Salon XVII

Did anyone spend more than 12 cumulative minutes in grade school learning how to interpret Roman numerals? Did I write "seventeen" correctly, there? Or, isn't the real question, should I even have to ask that question? I often wonder about the under-apportioning of time to certain areas of elementary school learning and feel like rendering a long and angry critique on the subject. For example, alphabetization. How would you rate yourself as an alphabetizer? Do you have to walk through "L, M, N, O, P" to remember if "P" comes before or after "O"? Can you remember learning to alphabetize? I do, because we spent a grand total of 30 minutes on it in the 1st grade and in consequence I can never remember the ordering of N & M (or is it M & N?)

Anyway, we were talking about salon no. 17. There is no getting around it: people, thank you. This was hands-on the best salon of all time, except from the perspective that there was no leftover pizza (Sid, we're sorry). A quick list of the evening's wonders:

bach's cantata 201--initial fumblings toward a full staging of
Irene Hsaio, dancer & choreographer; Majel Connery, voice & direction; Roger Mosley, piano
(Thanks to Ben Kolak for this totally excellent video.)


Dance from Ben Kolak on Vimeo.

presentation on abstraction in late 19th-c painting by
Danielle Klinenberg

tea presentation and tasting by
Gregory Freeman

short film by
David Bashwiner

and finally...
generalized high-minded intellectual harassment provided by
your loving University of Chicago audience-at-large

The next salon is August 22nd, a Friday. Come bearing wine and you will find yourself welcomed warmly.

And now, something you can't see at the salons. My completely useless attempt at playing the shakuhachi (care of Gregory Freeman).