Eleanor Arnason's blog

From facebook:

I was wearing a bright red turtleneck and black pants from J Jill yesterday, and I felt I was too talkative and assertive. I even talked through a guy in the audience, which I never do. So today I am wearing a dark brown turtleneck, jeans and pearls. I feel the pearls will induce decorum, and the dark brown turtleneck with mute my mood down to morose and withdrawn. Unfortunately, I have no panels, so won't find out if this makes me a better panelist.

Along with the pearls I am wearing a 40-year-old Yves St. Laurant silk scarf that is brown, tan, green and bright reddish-pink. So the costume has a certain amount of cheer. The scarf is there to provide color and elegance.

I listened to a broadcast of the Minnesota Orchestra last night. The orchestra musicians are still locked out by management, so this was a broadcast from two years ago: Beethoven's violin concerto and Sibelius's last two symphonies. Very nice. I can't understand why management wants to wreck the orchestra. The conductor has warned that musicians will find other jobs, and all the work done to create an orchestra that plays very well together will be lost. I think management believes that the musicians aren't important. Why does an orchestra need musicians, especially ones who are good and well paid? Surely what's important is management and the conductor. You can always find people to fill the orchestra seats.

A slight attack of grouchiness, due to being slightly under the weather. I am reading yet another discussion on an economics blog on how to control government spending. But the discussion never gets around to mentioning global warming. Are these guys nuts? Dealing with global warming is going to involve spending huge amounts of money. The only comparable example we have (so far as I know) is WWII and the creation of an economy with one goal. If we don't deal with global warming, the damage it does will cost gazillions. So what is the point of talking about balancing the budget, when we are looking at losing coastal cities to flooding and the Midwest to drought? Snarl.

63% of the electorate voted in 2008.

This is a series of posts from facebook, made after learning that Penunbra -- the wonderful African American theater company in St. Paul -- has cancelled its next season.