On Vacation

Back July 9, unless I get internet access in the meantime.

Don't break anything while I'm gone...

Here are some pictures where I'm going:

Friday's Feast

Friday, June 30, 2006 - Feast One Hundred!

Appetizer - On average, approximately how many times per day do you yawn?

Probably about 20. I don't get a lot of sleep :)


Soup - What was your most memorable school field trip?

Probably the Safety Patrol trip to Washington DC in 6th grade.


Salad - Fill in the blank: I was extremely __________________ this week.

Fill in the blank: I was extremely frustrated this week.


Main Course - Which color do you think of when you hear the word "soothing"?

Rich green


Dessert - What is something that, if you had to, you could save up the money to buy within one month?

If I had to, I could probably save up and but an HDTV. If I had to. I wish I had to. That would be nice...

Abstract vs. Concrete

Rich Hailey has a post about free speech. Beware, it has some unkind language not fit for polite society.

So, where do I stand on the Amendment to ban the burning of the flag? Well, it's pretty clear that we've already set limits on how far the freedom of speech goes. It doesn't give you license to lie, or to defame others, or to disrupt the peace. Freedom of speech does not allow you to walk through your neighborhood at 3AM singing Sweet Adeline in 4 part harmony at the top of your lungs. It does not allow you to verbally harass somebody based on their race, appearance, or sex. We accept these limits on free speech because we've concluded that the harm caused by this speech outweighs the speaker's right to express himself. It's an application of the old saw, "Your rights end when they begin to abridge mine."

Here's my comment:

The problem with debates like this is that when making tough decisions, we tend to fall back on abstracts rather than deal with concrete situations.

Freedom of speech is an abstract concept. It's a principle that can apply to many, many, many situations. Anyone can probably list 20-30 examples of Freedom of Speech issues right off the top of their heads. Each of those issues, however, is a concrete situation. And each situation has its own unique circumstances and details.

Life and culture has dictated that we may no longer, in polite society (i.e. in public) use the words Rich specifies at the beginning of his post when referring to other people. Back in the 50's and 60's, especially in the South, it was fairly common but through several decades of education and enlightenment society has determined that those words are offensive and wrong, and should not be used. If you use them in public, you will very likely be ostracized at worst, frowned on at best. There were no laws that said so, no rules or statutes making them illegal - just the general disapproval of society. That "Freedom of Speech" issue decision was made automatically as a process of the evolution of culture.

Similarly, the restriction of "shouting fire in a crowded theatre" has actually become a law based on the acceptance of society. I doubt even the staunchest free speech advocates would fight for that right, because it's simply the right thing to do. Congress made it official, but society actually made the decision.

These two concrete examples were decided for us, so we haven't had to debate them. And society decided them because they were the right things to do to protect our lives and civility. In a similar vein you have restrictions against libel and slander. And revealing classified information.

Yet, in a strict sense, they are all limits on the 1st Amendment, the freedom to say anything you want to.

Flag burning probably should've evolved in a similar fashion as racial slurs - it should've become so deplorable a practice that nobody would do it, at the risk of social ostracization. But that hasn't happened, and there are people fighting to keep the right to burn the flag. And Congress has had to attempt legislation to outlaw it.

That's where the abstract vs. concrete debate comes in. To some freedom of speech advocates, the right to free speech in the abstract trumps the concrete immorality of burning the flag, so they go against the better nature of society and defend the abstract.

In this case, we would be better served to examine the concrete and weigh the pluses and minuses of flag-burning better. Then a better-reasoned, better thought out solution might apply.

Unfortunately abstract is all some people have left, so they fight for it tooth and nail - at the expense of societal decorum and respect for a symbol of our country.

Should anyone ever burn a US flag in protest? No, I can't imagine a possible reason anyone would ever want to. It's a deplorable, horrible practice. Should it be a legally restricted act? I wish it didn't have to, but since nobody should ever do it, and the abstract fighters who won't listen to specifics of this example resist such a restriction.

We all would be better served to not follow blindly the abstract concepts that make up our customs and laws, but to apply logic, reason and fairness in understanding how these laws apply to our culture, decorum and public respect. Then make your decisions based on all sides of the argument.

Is that too much to ask?

Let's Give Him What He Wants!

This is great - One Hand Clapping is reporting Drudge as saying:

CRAZY SADDAM: AMERICANS MIGHT REINSTALL ME AS PRESIDENT!

Saddam Hussein believes the Americans may reinstall him as president of Iraq, the NEW YORK TIMES is planning to report on Sunday, newsroom sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

Saddam Hussein has no illusions, his chief lawyer says. As he sits in his prison cell reading the Quran and writing poetry, he knows the inevitable is coming — a death sentence handed down by the Iraqi court trying him for crimes against humanity.

Yet Saddam refuses to submit to the fate that awaits him, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said, for he believes there is a way out:

President Bush will use the court’s sentence as leverage to try to persuade Saddam to tamp down the insurgency, he said, so desperate are the Americans to stanch their losses.

In his madness, Saddam believes the Americans might even reinstall him as president of Iraq!

I love it - here's what I think we should do:

Find an area in the desert southwestern US that resembles the Iraqi desert and climate. Build a replica of a palace and surrounding cityscape. Use cardboard and duct tape if you have to - maybe even put the whole thing inside the Astrodome if you have to, nobody's using it.

When Saddam is sentenced to death, have a crack US team "rescue him" in the night, telling him Bush has decided to reinstate him to the throne, and supposedly fly him back to Iraq. In reality, you take him to this "New Iraq" and turn him loose in it - constantly monitored 24/7 by undercover agents disguised as generals, townspeople, servants, sycophants, even his (dead) two sons. Let him believe he's really in charge back in Iraq. Use whatever Truman Show/Capricorn One/Star Trek holodeck technology and stagecraft is necessary to pull off the illusion, and have our people subtly press him for information about where all the leftover Iraqi secrets are hidden. Eventually Saddam would give someone an order to dig up a bunch of live WMD's he ordered buried in the sand, or put in a call to Syria to ask for the stuff back he shipped there before the war started. Then get all the Al Quaeda and other terrorist cell contact information he has.

Even have Bush or Condeleeza Rice pay him a visit, to maintain the illusion that we've really put him back in power.

Then, when we're all through with him, we "attack" and "capture" him again. Provide him the route to another spiderhold to hide in. Arrest him, put him back on trial. Set up another "escape"...

Repeat ad nauseum. As long as you can keep everyone from cracking up when they talk to him, you should have a grand old time screwing with his head for years to come...

Around the World in 80 Dances

Unbelievable. I just sat with my jaw open, transfixed.

Where's Matt?

Here's here. And here. And here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and there, and there, and over there, and under there, and way around there, and...

Well, here.

Dance on, Matt.

Friday's Feast

Friday, June 23, 2006 Feast Ninety-Nine

Appetizer - On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you like your job?

Wow. Hm. Overall I'd say it's a 7 but right now it's about a 4 or 5.


Soup - When was the last time you think you were lied to?

I feel like I'm lied to all the time when I read about politics and anything to do with people wanting to get or keep a political office.


Salad - Share some lyrics from own of your favorite songs.

The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear,
I've seen that road before.
Don't leave me waiting here,
Lead me to your door.

Many times I've been alone
And many times I've cried.
Anyway you'll never know
How many ways I've tried.

But still they lead me back,
To the long, winding road.
You've left me standing here,
A long, long time ago.
Don't keep me waiting here,
Lead me to your door.

Main Course - What do you do/take when you are in pain?

Thanks for reminding me. I have to take a couple of Aleve because my back's been really stiff and sore the last couple days. I always take Aleve for any muscle pain or headaches - it always works.


Dessert - Fill in the blanks: My __________ is very __________.

My back is very sore.

Wait, we covered that. How about:

My patience is very stretched.

Honk!

HONK!
by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe

Honk! is the story of Ugly, whose odd, gawky looks instantly incite prejudice from his family and neighbors. Separated from the farm and pursued by a hungry Cat, Ugly must find his way home. Along his rollicking and harrowing journey he not only discovers his true beauty and glorious destiny, but also finds love and acceptance in all its forms.

Honk! won the Olivier Award (the British equivalent of the Tony Award) for Best New Musical in London in 2000. Witty and hilarious, but also deeply moving, Honk! treats audiences to equal amounts of laughter and tears. Its charm, humor and message of tolerance are perfect for every audience.

Erin Youth Players
Erin Presbyterian Church
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, June 22, 23, 24 - 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 25 - 2:00 pm
Reserve Tickets Online

For some reason I didn't get listed on the production team on the web page, but I am Music Directing this show. Come see it and say hi!

That Time of Year

Thank goodness, our annual long national nightmares are over.

Miami Heat wins NBA finals, Carolina something-or-others win NHL finals.

Now that that uselessness has finally passed, can we get on to more important things?

Oh and by the way - today is the longest day of the year. Celebrate! It just gets worse and shorter from this point...

80's Video Blast of the Week V

In 1984, a band released their third album entitled, "Sports". It hit #1 on the Billboard charts and was designated multi-platinum a year later.

I saw them in concert at the old Stokely Athletic Center in 1985.

This week's Video Blast of the week came off of that album, a poster of which hung on the wall of Marty McFly's room in "Back to the Future". It represented the quintessential beach song to me and a lot of other people that summer.

Watch the video to see all the hints and clues.

Ladies and Gentlemen, from my favorite band Huey Lewis and the News, "If This is It".



By the way, rexwilder (of course) got it. And the answer to his clue is that HLN sued Ray Parker Jr. because they thought several parts of the "Ghostbusters" theme were too similar to their own "I Want a New Drug".

I don't see it, but that's just me.

Observation

It would be nice if the Knoxville News Sentinel and Metropulse paid nearly as much attention to the Knoxville area theatre scene as they did to the Knoxville area music and night life scene...

Check out the KNS Entertainment page for comparison. Lots of coverage of "Bonaroo", a blog devoted to the Knoxville entertainment (if he covers local theatre, it's sparingly), individual sections on "Music", "Night Life", plus CD Reviews, MusicScene, Band Reviews, etc. Only in the "Fine Arts" section do you find the occasional play article, but it still has to share space with visual art, symphony, ballet, etc.

There are a good number of ongoing theatre companies in the Knoxville area that produce plays year-round. Home-grown rock bands and music festivals get a lot of free publicity in the papers these days - it would be nice to see the theatrical acting and behind-the-scenes talent we have locally get a share of it.

Guess the 80's Video Blast of the Week

That time again kids - Guess the retro-video! If someone gets it in one, I'll...um. I'll...I'll wear parachute pants to work. And leg warmers.

Ok, this 80's-era video:

1) Opens with a piece of another song by the same artist/band playing on the radio.

2) Features at various points in the video: a big snake, a gypsy sceance, French sailors on leave, severed heads, an airplane pulling a banner and exhausted vacationers.

LiveJournal Invasion

I'm suddenly getting a bunch of referrals from Live Journal places like http://blahblah.livejournal.com/friends/ - several dozen of them, all with different "blahblag" names, but the rest is the same. And I don't think I've gotten a referral from the same one twice.

Since I don't know anyone that hangs out on the LiveJournal morass, I can't figure out where the links are coming from. I visit the links, but it's so much of that middle school chaos, it's hard to read a thread. I don't see any links to lasthome.blogspot.com.

Has anyone else seen the same thing?

Just Point Me in The Right Direction..

I haven't mentioned here that I'm Music Directing a new show. It's called, "Honk!" and it opens next weekend for a one-weekend run. The show is a musical version of The Ugly Duckling story, and won raves in London and Broadway the last several years. This particular production is cast entirely with middle-school and high-school kids, so it's been a challenge teaching and rehearsing music to some kids who, a) don't really read music, b) voices haven't changed enough to have the real articulation and projection to reach much past the edge of the stage.

But the show goes on. I'm lucky to have my friend Michael the Bass Player from "Annie" helping out, as well as another good friend, Dan, on keyboards that I've known and worked with for years.

The rehearsal schedule has been fairly brutal - I get up, go to work, grab a quick dinner and rehearse from 6:30 - 10:30 or 11. Get home, unwind for a bit, go to bed.

Repeat ad nauseum till June 26.

As a result, I'm part of the walking undead these days. My enthusiasm for work has hit a big low, and I don't feel very much like the happy corporate camper these days.

I need sleep, I need to play with my kids, I need quality time with my wife (well, I always need quality time with my wife and we're lucky to get a night out here and there anyway), I need to do something productive outside of theatre.

Hey, hopefully "Lost" - Season 1, Disk 5 will get here tonight from Netflix.

There goes my sleep...

Blog Title of the Month

"Wastin' Away in Blogaritaville" (blogaritaville2.blogspot.com)

I love it - I wish I'd thought of it...

Didn't We Already Cover This?

From Brian Hornback, Knox GOP Chair:

The Brian's Blog team will be doing some research to determine what if any advantage there is for Knox County having a Charter. A review of pros and cons. County Commissioner Mike Hammond of Friday remarked in an interview. "I'm not sure we need a Charter."

Didn't the citizens of Knox County fairly decisively determine they wanted a charter back in 1988? Have there been any significant calls for revocation or amendment to the charter in the intervening years (save the metro government initiative a few years back)?

These sentiments have been shared by public officials and citizens to Brian throughout the weekend and week. Keep in mind that before Friday only 2 out of 95 counties in the state had a Charter form of government. There has been a decline throughout the country in local governments having a Charter form of government.

Keep in mind, Brian and others, that the opinions you gather over a weekend will tend to be those closest to your own views and mindsets. The folks you associate over a typical weekend will likely be folks at your church, friends in the neighborhood, political allies, etc. Therefore any "concensus" you might glean from a weekend's worth of "fact-finding" are likely to be very similar to your own views and each others. You're more likely to be exposed to dissenting opinions during the workweek and out in the public at large.

A proper first step would be to have a refrendum with a simple question of Shall, Knox County have a Charter form of Government? If it passes then pursue a Charter Commission, if it fails than begin prepartion to revert to the normal structure.

Again, we had a referendum 18 years ago that voted in the charter. There's no need to reinvent the wheel. It seems fairly obvious to me that some people in the County would be glad to keep term-limits from being re-imposed, and are siezing an ideal opportunity to "revisit" the idea of a charter's existence.

It is possible that the Charter could be an instrument or fad, who's time has come and gone. Similar to the schools that were built with open style classrooms that were designed in California in the 1970's, they were then bulldozed and replaced while Knox County is still living with at least 3 of these schools, today.

I'd like to think political parties could be declared a fad as well, but not much luck in that.

But simply bringing up the possibility can plant seeds of "are we out-dated? are we behind the times?" in the public mind without it being true. Case in point, the schools example here. I don't have any idea the validity of the argument that "open classrooms" are good, bad or indifferent. All that's stated here is California used to have them and we have three of them still. Maybe they're great schools? Could be. But this comment implies that because they came from California in the 70's (considered a kitschy decade to most people) they must be bad. Like they still had plaid furniture with suede wallpaper and lava lamps in the classroom...

Hey, maybe these three schools are lousy. It doesn't matter. I could just as easily the idea of charters to a fabulously successful venture that began in the 70's and give you a completely different perception. Like, oh, let's say this - there was a computer networking adventure that began in earnest in the late 60's, early 70's. Maybe you heard of it: "ARPANET". That network eventually evolved into a little venture they call today the Internet. Maybe you've heard of it.

Knox County voters opted to govern themselves with a charter in 1988. That's it. Work to fix the charter, like Mayor Ragsdale is doing. Don't pretend there's a groundswell of sentiment from the citizenry to abolish it.

Comes Around...Like a Bug

Remember this?

Squashed.

It's a Clog World After All

My Foot Soldiers:


See here for first breaking news of the glorious revolution...

80's Video Blast of the Week IV

In the mid-80's, artist Paul Simon visited South Africa and incorporated many of the musical lessons he learned there into his mega-hit album, "Graceland".

This song, the first single of the Grammy-winning album, was released in 1986.

The video features Paul Simon's friend from some of Saturday Night Live stints, Chevy Chase, who "takes over" the show and sings the song (in Paul's voice, of course). Paul appears a bit dejected, which is in his character from appearing on SNL, but does do some background vocals. Paul does get to play a couple of instruments including the bongoes, penny whistle, bass guitar and sax. Chevy joins in on trumpet as well.

Reportedly, it was shot in one continuous take but I'm not sure that's true as there are several jump and P.O.V cuts.

WATCH FOR: Chevy setting the glass and whistle down on the "table".

Congratulations, Rich - got it in one, as well. I've got to make the clues harder :)

Ladies and Gentlemen, Paul Simon with "You Can Call Me Al"

Charter Responsibility Question

I have a question.

Have we determined who's responsible for not turning in the charter to the TN State Government 18 years ago?

According to this story, The Knox County Law Director's Office had to request Knox County Administrator of Elections Greg Mackay to forward a copy of the charter to the state immediately. Mackay had testified in the charter validity hearings that he could find no evidence that it had ever been turned in.

Shouldn't there be some accountability from both the Election Commission and probably the Law Director's office for 18 years of inattention?

I don't care to see heads roll, I just want to see someone admit, "Yes, I screwed up." And if the person(s) responsible from 18 years ago are no longer available, I still want to know.

And I want to see documented evidence of new procedures put in place so it never happens again.

Guess the 80's Video Blast of the Week

Here's the clues for this week's 80's Video Blast of the Week:


1) The artist/lead singer who sings this song isn't the one actually lip-synching the lead vocals in the video.

2) At various times in the video a trumpet, sax, pennywhistle and bongoes are played. Well, sortof.

3) It was the first cut released off of a very special album.

4) By some reports, the video was shot in one continuous take.

Since RexWilder guessed "We Are the World" last week in one try, maybe these clues are too easy... we'll see how quickly someone gets it this time.

What do you think? No Googling! Makes guesses in Comments....