Now it is Saturday afternoon....

 I am in transition. This morning I watched a performance of Beethoven's String Quartet opus 18, number 5. A beautiful third movement--a theme and variations that is incredibly rich and inventive--and this was Beethoven's "young" period. I want to hear more of his chamber music; Lincoln Center's Chamber Music Society is streaming a whole bunch of them. I can be transfixed by that music very easily. Then an hour ago, I heard the first forty minutes of a Met production of Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck--there is some beautiful music in it, but I had to turn it off. Then I sat---just sat---allowed myself to be "vacant", that is not to absorb any music, or literature or whatever. Sometimes it just gets that way. One simply wants to "stop!" and not take anything in. That was where I was right before I walked over to the computer and began this blog segment.

Most of the late afternoon will be devoted to listening to the Denver-Buffalo football game. Yes, I am betting that Buffalo will be triumphant, continuing its march to the playoffs and first place in its division. Foe me to have my money doubled, they have to win by 6,  The evaluators who write on NFL dot com say that Denver is much improved in the last two weeks, nevertheless, I think the Bills cam beat them by  7 points or more. So I made the bet ($5.00eme). Game begins at 4:30. In the "old days" I could go to Standings, my sports bar in the East Village, have one beer and watch the whole game (and possibly have some good conversation as well), but of course, that can't happen now. Will Standings even reopen when the pandemic is over?  Don't know.

And so we come to the end of this entry. Still reading Jones' The Wars of the Roses; a little blocked but will continue---and have many essays to read in Emma Smith's take on Shakespeare's plays. (Have not read her essays on "the biggies"---that is Hamlet, Macbeth and Lear---saving that for the end?). Other books surround my bed as well---maybe a Faulkner novel to keep me busy for Christmas---well, we will see, should report soon.