Bookmarks from July 3rd through July 10th
“For me, what really made this blog so good was the combination of two things: (a) really good writing by Tim about a variety of topics related to classical music (plus the occasional diversion or two). The official reviews that get published in the hard copy version of the paper have always been and will continue to be among the best. The blog went beyond that allowed for all of us to read Tim’s thoughts and comments on things that would not have otherwise appeared in the paper. I hope the new format will allow him some, if not all, of the same freedom. (b) The reader’s comments to the original blog posts which added their own value, and more importantly, Tim’s willingness/ability to write his own follow-up comments in reply. A wonderful dialogue exists between those of us unwashed masses who add our comments and the respected music critic of The Orange County Register. The quality of this two-way communication simply doesn’t exist anywhere else (I stopped readying the comments at Culture Monster blog of the larger “other newspaper” long ago because none of the staff writers ever participated in the discussion).”
link: So long from The Arts Blog – The Arts Blog : The Orange County Register
“Despite the decision to forbid members from receiving pay for AA-related activity, it had no problem letting professional institutions integrate the 12 steps into their treatment programs. AA did not object when Hazelden, a Minnesota facility founded in 1947 as “a sanatorium for curable alcoholics of the professional class,” made the steps the foundation of its treatment model. Nor did AA try to stop the proliferation of steps-centered addiction groups from adopting the Anonymous name: Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous. No money ever changed hands—the steps essentially served as open source code that anyone was free to build upon, adding whatever features they wished. (Food Addicts Anonymous, for example, requires its members to weigh their meals.)”
link: Secret of AA: After 75 Years, We Don’t Know How It Works | Magazine
“There is, however, a cost to this taciturnity. Limiting our emotional response to the travails fighting men endure is a little bit like limiting war aims; it distances us from the conflict, prevents us from engaging fully, dramatically, suspensefully, in it. Certainly in this instance no one in this beleaguered group becomes fully particularized as a human being. This standoffishness became a ruling convention in films about the Vietnam War. Putting it mildly, our moral qualms about that war prevented everyone this side of John Wayne from unambiguously identifying with our troops. Which left us with a rather squishy humanism—“Oh, the poor guys, it’s not their fault; let’s go levitate the Pentagon, instead”—to tide us along. Because the aims of our wars since have not particularly advanced, that’s pretty much where we remain.”
link: Richard Schickel: Into the Valley of Death Rode the … 15? – Film Review – Truthdig
“These 444 decisions pertain to the adjudication of security clearance cases for contractor personnel under DoD Directive 5220.6, which implements Executive Order 10865.”
link: 2010 Industrial Security Clearance Decisions
“At last, after two hours of his tedious, hacky, right-wing manifesto, Gallagher gets to the part his (willing) hostages have been waiting for. It’s time to smash some shit. There are the watermelons, there is some cottage cheese (“It’s got the curds that blow up, just like on the news!”), there is sauerkraut and syrup and honey. Then Gallagher gets a tin pie plate. He opens a giant can of fruit cocktail and pours it in. He opens a can of some Asian vegetable—water chestnuts, maybe—and pours that in, too. “This is the China people and queers!!!” he screams and takes his sledgehammer to the thing with a fury that is no fun at all. Wet chunks of China people and queers fly everywhere. The hateful, bitter old man laughs. I cannot believe Bill Hicks is dead and this motherfucker is still touring.”
