This isn’t actually a part 2. This is a completely different musing about music. Western classical music has this thing where you expect all the tension in the piece to end on a soothing note in the right key, but sometimes it doesn’t. You’re stuck there, while the music moves on, building more tension. [I’m […]
Author Archive | weeklyrob
Why Do We Groove?
According to Don Brown’s “Human Universals†list (which I’m sure you can find on the Internet, but which I have open in front of me), the following behaviors can be found in every human culture ever discovered: •Music (vocal and other) •Music related to dance •Musical repetition •Musical variation •Music seen as art •Children’s music […]
Al Qaida Blogging in Germany
This tidbit from Spiegel tells us that Al Qaida, or their sympathizers, have a new German Web site. (Link) Best line of the article? “Blogger.com is certainly by no means the first company to be used by terrorists to disseminate propaganda.†[End of Post]
Two New Books with Unusual Angles
Every once in a while, someone writes a book or article deconstructing the use of humor in bleak times. A perfect example is Stalin’s USSR, where jokes were told, quietly, all over the country. But I don’t think I’ve heard anyone talking about humor in Nazi Germany before, and I think that’s because of two […]
Pet Peeve
“We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.†The suggestion is that maybe some people might be slightly put out in some undefined way. But when the train is 40 minutes late, or your email has stopped working, I think that the people in charge know good and well that there’s been an […]
Hitler Makes a Mean Pizza
I heard this on the radio, but wanted to see for myself. In Bombay, most people have no problem eating at a restaurant called, “Hitler’s Cross,†which has swastikas and pics of the Führer himself. Apparently, he’s just another historical figure to them. One customer said: “Tomorrow if someone keeps a name like Saddam Mutton […]
Weight.
Some things that have occurred to me lately. I may be wrong about these: 1. You weigh more after passing gas than you weighed before. 2. You burn more calories digesting cold food than you do digesting warm food. 3. On a cool day, you burn fewer calories when you’re wearing a jacket than when […]
My Brother Mitch
Mitch has requested a moratorium on posts about ants. So I won’t post …. [End of Post]
Socially Unacceptable Accents
I’ve mentioned this to lots of people over the years, but I’m still not sure about the answer, so I’ll post it here. I’ve noticed that it’s socially acceptable to mimic a French accent. If you attempt a Parisian accent while commenting on the wine, none of your peers will assume that you’re anti-French, or […]
Word Show-Offs
I was reading a review of a book recently (about vegetarians) in which the reviewer called Britain, “the land of the rosbifs.†As the French are called “Frogs,†or the Germans, “Krauts,†the English are called rosbifs (roast beefs) by the French. I don’t remember why I know this, but it occurred to me that […]