Your Music Personality

It struck me the other day that you can actually tell a lot about a person based on the type of music they listen to. 

You can even tell a great deal about those who don't listen to any music at all.  I frankly feel that they must be very sad, serious individuals who find little joy in life.  

 

What's more, I'd venture that those with an eclectic range of tastes are also less meticulous, more accepting of others who may be different, more educated and politically more liberal than those who only listen to one genre.
 

It makes a lot of sense when you think about it...that the characteristics that we use to describe music may be exactly what attracts listeners who may have very similar traits.
 

In this brief and admittedly totally unscientific list, the following is, in my humble opinion,  a brief list of personality traits that might describe the listeners of various music genres:

 
 

 Pop / Classic Rock / Adult Alternative        

politically progressive, open-minded, organized, friendly, confident

 

 

 

Grunge Rock / Acid Rock / Hip hop  

extroverted, restless, competitive, cool, aggressive, trendy

 

 

 

Jazz  / blues   

spontaneous, fiercely independent, rebellious, doesn’t like to follow the rules... the type who never reads the “how to assemble” directions in the box.  Your theme is "I Did it My Way"

 

 

 

New Age / Easy Listening   

easy-going, introverted, passive, soft-spoken; to these individuals, peace in life and surroundings is paramount.

 

 

 

Country / Bluegrass  

domestic, simple, down-to-earth, conservative, patriotic;  to these listeners, country and family are of great importance

 

 

Classic/Baroque   

educated, sophisticated, organized, reflective, cosmopolitan, methodical

 

But don't take my word for it.  This is after all, just a casual series of observations I've made over the years, based on the people I know, and some total strangers.  However, do take a look at your CD collection, or those of your friends (or whatever digital contraption passes for a collection these days),  and see if anything rings true for you. I'd love to hear from you.

Everyone's a Doctor!

Everyone is a doctor today….at least that is the impression one might get by the number of people introduce themselves as such. In fact, about the only ones I know who DON’T call themselves doctors, are some doctors… doctors with real credentials and enough confidence to know that titles are a superfluous means of elevating one’s self-esteem. But doctors who are not doctors are crawling out of the woodwork! Dentists call themselves “doctors.” They’re not doctors. A chiropractor calls himself “doctor.” He’s not one, either! I went to the optometrist the other day and the first thing she said was “Hello, I’m Doctor Hahn.” Doctor? Mmm, sorry. An ophthalmologist is an eye doctor. An optometrist is a person who checks people’s vision for glasses. Even a basketball player, with a PhD in physical education calls himself a doctor! One of my best friends is a real doctor who works as a research scientist, curing diseases. When his graduate students call him “Dr. Smith,” he always corrects them. “Just call me ‘John,’” he tells them. Why does he need a title? He doesn’t depend on meaningless titles to gain respect. He is respected. Now there are even PhD programs for nurses. Imagine the fun trying to sort out that at the hospital before surgery!


“The doctor will be with you in a moment.”

“The doctor? Oh, but…I thought the nurse was going to prep me for surgery!”

  "Yes, the nurse will be here.”

  “Oh, not the doctor?”

  “Yes, the doctor. The nurse IS a doctor. Dr. Wang has a PhD in nursing.”

  “So… if both the doctor—the real doctor—and the nurse, who calls herself a doctor but is not one, were both in the room at the same time, and I called out 'doctor,' who would answer?”

“Both of them. It would be elitist of the doctor to think such a title is his exclusive domain! He’s not the only one who worked hard to get where he is!”

“Well, for that matter, the janitor probably works harder than anyone in the hospital! Should I call him a doctor, too?”

  “No of course not. That would be silly.”

  “Thank God.”

“Refer to him as the resident expert in anti-microbial engineering.”

Curved black line, original oil painting

by Mikyong Rodgers

click here to visit virtual art gallery

Skin tone, and other misplaced priorities

I'm sure you've all heard someone say "I'm going to work on my tan!" I can't help but wonder what exactly they are "working" on. It seems to me that such labor generally consists of lying on the beach, and, perhaps less often, sitting or squatting, but it all pretty much amounts to the same inactivity that inflicts a large percentage of tan seekers. It's always amazed me, anyway, how society places such importance on skin color. 

Over the years, it has changed, of course. A century ago, young white women in polite society, carried around parasols in sunny weather, to prevent their skin from becoming dark or freckled. These days, much to their detriment, it has become fashionable to soak up the rays and become dark. 

In the movie "The Talented Mr. Ripley," the very tanned Jude Law, upon seeing the very UNtanned Matt Damon, remarked disparagingly..."You are sooooo white!" 

It was not a compliment.

Unfortunately, the societal pendulum which has swung in a decidedly darker direction does not bode will for tan seekers. Note to sun worshippers everywhere: skin becomes dark under the sun's rays as a negative reaction to being poisoned by the ultraviolet rays of the sun!  

People! This is not a good thing! 

One of the supreme ironies of life is that all those things that we need to survive (such as the sun) also kill us! The sun is not something it's particularly wise to expose your skin to. It can lead to all kinds of radiation poisoning that wrinkles the skin, causes cancer, and decreases longevity.

The next time you are tempted to lie in the sun and get a tan, spend eight bucks, get an umbrella, and shade yourself from the celestial orb which is doing its utmost to shorten your time on planet Earth.

a day at the beach

original oil painting by Mikyong Rodgers

virtual art gallery