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Showing posts from November, 2012

Y'all Got A Problem

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John A. Elder's classic painting The Battle of the Crater Some folks just can’t let it go.  They nag.  Nagging is one of the least productive human behaviors and it is even more irritating when exhibited in an entire cultural style.  That is the case with many of my fellow progressively minded naggers. Mitt Romney’s performance in the southern states, contextualized with the historical success of conservatism throughout the South , has been the subject of critique in the inevitable post-election hubris.  Progressives ponder why they preform so badly in the South . If you read this blog regularly you know I never supported Romney , not even back in 2008.  I voted for Obama then . You also know I share many progressive ideas on issues like human rights, environmental protection, and a liberal supreme court.  Nevertheless, being southern born and bred, I maintain a healthy interest in southern culture in general, in its customs, arts, and literature, and in particular the histor

Elliott Carter: A Rich Life Beyond 100

Earlier this month contemporary composer Elliott Carter died at the ripe old age of 103 .  He was one of America's greatest classical music creators and was globally admired for his avant-garde and atonal musical stylings.  I personally found his music difficult and often inaccessible.  I think you have to be trained in music to really appreciate his genius. Carter is definitely an acquired taste and not an easy one to settle with.  Many respected classical artists, such as the great conductor Michael Tilson Thomas , did not care for Carter's compositions and did not perform them . That Carter emphasized technique and complexity over spirit and emotion is a common criticism. Carter was heavily influenced by Igor Stravinsky , Aaron Copland , and Charles Ives , among others.  But he was highly individualistic and ultimately struck out in his own direction that even Copland, while remaining close friends with Carter, found it difficult to support. I own six CDs of Carter'

The Last Piñata

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Yesterday, Jennifer and I spent the afternoon and overnight in Atlanta with some of our Dillo friends.  We met up at the High Museum in the afternoon to see the Fast Forward exhibit , stroll through the Stent Wing of the Museum , and check-out the contemporary art display. It is always cool to see great works of art in person, especially with friends where you can chat about an individual artist and other works seen in other places or simply swap stories of how this or that piece of art has impacted their life.  It was the same grouping as the Braves game trip in October plus Will. Diane is a strong modern art lover and it is always fun to stroll through an exhibit and learn her sophisticated perspective.  I was surprised she didn't care for a de Kooning piece on display.  I thought it was pretty interesting.  Of course, all of us enjoyed seeing Umberto Boccioni's 1931 masterpiece bronze sculpture, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space - certainly one of the highlights of t

Darwin for Congress

I graduated from the University of Georgia in the early 1980's.  I saw the Dawgs football team win their national championship .  I witnessed  Hershel Walker's entire career.  I have fond memories of Athens, Georgia and Clarke County.  I enjoyed the place so much that I worked there several years after I graduated, got a lot of computer experience, before I went to India . The Athens music scene was at its height.  I saw R.E.M. perform, occasionally under the pseudo-name of Hindu Love Gods, at many late-night gatherings.  The B-52s were there, another great group.  As was a band called Pylon and at least a half dozen other good bands that few music lovers ever heard of outside of Athens. A lot of great stuff has come out of Athens.  Now the city is the origin of a ray of hope for humanity.  Running unopposed in the last election was Georgia Representative Paul Broun , another of these seemingly endless line of Republican Neanderthals that walk around America pretending w

Psychedelic Pill

Sometime in 2006, just after Neil Young released Living With War , I cranked up his song The Restless Consumer . The whole house was rocking to this most excellent tune. Then, splat! Silence. I had totally blown-out my Sony receiver with the volume so loud. Since then I have replaced it with a Pioneer Amp that can handle the load. You see, when Neil Young is rocking - especially with Crazy Horse - things need to be not just turned up but very, very loud . So it is with Neil and Crazy Horse's second album of 2012, Psychedelic Pill .   Neil turns 67 this month. In a time when, with few exceptions, musical artists have already wound-down their careers, perhaps putting out their greatest hits or a stray album now and then, Neil is going strong. His latest release is with long-time (since 1969) musical ally Crazy Horse, a double CD set. This is his ninth release of new, original music in the 21st century. He has produced 37 new, mostly studio, albums since he first went solo