Re: no, not that syndrome again!

["Anne M. Marble" <amarble@abs.net>]

> Diagnosing "genius" as you have with specific examples, is personal
opinion.
> The label does not change enrichment in the lives of those with different
> opinions and/or labels.
> Medical science is endevouring to *understand* and raise quality of life,
> not degrade humanity through its work. Any perspective that may shed new
> appreciation of the life and work of GG is something I personally (as a
> non-conforming musical barbarian) want to hear about on this fine List.
You
> just keep posting whatever you wish, Anne Marble, and pay no regard to
those
> who want you to conform to unenlightened disregard for possible new
> insights.

As for myself, I'm a "novelist in training." (That's a fancy way of saying
that I'm not published yet.) When I read about interesting people, I can't
help wonder what makes them tick. Sometimes, that results in stories, even
entire novels. I can no more stop trying to "figure out" people than a
musician can stop trying to play a piece until it's just right.

I'm a non-conformist myself. I'd rather spend my money on a new novel (or a
GG recording) than on designer clothing. I'd rather stay home and read or
write than go to a nightclub. In some circles, this makes me quite the
eccentric. I was "different" when I was a kid. How many people on this list
weren't? Being "different" led to lots of painful situations during
childhood :-/ -- but I wouldn't give it up for anything.

For the record, I'm dubious of the theory that GG had Asperger's. Most
likely he can't be classified! And even if he could be classified, it
doesn't make a real difference. He was the man he was -- and in many ways,
he was the man he *had* to be in order to make his music, create his
documentaries, and so forth. Artists do so often pay a terrible burden --
both for the time they need to devote to the art and for the way seeing the
world in a  different way leaves them more open to being overwhelmed by the
world.

With Glenn Gould -- yes, the music comes first. But that doesn't mean the
life can't be of interest to fans as well. There was a discussion about
this some time ago. Were some fans interested in Glenn Gould simply because
of the eccentricities and not because of the music? My reply was that if I
were interested in only the eccentricities, I would have bought one or two
CDs, and then gotten tired of the whole thing. Instead, over the past few
years, I have bought many, many Glenn Gould CDs, as well as videos. I have
bought biographies and other items as well -- getting to know you, getting
to know all about you. OK, it's definitely time for me to get some rest!!!
(Besides, I don't always agree with what the biographies have to say about
Glenn Gould. Sometimes, they get so caught up in "symptom listing" that
they forget to present the whole picture. Besides, the Ostwald biography
presented a few extraneous facts we *really* didn't need to know about
Glenn Gould's health in the last few years. Details about certain
over-the-counter medications. If you've read it, you know what I mean. What
did that add to the biography?!)