Vance Maverick
@vancemaverick.bsky.social
Computer programmer and composer in San Francisco
vancemaverick.com
vancemaverick.com
This discussion is making me realize that I really do process musical meaning differently than most people. I like the pieces people are suggesting. I generally accept them as "triumphant", "majestic", etc. ...
Pictures at an Exhibition: The Hut on Chicken’s Legs -> Great Gate of Kiev
This begs the question: what's your classical music needle drop for When It Happens? No Hallelujah Chorus, that's too easy.
Mine is Brahms Symphony 1, movement 4.
Mine is Brahms Symphony 1, movement 4.
February 10, 2026 at 6:12 AM
This discussion is making me realize that I really do process musical meaning differently than most people. I like the pieces people are suggesting. I generally accept them as "triumphant", "majestic", etc. ...
Somehow I'm in among the Cypriot intellectuals and the Wynonna Earp fandom
February 9, 2026 at 5:44 AM
Somehow I'm in among the Cypriot intellectuals and the Wynonna Earp fandom
February 9, 2026 at 2:24 AM
On reflection, my thought is that the preference for putting up reproductions of famous fancy art — very much my own bias — is as inimical to a democratic culture of art as the love of AI art.
…
…
partial counterpoint: a print of a Pollock or Rothko is very visibly not made of the same materials -- it's flat and smooth, without tactile qualities.
and a tangent: art that prints well, like say Vallotton, is rather distinct
and a tangent: art that prints well, like say Vallotton, is rather distinct
February 8, 2026 at 10:12 PM
On reflection, my thought is that the preference for putting up reproductions of famous fancy art — very much my own bias — is as inimical to a democratic culture of art as the love of AI art.
…
…
Egon Schiele's sunflower (1909–1910), 150 cm tall and 30 cm wide -- so tall and skinny that Bluesky's crop shows only parts of a couple of leaves. It's great in person, full of nature-wonder and caustic satire on prettiness at once.
sammlung.wienmuseum.at/en/object/20...
sammlung.wienmuseum.at/en/object/20...
February 8, 2026 at 12:18 AM
Egon Schiele's sunflower (1909–1910), 150 cm tall and 30 cm wide -- so tall and skinny that Bluesky's crop shows only parts of a couple of leaves. It's great in person, full of nature-wonder and caustic satire on prettiness at once.
sammlung.wienmuseum.at/en/object/20...
sammlung.wienmuseum.at/en/object/20...
February 5, 2026 at 7:36 AM
Not at all the important bit here, but my calculus teacher used the phrase “lie sandwich” for a mathematical proof that had two errors in it such that it started from valid premises, stumbled into a false proposition, then stumbled again into the demonstrandum
A reminder!
George Lakoff came up with the 'truth sandwich' concept during Trump's first term. It's not magic but it's good basic information hygiene and should be the default when fighting against bullshit
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_s...
George Lakoff came up with the 'truth sandwich' concept during Trump's first term. It's not magic but it's good basic information hygiene and should be the default when fighting against bullshit
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_s...
February 4, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Not at all the important bit here, but my calculus teacher used the phrase “lie sandwich” for a mathematical proof that had two errors in it such that it started from valid premises, stumbled into a false proposition, then stumbled again into the demonstrandum
This was great. The Left Coast Ensemble performed the septet version, without a conductor.
- In the full version, the square rhythms (q q q q) sometimes lumber. Soloists can shape them individually.
- Lines were sometimes buried -- a conductor could have guided the balance.
- In the full version, the square rhythms (q q q q) sometimes lumber. Soloists can shape them individually.
- Lines were sometimes buried -- a conductor could have guided the balance.
From program notes to Strauss’s Metamorphosen…
Perhaps he might have reflected that the ideology of “Germany’s 2,000 years of cultural evolution” was part of the problem!
Perhaps he might have reflected that the ideology of “Germany’s 2,000 years of cultural evolution” was part of the problem!
February 2, 2026 at 5:07 PM
This was great. The Left Coast Ensemble performed the septet version, without a conductor.
- In the full version, the square rhythms (q q q q) sometimes lumber. Soloists can shape them individually.
- Lines were sometimes buried -- a conductor could have guided the balance.
- In the full version, the square rhythms (q q q q) sometimes lumber. Soloists can shape them individually.
- Lines were sometimes buried -- a conductor could have guided the balance.
From program notes to Strauss’s Metamorphosen…
Perhaps he might have reflected that the ideology of “Germany’s 2,000 years of cultural evolution” was part of the problem!
Perhaps he might have reflected that the ideology of “Germany’s 2,000 years of cultural evolution” was part of the problem!
February 1, 2026 at 11:39 PM
From program notes to Strauss’s Metamorphosen…
Perhaps he might have reflected that the ideology of “Germany’s 2,000 years of cultural evolution” was part of the problem!
Perhaps he might have reflected that the ideology of “Germany’s 2,000 years of cultural evolution” was part of the problem!
February 1, 2026 at 7:36 PM
I'm a white American 60-year-old, and people close to me have been mega-fans, and I don't get it either.
Part of it is that as a teenager I was a classical-music nerd and uninterested in popular music. I eventually got better, but most of the 70s passed me by.
Part of it is that as a teenager I was a classical-music nerd and uninterested in popular music. I eventually got better, but most of the 70s passed me by.
this is kind of weird but I think I just realized I don’t really know who Bruce Springsteen is
January 29, 2026 at 1:39 AM
I'm a white American 60-year-old, and people close to me have been mega-fans, and I don't get it either.
Part of it is that as a teenager I was a classical-music nerd and uninterested in popular music. I eventually got better, but most of the 70s passed me by.
Part of it is that as a teenager I was a classical-music nerd and uninterested in popular music. I eventually got better, but most of the 70s passed me by.
The piece mentions the VSO's search for a composer, and gives a couple demographic details, but not her name.
"'She and the two vocalists, our conductor, are all-- it’s an entirely queer creative team,' Brunelle said."
"'She and the two vocalists, our conductor, are all-- it’s an entirely queer creative team,' Brunelle said."
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is funding the composition of a song about Charity and Sylvia, drawing from their letters. What a delightful story! 🗃️ #lesbianhistory #queerhistory
www.wcax.com/2026/01/23/v...
www.wcax.com/2026/01/23/v...
VSO to turn 19th-century Vermont same-sex love story into song
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra will create an original work about one of the earliest-documented same-sex couples in the United States.
www.wcax.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:32 PM
The piece mentions the VSO's search for a composer, and gives a couple demographic details, but not her name.
"'She and the two vocalists, our conductor, are all-- it’s an entirely queer creative team,' Brunelle said."
"'She and the two vocalists, our conductor, are all-- it’s an entirely queer creative team,' Brunelle said."
Can’t believe Eric Whitacre has sunk so low
Genuinely the funniest possible panel line-up of all time and it's for a real estate conference in Riyadh
January 26, 2026 at 7:23 AM
Can’t believe Eric Whitacre has sunk so low
January 25, 2026 at 9:20 AM
I’m embarrassed to say that I began quarreling with one of the doctrinaire anarchists over this, not because of the IR usage but because of the normal usage. WBY did not mean that mere utopian wishful thinking about Barcelona 1936 was loosed upon the world.
Folks, this is an article in Foreign Affairs.
"Anarchy" here is in contrast to "order," as in the international "rules-based order" we've had post-WWII.
"Trumpism is fascism, not anarchy" is a different discussion. This is international relations. Waffles and pancakes.
"Anarchy" here is in contrast to "order," as in the international "rules-based order" we've had post-WWII.
"Trumpism is fascism, not anarchy" is a different discussion. This is international relations. Waffles and pancakes.
January 21, 2026 at 2:50 PM
I’m embarrassed to say that I began quarreling with one of the doctrinaire anarchists over this, not because of the IR usage but because of the normal usage. WBY did not mean that mere utopian wishful thinking about Barcelona 1936 was loosed upon the world.
If you see this, we IMPLORE YOU to post a picture from whatever device you’re using without explanation.
January 21, 2026 at 3:30 AM
If you see this, we IMPLORE YOU to post a picture from whatever device you’re using without explanation.
Happy birthday Cindy Sherman! I'm not sure I've grasped what she's done since the Untitled Film Stills, but they at least are great.
artlead.net/journal/mode...
artlead.net/journal/mode...
January 20, 2026 at 6:16 AM
Happy birthday Cindy Sherman! I'm not sure I've grasped what she's done since the Untitled Film Stills, but they at least are great.
artlead.net/journal/mode...
artlead.net/journal/mode...
It’s funny, and yet obviously the answer is that it’s not enough leaves, any more than this is enough trees.
www.sensesatlas.com/klimt-forest...
www.sensesatlas.com/klimt-forest...
January 20, 2026 at 1:57 AM
It’s funny, and yet obviously the answer is that it’s not enough leaves, any more than this is enough trees.
www.sensesatlas.com/klimt-forest...
www.sensesatlas.com/klimt-forest...
My grim-irony meter is pegged at 11. The insult is in its origin the voice of US imperialism: “haha these lazy Latins can’t even manage a country when we keep it under our heel for the benefit of the United Fruit Company”
The Norwegian government is staying fairly quiet for now, but as a sign of the shifting vibe here the former head of Norway’s armed forces has come out and called the US a “neo-fascist banana republic” and a “hostile great power without norms”. www.dn.no/politikk/tid...
Tidligere forsvarssjef om Trumps USA: – Neo-fascistisk bananrepublikk (+)
Tidligere forsvarssjef Sverre Diesen mener USA er blitt «en normløs og fiendtlig innstilt stormakt», og advarer samtidig mot å feste vår lit til Europa. Harald Sunde mener det haster med en plan B.
www.dn.no
January 19, 2026 at 9:51 PM
My grim-irony meter is pegged at 11. The insult is in its origin the voice of US imperialism: “haha these lazy Latins can’t even manage a country when we keep it under our heel for the benefit of the United Fruit Company”
Which character in the Lawyers, Guns and Money comment section said, “I am familiar with all Internet traditions?”
Speak, muses — tell me about a sentence or phrase that you read in someone's ephemeral post on a long-dead online forum but has lived rent-free in your head ever since
January 19, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Which character in the Lawyers, Guns and Money comment section said, “I am familiar with all Internet traditions?”
Manka’s in Inverness, CA, on Point Reyes. A wonderful convivial New Year’s Eve dinner, of which I remember the wine and low light better than the food. Burned down years ago
Sunday night timeline cleanse
please tell me about your favorite lost restaurant (closed for at least 5 years, like I really want you to go back into the vault), why you loved it and what you ate there
please tell me about your favorite lost restaurant (closed for at least 5 years, like I really want you to go back into the vault), why you loved it and what you ate there
January 19, 2026 at 2:59 AM
Manka’s in Inverness, CA, on Point Reyes. A wonderful convivial New Year’s Eve dinner, of which I remember the wine and low light better than the food. Burned down years ago
Reposted by Vance Maverick
Cléo de 5 à 7
youtu.be/sRR0_VJFqwg?...
youtu.be/sRR0_VJFqwg?...
January 18, 2026 at 12:38 AM
Cléo de 5 à 7
youtu.be/sRR0_VJFqwg?...
youtu.be/sRR0_VJFqwg?...
My first required "training" at the new gig is to confirm that I "have read and understood the content" of an 86-page Employee Handbook. (Serious enough to warn me about, evidently, but not serious enough to make it accessible.)
January 16, 2026 at 4:54 PM
My first required "training" at the new gig is to confirm that I "have read and understood the content" of an 86-page Employee Handbook. (Serious enough to warn me about, evidently, but not serious enough to make it accessible.)