Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
APRIL 25, 2021 – Last night we watched Stowaway on Netflix. The estimated cost: $6 billion. No, not our Texas-style “bundled” cable/internet subscription for April because of cold weather without regulation of utilities. And no, not the actual production budget for the film. Six billion is the estimated cost (according to the internet) of sending …
APRIL 24, 2021 – Yesterday brought another “first-in-a-year”: practicing violin with my pianist collaborator, Sally. Though she and her husband, Don, plus friends Liz and Perry, and my wife and I had visited via Zoom a time ago, I’d not seen Sally—or Don—in person in over a year, let alone inside their old, beautiful St. …
APRIL 23, 2021 – Yesterday evening, for the first time in over a year, we entered a house that was not our own. Stranger yet, we counted among six people—two of my three sisters, two brothers-in-law, my wife and I (all of us fully vaccinated). Each of us savored the occasion. We hadn’t been together …
APRIL 22, 2021 – Amidst our rancor and failures, we need to remind ourselves that we’ve also wrought wondrous works. Yesterday evening I stumbled upon an example of such works: a bayan played by Ukrainian super-star, Aleksandr Hrushevich. As an expert at being ignorant, I’d never before heard of the “bayan” (not to be confused …
APRIL 18, 2021 – Most “lake people” nowadays have a light-weight aluminum dock installed by easy-to-manage sections or by its own big wheels mounted under the front. In either case, most lacustrian dwellers hire out the task to a friendly, local service for a not-so-friendly fee. I don’t know of any research into the possible …
APRIL 10, 2021 – Recently, I cleared a stack of books from one nook of our house and deposited them in another cranny. In the process a thin paperback escaped my grip and fell lightly to the floor. It was The Amateur Emigrant by Robert Louis Stevenson. On the cover was an illustration of the …
MARCH 20, 2021 – Friday marked the death of Byron Hanson, musician and teacher extraordinaire at Interlochen Arts Academy. I first heard about Mr. Hanson from my sister Elsa. As I prepared for my first year at Interlochen—immediately following Elsa’s last—she told much about his genius, dedication, and inspiration. A graduate of Edina High School …
MARCH 15, 2021 – The shoreline of Björnholm, our family’s retreat in northwest Wisconsin, presents an engineering challenge. After years of fighting the steep embankment in front of the cabin, Dad and Grandpa moved the dock and boatlift to more accessible terrain down the shore. Years later lake ice re-arranged that location. Over time, Dad …
MARCH 13, 2021 – Yesterday marked an anniversary—the last time I rode a bus; my last day at my downtown office; the day I sat for 20 minutes across a table from a voluble guy, who experienced severe symptoms the following day, winding up on a hospital ventilator and nearly succumbing to The Plague. I …
MARCH 2, 2021 – Yesterday, while walking home from my skiing, I pondered material for today’s post. A fertile patch: news items I’d scrolled through an hour before, just before heading out the door. One story in particular was Sunday’s CPAC appearance by you-know-who and a statement by South Dakota Governor Noem that “We aren’t …
FEBRUARY 27, 2021 – Yesterday evening our five-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter was working hard at a life-size drawing of “make believe” on a large sheet of paper. When I approached, she waved me off. “You’re not allowed to look yet, Grandpa!” she said, “It’s not done yet.” Obediently, I repaired to a nearby chair to continue my …
FEBRUARY 25, 2021 – After practicing law all day, what did I do yesterday evening? I watched Nuremberg, the 2000 mini-series starring Alec Baldwin. This cinematic experience was the inevitable sequel to my having watched Tokyo Trial. (See my 2/23/21 post.) Despite some historical inaccuracies, Nuremberg provides a reasonably satisfactory overview of the proceedings against …
FEBRUARY 24, 2021 – My wife and I have been watching The Crown on Netflix. I’m surprised. I’ve never been interested in British Royalty—they’re British and they’re royalty. Besides, I’ve always thought the current members were off kilter; not up to the job. Now I’m learning that apparently the Queen lacks a normal range of …
FEBRUARY 23 2021 – Recently, I watched on Netflix the four-episode, historical drama, Tokyo Trial (2016). It’s the Pacific (war) Theater counterpart to Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and mini-series Nuremberg (2000). A Japanese-Canadian co-production, Tokyo Trial was co-directed by a Dutchman and an American and filmed mostly in . . . Lithuania. Nominated for Best …
FEBRUARY 21, 2021 – Yesterday I spent two-and-a-half hours transacting business at a car dealership. During long waits, I had no choice but to observe and ponder the goings-on around me—I can’t stand wasting time just “waiting,” which is why I take writing and reading material wherever I go, but yesterday, I’d forgotten. (Beyond a …
FEBRUARY 3, 2021 – Today a truck with an onboard machine will appear in our driveway to shred decades’ worth of paper. In the pile is every sheet containing an SSN or bank/investment account number. A few weeks ago, I’d experimented with a primitive alternative. It didn’t go well. In the first place, fire is …
FEBRUARY 1, 2021 – On Saturday I enjoyed an overdue telephone conversation with my good friend Derek, a 35-year old graphic designer from L.A. By the close of our talk, enrichment outweighed regret for not having talked since May. I met Derek two years ago at our co-working space in downtown Minneapolis. He worked for …
JANUARY 27, 2021 – Yesterday was crowded with work-related demands, routines of daily existence, and more “breaking news.” I couldn’t enjoy the sun-filled outdoors until it was no longer sun-filled. Not until 9:30 in the evening did I grab skis and escape. In the dark, the “banana-peel” ice on alley and sidewalks was too treacherous …
JANUARY 25, 2021 – In retirement, my dad took lots of photos with his classic Canon AE-1 SLR. He didn’t snap away indiscriminately. He made judicious use of his 36mm film and was persnickety about what he “shot” and how. Film was too expensive and his eye too sharp for a shotgun approach. After Dad …
JANUARY 22, 2021 – Yesterday my book club met via Zoom to discuss our latest “assignment”—The Contest – The 1968 Election and the War for American’s Soul by Michael Schumacher (See Monday’s post). Geezers now, we readers were 12 to 14 (me) in that watershed year. By 1967, I’d become a certifiable news nerd. I …
JANUARY 18, 2021 – I’m a third of the way into The Contest – The 1968 Election and the War for American’s Soul by Michael Schumacher. As members of my family can attest, the book is so riveting, I had to “sneak read” during someone else’s protracted turn in a late-night card game. The book’s …
JANUARY 1, 2021 – This morning I took an early walk through the “tree garden” in the woods adjacent to the Red Cabin. My wife, our son and daughter-in-law remained back at the cabin—lounging, making coffee and waiting for the outside temperature to rise from 12F to a level more conducive to going . . …
DECEMBER 25, 2020 – For years our family sent out an annual Christmas letter and family photo. My wife arranged for the photo. I wrote the letter and added a touch of DYI artwork for the “letterhead.” Somewhere along the line, however, the effort faded. For one thing, it seemed a little disingenuous to be …
DECEMBER 23, 2020 – Yesterday I was hard at work, fielding incoming email, firing off out-going messages; reviewing this document, revising that one; hitting a new snag here, devising a solution over there. Suddenly . . . ping . . . an email from my friend and piano collaborator, Sally Scoggin. We’d last rehearsed in …
DECEMBER 22, 2020 – . . . Not to be confused with “The Wise Men.” I used to think Christmas my freshman year of college was the worst ever—for the simple reason that our semester-end final exams were scheduled for the week after Christmas vacation, as it was called. I wasn’t the only student disturbed …