Yikes! That pic . . . Re, the villainous PM of Turkey: A little voice in the back of my mind was whispering, "you may be mispronouncing his name" and another voice thought, "heck, just as G.H.W. Bush serenely mispronounced 'Saddam' I won't fret too much about Erdogan." Some people don't deserve to be honored by us bothering to get it right! (Or that's my excuse anyway.)

Dear Mr. Fulmer,

Well said all around.

Thank you!

Dear Ms. Lydick,

Yes, we first discovered Hummel because our son is a trumpet player. All trumpeters play the Haydn and the Hummel. One day, we were listening to the car radio and heard one of his piano concerti. We did the car game ("guess the composer"). Both of us were throwing out big names and  became saucer-eyed when we learned it was Hummel.

I'm jealous that you heard Maurice Andre. Must have been a memorable concert. And the Pittsburgh is great too. Lucky you.

If the Python crowd noted him, he must be worth knowing, right?

First of all, hooray for a fellow Hummel fan. Second, I had not heard the viola piece. Thanks for alerting me to it. Third, that picture of him is apparently flattering. He wasn't much to look at.

To Edward Smith: You've referenced another of my favorite movies, Breaking Away. Classic! 

Meant new rabble. Sheesh, shouldn't try to do this on iPad late at night.

Dear Wilbur Forge,So sorry. I didn't see the second page of comments.Mona

I referred to a movie but misstated the title. It was The Big Chill, not The Big Sleep.

To Zach Franzen - a beautiful example. Self improvement a far higher calling than self-esteem. 

Also, I promised to provide a link to the Chinese prodigy: Here it is. 

Eager to hear how people respond to Hummel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSYS2YzpNR4

Help me win the argument with Jay! 

The name of the F. A. Hayek book I couldn't recall was The Fatal Conceit. The discussion of how the word "social" destroys the meaning of words which it is paired is found on pages 114-119. He gives dozens of examples, including "social history," "social ethics," and "social democracy." 

Gary Becker. http://home.uchicago.edu/gbecker/

Sorry about the language dear readers. I'm of two minds: On one hand, one's raw disgust with the squalid culture they've created cannot be adequately conveyed through decorous language. On the other hand: one doesn't want to join it. If I have, I apologize. (And yes, I understand that some of the shock was tongue in cheek.)

Thanks, good to know about Netflix.

I had just written this column when we recorded the podcast. It provides some of the details that I was reluctant to express out loud. Just as with Bill Clinton, a Democratic president has made it impossible to discuss politics in front of the children.

Down and Dirty

Sabrdance,

Great. Some time soon I must remember to talk about the great Billy Wilder movie that featured that piece.