April 13, 2010
Tumbleweeds
Quiet around here, innit?
March 2010 constitutes something of a milestone, being the first calendar month without a single post since WT began nearly 7 years ago. Is this the shape of things to come? Perhaps.
There are, of course, any number of reasons for the lapse into silence, including the ongoing situation with the Old Man, about which I find myself uncharacteristically unwilling to write anything of substance at all. The usual breast-beating and wailing tendencies do not apply. I can't properly explain, but in this case it seems like it's not for me to wallow; that would be trespassing.
Work proceeds with the usual glacial headbanging circularity, but there are a few hints of progress. I gave another talk on it all at Cumberland Lodge last week, and managed to dredge up a kind of happy ending, even if only on the matter of approach curves. Here's one such to whet your appetite:
I most likely won't get around to posting the actual presentation, Knitting helicopters1 for electrophysiology and other adventures in the inexplicable, so you'll just have to imagine all the fun you missed by not being there. The bottom line, anyway, is that there are still far more problems than solutions, but it's not completely beyond the bounds of possibility that I may one day get some useful data. Not completely.
Elsewhere, there've been assorted cultural experiences, including the oldie version of the late2 Pina Bausch's Kontakthof, which I enjoyed quite a lot although it was a touch over-extended and nearly all of the short second act seemed superfluous. I went with old boyf Matthew and, as if by magic, even older friends Ros and Larry materialised in the audience, which added significantly to the enjoyment. (Matt's stalker Graham, on the other hand, was a dreadful bore.)
This week is especially blessed on the theatrical front, with both Laurie Anderson tomorrow night and (joy of joys!) the return of Mark Morris's masterpiece L'Allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato on Thursday. Yippee!
And, to ice the cake, spring seems to be with us at last.
Here's where the sun comes in, glowing gas and heat, a caldera, a universal volcano.
Don't be a stranger.
1 Readers with implausibly long and detailed memories might possibly dimly recollect the helicopter reference. Everyone else can find a hint here.
2 To pancreatic cancer. A lot of it about lately, it seems :(
Posted by matt at April 13, 2010 10:19 AM