25 random things about me

25 random things about me as requested by someone on facebook:

Well, ok, here we go...

1. I like cookies, especially dark chocolate digestives.
2. I love movies, but sometimes cannot decide which one I want to see.
3. Number 7 will explain this.
4. I could never wear boxers, even though I like them. I was just always a briefs type.
5. I don't really like bananas and I know there is no reason why, since they taste good, must be because I don't like mushy fruits.
6. I would never want to buy a PC again.
7. I just realized that I had forgotten number 3.
8. As a child I wanted to become an actor, but only in old black and white movies. And see what has become of me.
9. I used to be Catholic but left the church.
10. I cannot smoke grass, it makes me paranoid and hyperactive and I think I die.
11. I love to be left alone.
12. I hate that I am supposed to write 25 bloody things here, it is silly!
13. I often wonder why we are all so afraid to die.
14. I believe that people who talk a lot a lot a lot are afraid to shut up and listen to themselves.
15. I love chocolate.
16. I like red wine and I don't like white wine.
17. I often think that I don't know enough about things, history, political and historical backgrounds to have an opinion on things.
18. If I were rich I would withdraw and live a quiet life, I think.
19. I just cannot give up my profession, what a bloody curse.
20. I want to date Dirk Bogarde in 1961.
21. I never wanted to be a woman!
22. I am afraid of spiders, and I really dislike them. People say it has to do with one's mother....?
23. I love my family and am in my own way closer to them than they understand.
24. I have a great love for people, but I get very annoyed when they cross lines, overstep boundaries, invade space or don't mind their business when not asked for advice.
25. I usually do not talk about myself as much as I just did in these 25 required points
26. I like to break rules and so I add a 26th point just for the sake of it and I am having a blast doing so :-) ha ha haaaaaa!!!!

This was fun!

A Most Interesting Story

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

From: http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/bell.asp