Mollusk TV

Have you noticed how documentaries on TV these days seem to assume an IQ of about 3, and hide the fact that they are not saying anything by saying nothing 12 times?

Voice Over:

“Global Warming.

“The Sun has been the source of warmth for this planet for millions of years. We cannot live without it. It is the source of all the life-sustaining energy that makes life possible, here -- -- -- -- -- on planet -- -- -- earth.

“Everything depends on the sun, and it’s power to give heat to this planet we all live on.

“But is there danger in the future?
"Are things changing on planet earth?
"Do we have reason to worry about the future?

“We shall be asking these questions in tonight’s program.

------sweeping view of the ocean. Thoughtful reporter looking out over it towards the sunset, worried.


“Global Warming.

“It is a real problem? Is it real? Do we need to be concerned about it?

“These -- -- -- are the questions we shall be asking.


------ --- pictures of Surf – birds flying – energetic music

Voice over continues:

“Global Warming has been a concern scientists have raised for decades now. But are they right? Is this a real concern?

“There seems to be a consensus emerging amongst scientists now that the question is real; perhpas even urgent. A consensus that global warming is real, and at least partly caused by humans, and that something -- -- -- -- -- needs to be done.

“But what?

“What are the consequences of global warming?

“Is it real? How will people cope?

---- scene changes to a vast expanse of ice; a commentator interviewing a group of local people who seem very much at home with TV production matters. ----

“It may seem strange to consider the question here – where I am standing – on the North Pole, - but Global warming could truly affect the life of the people who live here on the North Pole, the coldest place on earth, where ice is the basis of the incredibly rich local culture and -- -- belief system, the inner spiritual life that has been lived here -- -- -- for thousands of years.

“How will global warming affect the rich cultural traditions of the arctic lifestyles?

----- pictures of worried people on ice --

“We’ll be right back after these messages:


-----Ads for, in order:
a pain medication that causes lymphoma, cataracts and death
an erection enhancer that skates the very edge of priapism
a gas-guzzling car zooming across a glacier
a diaper that lets people giggle at parties in places with no lavatory.
--- Back

“It may seem odd to think of global warming in a place like this – the North Pole – but it is changing the face of the arctic, and the people who live here are worried.

Worried Man: “We like ice. Ice is the way we live. We drag our animals over it. We fish beneath it. We sleep on it. Our whole way of life is based on ice. We could not live without it. We believe there is a sacred spirit in the ice. This ice is our father. The strength of the ice has been celebrated in the legends of our people. It is the strength of our people. We gain our courage from ice.

Worried Woman: “Yes, this is our home, as it has been to our people for thousands of years. We feel powerless. What can we do?
(starts to weep.)
“How will we live? We feel we have no.. .. .. (long pause as she chokes up) .. .. .. .. .. we have no say in what is happening.
(Looks up with puzzled eyes.)

Worried Boy: “It is the ice of our forefathers. For thousands of years we have lived on the ice. We believe we were given the ice by God. What shall we be able to do?

=========================================

And so it drawls on without ever resorting to actual information.

Obviously they live with ice. How could they do otherwise? It is everywhere. Duh!

Equally obviously, if the ice melts, they’ll have to move. But people do just fine in condos outside Fort Lauderdale. I moved from England, but somehow managed to scrape an existence in New Orleans and San Francisco. Is Global Warming understood by asking someone “How does that make you feel?”

Eventually it ends, with pictures of a threatened sunset, and Paula Zahn (whom I used to like a lot; after all, she is a cellist) saying goodbye using the “TV Voice” that depends on exaggerated swoops and pauses in the middle of sentences; concern and astonishment spread evenly like cream cheese over everything.

“Will the people of the arctic be able to .. .. .. SOLVE their problems, .. .. .. .. .. .. using .. .. .. faith-based approaches to cosmic .. .. .. .. .. .. .. catastrophes?OrWillTheyBe forced .. .. .. .. .. .. .. to pin .. their hopes.. .. .. .. .. .. on the Ten.. .. .. .. .. .. Commandments?I’mPaulaZahnWishingYouA .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..good.. .. ..night.”
Focus on her legs.

Guys! Is it success in broadcasting if your ratings are up, but 98% of your audience are mollusks?

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Parsifal: What's it about Really?

It is Easter. The Full moon was on Good Friday this year. Parsifal gets performed a lot at this time, but what on earth is it about, really?

You’ll recall the main events of the “plot”:

Act I: Outside a monastery in Spain. The top monk is in pain, but can’t die. A woman with low-self-esteem keeps falling down and screaming. A young man shoots a swan, which makes Mr. G. (the singer who explains everything to the audience) really cross. The young man didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to, and doesn’t know who he is. He’s an idiot. He is Parsifal. Mr. G takes Parsifal into the monastery. Parsifal doesn’t understand that either, which makes Mr. G cross again, so he throws him out.

Act II: Women try to seduce Parsifal in a beautiful garden. But they aren’t very sexy. The woman with low self-esteem is more determined about getting into his pants, but lays a guilt-trip on him about his mother. He nearly falls for it, but can’t commit. Surprise! - a spear comes flying through the air, which he catches. All the flowers in the garden wither, and the castle, which belongs to a bad guy, collapses too.

Act III: The top monk is not dead yet. The low-self-esteem woman is talking to Mr. G. Parsifal shows up, wearing armor. Mr. G realizes that Parsifal, the idiot, is the solution to their problems. They anoint him. It is Good Friday and flowers bloom. Back in the Monastery, Parsifal tells them everything is OK. The top monk’s pain stops, he resigns, and Parsifal becomes top monk. The End.

I make light of it. But it takes so long to explain seriously, and it still comes out as silly.

What is it about? Well it isn’t about Christianity. The people in the drama are Christians in a Christian institution, (or fighting against it) and so their ideas and pre-occupations are apparently Christian. But the opera is no more about Christianity than The Flying Dutchman is about sailing, or Die Meistersinger is about Nuremburg, Tristan und Isolde about drug-induced irresponsibility or The Ring about Castle Architecture. It was a bit naughty of Wagner though. He knew it would get a rise out of everybody. It sure messed up his friendship with Nietszche.

Wagner gives us two strong hints about what he thought it was about. (Composers and writers are not reliable authorities as to what their creations are “about.”) In one letter he says it is about the philosophy of Schopenhauer, which was tremendously important to him. If this is the case, then the point is that Parsifal, by renouncing cleverness and sexual passion, is able to achieve the simplicity and innocence that brings release from pain. (Amfortas, the top monk who was in pain, suffered as a result of sexual indulgence.)

But in another letter he says that he composes purely instinctively, and that the music is the clue to the inner meaning. If that is the case, then things are rather different. Looking at the Schopenhauer solution from a musical point of view, it seems very unsatisfactory. Some of the best music is the choral singing in the monastery at the end of Act I, which is supposed to represent the problem. The music of sexual seduction in Act II (remember that sex was the source of Amfortas’s downfall) is disappointingly weak, and certainly no match at all for the intensity of the music in Tristan. The crucial dramatic moment would be when Parsifal rejects Kundry’s kiss, but the music just isn’t very memorable. Act II is pretty much a clunker. Act III is a bit of a disappointment too. Even though it contains the moment when Parsifal frees Amfortas and the monks of Monsalvat from their narcissistic doom, it doesn’t come across as dramatically interesting. Everything is over by that time. (I always feel that Parsifal, contrary to common opinion, is too short. There is nothing in Act III to balance the magnificence of the ending of Act I.)

But if we just listen to the music, a different pattern, a more disarming and less intellectual meaning, emerges. There are two great musical pillars in this greatest of all Music Dramas. The first is the Transformation Music in Act I, where the scene changes from the exterior by the brook to the interior of the monastery, where all is dominated by Amfortas’s weakness and guilt-induced self-loathing. This agonized music, which Robin Holloway describes as “setting your bowels in heat” is one of the most extraordinary musical tours de force by Wagner, involving, technically, a long stream of chromatic notes pleading for resolution upwards, all of which are agonizingly pulled downwards in pain and despair.

The only passage of music that even remotely balances this is the Good Friday Music in Act III. By the Schopenhauer interpretation, this is merely an interlude, - an entr’acte in which the characters onstage enjoy the springtime before getting on with serious business indoors.

But musically, this is the equal, the converse, the solution to the painful transformation music of Act I. It is a cousin to the ending of Das Lied von der Erde, and the opening of Mahler’s 9th. Music that hovers above a firmly grounded tonic, but never needs to settle back down onto it. It floats. It levitates. It is the music of love. Not love given. (Meistersinger) Not love desired. (Tristan) It is the music of love unexpectedly received. Love as an undeserved gift. This is what Parsifal offers the knights - the unsought gift of love - a release they were not even looking for, and never supposed they deserved.

Never mind the silly drama onstage. The music of Parsifal grants a benefaction that cannot be asked for.

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Aries - The Sign of Spring

This is a compact Spring. The equinox was just a few days ago, the full moon was last night, and so tomorrow is Easter. All the energy of Aries is roaring away. But then, Aries is an energetic sign, it wants to get stuff done.

Taurus says "Hey, wait a minute. Are we actually accomplishing anything concrete here? I think we should let it all settle and stay put for a while."

Gemini: "Well I can see your point. But action is good too. Maybe we can have lots of change, yet consolidate what we have as well."

Cancer worries that all this is too disturbing, and wants to take care of everyone, making sure that people come first, whatever the circumstances.

Leo is grateful for this confidence-giving support, and goes out to entertain the world, full of good cheer.

Virgo, usefully, wants to make sure that things are in order and that Leo does not get too far away from home base without adequate organization and a plan.

Libra understands that this irritates Leo, but agrees with Virgo too. She tries to avoid any disagreement breaking out and insists that everyone calm down.

Scorpio, in this climate, has to keep really quiet about his intentions, for fear of being forced to be agreeable. Best to keep quiet.

Sagittarius can't be bothered with all this caution and plotting and just goes ahead and does what he wants. Most people don't even notice.

That's not good enough for Capricorn, who wants to be able to see concrete and accumulating results of her actions, and works steadily towards that sensible goal.

Aquarius is not so happy about this ambitious way of operating, and doesn't think it is right. Aquarius feels he understands the way people ought to behave, and is very willing to explain it to everyone, whether they want to hear or not.

Pisces gets confused. If you tell people what to do, like Aquarius does, people don't do it. So what's the point? What should we do or say, then? What do we want? What do I want?

Then Aries comes back in saying "Oh for goodness sake. Stop being so self-involved. Just DO something." Then she brushes aside all nay-sayers and does things.

So Taurus has to pick up the pieces and show Pisces that there are things he can rely on. Just stay home and ride it out.

Gemini likes what Capricorn did quite a while ago, but loves to agree with Aquarius's wisdom too, so writes poems about it.

Cancer is proud of all these clever people, (though she would appreciate a little more respect) and tells them all to do their thing.

So Leo does. People think he's cool.

Virgo keeps the records and files all the programs.

Libra says “isn’t that nice?”

Scorpio is heartily sick of all the chumminess, and plots to escape.

Sagittarius strikes out for freedom openly, and messes up Scorpio’s plans.

Capricorn gets cross with them all, and demands order.

Aquarius tells them this discord is destructive, and to stop being so selfish.

Pisces feels crushed, and sulks in a corner.

So then, back comes Aries again. “Oh I am sick of all this gloom. I’m going out.”

And off we go again.

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A matter more hidden.

People are rarely so calculating as when acting out of passion. The jealous lover invents elaborate schemes to gain revenge. The infuriated victim enacts procedures of the utmost complexity and elaboration, so long as fury holds the controls. Suicide bombers need and use logical deceptions and carefully co-ordinated plans in order to reach their target, after which senseless destruction occurs. In the aftermath, sophistry rules, and impregnable rationalizations are shouted as in-your-face defenses against criticism of even the most extreme acts. There is little room for compassion when passion rules.

The cliché is to recognize and denounce the “cold, calculating act.” The act is indeed cold, it is calculating too. But it is driven by passion; frustrated passion. Why else would we drain calculations of empathy? And when the calculations and stratagems fail, the passion and fury are often revealed – revealed as quite unconnected to logic and calculation, often ugly, irrelevant to any plans that could ever deserve a place in matters worthy of being planned. People act in what seem like bizarre, self-serving, and self-destructive ways when passion drives them. The original passions may not be evil, but once they dangle from their own rationalizations, chaos creeps in under their feet.

The common element is that the passion, the real fuel of the actions, is hidden. So the explanations and justifications offered will mislead us if we are trying to grasp the motive.

What am I talking about? Terri Schiavo. Or rather, not Terri Schiavo at all, but what is happening as a halo around her. Are congressmen acting honestly, or cynically, in passing ad hoc laws that flout the constitution? Is Bush suddenly quiet because his rating has dropped 9%, or because there is no more to be done?

There are at least three areas of questions in this case. The first is the issue of life and death, which is a real issue, and which, along with the merits of the case, I set aside. I have nothing to offer on these.

The second is the way this case seems to be being exploited by politicians, grandstanders, television pundits, religious zealots, etc. That too is a real spectacle that is being closely watched and about which I have nothing.

The third question, which does give me pause, is this: why are people behaving the way they do, when so many thousands of other people are now, or have been in the recent past, in the same plight as Mrs. Schiavo? Are any of us in a position to accurately identify the true motives of any of the parties – Terri’s husband and family, the doctors, the lawyers, the judges, the politicians, the media? I think it is a great deal more difficult than we might at first think. Who expected this case, - almost banal in its lack of difference from untold thousands of similar tragedies, - to become such a cause célèbre? Can just the media do that? Are the politicians merely scheming and exploiting? If so, why pick on this case above all? Have we all suddenly awoken to the dilemmas posed by medicine? What triggered this?

I do not know the answer, but I see a mechanism. People are acting and speaking out of passion, and everyone involved is frustrated, as there is no possible good outcome for Terri herself. There may be some short-term cynical gains to be made at her expense; there might even be longer-term historical benefits to be gleaned in a way that is not yet clear. But some people are acting out of frustrated passion, so the extremity of views cannot be taken as either indicating the source of that intensity, nor as any guide as to what view should prevail.

Sophistry is rampant, and opponents have taken up positions from which backing down is impossible, unless they are happy to appear as hypocrites. The "rule of law" evolved precisely to deal with such situations. Will people throw over public order – not in order to win, but merely in order not to lose? The recent past has shown legislatures and the executive branches of government becoming increasingly frustrated by their lack of absolute power. Most judges and doctors and nurses seem to be doing their honest best. But can such matters be left to disengaged professionals? Will the elected mob stop at the ramparts? What was her name again?

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