Q & A With Devra

Q:  So, seeing as it’s Summer, do you have Central A/C yet?

D:  No, I’m afraid not.  We have the money to pay for it, but for some reason having the cash in hand isn’t enough encouragement for contractors to actually come over or even return phone calls.  Do they teach flakiness at Contractor School?  Because it’s been surprisingly common across the board.

Q:  Well, that’s too bad.  I hear it’s rather warm out where you live.

D:  It sure is.  July & August both average 98+ degrees 9 days out of ten.

Q:  Really?  You have that stat right there at your fingertips.  That’s very impressive!

D:  Well, actually I just pulled those numbers outta my ass.  But I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it’s right on the money.  Whatever.  I don’t know what my ancestors were thinking when they left the frozen tundras to head out to the fricken desert.  Idiots.  IT’S 200 DEGREES IN MY CAR!  I can slow cook a turkey in there!  I can install a spit in the back seat & roast chickens!

Q:  Um.  OK.  Moving on. 

D:  Sure.  Whatever.

Q:  How’s your health?

D:  Pretty good.  You know, overall.  I’ve jumped onto the Glucosamine Train for my joints.  Which is awful close to making me feel like either an arthritic Doberman or someone’s cranky elderly aunt. 

Q: What’s Glucosamine? 

D: It’s a dietary supplement that helps in rebuilding joint tissue.  Probably.  There have been enough veterinary studies to show it has some decent long-term effects when given to animals, but the jury’s still out for humans.  It’s often derived from shellfish, but since I’m vegetarian, I went to yuppy health food central (the food co-op) to get a vegetarian-sourced version.  Also, I’m taking extra Vitamin C & Essential Fatty Acids.

Q: Ah.  When you said you were "jumping on the Glucosamine Train" I thought maybe that was some new exercise machine.

D: Ha!  Yeah, it almost sounds like something you’d buy on the Home Shopping Network, huh?  "And if you order your Glucosamine Train right now, we’ll throw in these Ginsu Knives for free!"

Q: Heh.  What’s up?  Do you have arthritis?

D: Nah.  Probably not.  But I seem to have developed a Repetitive Stress Injury in my right hand & wrist, which causes pain & tingling when it flairs up.  I figure supplementing for joint stress won’t hurt.

Q: Ah.  OK.  So what have you been up to lately?

D: Well, aside from working & sweating, I’ve been re-reading the DSM-IV’s section on Personality Disorders.

Q: Is this for your job?  Or are you taking a psychology course?

D: No, just for fun. 

Q & A With Devra

Q:  So, seeing as it’s Summer, do you have Central A/C yet?

D:  No, I’m afraid not.  We have the money to pay for it, but for some reason having the cash in hand isn’t enough encouragement for contractors to actually come over or even return phone calls.  Do they teach flakiness at Contractor School?  Because it’s been surprisingly common across the board.

Q:  Well, that’s too bad.  I hear it’s rather warm out where you live.

D:  It sure is.  July & August both average 98+ degrees 9 days out of ten.

Q:  Really?  You have that stat right there at your fingertips.  That’s very impressive!

D:  Well, actually I just pulled those numbers outta my ass.  But I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it’s right on the money.  Whatever.  I don’t know what my ancestors were thinking when they left the frozen tundras to head out to the fricken desert.  Idiots.  IT’S 200 DEGREES IN MY CAR!  I can slow cook a turkey in there!  I can install a spit in the back seat & roast chickens!

Q:  Um.  OK.  Moving on. 

D:  Sure.  Whatever.

Q:  How’s your health?

D:  Pretty good.  You know, overall.  I’ve jumped onto the Glucosamine Train for my joints.  Which is awful close to making me feel like either an arthritic Doberman or someone’s cranky elderly aunt. 

Q: What’s Glucosamine? 

D: It’s a dietary supplement that helps in rebuilding joint tissue.  Probably.  There have been enough veterinary studies to show it has some decent long-term effects when given to animals, but the jury’s still out for humans.  It’s often derived from shellfish, but since I’m vegetarian, I went to yuppy health food central (the food co-op) to get a vegetarian-sourced version.  Also, I’m taking extra Vitamin C & Essential Fatty Acids.

Q: Ah.  When you said you were "jumping on the Glucosamine Train" I thought maybe that was some new exercise machine.

D: Ha!  Yeah, it almost sounds like something you’d buy on the Home Shopping Network, huh?  "And if you order your Glucosamine Train right now, we’ll throw in these Ginsu Knives for free!"

Q: Heh.  What’s up?  Do you have arthritis?

D: Nah.  Probably not.  But I seem to have developed a Repetitive Stress Injury in my right hand & wrist, which causes pain & tingling when it flairs up.  I figure supplementing for joint stress won’t hurt.

Q: Ah.  OK.  So what have you been up to lately?

D: Well, aside from working & sweating, I’ve been re-reading the DSM-IV’s section on Personality Disorders.

Q: Is this for your job?  Or are you taking a psychology course?

D: No, just for fun. 

Why Music Matters

This post + comments @ Crooked Timber and this response from Patrick got me thinking.  Set aside for the moment that this whole discussion is So Last Week (which in blogging is supposedly Ancient History), as I am notoriously Not Up To The Minute when it comes to posting online.  What came into my head is this:  The concept of someone’s else’s favorite music being overrated comes from the habit of intellectualizing that which creates an emotional reaction, which demeans & denies the legitimacy of the feelings that well up.  Music … art, creative action of any kind … is about FEELING.  So if, for example, The Beach Boys’ God Only Knows gets me all choked up, it has done what it was intended to do:  speak to a deep, honest, REAL feeling that is within me.  I’m as guilty as anyone of dismissing music, books, paintings, whatever that don’t speak to me as being Overrated or Trash, but I have to recognize that the Art that speaks to me does exactly what Art is meant to do:  Bypass the Mind entirely & speak directly to Feeling.

So, for me, Good Music is about Love.  Good Music, Good Literature, Good Art … are about Love.  Love is at the core of it, which is Why It Matters.

I’m not talking necessarily about lyrics.  Have you ever heard a melody that was so beautiful you had a physical reaction?  For me, it is when my throat tightens, and I realize I am holding back tears. 

I guess this is all elementary.  But when I hear hyperintellectualized, dismissive, irony-obsessed criticism of something that moves me or moves others, I wonder how anyone can be so unaware, so removed from what moves THEM that they don’t ‘get’ why someone would be moved by REM, The Beatles, or even by Brian Wilson. 

London is not burning

Well, I woke up to the news of London’s tube & bus bombings.  And I am dazed.  I’ve seen reports & blog posts playing the attacks down as "not that bad, not a big deal, it’s not like 9/11, the Brits are not impressed …" and the like.  Well, fine, you can believe that if you want.  I don’t – the people of London are under stress; they will carry on with the business of life, but they are under stress.  I’m not a Londoner, so maybe I’m stepping over someone’s boundaries here, but GODDAMIT. 

There is no way to secure subways & busses one hundred percent.  If it could be done, London would do it.  They are one of the most security-conscious cities in the world.  Perhaps THE most security conscious.  I remember looking around for a garbage can for at least half an hour at Paddington Station so I could throw away my coffee cup (no litter bug, here).  I asked the gal in the Victoria’s Secret kiosk – she said, "Oh just leave it out there.  Someone’ll be along to pick it up."  No trash bins in public spaces, particularly in transport hubs – IRA bombers used to drop their packages and walk away.  There are security guards and police officers around, always.  There is a presence at all times.  Passengers on rail, tube, bus, and in airports are constantly reminded to be vigilant and aware of items that seem to not have owners -  packages left on chairs, backpacks left in the restroom.

On my first trip to London, in 1998, it was disconcerting to hear the PA announcements with such regularity (it might have been every quarter-hour) at Victoria Station & Gatwick Airport.  "Please report any strange packages to security.  Be aware of abandoned suitcases or packages."  Or the like.  Sure, it was routine for the locals & regular travelers, but the it’s-routine-let’s-carry-on-with-business attitude doesn’t mean it isn’t STRESSful or upsetting.  I would hope Americans would not look to stoic Brits as being unconcerned or unaffected, and thus assume they (Americans) have no need to be sympathetic or saddened by today’s events.  Because, unfortunately, I’m already seeing some of that out there. 

I don’t know if I’m making a lick of sense.