Author: Steve

– this is not to be missed.

No, not the blogging kind, the musical kind. I’m speaking of an interesting piece by John Adams, minimalist and pulse-phase composer of our time. I’m not aware of his personal religious beliefs, but Christian Zeal and Activity is worth a listen if you have a fast connection to the net. It’s linked here and it’s about 10 MB – if you don’t have a fast connection be prepared for a long download. The piece is for orchestra and tape. The tape portion was from a sermon but a Protestant preacher and is added in parts with some repetition of his phrases and barely perceptible layering of the tape portion. You can hear the preacher clearly about the strings, but you can also hear layers of the speaking part beneath. Normally taped speech and music is repugnant, but Adams has crafted a very effective and evocative piece. This is the original recording. I found a CD with a newer version but it was complete garbage – same string parts with a speaker trying to do the same thing Adams did with tape in the original. It was moronic for them to even attempt, much less record and sell. Have a listen to this version and let me know what you think.

Lots of cyber-ink has been spent on the topic of Iraq and whether or not a full court press by the U.S. would be considered a just war. I have two things to say.
1. The war on Iraq didn’t end in 1991, it only should have. I mean G.H.W. Bush should have removed Saddam from power when he had the chance. Saddam was laughing then, laughed when Bush had polyps removed after he left office, and was laughing all the way up to the time we began to get serious about another full-scale invasion. We’ve been at war with Iraq for more than a decade, covertly and overtly. Surely the covert actions have escalated in recent months. We’ve been enforcing the no-fly zone since I was in college – more than a decade. I mention the length of time here to give the debate a relevant historical perspective rather than making references to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We’re not talking about a new war, we’re talking about ending a war that has been going on for quite a while. Then comes the occupation, the new government with our government’s seal of approval, and some thing else for former super powers (like Russia) and future super powers (like China) to be bitter about.
2. The campaign against Iraq is part of a larger war. We’re fighting a war against terrorism, which I equate with violent and destablizing political and religious elements in the Middle East. A campaign against Iraq is not separate from this war, it is part of it. How do we judge the whole war? Should Iraq be a target? Is Iraq the most obvious target? I personally think there are other enemies we can easily indentify as a more dangerous threat – those countries funding terrorism directly.

Jonah Goldberg posts a letter from Pat Buchanan to the editors of The New Rupublic. I find his caustic writing to be kind of entertaining. I agree with him on some points, I don’t buy his we’re-all-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket ideas. Mentioning Buchanan has the same effect at a party as lighting a cigar. Everyone will stare at you for minute and slowly move away until you are left all alone.

There are posts on the Michael Rose/Fr. Johansen fracas, the anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death. and lots of other interesting tidbits.