Corbett Reads These...

A ha, I LOVE the theme for the Lexus Christmas commerical, I often thought it sounded "baroque," it turns out it's a real song by Steve Kujala (a flute performer) "Family & Friends."




( Original commercial behind the cut )

Dec. 30th, 2009 01:20 pm Big hat tip to dwer

That being said, flying STILL scares the bejesus out of me (the enclosed space, the fact I'm in a tube 5 miles above the ground going nearly 625 mph, ya know? Isn't that enough to make me hate it? :-))

Dan as photographed by Christopher. Used by kind permission.

I was pretty shocked when I heard of Dan's passing on Christmas day. Dan was a professor at Hunter College in New York City, and was a fascinating mix of camp, humor, wit, and generous nature; and he constantly amazed me with his knowledge about so many subjects. It may sound a bit cliche, but Dan was in a class pretty much by himself.

Dan's ability to make me feel part of any group was so touching, and his willingness to invite me to various events he was putting together, or other events that some of the guys were hosting; and that always meant a lot to me. I never forgot to thank him for this. Dan would often have dinners at a great Indian restaurant near his apartment (affectionately named "the home for old Queens in Queens" or words to that effect), and after dinner, everyone would go back to his home for a round of great movies. Dan would rib me sometimes, or out of the blue he would send me messages about netcasts of concerts for baroque composers that he thought I would enjoy. He always kept contact with me-- no matter how long it had been since we had seen each other. I can't tell you how much I appreciated that sort of thoughtfulness.

About a year and a half ago, several of us met for Dim Sum in Chinatown, so Dan brought me several watercolor reproductions of 18th century Berlin, they're beautiful pieces of art and I honestly was taken back by such generosity. The manner of Dan's death makes me angry because it was so unfair, especially after the strides he had made to improve his health in such dramatic ways. I'm pretty angry at myself for not having accepted more of Dan's invitations because such friends are a rarity in this life.

Rest easy my good friend.

Many thanks to Chris for letting me use his photo; Dan's noble spirit is captured *perfectly.*

Benedict isn't in the best of health it seems. Here's to hoping a much more progressive gets elected, although the chances for that are very slim. It's interesting that Pius 12 and John Paul 2 are pretty far along in the process of being proclaimed saints of the church. Interesting that such progressives as John 23, Paul 6 and John Paul 1 are not. Pius 12 did pretty much nothing to save Jewish citizens from the Nazis, while John 23's efforts in Bulgaria during WW2 were outstanding. Go figure.