Sunday Salon 6-2-13

Time: 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

Place: In the living room with my laptop computer, which after two hard drive failures and replacements in the last two months seems actually to be working.

Eating: A piece of toast (yes, my life is full of excitement).

Drinking: Coffee.

Reading: While I haven’t yet implemented its suggestions, I finished reading Pema Chödrön’s new book How to Meditate, and found it very worthwhile. I’m still inching along in the exhibition catalog Out of Character: Decoding Chinese Calligraphy. It’s very interesting, but the parade of unfamiliar Chinese names and artistic figures makes for slow reading. Otherwise, though, I’m at that happy moment when I get to choose what to read next. The fateful choice may come later today.

Watching: The only film I watched in the past week was Libeled Lady (1936), which happily turned up on Turner Classic Movies last night – a classic and wonderful film, with smart writing, a wittily convoluted plot, and that lively rhythm that makes screwball comedies so much fun. And how can one top a cast that features William Powell, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, and Jean Harlow? One can’t!

Listening: Absolutely none. For someone who has made his living in quasi-musical fields (orchestra managing, teaching, radio) for over thirty years now, I sure don’t listen to much music, or find that much pleasure in it when I do. At some point, though, one or more of my hundreds of CDs will call out to me, I’m sure.

Making: I’ve made a mess of my living room – does that count?

Blogging: I posted my essay on Buddhism’s Eight Auspicious Signs this week, which IMHO turned out fairly well. I’ve got a post on the China expert Paul Pelliot in the works, which should turn up in the next couple of days.

Promoting: This very interesting post by David Kalat on the Movie Morlocks blog talks about how he goes about creating a DVD commentary track. I’ve heard a few of his commentaries; the guy knows his stuff.

Hating: This story out of Tibet, an absolute outrage.

Appreciating: A nice, quiet Sunday morning during which I can leave my front door open without hearing loud music or cars endlessly warming up.

Wanting: I have no particular wants at this moment. What kind of bad consumer am I? How un-American of me!

Anticipating: Still looking at a possible trip to San Francisco in a few weeks, to take in several art exhibitions (Japanese Art at the Asian Art Museum, 100 Years of the Spiritual in Modern Art at the Contemporary Jewish Museum/SFMOMA, Richard Diebenkorn at the de Young, and Impressionists on the Water at the Legion of Honor, among others).

The thrills never stop, as I go to prepare another piece of toast.