Monday, October 25, 2010

Serial readers vs Poly-readers

At last I've found a person who reads like me - many books at the same time. I really enjoy a reading "menu" of many courses. I do like chocolate cake, for instance, but I would quickly tire of only chocolate cake for every meal. See what Julia Keller, Chicago Trib critic, says on NPR.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

I feel sick....

After speed-reading Tony Blair's new biography, A Journey: My Political Life, I was all set to chalk him off as well-meaning. I remember noting his mention of war protesters camping out near sites where he was supposed to appear in his last months of office, his seemingly sincere expressions of pain and regret when thinking of the British soldiers killed and wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his view that Saddam Hussein needed to be removed at all costs to prevent current and future threats to the "West" (even though no MWD were found).

Then I finally got around to watching Michael Moore's film, Fahrenheit 911, this afternoon. All about money and oil. Somehow, I had never gotten that message so clearly before. I've seen several of Moore's films, and I'm never sure about his over the top-ness. Telling the truth? Getting laughs while showing his own brand of power? Corruption and greed in government seem so pervasive. Good guys seem so powerless and ineffective. Tony Blair was duped by Bush? Tony Blair duped us? Tony Blair just wanted to be next to American?

Monday, October 4, 2010

Metal Music


In our latest venture for the Saints, the volunteer theatre usher organization in this city, we signed up for a nightclub-like venue in Rogers Park for a Sunday morning live broadcast on the classical music radio station. The artist in recital was Rachel Barton Pine, a wonderful classical violinist. You might have heard of her due to a terrible accident at the beginning of her professional career.

Her program that Sunday was a varied mix of 9 pieces all written over the years just for her, including one by Albeniz that she arranged for herself. Surprising to me was that the ones I liked best were heavy metal compositions, Thrash by Philip Pan and Theme and Variations by Edgar Gabriel. This last used all kinds of metal music for the variations: glam metal, death metal, etc. All new to me, but I'm learning!