Today I must fix the flat tire I noticed on my Subaru on Sunday. I gave myself yesterday off. Of course it looks like rain today. Before Eileen retired, I would be tempted to simply hire this task out. But now money is tighter. I should at least get the dang tire off today, rain or no rain.

The church finally issued a check for wedding I played over four weeks ago. Despite repeated requests for this check, it has taken this long. At the same time they reimbursed me for organ music purchases and wining and dining the organ builders.

This sort of delay hurts more when our income has been so diminished. People don’t seem to see how humiliating it is to continually ask for one’s pay.

My cross to bear, I guess.

So I took yesterday off. But I have other tasks today besides getting the tire off the Subaru. I need to get planning on picking hymns. My last Sunday with the hymns already chosen was Pentecost (this past Sunday).

I also need to get my Mom more books from the library.

I weirdly spent time on the piano yesterday with Grieg and Rimsky Korsakov. Whenever I play Grieg (which is not often) I think of the Mom of an old high school friend of mine  who loved Grieg. I found an interesting suite by him called “From Holberg’s Time.”

Holberg was according to the inscription in the music “the Moliere of the North, the father of modern Danish and Norwegian literature.” His dates are 1684-1754 roughly the same time as what Gardiner calls the class of ’85 (Bach, Scarlatti, Handel, Mattheson, Rameau,
Telemann).

Less weirdly, I played through some Handel suites and Platti sonatas.

I did go practice organ as I am playing a Peter Hurford piece based on Nicea (“Holy, Holy, Holy”) Sunday. I also rehearsed upcoming wedding organ music. I am changing my Trumpet Voluntary arrangement back to the old Concordia one which is more pompous and less stylistic. This is more what they are looking for this Saturday at Dimnent.

I have been banging away on Bolcom’s “What a Friend.” This is a tough little nut to crack which I put down for a while and have now returned to.

I see my readership is dwindling (“You’re the only one today”). It was down to 15 yesterday.  if it gets down to zero for any length of time, say a few days, I might just discontinue the public journal and only journal privately.

The benefit of this to myself is that I would not have to restrain myself to appropriateness the way I attempt to do so here now.

At any rate, I’m still suffering burn out although now I suppose one could it’s sort of post season burn out.

1. An American Life, Lived in Shadows – NYTimes.com

I read a lot of hate messages on Facebooger from people I know and people in my extended family. They seem to be slowly intensifying. It’s good for me to read stuff I don’t agree with, but it’s also uncomfortable. Especially when I compare it to this fine human interest story about people living in shadows.

2. Peaceful Nonreconciliation Now – NYTimes.com

The proposals for Israel and Palestine in this article seem reasonable even after reading the strident if coherent criticisms in the comment section.

3. Jimmy Giuffre’s Music Finds New Appreciation – NYTimes.com

Spotified this dude and was surprised at the sounds he was making in the sixties. If he hadn’t disdained the classical music scene at the time I think his music would have fit right in with the dissonant contemporaries.

4. Musical Dissonance, From Schumann to Sondheim – NYTimes.com

Haven’t read this one yet, but it looks like it might have some handy language to explain the concepts in it.