Excess consumption is practically an American religion. But as anyone with a filled-to-the-gills closet knows, the things we accumulate can become oppressive. With all this stuff piling up and never quite getting put away, we’re no longer huddled masses yearning to breathe free; we’re huddled masses yearning to free up space on a countertop. Which is why people are so intrigued by the 100 Thing Challenge, a grass-roots movement in which otherwise seemingly normal folks are pledging to whittle down their possessions to a mere 100 items.
“Stuff starts to overwhelm you,” says Dave Bruno, 37, an online entrepreneur who looked around his San Diego home one day last summer and realized how much his family’s belongings were weighing him down. Thus began what he calls the 100 Thing Challenge. (Apparently, Bruno is so averse to excess he can’t refer to 100 things in the plural.) In a country where clutter has given rise not only to professional organizers but also to professional organizers with their own reality series (TLC’s Clean Sweep), Bruno’s online musings about his slow and steady purge have developed something of a cult following online, inspiring others to launch their own countdown to clutter-free living.
I had ripped this column from the issue of Time magazine that sat atop the pile of magazines on the living room end table. In effect, I replaced one thing (the magazine) with another (the ripped-out article). And, therein, lies the root of the clutter problem for me. So what if you think you’re saving space by shuttling all of those jewel cases and keeping the CDs and inserts in a binder? You still have just as many CDs as when you started. Do you need all that stuff?
Do I need all that stuff?
The answer, of course, is ‘No.’
But “need” is putting too restrictive a label to it. All we truly need to survive is a roof over our heads, food, water, maybe clothing. Everything else is just stuff for life enhancement. And, once our collection of life enhancing stuff grows beyond a certain indeterminate size, it becomes clutter. In my current state, 100 things doesn’t encompass but a small portion of either my book library or music collection. Just those two “items” creep into each room of the house with the overpowering ominousness of The Blob. Which reminds me of that third thing on the list: my video collection. Just like a scene from a horror movie (you know, the one where for every cockroach the main character steps on, two more rise from the sidewalk to take its place), I am in a constant state of culling these old things from my house, selling them and giving them away, then returning to the removal site to see that another book or CD or DVD has stepped into its place. I’m a hamster in a wheel, and it’s a sisyphean dilemma (and that is the second time I’ve typed that word in a month).
I entered my house yesterday with the 100 Thing Challenge on my mind. I got no further than maybe three feet into the front room before I had already counted 100 things. Can I count books as one thing? CDs as one thing? What about furniture? What about letters I’ve received? It is easy to see that this challenge smacks of the dieter’s challenge. “Maybe I’ll have just one extra slice/bite/drink…” Is it truly just a matter of will? How old will I be before I realize that I no longer need that deluxe DVD edition of The Lion King?
I made a little progress over the summer, when I was very practically able to purge several piles of clothing from my bedroom. I’d lost enough weight over the preceding months to eliminate two sizes worth of cloth from my life, representing nearly a decade of bodily neglect. I then found myself down to three pairs of jeans (one blue, one black, and another one for working in the yard). It was a start, but is there an analogue for purging one’s library of books? What about those books that I love but have read already? Will I read them again? Shouldn’t I read something new instead (and, if so, shouldn’t I just borrow it from the library?)? It all gives a new twist to the phrase ‘excess weight.’
I suspect that a useful analogue for me comes from a movie (that I do not have in my video collection…hmmm.) There is a scene in Mr. Mom where Michael Keaton attempts to convince his young son that he no longer needs his “wooby” (translation: security blanket):
So, is this accumulation of things an addiction? A disease? Something I’ll outgrow? For God’s sake, I’m nearly half a century old! Let the purge, er, continue!?
From the ether (floridatoday.com) comes this story written by Malin Rising and Hillel Italie:
Bad news for American writers hoping for a Nobel Prize next week: the top member of the award jury believes the United States is too insular and ignorant to compete with Europe when it comes to great writing.
Counters the head of the U.S. National Book Foundation: “Put him in touch with me, and I’ll send him a reading list.”
As the Swedish Academy enters final deliberations for this year’s award, permanent secretary Horace Engdahl said it’s no coincidence that most winners are European.
“Of course there is powerful literature in all big cultures, but you can’t get away from the fact that Europe still is the center of the literary world … not the United States,” he told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Tuesday.
With all of the turmoil in the market today, with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, with the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America (etc.), the following might be some good advice. For anyone with any money left lying around, be aware of these next expected mergers. Forewarned is forearmed, so get in on the ground floor and make some big bucks!
Watch for these consolidations later in the year and in early 2009:
Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, The Fuller Brush Company and W. R. Grace Company will merge and become Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace;
Polygram Records, Warner Brothers and Zesta Crackers will join forces and become Poly/Warner Cracker;
3M will merge with Goodyear and become MMM Good;
Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco and Dakota Mining will merge and become Zip Audi Do Da;
FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become FedUP;
Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will form Fairwell Honeychild;
Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become Poupon Pants;
Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become Knott NOW;
Victoria’s Secret and Smith & Wesson will merge under the new name Titty Titty Bang Bang.
[I really hate those unsolicited, jokey e-mails – yes, I ripped this off from a piece of spam – but every now and then you get a good one like this. I have no idea if this has been heavily-circulated or not, but here it is again, whether new or overkill. Enjoy!…I wish I’d thought of it.]
Boehner calls bill a “crap sandwich” — but he’ll vote for it
In a closed-door session with House Republicans, Minority Leader John A. Boehner just called the financial rescue deal a “crap sandwich” – then said he’ll vote for it when it comes to the floor Monday.
House Republicans are the key to the bill’s passage – Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier today that it’s a “bipartisan” bill and will need “bipartisanship” to pass – and it now appears that a substantial number of them will put cast their votes in favor of it.
According to a source in the room, the plan has so far won endorsements from Minority Whip Roy Blunt, who negotiated it on behalf of the House Republicans; Eric Cantor, the chief deputy whip; and Paul Ryan, a hard-core conservative from Wisconsin who may hold more sway with conservatives on this issue than any other member of the House.
But like Boehner, Ryan wasn’t exactly happy about how things have unfolded. Referring to the situation facing the country – and not the bill itself – Ryan said, “This sucks.”
I stopped into the [street name] Street [business name] location in [city name] to have some lunch, armed with the Sunday paper, planning to enjoy a leisurely meal in the restaurant’s dining room. A tall, bald African-American man in a manager’s shirt offered to take my order. I asked for a cheeseburger and, as I was about to add which drink I wanted, he grabbed the microphone next to the register, as if he was about to say something into it. Then he abruptly stopped. I halted telling him my order, and asked if he was going to announce my order. He said that he was, but was just wondering if I had any special requests for my sandwich. With complete good-natured intent, I said, “No, just make it a really great burger! Would you do that?” He stared straight through me, humorlessly, paused, then said, as if he had taken some personal offense at my ‘special request,’ “All of our burgers are made fresh.”
Okay, I thought to myself, just give him the drink order, which I then did. He then spoke the order into the mic, I handed him a 20-dollar bill, and I waited for my change. The change consisted of both paper money and coins, totaling $13.72. As he reached to put the paper in my outstretched hand first, I withdrew my hand and asked him for the coins first, please. He then twice insisted on placing the paper in my hand ahead of the coins. I asked him again for the coins first, and he just put all of my change on the counter, then walked away.
When he finally came back by the counter, as I stood there waiting for my meal, I asked him if he was the manager. He said that he was. I asked him if he had a problem with my request to accept the coin change first, at which point he began berating me for “having a problem.” He then went on a self-righteous tirade to me, a paying customer – and in front of the, at least, six other [business name] employees whose jobs and performance he supposedly manages – stating that I had a problem from the moment I demanded that my burger be fresh (which I did not even say). I suggested that whatever problem he may have brought with him to work, he should just stash in his back pocket and forget about. This was met by him only with a reciprocated retort – “You’re the one with the problem!” I then used a off-color epithet – my error in judgment – and said that he had just assured that I would “never come into this f***ing restaurant ever again,” and demanded a full refund.
Listen, I have spent over 20 years of my life in the [type of business] business, most of it in the adjoining block along [street name] Street, and have faced practically every situation that could be thrown at me, from verbally abusive customers to gregarious patrons who enjoy a good-natured give-and-take with a socially-adept store employee. This manager apparently has never been trained in social interaction, or that “the customer is always right” (and this was surely not one of those situations that would qualify as an exception to that long-held rule). Add to that, the example he provided to the entire staff in attendance, and [business name] has one very loose cannon that may eventually be responsible for losing more than just this one longtime patron’s business. I am appalled at this completely unprofessional and, frankly, hateful treatment that I received at the uncontrolled whim of your employee, and suggest a stern and forceful censure of his behavior.
The instant reply:
I will be out of the office until [four days later]. Please contact [obviously, the real person in charge] at [her e-mail address] with any questions.
[signed, the first name of the person obviously not in charge]
Three weeks later:
Dear [complainant],
Thank you for contacting [business name]. I first would like to apologize for your email not making it my attention before now. That is not acceptable, and for that I would like to apologize. At [our company], we pride our selves on prompt responses to customer service issues both in the restaurants and at our corporate office. It appears that we have failed you at both locations.
I appreciate the detail given in the email below [above], and it will be forwarded to the appropriate people who will look into the matter and take corrective action.
In the mean time, I am going to forward you a couple of courtesy cards so that you can give us another try. Please let me know how your next visit goes.
Thank you once again for letting us know about this situation.
It is Fall. Autumn. The temperature has cooled to a comfortable range between 70 and 85 degrees in the afternoons, and down to the 50s and 60s in the evenings. The little Japanese maple tree in my front yard is beginning to show its fan of vibrant yellow leaves. I have started trimming back the bushes and shrubbery around the house, after the tremendous growth spurt of the past summer. I can bike around the neighborhood without becoming a humid, sweaty mess. This was always my favorite time of the year in Massachusetts, and Fall in the deep South is no different (though less accentuated). Soon comes the celebrated Shedding of the Leaves, and Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday). And the musical order of the season? CLASSICAL!
This morning, my radio alarm clock announced the arrival of a new day with the strains of a string quartet. I lay in bed trying to identify whose quartet it was. It sounded like Beethoven, perhaps even Brahms. No, not Brahms, not sweeping and romantic enough for Brahms. I kept thinking that the composer was Beethoven, but then there was something just beneath the surface of the music that wasn’t completely Beethoven-esque. Yes, it had that Germanic classical-period sound, it was stormy and driving and its structure was formal, but it had an urgency that suggested an unpredictable outburst that could be right around the corner of the next bar. This thrilling piece of music had my complete attention. After it ended, the NPR announcer called it: the second string quartet of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, student of Mozart and Haydn, and contemporary of Beethoven. Ahh, I thought, I was so close. Those endless hours of study and listening weren’t all for naught.
The Fall/Classical season got off to a tremendous start for me two weekends ago. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s opening concert featured the Brahms Violin Concerto and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. The ASO’s conductor and music director obviously programmed this concert just for me, without knowing it, as the 7th is my favorite Beethoven symphony (really close to the 9th, but the 7th invariably wins in a nose-to-nose finish) and I do so love the Brahms concerto. This is the time of year when I feel just as or more comfortable listening to pieces such as these – a Dvorak symphony, Baroque-and-earlier pieces for gamba and violin, anything by Beethoven – than the singer-songwriters or throwback rock-and-roll that tends to flow from my stereo during the spring and summer months. I’ve been known to travel out-of-town to hear a classical performance once or twice throughout the Fall and Winter, though that is not as likely to happen this year (due to the current money crunch).
I awoke this morning with the renewal that comes from a solid 12-hour sleep that I felt was necessary to ward off the “crud” that I felt overtaking my body. It seemed to mostly do the trick, and I hopped on the bike and pedaled over to the Crestwood Coffee Company for some Morning Joe and a read through the newspaper. The New York Times Arts section fell open to the classical music section – imagine that! – and I lingered there for five to ten minutes, looking at the many concert offerings in the New York area.
The number of classical music offerings in New York is staggering! I imagine that, if you live there, you just get used to not being able to see and hear all of the events that you’d like to. It’s kind of like attending a film festival where, invariably, the three films that you want to see the most are screening at the same time in different venues. To illustrate, here are some of the upcoming events that I’d be choosing between if I lived in the Big Apple:
New York Philharmonic: Lorin Maazel conducts Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3, and Bernard Rands’ Chains Like the Sea. Sandra Church, flute soloist, Anna Rabinova, violin soloist, and Lionel Party, harpsichord soloist. (1 and 2 October 2008)
Mozart’s Don Giovanni: Opera at The Met, featuring Erwin Schrott and Susan Graham. (1, 4 and 10 October 2008)
Pacifica Quartet: The first in a series of six concerts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, traversing the complete string quartets of Beethoven. Future concerts in the series will be include performances by the Talich Quartet, the Borealis String Quartet, and the Artis Quartet (who will tackle the Grosse Fuge). (2 October 2008)
Ponchielli’s La Gioconda: Opera at The Met, featuring Deborah Voigt, Olga Borodina and Ewa Podles. (2, 6 and 9 October 2008)
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: Milhaud (La creation du monde for piano quintet), Boulez (Derive I for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and vibraphone), Ravel (Tzigane, rapsodie de concert for violin and piano), and Messiaen (Quartet for the End of Time). Soloists include Gilbert Kalish and Wu Han (pianos), Daniel Hope (violin), and David Shifrin (clarinet). (3 October 2008)
American Symphony Orchestra: Lalo’s Le roi d’Ys performed in a concert version, conducted by Leon Botstein. (3 October 2008)
Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor: Opera at The Met. (3 and 8 October 2008)
Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins (a concert performance) and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11 “The Year 1905.” Ute Lemper is the featured vocal soloist, and Peter Oundjian is conductor. (4 October 2008)
Richard Strauss’ Salome: Opera at The Met, featuring Karita Mattila. (4 and 7 October 2008)
The Met Orchestra: Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge (orchestrated), Messiaen’s Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, and Brahms’ violin concerto. Conducted by James Levine, with Christian Tetzlaff as the violin soloist. (5 October 2008)
Inside Dvorak’s New World Symphony: Alec Baldwin hosts and narrates the surprising inside story behind the best-loved symphony ever composed in America, starting with a fascinating multimedia introduction and concluding with a powerful New York Philharmonic performance. Featuring Kevin Deas (bass) and conducted by Marin Alsop. (10 October 2008)
Good God!!
These are just some of the classical music happenings in the first ten days of October, starting off the classical season with a blast in what is, arguably, the busiest classical music city in America. Arguably? Because I am sure that Boston’s music and early music schedule is also just now approaching full bloom. Not to mention what’s happening in Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, or in dozens and dozens of other communities across the country.
And, being Fall, the option of driving to the hills to pick apples is also an attractive one. Driving, that is, with the windows or car top down, and Schumann’s piano quintet flowing from the dashboard stereo.
Here, in Birmingham, I will content myself with my ASO subscription, the occasional chamber music concert, and a seemingly endless stash of classical CDs that have accumulated in my house and, for the most part, have remained unplayed.
Until now.
[audio:Martha_Argerich_and_Friends___Schumann_Piano_Quintet_(3rd movement).mp3] Robert Schumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44, (III. Scherzo. Molto vivace),
performed by Martha Argerich (piano), Dora Schwarzberg (violin), Lucy Hall (violin), Nobuko Imai (viola) and Mischa Maisky (cello)
In case you missed it (as I did) here is last night’s Sarah Palin sketch from Saturday Night Live, featuring Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Katie Couric.
I don’t know if there has ever been as hilarious a fit between actor and political character as this, and I hope SNL keeps ’em coming.
When last we looked in on the progress in the bathroom, there was dust, concrete, and exposed wall innards galore. Now there is a shower and tub!
You’ll notice the travertine-patterned vinyl material that serves as the surround for the bathing area. Just recently, I heard – on one of the reality shows I occasionally watch (I think this might have been Bravo’s Top Design) – someone exclaim, “Oh, travertine,” through a grimace. Has travertine become a sign of poor taste? I chose this particular color/pattern because it does have a dated look and feel. The house dates from the mid-1920s, after all, and everything about the cottage architecture both inside and out feels from another time.
This house has been so long without a proper shower and tub that I use it gingerly, as if it were made of crystal. I, in fact, opt to shower at the Y more often now – I had gotten into that habit while I was without a shower for so long – so the shower doesn’t get daily use.
Next on the bathroom agenda? The ceiling’s plaster finish has a few cracks that need repairing. Then, the coats of paint on that yellow window frame are to be stripped, and the frame will be re-painted after a sanding. I have just chosen the paint for the wainscoting (a mahogany brown with red/purple tints, which is a near-exact match for the color on the exterior trim of the house, and plays off the colors in the travertine really well) and the wall above it (a linen/cream mix, that gives off a warmer feel than you might expect). That is a different color pattern than one usually sees (the lighter color is generally found on the bottom), but that’s the way I’m going. Part of the rationale for that was to put the darker color on the part of the wall with the most flaws, which happens to be the bottom half. It also breaks up what would have been a wide swath of whites, from the floor through the wall to the ceiling. Then on to the fixtures and plumbing, and the wiring of an electrical outlet above the sink. Also, at some point, I need to find a way to thoroughly clean and polish the white hexagonal tiles that make up the floor.
This McCain campaign ad began broadcasting before John McCain was even off the stage at tonight’s debate. Does “I approved this message” mean that “I allowed Rick Davis to approve this ad?”
8:00 p.m. Question 1: Where do you stand on the bailout plan? Obama: Didn’t really answer the question specifically, though could have if he had said that if the bailout plan included his provisions, then he would support it. McCain: First, mentioned, as a seeming emotional ploy, that Sen. Kennedy was in the hospital, when it was announced over an hour ago that he had already been released. Reiterates some of the “panic” points from Bush’s speech on Wednesday.
Lehrer pushes the issue that neither of them answered his question. Obama: ?? McCain: Says “Sure,” he’ll vote for the bailout plan.
During the ensuing “discussion,” the candidates each utilize the already overused catchphrase incorporating a contrast between Wall Street and Main Street.
Question 2: Lehrer asks a follow-up question about what the candidates would specifically do to “fix” the economy. McCain attempts a joke – used before – about studying DNA in bears. He then scrambles to find recovery talking points and says that “you will know [the] names” of corporate greedsters. [eyes roll] Obama discusses a tax cut plan for 95% of Americans. Says that McCain wants to continue Bush’s unwise spending policies. McCain says Obama cut his earmarks only after he began to run for President. Obama interupts McCain as McCain starts to rail about his exorbitant spending practices and policies. Says that eliminating earmarks alone will not fix the current situation.
Lehrer asks McCain to address Obama’s statement about McCain’s tax plan. McCain gives the impression that he would like to lower the business tax rate from 35% to 11%, as they have in Ireland (state #51?). McCain injects his first “my friend” into this debate, as he is looking directly at Lehrer. Wants to know what Obama’s definition of rich is (could it be anyone earning more than 400,000 dollars?).
The styles of the debate at this early stage:
Obama slings some mud, but struggles to inject reasonable explanations to questions. McCain’s seeming strong suit is to sling larger globs of mud at Obama. Obama is thus prevented from speaking substantively, as he busies himself with defensive remarks or counter-attacks.
Question 3: Lehrer asks Obama what he will have to cut from his spending plan. Very good and fair question, given the current economic situation, and the pending bailout costs. Obama prioritizes building infrastructure and the electrical grid. Suggests eliminating programs that do not work – does not mention these specifically. McCain mentions eliminating ethanol subsidies. Doing away with cost-plus contracts.
Lehrer presses them to ANSWER THE QUESTION. Obama says he does not want to give up progressive programs, but mentions concept of streamlining programs. Google for Government mentioned.
Lehrer halts the proceedings and says WE NEED TO KNOW what big things the candidates would do. McCain suggests a spending freeze. Obama says that is using a hatchet when you should be using a scalpel. Also says that ending the Iraq war would free up plenty of money. McCain says that Obama opposes re-processing of spent nuclear fuel.
Lehrer pleads for an answer AGAIN. Obama says yes, indeed, the financial patterns are going to be seriously affected. Less tax revenue expected and therfore less spending will be allowed. Mentions that priorities are necessary, and wants to be sure that health care is a priority, and not scrapped in this process. McCain says – again – that Obama has $800 million in new spending proposals. McCain just referred to himself as a maverick of the Senate, and that he has a running mate who is a maverick, too. Oh, and he also mentioned – another recycled sound bite – that he wasn’t voted Miss Congeniality in the Senate.
8:41 p.m.
No more typing. I’m going to listen more closely to see if something is really being said.
