danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

Today was my first day as a student at the University of Florida, the institution for which I have worked since 2000. Why am I just getting around to taking classes there, you ask? Well, it’s a long story, and I have now had a remarkable recollection, which is that I don’t really care much for stories. Rather, I don’t enjoy dissecting the microscopic elements of literary fiction to a degree to which the narrative is no longer enjoyable. I had subconsciously put my high school experiences behind me, wherein I was regularly called upon to analyze an author’s use of this or that device, and make arguments–based entirely on conjecture–about his meaning and purpose. I am taking a mix of English and history courses at this point, in case I decide next semester that history is a better fit for me.

Meanwhile, it is challenging to get back into the routines of school again. I have grown quite accustomed to my workaday life, and the mental lucidity that comes from being able to leave work at work, which is to say, my time at home is mine. That is not the case for students, and my time once again belongs to professors. It will be this way for a long time to come now if graduate school is in the picture.

And speaking of “in the picture”: in the picture above you see my arm, stuck with an enormous needle as I gave blood this morning. The last time I donated blood I was 18 years old, and I went with Dan Francke, who mocked a girl we knew for wearing black boots with white laces “which, of course, denote white power”, as he explained to her derisively.

For the record, the title of this post comes from Act I, Scene 12 of Rigoletto, where the Duke, disguised as Gualtier Maldè to seduce Gilda, lies to her thusly. The Duke may be deceiving, but the description fits me pretty well.

Filed under: General, Health, Music, School on January 8th, 2008 | No Comments »

On my show Saturday afternoon I brought out a recording I bought long ago, but don’t recall ever giving a good listen: Matthias Goerne and Graham Johnson‘s Winterreise, D. 911 by Franz Schubert. It is a highly praised reading of what may be the greatest of all song cycles (though I am partial to Schumann’s Dichterliebe, by virtue of the Heine texts).

Hyperion, a British label, has simultaneously done fans of Lieder a tremendous service and disservice with their astonishingly comprehensive Schubert Edition, of which this Winterreise is Volume 30. The great service is the consistently high quality of musicianship and production, and simply astonishing level of scholarship and research displayed in the lavish documentation (this volume includes a 111 page booklet with illustrations, texts, translations and an essay on every last song). The disservice is the tragically high price, which is understandable given the circumstances. But when the whole package is as good as it is, the expense of it all is that much more heartbreaking, especially for those wishing to collect the entire 37 CD series. (They have been gathered together in a massive box, but then then a separate book must also be purchased.)

I doubt this recording, good as it is, could ever replace those by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau for me–there is simply no more beautiful male voice than his–but if somebody was a fan of art song, and already had a Fischer-Dieskau/Gerald Moore version on their shelf, I’d strongly recommend Goerne/Johnson. Even if the singing weren’t as good as it is, it’d be worth the $23 for the notes alone.

Meanwhile, if you have never heard Schubert’s Winterreise, get thee to Wikipedia, and read the very informative synopsis of the songs, as they describe a dejected lover’s winter journey and sadness.

UPDATE:  I just received the following email:

Hi, I was listening to 89.1 today around noon and I was just wondering
who the singer was. He was singing german songs and just had the most
lovely voice. I’ve just got to know who he is!  Jessica.

Well, there you go.

Filed under: Music, Work on January 6th, 2008 | No Comments »

Mercy, it was cold today.  I don’t think the high temperature reached 50 degrees.  That’s bad enough, but coupled with the high winds and extremely low humidity, my hands and nose were stinging by the time I reached work this morning.

Meanwhile, when I got up at seven o’clock the temperature was in the 20s, and there was ice covering the IFAS citrus grove on campus.  Let’s hope this one of very few really cold spells we get this winter.

Filed under: Meteorology, Work on January 3rd, 2008 | No Comments »

First, let me say that right now it is very, very cold outside. It’s not yet eight o’clock at night and it’s literally freezing outside, and will get to 20° before dawn. This is the first real freeze we’ve had so far this winter, which has been surprisingly mild so far. Whereas in previous years our heater has seen considerable action by the first week of January, I think we’ve used it only once before the present cold snap. And I don’t regret that it has been thus. My cold tolerance has decreased since we’ve lived in this ice box we call home. I especially dislike how painfully frigid the water from the tap is. And, oh, how we need new windows!

I am one of the few people, as far as I can tell, who prefers Hungry Howie’s for my pizza needs. This evening I ordered pizza, as I have done several times recently. It costs more, of course, than making it at home, but, obviously, it tastes better, and for less than $7 I get two meals. On my last two visits, however, my local Howie’s has found a way to botch my order. Last week I called and specifically requested my pizza be made with garlic crust, NOT garlic-herb, a new flavor I saw listed in the shop. Naturally, when I opened the box I saw herbs with my garlic. So I had to wait while they made me a new pie. No big deal, mistakes happen. But tonight I went in to pick up my order–same as last time–and a calamity: they had given my pizza to the person who had just walked out, and, again, I’d have to wait while they made me a new pizza. So I take the opportunity to run up the street to Publix and when I arrived back at Hungry Howie’s they had again sold the re-made pizza to the person who had just left. They seemed genuinely embarrassed about it, though, and a few of the staff were congregated at the counter discussing what had gone so wrong. But, in the end I walked out with two large pizzas for the price of none. Regretfully, they let me know that regular garlic crust is being discontinued in favor of garlic-herb. So, another victory for Big Vegetable.

Finally, I uploaded a gallery of photos from last weekend’s visit by Jeff and Sandi, and our dinner out with Steve and Kathleen for trivia night at Kazbor’s. I don’t think anyone really enjoyed it as much as I did, but what are you going to do? It was good fun, still, to go watch episodes of Flight of the Conchords at Steve’s house. Huzzah, fun.

Filed under: Cost of Living, Food, Friends, General, Meteorology on January 2nd, 2008 | No Comments »

Happy New Year!

Mrs. Hill and I spent New Year’s Eve at home, where we enjoyed a delicious spaghetti dinner (she makes the sauce spicier than most; it’s good), caught a final movie for the year, and watched Dick Clark countdown to 2008. We lit sparklers in the house for the occasion, frightening Moggie.

As some may know, for years now we have kept a list of every film we’ve seen at home or in the theater, and we set a record in 2007 with 234 movies. That might seem like a lot, but it might have been much higher had we continued at the pace we established in January and February: by the first of March we had already seen 66 pictures.

Movie highlights for me included: Mermaids (1/2); The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (1/27); Hotel Rwanda (2/10); Elizabethtown (4/13); Breaking Away (5/15); The Simpsons Movie (8/5); Stranger Than Fiction (9/9); The Illusionist (9/19); Walk Hard (12/21), and, believe it or not, Dirty Dancing, which we saw in the theater on May 1. I also re-watched some other films I regard as great, including Jaws; Saving Private Ryan; Field of Dreams; Back to the Future; Der Untergang and what may be my favorite movie of all, The Sound of Music. The complete list is here.  And, for the record, the 2006 list is here.

I hope 2008 is brings you good health and happiness. Hard times come again no more.

Filed under: Film, Special Occasions on January 1st, 2008 | No Comments »