Sine qua non All human activities have a goal, or organizing principle, or sina qua non related to that activity.  I call it the foundational imperative of the activity. The goal of equitation is to ride a horse from point a to point b. The sine qua non of equitation, the foundational imperative is: Stay on the horse!  I submit that any approach to equitation that results in your being thrown, trampled or dragged by the stirrup is invalid. The goal of swimming is to cross the water in the water from point a to point b. The sine qua non of swimming, the foundational imperative is ..read more

I play guitar a little. For some years, I made a (meager) living as a wondering troubadour, a singer-songwriter on the folky circuit.  Guitar was my comp instrument, because you can’t find many a cappellagigs, and you can’t hitchhike very well carrying a piano. I’ve played some classical stuff on a classical guitar, I’ve played some blues on an electric guitar. I’ve rocked and rolled. Dabbled in flamenco. I like all kinds of guitar music. Every style has something to offer, some unique thing about it that you really only find in that particular genre of music. They all have somethi ..read more

     When I was a kid, I taught myself to play the guitar.       I had a fool for a teacher and an idiot for a student. I taught myself lots of things that seemed fine in the context of 3-chord rock-and roll, but turned out to be real handicaps when I tried to play Bach.                            (Not my band; but I was in one just like it. Just add black leather jackets)      I later found a wonderfu ..read more

A Rosoideae by Any Other Name, or “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate…”                                                                 - Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass (1872)      Item: The Chinese teacher and philosopher, K’ung Fu-Tse (Confuciou ..read more

     Somebody just put a .38 slug into the back of Mr. Toad’s brain, and I’m investigating the murder.      I have half a dozen suspects, all of whom had plenty of motive and the opportunity to deal Mr. Toad permanently out of the game. But only ONE of them had the means -- in this case, the .38 calibre firearm. But the weapon is not at the scene, and subsequent searches, properly conducted with a warrant based on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation and describing the particular places to be searched and items to be seized, turn up zilch ..read more

   You can’t uphold the law, or enforce the law, or even abide by the law if you don’t know the law. While I am the first to declare that foolish rules, like unjust laws, demand to be broken, there are some rules that exist for a very good reason and make very good sense. For example, the rules against assault, murder, robbery, rape and kidnapping seem like very reasonable rules to me. The rule against parking on the left-hand side of the street on Tuesdays, not so much.     Likewise the rules of fencing. They exist for good reason, whether or not you have the nimbl ..read more

     In art, I use words as I please, to mean whatever I like, and I’ll invent a word if I feel it necessary. But in science I prefer to be precise, clear and consistent. I strive never to use one word to describe two different things, or two different words to describe the same thing. When using a common word in a specific way as a “term of art,” it never hurts to define your terms. So I shall.      The use of the word “man,” as in swordsman and horseman, is currently unfashionable.  In the interest of inclusiveness and equality in diversity, var ..read more

       I play guitar a little bit.      There’s a piece by Bach I’m working on. I play some blues. I love flamenco. I play most every day, practicing one thing or another. Depending on my mood, it may be classical stuff, or jazz or a bunch of different things.      When I work on that Bach piece, I don’t wear a white-powdered wig and a long frock coat.       When I play the blues, I don’t break out my black-face make-up, shades and stingy-brim fedora.       When I play flamenco ..read more

            The guitar is a very popular instrument, lots of people play it and it’s been a valuable part of our life and culture for a long time. Guitar-playing skill is something we’ve come to value, because we appreciate the talent and effort it takes to be excellent at it, and also for the richness the music adds to our lives. We love the quality of a memorable melody, the subtle shades of emotion created by astute and articulate harmonies, the primal, enchanting use of rhythm.      So to recognize excellence in guitar-playi ..read more

     One of our essential training elements is the “bout,” a contest between two fencers, each of whom attempts to touch the opponent without being touched by the opponent.       Bouting is “flashy” and exciting and can be a lot of “fun,” too.  It puts your skills and spirit to the test. In some part of us it represents the obligatory show-down between the hero and the villain, the “moment of truth,” the climax of our favorite swashbuckling novels, films and TV shows.      It is, in this sense, the pinnacle of our practi ..read more