April 2016
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I've been a subscriber to eMusic.com for a ridiculous length of time–close to 15 years. For much of that time the company has offered a free download every day. And for much of that time I downloaded every one without listening to the samples first, missing only the days that I happened not to be…
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I saw a movie by that name last night. It's a series of interviews with a number of Catholic converts describing the process by which they arrived at the faith. You'll probably recognize some of the names–Mark Shea, for instance. (I was pleased to see that his segment was quite engaging, as I had given up reading…
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The effect art can have on one’s psyche is astounding. As I began to watch the Merchant/Ivory film Howards End last night, a film I have seen many times before, I found myself overwhelmed by memories and feelings. Don’t get me wrong, I was not sobbing my way through the opening scenes, but so many…
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Lyrics, and 99-cent mp3 here.
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Jim Geraghty of National Review observed yesterday in his "Morning Jolt" newsletter that "More and more of our public debates feel like we’re trying to reason with people who are simply insane." He was referring to a dispute between the city of Chicago and the teacher's union, in which the head of the latter referred to the…
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I don’t see many contemporary comedies, and the reason is that when I do I usually don’t care much for them. I’ve occasionally wondered if this indicates some deficiency in me, or a development in the direction of Humorless Old Man. A great deal of contemporary humor seems to be more or less on the…
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I've started listening my way through the Bruckner symphonies, and am currently on number 3. Looking around for some information on it, I ran across this woeful story of the symphony's premiere. Wagner liked it, and I'm sure Bruckner valued his opinion more highly than those of the members of the Vienna Philharmonic, but it…
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Some time back–months, I'm not sure how many–I recorded an Austin City Limits episode which included these guys and Sarah Jarosz. I didn't know anything about them, it was just idle curiosity. I finally watched it a week or two ago and was quite impressed. This would be a good item with which to counter…
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We're told regularly, usually with ill-concealed pleasure, that white people will soon be a minority in this country. As the legal oppression of blacks fades further into the past, younger white people will less and less agree to accept their stigmatized position as historical oppressor… That was me, writing in 2012 (can it really be…
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Several months ago on the suggestion of a friend, I began to watch movies from Studio Ghibli. He recommended that I watch them in the order they were produced, and since that is my nature anyway, I have done so when I could even though it has become evident that there seems to be no…
Light On Dark Water 