If you're like me, you have a cat and you just love your fluffy little pal. You know it's not enough that the cat makes you happy; you want your cat to be happy too! And how do we make that kitten happy? We buy it toys, like tiny dolls in the shape of mice that they fling around the house. We buy it tasty treats, like Fancy Feast's Elegant Medleys White Meat Chicken and Cheddar Cheese Souffle with Garden Greens. We forgive it when it bites, claws, sheds, or chooses to lie on top of our important documents instead of hundreds of other more convenient spaces.
But, if you're like me, you don't give your cat what it seems to want most...freedom to go outside. I can't help but feel bad for confining my cat to household grounds. Is he not a living creature that deserves the freedom to move about as he chooses?
After careful thought, I have boiled down my reasons for not letting him out to three.
First, health reasons. After researching the issue on the internet, I've found that the general consensus is to favor the cat's health over its desire to play outside. The outside environment poses many dangers to the unknowing cat, including toxins, dogs, and cars. If the outside world doesn't kill it, it significantly shortens its life span.
Second, inconvenience. I have no cat door or other hidden passage for Mr. Kitten's ingress & egress. This means I would have to let him out through the front door. What would I do then? Leave open the front door so that any hooligan could come in? Or close the door and hope for some signal that he's back and wants in? What if I need to leave and lock up the house while he's on walkabout? Do I wait, or try and find him? In sum, there's no easy way to let him out and ensure he can get back in when he needs to.
Third, selfishness. I'm very fond of my cat and would be very upset if he went out and never came back, whether it be because he didn't want to come back or because he got lost.
Do either of these reasons justify not letting him outside? Is it more important that he live a long and healthy life than a happy one? Does pampering him with good food and company justify the interference with his free will? I don't know, but I still don't intend to let him out. Poor little guy.
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010
New Breed...My Experience Thus Far With Gary Chester's Instructional Book On Drumming
I want what most drummers want, independence on the drumset. After all, how can I play what I want to play if I can't play it? So, I have turned to Gary Chester's book, "New Breed," to help me achieve greater independence. Although this post may be premature (I am still in the beginning stages of the book), I'd like to share my view.
For those of you who don't know, Gary's book directs the learning drummer to play drumming "systems" while simultaneously playing a melody with another limb (the one not being utilized in the system). There are over 50 systems in the book, along with many pages of melody. The drummer is instructed to play each system along with all the pages of melody until s/he has gained full independence over that system. To aid in this endeavor, the drummer is instructed to "sing" what each limb is playing while the drummer plays each system.
To begin with, I'd like to note that Gary's take on gaining independence on the drumset appears to be effective. If nothing else, practicing these systems has helped me understand where my independence is lacking so that I may target my weaknesses. In addition, singing along with the systems forces me to concentrate more on what I am doing and what my playing sounds like. I do believe that if I made through the entire book, I would be a much better drummer for it.
Having said that, it's time for me to point out my causes for concern.
Gary's instructions proceed under the assumption that the student's drumset is a vast array of instruments, such that each hand can play a roughly equal number of instruments without crossing into the other hand's "boundary." This appears to go beyond the concept of "open-handed playing," in which the drummer refrains from crossing one hand over the other. To be sure, Gary advises the student to have three hi-hats on his/her set. Not one. Not two. Three. So rare is the occasion that I get to see two. Three seems excessive. Further, I can't imagine that many drummers out there can even afford to purchase two more hi-hats (along with accompanying hardware). I have a feeling the young drummers would rather invest in their first DW kit or first double bass pedal before even thinking about buying a second hi-hat, let alone a third.
Finally, as I learn these systems, I continue to second-guess myself with regard to Gary's instruction that the learning drummer first gain full physical and mental independence over a system before moving onto the next. This sort of advice is probably offered in nearly every instructional booklet on drumming. But what does it mean, exactly? I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I have full physical and mental independence over my spoon when I eat cheerios. I'm 28 years old, and I'd like to finish this book sometime before collecting social security.
In sum, I do recommend this book, especially for the working drummer. Feel free to comment.
Happy Drumming !!
For those of you who don't know, Gary's book directs the learning drummer to play drumming "systems" while simultaneously playing a melody with another limb (the one not being utilized in the system). There are over 50 systems in the book, along with many pages of melody. The drummer is instructed to play each system along with all the pages of melody until s/he has gained full independence over that system. To aid in this endeavor, the drummer is instructed to "sing" what each limb is playing while the drummer plays each system.
To begin with, I'd like to note that Gary's take on gaining independence on the drumset appears to be effective. If nothing else, practicing these systems has helped me understand where my independence is lacking so that I may target my weaknesses. In addition, singing along with the systems forces me to concentrate more on what I am doing and what my playing sounds like. I do believe that if I made through the entire book, I would be a much better drummer for it.
Having said that, it's time for me to point out my causes for concern.
Gary's instructions proceed under the assumption that the student's drumset is a vast array of instruments, such that each hand can play a roughly equal number of instruments without crossing into the other hand's "boundary." This appears to go beyond the concept of "open-handed playing," in which the drummer refrains from crossing one hand over the other. To be sure, Gary advises the student to have three hi-hats on his/her set. Not one. Not two. Three. So rare is the occasion that I get to see two. Three seems excessive. Further, I can't imagine that many drummers out there can even afford to purchase two more hi-hats (along with accompanying hardware). I have a feeling the young drummers would rather invest in their first DW kit or first double bass pedal before even thinking about buying a second hi-hat, let alone a third.
Finally, as I learn these systems, I continue to second-guess myself with regard to Gary's instruction that the learning drummer first gain full physical and mental independence over a system before moving onto the next. This sort of advice is probably offered in nearly every instructional booklet on drumming. But what does it mean, exactly? I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I have full physical and mental independence over my spoon when I eat cheerios. I'm 28 years old, and I'd like to finish this book sometime before collecting social security.
In sum, I do recommend this book, especially for the working drummer. Feel free to comment.
Happy Drumming !!
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