See To The Mash

“It is undeniable that modern liberal regimes have had tremendous success in providing security and prosperity for their citizens. Nevertheless, few of even their most ardent proponents would dare to assert that the political life of such regimes is noble or beautiful. It is harsh, but by no means unfair, to say with Richard Hooker …

How Adam Ate the First Orange

“[C]ontemporary research reveals that music possesses universal characteristics that mark it as a similar behavior present in all human societies. For example, the principle of ‘octave equivalence’—the treatment of two pitches, one with a frequency twice that of the other, as the same pitch sounding at different octaves—is ‘present in all the world’s music systems,’ …

Come On Baby, Light My Fire

“Nietzsche, in contrast, recommended a music that inflames the passions, and he seeks to use such music with a view to overwhelming or silencing reason . . . In sum, for Nietzsche, when we experience the Apollonian we behold images, but when we experience the Dionysian—that is, when we experience music—we feel forces” [Carson Holloway, …

Yet Another Reason to Be Concerned About Global Warming

“But not all languages are equally musical. The musical-poetical language Rousseau discusses arose in the south, where the bountifulness of the climate made survival relatively easy. As a result, southern languages express the yearnings of the ‘heart,’ specifically the longing for romantic attachment to a person of the opposite sex” [Carson Holloway, All Shook Up: …

The Answer to Idolatry

“One might say that irreverence, not blasphemy, is the ultimate answer to idolatry, which is why most cultures have established means by which irreverence may be expressed — in the theater, in jokes, in song, in political rhetoric, even in holidays” [Neil Postman, Technopoly (New York: Vintage Books, 1992), p. 167].

FYUI

“Useless, meaningless statistics flood the attention of the viewer. Sportscasters call them ‘graphics’ in an effort to suggest that the information, graphically presented, is a vital supplement to the action of the game. For example: ‘Since 1984, the Buffalo Bills have won only two games in which they were four points ahead with less than …