From the NY Times today, a story about the son of the First Violinist of the NY Philharmonic in his conducting debut with the Philharmonic during the first rehearsal:

"Take a moment like the passage in Wilhelm Stenhammar's Serenade in F, when the four first violins have exposed solo lines, one after the other. One comes in a tiny bit late. What do you say?

"Mom!" Alan Gilbert said, when faced with this situation in rehearsals for his Philharmonic debut in 2001.

The orchestra musicians tittered. Then, as the remark sank in, they roared.

"I've been waiting to do that for years," Mr. Gilbert said with satisfaction when they had quieted down. The laughter then began all over again."

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Members of 9/11 families attending the commission hearings being held in NYC heckled Rudy Giuliani yesterday when he gave testimony. I understand their pain. I lost family in the Towers that day -- my cousin died there. I don't understand heckling Giuliani. He was the best thing that happened to the city that day. I watched every news conference he held during the days following 9/11 and he helped me a lot as I waited for news about my cousin and my friends and my neighbors, some of whom did not come home that night. Giuliani was a great man under exceptional circumstances. I wish he'd run for President.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:09 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My wife and I work full time so we have a live in nanny ("Nanny") for the children. She's a lovely 18 year old girl from Utah. Yesterday, while driving the children, she got into a little fender bender. Not a big deal and everybody is just fine. They did not even exchange insurance information, which is a relief. I certainly see no need to involve my insurance company, even if a new bumper for the car may well cost about $1,000. Parenthetically, not the greatest time for us to shell out a $1,000, but what are you going to do? Nanny offered to let us take it out of her salary but there is no way we're going to do that. It was an accident and these things happen.

All the above was background for what Nanny told me my daughter said. Right after they hit, Nanny turned to check on the kids and asked my daughter if she was ok and she said she was. My son, evidently, was not fussed in the slightest but since the power of speech, as we understand it, still eludes him, who knows what he was thinking? Then Nanny burst into tears. Indeed, she was still shaking when we got home some five hours later. As she was crying, my daughter said to her, emphatically, "Look at me!". When Nanny looked at her, my daughter leaned forward from her car seat and said more softly, "you're ok, it's ok, you don't have to cry."

Nothing like getting verbally slapped out of your hysterics by a three and a half year old.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 07:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I was going to/from Court this afternoon and made the following random observations I want to share:

* I am the only person on the subway without a knapsack/brief case on wheels;

* Carrying a band-aid for over ten years in your brief case pays off eventually when you slice your thumb open trying to close your piece of crap umbrella;

* People on either side of you, on the subway, seeing you are struggling with trying to get a band-aid open and applied to your thumb will actually offer to help and not be deterred by the fact that a stranger is bleeding and could have who-know's-what disease;

* New Yorkers will walk people to the correct subway stop even when it's out of their way;

* If you do drugs, don't buy a sundae at McDonald's and try to eat it on the train, people (read: me) will watch you as you try and try again to get the spoon into the container, then get the spoon into your mouth, and then watch as you zone out and let the hard won ice cream drip slowly out of your mouth and onto your shirt which will cause you, like on the shampoo container, to rinse and repeat;

* Attractive women ride the subway at 2:00 p.m. and hard core lesbians will ogle them; and, finally,

* What do some of these attractive young women see in the punks they're hanging out with?

Posted by: Random Penseur at 03:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It's going to be a busy day. I don't know how much time I'll have to blog today. I've been in since 7:30 and have already written one nasty letter, started another one, and begun yet a third. Settlement discussions in a case have broken down, mostly due to the other lawyer's stupidity. He told me that this litigation we're involved in is really threatening his client's ability to obtain new financing and he can't understand why we just won't settle. I actually had to remind him that if the litigation is a problem, he can just WITHDRAW HIS COMPLAINT! He started it, get it? There was silence on the other end of the line for awhile. Someone once told me that the winner in litigation is the one with the least incompetent counsel. Right now, that really feels like it's gotta be my client.

I also sent out a couple of letters in support of my candidacy for a new job. We'll see what happens but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I was very close on this one 8 months ago when they had an opening. I hope this time's the charm. It would mean picking up sticks and moving, but, why not? Life should be an adventure. I mean a good adventure, not the kind where you're picking ticks off each other and saying, gee, isn't this fun? More on this later as the situation hopefully warrants.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From the Wind in the Willows. This cynical little bit amused me:

"After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working."

Posted by: Random Penseur at 07:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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While out procuring lunch, I overheard two women speaking. The first was complimenting the second on her new 'do ("I love it!!"). The problem, from my perspective [warning: inner queer eye approaching], the first women was dressed poorly, had nasty hair, and bad taste in makeup. Should you consider the source? I mean, if someone gives you a compliment on something about which they, according to all outward appearances, have no qualifications on which to base such compliment, does the compliment mean less?

In a similar vein, my wife does not understand when someone says something like this: "Normally I don't like XYZ, but this is terrific XYZ!" My wife thinks that if you normally don't like something, how are you qualified to critically evaluate it? In other words, what do you know about XYZ if you don't like it?

Posted by: Random Penseur at 12:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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If you plan on stealing gas this summer, as gas prices climb and climb be careful where you put the hose before starting to suck.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 11:17 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Very cool thing. On June 8, for the first time since 1882 Venus will be visible moving across the surface of the Sun. The article warns people not to look directly at it because you could suffer damage to your eyes. And if you look directly at it with a telescope? Instant damage or even blindness. I'm going to wait to look instead at the photographs of it. Except, I'm going to look at the pictures while wearing sunglasses!

Posted by: Random Penseur at 11:14 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Does it depress you? I've read about seasonal affective disorder and I seem to recall that it hits hard in the Spring. Do you think that feelings of mild depression or even just sadness are exacerbated by the season? Or is it just hooey?

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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New York edition: on line "walking" tour of NYC. Very cool. Go explore and waste some time.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My wife and I got totally sucked into a wonderful film last night on cable. I was too tired to read anything serious and was all out of everything frivolous -- you need some attention to start that biography of Gustave the Great or continue reading Kagan's Peloponnisian War -- so on went the television. No Yankees game and no antique road show (shamefully, I am an ARS junkie). So, taking advantage of the fact that my wife was called upstairs by the girl child for a potty visit, I flipped like mad through the channels. Why is it that women seem to have little tolerance for what I regard as the essentially male trait of channel surfing? It's not just my wife.

Anyway, she was back downstairs in time for me to settle on Mostly Martha (or Bella Martha). Unusually for us, we were immediately sucked in. Maybe because first, we wanted to know what language they were speaking -- German. Second, because I am trying to lose some weight (low carb works pretty damn well) and the food looked splendid (the star is a chef). Third, it had the whole little kid goes to live with career obsessed aunt after mother dies angle. Seriously, we stayed up late and it absolutely plucked at the heart strings. We both got teary. It was a great film and I highly recommend it.

Also, unusually, we both felt more relaxed and rested after seeing it. The last time we went to the movies or even watched a decent film was back in January when we played hooky to see the final Lord of the Rings film on the big screen. I forgot what a good film can do for you.

Actually, I am leaving one out -- we saw, also in January, a great Norwegian film -- Kitchen Stories. Another film I'd highly recommend, if you have the chance to see it.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I met today with a client for about an hour and a half. He is being sued for millions of dollars. He is freaked out. He sat in my conference room and said that the only thing that is keeping him from crying was the knowledge that I would defend him and protect him to the best of my abilities. That is one small reason I feel good about what I do. It is an awesome trust when a client puts his life into your hands. Knowing that I can inspire that trust and confidence, knowing that I can protect him, and knowing that I can stand between my client and the storm makes me feel good about being a lawyer. He walked out of my conference room understanding that he can mount a real defense, that he has options, and that he did not have to be scared. That was worth getting out of bed for today.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 01:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I have already finished a large coffee and feel as if I may need to seek emergency intervention from a licensed caffeine provider. I'll check with my insurance company first to see who, in may area, may be able under my plan to administer a large dose of espresso intravenously. Seriously, I feel nothing from the first cup. My wife was telling me that a doctor once told her that coffee is a toxin for the body because when you stop drinking it, you crave it like a drug. No one, she was told, ever craved broccoli when they stopped eating it. Seems reasonable to me, but what do I know? Besides the fact that I need more coffee.

I have already had two bad phone calls. One client has just been sued for $21 million dollars. I have not seen the complaint yet, but I suspect it's going to prove to be a load of bullshit. The second is concerned that he may have come to the attention of an important regulatory agency. That would be a matter for grave concern. I see that my to do list for the day is already out-dated before I even finished composing it. All the benefits derived from a whole weekend at home with the family, as opposed to being spent at work, have evaporated. Poof! Just like that.

And the phone rings again as I try to communicate with a client who is in a bad cell phone area.

I hate the phone.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:26 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Ever read the obits? I do. Not every day, but fairly often. They are usually fascinating. First, at many papers, they are written by new journalists who are just learning their skill and you get the impression, sometimes, that these newbys try harder. Second, you get to read a mini-biography about someone who has usually accomplished something interesting.

Eventually, you begin to notice a pattern, though. The pattern I've been noticing for a very long time now is that the generation who fought in WW II is passing. I recognize that this is not a new observation and, in fact, I sort of doubt that there is such a thing as a new observation, but that is a topic for another time.

The WW II generation has been lauded in books and films and I distrust romantic appraisals even as I am persuaded that this generation exemplified virtues which we are in need of again and which I worry we may never see. Forget the films, though. The place to learn about the individual accomplishments is in the obituaries.

The obituary of Captain Charles Moore is a good example. Most of the best obituary writing, by the way, is English, not American. Captain Moore was an SAS officer dropped into France in 1944 and charged with providing WT (wireless transmitting) facilities to the other SAS groups occupied in sabotage and preventing German reinforcement in Normandy.

"The sound of machinegun and rifle fire reverberated in the woods as groups of Maquis engaged the Germans, and for several days they were involved in a series of running fights with the enemy before they were able to make contact with Squadron HQ.

For the next three months, Moore maintained wireless contact with base despite repeated enemy attacks; and, at great personal risk, he prevented the WT equipment, some of which was highly secret, from falling into the hands of the Germans."

The obituary makes clear that he was an ordinary guy who did some extraordinary things, went on to a career in food sales, and stayed married to the girl he married in 1939.

I wonder, as this generation passes, do we have what it takes to replace them?

Also,the fellow who wrote "Danny and the Dinosaur" died. The book grew out of his sketches for his daughter when she became very ill with a childhood disease.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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To all of you Norwegians and Norwegian-o-philes, I wish you all a god 17 Mai! Today is Norwegian Constitution Day. It is a day to spend with families, to wave the flag, and to have a cook out. My wife and I will be at work instead. I hope everyone has an excellent 17 Mai!

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I have had, according to one of the site counters I put up, almost 500 unique visitors to my blog in the short time I've had this web site. Visitors from other countries, other continents, some who reached me because they were looking for "Le Penseur" and I can only assume they mean the Rodin sculpture. I wonder what those people made of my little essays, totaling almost 16,000 words (including quotations)? Well, either way, I am enjoying this so far. It's an interesting community, those people who blog. I suspect that everyone gets something different out of it. I think I started mine with the idea of exploring difficult life issues and moved quickly instead to writing for the joy of writing. I am enjoying the anonymous interaction with other people, those who leave comments here and other blogs where I leave comments. I have no idea where it's going to go, but I am looking forward to the trip.

As I mark this small milestone, I turn to the words of the great sage of the East (eastern division of the American League): "Thank you for making this day necessary." (Yogi Berra, 1947 on the occasion of Yogi Berra Day).

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A very kind reader left an interesting comment:

"It seems to me that blogging about experiences is very much like wandering around with a camera at hand--when I have an eye out for a photo, I tend to see more along the way because I am really looking. I find that even knowing I have an outlet for my personal observations helps me to pay more attention to the things happening in my life, especially the little things I sometimes forget."

I have kept her words in mind over the past week or two and think that she's really on to something. I look at life differently now, since I've started to blog. I pay more attention to my own internal dialogue to see whether it contains anything interesting enough to write about. I take more mental snap shots.

Mental snap shots are something I've done for a long time. I remember sitting in Paris one night, about 10 years ago, with a very dear friend. He had his camera and took many, many pictures. I had a camera and took very few. We were sitting behind Saint Sulpice, it was night time, and he wanted to take another picture. I suggested instead that he take a mental one, something I was doing. I was worried that on this, his first trip to Paris, we wasn't taking the time to appreciate the details of what he was seeing. The camera, I felt, gave him the illusion of having seen something because he could put it to his eye, click, and turn away, secure in his belief that he had now seen the thing he took a picture of but never having actually seen it. So, we sat and I tried to show him to look instead closely, to live in that moment of observation, and to fix it in his memory. I still have a good recollection of that evening and how the building looked. I'll have to ask him if he does.

There, I think I may have just said the same thing she said but in many more words.

The one thing I'm concerned about with this, however, is that I don't become too detached, too much the observer and too little the participant. If you are always looking, you forget to play. Then, the blog makes you like my friend with the camera. Something to reflect on, perhaps.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Does everyone agree that the final episode of Frasier was something like 30 times better than the final episode of Friends? Better written and better acted.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 01:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I was out getting my lunch and running errands and I had the following random observations which I've decided to inflict on you:

*I hate walking behind people who are smoking;

*with respect to the newish fashion of low rise pants on women, without attention to personal grooming that borders on the obsessive, we're all going to know whether that woman is a natural blond;

*some conversations should not be held loudly on cell phones while walking down Madison Avenue at 1:00 ("I'm not doing hormone replacement for like the next 15 years just to have your fucking kids");

*"If you don't know me by now" is actually a nice song to hear coming out of some guy's box;

*Europeans need to stop complaining about the dress of American tourists based on the nasty examples of fashion faux-pas's attached to foreign accents; and, finally,

*three fire trucks pulling up to a building across from the NY Public Library are kind of impressive.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 01:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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