WAAAY OT: On transience, sad beauty,

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

Dennis Moser wrote me the following (reprinted with his permission
at the bottom of the page) to which I am replying here (just an excerpt of
a longer letter than doesn't concern this subject), in public:


Thanks for writing, Dennis.

I did get my feelings hurt but I own those feelings completely and
apologize that I misread the tenor of your post. 
You are quite kind to take the time to write a reasonable reply
and I thank you for it.

Now, to go find your music to listen to.............

..........Thanks for writing and , again,  my apologies for over 
reacting...........

yours,   in the loop,   Rick



*_Dennis Moser wrote:
Rick, Happy New Year! but lighten up, dude!

You don't know me or my music very well, or you would not have taken my 
post so negatively ... go back and re-read what I said carefully. I'm 
not knocking ANYBODY for what they have said, felt, or expressed ... 
it's really more about the "tenor of the times" and let's face it, try 
and name five people you know who don't get a little sentimental this 
time of year (the past two weeks or so).

BTW, that's an awfully narrow definition of maudlin; check these out to 
get a better sense of how I use the word:

http://www.answers.com/topic/maudlin

http://www.english-test.net/gmat/vocabulary/meanings/109/gmat-words.php#maudlin
 


http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maudlin (one of the most 
intriguing explanations of the word's etymology I've come across)

http://thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning/maudlin/

http://www.dictionary.net/maudlin

...in other words, I was simply making the observation that we were 
getting VERY sentimental. But so what? No harm, no foul. It wasn't a 
"critical" observation and I certainly didn't deserve to be addressed in 
such a brusque manner on the whole list. You're points about the "stiff 
upper lip" syndrome are spot on, but how do you know what my 
patri-matrilineage is? For all you know I could be Afro-American, half 
Chinese, or Lithuanian ... you have made an assumption about me that may 
or may not be correct.

I noticed that you have just discovered Aarvo Pärt. Pärt's music is a 
wonderful example of the sheer elegance of melody and simple, open 
harmonies ... I hadn't gotten to him on my list of favorites only 
because i was running out of time this morning when I posted my note. 
The discussion has now drifted out from the classical realm into world 
and popular music ... which is kind of what i was getting at when I 
started off by talking about Ravi Shankar ... go listen to any of his 
performances of any raga, keeping in mind that I adore his music and 
then consider what I said. I was being ANYTHING but critical ...

Best,

Dennis_*