A late-night conversation with Grandma

The Dauphin and I spent yesterday visiting with Grandma and Grandpa at the family barbecue. We don’t get to spend as much time with them as we’d like. During our conversation, Grandpa teased me a little about the fact he’d asked to read my manuscript a few weeks before, and I hadn’t sent it to him yet. (Okay, fine, I was chicken: Grandpa used to be a journalist.) I sent them the first three chapters in e-mail earlier today.

Grandma called about half an hour ago to say how much she liked what I’d sent. She’s not necessarily a romance reader, so I was touched and thrilled that she liked it! (Grandpa hasn’t read it yet. Wait till he finds out there are no sex scenes in chapters 1-3.) Mostly, I got a few minutes to talk with her. She told me that one of our cousins was an aspiring diva. We talked a little about what’s happened to live performances of classical music. (They seem to be dwindling.) It was almost ninety degrees again today and I’m in a sweltering house (still), but it was a good thing to sit in the dark and chat with Grandma on the phone.

I hope we will have Grandma and Grandpa with us for years. Someday, they will go, and I will miss them every day for the rest of my life. In the meantime, there’s so much more to say, and I hope I’ll have many more opportunities to say it.

-S

Southern Baptist “scholar” says that women are abused because they don’t submit to their husbands

Ohh, baby. To say I’m a little hot right now would be an understatement, and it has nothing to do with the weather. Thanks to Think Progress blog for posting this. Hey, ladies, did you know it’s your own fault you’re battered by an abusive husband? After all, if you’d just submit to him, it wouldn’t happen, would it?

http://ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=10675

One reason that men abuse their wives is because women rebel against their husband’s God-given authority, a Southern Baptist scholar said Sunday in a Texas church.

Bruce Ware, professor of Christian theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., said women desire to have their own way instead of submitting to their husbands because of sin. “And husbands on their parts, because they’re sinners, now respond to that threat to their authority either by being abusive, which is of course one of the ways men can respond when their authority is challenged–or, more commonly, to become passive, acquiescent, and simply not asserting the leadership they ought to as men in their homes and in churches,” Ware said from the pulpit of Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas.

Pardon my graphic language, but I’m sure the above gives any man who wants to silence and subdue a woman with his fists or any other method big-time wood, doesn’t it? She doesn’t have the right to her own opinions, her own money, or her own life. She belongs to HIIIIM, and she’d best remember that!

Marriage is an equal partnership. Abuse from either party is not an acceptable method of dealing with marital disagreements. Then again, in the above sermon text, the good “scholar” seems to believe for some people, it’s standard operating procedure.

One of the things I’ve found most amusing over the years since I left my church is men that camp on the “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands” portion of Colossians 3, but fail to discuss the next verse. Since I comprehend what I read, I’ll paraphrase. The next verse commands husbands to love their wives (paraphrased) ”as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for it”. The last time I checked, dying (physically, or to self,) is an awful lot larger sacrifice than commanding someone else to obey.

Personal to the women of Denton Bible Church in Denton, TX: There is NO excuse for domestic abuse. None. Endorsing these statements from the pulpit by continued church attendance is enabling others who believe hitting and verbal abuse is appropriate behavior because they’re “sinful”. After all, silence is consent.

Personal to the men of Denton Bible Church in Denton, TX: Do you want to be tarred with this broad brush as well? If not, it might be advisable for you to speak up and rebuke the whole idea of “If a woman doesn’t obey me, she gets hit.” Just sayin’.

-S

Getting together with the fam

It’s family barbecue time! The weather report informs us that it’s getting up to ninety-five degrees today, so it’s all about anything that’s cool.

I hope those who read TLPC have a fun day planned, whatever you’re doing!

-S

If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry: Senators Craig and Vitter co-sponsor the “Marriage Protection Amendment”

I wasn’t sure what to write on the blog today. This, however, is much too good to pass up. Thanks to the Think Progress blog ( http://thinkprogress.org ) for bringing it to our attention.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/27/sens-craig-and-vitter-team-up-to-co-sponsor-marriage-protection-amendment/

Larry Craig and David Vitter — two United States Senators implicated in extramarital sexual activity — have named themselves as co-sponsors of S.J. Res. 43, the Marriage Protection Amendment. If passed, the bill would amend the Constitution to declare that marriage “shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman.”

Well, color me astonished: Two guys who obviously do not have any respect for the institution of marriage themselves, but they’re going to tell the rest of us how to live? Maybe they could get Eliot Spitzer involved as well, hm?

I’d make a few jokes about wide stances and diaper company sponsorships, but that would be crass and show a lack of decorum, wouldn’t it?

-S

 

This is what a patriot looks like, Part Deux: Senator Christopher Dodd on the FISA bill and telecom retroactive immunity

Photo: www.chrisdodd.com

There is a filibuster currently happening in the Senate over the FISA bill, which includes retroactive immunity for telecoms that have been spying without warrant and/or permission on the American people for over five years. This includes every bit of Internet traffic, by the way. The filibuster is led by Senator Rich Feingold and Senator Christopher Dodd.

Why bother, right? It’s not that big of a deal, right? As Senator Dodd says, it’s the latest in a long parade of illegal activity sanctioned by the Bush administration.

If you’d like to watch the speech Senator Dodd gave on the subject last night, please go to http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/4476. There’s also the text of his comments as well. Here’s an excerpt.

“There’s a famous military recruiting poster that comes to mind. A man is sitting in an easy chair with his son and daughter on his lap, in some future after the war has ended. His daughter is asking him, “Daddy, what did you do in the war?” And his face is shocked and shamed, because he knows he did nothing.

My daughters, Grace and Christina, are six and three. They are growing up in a time of two great conflicts: one between our nation and its enemies, and another, between what is best and worst in our American soul. And someday soon, I know I am going to hear that question: “What did you do?” I want, more than anything else, to give the right answer.

That question is coming for every single one of us in this body. Every single one of us will be judged by a jury from whom there’s no hiding: our sons, our daughters, our grandchildren. Someday soon, they’ll read in their textbooks the story of a great nation, one that threw down tyrants and oppressors for two centuries; one that rid the world of Nazism and Soviet communism; one that proved that great strength can serve great virtue, that right can truly make might.

 And then they will read how, in the early years of the 21st century, that nation lost its way.

 We do not have the power to strike that chapter. No, Mr. President—we can’t go back.”

The Constitution is not for sale to the highest campaign contributor (or the most lucrative no-bid military contractor). Thank you, Senators Feingold and Dodd, for standing up for all of us.

-S 

The no-longer-fat lady is still singing: Deborah Voigt takes Covent Garden by storm

The radiant Deborah Voigt

Photo: New York Times

I’ve been following this story in the media for awhile now. Deborah Voigt, one of the leading dramatic sopranos in the world, was fired from a production at London’s Covent Garden four years ago. She was deemed “too large” for the costume the director wanted her to wear for the production of Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” she was starring in: A little black dress. Ms. Voigt had a gastric bypass, lost 100 pounds, and made her triumphant debut in the same production over the weekend. A great, happy ending, right? Maybe. Some of her critics claim her voice is now different as a result of the weight loss.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/arts/music/18aria.html?_r=2&em&ex=1213934400&en=4c129b840e6970a4&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

The drama following the 2004 dismissal of the soprano Deborah Voigt from a production of Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos” at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden here had many elements of the work itself: an opera within an opera that blends comic and tragic aspects and caricatures the lofty ideals of high art. Ms. Voigt’s dismissal, because she was too large to wear the cocktail dress stipulated by the director or adhere to his staging concepts, prompted an avalanche of international interest that ranged from buffa laughs about fat ladies singing to ponderous editorials about the meaning of “sacred art” versus Hollywood ideals of beauty.

In the end, as in “Ariadne,” the little-black-dress saga also became a story of transformation: in Ms. Voigt’s case, a very literal one. After gastric bypass surgery in 2004 and considerable weight loss, a much slimmer and more agile Ms. Voigt was re-engaged by the Royal Opera to sing the title role in the second revival of Christof Loy’s 2002 production, which opened on Monday night. Ms. Voigt looked elegant and sounded in fine form in her first Covent Garden appearance since 2001.

The New York Times reviewer’s comments about Ms. Voigt’s performance are glowing. I’m sorry I can’t see it, because I’d love to hear and see her as well. (The less stellar comments, particularly the ones questioning the changes in Ms. Voigt’s voice, are printed by a news organization (sounds like ey pee,) that bloggers are no longer excerpting for a variety of reasons.) At the same time, this begs a few questions that I can’t help but ask. Are male opera stars held to the same physical appearance standards? If they’re not, why not? Ms. Voigt says that she is still making adjustments to her singing style after four years as a result of this surgery. Is this fair to her?

I realize that many of the readers of TLPC may not be opera fans. I didn’t think I was, either, till I saw one live. I was even more surprised to learn that opera singers must now be as concerned with not just the quality of voice and which roles they’ll be singing and acting, but being photogenic, too. It takes a certain physicality and strength to project one’s voice over an orchestra without benefit of microphone. That’s not happening if you’re a size two and don’t work out.

I wonder what would happen if Ben Heppner, one of the leading tenors on the face of the planet, was required by contract to sing Wagner’s The Ring cycle in a Speedo. Just something to ponder, huh?

-S

Goodnight, George. Rest well.

George Carlin

Photo: www.comedycentral.com

http://www.koin.com/entertainment/entertainmenttonight/story.aspx?content_id=61fbbf29-d503-4ba1-9182-7757210ebad7

George Carlin has died of heart failure. He was 71. Of course, I have to post something he said that I still think is worth considering…

“Religion convinced the world that there’s an invisible man in the sky who watches everything you do. And there’s 10 things he doesn’t want you to do or else you’ll go to a burning place with a lake of fire until the end of eternity. But he loves you! …And he needs money! He’s all powerful, but he can’t handle money!”

Thanks for making us all laugh for so many years.
-S

Poetic justice, brought to you by Robert Frost

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/20/AR2008062002679_pf.html

Last winter, which in Vermont is serious business, a gang of local teens — and a few people a little older — got a bright idea. The Homer Noble Farm in Ripton, famous as the summer home of Robert Frost between 1938 and 1963, stood empty. It struck them as just the place for a party. Armed with lots of beer, the group made its way up the long, snow-packed road to the farmhouse and broke in. Over the course of a rowdy evening, they managed to inflict some $10,000 worth of damage. But it wasn’t until a hiker discovered the aftermath of the party that the law caught up with the revelers. All 28 were charged with trespassing.

Oops. Read on.

With these thoughts of Frost floating in my head, I got a call from the prosecutor in the case. His idea, which the judge embraced, was that part of the young invaders’ community service would involve discussing Frost’s poetry with me. If they studied with me for a period of time (to be determined by the judge and me), their criminal records in this case would be erased.

Would I, the court wondered, agree to such a thing?

It seems the college professor and author who wrote the article I’m referencing, Jay Parini, did. He taught the young offenders using two of Frost’s poems.

But in this case — in a stifling public building in Addison County, surrounded by anxious kids trying to wipe their records clean as they pored over my Xeroxed copies of the poetry — I felt that I had to work more simply, with the symbol itself: two roads, choices. “Life is about choices,” said one of the teens. Indeed, I said. I pointed out that the speaker in the poem was deep in the woods and that it was always difficult to figure out the right road when confronted with a forking path. They acknowledged having had many such experiences, quite literally, in the Vermont woods.

“You are now in deep woods,” I told them. They seemed confused. “If this isn’t a deep wood, I don’t know what is,” I added. Many of them lit up.

Hopefully, the young people in question will remember these lessons. After all, there is truth in Frost’s poetry. For millions of people, the road not taken has made all the difference.

-S

The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost, 1915

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I held someone else’s baby this afternoon

It is no small thing that they, who are so fresh from God, love us.
Charles Dickens

The Dauphin and I had an appointment earlier today. A set of new parents sat across the waiting room from us. Even if we have no children, new parents stand out in a crowd. They’re exhausted. They wash their hands every time they pick the baby up out of his car seat. Everything is as sterilized as they can get it. They have a fifty-pound diaper bag full of every item the baby will need for either an afternoon in the park, or a trek across Africa.

Of course, I’m a sucker for a two-week-old baby. I like babies, anyway. The scent of a baby’s neck is intoxicating, for instance. I wish I had the words to describe it. That sweet, clean smell sticks with you.

I told the new mama how beautiful her baby is, and to my complete amazement, she held him out to me: “Would you like to hold him?” I got up out of my chair, she placed him in my arms, and he realized right away I was not his mama. After a few seconds of fussing, though, he fell asleep, and I was free to admire the tiny fingers. I rubbed his little belly. I told him he’d sleep through the night before he knew it. It was time for our appointment, so I had to give him back to his mama.

I hope that exhausted mama (and daddy!) can get some sleep. I hope their baby grows to be someone who does good in this world. One thing’s for sure, I’m betting he’s always going to know he’s loved.

I’m still smiling, hours later.

-S

FISA and telecom immunity: Congress and their telecom taskmasters 1, the American People 0. Therefore, it’s time to bring in The Boss.

I remain so upset about the telecom immunity vote today in the House that I can’t even write about it. It’s time for the only thing that makes me feel better.

Kristan and I were chatting the other day; she told me that “everyone” likes Bruce Springsteen. Actually, no. Only the best people love him. I’ve been listening to his music ever since I asked for “Born to Run” as a birthday gift in my teen years. I was lucky enough to see him live with the E Street Band, and it remains one of the greatest nights of my life. They started playing at 8 PM. He stopped at 11:00, said, “Goodnight,” and went offstage for five minutes. He came back out, said, “We got rid of the suckers, didn’t we? Let’s have some fun!” and played for another hour. Everyone in the place was dancing!

The above is a video that never fails to make me smile every time I watch it. Bruce, (and Patti, of course!) I’ll see you out in the street. Thanks for teaching me to dance.

Love,
-S