NBA Brawl - Loss of Civility?
No.....It's much worse than that.

The brawl that took place in Michigan was wrong on so many levels that I don't even need to address it. People are calling for a return to a more civilized era. People are bemoaning the decline of values and morals. Let me be the first to say that they're all wrong!

I have written previously about how I feel about stuff like etiquette and civility. While their intent is nothing but positive but once you realize where all those prescribed rules came from, they're not healthy for our society - They're outdated and irrelevent. A new set of rules must be set but only in an organic process.

These social rules became part of our society through European culture that assumed that men are superior, women are for childrearing, and that whites are inherently superior to all other races. Now that we know these assumptions are groundless and more importantly, we live in a multicultural society where these assumptions are more irrelevent than the slide rule, why should we follow rules suited to another time?

These rules and its respective asumptions have silenced a majority of the population for far too long. Finally, people are speaking out and expressing themselves more freely much in the spirit of what the founding fathers had in mind. The major problem is that people are speaking in the language of violence.

No matter how you look at it, violence begat the United States of America and Americans have shown its apparent "genetic" disposition for violence all too often. It's therapy 101, you remove certain small barriers only to reveal bigger issues. Up until now, people have either been blind to the issues or have found ways to put up with it. Now, they can't possibly ignore it. Blaming it on lack of manners won't make the problem go away.

I'm not even going to go into the many ways in which violence has found a home in every aspect of our culture. It needs to be dealt with head on. There's no easy solution and it's going to take a major paradigm shift. We may not see a solution in our lifetime but it must be addressed or it could be the Achilles heel that is resposible for our downfall.

Hellish Weeks 3 and 4

Umm. I was going to write about my 3rd crazy week but I don't remember it. I just finished my fourth, on very little sleep I might add(about 3-4 a night). It began with three straight nights of working in a row, which isn't too bad but I found out that I had two exams coming up with no time to prepare for them. I had two concerts during the week. I stupidly agreed to sing Carmina Burana, even though I had no time to learn the part and that this would be my first time singing in a chorus - talk about trial by fire! Of course, my conducting class continues throughout all this. The St. Petersburg Philharmonic came to town and there was no way I was missing it. Plus, the lady was feeling neglected so I had to spend what little time I have to myself with her. I'm only anticipating one more of these before the semester lets out.

Witnessing Something Great

Being in the presence of greatness is much like being in love. You've realized that you've forgotten how wonderful of an experience it is. If you need to think about it, then it's not great. I have been fortunate enough to witness this twice in the last few months. Baryshnikov came here to do an absolutely enchanting show about Christmas in the Stalinist times. It was a combination of dance and theatre. I was awestruck by the sheer beauty of it all. A couple of days ago, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic came here to perform along with Yuri Temirkanov - one of the best orchestras in the world and one of the best conductors of the world here in Champaign-Urbana. I had since forgotten what an orchestra's supposed to sound like. Having just conducted the night before in the same hall, I got a quick dose of reality in terms of how much farther I need to grow. We had another concert. All of us were inspired by the St. Petersburg band but, alas, the inspiration did not yield a great performance.

Despicable yet bold....

So for the first time in years, someone asked me out on a date. I was so flattered by the gesture that I didn't really give an answer. Stupid me, I don't exchange E-mails or phone numbers. I mulled over a few details and consulted with friends. So after almost a week, someone comes up to me and asks me about it. I've only told my best friends about the encounter so I don't know how he found out. Apparently, she was asking questions about me. He puts in his two cents and everything makes it seem like he has been designated a messenger. Toward the end of the conversation, which was somewhat of an endorsement, he mentions, "Plus, she's a little wild if you're into that...." One must understand that this messenger has a certain reputation in that realm which must be considered whenever he has an opinion on that matter. This scares me a little. Again, I consult with friends. We now have two hypotheses:

1. She was part of this sexual cabal run by this messenger.
2. He made an unsuccessful move for her and is now trying to scare me off in order to line up a second attempt.

Given available evidence, we're leaning toward option 2 which is bold, disgusting, purely Machiavellian and yet brilliant and admirable in some sick way. I don't completely hold it against him mostly due to its sheer audacity.

After three dates, things are going well. I've never done the whole dating thing. Relationships have just happened for me. I'm a 28 year old novice at this. The verdict's still out.