It Comes in Threes: Violence, Justice, Restoration

ONE:
An afternoon chat with some fine, edu-ma-cated friends, and the discussion of violence came up. That and the objectification of women - though not necessarily in conjunction. The discussion was whether or not the two should be eradicated (again, as their own separate entities) from the face of the earth, and how this would be done.

One of my friends argued for the fundamental shift in how we perceive the world. Instead of saying, "this is the way the world is and it won't change; all we can do is survive it to the best of our abilities," he argued that we should instead perceive a violence-free world, or a world where women are treated with equality, as being wholly possible. In that perception lies the means to change.

Heidegger on Creative Action, Art and Melancholy

The quotes are from separate bodies of text (read: they do not follow one after the other), but they create an interesting context when placed side by side. Hopefully one not too manufactured. What to conclude from Heidegger's supposed necessary melancholy mood for creative action, and the nature of art - the common byproduct of said creative action?

In particular, how he believed art to ground history by allowing "truth to spring forth", so humanity can connect implicitly with what is and what matters. 

“Freedom is only to be found where there is burden to be shouldered. In creative achievements this burden always represents an imperative and a need that weighs heavily upon man’s mood, so that he comes to be in a mood of melancholy. All creative action resides in a mood of melancholy, whether we are clearly aware of the fact or not, whether we speak at length about it or not. All creative action resides in a mood of melancholy, but this is not to say that everyone in a melancholy mood is creative.”

“In the work of art the truth of an entity has set itself to work. ‘To set’ means here: to bring to a stand. Some particular entity, a pair of peasant shoes, comes in the work to stand in the light of its being. The being of the being comes into the steadiness of its shining. The nature of art would then be this: the truth of being setting itself to work.”

― Martin Heidegger

Pearl Jam Live 2011 Toronto - Why They're Still Great

It's a funny thing about those bands who've been around for twenty years. They tend to get a lot better - especially those who take what they do seriously. Pearl Jam is no exception. Their discography - which spans two decades - exhibits, if anything, a clear progression in both musicianship and creative process. 

Their music is thoughtful, diverse, and genuine. It translates from the studio to live settings the way all good music should: with a bombastic ease that hides all their hard work. Such was the case this past weekend in Toronto, when they took the stage at the Air Canada Centre. 

UFC RIO - Should Chael Sonnen Attend?

In the world of MMA, Chael Sonnen has polarized audiences with his comments regarding other fighters, agents, and even their respective countries. His brash articulations against Anderson Silva leading up to their monumental fight at UFC 117 carried a lot of levity, but a seriousness too.

And though his career of late is re-starting after some well-documented legal problems, there's no question Sonnen is quite serious about both his approach to fighting and his criticism of those he perceives to be disingenuous.

Now, as one of his training partners and former opponents, Yushin Okami, is set to fight Anderson Silva at UFC RIO, Sonnen finds himself not only unable to corner his fighter for sponsorship-related reasons, but he can't even enter Brazil due to the monstrous distraction it would cause - distraction Okami certainly does not need.

Eulogy for Robert Bates

(L-R) Auntie Honey, Myself, Uncle Bob - July 15th, 2011 Grand Forks, B.C. 

An expected, but unwanted late-night phone call and the distance I feel from my home town is only traversed by certain memories:

Five years old and I'm standing in front of the doorway to Uncle Bob's wood shop. The combination lock hangs on its latch, and the door is open about three inches. Inside, I can hear the whir of the lathe. I knock and wait. In a moment he's there, clad in blue-gray overalls, a dust-mask over his mouth and nose. He greets me and allows me inside, providing I don't touch anything. I enter and sit on a small chair and watch him work. The room smells of cedar dust and Verethane. I tromp patterns in the sawdust on the floor with my feet.

House of the Rising Sun - Which Version is Best?

I suppose there are a few songs in existence that cannot be overplayed, or worn out over time. One of them, by a country mile for me, is Bob Dylan's version of House of the Rising Sun - recorded on his eponymous debut album .

Part of it is the story the song tells, the bitter sadness of it, the weariness of hard-lived and expired lives. To hear Dylan's young voice nearly swallow the last line is to hear the entire summation of the song's context.

Writer Envy? Is that Allowed?

Courtesy of SheWhoSeeks.blogspot.com

This may be the only acceptable scenario where my at-home-father activities cross over to this blog.

Amidst home-made play-dough, crayons, glue (of the non-sniffing variety), and plastic replicas of real food, a conversation unrelated to the inner physical dynamics of the female body drifted about the YMCA Early Years facility.

Two moms standing off to the side. Well-dressed, meticulous with their pronunciation, perhaps a bit gratuitous with their affirmation of each other. The conversation: writing, finding an agent, workshops, completion of first drafts.