The tin whistle is a folk instrument; and the wonder and glory of folk music is that although it consists mostly of old standards, the old standards aren’t particularly standard. For any well-known tune there will be any number of versions extant, with different words, slightly different melodies, different arrangements, and so on. And then, when you learn to play the tune, you’re not expected to simply play it just like everyone else—instead, you’re expected to take it and make... Read more
Not everything Pete Seeger sang was political. Here’s one of my favorite tracks from The Weavers at Carnegie Hall: “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine”, with Seeger singing a duet with Ronnie Gilbert. I regret his politics, but he was capable of beauty. Read more
He looked up at the duchess, towering over him now like a red tsunami over a small fishing village. — Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters Read more
The so-called Von Neumann Survey was the foundation of the great wave of colonization that began in Old Earth‘s 24th Century. Begun in AD 2151, shortly after the discovery of the Harper Drive, the survey was conducted by a fleet of faster-than-light self-replicating robotic probes. The probes were simple in concept, if complicated in execution, consisting of a drive unit, a sensor package, and a robotic controller, and were far cheaper than any manned probes could possibly be. The African... Read more
It’s a busy kind of day. Not for me, you understand, but just in general. I woke up this morning and opened my breviary and discovered that today is St. Thomas Aquinas’ feast day. This is embarassing, because he’s my patron, and I knew his day was coming up and I forgot about it. (At least I noticed in time to make it to mass this morning.) Fortunately, Leah Libresco has a post up that covers the Aquinas waterfront, and... Read more
The next of Dorothy Sayers’ Peter Wimsey mysteries is Have His Carcase; it is also the second which involves mystery novelist Harriet Vane, the first being Strong Poison. This is one of the first few Wimsey novels I read, very shortly after Strong Poison, and while there were bits I liked I’m afraid I found it long, tedious, and confusing. Consequently, I was surprised and pleased to find the book completely entertaining on this go round. Harriet Vane is out... Read more
Just recently I’ve run across a number of essays debunking the aphorism, “Do what you love, love what you do.” (Here’s Leah Libresco’s take on it.) The gist of these essays seems to be that large corporations are encouraging their employees to look on the work they do as the most fulfilling part of their lives. If they are really doing what they love, they’ll work long hours and won’t require much of a personal life outside of work. I... Read more
Usually in this series I’ve talked about things that have worked for me; today I’m going to talk about something that I wish worked better for me. My spiritual director told me of a man—I think he was a Benedictine, but I really don’t remember—who spent an hour with God every morning. Sometimes he talked to God for five minutes, and listened to God for fifty-five minutes; other days he talked for fifty-five minutes and listened for five. It depended... Read more
This post first appeared in February of 2004. It’s a review of a forgettable book; I’m reposting it because it points at a common problem in mainstream religion in the United States today. Competitions is the second book of Green’s series The Blending, which I panned. So why did I read the second book if I disliked the first? I have three answers. First, Jane liked it rather better than I did, and wanted to read the second book. Second,... Read more
As I noted last week, I’m learning to play the penny whistle with the aid of the book “The Clarke Tin Whistle“, which in size is your typical book of sheet music: about 9″x12″ opening up to about 18” wide. Now me, I was trying to use it while sitting at my ease in my recliner. And I’m here to tell you, there’s no way to position the book in your lap so that you can see the pages comfortably... Read more
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