not 12 of 12, but it’s an even dozen

Adventures at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Those are some silly geese.

um, really? REALLY?

I enjoy listening to Pandora Radio at work. Somehow, it has escaped the filters, and it gives my little Philips mp3 player a break. Anyway, I have this station that plays Maroon 5-ish music. Whatever, you go listen to what you want to, this rant isn’t about Maroon 5. Well, at least not directly.

Last year I bought the Beatles hijacked music as interpreted by some Cuban musicians. The album is pretty cool. It either inflames the hardcore Beatles fans, or fascinates folks. Either way, it’s a pretty neat album.

Back to Pandora. I’m listening to “She Will Be Loved” but it has a very Cuban beat and musical tones to it that arenot quite right. Clearly, it is Maroon 5, but the drums, not so much. Since my mp3 player is hooked up to the computer to charge it, I think that I have somehow set two things playing. Only, no. It’s this new album by Buena Vista Sound that mashes the contemporary song with Cuban Rhythms, aptly name: Rhythms del Mundo: Cuba.

Whatever. Coldplay, Sting, and U2 with Cuban undertones. Anathema.

sometime you just have to say what’s on your mind when discussing hacks…

Re: Declaration of Reasonable Doubt About the Identity of William Shakespeare

Dear Jeffrey Jeffrey Jeffrey,

I am writing to invite you to please join Sir Derek Jacobi, Jeremy Irons, Mark Rylance, Michael York, myself, and more than 1,400 others, including over 250 faculty members, in signing the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt About the Identity of William Shakespeare. It can be signed online at the website of the Shakespeare Authorship Coalition (SAC) at: www.DoubtAboutWill.org

Orthodox Shakespeare scholars claim that there is “no room for doubt” about the author’s identity. They say that the authorship controversy is therefore not legitimate, and should not be seen as an appropriate topic for research, or classroom discussion. It is often regarded as a taboo subject, which professors and students pursue at their peril. We believe that an objective assessment of the evidence shows that there are good reasons to doubt the traditional attribution, and the issue should therefore be regarded as legitimate.

The Declaration was written to clarify why so many outstanding thinkers have expressed doubt about the author’s identity. It also provides a convenient way for prominent people to take a moderate, reasonable position on the issue, while putting their doubts on record. It provides a brief, yet definitive statement of the evidence and arguments for and against William Shakspere of Stratford, but it takes no position on the true identity of the author. Thus, doubters of any persuasion can sign it, and even some traditionalists have done so. It has been fully vetted, with not one factual error identified, even by orthodox scholars.

your friend,

Bego

so you like Susan Boyle, huh? this is amazing

the cardinals are going crazy in my back yard!

These:

Not these:

Newspeak

If you haven’t read 1984, now is a good time to read it. On second thought, before November 4, 2008 would have been better timing. As they say, timing is everything, and we missed that boat, if you’ll pardon the mixed metaphor.

It seems that our Secretary of Homeland Security is on the one hand terrified of using the word terrorist when speaking about TERRORISTS…

Instead of referring to threats from terrorists, Janet Napolitano is referring in her speeches to “man-caused disasters.” In an interview, a reporter for Germany’s Spiegel Online asked Napolitano whether her avoidance of the term terrorism means that “Islamist terrorism suddenly no longer pose[es] a threat to your country?”

“Of course it does,” Napolitano replied. “I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word ‘terrorism,’ I referred to ‘man-caused’ disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.”

By this logic, the FBI should refer to serial killers and serial rapists as “man-caused afflictions.” After all, we do not want to create fear about serial killers.

…and on the other hand not at all shy about referring to conservatives as TERRORISTS-waiting-to-happen. I suppose my husband is suspect, since he’s been terrifying our children’s friends for years. It’s not the six foot three frame, the gruff demeanor, nor the booming bass that offends. Nope. It’s the service ribbon he wore so proudly on his Army uniform. That’s right. He’s a veteran. That qualifies him as a potential threat to the very country he served.

Astoundingly, as a Pro-Life Catholic, I seem to be a TERRORIST, too. 

Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.

I think it’s time to watch my copy of It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

______

link 1   link 2   link 3

Ack!