bloke wrote:The purposes of sports - when growing up - is (via the development of dexterity and strength) to increase (yes: sexist) men's abilities to improve, maintain, and defend their properties and domains.
... as teams. And to work together at other things, as teams.
Some vestige of that seems to leak out into spectatorship. It's funny to hear people remark about recent results, "we won" (or lost.) I'm thinking ... we lost ... uh oh, I hope someone else was covering my position, I obviously failed to show up for that game. But there's a sizable herd there, and I can't say I'm 100% immune - used to have a basketball team here, for many years, with some moments of glory in the late '70s that were pleasing even to many of us in the curmudgeon seating. Maybe this exercise sublimates human needs that would otherwise need to be satisfied by making war on small countries.
My employer is reopening for business and called me back from layoff Thursday.
Did an approximate 200 mile road trip Friday to help my brother pick up a horse trailer, which was also the first day of relaxed stay-at-home guidelines here in northern Michigan. Traffic heading north was heavy along US-31, US-131, and M-37 (SR-37). Most places of business that were open were mobbed. Very few people were wearing masks, and not everyone was observing social distancing.
I have an inkling that if a concert in the park were to take place somewhere around here, there would be no shortage of people out in the audience. And, if things remain opened up around here, we are going to see Labor Day celebrations the likes of which have never been seen before.
...additionally, my brother lives just a couple miles down the road from Interlochen Arts Academy. Driving past there to get to his place, it's an absolute heartbreak to see the whole campus barricaded off, the parking lots nearly devoid of cars, and--especially--no crossing guards and throngs of kids at the crosswalks on M-137 (SR-137). It's like summer is cancelled.
Sucks, but whatever, could you even imagine having an event his summer with 200,000+ people in a single day?!
(BTW, >80% of the fatalities in Minnesota are from nursing home and long term care patients. Not sure about overall cases... But still it's not like you are walking down the street and everyone is COVIDing all over each other.. )
Three Valves wrote:That turntable and stereo was the best present I ever got the wife!!
With vinyl records making something of a comeback, I keep hoping people will take the next logical step and rediscover critical listening and high-fidelity stereo.
Turntables plugged into home theater systems? Pfft. I once had a quad system from the '70s and will never be convinced that you can install any kind of "surround" system into anything but a purpose-built room. And even then, only one very-precisely-located listener will hear the programming reproduced as intended.
Three Valves wrote:Tuba/Euphonium FB forum on fire!!
Just FYI...
Link?
Principal tuba, Bel Air Community Band
Old (early 1900s?) Alexander BBb proto-163
1976 Sonora (B&S 101) 4-rotor BBb
1964 Conn 20J/21J BBb (one body, both bells)
~1904 York 3P BBb Helicon
Old Alex Comp.F, in shop