Greetings, All -- We have had a bit of what the professionals hereabouts call Wintry Mix. The footing is treacherous, a problem readily solved by staying indoors. This is the first such annointment since our bizarre Halloween snowfall, so we had it coming.
We greatly admire Michael Yon, former SEAL, recently an embed with troops in the war zones. He is a renowned war photographer and author with several magnificent books to his credit. A good entry point to his work is http://www.michaelyon-online.com/michael-s-dispatches/. His most recent piece, "Time to Leave Afghanistan," has drawn numerous comments including one from us. Michael depends on financial contributions by his readers.
Things are a mess in South Asia, as Michael knows only too well, and it is painful to have our brave Soldiers in it. Clearly, everyone in the neighborhood is focused on it. The pinpoint of their concern is the questionable security of Pakistan's horde of nuclear weapons. Should they fall into intemperate hands, the results could be horrible. Friendly and unfriendly nations alike understand that. It seems to us that now is the time to get those folks, all of them, to sit down in their enlightened self interest and work out solutions: Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asian Republics, India, Russia and China. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? Absolutely not. We believe that our latter-day Count Metternich, Secretary Clinton can pull it off.
Several interesting articles on food safety have appeared in a recent issue of Explore, the University of Florida research magazine. http://www.research.ufl.edu/explore/ "Seafood Sleuths" is an eye-opening, if not mouth-watering, expose' of the practice of substituting less desirable species for the ones we are paying to eat. A read might help avoid paying the $25 per pound tariff for grouper and getting $2 per pound Asian catfish.
On topic, "Foodborne Focus" tells about the "riskiest combinations of foods and disease-causing microorganisms." We became conscious of this problem during the recent scare involving cantaloupe and Listeria. Author Joseph Kays goes beyond that well-known threat to others that may surprise. A word of advice is that you should not read this article just before a dinner date. It could dampen the overall joy of the event.
This week, we had a glorious experience as Marin Alsop, pianist Olga Kern and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra combined their talents in an elegant rendering of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto. Of course, you have heard it, whether you recognize the title or not. It was bookended by Ravel's Bolero and Richard Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra, the magnificent theme of the motion picture 2001: A Space Odessey. It was an incomparable musical experience.
Best wishes, Billy Hawkfinder
I saw the poster for that performance when we were there for the circus. I am sure it was fabulous, some of my favorite pieces.
ReplyDeleteIf only we could combine enlightenment with self-interest so easily.
ReplyDeleteWould have loved to hear Also Sprach Zarathustra. After reading the similarly named book, it all makes sense. :)
I am sure that you would have added to the sparkle of the evening!
ReplyDeleteBest, Billy
Zarathustra, as you doubtless know, is the Persian God of Light, Zoroaster. Z was troubled that humankind could not grasp all of the nuances of reality available to him. Nietsche's very work postulating this point of view in effect appears to contradict it as he, N, a human being, sees Z's point of view. Is that too Existentialist, I wonder?
ReplyDeleteKeep reading, Billy
Interesting point. Truthfully I found Nietzsche's tone and whole work to be a little bit unpleasant, and to be honest I didn't finish the book, because I began to feel that this guy's basic axioms were practically antipodal to my own. I humbly offer the opinion that while there are some really lovely points made in that book, for instance the notion of "going under" to truly become powerful, or "enlightened" in some sense (cf. Christian, Buddhist, Muslim mysticism), most of it is just the ravings of a great man dying alone in an attic.
ReplyDeleteWithout seeking to be overly pejorative, may we point out that Nietzsche was a favorite of the Nazi Party operatives, it is said. But then, they also adored Richard Wagner. So neither comment proves anything. When we were an oh, so brilliant freshman in college, we ended a letter to Dad with the words: "Thus spake Zarathustra." At our next encounter, we were subjected to a third degree by Dad and a retired minister who was his buddy. We steered away from that thereafter.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes, Billy
I'm very interested to hear more about your faith in Secretary Clinton's ability to get those angry nations to sit down and work out issues that we all know must be repaired if we're going to survive. I think she is DYNAMITE and I think that she is in the position to do it. However, I just can't imagine that it is NOT impossible.
ReplyDelete