Welcome! A Soapbox for Cultural commentary. oOo I use the name "Spindart"- oOo cuz I aim to be direct & on-target: oOo Personal posts, rants and raves. oOo oOo Music.Art.American Life. Faith and More. oOo oOo oOo
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prominent U.S. hip-hop executive Russell Simmons on Monday recommended eliminating the words "bitch," "ho" and the "N-word" from the recording industry. "These three words should be considered with the same objections to obscenity as 'extreme curse words'," he said in a statement. [well, what rock has he and all the rest of the "crew" been under for so long...?] oOo oOo
Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam and a driving force behind the hop's huge commercialism, called for voluntary restrictions on the words and setting up an industry watchdogoOoto recommend guidelines for lyrical and visual standards. [I guess we shall listen and see. . . ] oOo
"Our internal discussions with industry leaders are not about censorship. Our discussions are about the corporate social responsibility of the industryoOo to voluntarily show respect to African Americans and other people of color, African American women and to all women in lyrics and images," the statement from Simmons and Chavis said on Monday. [Whoops, does this mean "taking away my porno, too"?] oOo oOo . . .
Well OK: so far so good, but not far enuff.oOo
How 'bout some street respec' for All Americans...people of Non-color...Asian women...Christian believers, not mockers...and anyone who actually knows and uses the true English language in a coherent manner.
oOoAnd elevate the status of true poets and talented lyricists who actually have something worthwhile to say in their art. oOo
Why shouldn't we hold Everyone to higher standardsof (verbal and visual) behavior?oOo
Our society's capacity to rationalize and defend bad behavioris infinitely scalable. Radio host Don Imus lobs racially tinged insults...and then the apologists tell us what a charitable guy he is.
[NBC, after firing him, then has the nerve to air excerpts of the madman VTech killer's video and spoken diatribe a couple days later. Then, still not seeing any harm done, NBC plays a tape of Alec Baldwin raging on against his own daughter, (clearly a violation of privacy). This they make into a sensationalised self-righteous bit about how foul his verbal treatment of her is. Whatever the verbal abuse, it seems to be OK if it serves somebody's agenda!] oOo
Dare I say it - Hypocrites, the lot of them!! oOo oOo oO
On the Web, forum and blog posts are the cyber-equivalent of road rage--laced with profanity,insults and indimidation. But when an industry figure, Tim O'Reilly, calls for civility in the form of a voluntary blogging code of conduct, you'd think...that he'd proposed marshal law, hit squads and tribunals. . . .
Sorry, but basic civility isn't an affront to the legacies of Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King, Jr. Cleaning up the incessant "f" bombs and mindless, thoughtless name-calling and threats that pollute the blogosphere [and music] "silences" no one's point of view.oOo
In fact, adhereing to [higher standards of expression] elevates one's point of view.oOo oOo
Why does all this matter? Because decency matters.
People, the Internet and, I believe, the Universe itself, all have a Memory.
oOo Didn't your mother ever say something like
"Is that something you want to be remembered for?!" oOo oOo
Wow, now THIS is exciting. You've heard of the ancient, Medieval concept of the Music of the Spheres?* Musicians have intuitivley known for centuries that what we do, the "materials" we work with, have far greater connections to universal operations of matter, energy and substance than merely emotional expression.
The roots and resonances of music reach deeply into the human ( and the physical world's?) situation. Is life merely a play acted on a stage, as Shakespeare said, "all sound and fury, signifying nothing?" oOo Or does the analogy of music woven throughout creation show that there is truly deep meaning, both within us and surrounding us, almost infinitely? [ What is the Harmony of Life? ] oOo
Astronomers have recorded heavenly music bellowed out by the Sun's atmosphere.
oOo Snagging orchestra seats for this solar symphony would be fruitless, however, as the frequency of the sound waves is below the human hearing threshold. While humans can make out sounds between 20 and 20,000 hertz, the solar sound waves are on the order of milli-hertz--a thousandth of a hertz.
The study,presented this week at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Lancashire, England, reveals that the looping magnetic fields along the Sun's outer regions, called the corona, carry magnetic sound waves in a similar manner to musical instruments such as guitars or pipe organs. oOo oOo
Making music
Robertus von Fay-Siebenurgen of the Solar Physics and Space Plasma Research Center at the University of Sheffield and his colleagues combined information gleaned from sun-orbiting satellites with theoretical models of solar processes, such as coronal mass ejections.
They found that explosive events at the Sun's surface appear to trigger acoustic waves that bounce back and forth between both ends of the loops, a phenomenon known as a standing wave. oOo oOo
In the cosmic equivalent of a guitar pick, so-called microflares at the base of loops could be plucking the magnetic loops and setting the sound waves in motion, the researchers speculate. oOoWhile solar flares are the largest explosions in the solar system, microflares are a million times smaller but much more frequent; both phenomena are now thought to funnel heat into the Sun's outer atmosphere.
The acoustic waves can be extremely energetic, reaching heights of tens of miles, and can travel at rapid speeds of 45,000 to 90,000 miles per hour. "These [explosions] release energy equivalent to millions of hydrogen bombs," von Fay-Siebenburgen said.
"These energies are plucking these magnetic strings or standing pipes, [the acoustic phenomenon utilized in production of the extreme range of audible pipe organ tone] oOo which set up standing waves--exactly the same waves you see on a guitar string," vonFay-Siebenburgen told SPACE.com. The "sound booms" decay to silence in less than an hour, dissipating in the hot solar corona.
Remember another recent story about sound frequencies in space-- that our galaxy might be emitting the Ur "groundbass" frequency equivalent to a sub-sub-sub acoustic B-flat tone?! Sounds Astounding! :-OoOo
USA -- We mourn with the students, families and the community of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg tonight. The horrible deaths caused by this decidedly sick and despicable gunman sicken us all.
// We can only hope and pray that all those affected by this awful event will find a way forward, through their shock and grief, or actual physical torment; // that by trusting in the Risen Jesus' victory over death, they can have comfort through the sorrow; // and that healing can begin on the VT campus and with all the students and staff.
Pray for all those dealing now with the aftermath. oOo
Wow, after all these years, the former world chess champion has emerged as the most prominent leader of the Russian opposition alliance. He was the arch-rival of Bobbie Fischer, strange Americanchessplayer of ancient times (1970's). oOo
MOSCOW - Hundreds of demonstrators defied authorities Saturday by trying to stage an anti-government rally banned from a landmark downtown square, setting off sporadic clashes with police across Moscow and bringing a wave of arrests.
A coalition of opposition groups organized the "Dissenters March" to protest the economic and social policies of President Vladimir Putin as well as a series of Kremlin actions that critics say has stripped Russians of many political rights. oOo
"It is no longer a country [Russia]... where the government tries to pretend it is playing by the letter and spirit of the law," Kasparov said outside the court building, appearing unfazed by his detention.
"We now stand somewhere between Belarus and Zimbabwe," two dictatorships that have cracked down on opposition, he said. oOo oOo
But some protesters said they were not discouraged by the small turnout or intimidated by the overwhelming force marshaled to block the rally. oOo
Andrei Illarionov, a former Putin economics adviser who has become a Kremlin critic, pointed out that in 1968 only six people appeared in Red Square to protest the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Ouch!! Progress! oOo oOo
Well it looks like I get to talk about Hypocrisy yet again (see Throwing Stones, below). I heard what Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson had to say about the Imus affair -- and I basically agree. oOo [ Though mostly, we tune them out over their self-righteous slanted agendas. And they've still got one in this situation too.]oOo
But if you see this marking anywhere, are we going to hold their feet to the firenow that Al and Jesse will supposedly lead a "crack-hoe-down" against indecency, hateful speech, excremental expression and blatant greed-driven money-mongering?!! [ Maybe the ACLU and NAACP and AFL-CIO Unions will get their hands dirty, too...] Hmmmm.oOo oOo
Lets see if there are any Outrages and Rants against the Establishment of Gross Ghetto Profiteering amongst CRap groups, shock-rock bands, heavy metal deathheads and Profane Screamers of every social/gender/ethnic stripe![Yes, I know white people are to blame too, as in my earlier post on the Imus thing.]
And do you think it will only take about A WEEK? for hoards of sponsors, advertisers, huge media Congloms and Cartels to tear down THIS Trashy Trade in aural, verbal, visual, and sometimes "musical" Porn?
Hah! Go up against the Whore of Music Prostitution!? Nah, I doubt it will happen so fast, if very little, at all.oOo
Oh, the mess we have come to "tolerate" is pervasive in this society, probably Europe as well; maybe Asia, but though they love all things West they may still have some Decency and personal restraint to shun our grossness. oOooOo
We shall see -- you are known by your fruits.oOo [ Sure, we know the producers, executives and sponsors "never knew, for all this time!" --and weren't outraged before-- about the crude, hateful, supposedly satirical things their talk-show personalities said/say Lo, these Many Years! ]Right. oOo oOo
Who's accountable- now that the cat's outta-the-bag - and we're Talking?
The thieves bleeding our culture dry,
the so-called (musical or visual) "artists" [ I shudder to even use the term! ],
the producers, promoters, big media-mongers
MTV, VH1, Fuse, whatever else TV and Web crap outlets
distributors, retailers ["dealers"]oOo
thugga-mugga youth sub-culture
You and Me, the one's who get it, eat it up, "buy it."
I was eating a hot-cross bun the other day (OK I guess I had several) and I noticed that this little piece of "bread/rock", covered over the top with drizzled icing, also contained hidden surprises. oOo Held within its basically tasteless dough there were bits of various fruits and nuts (what some ancients called "sweetmeats".)
oOo Ah Hah! That moment came to me,oOo as I chewed on a bit of citron and then, again, a bit of candied cherry -- there was more going on here in this simple Easter food than meets the tongue! oOo This was part of an ancient food tradition that incorporated symbolism into recipes, for fun, for learning and profound remembering. After all, what we take into ourselves often has a tendency to "stay with us" (especially lots of food!) oOo oOo Deep spiritual roots and truths have been preserved through food traditions, and early Christianity sought various ways to reinforce the faith through everyday, common means.
So these sweet treasures found hidden oOo within crusty rolls, marked with the sign of the Cross, oOo made and eaten to celebrate Christ risen from the dead:
oOo served to Remind me of the stone tomb, hard and sealed, which nonetheless contained the Body of the Best of men--who in Reality was to burst forth from the grave Alive again, fresh, full of promise and yielding abundant New Life. oOo oOo
Flowers, plants, trees, eggs, candy and yes fruit-- so many organic things give great references to the new life we can enjoy in Jesus' triumph over death.
Fruits are a wonderful reminder of how life grows, can be beautiful to see, and bring "sweetness" and nourishment into our lives. And can a good tree bear bad fruit? We are known by our fruits, the fruit of lives pleasing to God. oOo
"An apple a day." (with shades of the garden of Eden?) "Life is a bowl full of cherries." "When life gives you lemons --" oOo
"Lemon tree, very pretty, and the fragrance Oh so sweet; but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat". . . as the old sappy song goes. But even sadness, grief, death, bitterness can be overcome because now Death is Dead and Jesus Lives! oOo And even lemon is transformed into tasty bits of buried treasure in the hot-cross buns.
I finally got on board with the Delicious site -- tagging and bookmarks. I uploaded about 3050 bookmarked faves! oOo
Anybody else out there have as many / or MORE!? most likely. . . oOo oOo
Maybe I should start sharing a few. . .[hint] maybe I will over at this ZanyBuzz blog, or this new Good sharing community. oOo oOo I knew I had a lot because I couldn't find so much of what I had saved. That's one of the beauties of the delicious system-- the search. I'm also working on some new business ideas over on my business blog: nohiddentalent.com[Shhh, I'm in stealth mode right now. . .]
I looked into Technorati but it seems too geeky, lots of spam blog listings/posts (I know that all the tagging sites, Delicious too, will get big spam).
Only thing is, I can't remember how to type the name the "official" way with the dots. Always forget where to insert them. Oh well, such is web 2.0 novelty. oOo
Well Sports Fans, maybe what you Say does matter?oOo oOo
I usually don't even take the time of day to give any attention to so-called "pop culture" - precisely because so much of it is so foul these days. As a classical musician and teacher I've given up for years trying to talk sense against the Tide of Turd that passes for "culture".
I've pretty much written-off the bastard rants of most media. These blathering idiots and commentators over the airwaves don't deserve my attention and I don't usually give it. oOo oOo
You've heard the outrage now about the radio show comments re: female basketball players at Rutgers (where I almost went to grad school). The phrase about "nappy-haired ho's" isn't the only thing-- at least he didn't use the M-, F-, B- S- and whatever-else-words like "some folk" do constantly!oOo
When I heard the Context of the larger banter between the 2-3 men (?) in the studio, I can really hear how far out of line they were, and how they got sucked deeper into the pit of their own wording. oOo
The Tongue can be a mighty evil-doer, and get you all twisted up. And
what's most often on your tongue gives evidence of what's in your Heart.
oOo I agree it's time to have a Dialogue on racism in speech and attitudes-- but I hate that hackneyed term, so let's Just Talk: oOo oOo
Just Talk: about the loss of (Black) culture. There used to be a dignity and celebration about rising above and beyond oppression, ignorance and hatred.
Just Talk: about the poisonous speech put out by those Crap cd mongers and popular Posers -- our environment is infected nearly completely with their disease(s).
Just Talk: about wide-spread "tolerance" [sic] capitulation and participation by cultural wannabees in the lowest forms of gutter-ghetto thought and behavior. So-called White culture (from pre-teen to college-age) has embraced it:
the "Life"-- violence, hate; the "Look"-- slummy 'n slutty, with slimy bling; "hoppin, tripping, cappin" violence to Everyone, not women only; glorifying greed, crime and perversion.
Just Talk: about how we are so desensitized to anger, mean-spirited joking, demoralizing talk and gestures.
Just Talk: about the demeaning of (all of our) culture on TV and "drama/movies/plays"-- like in
The Sopranos: those idiot foul-stenched examples of bad mean White people: disgusting vermin of mob and crime gangs.
And now The Black Donnellys (who/whatever "they" are...?) who are not Black and probably not Irish either-- anyway no one would want to claim them...violent, putrid, immature, disgusting low-life specimens.
Just Talk: about how tolerant we are of sick violence, graphic and hurtful depictions of cruelty, shock and even the threat of pain-- inflicted on us, by us! -- through even mainstream TV shows and countless slasher/shocker/scare-tactic stories and films. [Mr. Stephen King, as a kingpin of your "genre" you are not without blame...]
Just Talk:about why the entertainment industry thinks we want and/or like to be "provided" with these kinds of stories and characters? OK, it's to appeal to the worst of humanity, and cater to our basest instincts, thank you very much. Mr. Media, take it, here's my money and my soul.
Just Talk:about our animal-breeding prison system, that great fermentation hole for gross and evil: the gangs: Black, White, Skinhead, Chicano, Whatever ethnic-stripe they're all bad; drugs, rapes, murder and shame of other inmates by equally evil men.
Let's NOT Just Talk: about anger, apathy, racism, bigotry, intolerance [ or that shoved-down-your-throat "progressive tolerance" of anyone's aberrant behavior either], corruption, immorality, poverty, injustice and hate, etc. >> [ Read the comments to this post, some goodies... ]
Just Talk: ain't enuff! Real change can only come through the heart > to inform the mind > which can correct our life actions > and finally, to renovate our spirit. oOo oOo
It's Personal, people! And it's Impossible! [Uh-oh]
True Christians know that as bad as society is, as bad as our culture on the streets, in our schools and in our homes can ever get-- the solution is not in external control of groups and systems, but of the individual. oOo
Only God can transform our lives-- and
God Don't Never Make No Junk in the first place!
oOo Moral decisions and consequences are nurtured and realized within. Our experience of life and other people, good or bad, to honor or curse, is felt inside of each of us. We must pay better, closer Attention to what is really inside of us, where it comes from, and how to be rid of "it". oOo
We need, most of all, Good Attention-- attention to what is true, good, right, pure, noble and admirable in all other people, the life around us and in us.
And as large as our problems of race and sexism and pain inflicted on human beings in any form are, or may become, we can (re)turn to God and (re)pent so that from here on weCan speak the Truth and not Just Talk! oOo oOo
