Klarinet Archive - Posting 000057.txt from 2007/04
From: "Rommel John Miller" <RommelJMiller@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] mea culpa
Date: Sat, 07 Apr 2007 14:15:06 -0400
Y'know, my horoscope from Astrology.com today told me that =
"miscommunication
is a potential problem today" and it would appear to be right on =
target.
But I appreciate Ted Casher's little remark about our little back and =
forth
being fun. It was, and I for one didn't mind waxing philosophic, after =
all
my first few degrees are in that field, from a measly little State =
College
on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, but in Philosophy all the same.=20
And that is my problem you see, I have this penchant for the whole of =
the
spectrum of Liberal Arts, not just a facet or two around it, and I =
genuinely
love and enjoy playing music. But so did Martin Buber, one of my Hero's =
and
indirect mentors and so to H.L. Mencken, a racist all the same, but one =
hell
of a journalist and a violinist and pianist to boot. And let's not =
forget
the miscreant Woody Allen who swings with our own beloved licorice =
stick.
He isn't viewed as the most moral or ethical person after marrying his
step-daughter, but one cannot deny his film aren't genius and when he =
plays
ragtime and jazz his stylizations aren't right on the button.=20
You see, the film "My Dinner with Andre" dealt with a number of deep
subjects pertaining to Being qua Being, but most importantly it dealt =
with
our inability, or reluctance to see the whole or complete Other as =
Other,
that we only see that part of the Other that we wish to see, and that =
really
is unfair to the one whom we are looking at, for we are in essence
objectifying that other into a "thing" or an it.
And that is what these email things do when we treat them as little =
post-it
notes and not the windows to the world that they really are. For this =
one
email I am writing will reach across the world, whereas I the person =
have
influence in only my personal frame of reference and as far as my arms =
can
reach and as far as my legs (and car) can carry me.=20
We have to see Others as unique and individual and as containing within
themselves the divine spark of ethical and moral goodness. =20
Telling someone to "Desist" from urging others to think, or even to =
question
their thinking is like the Pharisees asking Jesus to stop preaching his
gospel of love and forgiveness. It is like the Pharaoh refusing to let
Moses take the Children of Israel out of bondage and into the Promised =
Land.
It is like saying there is no hope for peace in our cities or in =
Baghdad,
when there is, if only we would wake up and see the others we view as =
our
enemies and foes as the true OTHERS they are once and for all.=20
There is no need enmity or discord, and MUSIC of all the arts should =
bring
us all together.=20
I hope I've made some sense. And that the order or command to "Desist" =
will
not come again, even if I am preaching to the choir. =20
Rommel John Miller
308 Dale Avenue=20
Baltimore, MD 21206-1219
410-668-4784
410-967-8994
DoctorX@-----.net
RommelJMiller@-----.net
Clarinetist, Saxiphonist and Pianist
Actor and Magician
Contact me for more information
-----Original Message-----
From: George Galway [mailto:g.galway@-----.com]=20
Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2007 4:00 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: RE: [kl] Bad joke time
Desist!=20
-----Original Message-----
From: Rommel John Miller [mailto:RommelJMiller@-----.net]=20
Sent: 06 April 2007 22:24
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: RE: [kl] Bad joke time
I dunno, maybe I am just too simplistic, but I got a genuine chuckle =
reding
some of those jokes on the Musicians Union webpage, be they hackneyed =
and
rehashed or not. It is just that sometimes a good laugh, even at your =
own
expense, is worth it. Humility is a wonderful equalizer, and you'll note
that no aspersions were meant to be cast at anyone, I even tried to =
qualify
as much in the first bad joke I sent.=20
Thing is, we tend to take ourselves too seriously, and are a little too
uptight, especially here and in this space of all spaces, and even My =
Space
can be a little too Nazi-istic at times despite its fa=E7ade of freedom. =
We are supposed to be musicians, and the impetus of our craft is an
intrinsic LOVE of playing and listening to music. And without that LOVE, =
we
are nothing. But it is also meant to be JOYFUL and FUN. Where has the =
Joy
and Fun gone? Especially when you can't sit back and relax and enjoy a =
few
hackneyed old one-liners from long ago which some idiot on a Musicians =
Union
webpage has preserved? =20
Are we so busy being sycophantic to those whom we perceive as the =
powerful
that we are willing to step over and forget those in trenches and =
gutters
who might need or ask for our help along the way? Have we become
desensitized to everyone else's need except our own?
I guess this is something to think about on this, the quite most holiest =
day
in Christendom.=20
Rommel John Miller
308 Dale Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21206-1219
410-668-4784
410-967-8994
DoctorX@-----.net
RommelJMiller@-----.net
Clarinetist, Saxiphonist and Pianist
Actor and Magician
Contact me for more information
-----Original Message-----
From: Glenn Kantor [mailto:klarinet@-----.net]
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 3:53 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Bad joke time
> Maybe we should go back to the discussion of ligatures and the =20
> miraculous
> ability they seem to poses in changing one's sound.
No problem here.... :-)
That would be far more amusing than rereading the same recycled, =
rehashed
and unwitty one-liners that every adolescent has already put on their My
Space page.
Glenn Kantor (GBK)
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