This and that
Today I woke up in a funk. There are probably many reasons, and quite a few of them involve the news. I probably don’t need to list the things in the news that disturb me – the triumph of the … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Me, myself, and I
COVID: looking back
Fauci’s been testifying that some of the social distancing recommendations for COVID were based on nothing much: The idea was everyone staying six feet away from each other would slow the virus spread. From that flowed the “need” to close … Continue reading →
What’s up with the smiley-voice?
We’ve all seen the smiley face. But you probably have also heard the disembodied smiley voice. Why are these ladies – and it always seems to be women, or at least female-sounding AI – so very very happy-happy? I hear … Continue reading →
Balanchine’s Serenade in Sacramento
Serenade is one of my favorite ballets. It was the first ballet Balanchine choreographed in the US – in 1934, ninety years ago, although it’s timeless – and one of his very greatest as well as one of the greatest … Continue reading →
Using that search function
Every now and then I get a commenter asking why I don’t write about a certain topic. But it’s often something I have written about. For example, today a commenter mentioned – perhaps tongue in cheek, so I’m not intending … Continue reading →
My day at the dentist
Actually, it started over a month ago when I was out west and broke a tooth. Split it longitudinally down the middle between front half and back half, with the back half disappearing and leaving the front part looking quite … Continue reading →
First day of the year musings
January first always feels like a clean slate day. And yet it’s really just a continuum. But that “clean slate” feeling is why people make resolutions. I don’t make formal ones anymore – I know better. But I’m always resolving … Continue reading →
What are you doing New Year’s Eve?
And me? Glad you asked. Nada, zip, zilch. Oh, I might visit a nearby friend for a short while and have a sip of champagne, a tiny toast to the end of 2023, a year I’m pretty sure most people … Continue reading →
Fouettes and The Nutcracker
For me, it was easy to see what was unusual about this dancer’s fouettes – because of my long ballet background which includes some teaching. The narrator explains somewhat, but I’ll add that holding the arms above the head increases … Continue reading →
Critiquing AI’s song lyric efforts
Commenter “huxley” had AI perform an interesting exercise. He asked ChatGPT 3.5 to do the following: Write song lyrics like “Why Can’t a Woman Be More like a Man” based on “Why can’t a Nothing be more like a Something.” … Continue reading →
It’s lebkuchen time again
[NOTE: Regulars here may remember that most years I put up a family Christmas recipe. And here it is again.] This recipe was brought over from Germany sometime in the mid-1800s, and was my favorite of all the wonderful treats … Continue reading →
Confronting a coyote
During my trip out west, I tried to keep up with my walking regimen. On one particular leg of the journey, I was in a Los Angeles suburb, walking along a well-traveled path near homes. There were some plantings on … Continue reading →