We don’t do a lot of writing about culture here, but I thought I would drop a couple of quick suggestions, if anyone is looking for some new music.
Buy Bob Dylan’s “Modern Times.” It’s the best album I have heard in years, and the best Dylan album in a long time. “Beyond the Horizon,” “Spirit on the Water,” and “Nettie Moore” are standouts, but there isn’t a weak song to be found on the album. If you haven’t listened to Dylan recently, you’re in for his surprise.
If you missed Ray LaMontagne’s 2004 debut “Trouble,” go listen to it now, and then pick up his new album “Till the Sun Turns Black.” It doesn’t quite reach the heights of “Trouble,” but it’s a powerful, personal work.
Tomorrow (well, three hours from now) is the first day with students in my classes, and, as is normally the case, we’re going to talk the first day about what we’ll be reading this year. Unfortunately, we aren’t going to be able to keep up with the President, as we’ll probably only get to one play in each of my classes, not ‘three Shakespeares’.
It’s unfortunate that the President doesn’t actually read the books he claims too. I was talking with one of my colleagues this afternoon about why literature matters to high school students, and she said that what resonated most with her as a high school student was the humanity in the stories. If bush had actually read Macbeth, Hamlet, the Stranger, even the biography of Roberto Clemente, would it be enough to change him? Might he learn an appreciation for a little nuance? As someone who loves and teaches literature, I’d like to think so, but I’m afraid a summary prepared by an aide just isn’t the same.
Part of Bush’s summer reading list is here.
Anyone know if there is a comic book version of The Stranger?
He’s not only indifferent to the slaughter of horses, he supports it.
(The Billings Gazette: Hands down, the best letters to the editor in the state.)
No, not the Rodney Dangerfield film from the 80s, though that certainly is a timeless classic. Jason and I are both headed back to school this week, so that will change things a bit around here again. Expect my posts to show around midnight, and we won’t really be able to do any commenting during the day, except for occasional days off from school.
The Montana Senate election gets more interesting by the day…
I actually stole this from one of the anonymous poster’s over at “What’s Right,” but not that NeoMadison has been around spewing the spin, I think it is worth repeating more formally.
Concerning the Davison issue, I am not sure what the proper amount of coverage is about Davison’s connection to the Burns campaign but at the same time, I think that the attempt by the Burns campaign to distance themselves from Davison is interesting.
In at least three posts or comments, I have seen Davison labeled as a “volunteer,” to suggest that his role in the campaign is quite small. Sure, I volunteer in campaigns and I get that gig: literature drops, going door-to-door, working events, etc. Yeah, there are a lot of people that “volunteer” for a campaign and their involvement doesn’t mean that actions should have any connection to the campaign.
That is absolutely, 100% not the case here. The Burns campaign has actually labeled Davison a “leader” of the campaign. You can read all about it here. Those aren’t my words, those are the claims of the vast, left-wing conspiracy, that’s the Burns campaign.
It’s hard to run away from that…
