TerryWalstrom
JoinedPosts by TerryWalstrom
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TERRY EXPLAINS JAZZ (to those who hate jazz)
by TerryWalstrom interry explains jazz (to those who hate jazz)_______________________________.
there are too many reasons to cite.
suffice to say, we all know annoying people.. we don't become a hermit because of a few annoying people.
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Christians not knowing the Bible
by Viviane inlast night a young man in a bar struck up a conversation with me.
our town is having our pride parade soon and he brought it up, the bible and how it's against the bible.
me being me, i said that i couldn't care less that it was against the bible and that it was a horrible guide for morality anyway.
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TerryWalstrom
INTELLECTUAL HONESTY is the willingness to be wrong when evidence goes against your most cherished beliefs.
The first question out of my mouth, when I'm about to debate somebody about religion is:
"Are you willing to be wrong--to change your mind--if the evidence goes against you?"
You'd think I just asked them to give up without a fight! 9 out of 10 times they say "No."
It's somehow--they can't quite articulate why--just not right to be willing to be wrong!
EVIDENCE, in their world, is beside the point!!
J-Dubs are genuinely unfamiliar with the necessity of EVIDENCE.
Why?
They accept everything on AUTHORITY.
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9
PERFECTION (ISM) leaves no trace of YOU
by TerryWalstrom inthe problem of perfection(ism).
the best piece of advice i got was from my art teacher, aubrey mayhew.he told me, "art isn't about 'getting it right.
' it's about your mistaken views which you give yourself permission to explore.".
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TerryWalstrom
Philosophy asks, "Is this the best of all possible worlds? And if not, how is God not accountable?"
Leaving humanity at the mercy of a 'free will' uninformed by life experience, history, familial nurturing, or even childhood friends--Adam and Eve are the best God could come up with to blame the sorry state of sin in the world for being the contagion which 'ruined' His perfect invention.
If that is Divine Perfection, there is little to wonder.
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9
PERFECTION (ISM) leaves no trace of YOU
by TerryWalstrom inthe problem of perfection(ism).
the best piece of advice i got was from my art teacher, aubrey mayhew.he told me, "art isn't about 'getting it right.
' it's about your mistaken views which you give yourself permission to explore.".
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TerryWalstrom
I am constantly reminded of the quote "A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places."
The term FINE ART purports, according to philosopher Mortimer J. Adler:
The urge is to separate pottery, baskets, crafts and such from the noble expression of inspiration embodied
in a canvas or a sculpted masterpiece. This border on elitism, in my book--but mine is only one opinion.
I once walked into a very upscale gallery and began chatting with the owner, who was obviously a man of impeccable tastes and standards. His Art Gallery sold only 18th century original paintings.
The man, a Hungarian named Kornye, said something to me which stuck in my head even to this day.
He said, "Sooner or later, every person of substance must buy Art."
I confess thinking to myself what a clever trap he had laid before me. I still smile.
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16
TERRY EXPLAINS JAZZ (to those who hate jazz)
by TerryWalstrom interry explains jazz (to those who hate jazz)_______________________________.
there are too many reasons to cite.
suffice to say, we all know annoying people.. we don't become a hermit because of a few annoying people.
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TerryWalstrom
I confess I had a real stick up my bleep until I was in my 20's.
Not only did I not 'get' it, I refused to try!
I moved to California and ended up in charge of a large Art Department with artists who happened to come from all different parts of the world.
We'd argue about whose music we'd listen to. Everybody had really different tastes.
So. . .
I devised a plan. I brought my turntable up to work and told everybody to bring their favorite albums.
I proposed since there were 8 of us we'd each have one hour to play our personal favorites. Then, on to the next person and the next.
Amazingly, the arguments ended and we all gained a huge respect for the other person's tastes.
You see--we really wanted to impress the others and gain converts. It happened, but to ALL of us!
I ended up having broadened my world, my tastes, and appreciation for the "other." Most importantly, I pulled the stick out!
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CONFUSION about what MOVIES REALLY ARE . . .
by TerryWalstrom inconfusion about what movies really are.
.. the word 'movies' is a vernacular reference which popped up pretty early in the history of filmmaking.
before movies moved they were still photographs.. but those still photographs began moving, didn't they?
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TerryWalstrom
I'm convinced no two people watch a movie the same way or relate to it identically.
I've gone to the movie theater with people who afterward seemed to have not seen the same film.
Religion and movies have many similarities :)
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ARE WATCHTOWER SOCIETY STATISTICS REALLY TRUSTWORTHY?
by TerryWalstrom inof these, over 2,000 were admitted to concentration camps.
1,000 died in prison and concentration camps.
another 1,000 of jehovah's witnesses died in prisons and concentration camps.".
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TerryWalstrom
Having just read the thread may I introduce a thought that the obsession of the JW org with numbers has to do with a need for validation. It was brought to my attention by reading the works of anthropologist Weston La Barre. He suggested that the individual psychotic is not able to support his delusion on his own. If however he can get another individual to believe with him, that his mother was the Virgin Mary for example, then it is called a folie a deux. (delusion of two) Now how would it be if he got one hundred people or ten thousand to believe this psychosis? The large numbers alone would appear to validate the belief.
Since the Watchtower ticks all the boxes for “cult” everything it does is an attempt to validate its authority as a religion and it naively uses anything respectable to hand, like numbers, which might give it more credibility.
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It has been said that Charles Manson wanted to bring about HELTER SKELTER (his personal theory about Apocalypse. Blacks would rise up and attack whites and create anarchy; then Manson would step in as the Uber-Fuhrer and lead them) by creating abominable atrocity killings and attributing the killings to Black Power through co-opting their phrases. e.g "Kill the Pigs" etc.
I've long held the belief that public prediction of Armageddon (with a precise date attached) was a very Manson-like effort to force Jehovah's hand. This would be the craved validation necessary to support the delusion FDS are really 'in the know."
Today, however, a different strategy is under way.
The GB is resorting to denial of previous culpability simply by CHANGING the entire belief structure.
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16
TERRY EXPLAINS JAZZ (to those who hate jazz)
by TerryWalstrom interry explains jazz (to those who hate jazz)_______________________________.
there are too many reasons to cite.
suffice to say, we all know annoying people.. we don't become a hermit because of a few annoying people.
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TerryWalstrom
Giant cheesy smile! -
8
CONFUSION about what MOVIES REALLY ARE . . .
by TerryWalstrom inconfusion about what movies really are.
.. the word 'movies' is a vernacular reference which popped up pretty early in the history of filmmaking.
before movies moved they were still photographs.. but those still photographs began moving, didn't they?
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TerryWalstrom
CONFUSION about what MOVIES really are. . .
The word 'movies' is a vernacular reference which popped up pretty early in the history of filmmaking. Before movies moved they were still photographs.
But those still photographs began moving, didn't they?
Yes, they did!Movies MOVED long before they began to SPEAK.
When they began talking, they became "TALKIES."
Ah the brilliance!
I don't really know what they are today other than a bafflement to many critics who seem to feel they alone know the secret.
But, they don't.Read on . . .
Movies are a VISUAL medium which exists in time. Just like music.
(I want you to put a Post-it note on that sentence, will you?) You'll find out soon enough why.What does NOT exist in time is the written word. A slow reader can read S-L-O-W-L-Y. A fastreadercanreadveryquickly!
Is that important? Yes.
Before Radio, music recordings, and movies people READ books.Now pause. . .
Who controls how fast you read and how quickly you understand? YOU DO!
However, when radio came along and acted out stories which people had read, the pace quickened. (How do you get a whole book into a half hour radio show?)
Movies came along and the tempo quickened apace. (i.e. quickly)
When music was added to the soundtrack of movies a continuum of storytelling entered the consciousness of human beings for THE VERY FIRST TIME.So what?
So this. . .
Movies are a visual medium which are misunderstood by critics and audiences and filmmakers quite often.
Those frustrated with film don't know why--but they think they know--something is often 'just not right' with what they experience when they sit in the audience.
Critics often ASSume the flaw is in the storytelling, the plotting, the editing, the THIS-ing and the THAT-ing. (Fill in your own best theory.)
No. No. And NO.
The perfect film is VISUAL. Remove the sound and you can understand everything perfectly just from what you SEE onscreen. Words, exposition, explanations, plot summaries by characters VIOLATE the visual nature of movies. (It doesn't MOVE, you see.)
Silent films inserted dialog cards with conversation and transitional information on a separate stretch of film in between the visuals. It was clumsy and ham-handed for a reason. It was not visually interesting!
The best early TALKIES were singers and dancers, chases, pratfalls, as well as any active motion which could be introduced. The motion and the sound were synchronized to prevent SLOWING DOWN the scenes.
That didn't last long. Filmmakers with a strong sense of culture wished to inject literature and classicism into movies. European composers were brought in to inject classic ROMANTIC orchestral scores. (Or a facsimile.)
European actors, directors, etc. lent an air of 'importance' to what was essentially an American invention gone off the rails.Critics for movies aped the classical music highbrow critics by fault-finding and making arch commentary which belittled the whole enterprise of movie-making.
Studios began making IMPORTANT films every once and awhile to keep the critics at bay. NOVELS were turned into movies. It was hoped that great and popular novels made great and popular films.
------Meh.----
The films which were MOSTLY VISUAL worked the magic.
The films which relied on talking heads and long speechifying. . . not so much.
(Non-visual.)Along came Orson Welles and used many visual tricks to solve his central mystery ("Who is Rosebud?")
If you only listen to the AUDIO of CITZEN KANE you'll discover it to be a radio program which virtually plays itself out.) However, the striking visuals were the double-whammy.Has movie-making learned the lesson of Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE?
Sometimes and by accident.
You see, there are really two streams of audiences for motion pictures.
The intellectual and the popular.
Intellectuals want a solid story well-told, with perfect continuity and cleverly plotted.
Popular movie lovers want EXCITING VISUALS with a story.What are the most popular films of all time as far as money earned?
Are they talkfests with pictures or are they visual feasts with dialog?I'm going to attach a list from MOJO of the 100 top-grossing films of all time.
Go through the list and separate the MOSTLY VISUAL from the MOSTLY STORY films.
I think you'll realize my point.
Which is?DON'T LET INTELLECTUAL CRITICS review Popular Films!
Would you listen to a country music critic's review of a Rolling Stones album?
Oh--excuse me--there is no such thing.Country music fans simply relax and enjoy the music!
Popular film lovers just relax and enjoy VISUAL movies.
The FANBOYS are the (excuse my use of the word) INTELLECTUAL hoople-heads who destroy movies for the rest of us by nitpicking the plot, construction, continuity, etc. instead of simply relaxing and enjoying THE VISUALS!
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/
(n scanning the list, I'd place THE DA VINCI CODE in the mostly prattle department. It's success was driven by a runaway best-selling nonsense book. Next, THE SIXTH SENSE was mostly plot-driven with a dynamite twist ending (like an O Henry story.) LIF OF PI was a stunningly visual rendition of a wonderful novel. It is the Citizen Kane of the group.)
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TERRY EXPLAINS JAZZ (to those who hate jazz)
by TerryWalstrom interry explains jazz (to those who hate jazz)_______________________________.
there are too many reasons to cite.
suffice to say, we all know annoying people.. we don't become a hermit because of a few annoying people.
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TerryWalstrom
TERRY EXPLAINS JAZZ (to those who hate jazz)
_______________________________Step one:
We all know annoying people. You may even be one of them! There are too many reasons to cite. Suffice to say, we all know annoying people.We don't become a hermit because of a few annoying people. We simply avoid THOSE people if we can.
Yes, JAZZ is like that. Only SOME Jazz is annoying. Avoid THOSE.
_______________________________Step two:
Some people are quick about saying something clever. It just pops out! Others seem to take way too long to say nothing worth hearing.
JAZZ is like that.
Good Jazz is like somebody clever saying something they've thought up at the very instant of conception--and it comes out surprising and thoughtful.________________________________
Step three:
If you stand next to Foreigners and listen to them converse--doesn't it sound like gibberish? Sure! Is the unintelligible part THEIR fault or yours?
Just asking. For a reason I bring this up: Jazz is a language. Its vocabulary has to be absorbed. Once taken in both intellectually and emotionally--WOW!
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Step four:
Are you a cat person or a dog person? Maybe both?
Jazz is like that. If you are a cat person trying to listen to dog Jazz--you will NOT like it. Vice-verse.If you're lucky, you're both and have a jump on a wider range of enjoyment.
Knowing yourself is important. How do you use music in your life?
1. Do you listen to music to relax?
2. Do you listen to music to help you do other things with energy?
3. Do you listen to music to challenge yourself and your imagination?
4. Do you just have music on in the background for 'company'?JAZZ is like that.
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Step five:
What if you could magically add another room to your house? What if you could miraculously have another and completely different car or wardrobe?
By adding another category of LISTENING music, you have done yourself a huge favor. You've made your world MORE INTERESTING!
HOWEVER--you become more interesting as a person by being interested.
Learning begins with personal curiosity!
If you take a class or a lesson and you're NOT INTERESTED--you're wasting your time, money and energy.JAZZ requires your interest and curiosity. ARE YOU WILLING?
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Step six:
What Jazz is like. . .
1. Some people can tell a joke and make you laugh. Jazz is like that.
2. Some people cannot tell a joke. Jazz is like that, too.What's the difference between the two?
Personality, character, intelligence?
JAZZ is a joke you don't laugh at because you either don't 'get it' or the person playing it 'can't tell the joke funny.'
What's the difference between the two?
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Step seven:
I'm going to challenge you to listen to a piece of music and have curiosity about what you're hearing. I want you to ASK questions about what SPECIFIC things you LIKE and DON'T like about it.
Okay?
Here is your lesson for the day. Listen and ask questions.
BILL EVANS trio "Gloria's Step take 2"
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Fans who want to appreciate the artistry of Bill Evans must start with the great live Village Vanguard session from June 25, 1961. Evans never led a better band, and this ensemble never performed at a higher level than on this date. It is no exaggeration to claim that the essence of the piano trio in jazz was permanently altered by this seminal event. The idea that bass and drums should support the piano is replaced here by a different conception—one in which each instrument enters into a musical conversation with the others. The trio also adopts what Evans called the "internalized beat" in which each musician feels the rhythm, but doesn't always emphasize it in his playing. As a result the music floats over the bar lines in a way that no previous jazz ensemble had attempted.But these are more than conceptual breakthroughs. What sets this music apart is how brilliantly these concepts are realized in practice. This music doesn't sound like anyone is out to prove anything. Its innovations are subservient to the intense emotional experience of the music itself.
Musicians: Bill Evans (piano), Scott LaFaro (bass), Paul Motian (drums).