Things I Don't Like: People that think Joyful Joyful are the words to Beethoven's Ninth

This might not seem like something to get too upset about, but for some reason it really grates on my tolerance of humanity. (At least when I haven't had my morning coffee and someone comments about my musical preference and how they wonder when Joyful Joyful was released in English). My irritation started when a man said to me "Aren't Joyful Joyful and the Ninth the same thing?It is pretty cool that Beethoven wrote something in English." 

Maybe I am overly intolerant.....

Joyful, Joyful is a hymn written in 1907/8 by Henry van Dyke, in Mass. Yes, is set to the Fourth Movement of the Ninth, but really, I am guessing Joyful Joyful was a classic match with Ode to Joy seeing as how they both contain the word joy...besides, the Forth Movement is quite catchy don't you think? Maybe there is some history I missed? Anyways, the real words to Fourth Movement are taken from an ode by Friedrich Schiller, An die Fruede, in German. Other compelling evidence is timing (1824 vs. 1907 ish). My goodness. Ok. That was a relatively short rant, but I had to get it out in the open anyways. Your homework? Go enjoy some music :) 

Things I Don't Like - Australia vs. Austria

I know how to spell Austria. A-U-S-T-R-I-A. I also know how to spell Australia. They are two different countries....and they are spelled completely different. Why the hell is it, when I search for anything with AUSTRIA in it, I get results that contain AUSTRALIA?????? This is starting to really rub me the wrong way. "Study in Austria" I get links to AUSTRALIA! Don't get me wrong, I still get plenty of links that contain Austria that come up, but I don't need Australia creeping in there. I mean, the Aussies must have some conspiracy going on.  Why the hell? Ug. If I was looking up Australia, I would have typed A-U-S-T-R-A-L-I-A and not A-U-S-T-R-I-A.  Frick! 

Husbands and Cookies :)

Well I'll be damned (or so the expression goes....)! I was up way too early this morning and there were two fun articles in the NYTimes: one on chocolate chip cookies and the other on the 'ideal' husband. Both were brilliant. 

I have learned (from reading both articles one after the other) that no matter how good your cookies are, marriages can't work between two profoundly different people (especially if one has a porn and swinger addiction).  I have pasted the links to both articles for your endless enjoyment. 

The Ideal Husband: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/opinion/06dowd.html?em&ex=1215748800&en=fd7b516e55613dae&ei=5087%0A

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bliss:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/09chip.html?8dpc

Book Review - The Yiddish Policemen's Union

I only wish that I was more impassioned about this one. Oddly enough, I wanted to read it. I made sure it was on the book club list. I voted it for it. I encouraged others to vote for it. Now? I feel like an ass. Annie (the one who ALWAYS finished book club books before everyone else) said it gets good right at the end....that is the problem. It means you have to get through the first 300 pages to "really get into it". I grudgingly made it halfway and could not bring myself to trudge though the rest.  Here is the gist: 

Set in a fictional version of Sitka, Alaska. They used all the right names and places, but Sitka had several million people and was a Jewish settlement. I was thinking OK, Jews, murder mystery, and Alaska? How could this not be a good read.  Throughout the portion of the book, the author made this possible.  A Jewish kid is found murdered. An alcoholic cop is on the case. His ex-wife is his boss. The Jewish community is organized around various groups of Jews of varying degrees of power. Interesting, but I really can't get past the writing style to get into the story a whole lot. The following are examples of the writing found throughout:

"Shining skull edged with tufts of grayish hair like pocket lint"

"...prefers to see the man as distended with the gas of violence and corruption"

"naked as a giant bloodshot eyeball without a socket"

"...felt like a fogbound airplane buffeted by updrafts into the surprise of a mountain"

I don't know. I think it is one of those things that you either love or hate - like film noir - and there is no middle ground.  Maybe if I was into the writing style, I would have found the book much more appealing. I didn't really get through enough of it to give any more of a synapsis.  Too bad. 

Spain and Losing Bets.

It is not that I do not like the country of Spain, the Spanish, tapas, or the National Team, but the fact that they played skillfully and better than Germany really ticks me off. Germany is a team with some brutish, efficient staying power, but Sunday, that just was not enough. I now owe my friend Eric a bagel. Oi!