"

MOZART
So then you like it? You really like
it, Your Majesty?

JOSEPH
Of course I do. It’s very good. Of
course now and then - just now and
then - it gets a touch elaborate.

MOZART
What do you mean, Sire?

JOSEPH
Well, I mean occasionally it seems
to have, how shall one say?
(he stops in
difficulty; to Orsini-
Rosenberg)
How shall one say, Director?

ORSINI-ROSENBERG
Too many notes, Your Majesty?

JOSEPH
Exactly. Very well put. Too many
notes.

MOZART
I don’t understand. There are just
as many notes, Majesty, as are
required. Neither more nor less.

JOSEPH
My dear fellow, there are in fact
only so many notes the ear can hear
in the course of an evening. I think
I’m right in saying that, aren’t I,
Court Composer?

SALIERI
Yes! yes! er, on the whole, yes,
Majesty.

"

Listening to jazz, and other things I should be doing.

Being 44 doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve figured everything out.  Far from it.  While some things have become more intuitive–or comfortable–with age (confrontation at work, running, using hot sauce on everything), I still find myself making lists of things that “a guy of my age should be doing.”

Listening to jazz is one of those things.  Listening to jazz has always presented a sort of sheer cliff face to me.  So many musicians, so many styles, and so much music writing dissecting the form and handing down judgements on who’s doing it right all add up to a kind of secret club whose handshake and passwords are unknowable.

Which is why I’m happy to have found Spotify’s Blue Note app.  The App allows users to navigate through Blue Note’s legendary catalog by year, by style or by instrumental preference. 

Then, once you’ve set your sliders, the app serves up Blue note examples of the music you’ve chosen.  So in this case, I’ve selected 1961, and Spotify plans on playing Stanley Turrentine, Baby Face Willette and Lou Donaldson.  All stuff I’d never run across otherwise.

Hello out there?

Does my IFTTT Recipe work?

How to Screw Yourself Out of Your Goal Time for Beginning Distance Runners

3 years on the road — including scratching a destination race and sandbagging my first “real” half — have done nothing if not taught me that simply ignoring some small things now, half-way into your training regimen, can result in turning in a truly sub-par performance on race day. Here’s everything you need to know.

Skip your training runs. — Look.  It’s just a couple of miles you can totally make up the next training day.  Two miles?  Pfft.  You’ve run six.  In the snow.  What’s two miles.

Rest on the Rest/Cross-Train Days. — The training calendar says “Rest OR Crosstrain”, right?  What possible good could those bridges and other core-strength building do, because everyone knows running is about your legs.

Fuck around with your gear. — Nothing is worse for a long run or race day than consistency.  Change things up!  The more frequently the better.  New socks?  Sure.  Increasing complicated ways to route your headphone cable?  Yes indeedy.  Oo oo.  New apps on your smartphone that let you blog as you run?  Hell yes.  Nothing decreases your chances of success like having something new to take your mind off the run at hand.  Which goes double for race day.  

Sleep irregularly. — You’ll make up for it in the week before the race.  Because that’s all that’s really important.

Eat crap. — You’re burning 1000+ calories per run.  Eat what you want.

If you’ve put in the road time, then you have the power to succeed beyond your wildest dreams or shoot it all to hell on race day.  Stay focused on being distracted and you’re sure the get the outcome you’re not looking for.

Supastaaaah!

I don’t make the news.  I just write about it.  And sometimes, it writes itself.

Mariah: