The Star Thrower
A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean.
Core Memory Music
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Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered the commencement address at Stanford University on June 12, 2005. Mr. Jobs was introduced by Stanford President John Hennessy. The full transcript of both speeches is reproduced here.
Lois Schaefer, at 95
IN MORE THAN two thousand Boston Pops performances of “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” a moment always arrived when Lois Schaefer was the star of the show. Though she was a master of the memorable piccolo solo that ends the work, she didn’t take her eyes off the musical score.
You Weren’t Meant to Have a Boss
TECHNOLOGY tends to separate normal from natural. Our bodies weren’t designed to eat the foods that people in rich countries eat, or to get so little exercise. There may be a similar problem with the way we work: a normal job may be as bad for us intellectually as white flour or sugar is for us physically.
Three Songs of Bilitis
In 1897, Claude Debussy composed three songs for female voice and piano and dedicated them to the writer André Gide. The texts were based on prose poems by Pierre Louÿs from a collection titled Les Chansons de Bilitis. Notable for their sensuality and beguiling mild eroticism, the three songs were first performed in public by singer Blanche Marot at a Société Nationale de Musique concert on March…
Just Say No
Unlike many arts organizations, Core Memory Music does not have a Facebook page. Why not? The answer is simple: our audience doesn’t want to hear from us on Facebook.
Device Addiction and Loneliness
I’m not sure how I discovered the writings of Sherry Turkle, but for a long time I was hoping to find someone who thinks like her. Dr. Turkle is a clinical psychologist on the faculty at MIT. She has been doing research on the effects of computing technology on our mental health, and in particular on our capacity for empathy and solitude. To introduce you to her ideas, here’s my adaptation of an…
Oldest and Fatherless
Based on “Oldest and Fatherless” by Keith Martin. Reprinted without permission.
Stop Reading the News
We are so well informed and yet we know so little. Why?
Fernand Gillet
by Gerome Brush (1936) Fernand Gillet was one of the new members to join the Boston Symphony in 1925. He is at home and at ease anywhere; but there is something about Gillet that leaves you wondering if he really likes being away. His parents were both French and both musical, his father a well-known composer and ‘cellist. Despite his French origin, he has an Anglo-Saxon air which unquestionably…
YCAT at Wigmore Hall
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A Visit to Oslo
I traveled to Oslo, Norway to attend a concert by the Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov at the Oslo Opera House. I also plan to do some shopping, take a boat ride around the inner harbor, and enjoy walking around the old city.
Last of the Titans
A FEW YEARS AGO, I heard Grigory Sokolov play for the first time. Everything I had ever learned, thought or felt about the piano and performance upon it went up in smoke. Sokolov, although a well-kept secret, is for many the greatest pianist alive today. Youthful celebrities with fast fingers, designer gear, and slick photos pall beside such gigantic artistry. Adapted from an article by Jessica…
The Linux Edge
Linux today has millions of users, thousands of developers, and a growing market. It is used in embedded systems; it is used to control robotic devices; it has flown on the space shuttle. I’d like to say that I knew this would happen, that it’s all part of the plan for world domination. But honestly this has all taken me a bit by surprise. I was much more aware of the transition from one Linux…
On Coherence in Architecture
While my architect and I were designing my Rhode Island home back in 2015, we spent a great deal of time thinking about how the house would fit into the surrounding environment and complement the natural beauty there.
No One Wants You to Succeed
Basically, everybody out there wants you to fail. People who say they want you to succeed also want you to fail, they just don’t know it yet.
What Should We Do Now?
In the past, politics took a back seat to other interests of mine. The appalling 2016 presidential campaign and Donald Trump’s surprise victory convinced me that politics as usual is no longer a viable position for a concerned citizen.
Talk and Die
A few years ago, I watched the 1998 Disney film The Parent Trap. I especially enjoyed the performance by celebrated actress Natasha Richardson, who played the mother of the twin girls at the center of the story. Richardson died in March 2009 at age 45 after falling during a ski lesson. Her injury was a classic example of “talk and die” syndrome.
Pete Shields, American Hero
Nelson T. “Pete” Shields was an important gun-control advocate from Greenville, Delaware. In 1974, Shields was employed as a marketing executive at the DuPont company in nearby Wilmington when he found out that his son Nick had been brutally murdered in San Francisco.