I had hoped to get Back to Mono, the Phil Spector boxed set, for my birthday in 1991, but no one gave it to me and so I bought it used yesterday for $18. It has all the beloved Ronettes, Crystals and Darlene Love hits as well as obscurities like Darlene Love's version of “Chapel of Love”, “I Love How You Love Me”, covered of course on These Foolish Things, and a song a man accused of murder may regret having released, the disturbing, “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)”. The set only runs through the 60s, basically just past “River Deep, Mountain High”, so no “Imagine” and no “Rock & Roll High School.” However there is a bonus CD of the Christmas album, my vinyl copy of which diligent readers may recall was warped last Christmas.

It appears there is to be no Spartans reunion this weekend, although, as Paul Hartt would say, Maybe there should be.

These are the registered attendees from the class of ’81, pulled from the St John’s alumni website:

Paul Cree
Peter Norton
Jessica Wasserman
Daniel Van Doren
Elizabeth Bowser Affsprung
Kathy Abrams Bindert
Matthew Hartzell
Jamie Whalen
Joseph Roach
Barbara Roach
Margaret Argent
Anne Culotta
Rachel O'Keefe
Kurt Schuler
Robbyn Jackson
Warren Spector

Another day, another way.

On this day 223 years ago ...

Thinking About Brother Robert

Brother Robert was my essay advisor, and I remember how he elucidated a French term in Proust for me. When Mr. Swann first becomes involved with Odette, she is wearing a corsage of catleyas, which gets bumped in their carriage ride. Oh, he says, they’ve slipped, you’ll get pollen on your dress, here let me, and afterwards he uses the expression “faire le catleya” as a sexual euphemism. Brother Robert explained to me that the expression has a little extra spice because the catleya is a type of orchid that looks like the female pudenda, and then drew me a charming little pencil sketch.

Brother Robert did not give me much specific advice on my essay. What I remember him saying was, “This is fine. You just need to write some more.” At the time this seemed unremarkable. Now I realize he was right. I did need to write more.

Here's a hastily composed birthday poem for Tracy:

Tracy Tracy
She's our drummer
She's very fast
And even funner.

The monks’ residence was at the top of the hill, overlooking the vineyards. Peter rang the bell, and one of the brothers waved us in. “What can I do you for?” he said rather heartily. “I’ve come to visit one of the brothers here, Brother Robert” Peter said. “That rascal!” the brother said, pounding his palm with his fist. “No one is allowed to see him!”

“Oh”, said Peter. He had come by train from New Jersey.

“He died two days ago.”

Euler (again)

So what dirt was Mira able to find about the man on the ten-franc note? I work with a man whose first name is Euler. He pronounces it "Yuler", not "Oiler", perhaps because he is Phillipino.