Gary Freedman's Blog (185)

So, I'm sitting at the computer at the public library. I'm seated next to Arthur368, a regular at the library. Brian, the head librarian, is here today. He's wearing a very interesting necktie. It features a map of the District of Columbia. You have to get close to the tie to discern what it is.



It's now official. I will be spending two weeks in Atlantic City in early August. I leave on the morning of Monday August 3rd and will return on Friday August 14th. My sister has a condo at… Continue

I am an impostor with many selves. My life narrative is a place where imaginative revisions seem (at least to me) necessary. I understand that we must all construct a story of our lives: the quiet tale we repeat in our heads, after dark, while falling asleep. Without compunction, I change my story at will, inventing details, shaping and reshaping my persona to suit myself and the needs of my avocation as writer and my personal life. But I don't like it when others dwell on the details of my… Continue

I was in a Lisztian mood last night. I watched a DVD of Franz Liszt's "A Faust Symphony," performed by the Boston Symphony, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. The performance was recorded in about 1977. Some consider this symphony to be Liszt's masterpiece. It surely contains one of the most colorful families of leitmotifs in the orchestral repertoire. In fact, each character in Goethe's play is so vividly depicted that you might not be remiss in calling it an opera without words Leonard Bernstein… Continue

OK, so I have an appointment with my new psychiatrist this afternoon. He's from Somalia. I hope he's not a pirate. I've been seeing psychiatrists since 1977--can you believe that? Readers of my posts may wonder what I gain by seeing a psychiatrist. I'm on the fringe, mentally speaking.



Last night at about 3:00 a.m. my neighbors in 135--speaking euphemistically--got frisky. Very frisky. They live across the hall. But I could still hear their antics through their door, across the hall,… Continue

In a book "The Moral Society: A Rational Alternative to Death," John David Garcia presents a revolutionary ethical theory much in the spirit of Spinoza. The author shows that through the ethical development of art, science and technology man can achieve far more than the advocates of supernatural Utopias ever imagined.



What is the "Game of Life?" According to the author it is a game in which we are the pieces as well as the players. It is a game in which the stakes are… Continue