Dawson, “The Claims of Politics,” 1939.
Source: Christopher Dawson, “The Claims of Politics,” SCRUTINY 8 (September 1939): 136-141.
Dawson, “Future of National Government,” 1935
Source: Christopher Dawson, “The Future of National Government,” DUBLIN REVIEW (1935): 236-251.
Reagan’s Creative Society, 1968
A nice contrast to Johnson’s supposed “Great Society”:
The Creative Society, in other words, is simply a return to the people of the privilege of self-government, as well as a pledge for more efficient representative government–citizens of proven ability in their fields, serving where their experience qualifies them, proposing common sense answers for California’s problems, reviewing governmental structure itself and bringing it into line with the most advanced, modern business practices. Those who talk of complex problems, requiring more government planning and more control, in reality are taking us back in time to the acceptance of rule of the many by the few. Time to look to the future. We’ve had enough talk–disruptive talk–in America of left and right, dividing us down the center. There is really no such choice facing us. The only choice we have is up or down–up, to the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down, to the deadly dullness of totalitarianism.–Ronald Reagan, 1968
A Grand Experiment, indeed. Morse Conquers All.
The Neal Morse Band, The Grand Experiment (Radiant Records, 2015), Special Edition. Tracks: The Call; The Grand Experiment; Waterfall; Agenda; Alive Again; New Jerusalem (Freedom is Coming); Doomsday Destiny; MacArthur Park; The Creation (Live); and Reunion (Live).
Not as beautiful as last year’s Flying Color’s SECOND NATURE album cover, but just as intriguing.
Birzer rating: 9.5/10.
“The Call” begins with a multipart gospel/Trevor Rabin-Yes era harmony before breaking into a wild keyboard/drum sequence that is pure third-wave prog. Quickly, all instruments play at full blast. It’s a rather ingenious immersion into the album.
Everything soars with a precision and beauty. “With every beating of my heart. . . I am engulfed in who you are.” Morse is doing for the listener what God’s grace has done for him. As the lyrics suggest, the only thing that prevents disaster of an eternal magnitude is an embracing of “The Call,” unique to…
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My favorite Album of 2014, Redux
At risk of annoying those who waded through my New Year’s Day post on my favorite prog/rock albums of 2014, I’m (re)posting my #1 pick from that list, as I think it stands alone just fine as a review. And because I think so highly of this album. Oh, and because I don’t post nearly enough on this fine blog, so maybe this can count toward my post total! By the way, a recent issue of PROG magazine (Issue 51 2014) raved about this album—but did get into the lyrical content as I do below.
“Second Nature” by Flying Colors. Every once in a while—perhaps once every few years—I hear an album that I listen to again and again…and again: Jeff Buckley’s “Grace”, “OK Computer” by Radiohead, and Soundgarden’s “Superunknown” come to mind. I’ve now listened to this album 75 times or so (according to my iTunes), and I’ve not…
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A tribute to my maternal grandmother
Over at The Imaginative Conservative, I had the wonderful opportunity to praise my maternal grandmother, a person I admired deeply.
http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2015/01/thy-will-be-done-great-woman.html
Neil Peart on NPR
Nice piece on Neil Peart on NPR this morning.
http://www.npr.org/2015/01/06/375171736/mystic-rhythms-rushs-neil-peart-on-the-first-rock-drummer
Kevin J. Anderson’s SUPERSTARS WRITING SEMINAR
Reposted from the CU CTP:
Please consider this post as a PSA for Colorado rather than for conservatism. I have no idea what Kevin J. Anderson’s politics are, and, frankly, I’m happy knowing him only as a person and as an artist. When it comes to these two things, he’s absolutely brilliant. A man who does Colorado proud.
One of the best known and most published science fiction novelists in the world, Anderson leads seminars on the art of writing and publishing. I’ve not attended one, but, having gotten to know Kevin personally (after reading his fiction for over 20 years now), I certainly want to.
Here’s the information:
The sixth annual Superstars Writing Seminar is coming up, only a month away. We’ve already got more signups than ever before, more speakers, more panel opportunities.
Here are some of the new additions to make this even more awesome than previous years:
• We will have two tracks of programming in the afternoon. There were so many topics to cover, this allows us to add nine extra hours of talks, workshops, and panels.
• Individual one-on-one clinics: editors from two major publishing houses will meet directly with students to critique cover letters and pitches; art directors and publishers will critique and offer improvements to individual indie published books.
• A professional photographer will set up and take high-quality author/PR photos for all Superstars attendees—FREE.
• Special presentation of new data from Jeff Brazell, the CEO of a global market research company, The Modelers, which has done studies on just about everything in entertainment, from gaming to movies, from books to devices. His company commissioned an extensive study on books, ebooks, and reading, and he will be presenting the results of the study—for the first time in public—at the 2015 Superstars Writing Seminar.
• Eggs Benedict Breakfast with James Artimus Owen, a unique presentation and breakfast prepared by one of our bestselling speakers with a special message for all writers. Because the first morning sold out almost immediately, we have offered a second Eggs Benedict Breakfast.
• Hands-on workshops on cover design and representatives from Kobo and Wattpad for indie authors.
Our speakers this year are Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Eric Flint, David Farland, James Artimus Owen, Jody Lynn Nye, Todd McCaffrey, Toni Weisskopf (Baen Books), Mark LeFebvre (Kobo), Ashleigh Gardner (Wattpad), Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith, Lisa Mangum (Shadow Mountain Publishing), Allyson Longueira (WMG Publishing), Peter Wacks (WordFire Press), M. Scott Boone (IP and copyright attorney), and others.
The Superstars Writing Seminar is held in Colorado Springs, February 5–7. Make your plans now.
AFTER STRANGE GODS by T.S. Eliot (full book)
Certainly, one of Eliot’s greatest works, despite one unfortunate remark–which Eliot himself regretted. Still, well worth reading. Enjoy.
As always, my apologies for my marginalia and notes.
Ten Things We Know about the Politics of J.R.R. Tolkien
To celebrate what would’ve been J.R.R. Tolkien’s 123rd birthday on January 3 of this year, I posted the following at The Imaginative Conservative.
As a person who has written on Tolkien for almost fifteen years and read Tolkien for thirty-six years, I am often asked about his political views. In a sense, this is a funny question, as Tolkien really despised most politics. In fact, he really thought of himself as very anti-political. His few statements on the matter reveal just how unpolitical and apolitical and anti-political he could be.
It is also, however, a natural question for someone to ask about the great man, as we live in a highly politicized age.
So, what do we know?
To keep reading, please click the link below.
http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2015/01/ten-points-tolkiens-politics.html
Stormfields 