I saw the danger, yet I walked Along the enchanted way. . . . “On Raglan Road” More than three months now and I just can’t get the music of Van Morrison out of my heart and feet. After five full decades his voice, his songs, his high-art approach to backstreet blue ballads and stonegood […]
Van Morrison: The Little Giant of Blue-Eyed Soul Read More »
A harmonica? The thing’s only four inches long! All kinds of notes are missing! Harp players have to show up with a briefcase full of different keys, just to play! They’re so tinny and shrill! So why would a serious musician ever choose the harmonica to play music on? Admittedly, this is good question. But
A Full-Tilt Tribute to the 1896 Harmonica Read More »
The marriage of C.K. Ogden’s work with that of I.A. Richards yielded Basic English, an extreme narrowing of the English language whose principal aim was to eliminate misunderstanding due to clumsiness in manipulating the semiotic triangle. Reducing the dictionary to 850 words (with various ancillary vocabularies tailored to specific disciplines) would greatly reduce the possibility
Basic English on Mt. Fuji Read More »
Franklin Macon, who passed away at his home on November 22, 2020 at the age of 97, was one of only two remaining original Tuskegee airmen. After lengthy stays at care centers following an illness, he was happy to finally go home to his own house in the neighborhood that he had grown up in
Don’t Give Up: The Legacy of Franklin Macon Read More »
Ever since “liberal” became a bad word in America, there has been a growing tendency to pass judgment on other people by using this four-word zinger: “Everybody has a choice.” This is to say that no matter what situation one finds oneself in, there is always a right or wrong response, and if one chooses
Choice and the Complexity of Human Nature Read More »
“Before I was shot, I always thought that I was more half-there than all-there—I always suspected that I was watching TV instead of living life. People sometimes say that the way things happen in movies is unreal, but actually it’s the way things happen in life that’s unreal. The movies make emotions look so strong
Andy Warhol on the Nature of Reality Read More »