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Apes With Violins I suppose the most famous mathematical equation in history is E=mc2, Einstein’s matter-energy equivalence which states that the quantity of energy, E, equivalent to a given mass, m, is the product of m and the square of c, the speed of light. Even if you use one of the larger units, miles…
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I’ve known that this piece is considered one of the highlights of baroque religious music, but had not heard it until recently when my daughter told me she was going to be singing in a performance of it by her college chorus. I downloaded this version from eMusic so I could hear it a couple…
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Following a link on Eve Tushnet’s blog to this Godspy article about The Weakerthans, a band of whom I know nothing, I find this striking paragraph from John Paul II’s Fides et Ratio: The truth comes initially to the human being as a question: Does life have a meaning? Where is it going? At first…
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This song is from one of my very favorite pop music albums, Vienna by Ultravox (1980). In general I hate music videos, and rarely watch one all the way through; if I want to hear the music, I look at something else while the video plays. But I rather like this one. There are places…
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Of course you don’t need me to tell you about the pope’s visit, but there’s one thing in his speech at the White House that I want to note: [The Church] is convinced that faith sheds new light on all things, and that the Gospel reveals the noble vocation and sublime destiny of every man…
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Sin, Memory, and Purgatory Human kind cannot bear very much reality. —Eliot “I have done that,” says my memory. “I cannot have done that,” says my pride, and remains adamant. At last—memory yields. —Nietzsche I’ve thought for a long time that part of the pain of purgatory might be the pain of seeing one’s sins…
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I had planned to give this work some serious attention during Lent, an intention which was only partially executed. It’s roughly 90 minutes long, and a stretch of uninterrupted time of that length is pretty hard to find for me. But I didn’t want to break it up. Moreover, its wide dynamic range makes it…
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See Profile. Picture was taken several years ago but I haven’t changed that much—a little greyer, I guess. Location is the almost-full family burial plot in Athens, Alabama. Pre-TypePad http://js-kit.com/for/lightondarkwater.com/comments.js
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Often heard, seldom seen. There are several of them in the woods nearby and sometimes they start hooting steadily at each other (arguments? love songs? who knows?). A few days ago my wife and I were out in the yard around sunset and heard him (her?) from much closer than usual. She managed to figure…
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I’ve just watched a segment of EWTN's “Journey Home” program which featured Rosalind Moss, a Jewish convert who, at the age of 65, is about to start a new order of nuns. She’s wonderful, inspiring in many ways. One thing that particularly struck me was her response to a caller who wondered if she (the…
Light On Dark Water 