You are a crazy man, Mr. Keillor. Viva socialism but please keep it out of the theater and opera. Maybe Minnesota is a good place for it to reside. New York is a tough place to compete with. Thank goodness so many talented performers live there, yourself included.
We talk of socialism but wherever one is in the arts world, competition comes into play because there is a general over supply of talented artists and musicians. It is terrible that we have so many very talented people who are living in poverty because there are not enough good well-paying jobs for musicians and arts people. And the pandemic has made the situation much worse.
While reading this column, several thoughts came to mind:
Your talk of dormitory and cafeteria reminded me that when I went off to college I got a meal plan which provided all of my meals in the cafeteria. I thought that it was wonderful because the meals were fairly good and I did not have to buy food or do my own cooking. Instead of going to the grocery store and cooking, I could spend my time wondering around the library reading about World War I or other history/political topics or walking about the campus and visiting with fellow students.
But I found out that many of my fellow students were outraged because they wanted to do their own shopping and cooking. Some of them wanted burgers and fries everyday which the cafeteria did not provide. That is when I found out that some people are outraged easily.
When I studied piano in my youth, I learned the chords and accompaniment licks so that I could play the melody of a song with my right hand and play accompaniment with my left. But now all that is not necessary. Just get a key board and it will play the accompaniment. Of course, instead of learning to play the piano, just get on Youtube Music. Anything you might want to play might already be on Youtube.
I might have said this before but it is my belief that computers will be the ruin of humankind. The Uber driver with an app can easily find out where to go in New York. But what if the electricity is cut off; or the app does not work. The driver would be helpless. People tell me that their GPS sometimes sends them to vacant lots or dead end streets.
I think that some time in the future humans will have forgotten how to do math, read maps, or think for themselves because the computer is doing it for them. Then catastrophe will strike and the electricity will go off and over night humans will be back in the stone age.
People always want to put themselves in special groups. The colonial dames think that they are important because some of their ancestors came over on the Mayflower or whatever ship. The anti elitist in Minnesota are special because they are helping the downtrodden and left behind musicians. Everyone wants to feel special and important. God bless them.
Thanks Garrison and best wishes to everyone. 2021 is going by quickly; we have almost endured another year.
I too believe that the computerization of modern life has tainted modern human existence. I am especailly weary of mobile phone proliferation and abuse. Besides cellphone distracted drivers and the mayhem and tragedy they cause it's the disconnected humanity who see the world skewed through their mobile device's vision. They feel closer bonds to Amazon's Alexa than members of the family or their community. Enough soapbox, Merry Christmas to you. Enjoy friends and family, they are our greatest treasure.
Thanks, I don't know what people have to talk about and there are people who I know that talk on their smart/cell phones all the time. And the best to you and your family.
Thank you, Aubrey. You are a good sensible person and it's good to hear from you but you are fighting a lonely battle against the computer and as a writer I am unable to join you in that. I love this machine. I'm enjoying typing on it right now.
I know that you are right and in some ways I love the computer. It is so much easier typing on a computer than it was typing on a typewriter. The computer tells me if I am spelling correctly and sometimes it anticipates what I am going to say. And I love to look at wikipedia, NYT, and other sources, and I love to use email. I could easily spend a day reading things on the internet and listening to music.
But I still think that catastrophe is coming someday. Lets hope that it is after we have departed the scene.
We live in Iowa and regularly attend music events here in our city. There is so much talent here just in our community of 130,000 people of singers, actors, musicians that I am amazed how many people never will see them perform except those who reside here or travel a bit to see them. Next weekend we will see our daughter-in-law perform with her choir group, and I know I will be moved to tears when they sing. Yes, I have been to New York and have seen performances, but I’m also amazed at our own talent right here at home. And did I mention our son is a musician? Or that our granddaughter sings and acts? She will go off to college in two years to major in voice and drama. Talent abounds in communities everywhere. Enjoy it wherever you are.
Performance can be great fun and worth doing for the pleasure of it but to try to make a living at it is a whole other proposition. Usually realism dawns on an artist in the early twenties.
Absolutely true. We know a few people here who have returned home from New York after finding out how difficult it is. One woman was on The Voice show and is back. They still act or sing here because they love it.
Uber and Lyft did have a better idea, better that is, until one has a frank discussion with an "employee", AKA drivers. It's just another gussied up sucker punch to the folks at the bottom of the food chain, and when self driving autonomous vehicles arrive, folks will manage to quickly forget who got them where they were going in the early times. I do know quite a bit about garage doors, and you are correct that there is little to no art involved beyond finding installers that are not half in the bag or actively touting MAGA based conspiracy theories while tangentially referencing their firearm collection.
So, you're batting .500. Being sports knowledge challenged...particularly about our national pastime...I don't know if .500 is correct. Maybe I should've said "one and one"...(?)
Oh no no no.... Do the very basic math. It doesn't work. Most people in their first experience of self employment do NOT understand what a profit margin is, nor depreciation, nor any of those other ugly facts of making it in business. I'm sure someone, somewhere, sometime...has found the Uber opportunity to be a good one, but I know several Uber drivers that have assured me it's not. I know lots of artists and musicians trying to patch together an income between gigs, and they have all assured me it does not work. The average Uber driver lasts a few weeks. Anyone statistic indicating otherwise is someone cooking the books.
Do a little research on the topic of unsatisfied Uber drivers; lots of people went into debt to get the car Uber said would set them free, and now they're being crushed by car payments and 24 hour days driving to make the payments. It's an amazingly cool, handy, efficient means for navigating the City, and I'll start using it again when autonomous self driving cars become reality.
I don't get to New York City that often. When I do, it's "TAXI!" for me. Actually, one of the things I look forward to is the possibility of meeting "Muhamed" or someone of his ilk. As we warm up to each other, I get quite a picture of what it's like to be an immigrant trying to make it in the Big Apple. I hear about a daughter who is dancing in a recital at school, or the distressing traffic jams as the driver returns to the suburbs during the evening rush hour.
I can't imagine New York City without taxis! It would be like San Diego without any beaches!
I advocate for Socialism by not subscribing or otherwise financially contributing to highly successful entertainers advocating for Socialism. GK sez it's him and "Friends", and what sort of friend continually asks for money?
I have a Tourette's type affliction with writing stuff that I think could be funny, and upon reexamination, it's not. Working on my material, so to speak, bouncing it off someone (you) I find delightful and humorously entertaining. My friends just tell me to STFU.
I just thought your claims of Socialist tendencies seemed to contradict the requests I get for contributing to WA (which I've done), subscriptions to your other Substack stuff, coffee cups or other merch...and it seemed funny. On reexamination, not so much. It comes and goes.
Unfortunately, Kurtocracy, we live in a capitalist society. Nothing seems to run without the "Almighty Dollar."
Since the pandemic has drydocked passenger cruises such as our epic APHC/ HAL voyages, I've truly missed my Fellow Prairie Homers. I live in a decidedly red section of New York. On board ship, it was such a relief to espouse Liberal, Democratic points of view without fear of generating a shouting match! It was like having a yearly retreat at a Psychological Wellness Camp!
If you're worried about your purse-strings, Kurt, think about the cost of a subscription here, in comparison to even a one-week cruise!
I'm meeting a lot of "Friends" at this site! I genuinely appreciate the opportunity that our revered host is providing us! Long may GK and Friends remain well supported!
I’ve never been on a cruise. I’ve not ever really had what most folks consider to be a vacation, where one spends a pile of dough and goes somewhere really cool. If you read my statement, I was kind of poking fun at all the liberals espousing socialist tendencies who live in NY and have the dough to act like country bumpkins. For me and my country bumpkin friends, it rings a bit humorous. Not anger inducing, just humorous, so I tried to humorously point out the contradictions. Since I don’t do emojis, it’s clear I need to develop my humor writing chops.
"Us" socialist communists. Does that include you, G.K.? Socialist sympathy, too? But then, I saw Christian and now I'm confused. Except that lots of "Us"s I know think that garage doors are great art. So, all is well with my soul with all this inclusion now.
My garage door chain plays the exact sound of the Moog synthesizer in the chorus of The Who song “Baba O’Riley” - a song often referred to as “Teenage Wasteland.” This song was part of a rock opera by Pete Townshend called LIFEHOUSE, a follw up to TOMMY. LIFEHOUSE was abandoned incomplete, and my garage door chain might be about to fail. I could send your nephew a video with sound to see what he thinks. He may be too young to know The Who songs, but at least this is an example of a nexus of opera and garage doors - sorta.
You are a crazy man, Mr. Keillor. Viva socialism but please keep it out of the theater and opera. Maybe Minnesota is a good place for it to reside. New York is a tough place to compete with. Thank goodness so many talented performers live there, yourself included.
We talk of socialism but wherever one is in the arts world, competition comes into play because there is a general over supply of talented artists and musicians. It is terrible that we have so many very talented people who are living in poverty because there are not enough good well-paying jobs for musicians and arts people. And the pandemic has made the situation much worse.
While reading this column, several thoughts came to mind:
Your talk of dormitory and cafeteria reminded me that when I went off to college I got a meal plan which provided all of my meals in the cafeteria. I thought that it was wonderful because the meals were fairly good and I did not have to buy food or do my own cooking. Instead of going to the grocery store and cooking, I could spend my time wondering around the library reading about World War I or other history/political topics or walking about the campus and visiting with fellow students.
But I found out that many of my fellow students were outraged because they wanted to do their own shopping and cooking. Some of them wanted burgers and fries everyday which the cafeteria did not provide. That is when I found out that some people are outraged easily.
When I studied piano in my youth, I learned the chords and accompaniment licks so that I could play the melody of a song with my right hand and play accompaniment with my left. But now all that is not necessary. Just get a key board and it will play the accompaniment. Of course, instead of learning to play the piano, just get on Youtube Music. Anything you might want to play might already be on Youtube.
I might have said this before but it is my belief that computers will be the ruin of humankind. The Uber driver with an app can easily find out where to go in New York. But what if the electricity is cut off; or the app does not work. The driver would be helpless. People tell me that their GPS sometimes sends them to vacant lots or dead end streets.
I think that some time in the future humans will have forgotten how to do math, read maps, or think for themselves because the computer is doing it for them. Then catastrophe will strike and the electricity will go off and over night humans will be back in the stone age.
People always want to put themselves in special groups. The colonial dames think that they are important because some of their ancestors came over on the Mayflower or whatever ship. The anti elitist in Minnesota are special because they are helping the downtrodden and left behind musicians. Everyone wants to feel special and important. God bless them.
Thanks Garrison and best wishes to everyone. 2021 is going by quickly; we have almost endured another year.
I too believe that the computerization of modern life has tainted modern human existence. I am especailly weary of mobile phone proliferation and abuse. Besides cellphone distracted drivers and the mayhem and tragedy they cause it's the disconnected humanity who see the world skewed through their mobile device's vision. They feel closer bonds to Amazon's Alexa than members of the family or their community. Enough soapbox, Merry Christmas to you. Enjoy friends and family, they are our greatest treasure.
Thanks, I don't know what people have to talk about and there are people who I know that talk on their smart/cell phones all the time. And the best to you and your family.
Thank you, Aubrey. You are a good sensible person and it's good to hear from you but you are fighting a lonely battle against the computer and as a writer I am unable to join you in that. I love this machine. I'm enjoying typing on it right now.
I know that you are right and in some ways I love the computer. It is so much easier typing on a computer than it was typing on a typewriter. The computer tells me if I am spelling correctly and sometimes it anticipates what I am going to say. And I love to look at wikipedia, NYT, and other sources, and I love to use email. I could easily spend a day reading things on the internet and listening to music.
But I still think that catastrophe is coming someday. Lets hope that it is after we have departed the scene.
We live in Iowa and regularly attend music events here in our city. There is so much talent here just in our community of 130,000 people of singers, actors, musicians that I am amazed how many people never will see them perform except those who reside here or travel a bit to see them. Next weekend we will see our daughter-in-law perform with her choir group, and I know I will be moved to tears when they sing. Yes, I have been to New York and have seen performances, but I’m also amazed at our own talent right here at home. And did I mention our son is a musician? Or that our granddaughter sings and acts? She will go off to college in two years to major in voice and drama. Talent abounds in communities everywhere. Enjoy it wherever you are.
Performance can be great fun and worth doing for the pleasure of it but to try to make a living at it is a whole other proposition. Usually realism dawns on an artist in the early twenties.
Absolutely true. We know a few people here who have returned home from New York after finding out how difficult it is. One woman was on The Voice show and is back. They still act or sing here because they love it.
Uber and Lyft did have a better idea, better that is, until one has a frank discussion with an "employee", AKA drivers. It's just another gussied up sucker punch to the folks at the bottom of the food chain, and when self driving autonomous vehicles arrive, folks will manage to quickly forget who got them where they were going in the early times. I do know quite a bit about garage doors, and you are correct that there is little to no art involved beyond finding installers that are not half in the bag or actively touting MAGA based conspiracy theories while tangentially referencing their firearm collection.
So, you're batting .500. Being sports knowledge challenged...particularly about our national pastime...I don't know if .500 is correct. Maybe I should've said "one and one"...(?)
I don't get this from talking to Uber drivers. The ones I've met seem satisfied with the opportunity.
Oh no no no.... Do the very basic math. It doesn't work. Most people in their first experience of self employment do NOT understand what a profit margin is, nor depreciation, nor any of those other ugly facts of making it in business. I'm sure someone, somewhere, sometime...has found the Uber opportunity to be a good one, but I know several Uber drivers that have assured me it's not. I know lots of artists and musicians trying to patch together an income between gigs, and they have all assured me it does not work. The average Uber driver lasts a few weeks. Anyone statistic indicating otherwise is someone cooking the books.
Do a little research on the topic of unsatisfied Uber drivers; lots of people went into debt to get the car Uber said would set them free, and now they're being crushed by car payments and 24 hour days driving to make the payments. It's an amazingly cool, handy, efficient means for navigating the City, and I'll start using it again when autonomous self driving cars become reality.
I don't get to New York City that often. When I do, it's "TAXI!" for me. Actually, one of the things I look forward to is the possibility of meeting "Muhamed" or someone of his ilk. As we warm up to each other, I get quite a picture of what it's like to be an immigrant trying to make it in the Big Apple. I hear about a daughter who is dancing in a recital at school, or the distressing traffic jams as the driver returns to the suburbs during the evening rush hour.
I can't imagine New York City without taxis! It would be like San Diego without any beaches!
I advocate for Socialism by not subscribing or otherwise financially contributing to highly successful entertainers advocating for Socialism. GK sez it's him and "Friends", and what sort of friend continually asks for money?
为人民服务 (Serve The People!)
Is someone asking you for money in my behalf? Let me know and I'll silence them.
I have a Tourette's type affliction with writing stuff that I think could be funny, and upon reexamination, it's not. Working on my material, so to speak, bouncing it off someone (you) I find delightful and humorously entertaining. My friends just tell me to STFU.
I just thought your claims of Socialist tendencies seemed to contradict the requests I get for contributing to WA (which I've done), subscriptions to your other Substack stuff, coffee cups or other merch...and it seemed funny. On reexamination, not so much. It comes and goes.
Unfortunately, Kurtocracy, we live in a capitalist society. Nothing seems to run without the "Almighty Dollar."
Since the pandemic has drydocked passenger cruises such as our epic APHC/ HAL voyages, I've truly missed my Fellow Prairie Homers. I live in a decidedly red section of New York. On board ship, it was such a relief to espouse Liberal, Democratic points of view without fear of generating a shouting match! It was like having a yearly retreat at a Psychological Wellness Camp!
If you're worried about your purse-strings, Kurt, think about the cost of a subscription here, in comparison to even a one-week cruise!
I'm meeting a lot of "Friends" at this site! I genuinely appreciate the opportunity that our revered host is providing us! Long may GK and Friends remain well supported!
I’ve never been on a cruise. I’ve not ever really had what most folks consider to be a vacation, where one spends a pile of dough and goes somewhere really cool. If you read my statement, I was kind of poking fun at all the liberals espousing socialist tendencies who live in NY and have the dough to act like country bumpkins. For me and my country bumpkin friends, it rings a bit humorous. Not anger inducing, just humorous, so I tried to humorously point out the contradictions. Since I don’t do emojis, it’s clear I need to develop my humor writing chops.
"Us" socialist communists. Does that include you, G.K.? Socialist sympathy, too? But then, I saw Christian and now I'm confused. Except that lots of "Us"s I know think that garage doors are great art. So, all is well with my soul with all this inclusion now.
My garage door chain plays the exact sound of the Moog synthesizer in the chorus of The Who song “Baba O’Riley” - a song often referred to as “Teenage Wasteland.” This song was part of a rock opera by Pete Townshend called LIFEHOUSE, a follw up to TOMMY. LIFEHOUSE was abandoned incomplete, and my garage door chain might be about to fail. I could send your nephew a video with sound to see what he thinks. He may be too young to know The Who songs, but at least this is an example of a nexus of opera and garage doors - sorta.