uTopianTurtleTop

WORKING ASSUMPTIONS

First there’s Franklin Bruno reminding me to wonder, “How often do [I] say to [my]self: I don’t know anything about X, and in some sense should?” Worse, for me, it’s more like, “How often do I know very little about X, and then go on and on as if I did?” Answer: too. Case in point: the classical style -- so much more I don’t know about it than I do. My fingers love to admire themselves while they’re typing, most narcissisticly, so please assume that any authoritative tone around here is the result of enthusiasm about a vague and quite possibly mistaken notion rather than thorough knowledge. Rebuttals definitely welcome (though I may complain about the pain inflicted to my self-esteem).

I could rationalize & attempt to justify this approach, but for now I’m content to shake my face at the vastness of my ignorance. The other night while listening to Seattle’s commercial classical station, I heard the DJ say that KING-FM has 28,000 albums in its library. The BBC’s classical music magazine reviews 150 new albums a month. Many of these albums are 2 and 3 disc sets. I’ll never get caught up.

Second, Jessica Duchen reminds us all that when a critic dislikes something, even if she provides good reasons, it’s strictly personal and should never persuade someone who does like something to stop.

Heartening to read a critic saying something like that. Good to remember, as reader and blogger.