.....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.
....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.
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