Still in Boston...

Life after RC: Stunning: Southern Catholic Caput

Sandro Magister, The Passion of Pope Benedict. Six Accusations, One Question

I'm currently in Boston, having taken the red-eye flight from SFO last night. I couldn't get any good sleep on the plane, which was full. My neck was hurting and when I got off the plane this morning, so was my back. (I also had mild sciatica.) Since returning to the apartment, I've been sorting through papers and jotting down notes...

John Robb, THE THREE HORSEMEN OF THE GLOBAL DEPRESSION

Zenit: Pontiff’s “Urbi et Orbi” Message
“We Are Free, We Are Saved”

Peak asphalt: the return of gravel roads

Ugo Bardi, The Oil Drum: Europe

Peak oil - arriving or already arrived - is placing a tremendous strain on the world's economy. Because of this strain, the kind of money used for maintaining roads is quickly disappearing and the result is the return of unpaved roads. ... in the coming years we'll see more and more roads returning to gravel, as it was commonplace in the Western World up to about 50 years ago.

(original)

Theodore Dalrymple on Self-Esteem vs. Self-Respect (via Rod Dreher)

Rod Dreher: A foodie paradox: It's expensive to eat poor

Southern accents

Some comments to Dr. Wilson's latest have lead me to think about the accent(s) I heard this past week. Mr. Daniel Maxwell refers to the "the ‘generic’ Southern accent that I hear spoken by Kentuckians and Tennesseans." I couldn't distinguish between any of the accents that I heard in Western Kentucky and Nashville -- there was the "typical" drawl, with the elongated vowels and syllables -- the one associated with a lack of sophistication? I couldn't help but think that after encountering certain people. But I liked the sound of the judge's speech.

Dr. Wilson (naturally?) holds the Carolinian accent in high esteem. What then, of the loss of non-rhotic Southern accents? I have to say that I prefer the sounding of the r.

Southern American English
A Xanga post about the North Carolinian dialect.

Shelby Foote:


YouTube - Southern Accent pt. 2 (Part 1)

It's been a while since I've heard from LAB, who is originally from... I want to say Tennessee. She has a pleasant accent, coupled with a soft voice. I'll attempt sending an e-mail.

NLM: Easter Vigil in the Ambrosian Rite - Part I and Easter Vigil in the Ambrosian Rite - Part II

Josh Ritter and the Carolina Chocolate Drops will be performing at the Fillmore (1805 Geary Blvd, San Francisco) on Thursday, June 24th, 2010 at 8:00 PM.









MySpace: Josh Ritter, CCD

Going down to SLO today. A blessed Pascha to everyone!

Zenit: Pope's Holy Saturday Homily
"The Cure for Death Does Exist"

John Médaille is coming to town

Next Saturday: The Evangelization of Business

Fr. Z: Benedict XVI’s Easter Vigil sermon

Zenit: Papal Discourse at End of Via Crucis
"With Christ We Have Climbed Calvary"

Father Cantalamessa's Good Friday Homily
"We Have a Great High Priest"

Arvo Pärt, The Passion of Christ according to St. John

part 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Selections from Counterpunch, April 2, 2010

Pam Martens, The Guys Who Got It Wrong: Obama's Economic Brain Trust

Afshin Rattansi, Meet Lt. Col. Chris Gough: Killing by Drone and Proud of It

Anthony DiMaggio, The Afghanistan Paradox

Bruce E. Levine, Drugged Warriors: Sharp Rise in U. S. Military Psychiatric Drug Use ... and Suicides

Sandro Magister, Water, Bread, Wine, Oil. The Four Elements of the New World
The pope explains Christian cosmology using the symbols of the sacraments. The oil of peace, but also of combat. Against the old and new empires that lift up injustice as law

Zenit: Meditations for Good Friday Via Crucis
Penned by Cardinal Ruini, Pope's Vicar for Rome

CNA: Satan behind media attacks on the Pope, asserts Italian exorcist

Does Fr. Amorth risk discrediting himself through too much media exposure and pointing the finger at the devil as the cause of a lot of bad events?

Tod Brilliant, Obama Administration Cops to Likelihood of Looming Global Oil Shortage: PCI Requests Transparency of Energy Policy

Zenit: Papal Homily at Last Supper Mass
"Truly You Are a God Who Is Close, You Are a God-With-Us"

During my stay in Kentucky I have once again been impressed by Southern politesse. While it is not always accompanied by genuine affability, it certainly is much better than what one finds in Boston or California. I found the bailiff who was present during the hearing to be friendly and jovial. He is what I imagine a typical older Southern man to be like. And then there's the accent... At first thought, learning Southern manners might be easy, but slipping in and out of different codes of conduct, both word and deed, seems more like play-acting than a genuine way of life. Shouldn't Southern manners require more of a commitment and training? A more conscious cultivation involving the establishing of a real relationship with others?

Cadiz reminds me of Front Royal. What sort of local economy exists in those two areas? There isn't much to "downtown" Cadiz. It's a rather depressing sight. (And this afternoon, the air smelled very bad for some reason, like something was burning. Pollution?) Is it the case that obesity is more prevalent in the South? The Local Harvest search results for Cadiz seems to reveal a bigger market for local agriculture than I had expected. Then there are the bad hairdos... what else could better represent the supposed cultural backwardness of the South? (Trailer parks and white trash.) Still, does the greatest hope for traditional conservatism really lie in the South? (See Dr. Wilson's latest, It’s True What They Say About Dixie.)

I was considering visiting the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site, but the monument isn't open yet. Once again I won't be able to see much of Nashville, even though I am flying in and out of its airport. Station Inn and Layla's Bluegrass Inn might be of interest. Historic and Civil War sites too. Where is Julianne Hough these days?

Rebellion pokes fun at Chronicles -- or is the author of that post exhibiting a more hostile attitude?

Jeremy Beer, George A. Panichas, RIP

The Brussels Journal: The Invention of the Violin and the Spanish Guitar

In Spain, two new fretted string instruments related to the lute emerged in late medieval times and spread around the Western world. These were the vihuela (Spanish guitar) and the viol. Our modern, classical guitar is a direct descendant of the vihuela. Because it was plucked it was often called vihuela de mano (hand guitar). Related to it was a Spanish instrument called the vihuela de arco (bowed guitar), better known as the viol. The viol was developed in Spain in the late 1400s. It had six strings and was fretted and tuned like the lute and vihuela, but it was bowed, not plucked. It came in different sizes and was played with the instrument resting on the lap and legs. It is often called by its Italian name viola da gamba (leg viol). Having entered Italy from Spain, it quickly spread from there throughout Western Europe.

The violin is slightly younger than the viol and emerged in Renaissance Italy. It was portable and held off the shoulder. Its small size caused it to produce higher pitches, and because of its brighter sound it was often preferred for dance music. Throughout the sixteenth century, the viol was considered the aristocrat of string instruments whereas the violin was more low-class, appropriate for semi-professional musicians to play for dancing in taverns. Not until the seventeenth century did it emerge as the dominant bowed string instrument. The violin family now consists of the violin, viola and cello along with the double bass. Italian instrument builders developed the art of violin-making to a peak that has never been surpassed.

Violins appeared after 1520 in northern Italian towns such as Mantua, Ferrara and above all Cremona. Antonio Stradivari (ca. 1644-1737) from Cremona was the most prominent member of a renowned family of instrument-makers. He is often known to the general public under the Latinized version of his name, Stradivarius, or the colloquial “Strad.” He was possibly a pupil of Nicolò Amati (1596-1684), who came from another Italian dynasty of violin-makers.