On This Day in Music

1969 - Simon and Garfunkel's first TV special, "Songs of America," aired.

Here are the videos:

Don't Pray for Patience...

...because God will make you wait.

I thought of that on Sunday morning as we began the Advent season- a season of waiting. As was said in the sermon, Christians have been waiting now for 2000 years.

So, who's praying for patience?

Well, we all need it, I am sure. It is a cliche that we live in an instant gratification world. We want what we want when we want it reinforces that need to have it at the minute we want it. It wasn't that long ago (in historic timeframes) that the only things you bought on time were cars and houses. Now, as we pile up consumer debt encouraged by the world around us, we might even end up paying high interest rates on a candy bar or case of Pepsi.

We are not willing to be denied. Our waiting is avoiding the longer line.

Advent is no longer about waiting. It is about getting things done earlier and earlier, doing what we want as soon as we can. It is no longer the "hopeful anticipation" that the church knew for centuries before we became more aware of the greater world and its possibilities and we became jealous or covetous.

Lord, I don't like it when my ramblings take me where I don't want to go. Cure my impatience and jealousy by letting me celebrate what I already have, and then to live in the hope of what can yet be.

Seems Like The Natural Order to Me

Rolling Stone has come out with another of their "Greatest" lists. This time it is the 100 greatest guitarists. I would suppose that many will have a lot of different names to put on the list. But I for one will not, cannot, and absolutely won't argue with the top 3- in that order.

Rolling Stone's top 10 greatest guitarists follow:

1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Eric Clapton
3. Jimmy Page
4. Keith Richards
5. Jeff Beck
6. B.B. King
7. Chuck Berry
8. Eddie Van Halen
9. Duane Allman
10. Pete Townshend

I wonder why so many of them are of previous generations. I don't think it is just because the ones on the list are older and have more experience. That thought sure doesn't hold water. Perhaps the greater number of styles of music and the wide range of bands has diluted the whole.

It is clear, though, that the truly great were, in many ways, the trailblazers, pioneers.

So, here are some videos. These are not necessarily the greatest performances of these guitarists, but they rank among my favorites:

Hendrix:





Clapton and Page together in a down and dirty blues mode:





Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Chuck Berry:





Jeff Beck playing with amazing soul:

Great Stellated Rhombicuboctahexagon

It is now officially Advent.

The First Sunday in Advent

We sing it twice a year in the Moravian Church, the First Sunday in Advent and Palm Sunday. We celebrate today the coming of the Lord into our midst.

Hosanna!

Just Before Advent

Well, before we get all mushy and sentimental about Christmas, here is a paragraph from the Huffington Post.

Convincing the church she does not exist for the benefit of her members, but for the life of the world is a bad church growth strategy. It's also exactly what the church must do. It's a tough sell because crucifixion seems like a losing strategy unless you believe in the resurrection. Faithfulness seems like a losing strategy unless you believe that the power of the gospel trumps our ability to come up with all the right answers to all the right questions.

Yes, I said the Huffington Post. When we in the church begin to talk like this, whether from the left or right sides of the culture, we will not find our numbers expanding. Of course, I don't think we see numbers expanding anyway. We just see people moving around from one place to another.

Anyway, on this day before the First Sunday in Advent where even I get a sentimental twinkle in the eye and on the blog, I thought I better post this to at least keep the whole thing in perspective.

Now, on with the sentiment. I have a hunch that Jesus liked that, too.

It's Still a Day for Giving Thanks

In our amazingly material culture there is more interest in today than in yesterday. Bl*ck Fr*d*y is the big news, not a simple day of thanks. (Got your attention?) I am not meaning to say that the whole idea of a shopping explosion day is obscene and needs to be edited- but I am implying it. We are out of hand. It's not the merchants- Big Box or local. It is us.

Me, too. I scanned and skimmed the ads for today looking for a deal that I might want. I toyed with a computer here or an e-reader there. yes, I already have a computer or two and we have his and hers e-readers already. But i was being lured by the possibilities. but i didn't want to get up that early today (or go to bed that late this morning.)

So I am not entirely this Scrooge who wants American stores to lose money. But somehow, somewhere in the great scheme of things this frenzy of shopping is not healthy. Not for any of us. It predicates a good healthy economy on out-of-control buying. Or perhaps buying controlled by the ones who are doing the selling. They are frantic for our business. They lure us, entice us, woo us, and seduce us.

In order to truly live in the kind of happiness I have come to discover over the past couple decades, I can't get so swept up in today's madness. I have to hold on to yesterday's serenity. No, not a wistful looking at a non-existent nostalgic past. I mean simply yesterday. November 24, 2011. A day we gave thanks.

I can't- I must not forget that today. I have no reason to add unwanted stuff to my already overcrowded life. I need to add more gratitude for what I already have- material and spiritual. I need to stop today and be grateful for each day. It is quite a life I have been able to enjoy in this past year. I have hopes for a lot more great things to be thankful for.

But right now, today, all I have is today. I'm glad I didn't get up and participate in the madness. I didn't need it. If you did, I am not one to judge. Simply take time tonight to give thanks that you were able to do so. Spend some time with all the ways that you can know a peace and serenity today. With or without the goodies on sale.

With a different thought, here is another possible use of all our money:
(HT to Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin)

by visually via

Okay- It's a Day Late

But not really.

It was November 25, 1965 that the Alice's restaurant Massacree happened. So, breaking a little with Thanksgiving tradition, I give you Arlo 46 years to the date later....





With a Hat Tip to The Washington Post Blog for the links.

For This Day- and Each Day

Gratitude and thanksgiving from Louie Schwartzberg on TED.




May this day be a day of deep and wonderful thanksgiving.

A 45-Year Memory: An Epic is Recorded

November 24 – The Beatles begin recording sessions for their landmark Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.

A 40-Year Memory: Jumping Into ????

November 24- During a severe thunderstorm over Washington, a man calling himself D. B. Cooper parachutes from the Northwest Orient Airlines plane he hijacked, with US$200,000 in ransom money, and is never seen again (as of March 2008, this case remains the only unsolved skyjacking in history).

Getting Ready for Tomorrow

It's classic.....

More Making Music

I have been part of a renewed brass quintet this past year. We have not been able to get together as much as we would have liked so we had our first public appearance this past Sunday. We played at the local Unitarian Universalist Church for their two services. I took my handy-dandy camcorder along and videoed the second service. Here's one of the pieces, Rondeau (Masterpiece Theater theme):



It was the prelude, hence the people talking around the camera. I also think I need to change the microphone setting. We will be playing again on Saturday (11/26) at 4:00 at the Festival of Trees at the Mayo Civic Center.

Ponderings on Downsizing

It is now four years since we sold our house and moved into an apartment. That action was a minor trauma. We had to look toward downsizing and, I believe, we managed to take some amazing actions.

Actually some of it was more than a minor trauma. I still have two images in my mind- the first was the car filled with nearly 30 boxes of books we donated. The other was unloading old electronics at the local recycling center, equipment that had not been used in years but held great memories. When I drove away it was with an awareness of how much money had just been recycled.

I have a hunch that some of us hold on to things because we don't know how to let go. Or perhaps it's a hedge against getting older. Or maybe it's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Or, just plain fear that what you toss out today you will most surely need again next week, even if it has been in that box in the closet now for four years.

Then there are pictures and books that have sentiment attached. So and so gave me that book. Or that book REALLY moved me in a new way of thinking. Or that one is a classic.

How about all those CDs I had digitized and now have more music on my iTunes library than I can listen to in a month of continuous 24/7 playing, including nearly 1400 Christmas songs. Maybe I need to take another look at that OCD symptom list.

What brought this on was sitting in my computer room looking around and wondering how in heaven's name I was ever going to clean things out. To truly downsize these books and boxes, tiwzzles and mementos from 63 years of my life, 40 years of marriage, 35 years of a career, or just the music I have discovered I like in the last six months. To let go would be to give in to aging. To get rid of them would be to say I may never need them again. Or all those papers, tax, finance, legal, etc. How long do I keep them? Why bother with something that is from 40 years ago.

I remember when we had to clean out my father-in-law's house a few years ago. I kept asking why he kept that. I still don't know why he kept those things- and I am no closer to finding out why I keep them- or how to stop.

Yes, I know I am rambling and not getting to the heart of the matter. Not really. Even minor hoarding like I do may be a sign of an inability to trust that we will have what we need when we need it. My wife has said for years (and I agree) that at least some significant portion of all this was triggered originally by being "orphaned" as a teen. Life will change, I learned, but if I hold on tight to some things perhaps I can maintain balance and my place in the world.

This rambling is all taking place on Saturday evening and, as I write, I realized again that this would be my Dad's 106th birthday. He died a very long time ago, at age 59. I am 63 today. I knew him for 16 years. I have known one of my best friends for 27 years, my daughter for nearly 31 and my wife for 41. Maybe part of my holding on is to keep the past alive. If I give up it may mean that those of the past will be forgotten. Or the events will lose any meaning.

Yes, it sounds like I am playing a game of ring around the circle or psycho-babble and analysis. Why do these things go through my head? Why can I not find it easier to let go? As I sat and stared at the books and boxes Saturday evening I kept saying that to clean out- to downsize or get rid of things I don't need or won't even use or look at- would be to give up. It would be to finally admit that I am mortal and time-limited and ultimately powerless. To hang on like I do may very well be an attempt to keep my life managed BY ME.

In the end I have the feeling that most of us wrestle with these issues as we age. It is not an easy thing to wrap ones mind around. It is not about life after death. It is not about heaven or hell or nothing. It is simply recognizing the arrow of time heading in a direction we find hard to accept.

Yet this is Thanksgiving week. I know that the best antidote to these thoughts, and perhaps the fear of becoming nothing, is to look at the day we are given each and every day. I have been blessed to have far more than either of my parents. I have many reasons to be grateful today- and I am. All this pondering becomes a way of ignoring what is around me. All the baggage of the past I have stored in my closet and on my selves and in the files can be a burden. Perhaps it holds me back from what is next, or its weight is slowing down the growth I continue to experience.

So maybe, just maybe, I should take the advice I would give you or others: Stay in today. Turn it over. Be grateful and see what you have.

If it works now as it has in the past, I'll let you know.

The Joy of Music

Last Sunday our Rochester Community Band presented our fall concert. We did some top-shelf numbers that made us feel good about what we are doing. I have posted the videos for the concert pieces at my You Tube Channel.

LINK to my You Tube channel with videos from our Community Band Concert last week.

Video of Loch Lomond by Frank Ticheli

One More On This Date For the Week

1955- Niagara Falls, Canada

1905- My dad was born.

A 50-Year Memory: Stepping Into the Big Muddy

November 18 – U.S. President John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam.

Was He or Wasn't He?

The NYT On This Day page lets us know that on this date in 1973 (wow, that's a long time ago now!) the following was in the news....

On Nov. 17, 1973, President Nixon told an Associated Press managing editors meeting in Orlando, Fla., that ``people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook.''
--Link

Were You As "Icked" Out As I Was?

I was busy watching the Packer game on Monday evening but managed to still be grossed out by Bob Costas' interview with former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky. Hearing his voice as I watched the news on Tuesday evening sent chills up my spine. He was convinced he was in the right- completely innocent. Which, by law he is until proven guilty. But listening carefully it was very clear this was someone who just doesn't get what's falling down on him and around him. AND that it IS his behavior that has caused it.

It was certainly more than 10-12 years ago, the time frame of some of the accusations, that I knew- and was trained in- the way you should and should not act around and with young people. DO NOT shower alone with them. In fact, don't be alone with them. We in the church and the people in the Boy Scouts were in the midst of serious training for all of us about these issues. NO MATTER WHAT, don't put yourself in a position like that. EVER.

Be the adult! Absolutely, positively, act your age. You do not, repeat DO NOT, do horse play in the shower with a young person. It is extremely unsafe. It is NOT being an adult role model. ACT YOUR AGE.

I find it incredible that Sandusky can, now, all these years later with all the controversy surrounding him, JUSTIFY these behaviors. These are just as out of bounds as what he is charged with. True, they are not illegal, but they are just as outside the realm of what is appropriate. NO QUESTIONS! These are big trouble in and of themselves.

Yet Sandusky easily threw them out as okay behaviors for an adult coach with obviously underage boys. Don't give me any of that crap that you "enjoy young people." Don't let some lawyer convince you that he is just some jock who is just a big kid. The lawyer is, in essence telling us that being a [dumb] jock is an excuse for being stupid, unwise, and involved in inappropriate behavior.

I don't buy it.

Sandusky did more harm than good to his own case. Did his lawyer even know this was going to happen? If so, he may be mal-practicing law. If not, he should get out before he is in the midst of something far more sinister than he realizes.

The look on Bob Costas' face spoke volumes. He could not believe what he was hearing.

Neither could I.

And it will be used against Sandusky. As it should.

On This Date: 1873

W. C. Handy was born this date in 1873. Let's celebrate with Benny Goodman live at Carnegie Hall with Harry James and Gene Krupa doing Handy's immortal, St. Louis Blues.

Movie Review: Ides of March

(Tomatometer: 85%;IMDb)

If you like politics, this movie will be right up your alley. If you don't, it will affirm your greatest fears. In any case it may very well change how you read the latest political news.

George Clooney is a squeaky clean politician. He has that movie star good looks so necessary in today's media saturated campaigns. Philip Seymour Hoffman is his campaign manager, a wily political veteran. Ryan Gosling is the young political genius who knows how to sell the product. Paul Giamatti is the rival campaign manager. There, with four of my favorite male actors in one place, is the making of fireworks.

Gosling is an idealist. He's excited and committed. He's part of this campaign because he believes in what he's doing and in the candidate he works for.

As the movie unfolds Marisa Tomei enters as a journalist always on the lookout for a deep background scoop. Evan Rachel Wood joins the scene as a young volunteer who also seems to be in it for the idealism.

Which sets the stage for some terrific acting, Oscar-level acting, especially by Clooney and the always different, always remarkable Gosling. Clooney is able to exude campaign charm and maintains that facade of being "above the fray." Gosling, on the other hand, is soon challenged, his idealism taken to the cleaners. The change in his character is subtle until that moment when you look in his eyes and see ... nothing.

In 1997 Wag the Dog used black comedy to raise issues of war and politics. Ides of March is a reality TV program in comparison. It may say more about who we are in 2011 than about the change in politics. Who are the good guys? The bad guys? Perhaps neither exist anymore? We may never be sure. Cynicism rules in the political process of the 21st Century. Opportunism is the overarching presence.

As a child of the 60s, I was born and bred on idealism, fed at the well of activism as possible to change the world. Watergate ended much of that. But the current runs deep Ides of March raises all those old possibilities and specters of idealism and cynicism, opportunism and realism. Perhaps in American politics, in order to get elected or to achieve what you hope to achieve you have to do it in spite of yourself, your humanity, and even your deepest values.

I was deeply challenged by this movie. Old cliches may be more true than we care to accept. Power and the desire for power may be a drug that undermines who we are and all the politicians who want our support. Liberal, conservative, independent or idealist, watch yourself. You are in slippery territory.

Article first published as Movie Review: The Ides of March on Blogcritics.

Penn State Reflections (4): In the Depths of the Soul

The Penn State tragedy that exploded last week really kicked me into a passionate week of writing. This is the fourth post (plus yesterday's reflection on the Gospel) that I have worked on. The words just keep on coming, bubbling out of anger and sadness, fear and grief. I sat glued to the TV news each evening as they reported from State College, a town I knew growing up. They talked about Happy Valley and Beaver Stadium. Places I knew intimately have been brought into the headlines of a whole world.

Then I was reading another article and another location jumped off the computer screen. Victim 1 (as the first reporting victim was referred to in the Grand Jury report) was a student at a "Clinton County" school. It was no longer the 50 mile trip to State College from my home. Now it was across Pine Creek, in my stomping ground. There are only 37,000 people in the whole county and only three public school districts, including my home district shared with neighboring Lycoming County in the east where I grew up.

It was like having a friend identified as the victim. The victims involved were probably not people I knew, but I knew the land and the territory. I have come to know that land and territory, geography, is very much part of who we are. Reading Clinton County in the report was home, personal.

It was no longer about the great university having its name dragged into the dirt, or an iconic figure like Joe Paterno being pulled down. Now it was the every day person, the person on the street. And worse, it was the powerless and lost being pushed even further away by a man who sought to use power and position to do unthinkable things to children.

The Lock Haven Express reported on their own investigations that may even implicate the school district in what looks more and more like a cover-up:

[S]ources said when the family questioned that outcome, they were told by a Keystone administrator that Sandusky was a "great man" and they should go home and think about it before taking further action.
--Link

Don't believe for a second that any of this was about sex. This is NOT A SEX SCANDAL. Rape is not about sex- it is about power. It is a weapon used by conquering armies exerting hegemony and power. It is used by men to subjugate others to their own desires, no, to use others as pawns for their own desires. Rape of a child is the most cowardly act of power. Victim 1 said to his mother that you couldn't "say no to Jerry." It is the most degrading way to put someone else in their place. It is violence against the life and soul of the person being raped. It is the theft of childhood and personhood of the victim.

I find that I am angered at some great depths by this because it has hit so close to home by men and institutions who have attempted to be moral and honest and filled with integrity. These great awful events tear at the fabric of who we are. That is why it has been the top of the news. It is finally and most destructively attempted murder of the life spirit, the soul of hope.

The Sunday Lectionary: Keeping Trust

With all the Penn State news this past week I was not surprised to see the assigned Gospel for this week was fitting. If I had thought about it I would have been even less surprised. These last two weeks of the Church Year are about the end of times, the final judgement. And judgement (all kinds and the lack of it) have been part of what we have hearing all week. So here is this week's judgement Gospel.

Matthew 25:14-30

14“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The talents this week were the young lives entrusted to Jerry Sandusky and others. The talents were the young lives he said he was there to help. The talents were the university students who have now been brought into the midst of something not of their doing.

When the owner comes back and asks Sandusky and Paterno, university officials  and non-profit leaders what they did with the talents entrusted to them they will hide their heads in shame. They will stand convicted by their actions, their lack of actions or just the desire to stand by and ignore what was happening.

Hear the prophetic words where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth...

coming first from the victims.  Listen. Listen. They call to all of us.

You Can Never Keep Up

...or...

technology keeps at least a jump ahead of what I buy.

Sitting in the local Barnes and Noble last evening looking at the new Nook Tablet I realized it is impossible for we everyday people to keep up with things.

I got my Nook Color for Father's Day. That was June. Only five months ago. It is not a tablet, but has some tablet/computer features.

Now there's the Nook Tablet. For the same price I paid for the Nook Color JUST FIVE MONTHS AGO.

Sorry to yell like that but my pioneering spirit, my early adopter status is continually threatened by such events.

But I guess there's nothing to do about it. No, I am not getting a Nook Tablet. But I will look with a certain amount of jealousy at it- and try not to be too covetous.

Penn State Refelctions (3)- The Dilemma of Ethics

Thursday I said the following in a post on the scandal at Penn State:

But the cautionary tale in all this is far deeper than the pain of watching Paterno in pain, losing his dream to a sick, VERY SICK man who was more interested in satisfying his own sick drives. It is far deeper than seeing a grand and prestigious university be undermined by authorities who felt it better to hide the truth than care about the safety of children.

The message is far more than football or universities or even the law. It is far more important than even a legendary individual like Paterno.

Very simply the message is about our humanity and our willingness to be more humane than we tend to be. The message is about taking care of our children and ourselves with dignity and respect. The message is that the letter of the law is not enough.

A couple days ago I was leading an in-service on an ethics presentation I have done. I commented to my colleagues that for me the theme of ethics isn't about what is legal or legal. It is often more about what "should" be done. In my field of counseling when we get into questions of ethics it often revolves around the legal stuff- the relationships we are not to have with clients, not taking advantage of power positions to take advantage of others.

Those are essential topics of ethics, of course, and I will certainly emphasize those in the courses I lead or teach on ethics. We must not avoid them. But neither can we avoid the more important issues of protection of the vulnerable or even going the extra mile, beyond the letter of the law, to do the next right thing.

As I was talking I ad libbed into the Penn State situation. I realized that under the legal issues and incredible sickness of the perpetrator, this is what makes it even more devastating.

Sadly this is where I fear Joe Paterno got lost 10 years ago. He admitted so in his retirement statement on Wednesday.

This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.

It is that "more" to have done where ethics can take over. An ethical standard short-circuited by following the letter of the law is unethical. Not illegal, but morally questionable. Paterno, as a man of integrity, knows that today. If he didn't learn it before Wednesday, he learned it when the Trustees of the university stood up with their own integrity. It was seen again last evening at the candlelight vigil and today by both teams on the field.

The leaders of the university who didn't even go as far as Paterno are even more morally questionable. The parallels between this situation and the scandals of the Catholic Church over the past decades are unmistakeable. It is in that leadership position that we have all been let down, blind-sided, taken advantage of by people who should have been better than that. They knew better, but were afraid to do what  might hurt them or their image or their institution. They believed on some level that their security, their position, their institution, was above the law. Or worse, that they were in the position to say what the law should or shouldn't do.

They and their institution and their "brand" and their security and safety was worth more than the safety and security of some young men, boys, unable to defend themselves and left even more defenseless by the actions of these self-important men.

What happened to these boys by Coach Sandusky was reprehensible, hateful, shameful and sinful.

What happened to these boys by the leadership of Penn State is just as reprehensible as they had the chance to do something and didn't.

I am aware as I write this of the anger in the depths of my soul for what has happened. I too- we all- have been abandoned by these non-leaders. We have been robbed of hope and dignity and trust in our public institutions. Again. Over and over it has happened- and will happen. I cannot help but think of two of my personal heroes from World War II who faced an evil greater than this.

First was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, outstanding theologian and courageous human being who participated in a plot to kill Hitler. He wanted to stop the insanity and destruction the Nazi regime was bringing on the world.  He lost his life in a Nazi concentration camp for it.

Second was Pastor Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor who stood up to the Nazi aggression. He didn't lose his life, thankfully, but stood up for what was right.

In situations far more dangerous, personally dangerous, than Penn State football, these two men did what was right. Against great odds they did the next right thing.

Some non-leaders at Penn State felt they had more to lose by doing what was right- so they didn't. The results, when finally found out, had far more destruction to far more people than would have happened ten years ago. And the original victims continue to be victimized.

I am sure that the story, as it continues to unfold, will continue to contain revelations we don't like to hear. There will be attempts to spin the story. There will be stuff that makes us repel in disgust and anger. Somewhere, I hope, we will find some of the ethically courageous who finally thought the time was long past when something right was to be done. Even if we never know their names, we can be grateful that they decided to honor the victims and not the victimizers.

May we all learn that lesson. Again.

11-11-11

For Red who was in this war, and for veterans of all ages who did what they felt was the right thing to do.

This is your day.

More Reflections on Penn State

It keeps going around in my head. It's like a friend has died, or perhaps worse than that- a friend has committed suicide or a combination suicide-homicide. The old friend is Penn State. And Joe Paterno has been Penn State since I was a freshman in college.

As I said the other day I grew up just about 50 miles from Penn State. I applied there for college and was accepted but chose a small college in the southeastern part of the state. But the Nittany Lion has strong history and gets into your blood.

Over the years since I lived in Pennsylvania the "brand" Penn State has grown and increased in stature and quality. Sitting in the "wilds" of central Pennsylvania, far from big cities, it was its own world, but one that produced great academics and great football. When one said that it always came back to Paterno, JoePa. He pushed academics and integrity and honesty. Perhaps, though, in the final analysis Penn State's central PA isolation and the legendary stature of Joe Pa was what finally led to his and the U's undoing.

In the end Penn State and its "brand" image and the power and money of Football proved greater than JoePa. He was run over by the effects of the juggernaut he helped attain that stature. Hide things, hush them up, circle the wagons, protect!

Paterno's statement yesterday which I posted here was one of the most painfully sad and desperately painful statements a public person like Paterno has ever written. The cynics may say that it was a way of saving face or of short-circuiting the inevitable or that he had a good speech writer. But that statement was Joe Paterno. It was the kind of statement a man of his integrity and spirit would want people to read and say "Yes! That's Joe Pa."

But it was also Joe the Powerful. He was a man who could refuse the suggestion of his bosses that it was time to retire. It was also Joe the Powerful who wanted to go out his own way and take the power and control from the hands of the Trustees. Perhaps for the first time in a very, very long time, they stood up and took their place and not bow to Paterno.

But the cautionary tale in all this is far deeper than the pain of watching Paterno in pain, losing his dream to a sick, VERY SICK man who was more interested in satisfying his own sick drives. It is far deeper than seeing a grand and prestigious university be undermined by authorities who felt it better to hide the truth than care about the safety of children.

The message is far more than football or universities or even the law. It is far more important than even a legendary individual like Paterno.

But that's for Saturday's post.

For today I mourn and try to wrap my head around a world spinning off its axis. Not for me, but for the victims and their families. Not for the disgraced coach or athletic director but for the hope, now shattered for so many. I mourn because there was this unthinking riot that followed Paterno's firing but no one, NO ONE, stood up in anger for the victims.

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Let us lift the children harmed by the mighty.

When a child's spirit's broken
And feels all hope is gone
God help them find the strength to carry on

But with hope and faith
Yeah, we can understand
All God's children need is love
And us to hold their little hands

Hallelujah, hallelujah, let us all love one another
Hallelujah, hallelujah, make all our hearts blind to color
Hallelujah, hallelujah, God bless the child who suffers
--Shania Twain

A 50-Year Memory: Yossarian et. al.

November 10 – Catch-22 is first published by Joseph Heller.

Wednesday Drumming

Arguably the two greatest drummers of all time- Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.

Thanks to the wonders of video tape, fans, and now You Tube, we can relive some of these great musicians. Here's a video from the Sammy Davis Show in 1966 with these two remarkable men dueling it out.

(And if you can find the extra arms they both must have to play the way they do, I sure can't.)

Joe Paterno's Statement

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Nov. 9, 2011 -- I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.

I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.

That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.

This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.

My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University.

More thoughts will come from me. For now, the sadness of seeing this happen, first to the victims and then, because of his own human failings, to Joe Paterno.

Updated Winter Headlines

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING...

It looks like it's a No-Show (or no-snow?) Fizzled out for us. Went somewhere else.

Headline cancelled.

Oh, the trials and tribulations of being a weather forecaster.

Penn State Football Under the Gun

I grew up about 50 miles from Penn State and have always had a soft spot in my heart for them and their incredible football history. Even after becoming a Midwesterner and a Badger fan, the Nittany Lions were one of my teams. Yes, at times, I have believed that Joe Paterno, their seemingly ageless antiquity of a coach, would and should retire, but about now it may be clear why he hasn't?

It has been making news that one of the former coaches, the Athletic Director and a University official are under serious investigation for the former coach's sexual abuse of boys. The others are being investigated for hiding what they knew and not reporting it. Even JoePa seems to have gotten his hands a little dirty for not having reported what he may have known to law enforcement.

Sad. Very Sad!

I almost don't know what to say, actually. The story will continue to develop and will become old news, of course. People have resigned. Many are starting to call for Paterno's and the U President's  resignations. Fingers will point. And a number of young men who were abused may never get the justice they deserve. These stories are never pretty- and lots of people get hurt. But in the end the saddest is that the victims of the abuse in the first place often end up being hurt even more. In the charges and counter-charges, the attempts to spin and keep a storied University's VALUABLE football program from being tainted, you never know what might occur.

Whether it's Clarence Thomas, Herman Cain or football in Happy Valley, the powerful and important tend to slip through. I hope we don't forget the victims.

Our First Winter Headline

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING...

Up to six inches of wet snow accumulating on the grassy surfaces.

No, it's not the blizzard the Northeast just endured,

nor is it the Halloween Blizzard of 1991 revisited,

nor is it like we will get once things get cold.

But it is the first of the season.

Which means- the season is upon us.

A 40-Year Memory: Heavy Music

November 8 – Led Zeppelin releases their Fourth Studio album "Led Zeppelin IV" which goes on to sell 23,000,000 copies.

Side one
No.	Title
1.	"Black Dog"
2.	"Rock and Roll"
3.	"The Battle of Evermore"
4.	"Stairway to Heaven"

Side two
No.	Title
5.	"Misty Mountain Hop"
6.	"Four Sticks"
7.	"Going to California"
8.	"When the Levee Breaks"

A 20- year Memory: The Game Changed

November 7: Magic Johnson announces he has HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS. At the time it was almost a certain death sentence. But, with his openness and willingness to be honest, the HIV/AIDS picture changed.

Here is a link to an ESPN interview with Johnson.

In Memoriam: Rooney and Keith

Andy Rooney who is probably a dictionary definition for "curmudgeon" died yesterday. He made himself a butt of jokes and satire- and loved every minute of it. He was 92.
--CBS News Link

More significant to many of us in Minnesota and around the nation who love radio and Prairie Home Companion, Tom Keith died earlier in the week of a heart attack. As is commented on the PHC page, Keith was an illustrator for radio. No, not an oxymoron, an essential job on a show like A Prairie Home Companion. It was always fun when Garrison would have these incredible story lines with sound effect after even more impossible sound effect. Many of us also remember Tom as Jim Ed Poole on the wonderful Morning Show on Minnesota Public Radio for years. Tom was 64.
--PHC Link

Here's an audio montage of Tom's work:

Here's a video from a show last month. Tom is on the far left making all that sound come alive.

The Most Played Rivalry

Two weeks from today at Lehigh. Didn't want to miss out on the hype.

Playing for Change: Episode 54

United. We shall live as one.

From their website, Playing for Change tells us:

By the end of 2011 the world will have reached 7 billion people. The United Nations Population Fund is leading an innovative global campaign to bring awareness to the opportunities and challenges that this milestone presents. But 7 Billion people means 7 Billion hearts. Music has always been the best way to speak to the hearts of the people. Playing For Change has partnered with the United Nations to present an original song around the world to serve as an anthem for such an important time: "United."

We traveled across the globe, put headphones on musicians, added them to the track, and created a video that can serve as a tangible example of something positive we can all do together as a human race.

On This Date in Milwaukee

November 3 was a Thursday in 1988.

The weather was about normal for that time of the year: High around 52, low around 40. Not unusual.

The week before had been generally cooler and quite windy.

Life was about to change.

Entering treatment for alcoholism is enough to do that.

This morning I opened a daily meditation book that I was given on that day. I hadn't even thought about it until I looked and up in the corner was just the number "1" with a circle around it.

Day 1 of now 23 years. The first set of 24 hours of sobriety that has made life nothing short of miraculous.

Give thanks, with a grateful heart!

An Amazing Musical Heritage

Donald at the organ- still after 70 years

Last month the Berea Moravian Church celebrated with our organist 70 years of worship leadership. All at the same church. Yes, 70 years. 1941 when Donald was 16. We had a wonderful day of honoring him, singing to his playing and listening to his special music.

He also received the James Salzwedel Award from the Moravian Music Foundation. Gwyneth Michel, Assistant Director of the Moravian Music Foundation presented him  the award.






WKBT in La Crosse, WI, did a video report on Donald. They gave him over 5 minutes of their news time. Here's the LINK to WKBT website.

The congregation also gave Donald a quilt of pictures and signatures. On the left is the center panel including some of the Salzwedel citation.

Finally! An Answer

Maybe a reason?

Or is it an excuse?

From the LA Times:

a study has found that for at least a year, subjects who shed weight on a low-calorie diet were hungrier than when they started and had higher levels of hormones that tell the body to eat more, conserve energy and store away fuel as fat.

Is that ever true!

I managed to lose 22 pounds between June 15 and August 22. I Managed to hold that lower weight within a pound or so until..

this week

when I slowly crept up again by 4 pounds over my lowest weight.

And as I read the article yesterday about this weight regain problem I could nod my head in agreement. I have noticed that in the past two weeks the hunger started being more noticeable. I was "craving" food in ways that I had thought were past. I was noticing that I was also getting more frustrated with myself and the whole process.

Now I know why. At least on some level, my body is making sure that I don't starve. That is a real survival skill the body has had to learn through the millennia of evolution. Now it's working against me.

The first thing though is to know it's happening and it's not something strange about what I have or haven't been doing.

Beyond that, my guess is that I need to be a counter evolutionary. (Sorry about the pun. I couldn't resist. Blame it on my genes.) I need to continue the things which lost me the weight in the first place. Maybe I need to re-kick start the diet process. Probably I need to push the exercise up a notch.

But I should not get down on myself, allow the frustration to turn into depression or drag my self-esteem back down. With a lot of support and help I managed to get this far. And the article says it's not about me.

That helps.