Oracle Distribution License

I needed to download the ODP .NET for work and had to check off this Distribution License that they provided. It was hysterically funny. I wonder if people who violate this report themselves to Oracle.

• I am not a citizen, national or resident of, and am not under the control of, the government of: Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, nor any other country to which the United States has prohibited export.
• I will not download or otherwise export or re-export the Programs, directly or indirectly, to the above mentioned countries nor to citizens, nationals or residents of those countries.
• I am not listed on the United States Department of Treasury lists of Specially Designated Nationals, Specially Designated Terrorists, and Specially Designated Narcotic Traffickers, nor am I listed on the United States Department of Commerce Table of Denial Orders.
• I will not download or otherwise export or re-export the Programs, directly or indirectly, to persons on the above mentioned lists.
• I will not use the Programs for, and will not allow the Programs to be used for, any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, for the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction.

Mothering Magazine Article: Leaf Song

Mothering Magazine Article: Leaf Song

It is beautiful, almost like a poem. But what child can be "very, very still"? I guess just for a moment.

MSNBC - The third presidential debate

MSNBC - The third presidential debate

In answer to the question, "What do you say to someone in this country who has lost his job to someone overseas who‘s being paid a fraction of what that job paid here in the United States?" President Bush replied, "Here‘s some trade adjustment assistance money for you to go a community college in your neighborhood, a community college which is providing the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century." So wait a minute, didn't I lose my job to someone in Canada? Granted, it is not overseas. But I guess I need to go to community college because my degree from MIT in engineering IS NOT ENOUGH!!!!

Tibetan prayer flags

I recently saw a catalog selling Tibetan prayer flags, where it would weather and disintegrate over time. Who needs to hang what looks like laundry up permanently? Real laundry is beautiful and ever changing, especially when sheets fly up horizontally in the wind. This picture is courtesy of Webshots.

Danger for Moms - Earrings!

Of course there is the danger of having your baby rip your earrings right off your ears, but now I've been impaled by post earrings four times. Adam gets very rowdy and likes to wrestle. The first time it happened, his hard head hit mine and I yelped from the sharp pain. Then I noticed that my earring was "stuck" to the side of my head. At first, I had no idea why this was the case, then I finally realized that the post had gotten embedded in the side of my head and I gingerly pulled it out. It was really in there good and even produced blood. Today, while dropping him off at school, he gave me a big hug and started jumping while hugging me. That old familiar sensation set in, and since it's happened so many times, I just yanked out the earring and went on my merry way. Of course I could just go with dangle earrings to avoid this altogether, but that would require taking them out at night and putting them back in the next morning (they definitely get lost while sleeping). So I pay for my laziness with the occasional stabbing.

Chopin Ballade No. 1 - Horowitz vs. Rubinstein

I grew up listening to recordings of Rubinstein playing the Chopin Nocturnes. I distinctly remember lying on the top edge of the couch when I was 9 years old, listening to the vinyl LPs over and over again. I read the liner notes over and over and of course it convinced me that the definitive Chopin pianist was Rubinstein. Here is an excerpt from the liner notes (as an adult I bought the CD of this recording and they kept the same notes):

There is a romantic image connected with the piano music of Chopin, and especially with his nocturnes. A candlelit, elegant salon filled with ladies of all ages, fashionably dressed. Many are swooning, or about to. At the piano: Chopin, his delicate features lit by some inner vision as his lean, aesthetic fingers draw from the keys the most ephemeral tracery, while George Sand stands nearby puffing on a cigar.

The scene may be somewhat fanciful and overdrawn, but it is part of the Chopin legend, and it has rubbed off on a number of pianists since the composer's time who have sought to rekindle his image in the concert hall. There is a great temptation to turn this wonderful music into a kind of romantic mush, to linger languidly over every turn of phrase until the music falls apart into a series of fleeting wisps of pink clouds.

Artur Rubinstein was one of the great figures in putting that portion of the legend to rest. His playing of Chopin was a revelation. Most of all it revealed the strength, the richness of imagination, the sheer genius that lies embedded in the music itself. He gave Chopin stature, made him not merely the beloved panderer to the romantic tastes of the salon but a composer whose every measure was full of daring and powerful musical thrust.

When Rubinstein played a Chopin nocturne, he played it primarily as a piece of music, a logical and powerful progression of ideas shaped into a large and controlled musical design. Yet, the uniqueness of his playing is that it was never cold, never drained of the human essence that is embedded in this music. Under his magical fingers, Chopin speaks to the mind, but also to the heart.

Why does this happen? Part of the explanation may be that Rubinstein was a Pole, like Chopin whatever it is in a particular country that gets into one's artistic bloodstream is a shared commodity between the two spirits. But that kind of explanation is often pat and without meaning, and it is especially so here. For one thing, Chopin's father was of purely French stock. And for another, Rubinstein was also a phenomenal exponent of the music of Spanish composers, whose backgrounds have nothing whatever to do with us.

No, the answer lies in the realm of the unexplainable, in the fact that Rubinstein was a musician with a sense of color, of logic, of communication, of wit and fantasy, and the Chopin a century ago was also that kind of musician. Somehow, for reasons having to do with a chemistry not to be analyzed in any existing laboratory, their spirits blended in a perfect unity.

(OK, good thing for touch typing, but the laptop sure isn't my natural keyboard!!)

At the time, I took it upon myself to learn the 2nd Nocturne in E flat. It was the most difficult piece that I had ever attempted in my young life. I picked it (or my parents did) because it was called the easy nocturne, not so much that I liked the piece. I learned to hate it, and to this day, I cringe when I hear it. At that point I vowed only to learn pieces that I actually liked, good thing it actually includes most of the piano repertoire.

When I was growing up, my parents felt that Horowitz was somehow bad in that he charged an enormous sum for his performances (something like $50 in those days). How could anyone think so highly of himself that he should charge that much?

Now when I listen to the Ballade No. 1 (my nemesis), with Horowitz and Rubinstein back to back, I have to say that Horowitz adds a polish, clarity and incredibly speed that Rubinstein does not exhibit. Rubinstein is certainly good, even great, but Horowitz is simply fantastic. Compared to Horowitz, Rubinstein's performance is almost pedantic, closely following tempo changes and dynamic markings, but without fire. It must have been one of Horowitz's favorite pieces, because I have at least 3 different recordings of him playing it. Of course, if I can even come close to playing it like the Rubinstein version, I would be happy!

(whey, a draft started from 6/20 finally finished)

Our little boy Dova

I love this picture because Dova is wearing one of Adam's old shirts and with her new haircut, she looks like a boy. This was in August, her first real bangs trim, and I cut it too short and all jaggedy. Doug said "Don't worry, it'll grow back." I was devastated. After successfully cutting Adam's hair for nearly 4 years, I apparently had no idea how to cut girl's hair. I cut her hair again today, and it worked out much better. Put her in the backpack on the deck and cut it outside. As long as she had the comb (liked the pointy end), she was happy and not too jumpy.

Why do babies have to face backwards in the car?

Until recently, I was just a dope about this! They say that you are more likely to have a frontal crash, so you should face babies backwards. I just assumed that since you become a parent, you are more likely to be distracted and looking back at your kids so you crash more than other people. Then I finally realized that there are a lot of things the front of the car can hit besides other cars, like trees, telephone poles, etc. The only thing that can hit the back of the car is another car (unless you are backing up and Claire parks in the wrong place). So chances are someone may hit something else besides you. Besides, you are so much more distracted!!

Going for ice cream

The day I got laid off, Doug was nice enough to take us out to the Doc Davis Ice Cream stand in Pepperell. It was our first trip for ice cream with Adam (used to be a nice summer escape when it was just the 2 of us, to either Johnson's in Groton or Cherry Hill Farm in Lunenburg). But unfortunately, Dova decided to freak out in the car. Could be because she was not used to being in the car when it was dark out. After the 8 endless minutes it took to get there, we had a nice time having ice cream, but then we had another 8 screaming minutes home. Plus she ended up throwing up the little taste of ice cream she tried. Didn't exactly cheer me up, but it was still a nice gesture. It was exactly one month ago!! And no ice cream since.