Haven't blogged in awhile. Random thoughts:

Unsure at this point whether it is strange that I foster an immediate distate for the unabashedly wealthy, particularly in the case of the nice-and-rich. I played a gig last week for one of the top donors to the Yale School of Music, who reportedly donated a lump sum of over 10 million dollars to us - on top of that, upon further conversation, I discovered that a new hobby of his was the collection of vineyards. Yes, vineyards. Not a wine collector - a vineyard collector, with vineyards across the United States and France.

I found myself fostering an immediate distate for this man - who, in all respects, was possibly one of the nicest men I had ever met. I'm still not quite sure what it is. Perhaps it's the hypothetical - had he given this 10 million dollars to Oakland public schools instead of to an institution that annually receives over 11 billion dollars in funds (in addition to its long-standing private arrangements with corporate business), would the world be a better place? Am I wrong to foster such judgement? Is it even any of my business?

I found out quite interesting tonight to find out that Howard Dean's outspoken Christian faith is becoming more prevalent in the campaign trail, particularly because he is most heavily associated with his brave support of gay-rights. Also interesting to note that his wife (and kids) are Jewish. Christians take note.

School starting again. I feel ready for the stress and the 9am-midnight days. I hope it will last.