Category Archives: Psychology and perception

Pushing our buttons: Hadrian, Actéon, Pygmalion and erotic opera

Posted on October 12, 2018 by

Before there was pornography, there was always opera. Slavoj Zizek spoke of opera as redundant once we had psychiatrists, which is how he explains the decline in opera in the 20th century. But maybe there are other reasons opera wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations, Psychology and perception | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique & the fork in the recreational road

Posted on September 19, 2018 by

I’m responding as much to the serendipity of timing as anything else. Recreational marijuana becomes legal in Ontario next month. The Toronto Symphony are about to begin their 2018-19 season with Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Is there a connection? I think … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Essays, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations, Psychology and perception | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pain in the neck

Posted on September 8, 2018 by

What is dignity if not a kind of self-respect.  You notice it most when it’s not there, perhaps taking it for granted otherwise. I got my hair cut on the way to a concert. In passing I want to make … Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Nutrition, Personal ruminations, Psychology and perception | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

The pain I felt reading Kathleen Turner’s interview

Posted on August 12, 2018 by

There’s a great deal in Kathleen Turner’s fascinating recent interview with David Marchese.  So naturally if you’re a beautiful actress people will react, comment, and draw their own conclusions about what’s really important. I find it desperately sad when I see what … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Food & Nutrition, Personal ruminations, Popular music & culture, Psychology and perception | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

A conversation with psychic Anastasia (Stacey) Agouros

Posted on July 4, 2018 by

I begin a bit differently on this occasion. I will speak about metaphysics & my beliefs. While I grew up infatuated with science, Hamlet put it nicely when he said There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations, Psychology and perception, Questions, Questions, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

All –Beethoven Tafelmusik Finale

Posted on May 4, 2018 by

Tonight’s programme from Tafelmusik was the first of their season-ending concerts at Koerner Hall. We heard Beethoven’s violin concerto & the Pastorale symphony. Thinking about moustaches & tears earlier this week, it felt serendipitous to be studying the same sort … Continue reading →

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Cry for me

Posted on May 2, 2018 by

Some actions are startlingly ambiguous.  Right now for example I’m not shaving my upper lip. Am I growing a moustache –which would be an action—or am I simply not shaving my upper lip? I had that thought, thinking about a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Essays, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations, Psychology and perception | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments