Becarac/'ganga' conquers the space

Given my musical tastes, what you're about to see will probably seems quite off-kilter; I caught this clip of a Bosnian becarac on a learning channel, also called a "polyphonic ganga" it's a song (of lament?) with a mesmerizing dissonant quality --- its appeal to me is in that it is used to communicate folklore, it is rooted in the traditions of the people, it is passionate, impromptu and authentic. It made me also think about the younger, teenage 'critical me' that would point and laugh at this sort of thing and not open myself enough to find beauty in uniqueness. Glad that's long gone.

Additional resources:

http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=1237

(At 11:45) “Ganga” a genre sung outdoors in groups, reflects the culture of the Bosnian highlander community. “Conquering the space with your voice - characterized by very close harmony, and they somehow acoustically clash, which enables the sound to travel further. ...It’s absolutely astonishing.”

http://www.learner.org/resources/series105.html?pop=yes&pid=1237

Cagey News Compendium

Cagey News Compendium, January 2011: The main thought I had in building this digest of news clips was the change in political mood about a month and a half prior to the November 2010 elections. It was abundantly clear that a major turn was ahead.

Also, why has the response to Wikileaks met with such a tepid response?

Finally, stay tuned for the feature video at the end. “Ain’t that America?”

POLITICS

“Palin and the Left’s Status Anxiety”
http://chicagoboyz.net/archives/15616.html

“No, the best explanation for the left’s bizarre Palin obsession is status-anxiety. Status-anxiety occurs when a person believes that their position in a real or imagined social hierarchy is threatened. Leftists react emotionally to Palin because of the threat she poses to their own individual sense of status. All their other arguments are just put forth to rationalize that emotional reaction.”

“Arizona Regains Footing in Legal Battle Over Immigration Law”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/11/judge-dismisses-challenge-ariz-immigration-law/

“Nesi Analysis: Why Caprio whacked Obama”
http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/politics/local_politics/ted-nesi-analysis-why-caprio-whacked-obama

“The political world is all atwitter this morning over Democrat Frank Caprio's decision to take to the august airwaves of WPRO to tell President Obama he can ‘take his endorsement and really shove it’."

“Tea Party Cynics at the Polls”
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/tea_party_cynics_at_the_polls.html
“The left has greatly underestimated the determination of the tea party to reclaim the country. The tea party protests, to quote the president, are "illegitimate" because they stand in the way of necessary change. This great revolution, however, is nothing more than a contemptible program of income confiscation and redistribution, and despite the administration's rhetoric to the contrary, the middle class is the target of this redistribution scheme.”

Overregulation:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/business/22regulate.html?_r=2&ref=business

HEALTH


“Low carb diet trumps low-fat on ‘good cholesterol”
http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/ap/us_med_dueling_diets

MILITARY

“Assange ought to be hiding from America.”
http://sroblog.com/2010/12/03/charles-krauthammer-wikileaks-founder-assange-ought-to-be-hiding-from-america/

“That's an order! Judge overturns don't ask, don't tell”
http://blog.nj.com/njv_george_berkin/2010/10/thats_an_order_judge_overturns.html

"Conservatives responded to the ruling by saying that democracy requires that elected officials, not judges, make social policy. 'Once again, an activist federal judge is using the military to advance a liberal social agenda, disregarding the views of all four military service chiefs and the constitutional role of the Congress,' said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a social policy think tank."

"Unfortunately, it is very tempting for liberal judges, impatient with the stubbornness of less 'progressive' elements of society, to set social policy for the military and the rest of us. But allowing judges to rule – instead of the people, through their duly elected representatives – is not good practice.

“Troops chafe at restrictive rules of engagement, talks with Taliban”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Troops-chafe-at-restrictive-rules-of-engagement_-talks-with-Taliban-1226055-105202284.html

SELF-HELP AND PERSONAL ORGANIZATION

“Creating a Cleaning Schedule”

http://housekeeping.about.com/od/schedulesandcharts/a/schedule.htm

MORALITY AND POST-MODERNISM


“The New Christian Knighthood”
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0362.htm

"Protect the moral character you build here, and remember the leadership you learn here. You'll need both when the day comes to return to civilian life."

FEATURE

“Kids disappointed about Disney trip”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG44ZLsuIHs

Tears for Fears breaks it down on the East Coast, 2010

Missed seeing The Smithereens a few months back, but I failed to report that on 4 SEP, I saw the demi-god megaband of the 80s TEARS FOR FEARS. Probably only Duran Duran and Depeche Mode rank higher in new wave.
Setlist will be up soon, but looks like they haven't switched it much show to show:

   Check this - http://www.setlist.fm/setlists/tears-for-fears-63d6ba37.html
Do they ever switch up setlists? Gimme some b-sides!

   What was it like in there? 1500 people (2:1 pumas)! I slammed a couple tequilas next door and threw open the doors in slow-mo, like in time with the famous scene from 'Donnie Darko'. 

   They did a Billie Jean cover in addition to their regular stuff, venue was small, fans went nuts. Got a t-shirt with the 'Happy Ending' '04 logo (their first album in their anthology since parting ways in the '90s - I remember how excited I was picking that album up and cutting through the trees of the naval hospital grounds in Yoko, cold day, headphones on) and an autographed poster for framing (covered up the "Norfolk" with my ticket stub).  Roland talked about all the great bennies in the Norva, including hot tub, and a basketball court. Basketball court?!?!

   Of five bands I always was dying to see in a lifetime, this was the fifth of five (The Fixx, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, The Church, and now TFF. Cause and Effect would be a sixth), a kind of finish line for an emotional, milestone year.  It's hard for me to be able to let emotions crowd into me on demand, or at times.  I figured I was supposed to have this Nirvana-like feeling and the set was already halfway over.  "This is it, and it's not working."  I was wondering what was wrong; I'd built all this expectation for months that I would finally see the reclusive TFF play a show. The band that randomly showed up in San Diego a few years back and charged a staggering $100 or so to get into a tiny yachting venue. 

   Mind you, we've known songs like 'Head Over Heels' and 'Shout' since early in grade school which have remained popular and taken on personal meaning over time. Gin and tonic doing nothing; and looking around at shows like this - you see people just really getting into it, waving their hands and etc., y'know? (Most men I know have been non-dancy guys since the awkward meat market days in college, and put it away, thankfully.)  Nagging feeling: would I appear like a hippie or religious-rocker if I'd just let myself disarm a bit?  So I just waded my way into the middle of the crowd and visualized my own little 'awakening' which kind of work.  And by that time, Roland was leading off the anthemic Break it Down Again and started saluting, which I thought was really cool (was it the cadence of the song, or being in Norfolk, or part of the routine?).  Did this strike a chord with anyone else? 

Tears For Fears - Break It Down Again

"Lost Dog"

   About two years ago, I lost my dog. She was gone for a week, during the awful nor'easter as I remember.  Wind and rain blew in hard for days. It couldn't have come at a worse time, due the weather, and many personal torrents I was going through - some of the worst imaginable. (This brings to mind a Men's Health article I have clipped [somewhere] on surviving the most traumatic periods of adulthood:  Loss of a job;  divorce; death. How do men confront these crises head-on?). This was truly the last straw. I couldn't believe she couldn't find her way home - why did she run away? Where was she? Was she o.k.?

   Two years later, medical checkups are complete and she is loving her life being a dog.  I was suddenly motivated to wish a big THANK YOU again to especially Gary B., HR Animal Rescue, VBSPCA, VB Animal Control, and many kind people in the neighborhood. I know pets go missing every day, but you must stay hopeful. After a week, one of the fliers I posted got me a phone call and found her huddled under a bush, two full miles away from home, emaciated and covered in mud.  She whined all the way to Arby's, where she took her return-to-civilization feast from a relieved daddy.  The folks that'd helped lured her out with some tuna, and when I called her over it was truly a happy reunion for all involved. 

   That week was really hard.  She was antsy the day she left, I'd come home almost twice trying to get out the door for work to grab coffee, the lunch I forgot, whatever.

   I'd waited for a few hours to see what would happen after finding her missing, then my 'occifer' determination kicked in somehow and there I was, out putting up fliers at 4 a.m.

   I published 200+ lost dog posters with a pic and phone number on major intersections within a 1 mi. radius from my home/"command center". She was sighted at the gas station the day of, and then I would drive around daily, calling her name from my car and blowing a dog whistle. I remember the desperation I felt in doing so, but I was determined to find the little creature who brought me so much happiness at her antics. I surely owed it to her as her master, all she ever wanted was a place to sleep and a bite to eat in return for unconditional love and loyalty. Today, I take special note of how she "knows what I'm thinking" and is so attuned to me. She is well-behaved, sympathetic when I'm down, knows when it's time for a car ride or walkies with only a look & no commands. I'm so lucky to have such a friend, and I consider that the work I put in to get her back among my greatest triumphs, and a reminder of the divine.

Some final thoughts:

1. Get your pet chipped. This is important if your pet is found and turned in, or ever stolen.

2. There are GPS collars, about $200. Pretty expensive, but an oz. of prevention...
3. If searching, ask people you see out for walks if they've seen anything, pass them your info or one of your fliers.

4. Fliers need large text and photo and REWARD stated.

5. Contact animal rescue groups - they get the word out.

6. Ensure holes in your fence are shored up!!!  (My biggest screw-up - not noticing.)

7. Don't give up hope. Your pet is good at finding water and something to munch on. Craigslist is a high-visibility, useful community bulletin board. If you see a stray pet running around, I encourage you to use good judgement (safety) in your actions, and do your part to let people know.

Thank you again, and God bless.

There's no hate like liberal hate

http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/10/the-progressive-climate-of-hate-an-illustrated-primer-2000-2010/

I'd add a ninth category:  Christians arrested in Dearborn at a Muslim rally.

Meanwhile...

ROBO-SAURUS

Still nursing OOC fingers, hope 2011 is off to a great start for you.

QOTD

If, in serving, one is served,
And in being served, one is also serving,
Are not both folds of the same cloth?

-Kwai Chang Caine