The Kids Are All Right: for white people only?
The Kids Are All Right is a good movie, don’t get me wrong. I’m just contemplating whether or not my enjoyment of the movie was tempered by my eternal inner monologue of “…white people.” Plot points will, of course, be discussed, so read more after the jump (I’ve always wondered what it would be like to write that).
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More WordPress thoughts
I know it’s common to put a lot of time, energy, and work into other people’s projects and let your own personal ones suffer. I feel like that’s what’s happened to my own blog.
First of all, I need to write more, period. Second of all, I need to modernize this theme and add some functionality! I spend so much time these days making custom CMS themes and functions and super-awesome screenshot-filled documentation and installing and configuring a ridiculous number of plugins for clients and my regular job, but I don’t seem to bother with my own.
I’m still using this ancient theme (which I don’t change because I still like it) and it’s got some old old stuff going on. The comments are especially ugly and don’t have threading enabled. I’m sure it’d be easy enough for me to fix my own stuff, but I guess it’ll have to wait until I don’t feel guilty for not focusing on open projects, including a piano recital next Wednesday. Perhaps I’ll use that Lady René font (yes, the purchase happened) to make a new header so I feel like I’ve done something. But for now, off to do a little late-night practicing that won’t bother my neighbors!
Racial profiling or just that horrible Rochester accent?
Heading into security here at Rochester International Airport (international by virtue of flights to Canada, I’m sure), I was asked what my final destination was. Apparently not hearing me well, instead of asking me to repeat myself, he asked, “North Korea?” I repeated myself, this time adding “Virginia”, and he said, “OHHHH Norfolk” (pronounced Nor-Folk). Should I be irritated that:
a) He didn’t realize that you can’t just fly into North Korea.
b) He assumed I was going to an Asian country. Without my passport.
c) They pronounce Norfolk so damn weird up here.
FYI, other non-Virginians: it’s NOR-fək. That weird character is called a schwa – it’s that indeterminate vowel that’s kind of like “uh” but non-accented.
An optimistic view of art music in this recession
Yes, it’s totally sad that professional orchestras are folding or striking because of the recession (see: Honolulu Symphony or The Cleveland Orchestra), but…
Maybe this whole recession thing will finally quell the influx of half-baked musicians into music schools everywhere. I am SO TIRED of this whole “American Idol” phenomenon – you are NOT entitled to waste your parents’ money going to school for music just because being American means you can do anything you can dream. I wish that we could go back to being complete musicians instead of being forced to specialize (i.e. orchestral vs. teaching vs. academic) because there are so many music degree holders out there.
Times are tough, that is for sure. It’s not easy to watch people or groups get cut back or cut out. But just as some great smaller-scale musical works came out of war-time (you know, lack of money, fewer people), maybe something good will come of having less money to burn. Besides better financial behavior all-around, of course.