Cultural Ambassadors

Check out this great slideshow from the New York Times. It's photos from the Cold War when jazz musicians were sent to play music and build rapport with people in other countries, especially countries with strong Soviet influence.

What a fantastic example of diplomacy-sending ordinary musicians to talk about their experiences as citizens. Certainly, as Black Americans, these people weren't going to pretend everything was all bread and roses. Apparently, when the State Department tried to instruct Gillespie about how to respond to questions, he replied "I’ve got 300 years of briefing. I know what they’ve done to us, and I’m not going to make any excuses."

Musicians occupy a special place in society- they transcend a lot of class boundaries and the non-verbal nature of music gives it the potential to unite people across langauge and cultural barriers.

We should be promoting New Brunswick this way - send out our musicians as ambassadors, without any beauraucrats. I bet that would be far more effective than any waving at the border, or flyers at gas stations. Hot Toddy, Isaac and Blewett, Jens Jeppesen, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, these are the people I'd like to represent us.

Growing and growing

Had a great chat last night about agriculture, corn, and population growth. Basically, the only reason we can have 6 billion people on the planet is because we produced enough food to feed them.

Now we are faced with feeding many more mouths without the 'revolutionary' increase in food yields made possible by synthetic pesticides and oil-based fertilizers. With the cancer epidemic being what it is, and with oil prices continuing to climb, it's time to look past petro-chemical farming.

But that transition is going to be painful, and not everyone sees the situation this way. This article explains the huge gains being made by 'agribusiness' companies, and how they plan to invest 1.5 billion dollars in coming years to continue increasing crop yields.

I know it's political suicide to say it, but what we really need is not 1/3 more food. It's 1/3 less people, especially if all those people are eating meat twice a day and commuting to work.

Good music never goes out of style

Shout out to my sister Tracy on this one...

Another blow to freedom of expression

First there was the Senate bill to censor movie funding. Now, this. What is the world coming to?

That old time environmentalism

One of the strangest things about my grandparent's house was that it had no garbage can. It had compost, a woodstove, and plastic bags so well re-used they were as soft as cashmere. I know I could never run my house without a garbage can (although we do recycle and compost), although maybe that's a goal to keep in mind for the near future.

Here's Judith Timson debating which generation is really the greenest.

We prefer the term "tailings impoundment areas"

Most people refer to these as a "lake." You know, the large body of standing water suitable for habitat and recreation . . .

It turns out the Harper government is reclassifying 16 lakes in 4 provinces and territories as toxic waste destinations for mining by-products.

This is beyond insane.

Don Wright's tips for jingle-writers.

It's not Shakespeare, but it pays the bills . . .

Don Wright earned his nickname, the Jingle King, by composing catchy ditties for such products as Coffee Crisp, Tide and Carlings Ale.

Before his death in 2006 at age 97, he gave away millions of dollars to support music education at Canadian universities. Here are Mr. Wright's tips for successful jingle writing:

1) The melody line is most important.
2) The bass line is next in importance.
3) These two lines should imply the chord structure.
4) The words must come through. Study grand opera!
5) Keep the mood of the words. 6) Support, not hinder.
7) Do not fill until necessary.
8) No fill should cover the initial syllable, or any other important part of the word.

Enjoy~

Thinking About Residential Schools

I've been reading a lot about the Residential School Apology. Most people seem to feel the weight of the words uttered in the Commons, although some feel that the issue of genocide needs to be addressed. I will put a collection of links at the bottom if you feel like investigating.

Personally, I was stunned by the power of Native leaders on the floor of Canada's law-making house. Phil Fontaine, in his headress, addressing the Prime Minister nearly face to face, made me realize that as a European Canadian I have no idea what it means to negotiate with First Nations on a "nation-to-nation" basis. Jack Layton (like him or not) even acknowledged that the Residential School policy was 'racist,' calling us all to take a deep look at our own views towards Native people and our government's dealings with them.

On a local note, I came across a photo of a residential school near Woodstock. I would like to know how long this went on, and whether those survivors are still in the area. Given that Woodstock First Nation recently settled a land claim with the federal government, and that they have been involved in litigation about Native people and their right to cut wood on "Crown" land, it's not possible for us to pretend that quiet old Carleton County is not affected. People tend to ignore these topics because it means confronting their role as participants, however slight.

I'm not saying that absolutely everything is the fault of Europeans, but it's time to look at the situation with new eyes. We have begun the "truth" part of the "Truth and Reconciliation" commission. The "reconciliation" will take honesty and courage - let's hope we can find it.

Links: Quebec Native Women's Response

Rex Murphy "The Day The House Stood Still"

Ward Churchill "Healing Begins When the Wounding Stops"

Globeandmail.com "School-abuse apology widely backed"

What's a jingle-writin' lady to do?

It's a man's world, in music and especially in hockey. But that didn't matter to Delores Claman, who cranked out arguably the most culturally important tune in Canada. And it's an exciting bit of music, too.

Honeymoon Waning

According to Celtic myth, the Gods used to get married in May. That meant mortals had to wait until June, when the full moon was referred to as "the honeymoon." Lovers were married, and used to go for midnight picnics.

At 182 Houlton, we're writing a musical about this, interwoven with stories of murder, resurrection, betrayal and the search for "the Good Life." We will give one backyard performance next Friday, June 20th, which is the summer solstice (and the honeymoon will be waning). If you would like to attend, please email guestlist@honeymoonwaning.com. And bring a lawnchair and fly spray. The show starts at 9:30 pm. Bring your friends and family.

Long dusty thoughts for a warm day . . .

I have no thoughts of my own to offer this week, so here's a transcription of Doris Lessing's speech at the Nobels.

When she was awarded the prize, she commented that it was likely because the literary establishment suspected she might soon"pop off." Let's just say the lady has a way with words. . .