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Stephen Hatchett

Joan, if the exhibit currently at the Whitney somehow gets to San Francisco, we will go see it.  Of course the exhibit IS the fully illustrated term paper.  I did look up the exhibit online and found  -- not much useful, includig some blather about how poster art is "design", not art.  I think Nora is basically right -- if it has direct emotional impact, that IS art.  Certain photographs leap to mind like the Kent State image Jane refered to and some others from the Vietnam war, Dorothea Lange's images from the Great Depression, ...  and some much more joyful ones like some of Jack's.   Aristotle tried to put his fingers on the issue of good art, but reading that was rather like reading the phone book (remember those :) )  for me. Maybe the emerging science of neuropsychology will be able to  shed some real light.

Jane Cosson (Souzon)

Nori, thanks for your message, and yes i've been wondering why the stronger reaction 45 years later. I think you're right, one reason would be we have more appreciation for value of life now, but when in doubt,I  (ever the psych major)  always go to the most fundamental, ie Darwinian/survival-related explanation for behaviors, so here i'm thinking that while humans are in the thick of scary things, as we all were to varying degrees back then, their  emotional defenses are engaged, eg. i was basically numb for a long time--functional, but numb.  Now, numbness long gone, the horror just sashays right on in. 

Nora Skinker (Morton)

SO well put, Jane. Horror sashays in. And one can know in advance what will trigger it: i.e. holidays, certain melodies, funerals, to name a few.  It’s those triggers that sneak up when you least expect it, that are so unnerving.  Even after years. It seems that tragic loss is always a knife in the heart. With time, it just doesn’t twist as much. 

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Dear Jane, I am so very sorry about the loss of your husband in 1970. Then seeing the Ken Burns documentary brought back the horror of it all. I am very sorry.  I saw your personal page and I'm glad you have interesting things going on in your life now but those tragic times I know are part of your life history and the history of  others who have had tragic experiences. Thank you for sharing your story. Love, Joanie

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Such an inordinate pause in the forum. Have we all been stunned into silence with all the sexual harassment charges flying around? When do we separate the criminals from the clods? Because at this rate, after the body count, only women will have jobs. 

Glen, could that ‘Skins debacle have been any worse? I don’t know how Gruden could go back to the locker room. Ugly, my friend. 

Post something positive, people! 

Glen Hirose

   I wish everyone a Happy Thanks Giving

Nori,

The NFL admitted today that the "Intentional Grounding call" on Curt Cousins was improper... I think this lets Gruden off the hook.  It is still possible we could see a 10/6 season; there is still hope.

Nancy Webster (Emery)

Thanks Nori ...wishing you the same.

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Hope springs eternal, Glen!! 

Jane Cosson (Souzon)

Nori and Joan, thanks for your thoughts, and Nori--you've hit one of my enduring issues on the head:  Why do certain melodies do what they do to us, and a first question would be 'do the same melodies affect everyone the same'?  I started thinking about this subject way back decades when Pachelbel's Canon in D was actually at the top of  charts (whodathunkit); i said something to the effect that so much popularity suggested there was something 'eterna/ universall' (forget what word i used) about it....but what is it...why does it affect us this way???  My adult nephew replied, "it doesn't do anything for me", thus blowing that theory, but i've continued to think about it.  And bought many books on the subject, but failed to read them...yet...waiting til i get old.  Anyone out there have any ideas???? 

Maybe this will get the Forum going again:  everyone chime in with your favorite song of all time, and if possible, say why you like it.

Glen Hirose

The Piano!

Stephen Hatchett

Nancy, my wife read Glen's earlier post the same way I think you did.  Sometimes a little mistake reveals a lot about someone -- in your case a benevolent heart.  Cheers to you, and a Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Jane,  Pachelbel's Canon in D -- you brought up many thoughts.  In the early 80's I'd heard it somewhere and ordered the vinyl record from the Musical Heritage Society, then went up to Yosemite Nat. Park for a weekend of cross country ski touring.  When I got home the record was there, and the music will forever evoke the rythm and beauty of ski touring in the mountains (and the memory of dinner with new friends in the Ahwahnee Hotel with the view out through its tall dining room windows of snow gently falling through those immense ponderosa pines and incense cedars.  The cadence of the Canon's theme is the cadence of one's natural stride in cross country skiing, and it is a natural cadence of many moderately paced human activities.  One could even imagine dealing cards to it in a socially paced game of 5-card stud!  But that piece also has stunningly beautiful harmonies on a simple beautiful theme.  My dad loved it, and my wife and I do too.  

And, Jane, you have reminded me that I too have a couple books about the appeal of music that I have started by never finished:  Daniel Levitin's "This Is Your Brain on Music" and "The World in Six Songs".   We'd better get on it and read them now.  Of course the flip side of that is that neuropsychology is making such rapid progress that maybe those books will be out of date in a few years or when we're old (which I'll take as a few more years than that!) 

All, speaking of the power of music, do some of you remember a certain assembly at BCC for a talent show at which a rock and roll band played. I think we were in 10th grade, but maybe 11th.  That band uncorked something with a beat that just forced one to really want to dance, and several of us got up and did (I wish I had not been too shy to).  Well, the adults must have gotten scared of "losing control", because at that point they shut the assembly down and sent us all back to class where teachers seemed to feel obligated to tell us that getting up and dancing was just not OK.   Anybody else remember that?

Nora Skinker (Morton)

I think I might remember it, Stephen. Were Pete VanNess &/or Van Williamson playing? 

Musical strains & scores that really move me are too numerous to attempt to list but I have to say, Verdi’s Rigaletto & Puccini’s La Boheme are two I never tire of. Whether they’re presented solely by The Philadelphia Philharmonic or with glorious voices of The Met, they sooth & restore my spirit like nothing else can! 

Motown brings back a happy flood of memories, along with a sudden impulse to jump up & “pony” around the house. Our discs of oldies faves remain a treasured collection & our kids had no choice but to be raised with daily doses of it. And now, thanks to my granddaughter, I am learning to like (tolerate?) Taylor Swift. 

Whatever the reasons it affects us so, am ever grateful we live in a culture brimming over with diverse music.  It’s hard to imagine a world without it. To me, it’s natural. It’s communal. It’s primal. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

Joan Ruggles (Young)

Jane, your mention of Pachobel's Cannon in D brings back a huge flood of memories for me too. It was some time in the 70's and I was madly in love. We used to listen to the local Philadelphia NPR affiliate in the afternoon which used it as their theme. It became our song. It was the movie "Ordinary People" in 1980 which used the Cannon in D as their theme and brought it to the public's attention. Almost instantly it was being played at every wedding for decades. In fact it was played at my wedding......to someone else. 

Best Thanksgiving wishes to all. I hope you are all surrounded by family and good food. 

Robert Hall

Stephen Hatchett

Telly you something doesnit it -- one particular piece of music uncorks floods of memories from many different folks. .  Pachelbel's Canon was played at my wedding too -- outside, Yosemite Valley, February,  "You never know!"  If you'd asked me 4 days ago, what am I thankful for, that music, and a reminder of that music, would never have occurred to me!

Glen Hirose

           Flower Duet from Lakme

Nora Skinker (Morton)

First time I heard The Pachelbel Canon was when it was background for a General Electric TV commercial. Since, I’ve heard it at dozens of weddings & even more funerals. Always beautiful & moving. Sometimes TOO moving. (Is it just me, or do others find that the older we get, the easier it is to cry?). I feel like Tammy Fay Baker sometimes! 

HEAR YE, HEAR YE! Am highly honored to announce on the forum: our fellow alum, Suzy (Sarbacher) Pence & (hubby) Bob Pence are about to embark on an exciting new adventure! Bob has recently been appointed US Ambassador to Finland! Following a Senate confirmation, the dynamic couple will reside in Helsinki for a thrilling 3 years or so. They anticipate taking on their new roles in March 2018. The very, very BEST to you both, Suzy!! You do us proud! 

Stephen Hatchett

Its not just you, Nora.  No question, the older I get, the easier it is for me to tear up too. Maybe its just that the older I get,  a) the less I care about what it might look like to others, and b) the more I want to experience things, to feel things, to LIVE.  And, by no means all, but most of the things that move me to tears are GOOD things.  

Glen Hirose

What?  No Léo Delibes fans out there?

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Oh, Glen, the impossibly gorgeous mesh of soprano/contralto voices of The Flower Duet is like the delicate unfolding of rose petals! Check out the blend of Netrebko & Garanca online. And, while you’re at it, catch them in Verdi’s quartet “Bella Figlia Dell’amore” from Rigoletto. Such power. Absolutely transporting! (Bring the tissues, Stephen! 🤧)

Fingers crossed tonight’s game adds a festive sugar high  to the tryptophan decline in our fading couch potatoes! HAIL!! 

Glen Hirose

What a Happy Thanks Giving.  Family & Friends around the big table; turkey, red mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, green beans, grilled Brussels’ sprouts, relish platter, and homemade pumpkin pie.  Then as if this was not enough the Cowboys lose to the Chargers, and somehow Washington beats the NYG…I slept well last night.

However this morning I read of the horrific act of terrorism in Egypt.  What insane beasts could do such a terrible thing?  I guess its back to the real world.

Stephen Hatchett

Glen et al, re Thanksgiving and then the news this AM of the horrific act of terrorism in Egypt.  Hope is a blessing that helps us deal with a real world with such things in it.  Something that gives me hope, and something to be thankful for, are the young(er) folks making real progress in neuro-psychology -- at last.  Folks like Robert Sapolsky (Stanford professor) and his students and colleagues. Without knowing anything about how our brains actually work, bad guys have for centuries found ways to exploit something in some minds to lead them to commit such horrific actis.  Maybe its a little like fire:  We've exploited it for millenia while clueless about what was really going on, but when we finally did get some clues, we found all kinds of clever ways to fight fire, as well as new ways to use it benevolently.  My hope is that that analogy has legs.  Maybe we can do a hell of a lot better than going to war and throwing people in prison.  (Certainly the criminal justice system in the US is, shall we say, not especially cost effective.)  

Sapolsky has a new book, "Behave", that I have begun,  It can be slow going, but tells an incredibly fascinating story about what goes on in a brain leading to some behavior -- the thematic example is of a cop approaching a pulled over car or other potential suspect, seeing a gun drawn, when it is in fact a cell phone, leading to tragic consequeces. WE are finally getting a grip on what went on in the cop's brain.   As I get further into the book I'm sure I'll want to discuss some of the ideas on this forum.   Has anyone else read this book?

Looks to me like the progress made since any of us took Psych 101 in college is simply stunning.

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Sounds quite fascinating, Stephen. I won’t get to that book ‘til heaven knows when, so please share as you go!

Though the Egypt attack seems to have an  ISIS signature, the sheer size & numbers, no matter who is responsible, are beyond alarming. I fear a worsening & frequency of soft target attacks will occur as ISIS, etal., lose strength. Afterall, their success in recruiting lies in the numbers of killings they can show the world. Sick, sad & sorry. Wish some book or genius could enlighten us on THAT behavior! 

Glen, any Redskin win is special but, with so many injuries (I think we’re third in the league), it’s tough to get excited. If I were Eli, I’d ask to be traded. What has he got? Maybe two more years? Why get battered on the way out the door? Looks like this is the year of the Eagle. And that’s fine with me. They’re hungry & it’s gonna be fun if it comes down to them v. the Vikes. Then v. the Pats. Doesn’t it always come down to “somebody” v. Bellichick & Brady? 

Over & out & back to the treadmill. Too much gravy. 😬

Glen Hirose

I still think if Washington can beat Dallas we have a shot.  Yea the Eagles are real tough, but we can still have that one good game...As for Eli maybe his sun has set.

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Well, as usual, you’ve sparked a glimmer of hope. Your optimism is contagious, Glen. Riding for a fall seems a permanent state-of-being, when born a ‘skins fan & I still blame my parents. Next time I see them, my plan is to go for the jugulars! 😎