LOTS OF NEW BEGINNINGS

O.J. Simpson was found guilty of several felony counts and will face a jail sentence soon.

Sarah Palin accuses Barack Obama of palling around with terrorists. She cited a New York Times report that Mr Obama had had links with a former member of a 1960s militant group. Since Palin has no real ideas about running the country, she has taken up the usual Republican style of character assassination. That Obama was too young too talk when the militant group was in action seems insignificant to her. Mr Obama, who served on a charity board several years ago with Mr Ayers - now a professor at the University of Illinois - has denounced his radical activities. Does Governor Palin assume this 60's activist was able to stifle all his urges for almost 50 years and is just waiting for his 'friend' to get into office to begin them again, though the war he protested against is over?

How sad to see John McCain, the Maverick who is a 'straight talker' allow his Vice Presidential nominee to stoop to such pig sty politics. Is that why he appointed the 'barracuda'...so he could try to stay as removed from her as he does Bush? Does that short distance explains his bragging so loudly about how great she did in the Biden/Palin debate?

Tonight, for nearly two hours, I had the distinct pleasure of being away from my TV and the political wrestling. I was always told, 'never wrestle a pig in sh...er, mud. The pig will love it and you will only get filthy.' Personally, I hope that Sarah Barracuda will show her lack of judgment, paucity of readiness for the Presidency, and wake up to find herself the only 'pig' in this fight with the stench of it coloring her future career in politics. Winning by character assassination of your opponents and nothing else to recommend you will get a reincarnated George W. Bush back, in her. I hope our country folk are smarter than that.

My two hours away from the TV were spent at Boston Symphony Hall listening to Andre Previn, Maestro, with a new piece by him, commissioned by the BSO, called OWLS. It was lovely and far preferable to the Carter commissions in the past few years, to my ears. Next was a stunning rendition of Violin Concerto in D by Stravinsky, played by violin virtuoso Gil Shaham. It is a beautiful piece played with breathtaking musicianship by Shaham. After Intermission, we heard Beethoven's Symphony No. 4. Now if only the concert could have lasted until after the elections, life would be considerably improved.

THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS

After a frustrating day, I had a no-choice choice. Ambivalent about staying to watch the play-off game between the Patriots and the Jaguars, and having tickets to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Saturday night, Series A (not knowing that the Patriots would be in play-offs much earlier) it became a Symphony night. A superbly proficient Norwegian pianist ( Leif Ove Andsnes) played Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor. It was as magnificent a piece as I have remembered from the 40's movies from which the song Full Moon and Empty Arms was stolen.

The program was conducted by the Spanish conductor, Rafael Frubeck de Burgos and, for the first time I saw people being seated in Boston Symphony Hall during the performance of a piece, after the usher forced half an aisle of people to get up to let two people through to be seated while the orchestra was playing; and for the first time I saw a gentleman get up, move several people in a row to get out during the middle of a piece and return to do the same thing before the piece was finished. Symphony has been lowering standards but I have not seen them fall so low. That people clapped after a movement was less startling, though nevertheless jarring.

Dashing out at intermission to find out the game scores, Sid, chief of staff , told us the score was 7-0, Patriots, first Quarter. He wouldn't open the door to let us out as the guest artist graciously offered to play a solo, whose title I didn't get. It, too, was a musical delicacy. By the end of intermission the score was 14-7, Patriots in the second Quarter.

The second concert half was devoted totally (50 minutes) to Richard Strauss's An Alpine Symphony. I regretted not having thought to bring my Itouch (silent without earphones) to keep up with the scores (assuming Symphony Hall has Wi-fi) but I will be wiser should a similar situation arise in the future. The car radio provided the rest of the 3rd Quarter, in brief moments without too much static to understand what was being said We reached home in time to watch the game ending after which we saw the 5th Quarter wrap up, enjoying a snack.