perspectives on knowledge:

(James L. Paul)

How do the spaces in between disciplines affect inquiry's power and direction?

How do language, culture, knowledge, and inquiry affect the logics in use?

How might we define the margins of inquiry?

In what ways does the postmodern construct of self affect inquiry in the humanities and social sciences?

03:19 pm - Theoretical Perspectives Article

Here is what I am calling a "reflective summary" of Dr. Gunzenhauser's recent article on Pedagogy for Epistemological and Theoretical Diversity. 

02:11 pm - After Reflection

This is probably not finished, yet, but I have so many other readings and writings to do, that I thought I'd post this and let it simmer a bit.  I'd appreciate some comments or controversy.

08:42 am - After Notes

can be seen here.

03:53 pm - thoughts from our group discussion last night

We talked at length about Terry Eagleton's book, but what i started to discover was that the book is really about identity, with the underlying problem of what lies at the bottom of everything.  Anderson suggests the answer that Postmodern thinkers assume is culture, but Eagleton, in his thoughtful, diplomatic way, proposes that there is a dialectical nature to this problem, between nature and culture.  He suggests that both things are the foundation of identity.  
Perhaps we are relying too much on culture nowadays, and have forgotten how to allow nature to shape our identities.  Eagleton says that we in fact sacrifice our identity in order to have our freedom to invent ourselves.  see pg. 190.

06:48 pm - being a giraffe does not get you anywhere.

the point about human nature is that it does not have a goal. 
                                               -T.E. After Theory

06:04 pm - the reality of metaphysical epistomology...or something

reality
metaphysics
ontology
epistomology
and while we're here...hermeneutics

05:03 am

The art of doing something purely for the delight of it has always rattled the grey-bearded guardians of the state.  Sheer pointlessness is a deeply subversive affair.  -T.E. p. 39 After Theory