A Mari Usque Ad Mare

The Canadian national motto is "A Mari Usque Ad Mare." This means "from sea to sea." It derives from the Latin Vulgate translation of Psalm 72:8 in the Bible. It could apply also to the voyages of Captain Reid Stowe on his home-built schooner Anne, on a more worldly basis. This gaff-rigged schooner, built on the model of the 19th and early 20th century fishing schooners, is nearing its 40th anniversary of launching. The owner and overseer of the Anne, Reid Stowe, left the New York/New Jersey harbor with his partner, Soanya Ahmad, aboard the  Anne just over 10 years ago, finally completing a 1,152-day nonstop voyage without resupply, an extraordinary feat of endurance and resourcefulness. Reid's primary modus vivendi is the depiction of life as he sees it in art and artistic expression, including "GPS art", akin to the environmental artistic displays of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Here is a recent article on Reid Stowe, from the Spear's magazine, entitled "Whatever Floats His Boat."

An interview with Tom Ashbrook of NPR's On Point summarizes the challenges of the journey:

Response to Radio Show on CIUT called "Indigenous Waves"

Here is my commentary in full to a show that aired on the U. of Toronto's CIUT radio station, called "Indigenous Waves." This particular episode of the show involved a discussion of the Idle No More movement, with guest Ian Campeau aka DeeJay NDN. Following the show, I expressed my opinion about the movement so far, and some of the antagonism voiced by Idle No More supporters towards any and all criticism leveled at Chief Spence. For those who don't know, Spence pretended to go on a life-threatening hunger strike, which turned out to be a mild form of sacred fast. She continued this manipulative protest action for 44 days, starting December 11, 2012, and ending on January 24, 2013. Throughout this period, Spence claimed to be approaching a state of imminent death, which became less and less believable as the weeks wore on.

Here is my response to the show that aired on January 21, 2013, on CUIT.

I listened to the entire show you aired on Mon., Jan. 21, 2013. I was very annoyed by the fact that the host (Susan Blight?) said some critics of Chief Spence (who you ALL carelessly label as trolls) have few followers on Twitter. Well, I am a critic of Spence for falsely advertising her hunger strike as a fast unto death and I happen to have fewer than 80 followers, because I am not famous, don’t use tricks to get followers, and wait for followers to follow me. The medicinal tea, lemon water, moose and fish broth, and vitamins that Chief Spence ingested over 44 days were never that harmful to her health, as proven by her very short visit to the hospital over the days 23 to 26 January. She tried to fool the media into exaggerating her precarious state of health, playing her “victim” role to the hilt. Maybe she can get an Academy Award for best Actress!

If she was serious about her sacred fast, and her supposed reverence for its significance, she would not have abused it as a tool for political advantage and deception. She shamed herself and all that indigenous people stand for, by abusing this sacred fast.

Please stop labeling any critics who abhor this shameful behaviour by Chief Spence, as trolls. I am not a troll. I am an intelligent, thoughtful, deep-thinking individual who happens to have a very good sense of what is honest and good vs. what is dishonest and crooked. Chief Spence is a self-absorbed, power-hungry individual who happened to go on a fake hunger strike, and thus duped everybody into thinking she was a saint, like Gandhi or Mother Teresa. Well, I have some news for you! Chief Spence is a fraud and a skunk, who deserves no honour and no praise for misusing her position as Chief to threaten a Prime Minister and a Governor General with suicide if they don’t comply with her wishes. 

I am so angry with this whole sordid situation, but instead of spreading hate and vitriol, I have simply used my rights as a citizen of Canada to express my opinion freely via social networks, to lay out the facts and the truth as I see it. All my criticisms were directed at the sham of a hunger strike that was falsely promoted into some sort of Jesus-like sacrifice unto death. It was far from that. In fact, my honest opinion is that Chief Spence knew she had failed as a Chief — failed her own people — and was looking for a sneaky way out of the mess, namely duping an entire nation into thinking she could be a martyr for indigenous people. Never was the Press and the Canadian populace more deceived than this.

Finally, I listened carefully to what DeeJayNDN had to say and was very impressed with his dedication to helping the cause of indigenous rights. My only concern is that he has a slightly inflated ego if he thinks that labeling all critics of Chief Spence as racist is OK. It is not OK, at least not with me. I had every right to be critical of the methods that Chief Spence employed to pull the wool over the eyes of ignorant Canadians. Let’s hope that this exercise in futility — staging a hunger strike when it was supposed to be a sacred fast — has woken up Canadians to the deviousness of some First Nations Chiefs, and will encourage them to realize that people like Atleo, Coon Come, and other sensible leaders are the ones who will finally be the mediators of solid progress in Indigenous Rights in Canada. The approach that Idle No More has taken thus far is far short of effective in garnering the sympathy of most Canadians, who, like me, think for themselves, do their own research and are skeptical of the mainstream media. Beware of your enemy, for if you continue to take Canadians for granted as ignorant, boorish and racist, your worst enemy is yourselves, since you have lost all credibility for solving the real problems of the 21st Century for indigenous peoples of Canada.

I posted the above comments on the website for Indigenous Waves, at Ian Campeau aka DeeJay NDN talks Idle No More racism in the mainstream and social media.

Tweets on the topic of Chief Spence's protest action -- 2nd set

These are further tweets relating to the protest action of Chief Spence, and overlapping the date when she ended the so-called "hunger strike" on Victoria Island, in Ottawa, Canada.

(NB: link no longer available.)

The protest action by Chief Spence

I have collected my tweets with @ChiefTheresa (as reply or mention) over the days Jan. 14-18, 2013. This period of time is relevant as it follows the meetings set up by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General David Johnston with AFN (Assembly of First Nations) chiefs on Jan. 11.

Tweets about Chief Theresa

Big Crunch

I was watching this video of the aftermath of a car crash (no serious injuries) resulting from excessive speeds on Notre Dame Ave. in Winnipeg, MB. The news was covered by the Winnipeg Free Press at this article -- Police investigate whether shots, crash linked.

At one point this image appeared in the video:

I could not help but see the irony in this still image, in relation to the sandwich known in Canada as "Big Crunch" (at KFC Canada, known for its chicken). It appears that the driver got the "Big Crunch", but not the one he was looking for. The sign on the right also advertises "Now Hiring -- Delivery Drivers". Hopefully, he was not trying out for that job.

Further details on this mysterious incident are available at another news source:
Cops probe link in car shooting, car crash.

I did some research on Audi cars of the period 1990-1994 and figured that the model of car involved was an Audi 100 (C4) 1991 - 1994. Some representative photos are available here and here. Apparently, the Audi seen in the picture above was traveling at high speeds (evading police cruisers) sometime after 4:45 a.m. on Wed. 14 March 2012, and was involved in a roll-over before coming to stop on all 4 wheels next to the KFC fast-food restaurant. Something tells me that the driver of this vehicle was one lucky dude to be able to run away from that one! It's also good advertising for the rolling capabilities of an Audi (good old German engineering).

Update, 8 months later
--The two incidents on the night in question were indeed linked, and suspects were apprehended.
Suspects nabbed in smash-up, shooting

Rose Fyleman Visits Winnipeg (1929)

We get a snapshot of the Social Scene in Winnipeg in this extract out of the Manitoba Free Press (Dec. 5, 1929). In particular, the author Rose Fyleman, at age 52, paid a visit to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to speak to a couple of Women's clubs of the day. She spoke Wed. Dec. 4 to the Women's Canadian club, followed by tea as a guest of the Winnipeg branch, Canadian "Women's Press club." Finally, she was wined and dined by Mrs. Harrison Gilmour in the evening. As described in the "Social and Personal" section of the Manitoba Free Press (which two years later was to become the Winnipeg Free Press), "Pink roses centred the table, which was lighted by sunset tapers."

Here is an extract of the original newspaper article from 1929:

"Social and Personal" Manitoba Free Press Dec. 5, 1929, p.10

Mrs. Harrison Gilmour entertained
at dinner last evening in honor of
Mrs. George Galt and Miss Rose Fyleman.
Pink roses centred the table,
which was lighted by sunset tapers.

The guests included Mrs. George
Galt, Miss Rose Fyleman, Mr. and Mrs.
Rupert Reece, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad S.
Riley, Mr. and Mrs. Athol McBean, Mr.
and Mrs. Lally Dennison, Miss Joyce
Marples, Col. Godson-Godson, Col.
Hugh Osler and Mr. W. A. Murphy.

* * * * * * * * *

A large attendance of members of
the Women's Canadian club enjoyed a
delightful hour yesterday afternoon,
listening to an address entitled "Poetry
and Children for One Hundred Years,"
and to the sympathetic reading of
poems for children.
Miss Rose Fyleman, famous writer
of stories and poems for children
and a contributor to "Punch," was the
speaker. The meeting, held in the
banquet hall, Royal Alexandra hotel,
was presided over by Mrs. P. C. Shepherd,
president of the club.
Miss Fyleman referred to the days
when poetry for children dealt with
fearsome tales of everlasting punishment
rather than the whimsical beauty
and interests of child life, as today.
With regard to the importance of
poetry and the teaching of it in schools,
Miss Fyleman stated that in her opinion
the future of the country lies, to a
great extent, in the hands of the school
teachers. She advised encouraging
children to write poetry, but not publishing
collections of a child's poetry
which is not of literary value other
than for use in texts on child psychology.
The importance of not attempting
to write down to a child, but
rather of writing simple subjects and
enhancing them with the romantic,
the mysterious and the incident not
yet experienced by the readers, was
stressed. Miss Flyeman read favorite
poems from famous writers and several
of her own beautiful poems.

* * * * * * * * *

Miss Rose Fyleman of London, Eng.,
authoress of children's poems, was
the guest of the Winnipeg branch,
Canadian "Women's Press club" at tea
Wednesday afternoon at the Lodge on
Hargrave Street. Miss Fyleman chat-
ted informally with the members on
the writing of poems. Miss Kennethe
Haig, vice-president, presided. Mrs.
C. S. Riley was also a guest of the
club on this occasion. Miss Thelma
Le Cocq poured tea.

Just delightful... That same evening—according to an interview that the CBC conducted many years later with a former president of one of those clubs—Rose Fyleman was inspired, after a walk to the Manitoba Parliament Building, to write a descriptive poem about "Winnipeg at Christmas." That poem was recited by several generations of children at Christmastime. A link to the poem can be found here: In Winnipeg at Christmas.

Symphony gets hot in July

As July was moving into its hottest phase of the summer, the Shreveport musicians of the city's own orchestra were hammering out a rescue package to keep the symphony alive as an organization. The efforts were productive, as an agreement was reached to prolong the existence of the SSO for another 2 years, in a reduced format, as far as investment of time and money. The cut of the core musicians' salaries by 45% was a major feature, which might or might not be the end of the symphony as we know it. Let's see what transpires in the next two years. The phoenix might yet arise out of the ashes! Here is the scoop as portrayed by the Shreveport Times on July 19, 2010:

Shreveport Symphony board, musicians reach agreement

By Donecia Pea • doneciapea@gannett.com • July 19, 2010

Symphony board president Richard Bremer had barely gotten the words out before the applause erupted Monday morning.

"It is my pleasure to announce that the board and musicians have entered a new two-year agreement…" Bremer said, kicking off the first of many rounds of applause among the packed house at the Symphony House.

After more than two years of contentious negotiations, including an 18-month strike and this past spring's mini-season, board members and musicians have agreed to a contract that will keep the full-time core musicians intact and include a 45 percent salary cut, instead of the initial contract proposal two years ago that would have included a 75 percent pay cut.

The contract takes effect immediately and will run through May 31, 2012.

"The key thing for us is that the full-time core musicians remained intact. There were a few other things, like travel costs for out-of-town musicians. But the main thing that was important to us was maintaining the core professional musicians," said musicians' spokesman and principal trumpet player Rick Rowell.

"The pay cut is not the best, but it's better than it could have been. We found a middle ground."

The press conference included a parade of officials from symphony board chairwoman and longtime symphony supporter Virginia Shehee and symphony music director Michael Butterman to Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover, as they expressed their thanks and excitement for the new season.

The first concert is set for Nov. 13. More details on that concert will be announced.

Trip to Bermuda (by Capt. John Doswell)

Trip to Bermuda- Reid Stowe

Triumphant return of the Shreveport Symphony

Good news of the cultural variety has arrived from The Times of Shreveport, Louisiana. The first concert following a prolonged strike of over one year took place on the weekend, and by all reports, it was a great success. May this portend well for the future.

January 31, 2010

Full house, high spirits greet symphony’s return

Player-management talks are ongoing

By John Andrew Prime
jprime@gannett.com

The program for the return of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra to the local arts horizon Saturday featured an all-Tchaikovsky lineup, but it could have included a song by pop singer and songwriter James Taylor.

After all, he had a hit in “Traffic Jam,” and that’s what greeted people at Riverview Theater on Clyde Fant Memorial Parkway: car after car, driving in slow but large circles, looking for that elusive parking space, and a throng pouring through the doors.

General manager Leah Escude estimated the crowd would be close to the full house of about 1,600, a major accomplishment for the orchestra that for more than a year has been silent due to ongoing negotiations between its players and management.

“This is wonderful,” she said. “We had hoped for 800, and we have gone way beyond that, double.”

People still poured in to buy tickets even as lights blinked to warn people to take their seats and musical director/conductor Michael Butterman excused himself from the lobby, where had been chatting with concertgoers.

The player-management talks go on, but an agreement was reached to put on three events — the “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” on Saturday, the “Cirque de la Symphonie” on March 5 at Riverview, and “A Keyboard Extraveganza” on May 15 at First Baptist Church of Shreveport.

Some in the crowd were just thankful to have a city symphony to cheer on, while others were there for specific items on the program.

Leonard Kacenjar, music director and conductor of the Marshall (Texas) Symphony Orchestra and a long-time figure in the Shreveport music scene, was looking forward to the evening’s second number, Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto in D, opus 35,” with guest soloist Jennifer Frautschi.

“It’s a long time in the coming,” said Kacenjar. “It’s amazing, and what a great crowd too.”

Kacenjar’s orchestra has a concert scheduled Feb. 22. And the Shreveport concerts, which pay players for services — not only concerts but practices also — help bolster his base as well.

“There are a lot of the same players over in Marshall, so I’m excited about this. I’m tickled to death to see this come down.”

Local violinist Leah Sayad, a fresh Centenary College graduate, played with the orchestra at Hurley School of Music and now is with orchestra at First United Methodist Church in Shreveport.

“I’m excited to see them. I know a lot of the players and have been waiting for them to come back. But I’m especially looking forward to the violin concerto.”

Charles Moore, of Shreveport, stood in line for his ticket. And while not an every-show attendee in the past, he hopes to steadily attend future performances.

“It’s about time for live music. I’m looking forward to the violin concerto.”

That would follow the “Festival Coronation March” and precede “Symphony No. 5 in E minor, opus 64,” taking up the entire second half of the performance.

Joe and Kaylon Gates came from south Bossier City.

“We’re thrilled,” Kaylon Gates said, adding that her 14-year-old son Samuel “was the first to say ‘Can we please go?’”

For her, “just being back in the Symphony Hall with the music playing and having a great evening is enough.”

She, too, anticipated the violin concerto.

But for husband Joe, the whole bill was inviting. “I’m looking forward to all the songs and to a wonderful evening.”
Additional Facts
What’s ahead

The “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” concert performed Saturday at Riverview Theater will be broadcast in full on Red River Radio, including Shreveport radio station KDAQ-FM, at noon Feb. 19.
Future Shreveport Symphony Orceshtra concerts will be held at 7:30 p.m. March 5 at Riverview Theater, 600 Clyde Fant Memorial Parkway, and 7:30 p.m. May 15 at First Baptist Church, 543 Ockley Drive in Shreveport.

Like Father, Like Daughter

I had heard of Boris Berezovsky (pianist), born in 1969, who won the 1990 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. However, I did not know that he has an equally talented daughter, born in 1991, named Evelyne Berezovsky, also a pianist. We catch a glimpse of what each has to offer during rehearsals onstage in an outdoor theatre at La Roque D'Antheron in the Provence, France. These videos are an extraordinary opportunity to see the brilliance and wonderment that such talented musicians bring to their art and life. Listen and learn!


Evelyne Berezovsky, 2007


Boris Berezovsky, 2007

Reliving Troubadour

Carole King and James Taylor appeared together on the NBC Today Show [20.1.10], reigniting the chemistry they experienced 40 years ago at the Troubadour in CA. They are embarking on a World Tour together.

Taylor and King remember The Troubadour

Jan. 20: James Taylor and Carole King talk about the Los Angeles club and a performance there that inspired the upcoming reunion tour.

Interview

Taylor joins King for Motown duet

Jan. 20: Singers James Taylor and Carole King perform "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow."

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

The notorious Manitoba native, Kenneth Leishman, organized a gold heist in 1966 that in today's value would have been worth more than 2 million $. The heist took place at the Winnipeg International Airport and consisted of loading gold bars from an airplane into a van, without being suspected until the gold shipment did not reach its expected destination.

A documentary about this daring petty thief was completed in 2005 and the link is below in the Glog feature.

Health Care "Canada-Style"

Watching part of the debate in Congress about the Health Care Bill, I have one question for all Americans. Should health care accessibility be market-driven or a constitutional right guaranteed by law?

In Canada, Tommy Douglas is commonly known as the father of "medicare", and was instrumental in its first implementation in the province of Saskatchewan. His groundwork, along with the future aid of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson helped to make "medicare" a national entity, beginning in 1966.

Having had a medical doctor as my father and the experience of Canadian health care delivery for over 40 years, I conclude that Canada made the right decision. The system has served Canadians well since the Medical Care Act of 1966 was passed under the Pearson government: Medical Care Act.

Yes, it will cost the taxpayers, but isn't that the purpose of taxation, to equalize services to all citizens regardless of income? We cannot judge a man by the color of his skin, or by the size of his savings account, but by the content of his character. Didn't I hear that somewhere before? ...and health must not stand in the way of the productivity of citizens, regardless of income.

Canada had this debate long ago, to resolve the health care issue, for all Canadians, and the time is right for America to follow with its own brand of universality, which allows health to be a right, not a privilege.

A Great Thanksgiving Day Present for Shreveport

This great news about the Shreveport Symphony was extracted from The Times [Shreveport]. It arrived just in time for Thanksgiving Day, and not a moment too soon.

November 25, 2009

Shreveport Symphony series offers hope of a permanent return of live orchestral music

On the eve of Thanksgiving, let's embrace the encouraging news that orchestral music again will be ours in 2010.

After a year when the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra fell silent over a contract dispute, let's give thanks for fresh beginnings, the apparent dissipation of acrimony and distrust at the negotiation table. Add to that a $70,000 challenge grant from the Community Foundation, and music lovers can now look forward to three concerts as negotiations continue on long-term solutions. The first concert is Jan. 30 and the last in May.

Challenges remain to achieving a full resolution of disputes, but the notes are encouraging.

"There was a sense that maybe people weren't just being bull-headed," said musician representative Rick Rowell about the recent talks, "that there were honest positions to deal with and I think we realized everyone is passionate and wants it to work."

Monday's announcement by Rowell, Symphony Board President Dick Bremer and Paula Hickman, executive director of the Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier, is the initial fruit of work that began around Labor Day when Bremer, as new president, sought to resume talks.

The agreement at this time presumably will help the board and musicians raise funds as potential donors survey the landscape for worthwhile causes before the tax year closes. Many donors have wrestled with the dilemma of wanting to support this long-standing cultural asset but concerned about the economic model that appeared to be losing financial ground each year. Much of the contract dispute was related to the previous board's decision to switch 24 full-time core musicians to a per-service pay structure, though part-time musicians would have received a pay increase. In this three-concert season, the musicians have agree to per-service payments while negotiations continue.

In search of organizational and funding solutions, both sides have agreed to bring in a consultant on symphony management. Here's hoping his recommendations can offer credible strategies that can be supported by both managers and musicians — and reassure donors.

Live orchestral music is not only food for the soul but sets this community apart from other cities our size — and larger. After six decades of performances, the Shreveport Symphony has become deeply grooved into our community's soundtrack. Monday's announcement offers hope it won't go silent again.

-taken from Shreveport Symphony series...

Non-profit group allows musicians to keep performing.

Recently it was noted in The Times (Shreveport) that a group calling itself CODA [Concert Organizers for Diversity in the Arts of Northwest Louisiana] is trying to keep symphonic music alive in Shreveport. The term "diversity in the arts" implies that along with popular music, we need to support orchestras that cover a broad range of music, from serious classical compositions to lighter fare, such as movie soundtracks, orchestral arrangements of popular music (known as Pops) and musicals. There is a good reason why the orchestra as a performance group has survived over many centuries.

Here is the article in full describing the role of CODA (Sept. 5, 2009, The Times, Entertainment Section):

New group to support Shreveport Symphony
Board, musicians resume talks

By Donecia Pea • doneciapea@gannett.com • September 5, 2009

A newly formed nonprofit organization is reaching out to assist Shreveport Symphony musicians with a fundraiser concert.
[Advertisement]

Concert Organizers for Diversity in the Arts of Northwest Louisiana will present its opening concert at 7 p.m. Sept. 26 at First Baptist Church of Shreveport.

The concert will feature most of the symphony's 23 core musicians.

"Maybe two musicians won't be participating and that's only because their schedules won't allow it," CODA President Dorothy Rivette said.

Featured performers include the I-49 Brass Quintet, which includes Rick Rowell, Mike Scarlato, Tom Hundemer, Mike Davidson and Mark Thompson. Flutist Sally Horak will combine classical and jazz elements in a piece by Claude Bolling for classic flute and jazz piano trio.

The final selection will be the traditional Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven, performed by a full orchestra and conducted by Kermit Poling.

Rivette said the group is not designed to replace the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, which has been embroiled in a negotiation battle between symphony musicians and the board members for two years.

Rather, she said, CODA was formed to support the musicians and give them a way to continue to perform.

"CODA intends to keep the seasoned and educated musicians performing and living in the community so that when the day arrives, whatever orchestra our city ends up with will be one of high quality rather than one that sounds like a community orchestra," Rivette said.

Rivette said she foresees CODA working hand in hand with the symphony, similar to the Symphony Guild, but with its fundraisers solely being concerts.

"If an agreement is able to be reached, CODA would like to offer its assistance to the symphony in possibly continuing to help organize some concerts of the variety that the symphony has given up on in recent years, such as a chamber series, children's concerts, etc.," Rivette said. "Our organization is not made up of people who have money to donate, but of people who can provide a service in order to keep music alive."
(2 of 2)

Rivette reached out to symphony board president Richard Bremer asking for his support of CODA.
[Advertisement]

"She did send me an e-mail and explain what they're doing. Basically, if it's helpful to musicians, that's fine," Bremer said.

Bremer further noted that the board members and musicians, along with their union representative, have resumed talks and plan to meet again shortly after Labor Day.

"The musicians and the board continue to use our best efforts to hopefully overcome the impasse and be successful," Bremer said.

However, Bremer would not comment further on the status of negotiations or the future of the symphony.

"It's too early to comment. I'm just going to leave it there," he said.

Symphony musician spokesman Rick Rowell could not be reached for comment.

Rivette was a former board member of the short-lived Red River Chamber Orchestra, formed last September by community volunteers Kevin Hill along with Bill Causey and Bob Maynard to assist the musicians. However, the group never attained its 501(c)3 status.

Rivette eventually left that group and formed CODA in December, receiving 501(c)3 status in June.

Rivette said they haven't determined how many additional concerts they will present after the inaugural concert.

"We are taking things one day at a time right now. We'll just see how this one goes and see what we want to plan after that. A lot of it depends on what happens with the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra," Rivette said. "If they begin producing large symphony concerts again, there won't be a need for us to do it and maybe we'll do some chamber or children's concerts."

For further information about the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, which has an uncertain future, but might still rise out of the ashes, visit Shreveport Symphony Orchestra.

Orchestra Musicians Regroup

This article appeared recently in The [Shreveport] Times Opinion section.

Editorial: Saturday concert reminds us what we're missing

September 24, 2009

Shreveport musicians who have spent too little time on stage will gather Saturday to remind us what we've been missing.

The Diversity in Music concert will range from Beethoven to jazz, from full orchestra to ensembles. The performers will include many players who made the Shreveport Symphony an oasis of musical excellence in our regional soundscape. For six decades, the Shreveport Symphony has not only been — note for note — one of the better orchestras around, but one of the last in a community of our size.

But orchestras cost money. The expense isn't much in comparison to health care or even what we pay to dine out during the year, but it's enough that a contract dispute has silenced the Shreveport Symphony for more than a year. The dispute involves the musicians' pay structure, particularly how it affects the symphony's core musicians who are contracted to perform for an entire season.

But there is a glimmer of hope.

Last week The Times editorial staff, in an effort to update our readers on this musical impasse, e-mailed a set of questions to both the Symphony Board and representatives of the musicians to determine the status of negotiations. Our hope was that time and a rotation in leadership might have allowed a fresh start.

What came back was a very short, not too revealing two-sentence response:

"Symphony representatives have met with the musicians and their union representatives and have scheduled another meeting to try and resolve our differences. Both groups prefer not to say anything more at this time since the matters being discussed are sensitive and our combined efforts are focused on reaching an agreement."

The importance to us wasn't the comment but the attribution. The sentence was a joint response by the board and the musicians, no insignificant detail.

The two groups have had at least one long session of talks in the past month. Without providing any specifics, new Symphony Board President Dick Bremer leaves us with a feeling of cautious optimism.

Meanwhile, Saturday's 7 p.m. concert at First Baptist Church in Shreveport will provide some musical balm around what would traditionally be the opening of another symphony season. It's the inaugural event of Concert Organizers for Diversity in the Arts of Northwest Louisiana, or CODA, a group formed to support the musicians and provide them an opportunity to perform. Dorothy Rivette and other organizers are to be commended for stepping into the breach and working to uphold this end of our community's culture.

Without hearing a note, we applaud this concert and hope that off stage any past dissonance soon may resolve into sweet harmony.

Stealing cars is a pastime that needs to be squashed.

When I look up the definition of "pastime" in thefreedictionary.com, I get

Noun 1. pastime - a diversion that occupies one's time and thoughts (usually pleasantly)... [Middle English passe tyme, translation of French passe temps : passer, to pass + temps, time].

If stealing cars by youths has become a pastime, who has been sleeping on the job of raising these kids and has let them turn into lawless freaks who have lost any sense of right and wrong? To parents who claim they have taught them right from wrong, I say not on your life! They have failed in the one task which all parents must fulfill if they deserve the name of parent, that is to get the children, at an early age, to understand that consequences of anti-social, destructive and disrespectful behavior are severe and that good behavior towards other human beings is its own reward... END OF STORY. No more excuses about living in poor conditions, and having less. LESS IS MORE.
The following link contains my response to an event that happened right in my own city.
HAVE YOUR SAY - Winnipeg Free Press

Posted using ShareThis

"Indian" vs. "Native American"

POLITICALLY CORRECT LANGUAGE
by George Carlin
From his Book,"Brain Droppings"

Now, the Indians. I call them Indians because that's what they are. They're Indians. There's nothing wrong with the word Indian. First of all, it's important to know that the word Indian does not derive from Columbus mistakenly believing he had reached "India." India was not even called by that name in 1492; it was known as Hindustan. More likely, the word Indian comes from Columbus' description of the people he found here. He was an Italian, and did not speak or write very good Spanish, so in his written accounts he called the Indians, "Una gente in Dios." A people in God. In God. In Dios. Indians. It's a perfectly noble and respectable word.
So let's look at this pussified, trendy bullshit phrase, Native Americans. First of all, they're not natives. They came over the Bering land bridge from Asia, so they're not natives. There are no natives anywhere in the world. Everyone is from somewhere else. All people are refugees, immigrants, or aliens. If there were natives anywhere, they would be people who still live in the Great Rift valley in Africa where the human species arose. Everyone else is just visiting. So much for the "native" part of Native American.
As far as calling them "Americans" is concerned, do I even have to point out what an insult this is? Jesus Holy Shit Christ!! We steal their hemisphere, kill twenty or so million of them, destroy five hundred separate cultures, herd the survivors onto the worst land we can find, and now we want to name them after ourselves? It's appalling. Haven't we done enough damage? Do we have to further degrade them by tagging them with the repulsive name of their conquerors?
And as far as these classroom liberals who insist on saying "Native American" are concerned, here's something they should be told: It's not up to you to name the people and tell them what they ought to be called. If you'd leave the classroom once in a while, you'd find that most Indians are insulted by the term Native American. The American Indian Movement will tell you that if you ask them.
The phrase "Native American" was invented by the U.S. government Department of the Interior in 1970. It is an inventory term used to keep track of people. It includes Hawaiians, Eskimos, Samoans, Micronesians, Polynesians, and Aleuts. Anyone who uses the phrase Native American is assisting the U.S. government in its effort to obliterate people's true identities.
Do you want to know what the Indians would like to be called? Their real names: Adirondack, Delaware, Massachuset, Narranganset, Potomac, Illinois, Miami, Alabama, Ottawa, Waco, Wichita, Mohave, Shasta, Yuma, Erie, Huron, Susquehanna, Natchez, Mobile, Yakima, Wallawalla, Muskogee, Spokan, Iowa, Missouri, Omaha, Kansa, Biloxi, Dakota, Hatteras, Klamath, Caddo, Tillamook, Washoe, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, Laguna, Santa Ana, Winnebago, Pecos, Cheyenne, Menominee, Yankton, Apalachee, Chinook, Catawba, Santa Clara, Taos, Arapaho, Blackfoot, Blackfeet, Chippewa, Cree, Mohawk, Tuscarora, Cherokee, Seminole, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Comanche, Shoshone, Two Kettle, Sans Arc, Chiricahua, Kiowa, Mescalero, Navajo, Nez Perce, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Pawnee, Chickahominy, Flathead, Santee, Assiniboin, Oglala, Miniconjou, Osage, Crow, Brule, Hunkpapa, Pima, Zuni, Hopi, Paiute, Creek, Kickapoo, Ojibwa, Shinnicock.
You know, you'd think it would be a fairly simple thing to come over to this continent, commit genocide, eliminate the forests, dam up the rivers, build our malls and massage parlors, sell our blenders and whoopee cushions, poison ourselves with chemicals, and let it go at that. But no. We have to compound the insult. Native Americans! I'm glad the Indians have gambling casinos now. It makes me happy that dimwitted white people are losing their rent money to the Indians. Maybe the Indians will get lucky and win their country back. Probably they wouldn't want it. Look what we did to it.

Tibetan Refugees Shot by Chinese Border Guards

Today, I learned for the first time about a horrible event that occurred on Sept. 30, 2006, at the border between Nepal and Tibet. A group of 75 Tibetans, among them children as young as 7 years old, were being led by 2 guides across the Himalayan Nangpa La pass (5,700m). This is near the mountain Cho Oyu, which lies in the Himalayas and is 20 km west of Mount Everest, at the border between China and Nepal.



See the link Nangpa La Shootings - This story shows the utter brutality and lack of respect for human life of these "cold-blooded murderers" which masquerade as border guards for the Chinese government.

This story needs to be told, because it also demonstrates that a group of over 100 mountain climbers that witnessed the shootings were reluctant to give any information upon questioning by human rights organizations, supporting the cause of Tibet. They would rather remain silent than risk losing their privilege of climbing the Himalayas from the Chinese side. In other words, they would rather leave the plight of the Tibetans to be forgotten, than risk being black-listed by the Chinese. Fortunately, a couple of brave mountaineers were willing to break the story and to give evidence of the atrocities of the Chinese soldiers on that day in 2006.

An amazing BBC documentary was produced last year, called Tibet: Murder in the Snow. A preview can be seen here: Top Documentary Films -- Murder in the Snow

I was impressed by the quality of this documentary, including live footage from that September day in 2006. It needs to be seen by many people to demonstrate to the world the hypocrisy that is the Chinese government, and their willingness to shoot at their own people (if they claim that Tibet is their own). The more people that know about this, the more pressure can be brought to bear on the regime in power in China to allow for freedom of those who do not belong in China, because they are oppressed by their occupiers. Tibetans deserve to govern themselves, since the Chinese have shown their illegitimacy by their brutal actions.

Rightful government proves its right to govern by protecting human rights, not suppressing them. This message needs to go to all the brutal dictatorships that currently rule on this earth, and bring their ignorant, narrow-minded view to bear on the most precious human beings, those who are willing to fight for freedom of expression, at all costs. The cowards who would suppress them are too stupid to see their own image as it is: cold, uncaring, power-hungry demagogues, whose only wish is to preserve their power once they have grabbed it away from the hands and hearts of the people they are supposed to serve.

Yes, I speak of Iran as well. Need I mention it? Neda lives on in our hearts. She gave her life unwittingly to the cause of freedom all over the world. We will honour her memory by how we also fight for that very freedom, not shying from the dangers that might involve. For to get closer to the universal freedom and justice, we need to extinguish one by one those regimes that have only power and greed as their goals. History has demonstrated again and again that the will of the people cannot be silenced forever, because it grows and engulfs those weak-minded men and women who hide behind the force of arms, rather than to stand on the basis of genuine care for their fellow human beings.

Flashback: Jazz piano legend Ahmad Jamal performing at the Vienne, France, Jazz Festival in 2005

For those of you heading out to the Rhône valley in France this summer, you may want to check out the 29e festival Jazz à Vienne, about 60 km. north of Tain l'Hermitage by Peugeot, or similar vehicle.

Clint Eastwood featured two recordings from Ahmad Jamal's But Not For Me album — "Music, Music, Music" and "Poinciana" — in the 1995 movie The Bridges of Madison County. The latter track provides background for the scene in the kitchen (set in 1965) where Francesca and Robert discuss all matters urbane and personal, including their career choices and obsessions, which also brings them closer together, if you get what I mean.

As an aside (not to distract you from the main point here- romance is aided by a good background music choice) the date of the original recording was January 16, 1958 at Chicago's Pershing Club. The Ahmad Jamal trio featured Jamal on piano, Israel Crosby on bass, and Vernell Fournier on drums. In the following video, we see Ahmad, almost 50 years later!, at the festival Jazz à Vienne, with a different set of musicians-- accompanied this time by drums legend Idris Muhammad and James Cammack on bass.

Ahmad Jamal 2005 - Poinciana
Uploaded by Delta_Mike