Author Archives: Persiflage

The union thugs at the AMS

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Persiflage

After twice failing to achieve a 2/3 majority on previous votes, the AMS busted up the filibuster and railroaded through their new fellows program. The initial implementation was based on having achieved one of several things, the easiest of which … Continue reading →

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András Schiff Plays Bach

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Persiflage

The first Bach CD I ever bought was András Schiff’s recording of the Well Tempered Clavier. My memory is a little hazy, but I think I paid almost $100 (AUS) for the 4-CD set (I ordered it through Allans Music … Continue reading →

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The Bourgeois Pig is dead to me

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Persiflage

While on the way to meet up with BF, I stopped by and ordered an 8 ounce latte at the Pig. The result: a foamy scalding hot disaster which brought great shame upon hipster cafes everywhere. It was so bad, … Continue reading →

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How I deal with technical support

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Persiflage

I usually manage to avoid having to make any of those annoying calls to banks, credit card companies, utility companies, etc. because DW does it all for me. However, there are times (for example, when things are in my name) … Continue reading →

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Schoenberg

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Persiflage

The best show on television…is surely classic arts showcase. It’s RAGE for classical music, by which I mean something like an eclectic classical music version of MTV (during the 80’s). Given the limited range of classical music that makes it … Continue reading →

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Jacobi by pure thought

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Persiflage

JB asks whether there is a conceptual proof of Jacobi’s formula: \(\Delta = q \prod_{n=1}^{\infty}(1 – q^n)^{24}\) Here (to me) the best proof is one that requires the least calculation, not necessarily the “easiest.” Here is my attempt. We use … Continue reading →

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En Passant

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Persiflage

Several times in NYC, I’ve had the chance to visit Eataly, an italian food court/upscale delicatessen run by Mario Batali. You can either sit down at one of the various restaurants for an antipasto plate with a glass of wine, … Continue reading →

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Prokofiev

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Persiflage

Glenn Gould is best known (deservedly) for his Bach, but there are other treasures in his discography, including Schoenberg and (perhaps surprisingly) Brahms. Here’s Gould playing some mean Prokofiev:

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Remarks on Buzzard-Taylor

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Persiflage

Let \(\rho: G_{\mathbf{Q},S} \rightarrow \mathrm{GL}_2(\overline{\mathbf{Q}}_p)\) be continuous and unramified at \(p\). The Fontaine-Mazur conjecture predicts that \(\rho\) has finite image and is automorphic. Buzzard and Taylor proved this result under the assumption the natural assumption that \(\rho\) is odd, that … Continue reading →

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Winning the Chocolate

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Persiflage

Once a month, there is an (unrated) round robin blitz tournament at the Evanston chess club. The time controls are set on five minutes (a little slow for me, I usually play one minute games online), but it’s nice to … Continue reading →

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