On a more cheerful note....

.....Robin and I came in first in our stratified section at bridge again on Friday, and second overall in the room (of about 50 tables).  We were hugely chuffed!

And Saturday was my long anticipated outing to Pasadena, to the Norton Simon museum.  This was also through the Osher Institute (which sponsors my infamous classes).  There were 40 of us in total, and the bus to Pasadena was less than 2 hours.  It seemed shorter, what with a preparatory lecture by one of our instructors, and, of course, the obligatory video.

,,and that was only till we got to the front door...

For those of you who don't know the Norton Simon (I had been before, but it was three decades ago, and it had received an upgrade or two since then), it houses the collection of - surprise - Norton Simon, an industrialist who bought the Pasadena Museum in 1974 as a home for his collection.  There are some 12,000 pieces of which only 1,000 are exhibited at any one time.  It has not been added to since his death in 1993, so it truly is his collection..

Our tour started before the museum opened, so there were not the usual hordes of people who always seem to fill museums these days (it is, of course, great that more people are going to museums, but raise your hands out there, those of you who liked it better when you could actually stand and look at something without having to listen to someone else's audio tour....)

So, there is our guide.  She does not seem to have gotten the message that we were there in support of a specific course on Picasso and Matisse, so she showed us her favourites from the museum instead.  (Luckily, there was a scheduled two hours for "on your own" visiting, so we did our "homework" later.)

There were three visiting Rembrandt self portraits (of which, below, are two)...

....a large Asian collection (which I gave pretty short shrift, since, between the Asian Museum in San Francisco and our collections in Vancouver, I get enough of that at home)..

...and a visiting Degas collection....

While we were there, there was a ten-year old little ballerina trying out the poses.  It was adorable, but I wasn't quick enough with my camera.

I liked the outdoor sculpture garden the best, as you can tell from the number of pictures...

A lunch was provided, which we ate in the outdoor eating area (it being February in California, don't you know, warm and sunny...)

Then, back indoors for the art that we missed...

 This is my kind of modern art, not quite representational but not unrecognizable either (above), or something that you can identify from across the room as a Modigliani (below).

..... and. I very much liked their sculpture, Picasso and others...

Oops - I see that I didn't take any pictures of the Matisse works that I was supposed to be looking for... (I did see them, though)

The trip ended with the obligatory visit to the museum store (I do love museum stores...).  I did buy one thing, a book called Seeing Slowly, by Michael Findlay.  It is about looking at modern art.  I have just started, but I am already fascinated.  To start with, he confirms friend Peter's view that reading the wall plaques, much less an audio tour guide, are out until you have spent some time just looking, finding (or not) your own emotional or intellectual connection to the piece.  This book has moved ahead of a number of other things in the pile.  (Luckily, the library has automatically renewed some of these...)

I did just finish The Ninth Grave, by Stefan Anheim, a Swedish mystery writer.  It is official, I don't like the Swedish authors.  They are so, so dark - there were body parts and torture everywhere. It must be the cold and the lack of light. I think I will stick to the Brits, thank you very much.

I am almost finished Frankopan's The Silk Roads, history from the Eastern rather than the Western point of view.  It was actually a page-turner, even though I knew how badly it has ended - or at least, so far.  I highly recommend the book.

Finally, I am also reading (doesn't everyone have two or three books on the go at once?) something called The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve by Stephen Greenblatt.  He also wrote Will in the World, a book about Shakespeare which I have also read.  This is about - as you can imagine - our own creation myth, where it came from - it does have antecedents - and how it has influenced us.

So much to know, so little time...

Too little time for wallowing in self pity.  I apologize for the outburst of a few days ago.  I nearly had another meltdown this morning (finding out that a colleague, visiting in Palm Spriings, didn't bother to call, and that, once again, I was not included in neighbors social activities when I had been so careful to include them...).  But really, one of my points of pride is not worrying about things I can't do anything about, so, well, I am just trying to let it go. (Or, perhaps, making myself more congenial does fall within the realm of things I can do something about...)

I had a lovely day - sunny and warm, just me and the Sunday New York Times (in paper, of course), and am looking forward to another lovely week, full of sunshine and books and classes and bridge, and whatever else comes along.  As always, I will keep you posted.

Do we ever get over summer camp?

It was going so well, too.  There was a lecture/meeting last night to discuss Bosnia/Herzogovina in support of my upcoming (November, 2019) cruise, sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.  I took more care with my attire than I usually do, and was more social than I usually am at these things - after all, I will be spending 15 days on a ship with these people.  There were a number of singles, men and women, some potential roommates - to avoid the single supplement, don't you know.  It was an interesting, if not particularly informative evening (what ever did we do before we could get video from U Tube?).

And, at the end of it, there were a number of business cards exchanged.  But not with me.I was stunned by how I was taken back to summer camp, and always being the last one chosen for any outing, often forced on groups by counselors who otherwise would have been stuck with me.

It was all I could do to keep the smile on my face till I got to the car.

I'll get over it, of course, in my usual way - by convincing myself that I wouldn't have really
 liked any of them anyway, and that I prefer my own company.  And it's true.  (See?  It works....)

But really, summer camp?  At 72?

The Theory of Moral Proximity

Great bridge tournament, for me at least.  Nice venue, at the Palm Springs Pavilion....played four sessions, with three different partners, and came first in two and fourth in one.  Yay, teams!

Philosophical content for the week - the theory of moral proximity.  This is the basis of those obligations that came into existence when we find ourselves close enough to others to be able to witness or feel their needs, or when we are in some other way linked to their plight.  We can't deal with all the suffering or need in the world, but we can - and should - deal with the sliver of suffering that is reasonable close to us...


This is from the Alexander McColl Smith book A Distant View of Everything, and I like it.  It kind of goes with my theory that, since I am obviously not going to find a cure for cancer or create world peace, the best I can do is make the lives around me a little better, except this was said better.   

3 A.M. really is the darkest hour......

.....and no, I don't know why I can't sleep on some nights.  And it is not strictly true that I can't sleep.  I sleep (interrupted four or five times, but, still, sleep) and then wake up at 2 or 3.  I've learned it is not possible to go back to sleep, so I try to keep up with the nuts and bolts required to keep my life running on an even keel.

....hence, this blog post, as my weekend will be taken up by a bridge tournament.  (The tournament starts today, preceded by our usual Friday morning bridge lesson.  Normally, I don't care if I don't sleep at night - the resulting daytime naps are so delicious - but I won't have time for a nap today, and I would have liked to be sharp...oh well....)

So, here is the week so far...

Monday morning continued the Mondays at the Museum series with a talk on "Another Minimalism:  Art After California Light and Space" by Melissa Feldman.  Not one of their bigger successes.  I am sure she was very knowledgeable, but a speaker she was not.  If she said "um" once more, I thought I would have to smack her.  (This is why I knit at lectures:  it keeps my hands otherwise occupied.)  Also, the subject art works were, I am sure, fascinating, but they certainly did not lend themselves to slides.  In short, I was not the only one walking out at the break, all with the same complaints.  Well, that is one way to break into the cliquish world that is Palm Springs art...

Tuesday, the by now regular Scrabble games with Marvin....

(I won both games this time, but we are a good match, in the Scrabble department at least)

....followed by dinner cooked by his partner Geoff....

...in their lovely home...

Geoff loaned me yet another book, The Collected Novellas of Stefan Zweig (you might recall that we recently shared the letters between Zweig and Richard Strauss.  Do you detect a theme?)

Wednesday evening, I saw the encore performance of the Metropolitan Opera's L'Elisir D'Amore by Donizetti.  Bartlett Sher was the producer, he of movie fame, and his productions are luscious.  The soprano was a pretty young thing from South Africa, Pretty Yende, with a lovely voice to boot.  The other parts were well sung, and - in honour of Valentine's Day?  - noone dies.  So, all in all, a nice evening, marred only by the everlasting intermission.  (Why does the Met insist on airing those insipid interviews?  "How did you like working with this cast?"  What are they supposed to say?  "I hated it, but, hey, it's a living!" ? And I truly hate the preview of upcoming performances. Hearing arias from other operas while watching the current night's offering?  Bah, humbug!)

Had a wonderful bridge game earlier on Wednesday.  Partner Chaya and I love to interfere with the opponents if we can possibly manage it, and, to boot, have a good time.  And - icing on the cake - we scored big on the points department - that strategy does not always lead to good results.

I also managed to get to the library.  I wanted to get something to lighten up the heavy reading of The Silk Road, previously mentioned.  It is actually a good read, but one of those seminal books that you want to keep watching for the "ah ha" moments.  Anyway, lucky for me, Alexander McCall Smith has written yet another book, A Distant View of Everything, in his Isabel Dalhousie philosophy series.  In spite of the title, you can't get anything lighter or gentler than Alexander McCall Smith.

A new addition to my "to be read" list, Tom Nichol's The death of Expertise, and Why It Matters.  Has anyone in my blogophere read it?

Finally - for now - the quote of the week from the Behavioural Economics class.  Groups:  knowledge comes in, nonsense comes out.

Well, it is not 3:00 A.M. anymore.  The sun is coming up, and I expect another glorious day in paradise.  Wish me luck in the tournament.  I will get back to you soon.

How could I have forgotten?

Looking at the calendar this morning (and yes, I am one of two people still living who has a paper calendar) I saw that it was Hank's birthday.   And remembered that on Saturday, his ashes had been scattered in San Francisco, by a group of his dear friends.  I would have liked very much to be there, and, but for Arlene's long planned visit, I would have been.  I can't even say my thoughts were there - truthfully, I totally forgot.  That said, he was a dear friend, and I will continue to remember him often, and with great fondness.

And while I'm posting, I noticed that I forgot my book list.  Having finished The Austrian Woman (which, by the way, I dropped in the pool at some point, and, having dried it out, continued to read it page by wrinkled page) and The Romanovs, I have now started Influencing Hemingway, by Nancy Sindelar (the instructor of my mini-course on Hemingway last semester).  My current tome (I always seem to have one going) is The Silk Roads:  A New History of the World  by Peter Frankopan.   His premise is that East and West have been entwined for the centuries since the Silk Roads linked East to West via trade in goods, ideas and religions,  A totally different kind of popular history than The Austrian Woman (this one comes replete with footnotes, indices, pictures and maps), but very readable as well.

Having finished all the back issues of the Economists though (thanks again, John), I'll have to find something I can actually carry around.....

And the company keeps coming.....

My friend from Seattle, Arlene, came for her annual visit to Palm Springs this week, and we had a lovely visit.

Tuesday was the anniversary of David's death (yahrzeit, for those in the tribe)...

.....and, as I did on his birthday, I went to Bernie's (this time with Arlene) ...

...to indulge yet again in Davie's two favourite food groups, bourbon and prime rib.  It was nice to go with Arlene, who knew and admired David, and happily raised a glass with me in his honour.

She joined me for several of my classes as well, and left a convert for OLLIE (Osher Life Long Learning Institute), determined to see if it was available in Seattle.

We did not do too much in the way of touristy things - she has, of course, been here many times before, but I did take her to see the gardens at Sunnylands, which is the estate of Walter and Lee Annennberg, and known as the Camp David of the West.  In watching the explanatory video, and listening to words like civility and discourse, and collegiality, etc. - I have to say, it was as if they were talking about a different era.  Which, indeed, it was.  The Annennbergs bought 200 acres of desert scrub in the 50's and turned it into something magnificent....

......which now includes the visitor center and a very civilized cafe....

We couldn't see the house, as reservations are required months in advance.  (I saw it with Peter in December; it is well worth the trouble to get tickets, so if you are visiting, let me know....)

The other touristy bit we did was a visit to the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert, fondly known as the Galen, after the donors who made it happen.  It is a lovely little space (it is small), with the current exhibit showing Bob Ban Breda's works made with found objects (called, appropriately, Lost and Found).

I find that I often don't like these sorts of things, but found these surprisingly appealing, especially as the exhibit had been curated by the artist, with notes as to where he found the items, and what they meant to him.

There is also a lovely sculpture garden, so peaceful that it is hard to imagine that the grand El Paseo is nearby......

We did finish the day on El Paseo, to do some shopping (at Arlene's request, I might add - I myself am not much of a shopper), and finished with a Mexican dinner at Las Tablitas, a previously visited favourite.

We topped the week with a visit from friend Robin, who has met Arlene on previous occasions, for a wonderful chat on my equally wonderful patio...

.....the bunnies, as usual, joined us...

I put Arlene on a plane yesterday, and am missing our conversations already.  In that vein, she forwarded this to me...

https:/www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/opinion/smearing-of-woody-allen.

in furtherance of our conversation about the #me too movement, and our agreement that assuming that accusations are facts sends us down a dark path (think The Crucible and witches....)

Also, in furtherance of my discussion of The Phantom Thread, one of my devoted readers sent a January 9 review from the Washington Post...https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingout guide/movies/phantom-thread
which pretty much nails why, beautiful and well acted as it was, the movie just didn't speak to me.

(okay, I give up, I can't copy links.  Will someone help me out here?  Both articles are well worth sharing.....)

Next week is - again - a busy one, with L'Elisir d'Amour at the Metropolitan Opera in the Movies, more Scrabble, and even a local bridge tournament.  I will try to catch up with you next weekend....