The Unclad Soul

I am a Netflix and Amazon Prime fanatic. There are so many good series on these streaming platforms. I have written about some of them here before. I recently started watching “Mozart in the Jungle,” an Amazon Prime series and a Golden Globe winner. It is in its fourth season and I have watched from the beginning. I’m now into season 3. And I’m totally captivated. The show is about relationships, ambition, failure, jealousy, and of course, music, and a passion for life, all set around a New York City symphony. The characters are smart, talented, zany, conflicted, and charming. A retiring and testy maestro, (Malcomb McDowell), is replaced by the young Rodrigo, a Mexican genius and a playful eccentric. Played by Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo gives the series a magical energy and joy that fits perfectly with the other talented actors. Early in the series, Hailey Rutledge (the loveable Lola Kirke), a sweet twentysomething oboist trying to earn a spot in the symphony, is aske...

I saw a bumper sticker the other day: “Siri for president.” I laughed out loud. Who wouldn’t want a truly smart person to lead us who could provide direction, information, and assistance on nearly anything, in a pleasant voice, even-tempered , polite, professional and unbiased? I suppose it would, after all, take a skillfully programmed, artificial intelligence to do that. Which is sad, when you think about it. Why can’t humans be as intelligent and as nice? Singer-songwriter, Julie Gold, who gave us the Bette Midler song, “From a Distance,” was interviewed a few years ago and was asked what she might have been if she had not been a musician. She said, “I've never had any other loving heartfelt  desire . From the minute I heard  music  I knew why I was  born .  To make music to play, to listen to music; and for some reason I have been lucky enough to live this beautiful life as a musician. I don't know. I don't know what else I would have done, beca...