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21
Jan

Remaking America

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM – Th 11p / 10c Changefest ’09 – Obama’s Inaugural Speech Barack Obama InterviewJohn McCain Interview Sarah Palin VideoFunny Election Video This Daily Show spot pokes fun at Obama’s Inaugural Address for containing rhetoric similar to that of former President Bush. (Ah, former President Bush.) Yes, Ha Ha and all that. But seriously, the

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21
Jan

100 blogs

Thanks to Jessica Merritt of Distance Learning Net for including Lerterland in a list of 100 top musicology blogs. I’m not a musicologist — more a music-ologist, I suppose. But I’m glad to be represented.

20
Jan

“…we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.”

Words fail. Although Barack Obama’s words certainly didn’t. Congratulations, Mr. President. We fought hard for your victory and we’ll fight for your continued success. God bless.

19
Jan

The week on disc (35)

In case you missed the last one… Gary Morgan & PanAmericana!, Felicidade (CAP) Michael Jefry Stevens Trio, For Andrew (Konnex) Greg Reitan, Some Other Time (Sunnyside) Jerome Sabbagh, One Two Three (BEE Jazz) Enrico Rava, New York Days (ECM) Pete Sommer, Crossroads (Capri)

19
Jan

“We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt”

A fitting economic metaphor for our times, from the famous 1963 speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the great moral teacher of the American 20th century. Black Power icons such as Assata Shakur, so hallowed by today’s politicized hip-hop artists and others, have worked hard to discredit King’s vision as a course of meekness, of do-nothing, of turn-the-other-cheek. It’s

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16
Jan

The call of conscience

Lasantha Wickramatunga, editor of Sri Lanka’s Sunday Leader, has been gunned down by assassins on motorcycles. Steve Coll has published a long, extraordinary statement from Wickramatunga in anticipation of his own death: It is well known that I was on two occasions brutally assaulted, while on another my house was sprayed with machine-gun fire. Despite the government’s sanctimonious assurances, there was never a

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16
Jan

Doings

I’m working on an essay for Z Word about jazz and politics in the 00’s. I’m also dealing with the fact that my new MacBook Pro will connect wirelessly to the Internet only when it is not sitting on my desk. So my posting, and my attention to current events, may remain a little light in the coming days. Like

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15
Jan

On Noah Preminger

My preview of tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger at the Jazz Standard (Wednesday, Jan. 21), in the current Time Out New York.