u/DharmaFool

Having never seen Rush in person doesn’t matter to me. I don’t hear well or enjoy crowds, and while it would be a treat to see their stage show, the tradeoff isn’t worth it. That’s ok.

The music is unrivaled, to be sure, and I’m certain the live experience is mind boggling. Nevertheless, it is the people that keep me around. The band are stellar humans, and that’s a really good place to begin. Then there are the fans. As we have followed this remarkable tour, it has been nothing short of heartwarming to read what and how people are writing about it and experiencing it.

Too bad about the nitwits and their phones, but it is kinda understandable to want to hold the magic and bring it home, even though the vast majority of those photos and videos will never be looked at even once. In the old days there was a Tapers’ Section at Grateful Dead shows, but that is no longer practical. Alas.

Anyway, thanks for y’all being you, fam, keeping this shy old guy connected to the singular energy of the folks in the Rush fandom.

We have a family plot in a cemetery where several other relatives are interred, and I don’t care whether any of our ashes are ever buried there, but I like the idea of adding memorials for folks to visit. Whenever I’m in that part of the country I make a point of visiting. Currently, I have my father’s and my wife’s ashes at my residence (far from the cemetery). I have designs for both stones (one for my parents and one for my bride and me), but only have dates for two of the four. My mother can’t travel to see the stone, so I’d like to get theirs made and installed so she can see a photo. I don’t know enough about the complexities of adding dates after initial installation, either. Can anybody here provide some clarification? Thanks.

For all the awe I have for Bloo and all the kids who will be performing this evening, I have a heart full of love for the folks in the All-Ages corps. From the little kids who are carrying their parts in the pit to the balding guys wearing leotards in the color guard, it just makes my jaded old heart sing to see them living the dream.

The first time I gave any thought to the sonnets was when Bea is explaining 116 to Ben in the Shakespeare Retold Much Ado. As an old guy on the A Team who has always been flirt-blind (really glad my bride was persistent), having it explained was so helpful.

Are there any online courses that are only about the Sonnets? I’d even be happy if there were a good audiobook that walked us through them line by line, and then put it all into perspective.

This sounds like a job for Stephen Greenblatt or Emma Smith.

I know there are 154+4 or so, but I’d pony up for such a marvel. 160 hours or so would be an easy investment (it took me five years to finish The Story of Civilization (but that was mostly because I hated Napoleon so much that it took longer than it should have to finish the final volume, “The Age of Napoleon”).

Discovering the gems in the plays has been an ongoing joy, and I’m willing to sit through as many productions as I can get to in order to learn as many ways to interpret and reveal as there are directors and actors. Can’t do that with the sonnets, though, so I’m over here waving a flag for some brave and capable soul to step up. (For all I know there already exists such a podcast.)

Thoughts? Recommendations?

A few times in my life I have had sessions with counselors, and my one-on-ones were both one-offs because I wanted no more to do with either them after one session. How does one meet and learn whether there is chemistry or whatever it takes to have an effective relationship? Do I have to keep paying to have someone prove to me that I don’t believe they are listening to what I’m saying because, as Fran Leibowitz says, “The opposite of talking isn’t listening. The opposite of talking is waiting.” Or, to use another medical-adjacent analogy, some chiropractors only have one move, and use it on everyone for every situation. I don’t really doubt that I have some stuff that might be helped with the aid of an insightful practitioner, but there are so many folks out there with vague credentials, and some of them are my friends (who I would not care to do business with, either), and yet they seem to be making a living at it. Kurt Vonnegut said that “Love is a rotten substitute for respect,” and I really want to talk to someone who has earned my respect by showing me their insight and intelligence. Not too much to ask, right?

We have our lodgings and a season pass, but wonder if there is a map of venues published anywhere. We stumbled into the 2024 Biennale, and had a wonderful time following the little signs down alleys and into so many little country exhibits. This time we will be there deliberately, and would like to be a bit more systematic about our 18 day visit.

Also, we got the museum pass last time, and wonder if it would be too much to try in addition to the Biennale. (We never even got near the Arsenale last time.) Going back to the Fortuny museum is non-negotiable, but beyond that I don’t remember much other than one part of one museum that had one fellow’s amazing collection of Japanese artifacts. Thoughts?