Am late to the phenom.
The humans and the rebel Cylons form an uneasy truce, four of the final five Cylons are revealed and they arrive at earth ... only to find it is a wrecked planet.
And so that sets the stage for the final episodes to begin airing in 2009.
Click here for the teaser video.
Politics: Trying to get beyond "right" and "left"
The benefits of a two party system is that the USA doesn't wind up with kooky coalition governments where a stronger parties have to bring in extremist parties to assemble a government.
The other side of a strong two party system is that some people don't feel truly at home with either party and join one or the other reluctantly or opt out entirely.
This sense of disconnection with the two major parties is most strongly felt by those with religious convictions.
For example, those on the evangelical and Christian left who have strong economic redistributionist views like the Democrats but feel alienated from that party because they are pro-life.
Meanwhile, Christian conservatives who sign on with the Republicans because of the pro-life issue and Protestant work ethic feel alienated when the party is so pro-business it hurts the average citizen.
In response to these kinds of concerns, some authors have published "manifestos." From the left, there is Jim Wallis and his book "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It."
I recently heard a radio interview with an author from the right, Rod Dreher whose book is "Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, and their diverse tribe of countercultural conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party)."
Am going to have to look into this Dreher chap a bit more. He sounded interesting on the interview.
The other side of a strong two party system is that some people don't feel truly at home with either party and join one or the other reluctantly or opt out entirely.
This sense of disconnection with the two major parties is most strongly felt by those with religious convictions.
For example, those on the evangelical and Christian left who have strong economic redistributionist views like the Democrats but feel alienated from that party because they are pro-life.
Meanwhile, Christian conservatives who sign on with the Republicans because of the pro-life issue and Protestant work ethic feel alienated when the party is so pro-business it hurts the average citizen.
In response to these kinds of concerns, some authors have published "manifestos." From the left, there is Jim Wallis and his book "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It."
I recently heard a radio interview with an author from the right, Rod Dreher whose book is "Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, and their diverse tribe of countercultural conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party)."
Am going to have to look into this Dreher chap a bit more. He sounded interesting on the interview.
World: Mumbai hit with terrorism
New York, Washington DC, Bali, Madrid, London ... now Mumbai.
The attack was brazen and the results horrible.
It sounds like the security forces of India are starting to regain control of the situation but their appears to be still some hostages as of this moment.
In reading the news item, I didn't remember that the city had already been hit with bombings of commuter trains in 2006.
Whether we admit it or not, there is a radical segment of Islam that has declared war on humanity that does not hold to their vision of the world.
UPDATE: Here is a timeline of the events from Wednesday to Friday.
The attack was brazen and the results horrible.
It sounds like the security forces of India are starting to regain control of the situation but their appears to be still some hostages as of this moment.
In reading the news item, I didn't remember that the city had already been hit with bombings of commuter trains in 2006.
Whether we admit it or not, there is a radical segment of Islam that has declared war on humanity that does not hold to their vision of the world.
UPDATE: Here is a timeline of the events from Wednesday to Friday.
Culture: 24 - Redemption
image source: http://www.vintagedepotdirect.com/media/BK40.jpg
Jack is back!
Redemption - to offer something in exchange for something else.
In old days, when I was a kid, my parents would collect books of "Blue Chip Stamps" and exchange (redeem) them for various household items and toys.
In the story, Mr. Benton sacrificed his life in the minefield in exchange to help his boys escape. Jack gave up his freedom in exchange to get the boys into the embassy.
Thus, Mr. Benton and Jack were "Jesus figures" in this story.
Wonder if some theology student has written a Gospel according to 24?
Well, God can be found in unexpected places?!
There is after all a Gospels According to the Simpsons!
Economics: The Current Financial Mess
Russell Roberts an economist at George Mason University explains how we got into the mess and the problems with the way the Feds are trying to fix it.
LA Scene: LA Phil with Ades
Went to see the LA Phil last night.
The Marseillais Hymn was instantly recognizable and the combined forces of the LA Philharmonic and Master Chorale was quite powerful. What I didn't realize was how blood curdling the lyrics were!
This was followed by the volatile Royal Hunt and Storm by Berlioz.
Ades then went on to take the microphone to explain why he chose these pieces to lead into his work, America: a prophecy.
He set his music as a wraparound to words from Mayan poetry.
Lyrically and musically, it didn't do much for me. It represented some of the excesses of contemporary art and music: attempts to shock for the purpose of shocking.
In its defense, in the program notes, it made the point about how the coming of the Europeans to the Americas had multiple perspectives. For the natives, it meant the destruction of their societies as they were defeated by the Europeans who came from the east. But at another level, those societies had very brutal elements tied to human sacrifices and so the Europeans destroyed that and liberated the masses oppressed by their rulers. Of course, the Europeans also did bad things. But then again, the Americas have now grown to be powerful on the world stage and have brought much to the world. Thus, the Americas of 1000-2000 is a complex story. Ades also pointed out that 9/11, the singular event of the new millenia, was once again the East, in this case Middle Eastern terrorists, coming to the Americas.
On this level, I have some sympathy to the consequences of post-modern thought. Indeed, there are multiple realities to historical/cultural events which seems to be the mantra of post-moderns. But, of course, these perspectives only have meaning because the narrative has objective elements that can be used by the person making the analysis which runs against some post-modern claims against the possibility of such knowledge.
If we hold to the traditional definition of knowledge as justified true belief, we would have to say that Ades' effort to provide a narrative about the drama of the American story from 1000-2000 is defensible as his facts are correct.
Thus, I suppose, a true hard core post-modern perspective is self-defeating in that any attempt at weaving a narrative would be nothing more than whisting in a wind storm and would be attempted only for the purpose of pleasure or shock and not for illumination.
The second half of the show had Berlioz music from an opera he never completed. It has the spooky elements consistent with its title about a secretive jury.
The final work was then introduced by Ades as his attempt to paint with musical notes the Ark of Genesis carrying humanity through which he tied to our earth today carrying all of humanity through the universe.
This work was quite a bit easier to listen to than his first work and allowed me and the 2/3 full auditorium to leave feeling a bit better compared to the disquiet of our entry into intermission.
UPDATE: For a music professional's perspective, check out Swed from the LA Times.
The Marseillais Hymn was instantly recognizable and the combined forces of the LA Philharmonic and Master Chorale was quite powerful. What I didn't realize was how blood curdling the lyrics were!
This was followed by the volatile Royal Hunt and Storm by Berlioz.
Ades then went on to take the microphone to explain why he chose these pieces to lead into his work, America: a prophecy.
He set his music as a wraparound to words from Mayan poetry.
Lyrically and musically, it didn't do much for me. It represented some of the excesses of contemporary art and music: attempts to shock for the purpose of shocking.
In its defense, in the program notes, it made the point about how the coming of the Europeans to the Americas had multiple perspectives. For the natives, it meant the destruction of their societies as they were defeated by the Europeans who came from the east. But at another level, those societies had very brutal elements tied to human sacrifices and so the Europeans destroyed that and liberated the masses oppressed by their rulers. Of course, the Europeans also did bad things. But then again, the Americas have now grown to be powerful on the world stage and have brought much to the world. Thus, the Americas of 1000-2000 is a complex story. Ades also pointed out that 9/11, the singular event of the new millenia, was once again the East, in this case Middle Eastern terrorists, coming to the Americas.
On this level, I have some sympathy to the consequences of post-modern thought. Indeed, there are multiple realities to historical/cultural events which seems to be the mantra of post-moderns. But, of course, these perspectives only have meaning because the narrative has objective elements that can be used by the person making the analysis which runs against some post-modern claims against the possibility of such knowledge.
If we hold to the traditional definition of knowledge as justified true belief, we would have to say that Ades' effort to provide a narrative about the drama of the American story from 1000-2000 is defensible as his facts are correct.
Thus, I suppose, a true hard core post-modern perspective is self-defeating in that any attempt at weaving a narrative would be nothing more than whisting in a wind storm and would be attempted only for the purpose of pleasure or shock and not for illumination.
The second half of the show had Berlioz music from an opera he never completed. It has the spooky elements consistent with its title about a secretive jury.
The final work was then introduced by Ades as his attempt to paint with musical notes the Ark of Genesis carrying humanity through which he tied to our earth today carrying all of humanity through the universe.
This work was quite a bit easier to listen to than his first work and allowed me and the 2/3 full auditorium to leave feeling a bit better compared to the disquiet of our entry into intermission.
UPDATE: For a music professional's perspective, check out Swed from the LA Times.
Non-profit of the Month: November 2008 - Santa Monica Symphony
Yes, one can sit at home and listen to KUSC or pop in a CD of classic music.
But unless you have a trunk load of money the sound coming from the FM radio in your car or the boom box at home isn't anywhere near the quality of sound of a live performance.
Alas, running an orchestra is an expensive proposition. Thus, community based ensembles have serious financial challenges.
The kick-off of the Santa Monica Symphony's 2008-2009 season was a special affair with KUSC's Rich Caparella making the opening remarks before introducing the Mayor of Santa Monica, Herb Katz. Mayor Katz explained how the SMS is funded by a mixture of sources but that 75% comes from the participating public. Mayor Katz then turned the show over to music director Allen Robert Gross. Maestro Gross encouraged those in the audience who could donate to do so. He also shared that music fans in the Southern California area may have heard that the economic troubles has hit the Pasadena Symphony hard forcing the cancellation of part of their season and possibly the entire season.
I'm not in the business of crowd estimates but I'd venture that there were over 500 in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for the event. It was a delight to see the range of ethnic faces in the audience. Also, it warms my heart so see young and old couples make a date night of a concert.
The program for the night included a mix of crowd pleasing 19th century works.
It began with an operatic work, Siegfried's Rhine Journey from Gotterdammerung. This was followed by the delightful Violin Concerto by Bruch. Katia Popov was the soloist. The final movement of the concerto really makes you sit up and take notice and as the last notes faded into the ether, the audience rose up in applause. After the intermission, Good Friday Spell from Parsifal got the audience ready for wonderful emotional roller coaster ride of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet.
After the show, I made it a point to send a donation to the SMS. They started in 1945 and may they see 2045 and beyond!
Please consider supporting the local orchestra or school based orchestra near you! Let's keep "old school" music alive in the 21st Century!
But unless you have a trunk load of money the sound coming from the FM radio in your car or the boom box at home isn't anywhere near the quality of sound of a live performance.
Alas, running an orchestra is an expensive proposition. Thus, community based ensembles have serious financial challenges.
The kick-off of the Santa Monica Symphony's 2008-2009 season was a special affair with KUSC's Rich Caparella making the opening remarks before introducing the Mayor of Santa Monica, Herb Katz. Mayor Katz explained how the SMS is funded by a mixture of sources but that 75% comes from the participating public. Mayor Katz then turned the show over to music director Allen Robert Gross. Maestro Gross encouraged those in the audience who could donate to do so. He also shared that music fans in the Southern California area may have heard that the economic troubles has hit the Pasadena Symphony hard forcing the cancellation of part of their season and possibly the entire season.
I'm not in the business of crowd estimates but I'd venture that there were over 500 in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for the event. It was a delight to see the range of ethnic faces in the audience. Also, it warms my heart so see young and old couples make a date night of a concert.
The program for the night included a mix of crowd pleasing 19th century works.
It began with an operatic work, Siegfried's Rhine Journey from Gotterdammerung. This was followed by the delightful Violin Concerto by Bruch. Katia Popov was the soloist. The final movement of the concerto really makes you sit up and take notice and as the last notes faded into the ether, the audience rose up in applause. After the intermission, Good Friday Spell from Parsifal got the audience ready for wonderful emotional roller coaster ride of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet.
After the show, I made it a point to send a donation to the SMS. They started in 1945 and may they see 2045 and beyond!
Please consider supporting the local orchestra or school based orchestra near you! Let's keep "old school" music alive in the 21st Century!
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