From Newsweek: In an exclusive excerpt from a recent interview, Bob Dylan talks with author Bill Flanagan about Barack Obama, the ghosts of the Civil War and presidential autobiographies.
Bill Flanagan: You liked Barack Obama early on. Why was that?
Bob Dylan: I'd read his book and it intrigued me.
"Audacity of Hope"?No, it was called "Dreams [From] My Father."
What struck you about him?Well, a number of things. He's got an interesting background. He's like a fictional character, but he's real. First off, his mother was a Kansas girl. Never lived in Kansas, though, but with deep roots. You know, like Kansas bloody Kansas. John Brown the insurrectionist. Jesse James and Quantrill. Bushwhackers, guerillas. Wizard of Oz Kansas. I think Barack has Jefferson Davis back there in his ancestry someplace. And then his father. An African intellectual. Bantu, Masai, Griot-type heritage--cattle raiders, lion killers. I mean, it's just so incongruous that these two people would meet and fall in love. You kind of get past that, though. And then you're into his story. Like an odyssey, except in reverse....
There is a certain sensibility, but I'm not sure how that connects.It must be the Southern air. It's filled with rambling ghosts and disturbed spirits. They're all screaming and forlorning. It's like they are caught in some weird web--some purgatory between heaven and hell and they can't rest. They can't live, and they can't die. It's like they were cut off in their prime, wanting to tell somebody something. It's all over the place. There are war fields everywhere … a lot of times even in people's backyards.
Did you feel all the music Elvis must have heard?No, but I'll tell you what I did feel. I felt the ghosts from the bloody battle that Sherman fought against Forrest and drove him out. There's an eeriness to the town. A sadness that lingers. Elvis must have felt it too.
Are you a mystical person?Absolutely.
More here:
Dylan on Mysticism, Obama and the American South:
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/popvox/archive/2009/04/06/exclusive-excerpt-dylan-on-mysticism-obama-the-south.aspx
Dylan's new single (and another great tune, following last week's release of "Beyondf here lies nothin'": "Feel a Change Comin' on" from the New album "Together Through Life":
http://video.newsweek.com/#?t=18540585001&l=25152707
Beyond here lies nothin interactive lyrical portrait gallery:
http://www.beyondhereliesnothin.com/?utm_medium=columbia-email&utm_source=bobdylancom&utm_campaign=columbia-email|bobdylancom|20090406
Monday, April 6, 2009
'Terremoto": Earthquake in Abruzzo, Italy
Viewing both the amazing artifacts and architecture of Rome, and the results of the destruction of Pompei this past December, one realizes that the Italian geology remains dynamic and changing, just as so much of its civilization has survived for millennia. "Terremoto", earthquakes, remain a reality in this lovely country, dotted with palm trees and lemon groves, so central in Europe and so close to the continent of Africa.
The earthquake in L'Aquila, Abruzzo region, has had a profound impact on the affected towns.
US Geological Survey Details on the Quake:
>http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009fcaf.php
More local news on the event:
a>http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L6566682.htm
From Correire della Sera:
Numerous buildings destroyed and 40-50,000 people displaced. The earthquake, which registered 5.8 on Richter scale, occurred at 3.32 am and was felt all over central Italy
L’AQUILA – An earthquake that registered 5.8 on the Richter scale shook the Abruzzo region at 3.32 this morning. The epicentre was about 10 kilometres from L’Aquila and the tremor was felt distinctly all over central Italy from Romagna to Naples. Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has already proclaimed a state of emergency, mobilising the army and air force, and appointing Guido Bertolaso to manage operations. Mr Berlusconi has indicated that he will visit L’Aquila at once, as will the interior minister, Roberto Maroni. Mr Bertolaso, who is Italy’s civil defence supremo, is already in L’Aquila and said the “situation is dramatic, the worst tragedy since the start of the new millennium”.
THE POPE AND THE PRESIDENT – Benedict XVI and Italy’s president, Giorgio Napolitano, have sent messages of solidarity to communities hit by the earthquake.
EARTHQUAKE DATA – The earthquake occurred 8.8 kilometres below ground level. Giulio Selvaggi, director of the earthquake centre at the national institute of geophysics and vulcanology (INGV), said that earthquakes like this are classed as “moderate, with an intensity 30 times lower than the one that devastated Irpinia in 1980”. Abruzzo has been the focus of a seismic swarm that became active on 16 January, causing hundreds of shocks, the most serious of which, with a magnitude of four, took place on 30 March.
CASUALTIES – The interim count of casualties is already dramatic and destined to rise: 100 deaths, hundreds of injured and thousands of people displaced. At least five children are among the victims. Hundreds of buildings collapsed completely or in part, and thousands more were damaged or left unsafe. There could be as many as 40-50,000 displaced persons. Rescue work is hampered by continuing aftershocks that could cause damaged buildings to collapse and by the total destruction of the prefecture, which should have coordinated the rescue effort. Only the four pillars at the prefecture’s entrance have been left standing. The buildings of the provincial and regional authorities also suffered severe damage.
NEARBY TOWNS – News of devastation is starting to come in from towns and villages around L’Aquila that were cut off until this morning. The situation is particularly desperate in towns like Onna, where 50% of homes have been destroyed, and Paganica. Rescue workers on the spot say the situation is “appalling” and reminiscent of the earthquake in Umbria. A number of buildings were damaged at Sulmona and Castel di Sangro but there are no reports of casualties. Meanwhile the courthouse at Avezzano has been declared unsafe.
RESCUE WORK – Early today, it was already clear that the situation in the regional capital was dramatic. In the middle of the morning, the sheet-covered corpses of victims extracted from the rubble still lay on the ground. Hundreds of people wandered the streets in a state of shock, many huddled in blankets and many more still wearing pyjamas. Those who abandoned their homes were directed to the football ground area, where a reception centre will be set up, but others, who have taken to the streets for fear of being trapped if aftershocks demolish their already damaged homes, are hampering rescuers’ efforts. Civil defence authorities have invited residents to keep the streets clear to allow rescue work to proceed. L’Aquila hospital, whose drinking water supply was cut off, began work under emergency conditions. Doctors were administering first aid in the open air outside the A&E department. Only one operating theatre was functioning, the others having been rendered unsafe. A field hospital is now on its way from the Marche region and the more seriously injured victims have been flown by helicopter to hospitals elsewhere in Abruzzo, in Rieti and in Rome. In the early hours of the day, there was chaos at L’Aquila hospital as ambulances and in private cars continued to ferry in casualties.
BUILDINGS DESTROYED AND DAMAGED – Early estimates by civil defence put the number of unsafe buildings at 10-15,000. Four complexes were razed to the ground: the student residence, one building in Via Sant’Andrea and two in Via XX Settembre. Various other buildings were damaged or partially demolished in other parts of L’Aquila and the Duca degli Abruzzi hotel was totally destroyed. Rescuers are attempting to reach a family of four trapped in a small house opposite the student residence. A woman of about 50 was recovered alive from the ruins of a three-storey building in Piazza della Repubblica and one youth was rescued alive from the student residence but another ten or so are thought to be still trapped. Rescuers are digging with their hands as mechanical diggers are unable to reach the site. One Greek student and about ten Israelis are missing, according to communiqués from the respective foreign ministries. Parts of the façade and apse of the church of Santa Maria del Suffragio in Piazza Duomo also collapsed.
DAMAGE ELSEWHERE – Falling cornices and other damage, but no casualties, were reported in the province of Pescara. A seriously damaged building was evacuated at Sora, in the province of Frosinone. Further damage was reported in the province of Rieti.
COMMUNICAITONS – The mobile phone and landline networks in the earthquake-hit areas are back in operation. Electricity supplies to 80% of the 15,000 premises that were cut off had been restored by 9 am. The main railway lines are all in operation and checks are under way on regional services. Checks are also being carried out on motorways, where some sections have been closed. Repairs are being carried out on the water supply network in the Teramo and Pescara areas.
AID – Offers of aid have flooded in from other regions of Italy, from other countries and from the European Commission. “At this time, we can say that the Italian machinery is perfectly able to deal with the emergency”, said civil defence executive, Agostino Miozzo. “If we encounter problems during operations, our friends will be ready to step in”.
APPEALS – The Abruzzo regional authority chair, Gianni Chiodi, launched an urgent appeal for blood donors. Italy’s chief of police, Antonio Manganelli, asked drivers “not to clog roads that from now own will be used by rescue convoys”.
English translation by Giles Watson
www.watson.it
The earthquake in L'Aquila, Abruzzo region, has had a profound impact on the affected towns.
US Geological Survey Details on the Quake:
>http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009fcaf.php
More local news on the event:
a>http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L6566682.htm
From Correire della Sera:
Numerous buildings destroyed and 40-50,000 people displaced. The earthquake, which registered 5.8 on Richter scale, occurred at 3.32 am and was felt all over central Italy
L’AQUILA – An earthquake that registered 5.8 on the Richter scale shook the Abruzzo region at 3.32 this morning. The epicentre was about 10 kilometres from L’Aquila and the tremor was felt distinctly all over central Italy from Romagna to Naples. Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has already proclaimed a state of emergency, mobilising the army and air force, and appointing Guido Bertolaso to manage operations. Mr Berlusconi has indicated that he will visit L’Aquila at once, as will the interior minister, Roberto Maroni. Mr Bertolaso, who is Italy’s civil defence supremo, is already in L’Aquila and said the “situation is dramatic, the worst tragedy since the start of the new millennium”.
THE POPE AND THE PRESIDENT – Benedict XVI and Italy’s president, Giorgio Napolitano, have sent messages of solidarity to communities hit by the earthquake.
EARTHQUAKE DATA – The earthquake occurred 8.8 kilometres below ground level. Giulio Selvaggi, director of the earthquake centre at the national institute of geophysics and vulcanology (INGV), said that earthquakes like this are classed as “moderate, with an intensity 30 times lower than the one that devastated Irpinia in 1980”. Abruzzo has been the focus of a seismic swarm that became active on 16 January, causing hundreds of shocks, the most serious of which, with a magnitude of four, took place on 30 March.
CASUALTIES – The interim count of casualties is already dramatic and destined to rise: 100 deaths, hundreds of injured and thousands of people displaced. At least five children are among the victims. Hundreds of buildings collapsed completely or in part, and thousands more were damaged or left unsafe. There could be as many as 40-50,000 displaced persons. Rescue work is hampered by continuing aftershocks that could cause damaged buildings to collapse and by the total destruction of the prefecture, which should have coordinated the rescue effort. Only the four pillars at the prefecture’s entrance have been left standing. The buildings of the provincial and regional authorities also suffered severe damage.
NEARBY TOWNS – News of devastation is starting to come in from towns and villages around L’Aquila that were cut off until this morning. The situation is particularly desperate in towns like Onna, where 50% of homes have been destroyed, and Paganica. Rescue workers on the spot say the situation is “appalling” and reminiscent of the earthquake in Umbria. A number of buildings were damaged at Sulmona and Castel di Sangro but there are no reports of casualties. Meanwhile the courthouse at Avezzano has been declared unsafe.
RESCUE WORK – Early today, it was already clear that the situation in the regional capital was dramatic. In the middle of the morning, the sheet-covered corpses of victims extracted from the rubble still lay on the ground. Hundreds of people wandered the streets in a state of shock, many huddled in blankets and many more still wearing pyjamas. Those who abandoned their homes were directed to the football ground area, where a reception centre will be set up, but others, who have taken to the streets for fear of being trapped if aftershocks demolish their already damaged homes, are hampering rescuers’ efforts. Civil defence authorities have invited residents to keep the streets clear to allow rescue work to proceed. L’Aquila hospital, whose drinking water supply was cut off, began work under emergency conditions. Doctors were administering first aid in the open air outside the A&E department. Only one operating theatre was functioning, the others having been rendered unsafe. A field hospital is now on its way from the Marche region and the more seriously injured victims have been flown by helicopter to hospitals elsewhere in Abruzzo, in Rieti and in Rome. In the early hours of the day, there was chaos at L’Aquila hospital as ambulances and in private cars continued to ferry in casualties.
BUILDINGS DESTROYED AND DAMAGED – Early estimates by civil defence put the number of unsafe buildings at 10-15,000. Four complexes were razed to the ground: the student residence, one building in Via Sant’Andrea and two in Via XX Settembre. Various other buildings were damaged or partially demolished in other parts of L’Aquila and the Duca degli Abruzzi hotel was totally destroyed. Rescuers are attempting to reach a family of four trapped in a small house opposite the student residence. A woman of about 50 was recovered alive from the ruins of a three-storey building in Piazza della Repubblica and one youth was rescued alive from the student residence but another ten or so are thought to be still trapped. Rescuers are digging with their hands as mechanical diggers are unable to reach the site. One Greek student and about ten Israelis are missing, according to communiqués from the respective foreign ministries. Parts of the façade and apse of the church of Santa Maria del Suffragio in Piazza Duomo also collapsed.
DAMAGE ELSEWHERE – Falling cornices and other damage, but no casualties, were reported in the province of Pescara. A seriously damaged building was evacuated at Sora, in the province of Frosinone. Further damage was reported in the province of Rieti.
COMMUNICAITONS – The mobile phone and landline networks in the earthquake-hit areas are back in operation. Electricity supplies to 80% of the 15,000 premises that were cut off had been restored by 9 am. The main railway lines are all in operation and checks are under way on regional services. Checks are also being carried out on motorways, where some sections have been closed. Repairs are being carried out on the water supply network in the Teramo and Pescara areas.
AID – Offers of aid have flooded in from other regions of Italy, from other countries and from the European Commission. “At this time, we can say that the Italian machinery is perfectly able to deal with the emergency”, said civil defence executive, Agostino Miozzo. “If we encounter problems during operations, our friends will be ready to step in”.
APPEALS – The Abruzzo regional authority chair, Gianni Chiodi, launched an urgent appeal for blood donors. Italy’s chief of police, Antonio Manganelli, asked drivers “not to clog roads that from now own will be used by rescue convoys”.
English translation by Giles Watson
www.watson.it
Friday, April 3, 2009
Borat is back...as Bruno: First Trailer
Sacha Baron Cohen is back, offensive and hilarious as ever, it seems. A Trailer available here:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/film/article2357203.ece
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/film/article2357203.ece
Thursday, April 2, 2009
'No Flash in the Pan': Obama and the G20 Blues
Caught in gentle downtown Brooklyn traffic. Imagining 44, on Air Force One, flying over the Atlantic on his way to G20. He's jamming to Bob Dylan's "Cry Awhile." And not air guitar, no, not this Prez. Hoops, blues and the law. Croonin' and laying down those mean blues licks, backed up by Tim Geithner on drums, Joltin' Joe Biden on bass. A blues soul if there ever was one. Raised all across the American continent and in Asia to boot. Steeped in Chicago cool and Columbia law dreams. He glances over at the picture of the kids, and winks at Michelle who sits by a window, reading The Economist. The Man's come a long way in a little while. China, like a club-owner watching the bottom line, may express caution; Merkel and Sarkozy may argue over the primacy of cool Euro jazz over American blues, but soon it won't matter.
44, his missus, and the Team are on their way to show G20 what's what and, lettin' the cat out of the cage, that will be that.
Dylan's actual performance from 2002 Grammy's here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X7iw8pk-84
Cry A While by Bob Dylan
Well, I had to go down and see a guy named Mr. Goldsmith
A nasty, dirty, double-crossin', back-stabbin' phony I didn't wanna have to be dealin' with
But I did it for you and all you gave me was a smile
Well, I cried for you - now it's your turn to cry awhile
I don't carry dead weight - I'm no flash in the pan
All right, I'll set you straight, can't you see I'm a union man?
I'm lettin' the cat out of the cage, I'm keeping a low profile
Well, I cried for you - now it's your turn, you can cry awhile
Feel like a fighting rooster - feel better than I ever felt
But the Pennsylvania line's in an awful mess and the Denver road is about to melt
I went to the church house, every day I go an extra mile
Well, I cried for you - now it's your turn, you can cry awhile
Last night 'cross the alley there was a pounding on the walls
It must have been Don Pasquale makin' a two a.m. booty call
To break a trusting heart like mine was just your style
Well, I cried for you - now it's your turn to cry awhile
I'm on the fringes of the night, fighting back tears that I can't control
Some people they ain't human, they got no heart or soul
Well, I'm crying to The Lord - I'm tryin' to be meek and mild
Yes, I cried for you - now it's your turn, you can cry awhile
Well, there's preachers in the pulpits and babies in the cribs
I'm longin' for that sweet fat that sticks to your ribs
I'm gonna buy me a barrel of whiskey - I'll die before I turn senile
Well, I cried for you - now it's your turn, you can cry awhile
Well, you bet on a horse and it ran on the wrong way
I always said you'd be sorry and today could be the day
I might need a good lawyer, could be your funeral, my trial
Well, I cried for you, now it's your turn, you can cry awhile
Copyright ©2001 Special Rider Music
44, his missus, and the Team are on their way to show G20 what's what and, lettin' the cat out of the cage, that will be that.
Dylan's actual performance from 2002 Grammy's here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X7iw8pk-84
Cry A While by Bob Dylan
Well, I had to go down and see a guy named Mr. Goldsmith
A nasty, dirty, double-crossin', back-stabbin' phony I didn't wanna have to be dealin' with
But I did it for you and all you gave me was a smile
Well, I cried for you - now it's your turn to cry awhile
I don't carry dead weight - I'm no flash in the pan
All right, I'll set you straight, can't you see I'm a union man?
I'm lettin' the cat out of the cage, I'm keeping a low profile
Well, I cried for you - now it's your turn, you can cry awhile
Feel like a fighting rooster - feel better than I ever felt
But the Pennsylvania line's in an awful mess and the Denver road is about to melt
I went to the church house, every day I go an extra mile
Well, I cried for you - now it's your turn, you can cry awhile
Last night 'cross the alley there was a pounding on the walls
It must have been Don Pasquale makin' a two a.m. booty call
To break a trusting heart like mine was just your style
Well, I cried for you - now it's your turn to cry awhile
I'm on the fringes of the night, fighting back tears that I can't control
Some people they ain't human, they got no heart or soul
Well, I'm crying to The Lord - I'm tryin' to be meek and mild
Yes, I cried for you - now it's your turn, you can cry awhile
Well, there's preachers in the pulpits and babies in the cribs
I'm longin' for that sweet fat that sticks to your ribs
I'm gonna buy me a barrel of whiskey - I'll die before I turn senile
Well, I cried for you - now it's your turn, you can cry awhile
Well, you bet on a horse and it ran on the wrong way
I always said you'd be sorry and today could be the day
I might need a good lawyer, could be your funeral, my trial
Well, I cried for you, now it's your turn, you can cry awhile
Copyright ©2001 Special Rider Music
Monday, March 30, 2009
"Beyond Here lies Nothin' ": Bob Dylan
In anticipation of the April 28th release of "Together Through Life" Bob Dylan's new album, following his last new release, Modern Times, www.BobDylan.com, features a free MP3 download of "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'."
Extremely catchy riff, Mike Campbell, Los Lobos' David Hidalgo accordion, and a funky, after-midnight in the barroom- Juarez-horns sound, it'll grow on ya for sure.
Oh yeah, The Man who never left is back. Get it while it's hot.
--Brooklyn Beat
Extremely catchy riff, Mike Campbell, Los Lobos' David Hidalgo accordion, and a funky, after-midnight in the barroom- Juarez-horns sound, it'll grow on ya for sure.
Oh yeah, The Man who never left is back. Get it while it's hot.
--Brooklyn Beat
Friday, March 27, 2009
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like....Easter
Routine can be fatal. So, varying my route, I happened down State Street, and was rewarded with the sight of this delightfully decorated bit of aerie arborage, just below Boerum Place if I recall. Eggs, Glitter and Whimsicality to Spare. You go, Cwazy Wabbit.
--Brooklyn Beat
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Bob Dylan: Plays 'Billy' in Stockholm
Bob Dylan unleashes a rare, possibly first-time-ever, live performance of Billy, one of the classic tunes from the score of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.
Link here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFaxBLh28sU
The full set list:
Regular set
Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
Tryin’ To Get to Heaven
Things Have Changed
Watching the River Flow
Blind Willie McTell
I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
I Believe In You
Honest With Me
Billy 4
Summer Days
All Along The Watchtower
Extras
Cry A While
Like A Rolling Stone
Forever Young
Report from the Club gig in Stockholm:
http://www.robertnyman.com/2009/03/23/bob-dylan-club-gig-at-berns-in-stockholm-march-22nd-2009/
Monday, March 23, 2009
'Angels are just one more species’ : Lionel Ziprin 1924-2009
Above: Last photo of Lionel Ziprin taken by his granddaughter Aisling Labat;
link here: http://www.lionelziprin.com/2009/03/last-photos-taken-of-lionel-ziprin-by.html
"Lionel Ziprin, Jewish Poet and Citizen of the Republic b. 1924 d. 2009"
Visionary. Mystic. Poet. Salonist. The NY Times obit: " For decades, Mr. Ziprin, a self-created planet, exerted a powerful gravitational attraction for poets, artists, experimental filmmakers, would-be philosophers and spiritual seekers."
More here: http://www.lionelziprin.com/2009/03/david-katz-meets-lionel-ziprin-mystic.html
Sunday, March 22, 2009
When the Earth Moves Again: Flatbush Flora
Top: The green fuse that drives the flower: A tiny flower that springs up in the crook of the base of our cherry tree each spring.
Bottom: The purple crocuses, basking in the early springtime sun.
The Silence Farther From Shore
Not just a blip or a glitch. Why is the current disruption so profound ? A seismic shift in not only our political economy, but seemingly also in the fundamental economic ecology of the industrialized, technologically-based tribes/peoples/societies aka nations on the planet. Something has been ripped away, we seem to be swimming, drawn by the current farther from shore. Hoping that it is simply a temporary disjuncture but concerned that it is something else, something harder to understand, harder to explain, something that will be with us for awhile...
Peace Like A River by Paul Simon
Ah, peace like a river ran through the city
Long past the midnight curfew
We sat starry-eyed
Ooh, oh,we were satisfied
O-o-oh, And I remember
Misinformation followed us like a plague
Nobody knew from time to time
If the plans were changed
Oh, oh, oh, if the plans were changed.
You can beat us with wires
You can beat us with chains
You can run out your rules
But you know you can't outrun the history train
I seen a glorious day, aiee------
Ah, four in the morning
I woke up from out of my dreams
Nowhere to go but back to sleep
But I'm reconciled
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Elvis Costello performing Peace Like A River at Montreal Jazz Festival:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D43-Elm8RgQ
Peace Like A River by Paul Simon
Ah, peace like a river ran through the city
Long past the midnight curfew
We sat starry-eyed
Ooh, oh,we were satisfied
O-o-oh, And I remember
Misinformation followed us like a plague
Nobody knew from time to time
If the plans were changed
Oh, oh, oh, if the plans were changed.
You can beat us with wires
You can beat us with chains
You can run out your rules
But you know you can't outrun the history train
I seen a glorious day, aiee------
Ah, four in the morning
I woke up from out of my dreams
Nowhere to go but back to sleep
But I'm reconciled
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Elvis Costello performing Peace Like A River at Montreal Jazz Festival:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D43-Elm8RgQ
Friday, March 20, 2009
It Snowed in Brooklyn on the First Day of Spring
The first day of spring
When the Big Snowflakes fell
And I looked around and said
I remember something
When the world was full of green and yellow and blue
And the grass was soft and sweet
Like the lips of a woman
Who I could not forget
No matter how much I tried
--Brooklyn Beat
When the Big Snowflakes fell
And I looked around and said
I remember something
When the world was full of green and yellow and blue
And the grass was soft and sweet
Like the lips of a woman
Who I could not forget
No matter how much I tried
--Brooklyn Beat
Thursday, March 19, 2009
WHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote & A New Bob Dylan Album To Come, To Boot
From the source: Conversation with Bob Dylan on the new album:
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/conversation
Wyatt Mason: Remote in Time, Alien in Language:
http://harpers.org/archive/2009/03/hbc-90004580
Alex Ross, the Lucky One:
http://www.therestisnoise.com/2009/03/new-dylan.html
Scott Warmuth on Dylan's album available in Aprille with his shoures soote
http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/blogs/home.cfm?uid=80
Love & Theft, Influences, Prologues and Plagiarisms, Who Cares ?
Prologue to the Canterbury Tales
WHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open ye,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages:
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmers for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.
Prologue to The Canterbury Tales:
Here begins the Book of the Tales of Canterbury
When April with his showers sweet with fruit
The drought of March has pierced unto the root
And bathed each vein with liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;
When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath,
Quickened again, in every holt and heath,
The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun
Into the Ram one half his course has run,
And many little birds make melody
That sleep through all the night with open eye
(So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)-
Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage,
And palmers to go seeking out strange strands,
To distant shrines well known in sundry lands.
And specially, from every shire's end
In England, folks to Canterbury wend:
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/conversation
Wyatt Mason: Remote in Time, Alien in Language:
http://harpers.org/archive/2009/03/hbc-90004580
Alex Ross, the Lucky One:
http://www.therestisnoise.com/2009/03/new-dylan.html
Scott Warmuth on Dylan's album available in Aprille with his shoures soote
http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/blogs/home.cfm?uid=80
Love & Theft, Influences, Prologues and Plagiarisms, Who Cares ?
Prologue to the Canterbury Tales
WHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open ye,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages:
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmers for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.
Prologue to The Canterbury Tales:
Here begins the Book of the Tales of Canterbury
When April with his showers sweet with fruit
The drought of March has pierced unto the root
And bathed each vein with liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;
When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath,
Quickened again, in every holt and heath,
The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun
Into the Ram one half his course has run,
And many little birds make melody
That sleep through all the night with open eye
(So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)-
Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage,
And palmers to go seeking out strange strands,
To distant shrines well known in sundry lands.
And specially, from every shire's end
In England, folks to Canterbury wend:
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
IN SEARCH OF JEFFERSON'S MOOSE
In Search of Jefferson's Moose
Notes on the State of Cyberspace
by David Post
Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Version 2.0
by Lawrence Lessig
In Search of Jefferson's Moose by David Post (Oxford, 2008) explores the global phenomenon of the internet , which, the book observes, has become so ubiquitous, it now merits a small 'i', like the small 't' for telephone or television, rather than a capital 'I'. In doing so, the book toggles between fact and analysis packed observations, wonderfully footnoted with an almost David Foster Wallace brio, with a focus on Thomas Jefferson in the 18th and 19th century and the explosive growth of the internet in the 19th and 20th centuries. Much deliberation is given to the American wilderness of Jefferson's day, and the new digital domain which has opened up in our own. Post looks at the internet as wilderness, in all its wild potential and capacity for anarchy, that to date, the author posits, has been tempered with democratic and self-governing values. As such, it seems to be a distinctly American phenomenon. The book also explores how the Hamiltonian view for central, Federalist organization, and the Jeffersonian struggle for the democratic, the-less-government-the-better vision, bumped up against each other in the early days of the republic, and how they also do in this new wilderness.
At heart, ISOJM is an elegantly reasoned and written book about Thomas Jefferson and about cyberspace. The "moose" of the title appears when Jefferson went through great efforts to have a moose hunted, stuffed, shipped to Paris, and reconstructed, to show the Old World why their theories about nature in the New World were wrong. Many French philosophers and scientists argued that the unknown environment had caused animals and humans to degenerate in the New World -- every creature was assumed to be smaller and less powerful in American than it was in Europe. To prove his point, Jefferson had an entire dead moose shipped to Paris and reconstructed in his entrance hall. The moose which was seven feet tall stunned visitors and proved that the New World was not a degenerated version of the Old. Jefferson was concerned that this fear would discourage potential emigration to the New one.
In a couple of places in the book, the author, a law professor and specialist in internet and intellectual property, seems to bump up against Lawrence Lessig, his colleague and friend who teaches at Stanford. Post leans toward the Jefferson view, which, projected on the internet, suggests that it is a place where the wild things are that can be most effectively restrained by Jeffersonian self-government and self-regulation, even at the smallest levels. Lessig on the other hand feels there's a common belief that cyberspace cannot be regulated-that it is, in its very essence, immune from the government's (or anyone else's) control. His book, Code, first published in 2000, argues that this belief is wrong. From his website: "It is not in the nature of cyberspace to be unregulable; cyberspace has no "nature." It only has code-the software and hardware that make cyberspace what it is. That code can create a place of freedom-as the original architecture of the Net did-or a place of oppressive control. Under the influence of commerce, cyberspace is becoming a highly regulable space, where behavior is much more tightly controlled than in real space. But that's not inevitable either. We can-we must-choose what kind of cyberspace we want and what freedoms we will guarantee. These choices are all about architecture: about what kind of code will govern cyberspace, and who will control it. In this realm, code is the most significant form of law, and it is up to lawyers, policymakers, and especially citizens to decide what values that code embodies."
So, between these two scholars, we see a current exploration of the Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian views on government and society and their impact upon this "new World" of the internet.
America may be floundering amidst the financial adventures of advanced capitalism at the moment, in a drive for a pursuit of happiness that , being interpreted as purely materialist , has morphed into simple greed. But the truest revelation in the book, to this reader, is that the USA's purest brand -- what makes us so essential and distinct to the world -- might remain our instinct not just for innovation in the arts and sciences, but the ongoing struggle to understand, explore, and challenge notions of organization and freedom, with a goal toward the preservation of freedom and a sense of wilderness in a purely American context. In that we are and shall remain unmatched.
More from David G. Post here: http://jeffersonsmoose.org/
More from Lawrence Lessig here: http://www.lessig.org/blog/
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
'Journalism evolving...not dead': Steven Berlin Johnson
Brooklyn-based author, blogger and web developer Steven Berlin Johnson, at the South by Southwest Festival, said, according to Breitbart news, that "Newspapers are dying but journalism is evolving."
Steven Johnson equated newspapers to old growth forests, saying that under the canopy of that aged ecosystem blogging, citizen journalism, Twittering and other Internet-age information sharing is taking root.
"I'm bullish on the future of news," Johnson said. "Newspapers are dying but journalism is evolving, an acclaimed science writer told a gathering of the techno-hip at South By South West Interactive Festival on Friday. Johnson equated newspapers to old growth forests, saying that under the canopy of that aged ecosystem blogging, citizen journalism, Twittering and other Internet-age information sharing is taking root.
"I'm bullish on the future of news," Johnson said. "I am not bullish on what is happening in the newspaper industry; it is ugly and it is going to get uglier. Great journalists are going to lose their jobs and cities are going to lose their newspapers."
The shift was foreseeable but ignored, resulting in changes that should have happened gradually over a decade being crammed into a year or two with some pressure from the global economic meltdown, according to Johnson.
"There is panic that newspapers are going to disappear as businesses," Johnson said. Then there is panic that crucial information is going to disappear along with them. We spend so much time figuring out how to keep the old model on life support that we don't figure out how to build the new one."
News organizations should stop wasting resources on information freely available online, he added. And, they should stop killing trees.
"The business model sure seems easier to support if the printing goes away," Johnson said. "They don't have the print costs."
Full link here:
Steven Johnson equated newspapers to old growth forests, saying that under the canopy of that aged ecosystem blogging, citizen journalism, Twittering and other Internet-age information sharing is taking root.
"I'm bullish on the future of news," Johnson said. "Newspapers are dying but journalism is evolving, an acclaimed science writer told a gathering of the techno-hip at South By South West Interactive Festival on Friday. Johnson equated newspapers to old growth forests, saying that under the canopy of that aged ecosystem blogging, citizen journalism, Twittering and other Internet-age information sharing is taking root.
"I'm bullish on the future of news," Johnson said. "I am not bullish on what is happening in the newspaper industry; it is ugly and it is going to get uglier. Great journalists are going to lose their jobs and cities are going to lose their newspapers."
The shift was foreseeable but ignored, resulting in changes that should have happened gradually over a decade being crammed into a year or two with some pressure from the global economic meltdown, according to Johnson.
"There is panic that newspapers are going to disappear as businesses," Johnson said. Then there is panic that crucial information is going to disappear along with them. We spend so much time figuring out how to keep the old model on life support that we don't figure out how to build the new one."
News organizations should stop wasting resources on information freely available online, he added. And, they should stop killing trees.
"The business model sure seems easier to support if the printing goes away," Johnson said. "They don't have the print costs."
Full link here:
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