Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Film Music Revisited
This evening Turner Classic Movies is showing The Heiress, directed by Willie Wyler, starring Olivia de Havilland and Montgomery Clift, with the musical score by Aaron Copland. I wish I had learned enough about music -- wish I hadn't run away from Laura Bach (her real name) and Becky King, piano teachers, when I was a spoiled little brat (as opposed to the big spoiled brat I am now) -- so I knew and could talk intelligently about keys and scales and arpeggios and diminished chords and stuff. And "bitonality" (the characteristic of the music of Bernard Herrmann, I read, as used in, among other movies, North by Northwest). I sort of remembered that Copland was the composer for The Heiress but I knew he was after two minutes of listening. (I've never seen this 1949 film and happen to be taping the rest of it at this moment so I can watch The Colbert Report). But I don't know how to describe intelligently what I am hearing to pedants, who will be listening to my show (it's comin', folks, it's comin', soon's I can figure out all this iPod stuff). But I listened to an Adventures in Good Music show in which Karl Haas featured film music, and I was not a bit intimidated at the prospect of having a show along the lines of this one episode by the master of the genre of music shows. And who knew enough about music that he could play piano. No, what I will have to bring to such a show is my enthusiasm and love and listening ear, however untrained, and my willingness to learn and share what I've learned with others and perhaps open up a new world to them.
Monday, October 16, 2006
(1) Kuo on Xns and GOP; (2) Sweeney on Clean Campaigns
(1) Except from Richard Wolffe's Newsweek interview with former Bush White House aide David Kuo, who has written a book critiquing the Bush administration's emphasis on faith-based initiatives. The book is called Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction.
Wolffe: Are Christian leaders being naïve in their dealings with the White House or do they understand the nature of the exchange?
Kuo: It's a little bit of both. In some ways White House power is like [J.R.R.] Tolkien's ring of power. When you put it on, it feels good and it's dazzling. But after a while it begins to consume you in ways you don't realize. That's the nature of White House power. I have no doubt that Christian political leaders have gotten involved for all the right reasons. I just think over time it becomes harder and harder to stand up against that ring of power and the White House, to say no and walk away.
The Christian political leaders have been seduced. If you look at their comments that they know what they're doing, I'm not quite sure how to read that--is it wonderful or a little troubling? That's one of the reasons I call for this fast from politics. I'm not saying that Christians shouldn't vote, which is going around on Christian talk radio. But for a period--I personally think it should take two years from after this election to the presidential election--evangelical Christians should take a fast from giving their money to political causes and from giving much of their time as well. Take that money that is currently fueling all those wonderful hate-filled ads, the hundreds of millions being spent, and spend that money on the poor and inner-city kids. Instead of spending time lobbying, spend your time with your neighbor, saying love your neighbor as yourself.
(2) "Running with Blinders" by Kevin Sweeney about abstinence from negative campaigning is worth a look:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/16/opinion/16sweeney
Wolffe: Are Christian leaders being naïve in their dealings with the White House or do they understand the nature of the exchange?
Kuo: It's a little bit of both. In some ways White House power is like [J.R.R.] Tolkien's ring of power. When you put it on, it feels good and it's dazzling. But after a while it begins to consume you in ways you don't realize. That's the nature of White House power. I have no doubt that Christian political leaders have gotten involved for all the right reasons. I just think over time it becomes harder and harder to stand up against that ring of power and the White House, to say no and walk away.
The Christian political leaders have been seduced. If you look at their comments that they know what they're doing, I'm not quite sure how to read that--is it wonderful or a little troubling? That's one of the reasons I call for this fast from politics. I'm not saying that Christians shouldn't vote, which is going around on Christian talk radio. But for a period--I personally think it should take two years from after this election to the presidential election--evangelical Christians should take a fast from giving their money to political causes and from giving much of their time as well. Take that money that is currently fueling all those wonderful hate-filled ads, the hundreds of millions being spent, and spend that money on the poor and inner-city kids. Instead of spending time lobbying, spend your time with your neighbor, saying love your neighbor as yourself.
(2) "Running with Blinders" by Kevin Sweeney about abstinence from negative campaigning is worth a look:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/16/opinion/16sweeney
More Politickin'
Posting an email from fellow Bridgebuilders:
Dear Friends,
Somehow I sense we made a difference yesterday at the library. A pretty good showing of folk for the documentary. Thanks, J.T., for arranging the film and for the newspaper notice. While Ken and I both came away with a sense that there was definitely hyperbole involved in the way the points were presented, it gave me a new appreciation of how the desire for profit can cloud over completely why and how you do your work. I've been thinking about encouraging everyone to withhold $5 from their federal income taxes for 2006 in protest.
Have you heard of the ONE campaign? We heard about it through church today. At www.ONE.org you can learn about how you as ONE person can help support the Millenium Goals of 9/2000. (Remember, we looked at these while reading Wallis' God's Politics.) A related movement is STAND UP. I only know of the Episcopal Church's connection with this campaign but it's a worldwide effort. The cool thing is you can buy white ONE bracelets to show your support. I got one today understand they are available at the ONE website.
SEE YOU ALL ON NOV. 14. and GOOD LUCK TO JOHN!
Best, Dianne & Ken
And before November 14th, get out the vote on November 7th. Let's take the nation back!
Dear Friends,
Somehow I sense we made a difference yesterday at the library. A pretty good showing of folk for the documentary. Thanks, J.T., for arranging the film and for the newspaper notice. While Ken and I both came away with a sense that there was definitely hyperbole involved in the way the points were presented, it gave me a new appreciation of how the desire for profit can cloud over completely why and how you do your work. I've been thinking about encouraging everyone to withhold $5 from their federal income taxes for 2006 in protest.
Have you heard of the ONE campaign? We heard about it through church today. At www.ONE.org you can learn about how you as ONE person can help support the Millenium Goals of 9/2000. (Remember, we looked at these while reading Wallis' God's Politics.) A related movement is STAND UP. I only know of the Episcopal Church's connection with this campaign but it's a worldwide effort. The cool thing is you can buy white ONE bracelets to show your support. I got one today understand they are available at the ONE website.
SEE YOU ALL ON NOV. 14. and GOOD LUCK TO JOHN!
Best, Dianne & Ken
And before November 14th, get out the vote on November 7th. Let's take the nation back!
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Politickin' etc.
Today at the Madison library our discussion group showed the film, Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers. After it, Baron Hill, the Democratic candidate for Congress for the Indiana Ninth District, joined us and we had a nice little love-in. (Spence Schnaitter, the Speaker of the Indiana General Assembly in the seventies, was there and livened the discussion. Spence and I go way back. He was the center for the 1950 Madison state champs in basketball and Main Street neighbors, the year I was in sixth grade and had a season ticket in a great seat. He went to Yale Law School, was in state politics, and has been a Madison lawyer for decades.)
Baron is a "Blue Dog Democrat," whose forte is fiscal responsibility, that concern having devolved to Democrats, the old balanced-budget folks on the other side of the aisle having abandoned their frugality for the "deficits don't matter", trillions-for-war and tax-cuts-for-the-rich GOP. Baron's platform makes a lot of sense following upon our viewing of the film that exposed the billion dollars in no-bid contracts to KBR/Halliburton and the partisan defeats of amendments to oversee private contractors in Iraq.
I said it was a love-in. Everybody present, pretty much, felt warmly toward Baron and plans on voting for him in November. Nevertheless, no one was at the door screening people to ensure they were all loyal, as is the case with you-know-who's public appearances.
It was a gorgeous October Saturday and besides our modest little gathering the town had an event called "Soup, Stew, Chili and Brew." Rosie picked up sandwiches from the Milton Elementary School Fish Fry for us, which we ate hungrily after the meeting.
Installed Norton antivirus software on both computers. It's serving them well.
We're watching the pilots of 21 Jump Street. I didn't know Johnny Depp was in that! Also this evening watched In the Heat of the Night for the fifteenth (thirtieth?) time. I can see it about every six months and enjoy it. I remember the first time I saw it, in southern California in 1967. When Larry Gates slaps Sidney Poitier and "Mister Tibbs" slaps him right back, the kids in the theater cheered.
Another exciting Saturday night in Madison, Indiana. Where all the kids are above average ... zzzzz
Baron is a "Blue Dog Democrat," whose forte is fiscal responsibility, that concern having devolved to Democrats, the old balanced-budget folks on the other side of the aisle having abandoned their frugality for the "deficits don't matter", trillions-for-war and tax-cuts-for-the-rich GOP. Baron's platform makes a lot of sense following upon our viewing of the film that exposed the billion dollars in no-bid contracts to KBR/Halliburton and the partisan defeats of amendments to oversee private contractors in Iraq.
I said it was a love-in. Everybody present, pretty much, felt warmly toward Baron and plans on voting for him in November. Nevertheless, no one was at the door screening people to ensure they were all loyal, as is the case with you-know-who's public appearances.
It was a gorgeous October Saturday and besides our modest little gathering the town had an event called "Soup, Stew, Chili and Brew." Rosie picked up sandwiches from the Milton Elementary School Fish Fry for us, which we ate hungrily after the meeting.
Installed Norton antivirus software on both computers. It's serving them well.
We're watching the pilots of 21 Jump Street. I didn't know Johnny Depp was in that! Also this evening watched In the Heat of the Night for the fifteenth (thirtieth?) time. I can see it about every six months and enjoy it. I remember the first time I saw it, in southern California in 1967. When Larry Gates slaps Sidney Poitier and "Mister Tibbs" slaps him right back, the kids in the theater cheered.
Another exciting Saturday night in Madison, Indiana. Where all the kids are above average ... zzzzz
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
How Firm a Foundation
Watching Countdown. It just gets better and better (worse and worse). A tell-all book, Tempting Faith, is coming out exposing the Bushies’ covert contempt for the RELIGIOUS RIGHT, referring to them as “nuts” and “goofy,” fawning over them in public, laughing at them behind their back, and giving them nothing -- zilch, zip, squat, nada -- for their fanatical loyalty. Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman are bashed. (Thank You, Lord!) The author professes to be a Christian himself. As we say, I’m not making this up.
The show is now over and I’ve had enough of politics and switched to KET, hoping to get Mystery! starring Helen Mirren as "Inspector Jane Tennyson," or that guy who looks every bit the part of a hard-boiled Yank cop until he starts spouting his musical Cockney, as "Inspector Lewis," who has moved into the job of inspector Morse and whose gravitas has increased for his new job (as the Senator from Pendergast did when the moon and stars fell on him in 1945).
I got instead the show, Jubilee, a KET production, which tonight features "The Lonesome Pine," a bluegrass group, singing “Look What the Lord Has Done.” It has blown away the stink of politics for the moment, leaving a windswept, rain-washed, star-filled landscape of music and holiness, which I think are related in some way we have yet to learn to appreciate. Good music is eloquent in a way that no preachers can be. Hymns are the strength of Protestant Christianity. Just hearing Virgil Thomson’s use of the old hymns in his symphonic works evokes a reverence in me that no sermon or Bible study has ever been able to do.
Hot damn! And now they're playing a breakdown, the kind that John and Natalie danced to when they were tots. Praise God!
The show is now over and I’ve had enough of politics and switched to KET, hoping to get Mystery! starring Helen Mirren as "Inspector Jane Tennyson," or that guy who looks every bit the part of a hard-boiled Yank cop until he starts spouting his musical Cockney, as "Inspector Lewis," who has moved into the job of inspector Morse and whose gravitas has increased for his new job (as the Senator from Pendergast did when the moon and stars fell on him in 1945).
I got instead the show, Jubilee, a KET production, which tonight features "The Lonesome Pine," a bluegrass group, singing “Look What the Lord Has Done.” It has blown away the stink of politics for the moment, leaving a windswept, rain-washed, star-filled landscape of music and holiness, which I think are related in some way we have yet to learn to appreciate. Good music is eloquent in a way that no preachers can be. Hymns are the strength of Protestant Christianity. Just hearing Virgil Thomson’s use of the old hymns in his symphonic works evokes a reverence in me that no sermon or Bible study has ever been able to do.
Hot damn! And now they're playing a breakdown, the kind that John and Natalie danced to when they were tots. Praise God!
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Oh, By the Way, Clinton Got Us In This Mess. Everybody Knows That.
On Joe Scarborough's 10/4/06 show, Al Franken and David Bossie. (Whoever the latter is. A conservative Republican spokesman. That about says it all. Speaking for the Right, not to be confused with speaking for the right).
Al: “Republicans are no longer conservative. They’re radical. Democrats are the true conservatives."
Bossie: (Disagrees.)
Al: We left you with a budget surplus --
Bossie: You left us with a war on terror.
(Joe cuts them off. Had to cut to commercial.)
“YOU LEFT US WITH A WAR ON TERROR.” That is an outrageous lie!
We would say on one of these talk shows for entertainment (not for saving the republic), in our mindless stringing together of cliches, “This is a page right out of the Hitler playbook.” * What I mean by that is that the Nazi technique is to repeat the biggest lie you can, over and over, no matter how many times others debunk it with facts and logic, just keep repeating it, and it will prevail.
* [There really was a playbook. It was titled Mein Kampf. Would to God the Germans had read it before they let the monster who wrote it come to power.]
The “war on terror,” of course, is a "comma" named by the Nitwit-in-Chief and concocted by the neocons and chicken hawks -- vicious Cheney; condescending Condi; squinty, squirty, mouthy, homicidal Rummy; you know the cabal.
They are parroted by Bush, who is their Dupe-become-Dictator. Oh, a dupe, all right, but entirely and utterly responsible for all the slaughter and waste and grand larceny of these hoodlums. These people are making me insane with rage, to be explicit, in case I've been too subtle. I wish them in the prisons they have made for their enemies.
But no -- they are mostly rich white Republican males who will never see the inside of a jail or prison cell, not for one minute, not even one of them. The next war criminal in the White House -- who will be another white Republican male -- will pardon them all -- if indeed they are ever even remotely considered to be guilty of anything, anything at all.
It’s more likely that he’ll give them all Medals of Freedom.
Chicken hawks, every last one of them, sissies who let others do their fighting for them. And LIARS. All of them LIARS. You got that? LIARS.
And their so-called "War on Terror" was left to them by the Clinton administration!
Fox News planted this monstrous lie with Chris Wallace in his interview with Bill Clinton. And they have played the interview over and over. And spun it to their advantage, saying that Clinton was “out of control with rage” because he called their game and had the temerity to comment aloud on Chris’s smirk. (You would like to smack it off his face, wouldn't you?)
Of course, not a minute was devoted to investigating the content of Clinton's words, which were the truth. He wasn't talking about Monica Lewinski. He was talking about being a responsible, honest, humble Commander-in-Chief.
And already they’ve got it down to a sound bite, a bumper sticker. This disaster we are in (1,252 days now since the declaration of Mission Accomplished) is because of Bill Clinton!
Right. And the pedophile who actually headed a congressional committee to protect children, and the connivance of the so-called leadership, is the fault of the Democrats.
God help us. We are a sorry lot.
Al: “Republicans are no longer conservative. They’re radical. Democrats are the true conservatives."
Bossie: (Disagrees.)
Al: We left you with a budget surplus --
Bossie: You left us with a war on terror.
(Joe cuts them off. Had to cut to commercial.)
“YOU LEFT US WITH A WAR ON TERROR.” That is an outrageous lie!
We would say on one of these talk shows for entertainment (not for saving the republic), in our mindless stringing together of cliches, “This is a page right out of the Hitler playbook.” * What I mean by that is that the Nazi technique is to repeat the biggest lie you can, over and over, no matter how many times others debunk it with facts and logic, just keep repeating it, and it will prevail.
* [There really was a playbook. It was titled Mein Kampf. Would to God the Germans had read it before they let the monster who wrote it come to power.]
The “war on terror,” of course, is a "comma" named by the Nitwit-in-Chief and concocted by the neocons and chicken hawks -- vicious Cheney; condescending Condi; squinty, squirty, mouthy, homicidal Rummy; you know the cabal.
They are parroted by Bush, who is their Dupe-become-Dictator. Oh, a dupe, all right, but entirely and utterly responsible for all the slaughter and waste and grand larceny of these hoodlums. These people are making me insane with rage, to be explicit, in case I've been too subtle. I wish them in the prisons they have made for their enemies.
But no -- they are mostly rich white Republican males who will never see the inside of a jail or prison cell, not for one minute, not even one of them. The next war criminal in the White House -- who will be another white Republican male -- will pardon them all -- if indeed they are ever even remotely considered to be guilty of anything, anything at all.
It’s more likely that he’ll give them all Medals of Freedom.
Chicken hawks, every last one of them, sissies who let others do their fighting for them. And LIARS. All of them LIARS. You got that? LIARS.
And their so-called "War on Terror" was left to them by the Clinton administration!
Fox News planted this monstrous lie with Chris Wallace in his interview with Bill Clinton. And they have played the interview over and over. And spun it to their advantage, saying that Clinton was “out of control with rage” because he called their game and had the temerity to comment aloud on Chris’s smirk. (You would like to smack it off his face, wouldn't you?)
Of course, not a minute was devoted to investigating the content of Clinton's words, which were the truth. He wasn't talking about Monica Lewinski. He was talking about being a responsible, honest, humble Commander-in-Chief.
And already they’ve got it down to a sound bite, a bumper sticker. This disaster we are in (1,252 days now since the declaration of Mission Accomplished) is because of Bill Clinton!
Right. And the pedophile who actually headed a congressional committee to protect children, and the connivance of the so-called leadership, is the fault of the Democrats.
God help us. We are a sorry lot.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
They Went Thataway! C'm'on, Boys! We'll Head 'em Off at the Pass!
The breaking-news boys and girls are screaming, "Could Foley's follies hurt the GOP?"
Nah. Nothing will hurt the GOP.
Certainly not a sex scandal generated by a pipsqueak who happens to be a Republican as low on the food chain as Mark Foley. Why would the peccadilloes of a pipsqueak hurt the GOP when the felonies and war crimes of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld -- pipsqueaks too but in places of power where giants once were -- e.g., Harry Truman, FDR, General George Marshall -- don't even raise an eyebrow?
Yep, the breaking news posse has jumped on Old Paint and galloped off to Foley. What morons.
Hell, it pleases Rove that they're focusing on Foley rather than the real scoundrels.
Nah. Nothing will hurt the GOP.
Certainly not a sex scandal generated by a pipsqueak who happens to be a Republican as low on the food chain as Mark Foley. Why would the peccadilloes of a pipsqueak hurt the GOP when the felonies and war crimes of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld -- pipsqueaks too but in places of power where giants once were -- e.g., Harry Truman, FDR, General George Marshall -- don't even raise an eyebrow?
Yep, the breaking news posse has jumped on Old Paint and galloped off to Foley. What morons.
Hell, it pleases Rove that they're focusing on Foley rather than the real scoundrels.
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