Procrastinating

I posted this as a comment in vince’s blog:

Ah, the role of high art in pop culture. in american movies of the 50’s, when people go to see the symphony or opera, it’s used as a kind of a backdrop. the symphony itself is rarely shown. often a conductor (who really is obviously not conducting) in tux waving his arms around provides the only cues that the symphony is there. the symphony atendees are wealthy. they sit up properly and siltently in straight back chairs as if they are at church. Opera and high art is not to be enjoyed, it is a duty of their class to attend.

In soviet symphony, as a contrast, high art was considered culturally valuable to the masses. They symphony would be shown in movies playing along with their real-life conductor. the views were (obviously) not wealthy and were shown enjoying the music. For music deemed “romantic” (not the era, the mood), such as one of chopin’s themes, that i can’t recall the name of, couples in the audience might look at each other and smile, and perhaps snuggle into each other or males might but their arms around females. the soviet movie audience is thus encouraged to enjoy the symphony, rather than see it as an eltist (and boring) symbol of the upper class.

the idea of an eltitist nature of high art in the us is a persistent one. It can show up in carol’s experiences in gifted and talented programs, so that Opera is considered soemthing that an elite group would be suited to enjoy, wheras a regular group would not. Or it can show up in the anti-art rhetoric of republican senators, vowing to destroy the NEA.

the anti-high art movement has commercial roots. It’s been encouraged extensively by hollywood. Radio stations, such as the mormon-owned KDFC, portray calssical music as something to fall asleep by. Miami currently has no classical music radio whatsoever. thus corporate-owned radio has no desire to broadcast lively and current high art, or in some cases, no desire to broadcast high art at all.

the reasons for this are beyond the scope of this procrastination. however, the consistent mediocrity of pop culture may be a factor. Pop culture is insipid. It is not thought-provoking. It is easier to control than a complicated and thoughtful piece of art.

Universal Healthcare

Dean is right. Universal healthcare is a moral imparative.

Well, he didn’t actually say it that way. In fact, when he was asked about UHC, he said he’s “not your guy.” His “position paper,” (which is actually just a flyer and has a larger picture of him than a discussion of any issues) says his plan will offer healthcare to every unisures American for cheaper. that doesn’t mean “healthcare for everybody.” That means, “buy your own.”
I really don’t want to turn this into a Dean-bashing blog. Dean would still be better than Bush. Hell, the stuff growing in my fridge would be better than Bush. the only thing worse than bush would be Joe Lieberman. but if you think Dean’s going to get you UHC, well, he’s not. He doesn’t want to. and if you think he’s going to be pro- freedom to marry, well, he’s not. He says “civil unions” (he won’t even go as far as marriage) are a states rights issue. That’s like saying that integration is a states rights issue.
I’m not saying he never did anything for gay people. Civil unions are a nice little seperate but equal system. It is seperate. It is equal. And the “but” still applies, as it doesn’t have the nice federal rights or mobility of real marriage. and I’m sure his healthcare system is better than Bush’s. But it’s not UHC and it’s not equal rights.

ABM Treaty?

We don’t need no stinkin ABM Treaty.

This audio file has been modified from the original. It has been resized to fit your TV. Some extraneous comments about the world caring about our opnion were nuked . . . er . . . removed. Anyway, the world had better care about our opinion, or we’ll drop bunker-busters on them!

Kucinich vs. Dean

Issue by issue.

It’s the primary. Vote for the person who you agree with most. If you want to vote for somebody who is not a liberal, then go ahead. Then, if you’re a democrat, vote for whoever wins the primary when the general election comes around. It’s just the primary. If ‘anybody but Bush” is your motto, well, you can compromise your ethics in the general election, instead of starting now. If you simply support who you think will “win,” you can’t complain when they don’t represent your interests.
I don’t care. I’m just procrastinating. I have a piece of music due Wed (mostly done. Needs to be fine-tuned for 4 channels of audio), A half hour presentation on La Koro Sutro on thursday, which I haven’t started preparing for, and A ten page paper due friday, for which I have just used google to translate all of my primary source material from French to english. That alone is 23 pages. there may be something very interesting in there about Ascention sunday, but there might not be. at the very least, there are a lot of pauses for trumpet playing.
I do care, actually. the more I know about Dean, the less I like him. I wish that the Greens weren’t the “major” leftist party in the US. We have the conservative party and the ultra-conservative party. Plutocrats rule this country and settling for a less bad plutocrat just to get out the current despot is a defeatist strategy. We need to work for a progressive government, rather than celebrating if we get one that is less bad. which is why I want Kucinich to be President 2004.
mostly, i want to be where Christi is, instead of in the snowy, cold, dark, grumpy New england where Christi is not.

More More More

the catholic encyclopedia, specifically, The Te Deum atricle at newadvent.org notes that:

The general rubrics (titulus XXXI) of the Roman Breviary direct the recitation of the Te Deum at the end of Matins: (a) on all feasts throughout the year, whether of nine or of three lessons, and throughout their octaves. It is said on the octave day of the feast of the Holy Innocents, but not on the feast itself unless this should fall on Sunday; (b) on all Sundays from Easter (inclusively) to Advent (exclusively) and from Christmas (inclusively) to Septuagesima (exclusively); (c) on all ferial days during Eastertide (namely from Low Sunday to Ascension Day) except Rogation Monday.

Guess what day le Mystère du Siège D’Orléans (erroneously) states is the day that the English left Orléans! Guess!

Ascension Day!!!!
since the writer of the play certainly knew that the English left on the 8th and not the 9th, s/he must have had a reason for writing in the wrong date. Is there symbolism involved? Since the play is closely tied to the annual thanksgiving procession and celebration, the establishment of that process, described here as Joan of Arc direction the town to sing Te Deum may have had very very strong import to the writer. It might have been the point of writing the whole play.
It sure would be a lot easier to tell if I could read French…

in other news

(still news about the MdsO) Slobin thought that kids here would be really excited to stage the play. So I asked some kids about it, and they were really excited. hopefully, they can be excited long enough to translate it. Putting it on for all 4+ days that it would take is probably overly ambitious, so i’m thinking: pick one day. and i can write music for the pauses (using the correct instruments were directed). and undergrads can take the 129 speaking parts. and maybe the SCA could help out with the battle stuff. i just need a vision and an army of excitable undergrads.
It would be the first ever staging too, which could add to the excitement.

too much excitement!!!!

Joan of Arc mentions the name of a song in line 13638! She orders the town to chant Te Deum laudamus! The name of an actual piece of music, for which the words and melody are known! Actual, real music! Not just, “Then here is a pause of trumpets. then the messanger says:” No, real, actual music that I can listen to. And right after that, “then, here is a large pause, etc” with musical instrument mentioned! Not only does it say what song to play, but how to orchestrate it! with bells and trumpets and loud voices!

And what does grove music say about this song? It has “been used as a processional chant, the conclusion for a liturgical drama, a song of thanksgiving on an occasion such as the consecration of a bishop, and a hymn of victory on the battlefield.” there it is! A song of thanksgiving on a battlefield! As a part of a (nonliturgical) drama!
I’m going to go jump up and down now . . . or sing Te Deum

Still snowing

Went out last night and played with dog for a long time. Then wandered around with some undergrads and went and got some simulation of a soy hot chocolate at the town café. Tried throwing snowballs, but the snow was too dry. Also, apparently too dry for a snowperson. someone suggested snow angels, but it seemed cold. I missed both concerts I was going to go to.

Today, snow continues to fall. I dunno how much this stuff weighs, so I brushed it off the roof of my car. I might have to get Aaron at the train station tomorrow, so I’m hoping I can get somebody who has experience driving in snow to come with me, so s/he can warn me if I’m about to do something stupid.
I want to try to make a snowperson, but I’m supposed to do reasearch. The east coasters all seem to want to pat me on the head and send me on my way when I act amazed/confused. Except for the undergrads, since many undergrads are perpetually amazed/confused. I wish Christi were here.