Friday Cat Blogging

An oldie, but goodie. The engineer's guide to cats:



And the follow up video of cat yodeling:

Friday Cat Blogging

I have to admit, the 44 presidents as cats is humorous. Also available in women's sizes as well. Here is the link if interested.

Pearls before Breakfast

Has our society become so apathetic with regards to classical music that they cannot recognize exceptional beauty? Has our society become so preoccupied with sports scores of millionaires pushing a piece of leather down a field that they cannot even appreciate auditory stimulation in the form of classical music played to exceptional heights?

What I mean is this story (taken directly from snopes.com):

A man sat at a metro station and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listened to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again.

The musician played for 45 minutes. Only six people stopped to listen. He collected $32. When he finished playing, no one applauded.

The musician was Joshua Bell and played one of the most intricate pieces of classical music on his Stradivarius violin supposedly worth 3.5 million. Two days before, he played at a sold out concert hall for seats averaging $100.

The more complete story is here.

Although most people may not recognize him as the famous violinist, one would think they would recognize a piece of music played beautifully.

This makes me sad. Very sad that our society puts so little value on talents that must be nurtured through many years of hard study and work.

Anyhow, here is a video of him playing Ave Maria:



One would think that music played to heights should be appreciated even if the musician is not recognized.

Christmas Season Already?

It seems like all I did was blink and now the Christmas season is already here!

Anyhow, one thing I hate about the season is the popularity of the those inflatable yard decorations. During the day, people deflate them and it just looks like someone's rubbish has been strewn across the yard. You know, like a bad wind storm on garbage day. And I am still trying to figure out what an inflatable Spongebob has to do with Christmas.

Another thing is the inundation of Christmas songs WAY before Christmas. Radio stations were already playing Christmas songs BEFORE Thanksgiving. As a result, I tend to tire of them before Christmas even rolls around. I especially dislike the corny/lame ones. You smile and giggle when you hear them the first time. Then also again perhaps the second time. But surely not the third time you hear them.

The Christmas songs I like the best are the ones that convey the true meaning of Christmas. I really don't care to hear again how Grandma got run over by a reindeer. I also love the ones that I grew up with as a child. Growing up in a Hungarian household meant I listened to the Hungarian Christmas songs. Since I do not live in Hungary, I hear those songs rarely and when I do, always seem to tug at my heart and bring a tear to my eye.

Anyhow, here is a favorite. The song is about telling the shepherds to hurry to Bethlehem to see the newborn Jesus.