Archive for March, 2010
Who are We? WHO are You?
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Artist through the ages have dealt with the questions of life’s meaning and self. Why are we here? What does it all mean? Am I really even here? Who am I? Whether the artist is a painter, a poet, a dancer, a writer or a musician…..the questions of life, love and meaning are constantly at play.
On February 10th, 2010 the aged rock band The WHO played the halftime show during the Super Bowl. Reviews of their performance were underwhelming. Why people asked, were these guys given center stage during America’s biggest show? Personally, I think it was a mistake to cast The WHO in 2010. However, the band did have its day, and once had its say.
My favorite lyrics in rock music are those found on the last song on The WHO’s 1973 double album Quadrophenia. The concept album deals with a protagonist trying to find himself and meaning.
Obama’s Healthcare Bill Passes Congress, And the People Shrug
The Caledonian Mercury once wrote of the British Empire, “On her dominions the sun never sets; before his evening rays leave the spires of Quebec, his morning beams have shone three hours on Port Jackson, and while sinking from the waters of Lake Superior, his eye opens upon the Mouth of the Ganges”
Grounded British Ariways planes
I’m in England as I attended my brother-in-law’s wedding Saturday. Well, I should actually be on a plane back to America, but the union called British Airways out on strike and thus I’m stranded. The polls are showing the vast majority of Brits are against the strike, with most folks thinking that the cabin crew should be glad they have jobs given the current employment picture.
The wedding was in London, which I assume is a locale that leans more to the right than the rest of the country. I say that because although the groom’s family has strong pro-labour roots and traveled from Manchester (northern England), everyone I spoke to seemed very down on England’s future prospects, and told me their country was broke. Many people spoke of the huge budget deficits, and that the country seems to run on borrowed money.
2009’s Best Picture: And the Winner is?
Last week the Academy Award for Best Picture was given to a movie called “The Hurt Locker”. This small movie, and I do mean small, had grossed only $12.5 million dollars at the time it received its Oscars. ($12.5 million is about as much money as Avatar grossed in its first few hours) The Hurt Locker was seen by far, far fewer people than had ever NOT watched a Best Picture winner.
I think there are a few reasons for that fact. Partly because of some of those reasons, but mostly because of a different set of reasons, I think the Academy made a poor choice in their selection. In fact, my choice for Best Picture was a movie that wasn’t even nominated for any Academy Awards. My choice for 2009’s Best Picture is “The Hangover”.
Democracy, Iraq and Islamic Extremism
Iraqi man casting his vote
The politics of the Iraq war has been as twisted as the charred remains of a suicide bomber’s truck. At the time of President Bush’s 2003 decision to green light American troops to move forward into Iraq, the overwhelming majority of Americans favored the conflict. By the time the mismanagement of the post invasion had allowed a sturdy insurgency to take root, many Americans who once favored the war turned strongly against it. They preferred our troops leave the conflict and allow the chips to fall where they would regarding the fate of Iraq and the surrounding Middle East.
Recently Vice-President Joe Biden, someone who once gave strong voice to his policy preference of partitioning Iraq into three distinct areas, says that Iraq is one of the Obama Administration’s greatest achievements. How ironic, especially given that President Obama remains against Bush’s change in strategy towards the “surge”, a strategy which is almost universally recognized as having been decisive in moving the conflict from disaster towards “victory”.
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