Abulafia






						t A P R I L 1 5 , 2 0 0 3 Long, relaxing bath Reading ... The Secret History Donna Tartt Amazon My cruel streak The five brand new goldfish in the pond were determined never to be seen. So I took away their hiding places -- I removed the rocks they invariably stayed under. Now I can see them. Availability inquiry Christ Church wants to know if I will run for the communications committee chair position on the church council. Am I up to it? Could I follow through with what I would want to do? I don't feel that my track record is very good in these situations -- I would need dedicated help from people with specific talents, and I am not sure that I could pinpoint those talents (though I am sure they exist) among the church membership and form the necessary committee. Tax day Had only city taxes left to mail today The simple act of mailing something is always for more difficult for me than I can imagine -- I never have stamps and envelopes and addresses at the ready, & the difficulty of acquiring all of these necessary components in one place at one time is usually overwhelming. The stamp machine on the second floor of the Motorists office building had no single stamps available -- surely this would embarrass a real company exceedingly, but of course the Post Office is not a real company. I mean, no Hallmarks would be caught without Valentine's Day cards on Feb. 14 -- even people who never mail anything need the Post Office on April 15. I boldly and recklessly submitted both federal and state tax returns online this year (I suffer greatly when submitting my social security number over the internet. I have no qualms about credit card numbers. Visa, at least, from personal experience, has made the process of removing bogus charges (and changing to a new credit card number) fairly simple. That someone might steal a social security number, and require me to then deal with the federal government, I am certain would result in me set asail in the Atlantic on an open raft, unable to prove to any nation that I have ever existed). The city of Columbus does not yet have access to such technology, and so forces me to resort to archaic, yet less harrowing (intellectually) measures like the U.S. Mail. On the third attempt to surprise a stamp hiding in my desk drawer at work, I successfully emerged with one in hand. The city tax forms have been mailed, and might even reach their destination so long as stamps are still 37¢. I would call the Post Office to ask, but I am certain they wouldn't know. m A P R I L 1 4 , 2 0 0 3 CHN meeting At Al Waddell's new (old) (incredible) house Beautiful sunroom with neverending windows, amazing detail in the foyer and dining room woodwork n A P R I L 1 3 , 2 0 0 3 Amy to Akron A beautiful spring afternoon Perfect for resting in the hammock with Amy, and later doing a little gardening Dinner in Bexley Salmon Watched a video tour of Liz and John's new house -- and all the work that awaits them. They should be able to make a beautiful home out of what is there. The Incident Of the mouse, the cookies, and the Easter grass ... Requiem, Gabriel Faure Arangement John Rutter, with orchestra 8:30 and 11 a.m. services From the risers, it seemed to me that this is the best the choir has sounded since I have been in it The choir was comfortable with the music and enjoyed the performances. BBC Listeners Guide Note particularily the beauty of the Offertorium's "Amen" and the Agnus Dei's "Lux," suspended magically in midair. The driving force of the Libera Me, and the heavenly feel of the In Paradisum's "Jerusalem." Unlike the last time I sang this piece, I was able to sustain (and even hit a forte on) the climax in the Agnus Dei before it returns to the opening bars -- a long, slow climb (that crescendos) into the higher reaches of my range. Also hit the C at the end of the Libera Me that the first tenors had no end of fits with -- the whole choir sings "Li-ber-a" on a D, and then splits into harmony. Everyone but the first tenors stay in the key of D -- we get the C, and supply the tension to move the note along. "Libera" is on a low D, and then it jumps to middle C. Only by singing the "a" up an octave (where the sopranos and altos were already singing) could I even come close to the C -- but that little cheat enabled us all the nail it. Latin and english translation s A P R I L 1 2 , 2 0 0 3 Don Quixote Columbus BalletMet Very well done Interesting how so many plots can revolve around Quixote: from Cervantes to the ballet to Man of La Mancha ... There was no tilting at windmills in the ballet, though in one of the scenes a windmill took on the appearance of an evil figure, dancers in black poured forth from it door/mouth, and plucked the blades from the windmill to use as weapons against the Don. The Don's dreams began in his bed, backed by large bookcases -- presumably shelved with the romances of knights errant, princesses and castles (possibly penned by Cervantes' rival in playwriting) that drove him to his impossible dream. That is, to believe in his dreams such that in reality he actually does make life better. The most disappointing thing about the ballet is that none of the wonderful relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, the interaction between whom is the highlight of the book, survives in the silent gestures of the dance. See also, the Death and Life of Miguel de Cervantes, a novel by Stephen Marlowe. Early dinner at Mi Mexico At 4:30 it was perhaps more lunch than supper (Second) aborted attempt to make the DeMonye's sale The parking lot was crowded, there was an accident on the road directly in front of the entrance, and it just didn't seem worth it Amy to Columbus Choir rehearsal For the Faure Requiem tomorrow Orchestra sounds great Didn't make the Garden Club trip to DeMonye's 8 a.m. proved to be too early to drag myself out of bed f A P R I L 1 1 , 2 0 0 3 First tulip of the year in bloom Grape hycinths are in bloom, lilly of the valley are shooting up, myrtle is in full bloom out front, pear trees are in flower, snowdrops are starting to bloom; dafodils, not candytuft, giant hyacinths are all still blooming We might as well have been watching Al Jazeera Should CNN report what it knows, or censor its reporting so that it will be allowed to remain in a foreign country? New York Times "Well, Benjy, you got to go with it. You got no choice. That's your business." --the late lawyer Edward Bennett Williams advising then-Washington Post Editor Ben Bradlee to print the Pentagon Papers in the face of possible felony espionage charges (a thrreat that was in fact issued the next day by an assistant attorney general, now Supreme Court Chief Justice, William Rehnquist). (From Bradlee's autobiography, A Good Life, p.315-318). The Post got it right -- and they were dealing with a threat from their own government, not a foreign power that could kick them out of just a little of the middle east. The Post is now competing with the New York Times to be the newspaper of record in the United States. CNN has a lot to make up for, not least to the people on its staff who thought they worked for a prestigious news organization. An editorial from Saudi Arabia ArabNews Politics, international affairs, and boats ... Yahoo Pretty bland stuff, except for the last four paragraphs National Post (Canada) (Via Instapundit) I wonder how many world political leaders have similar large private investments in oil? "We've been suffering for 30 years. Where have you been?" Arab News The United States now has a very small window in time to break through the Arab sense of persecution that they feel against it. We can only hope that the plan for rebuilding Iraq is as flexible and bold (and quick) as the plan for invading Iraq was. Remember Jo Moore? ... the British bureaucrat who on September 11, 2001, encouraged her department (unwisely in an email, which of course made it out to the press) to release any and all bad news immediately because it would undoubtedly be overlooked? Speculation before the Iraq War began had expected North Korea to take similar advantage of this distraction. I had rather expected Russia to do so also, in cracking down further on Chechnya. Surprisingly, (at least to me), it appears that the crackdown has occurred in Cuba, and that Ariel Sharon has taken advantage by encouraging more settlements to go ahread in the occupied territories. Cuba is awfully close to the United States' borders to ignore, and as for Sharon, he has just made Bush's task of building trust in the U.S. among the Arab world immeasurably more difficult. r A P R I L 1 0 , 2 0 0 3 Choir rehearsal On the risers Requiem from the top The choir was very tentative throughout; it should be better rehearsing with the orchestra on Saturday Dinner in Bexley afterwards, subs from Anthony's Dad had to walk up the street and get them; he had forgotten they had decided to try only one car and Mom had it at the church Community Garden Did another hour of cleanup tonight. I think I have the front bed almost weeded. More in the "finally" department After trying to get around to it for several months, I got quotes from Add Inc. to possibly print the Olde Towne Times as a tabloid newspaper six times a year. Not bad. Also attempted to get prices from the Post Office for mailing such a publication. No wonder the USPS loses billions of dollars each year. The "customer service" representative I spoke to seemed personally offended that I asked him for information, and suggested that I ask the person who had secured our bulk permit or our printer what the mailing costs would be. He was unmoved when I explained that this was something we had not previously attempted to mail, and so was looking for information they would not have. I was so frustrated I hung up on him. I recall thinking how ridiculous it was for me to attempt to reason with him when I could just hang up, call back, and try again with someone else. Real companies, when confronted by someone wishing to spend money with them, do not generally refuse to release their pricing information. My next representative also had no idea what the mailing might cost, but gave me two other numbers to call. The first of these suggested a bulk mail rate, $0.262 per copy, but said perhaps the second number could go lower. The second number couldn't, she didn't think, because we would have to apply for the lower rates ($375 nonrefundable application fee) with 2 copies of the publication that doesn't yet exist, at least 90 days in advance of when we wanted to mail the first issue, would have to demonstrate that a majority of the people receiving it actually wanted to receive it, and would have to address the copies to full names and addresses, not just "resident." There were, of course, pages more of regulation -- those were just the basic ones. (She did offer to send them to me in the mail -- and I now have an immense package of information that doesn't apply to what we want to do). This is why American Cities Business Journals needs a "postal lawyer" -- just to keep up with the rules. She was unable to tell me what the rate might be should we succeed in qualifying. w A P R I L 9 , 2 0 0 3 Spring Olde Towne tour web pages updated Finally (It was a day for finallies) Olde Towne Holden Beach pictures Finally posted (from New Year's) AESQUE More war (and beyond) links Even more on U.S. military tactics "The most important aspect of the execution of the plan, said one person who helped develop it, wasn't anything that commanders in the field did, but rather the determination of the Bush administration to stick with it. It was, he said, an approach 'that they stuck to even as the U.S. press and some parts of the military, and especially the heavy Army, were doing an outstanding imitation of Chicken Little.'" Washington Post The "news analysis" closes with the already worn out warning that we may yet lose the peace. It may be the most important thing to remember, but the phrase should be retired. t A P R I L 8 , 2 0 0 3 Orchid pictures Finally posted (from March 1) AESQUE More war (and beyond) links On U.S. military tactics MSNBC A perspective that couldn't differ more from the last week's ubiquitous retired generals. Saddam Hussein was counting on another "Mogadishu" (Black Hawk Down) situation. But the U.S. military has changed since then: "Mr. Messing [executive director of the National Defense Council Foundation] said this war presents a "new paradigm." For the first time, conventional commanders are welcoming — at the insistence of Pentagon civilian policy-makers — a greater role for special-operations forces. These forces include not only combatants, but also civil affairs and psychological warfare officers to directly reach Iraqi citizens." Washington Times More on changes made since Mogadishu, and no suggestions here that not enough forces were deployed: "It's not over yet, but the way the US is conducting this war appears to be a combination of the military philosophies of Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: overpowering conventional troops and weaponry (especially from the air), together with the unprecedented use of Special Operations and other light and maneuverable forces." Christian Science Monitor Meanwhile, back on the ranch ... The "freedom" the U.S. is fighting for in Iraq is not so highly prized at home. San Jose Mercury News And from the other side (D) of the bench, more lunacy: The RAVE laws. Having failed in the Drug Wars to completely destroy any South American countries, the push is on to find yet some other third party to blame for those taking drugs in this country. National Review Sen. Joe Biden is now attempting to get this bad idea inserted into another, popular yet unrelated bill, and thus allow it to pass without ever coming up for a vote. More National Review (via Instapundit) Community Garden Did another hour and a half of cleanup (weeding) tonight. So much more to go. Stephanie to Columbus After numerous delays, plane changes, changes of plans, &c. m A P R I L 7 , 2 0 0 3 War (and beyond) links Colin Powell makes sense... State Department transcript The sort of people the administration should have attempted to make sense to before we got to war ... NYT People not making any sense at all ... "Iraq has now already achieved victory -- apart from some technicalities." -- Mohsen Khalil, Iraq Ambassador to the Arab League Haaretz On Islam ... Atlantic Monthly An interesting Q&A, though the second question (or rather, answer), gave me pause: "The bottom line is this. I always said to the Wahhabis, You think the world is impressed when someone goes into a bus in Israel and blows up a bunch of kids. That doesn't impress people. What impresses people about Islam is a picture of the Taj Mahal." And he likens Wahhabism to Protestantism, and traditional Islam to Catholicism. "A Protestant-style Islam would be stripped down, with no spirituality, no sense of Islam as a civilization or a culture, no love of poetry, of mysticism, of religious philosophy, no beautiful mosques. When you look at Protestantism versus Catholicism, or Wahhabism versus traditional Islam, these are the striking parallels. It's a big cliché in the West: "Islam needs a Reformation." No, Islam does not need a reformation. If Islam needs anything comparable to developments in Christian history, it needs a Counter-Reformation." Coming as it does (to me) the day after I reflected that I would be uncomfortable joining a Catholic church, it made me stop short. From a Lutheran perspective, which is at least almost Protestant, I would say that what impresses people about Christianity should include Da Vinci's Last Supper and Bach's music. As Stephen Schwartz's examples of Protestants (presumably in his mind without culture,civilization, love of poetry, mysticism, philosophy, or beautiful churches) are Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and Jimmy Swaggart, in any of whose churches I would be far more than uncomfortable, I am perhaps taking too much umbrage. Garden Club Went to work on the Community Garden More weeding will be necessary It was misting and grey all day (when it wasn't raining), though it warmed considerably (gradually) from the morning's cold; the forecast is getting better for the rest of the week -- it is no longer supposed to drop below freezing any night. But it felt great to dig into the dirt Imprudently tried to weed around a particularily thorny rosebush -- I even put a bandaid on one of the resulting cuts. Remaining issues: is someone going to come cut the grass? who is in charge of allocating garden plot parcels? who has the key to the storage shed? And of course, will I actually be able to get up on Saturday to join the expedition to DeMoyne's 25¢ perennial sale at 8 a.m.? Stephanie's plane delayed in S.D. Will not return until tomorrow Got up early to work on Homefront Finished most of the magazine Still waiting on a possible cover shot, delayed (by wishful thinking about tomorrow's possible, if unlikely, sunshine) until Tuesday Donahey cabin spreads turned out to be better than I remembered (from when they were shot, in January) n A P R I L 6 , 2 0 0 3 Amy to Akron Dinner at Mike & Jen's More time spent eating than not today Chili in Bexley Charlie tries again to make friends with Rascal The Peace of God ... Which passes all understanding Choir anthem Wonderful hymn in minor keys: Love is come again, like wheat arising green Text s A P R I L 5 , 2 0 0 3 Cherry Blossom pictures From Carey and Lisa in DC Link Buffy One episode to catch up on Chicken with lemon and thyme The thyme perhaps led Charlie to believe he deserved some Daffodils for the table Bridgeview Riesling in a blue moon bottle 24¢ Goldfish Added five to the backyard pond Dill's Greenhouse Poppies, Rosemany, African blue basil, Purple ruffles basil, Corsican mint (haven't I given up on this yet?), Stevia, Lavendar cotton (I don't think mine is coming back), Creeping blue flax, ... The 99¢ perennial sale. Suddenly cold again After several days for 60s and 70s, we're back to 40s and stiff (chilling) winds f A P R I L 4 , 2 0 0 3 Mohawk For dinner -- Garden and Mediterranean pizzas The Loft bookstore Pleasant walk there, pleasant browsing (now with magazines -- at least a few), met Brian And Christiana outside St. Mary's Church on the way back to the restaurant Amy to Columbus Stephanie to South Dakota Oil change At Wihl's r A P R I L 3 , 2 0 0 3 Choir rehearsal Bexley afterwards Tour postcards printed incorrectly The back was rotated 90 degrees Surely someone would have noticed -- not to mention, why would someone have done such a thing? The colors looked great, though w A P R I L 2 , 2 0 0 3 Put the spare tire on the car All by myself In order to drive it the two blocks to E.T. Paul's t A P R I L 1 , 2 0 0 3 OTENA Trustees meeting Nearly 3 hours long Candy and Kay Spergel talked about the 20th anniversary of Friends of the Homeless and the programs that they operate Barry was upset that the moderated egroup does not follow specific, published procedures to determine whether to accept or reject a post. > MARCH
		2 0 0 3 MARCH FEBRUARY JANUARY L I N K S AAA Abulafia Boardwalk Bread CHN Christ Lutheran Church Neighborhood Research Institute Old Oaks Olde Towne Polyphony INTP Business First Business First Daily Edition Call and Post Columbus Alive Columbus Dispatch Columbus Free Press Columbus Post Communicator News The Daily Reporter Inner Art The Lantern The Other Paper Suburban News Publications Short North Gazette NBC4 Columbus WSYX 6 10TV WBNS ONN BBC World Service CNN Christian Science Monitor The Guardian IndiaTimes New York Times StarTribune Washington Post Washington Times AfricaPundit William F. Buckley Jr. Command Post DebkaFiles Daniel W. Drezner John Ellis David Frum Hit & Run Instapundit Mickey Kaus Little Green Footballs Joshua Micah Marshall The Note The Politburo Virginia Postrel Wes Pruden Jim Romenesko Andrew Sullivan Volokh Conspiracy Doonesbury Ted Rall Peter Steiner Tom Toles Tom Tommorow Rob Pegoraro Matt Drudge Communication Arts Acme Art Company Ballet Met CCAD Columbus Arts Columbus Arts Festival Columbus Metropolitan Library Columbus Museum of Art Columbus Symphony Dialogue Franklin Park Conservatory Glass Axis Music in the Air Opera Columbus Thurber House Wexner Center City of Bexley City of Columbus Columbus City Council Columbus Police Columbus Public Schools OTENA egroup OTENA-NIC egroup OTENA-tours egroup OTENA-trustees egroup Old Oaks egroup Ohio Parsons Blockwatch egroup