I am reluctantly changing my mind

I hate conspiracy theories. Especially big conspiracy theories. I rarely give them the time of day. I don't read about them, I avoid conversations about them, and listen with glassy-eyed politeness when such conversations are imposed on me. Nutbars see conspiracies everywhere and some of them are pretty persuasive. I have better things to do with my time than to even try to debunk them.

At the repeated urging of a family member or two, I have finally taken the time to consider the evidence presented by Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth. This is a group of professionals who have made a scientific analysis of the collapse of the three buildings in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and found the official explanations not only wanting, but impossible.

These are not wild-eyed ranters and ravers, but bespectacled, balding men in business suits with Power Point presentations and a lot of hard evidence, the kind of thing I can respect. This is not the sort of presentation that normally brings me close to tears, but in this case I found myself struggling a time or two. The implications are horrific.

Here is Richard Gage, founder of the organization, giving one of his recent public presentations. Be forewarned, this is lengthy. Explore their website if you prefer. You will find no political theorizing, no demonization, but a great deal of skepticism toward official explanations, and a lot of science. The basic thesis? That the towers were brought down in a controlled demolition, not in a spontaneous collapse. They present ten characteristics of controlled demolitions that were demonstrably present, and none of which can be explained by official theories.

There are now well over 500 architects and engineers publicly demanding a new, independent inquiry. What do you think?


Technorati tags: Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, World Trade Center

Oh du froehliche

A German boys' choir - the Regensburger Domspatzen - singing a cappella for Christmas Eve. This is one of my favourite German carols that doesn't get wide play in English. I'm not sure if it was originally written in German or not, but ever since my high school German teacher made us learn it and lead the school in singing it (speaking euphemistically) I've had a soft spot for it nonetheless.



The choir (the Regensburg Dome Sparrows) goes back more than a thousand years, which in itself inspires thoughts of eternity, doesn't it?

And I would like to wish all readers of this blog a very merry and blessed Christmas and a happy Chanukah season.


Technorati tags: Christmas music, Oh du froehlich, Regensburger Domspatzen

Mary, Did You Know?

I came out of my cultural cave to discover this modern Christmas carol just recently, years after everybody else, apparently. I don't know the singer here either, but I very much like what I see. The simplicity of the music is a perfect foil for an acoustic guitar accompaniment and I have a long-established preference for alto voices. Kathy Mattea invests this with passion too, which counts a lot for me.



This carol struck me for another reason. I wrote a carol myself years ago with a similar theme, except I addressed the questions to Jesus, asking him if he told his mother.


Technorati tags: Mary, Did You Know?, Christmas Music, Kathy Mattea

Joy to the World, Yes Sir!

Aretha Franklin puts the joy in "Joy to the World" Yes sir!

Ignore the inexplicable jingly bits at the beginning and end.




Technorati tags: Christmas Music, Joy to the World, Aretha Franklin

For women writers or men in search of inspiration

Mslexia, a British publication featuring female writers, is sponsoring a short-story contest (and in case you're in lack of inspiration, kickstarts your imagination with a number of interesting prompts.

CHANGE A MEMORY
Think of a true but unusual incident that once happened to you (or to someone you know) involving either: a stranger, a relative, a lover, a child, an animal (or pet), clothes, or money. Write notes about the incident answering these questions: Who? (Characters involved) What? (The action) When? (Time of year) Where? (Landscape) Background? (The news at the time.) Now ask yourself why it happened. This is the essence of the story. Now re-envision the incident, changing one element: the main character; his/her reaction; the climate; the outcome. Or simply transfer your memory to a time in the past (or future) that interests you.

CHANGE PERSPECTIVE
Write in first person but from the point of view of a character very different to yourself: an old woman; a child; a pregnant woman; a new bride; a new groom; a jilted lover; a blind man. Choose one of the following titles: I Got Drunk in an Empty House or I Dug a Hole in the Back Garden. Don’t reveal who you are, but let your (new) identity inform your thoughts and actions as you explore this scenario and its possibilities for a short story.

WRITE A MONOLOGUE
Choose a seemingly minor reason to produce anxiety: an invitation to a party; running out of milk; a thunderstorm. Write in first person from the point of view of someone who is obsessing about this concern. As the writing progresses, see if you can raise your anxiety levels. Can this monologue build to a revelation? Is there a story emerging?

USE NEWSPAPERS FOR INSPIRATION
Find a news item that interests you. Identify a minor character in that story whose point of view you’d like to develop. (It could be someone very peripheral to the events, or someone not even mentioned but suggested by the events.) You might also like to adapt this technique by taking a minor character from a novel and making that person the main character of a new story.

FIND INSPIRATION IN THE OBITUARIES
Collect obits that interest you. Cut them up into discrete segments and combine segments from different lives into a single life story. Don’t worry about gender. Just combine the various incidents and achievements and then shape the character and decide on a gender.

There are even more prompts on the contest page. Even if you're not interested in entering the contest, the prompts are unusually good ones, at least in my opinion.


Technorati tags: Mslexia, Writing contest, Writing prompts

What Child is This?

This Elizabethan ballad has got to be one of the most-used tunes in the history of the English-speaking world, and for good reason. It's an enchanting melody and one that allows the singer to invest a lot of passion in it. Not surprising that it was pressed into service as a Christmas carol, because the best of these capture some of the deepest longings of the human heart.

For those of you who like smooth and modern, here is (yes again, Janna) Josh Groban.



And for those who want deep passion, here is the incomparable Mahalia Jackson. I still have this one on vinyl somewhere, because I couldn't bear to throw it away.




Technorati tags: Christmas music, What Child is This?, Mahalia Jackson, Josh Groban

The Coventry Carol

We are leaving the Caribbean and heading for Renaissance England. I love this carol for its haunting beauty, its very unmodern harmonies, and for its counterweight to the sicky sweetness of so much of our contemporary Christmas celebrations. What other carol do you know of that tackles the Massacre of the Innocents? The darkness is held up to emphasize the brilliance of the light, which broke into a dark world with a much higher purpose than inspiring tinsel and candy canes.




Technorati tags: Christmas music, Coventry Carol, Cambridge Singers

The Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy

Thank goodness for high school choir directors. They give you exposure to all kinds of things that you might have missed otherwise. And if I'd only heard Nat King Cole's version of this song, I'd never have learned to love it. His languid, white-washed version is a study in boredom.

If this one doesn't have an authentic calypso beat, it should not be allowed to see daylight. (I can't figure the graphics for this clip. Nothing to do with the song's lyrics, nothing to do with Island culture. Lazy.)



For an alternate, and rather entertaining version, go here. Seeing the outstanding prima donna from Down Under tackling this one with a group of red-robed, beruffled British choir boys is a lesson in cultural diversity all on its own. And they respected the essential nature of the song too, which was nice.


Technorati tags: Christmas music, The Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy

Il est né, le divin enfant

This is a very amateur videoclip of the North Chamber Singers doing one of my favourite French Christmas carols. Why would I choose this one over a more polished version? Well, first of all, they get the tempo right. When this one is done by choirs in French cathedrals, they drag it out at about half the speed, effectively killing it as far as I'm concerned, and turning it into something dirge-like. I used to link this one with Angels We Have Heard on High (another French carol) when I led worship in a little French church and we'd swap back and forth between the two, doing both of them with a lively, sprightly rhythm. Yes, there is a place for the solemn awe of "O Holy Night", but there is also a place for the bouncy joy that this little choir captured. And their English accents are so cute...



I have no idea where these kids are from or anything about their choir. I'm open to enlightenment.


Technorati tags: Il est né, Christmas music, North Chamber Singers

O Holy Night

It was Hallmark who killed Josh Groban for me. I was only vaguely aware that such a person existed (yes, I know. I live in a cave) but when the lady at the cash started hawking his Christmas CD, I said no politely, the way I almost always do when somebody at the cash hawks me something, and mentally scratched him off my list of people to be taken seriously.

I mean, it was Hallmark, for crying out loud. That's where I go for cards, not culture.

And then I started looking for Christmas carols on YouTube, and I kept running into him. And I listened. And I revised my opinion. So, for your edification and mine, I am going to let him sing one of my all-time favourite songs of any kind, right here on my blog.



While he may be making high school girls and their older sisters go moony-eyed all over the world, he really has a voice. And I very much appreciate the fact that he sings the song without trying to draw attention to himself. Many a famous voice has turned my stomach when I had to watch the antics of the singer, who may have been mouthing sublime lyrics, but was really singing "Look at me, look at me, look at meeeeeeeeeeeee." Humility on stage is such a rare virtue, and to me at least, a very endearing one.

O Holy Night is one of those songs that I can sing from deep, deep in my guts. "A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices." And the wonderful emphasis of faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall on your knees: a singer's dream.


Technorati tags: Christmas music, O Holy Night, Josh Groban