Monthly Archives: September 2021
Michael Spyres Baritenor – Review
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th September 2021American tenor Michael Spyres has released a new album – Baritenor. It contains 18 selections which are presented in approximately the order in which they were written. They consist of arias composed for tenor, tenor or high baritone, and baritone. Spyres has always shown a unique ability to adjust the character of his timbre; he…
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On Good and Bad Service
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd September 2021The complexity of 21st century life has made bad service the rule and good the exception. In general, the larger the enterprise the worse the service. There is one screaming exception to this rule – Amazon. I’ll come back to them below. Good service is always the same. It is prompt, courteous, exceeds expectations, and…
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Salt and Cardiovascular Disease
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th September 2021We’ve known for a long time that some people are salt sensitive – ie, when salt is ingested in amounts greater than required to maintain homeostasis blood pressure rises as does the likelihood of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. The remainder of humanity can safely ingest large amounts of salt without hypertension and its associated…
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Opera Villains
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th September 2021Here are 11 opera villains – nine from Italian operas (Mozart’s an honorary Italian), the remaining two from Russian works. In making these choices I’ve excluded supernatural characters like the various depictions of the devil. I’ve also disregarded all German operas as it’s too hard to tell the villains from the heroes. The most prominent…
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Government – A Few Thoughts
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 9th September 2021Governments began as soon as humans stopped travelling in small bands and started to congregate in imobile groups which gradually transformed from villages to cities. Strongmen were the first leaders who governed according to their might. They continue to hold sway over a large swath of the planet to this day. Two and a half…
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Dog Dreams
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th September 2021If a lion could talk you couldn’t understand him. Ludwig Wittgenstein Do dogs dream? When observing a sleeping dog you’ve let lie you’ll likely notice that it makes involuntary movements and emits sounds. While all this activity may simply be reflex, I’ll allow that it is the expression of a canine dream. I’m aware that…
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