Groupies and Rhodys

Having been raised in a general dearth of flowers, I am relatively easily impressed when it comes to flora. I seem to recall one instance when the fam was visiting fam in Grantsville and all the kids (late teens to twenties) thought that we had found some nice, pretty, sweet smelling flowers. We later found out that they were intended as a repellent and were not considered to be an aromatically pleasing flower.
You would think, then, that I would not be critical of flowers. However, I have reached my limit. I am sick of rhododendrons. I appreciate that they are hardy, grow easily, and flower well. They also come in a variety of colors. What people around here seem to forget is that they also come in a variety of species. Everyone has rhododendrons, and while they thankfully have a variety of colors, they are predominantly the same plant. I don't understand why everyone has to have botanical group think. I am not a master gardener, by any means (I think my Bougainvillea is dead, though not by my hand), but it seems that people should be able to get something else to grow. Mild winters, temperate, albeit brief, summers, and always an abundance of rain, with some good, rich dirt make me think that this is a nice place for plants.
Oh well, at least rhodys are pretty. I'm just a little sick. What else is new?

Musical Instrumentality

Random, unrelated, almost unrecalled events have recently prompted me to become more aware of some of the underrepresented instruments in the world. I would like more exposure to non-Western musical influences. I find many of the Eastern-influenced pieces to be very ethereal, with a fragile beauty. I am sure that the Western pieces once had the same effect, but I have been glutted. I am sure there are many seemingly jarring, discordant pieces from other cultures, which are deemed beautiful in their own sphere. However, I would like someone to go through the music of the world and apply my personal filters to provide me with a library of music that I could enjoy in whatever mood.
Despite my recent dismissal of Western music, I have also felt inspired by pieces with Spanish guitars. I have never been a fan of Hendrix or Santana, both acclaimed guitarists, with what I am sure is a large amount of talent. Just not my style.
On a similar, though unrelated note, who was it that got to define which frequencies are "notes" and which not? At some point, it had to be someone saying, "This sounds good. That doesn't." Why does 440 Hz correspond to A above middle C? When I sing and hit 444 Hz, it seems to me that is a very nice note and should be accepted as such, not scorned as "in-between" notes. There are infinite frequencies, and as such, infinite notes. Someone chooses eight of those infinite notes and calls it them and their multiples the winners. I submit that I sing very well to a different set of frequencies. You could say that I sing to the tone of a different drum, though it wouldn't be true. Drums and such produce a vast range of frequencies, not a single "note." Maybe I am a drum.

Would a dead horse rather be beaten or dog food?

Mel had a post a while back
(spring, I presume), where she focused on Haiku (or their not-so-near approximations). She opened the floor to anyone who wished to submit an entry by way of comment. I enjoyed the exercise so much that I think that I will extend the same invitation, always open, to anyone who would ever like to comment via Haiku. I will not require strict adherence to the rules of Haiku, but please at least approximate the form enough that an uninvolved party would recognize the submittance as a Haiku.

That being said - the more strict a poetry form, the more I appreciate it as an intellectual challenge and despise it as a distortion of meaning. There are countless songs, poems, etc where the desired meaning is vague, obscured, or unrecognizable because the author was forced to subscribe to the rules of the art form in preference to clarity. Few and cherished (even among heralded works of art) are those instances where the meaning remains clear, the imagery is inspired, and the convention followed.

Disclaimer

I have been known on occasion, to say things
that are offensive. As this blog is mostly my words, I am sure to offend again. However, should you be the offended party, please bear in mind that I intend no slight and do not knowingly harm.
In a parallel vein, I promise not be offended by whatever you may say in a comment, for I am certain that someone will eventually find my postings worthless enough to post scathing comments.