Text 11829, 119 rader
Skriven 2014-04-06 03:07:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: characteristics 453
===========================
 ML> Still is. Sad thing is what he really wanted to be was a
 ML> musician, but I guess he was told he should be a professor
 ML> (by whom I don't know). And he's a pretty good musician -
 NB> Probably some well-meaning family member or counselor

He spent much of his career trying to straddle the two
professions without the credentials for either. He'd make
an interesting model for a novel character.

 ML> The point being that if that were really
 ML> true, he wouldn't have felt the need to say it.
 NB> Quite.  

But the uninformed often believe stuff like that if
delivered in a convincing enough tone.

 ML> so he slammed down his baton and screamed "you're a bunch
 ML> of f---ing idiots!" A moment that will live in infamy and
 ML> associated mirth for many years.
 NB> Not exactly a wise move for his reputation, either with musicians or
 NB> with audience...  the term popinjay comes to mind... ;)

Maybe, for the strut and the pride, but he's actually
substantially oversize and would make a poor excuse for
a real popinjay.

 NB> Recalls to mind an incident at an RPO concert when the conductor lost
 NB> the beat and the orchestra got lost... except that conductor wasn't
 NB> too full of himself to take the lion's share of the blame upon
 NB> himself, and apologized to the orchestra and the audience

That requires guts, and I respect that.

 NB>> ... probably requires more skill (if
 NB>> not more knowledge) than teaching the higher classes...
 ML> That's the whole thing. So there has to be mutual respect
 ML> between the practitioners of both.
 NB> Exactly.  :)   And if more "premium" teachers took it on, perhaps it
 NB> would garner more respect as well...  :)

But all that is less than likely, given how academia and
society as a whole value and reward certain traits,
behaviors, and accomplishments.

 ML>> I never wanted to be that kind of professor that
 ML>> we were discussing with Jim, but if I'd gone into the
 ML>> field, I figure most likely I would have become one.
 NB> You might have been pleasantly surprised to find more aptitude than
 NB> you thought

Dubito. There are a bunch of endeavors for which I am
pretty clearly unsuited. Parent, teacher, businessman,
lawyer, ... .

 , but the lack of appropriate credentials might have been a
 NB> stumbler... kinda why I never went into the field professionally.. 

All I had to do was some paperwork and a Master's would
have been mine. It wasn't a big deal, and I didn't want
the thing anyhow.

 ML> That's true. John Lilly pointed that out a bunch of years
 ML> ago and called for the development of a class of bridge
 ML> people he called "inperts" - not experts, but not inexpert
 ML> either. 
 NB> An interesting proposition... one might want to come up with a
 NB> better-sounding name for them, though... :)

I dunno, I thought it sort of cute and less pretentious
than polymaths.

 ML> So, I'm told, did C. P. Snow, but that's second-hand
 ML> information, from where, can you guess?
 NB> Your favorite hated Wiki...?

Nope, my beloved Flanders & Swann.

=

 ML> I don't know whether such stubbornness is useful in
 ML> real life or in general, but it does have its place.
 NB> Stubbornness could play out as determination, or as steadfastness...
 NB> (the flipside positive traits)...  :)   Times it's definitely
 NB> needed... 

Eppur si muove ...

Mashed potato gratin
cat: Singapore, dairy, starch, side
servings: 4 to 8

3 lb potatoes (8 lg russets), peeled
Salt
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 c grated Cheddar
3/4 c sour cream (may sub regular cream)
3/4 c milk
1/2 c grated Parmesan
3/4 c breadcrumbs
1 pn cayenne

Boil potatoes in liberally salted water, together with
the smashed garlic, until potatoes are fork-tender.
Drain potatoes of water and discard the garlic.

Add sour cream, milk and cheddar and mash roughly.

Transfer to a baking dish. In the meantime, heat oven
to 350F.

Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and cayenne.
 
Top the baking dish with the breadcrumb mixture and
pop into oven for 20 min until golden brown.

Anne Burrill, adapted by thehungrybunnie.blogspot.sg
___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Fidonet Since 1991 Join Us: www.DocsPlace.org (1:123/140)