The Land Is Kind

For class we've been asked to pose and answer a question on a reading from William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways.

Q: Discuss the following passage:

"[John Smith] thought heaven and earth had never agreed better in framing a place for man. He said it best in four words, "The land is kind. Somewhere in America they should cast those words in bronze. Cast them big. THE LAND, MY FRIENDS, IS KIND" (389).

A: In this passage Miz Alice tells Heat-Moon the story of John Smith, the first white man to visit the Island. He named them after himself, the Smith Islands, and spoke of the rich variety of animal life.

I think the line "the land is kind" holds great significance for the whole novel. Heat-Moon spends a lot of time talking about nature and what it means to relate to nature, live in nature, use and misuse nature. He explores places where people still live much closer to nature, as is the case with the Hopi he meets, as well as Miz Alice.

But why "kind?" I don't know. It seems to be he has already struggled against nature when he is trapped in a snow storm, but he does survive: perhaps nature was forgiving. I think the theme of conflict - as in the oyster wars, the indian wars, his own internal conflict - may have something to do with this idea that the land is kind. Maybe it is we who are not.

Go-Bama!

Whoo hoo! It's about midnight, and of course Barack Obama has won the 2008 presidential election.

John McCain gave a gracious and respectful concession speach, saying that Barack Obama had accomplished something great for America. He thanked his supporters, but scolded his audience when they booed his former opponent. Senator McCain spoke of national unity, and loyalty to the new president-elect, and promised his allegiance and assistance in the years to come.

Listen to McCain's Concession Speach. Or, you can read a full transcript at NPR.

Barack Obama, president-elect, spoke of his former opponent's integrity and grit. He thanked his many supporters, and promised to remember that this victory was theirs, too. He thanked his wife and children, his campaign strategist, and various others. He spoke of a "united" states, a reference to the landmark key-note speach he gave at the DNC four years ago which helped catapult him onto the national stage.

He addressed not only American's, but all the people across the globe who were listening "huddled beside radios" and promised to usher in a "new era of American leadership." His tone was conciliatory, but even as he spoke of victory and celebration, he reminded us also that their is a lot of work ahead.

Obama spoke of the soldiers who would wake up tomorrow, still in Iraq and Afghanistan, and still fighting. He spoke of the economic crisis, of families trying to pay their bills, stay in their homes. And he told the story of a woman of 106, child of a slave, who yesterday voted for the first African American president of the United States. Finally, he spoke of "restoring prosperity" and reclaiming the American Dream.

Listen to Obama's Victory Speach. Or, you can read a full transcript at NPR.

Cash Covers "Hurt"

I was listening yesterday to one of my favourite covers of one of my favourite songs by one of my favourite bands: Johnny Cash covering Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" .

I've always loved Trent Reznor of NIN, as far as I'm concerned everything he touches turns to gold (musically speaking.) "Hurt," though popular, is an extermely anomalous piece for the Alt/Industrial band. The song is full of nuanced tonality and beautiful melodic lyricism. You can see immediately why the song appealed to Cash.

You can watch and listen to Nine Inch Nails perform "Hurt" on Youtube.

Trent Reznor's accompanying video is classic NIN: over the top and intentionally provocative, but not necessarily deeply meaningful. Still, he skillfully moves between volume extremes, at times almost whispering. The melody alternates between a haunting, minor scale accompanyment to the verses, and a satisfying major key for the simple, repetitive refrain.

Reznor himself is quoted as saying that the song means much more coming from Johnny Cash, and frankly I agree. In fact, listening to Cash you can hear the pain of regret in his voice, and see in his eyes both bitterness and nostalgia. The words seem appropriate for an aging musician with a storied past.

Click here to see Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" on YouTube.

Cash's choice of acousitc guitar (Reznor has a recording in acoustic too, incidentally) and piano lends itself well to momentum of the piece; Reznor's pounding, repetitious chords are brought to life under Cash's sensitive musical touch. Cash, I think, exhibits greater asthetic sensibility when choosing how to move between loud and quiet: and where NIN's version tends to drag, his coaxes. He paces himself, thereby pulling the listener through the song as it ebbs and flows, compelling you forward to a rising crescendo. And when Cash, his voice pained, sings the line "If I could start again, a million miles away / I would keep myself... I would find a way" the crest falls smoothly into silence.

Re-Write: Two Weeks Left

I remember the last presidential election vividly.

I had just moved back to the U.S. and had just started my freshman year at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. The Red Sox had just won the World Series for the first time in 86 years. The movie Garden State came out that fall: The Shins and The Postal Service followed me everywhere I went.

Jon Stewart and his team at The Daily Show (almost none of whom are still on the cast now) were covering Indecision 2004.

It was my first year to vote.

Steph, my roommate, drove all the way home to New Jersey during early voting because she felt her vote would matter more down there. I crawled home on Monday after a four day Halloween bender at Hampshire College, and voted on Tuesday afternoon, in the miserable drizzling cold of a November in New England. Briefly, it seemed like we had a chance.

I remember staying up to watch the election with my roommate. There were election watching parties going on all over, but we opted out, largely because we both just had a feeling it wasn't going to go our way.

As soon as it was obvious Bush had been reelected, we just turned off the lights and lay there, talking about we felt excluded, pushed aside by all those big bossy red-states trying to impose their "values" on everyone else. I felt like I didn't belong in a country hijacked by stupid close-minded xenophobic religious nuts. I still feel that way some times.

But I refuse to let them ruin America for me. The truth is, I love this country for all the things they hate about it. I love Massachusetts and California for allowing gay-marriage. I love Colorado for decriminalising marijuana possession. And I'm thankful for organizations like the ACLU and Amnesty International and the NAACP who are working to keep America fair and safe for everyone.

And I mean everyone, even the people at the Yearning for Zion Ranch - even they have freedom of religious expression. Separation of Church and State, and limited government, is not just for me or people who holds views like mine, it's for everyone.

Two Weeks Left: A Reflection

I remember the last presidential election vividly. I had just moved back to the U.S. and had just started my freshman year at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts (and I still have trouble spelling it!) The Red Sox had just won the World Series for the first time in 86 years. The movie Garden State came out that fall, and the soundtrack was playing everywhere: The Smiths and The Shins and The Postal Service followed me everywhere I went. Jon Stewart and his team (almost none of whom are still on the cast now) were covering Indecision 2004, and it was my first year to vote.

They said "people are turning out in record numbers" and "young people are getting involved more than ever before." People talked about the winds of change, about making a difference.

I remember staying up to watch the election with my roommate. There were election watching parties going on all over, but we opted out, largely because we both just had a feeling it wasn't going to go our way. Steph, my roommate, had driven all the way home to New Jersey during early voting to vote in her home state because she felt her vote would matter more down there.

I had crawled home on Monday after a four day Halloween bender at Hampshire College, and voted on Tuesday afternoon, in the miserable drizzling cold of a November in New England.

As soon as it was obvious Bush had been reelected, we just turned off the lights and lay there, talking about we felt excluded, pushed aside by all those big bossy red-states trying to impose their "values" on everyone else.

Three weeks later, when Thanksgiving rolled around, I just couldn't bring myself to stay in the U.S., the idea of a national holiday just depressed me, so I went to Canada. I was so dissolusioned. I felt like I didn't belong in this country. That I had nothing in common with a country that has been hijacked by stupid close-minded xenophobic religious nuts. I still feel that way some times.

But I refuse to let them ruin America for me. The truth is, I love this country for all the things they hate about it. I love Massachusetts and California for allowing gay-marriage. I love Colorado for decriminalising marijuana possession. And I'm thankful for organizations like the ACLU and Amnesty International and the NAACP who are working to keep America fair and safe for everyone.

SNL: Laughing all the way to the polls

NBC's Saturday Night Live has recently upped the ante of their political satire with some of the best impersonations and timely sketches since the 2000 elections.

Our generation grew up watching Darrell Hammond do a dead-on Bill Clinton, and lucky for him he's got another potential (is that too generous at this point?) president to spoof. Hammond has been doing a pretty good John McCain recently; my only qualm is that he hasn't really gotten down that creepy grimace yet.

Meanwhile Fred Armison, (who incidentally is also the go-to guy to play the likes of Steve Jobs and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) has been doing a bang-up job at playing Barack Obama. From his profesorial pauses, his nervous tic "well, look," to his upward intonation - Armison's got it down.

Watch: First Debate on Hulu.com

Tina Fey, first female head-writer for SNL and star of NBC's 30 Rock has returned to the sketch scene to play Sarah Palin, a character she debuted alongside Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton.

Watch: If Only I Had Wanted It More... on Hulu.com

So acurate and popular has been Tina Fey's Sarah Palin that the real Sarah Palin actually joined the show last week for two brief appearances.

Watch: Moose Killa on Hulu.com

Personally I think this is SNL at it's best.

VP Debate

The vice-presidential debate took place this evening.