music over the weekend

Ethnic parishes can draw talent from visitations from the old country. February 23ʳᵈ the 40 girls of the St. Stanislav Girls' Choir Slovenija sang at St. Mary's Collinwood. Seating did not allow a good foto, but here half of the girls are seen, and in part they were coincidentally mirroring the painting of the Apostles around Mary's Assumption. The performance was more often Balkan sounding (even unto an ancient Greek chorus) than Alpine. They are wearing white choir robes accented with two shades of green that are of the linden tree [a national symbol]. They're going to a conference in Kansas City.

Cleveland has a world class orchestra, and...other orchestras. Cleveland has area colleges with fine music programmes that have graduated musicians for generations, and they and others form many groups. Sometimes they have fifty performers, and sometimes they are trios and quartets. Sometimes they are college students, and sometimes members of the Cleveland Orchestra. A number of these groups have churches as venues. Heights Chamber Orchestra played Sunday at St. Paul Episcopalian Cleveland Heights.

Erik Satie's Parade (1917) included a typewriter, and several different items to be played by percussionist. A revolver was one of the items, it was replaced by wooden clapper in this performance. Here is a video of another orchestra's version of a portion of the piece [click]. Satie's piece was part of the new movement of surrealism.

Language has its purpose

Some days ago i read the last six chapters of Michiko Kakutani's "The Death of Truth: notes on falsehood in the age of Trump". A big part of the book is about anti-intellectualism, and post-modernist deconstruction and how these two, along with nihilism have prepared America for Trump and his political cohort. Two important writers who identified the evil banality of Soviet socialism (communism), and fascism are Hannah Arendt and George Orwell. Those two systems made no distinction between truth and lies, so power could be executed for the sake of power. To-day we have a regime that creates 'alternate facts'. Kakutani mentions a writer i am not familiar with, David Foster Wallace, who wrote about post-modern irony in the 1990s. She sees his mention of the advertising fictional Joe Isuzu ["You have my word on it"], and Rush Limbaugh [and his dittoheads] as precursors to Trump.

I suppose when i was in college was about the time the post-modernist deconstruction writers and disciples were about to switch on the political spectrum. Those in books at the time were far leftists, and those for more than a generation have been far rightists. Then i thought them pretentious bullshit artists that only existed in their circle of effluvium and flotsam; now they are a fascist peril. 

If i were to write that book, yes i would have used some of her sources and historical episodes. But i also would have used "2 + 2 = 4", this is Aristotelian logic; it is also mentioned by Dostojevskij and Orwell. A rational, and a free man can say this. You have freedom if you can say this without penalty. Dostojevskij also had Fr. Zosima say in "The Brothers Karamazov": 

"...The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love, and in order to occupy and distract himself without love he gives way to passions and coarse pleasures, and sinks to bestiality in his vices, all from continual lying to other men and to himself. The man who lies to himself can be more easily offended than anyone. You know it is sometimes very pleasant to take offence, isn't it? A man may know that nobody has insulted him, but that he has invented the insult for himself, has lied and exaggerated to make it picturesque, has caught at a word and made a mountain out of a molehill -- he knows that himself, yet he will be the first to take offence, and will revel in his resentment till he feels great pleasure in it, and so pass to genuine vindictiveness. ...". 

I also would have quoted from Solzhenitsyn's Nobel speech: "...Any man who has once acclaimed violence as his METHOD must inexorably choose falsehood as his PRINCIPLE. ...".

Cleveland Judaica

Superman was created by two Jewish teen-agers in Glenville Cleveland [click]. In Beachwood [a Cleveland suburb] there is a Museum of Jewish Heritage. One of the exhibits [supra] in the An American Story Gallery is Superman. Jewish immigration to Cleveland is well documented, and also in the national and global historical context. 

One of the many pieces is a button lit map of the location of Jewish houses of worship in Cleveland over time from 1840 to now. What one sees is the migration from the city to the suburbs. There are many everyday items from the commercial world. Of course, there is a World War II and the Holocaust presence; but also American hate groups including the Ku Klux Klan.

Tzedakah offering 'box'

Behind the museum is the present Temple-Tifereth Israel. The museum has the Temple-Tifereth Israel Gallery of art and ritual objects. Some of the items could easily be displayed at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Some of the items i recognised, and others expanded my vocabulary.

Etrog [citron] box

And you shall take to you on the first day the fruits of the fairest tree, and branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God.—Leviticus xxiii. 40.

Citron is the ancestor of the lemon, and it is presumed to be the fruit mentioned. The other three species of plants are weaved together, and the four are waved each day of Sukkot.

'Miriam cup'[not pictured], is a new addition to the Seder meal to recognise women in the faith. Moses' sister, Miriam, was a prophetess. There is a cup of wine for Elijah at the Seder, for he is expected to return to announce the Messiah. Miriam's cup has water.

By serendipity, last night's Stephen Colbert [who is Catholic] pretended to use a yad to read a Torah portion, and then carried the scroll out. [click here,video beginning at 4:49]

Parma lookout

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
ché la diritta via era smarrita.

Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

In the last couple of days, Cleveland Plain Dealer has informed us of the winter work done on trails of Cuyahoga Metroparks. In Parma, Lookout Ridge has been upgraded to make a smoother path. It is not quite yet done.

One will be able to get a view of the tall buildings of downtown, and the lake beyond on a clear day [thanks to air quality regulations of the EPA]. The platform has a little work left.

 If one goes beyond, there appears St. Sergius Russian Orthodox.

When our ascent ended, snow began.

Next Friday awaits

Once, i worked for a contractor. At times, it was the largest electrical contractor in the city. A big non-paying customer broke them, and they were going under. Every Friday, at lunch, the men would name and talk about who was getting layed-off that day, and whether it was particularly embarrassing. For some names, it brought smiles since the guys who came with the name, were despised. Well, now i feel the anticipation every Friday to see if Mueller has indicted anyone new. So far there has been plenty of indictments, guilty pleas, sentences, and one time served. Many people waited for Flynn, Manafort, and Stone. Many have been waiting for Corsi, Nunes, others, and family of Trump. This Friday past, nothing was announced. Next Friday awaits.

some of East Cleveland

Windermere Lodge #627

East Cleveland Masonic Temple on Belmore. 1927-83, now The Living Truth Center Church. 
After Howard Carter found the tomb of Tutankhamun in November 1922, there was an Egyptian fashion for a few years. Several movie theatres, and other establishments used an Egyptian theme. On of the Masonic founding myths were the building of the pyramids, and the pyramids were burial places, and one of their chief rituals is to have the initiate under go the third degree inside a coffin, so as to be raised.

the ornament still retains its color

band of lotus blossoms

The lotus was a symbol in ancient Egypt of re-birth, regeneration, and resurrection. The flower would close, and sink beneath the surface, and in the morning re-emerge and open.

Rosalind, a residential street with two solid cement Corinthian columns with acanthus capitals

On Euclid Avenue (an extension of Cleveland's former 'Millionaires' Row is this donut shop sign,

and on the side of the donut shop is the 2016 presidential result.

photographs of abandoned places #19

Laura DeMarco has two books on places that had been Cleveland. She speaks at libraries and elsewhere. The three places she is asked about most are Euclid Beach amusement park, the downtown Higbee's store, and Hough Bakeries. Hough had good food, and a good logo of a sky blue shield with white lettering. They had many neighborhood shops. The big bakery was hellishly hot to work in.

Lionel Pile came to Cleveland in 1902, and opened a bakery on Hough Avenue. Before bankruptcy in 1992 the Hough bakeries were the largest chain in the state.

 Perhaps under these painted signs there are stone ornament and lettering

 Reminders that the building was originally Star Baking Company before 1941

trumpster saloon, another reason to drink at home

Parma Ohio (O, the ignomy)

First of all, Trump's witness is false. He does not know the best words, he is not very smart, he is not a stable genius, he is not humble. Those boasts, and others, were false. 

The government's shutdown, which he produced (and was abetted by Miss McConnell) has recently ended. I posit three reasons for the commencement: 1— Trump wants to give his stupid speech Tuesday night in full audience in the House of Representatives, and he has found out that Nancy Pelosi will firmly stand her ground; and she still will not allow him that particular night. 2—The arrest of Roger Stone, casts further light and depth of his campaign conspiracies with Russians and American knaves and malefactors, and Trump wants attention diverted. 3—A few air traffic controllers not coming to work inconvenienced enough rich people to have an effect. We must remember how Reagan began the evisceration of the unions with the destruction of the PATCO union. Strikes and labor stoppages have become very rare. The ability to strike is the greatest arrow in the quiver of working people. If one cannot refuse to work, he is a prisoner, or a slave. Strikes forces attention to be made.

Still no matter how wretchedly horrible Trump is, and he is definitely so, he still will have his deplorable supporters. But for workingmen to support Trump is stupid in extreme. 

ruminating on the recumbent couch

Justin A. Frank, M.D., is a professor in clinical psychology at George Washington University Medical Center. He is greatly influenced by Sigmund Freud, and more so Melanie Klein.  

In December i read Justin Frank's "Trump on the Couch". With items from the public record up to April of 2018, he tells information and observations that anyone who has been paying attention would know and realise. The book also reminds me of the old joke, "Guy goes to the psychiatrist. The first thing the psychiatrist says is 'Why do you hate your mother?'" But beyond that, Trump is not only unfit (and dangerous) for the office of the presidency, Trump is unfit for society (any society). 

Where Frank does not explore enough is what is wrong with people who approve of Trump. Trump came in second place to Hillary Clinton; the electoral college structural opportunities was manipulated by the Russians in concert with the Republican Party/Trump campaign; the 'deplorables' (the base, as Rove called them) were ginned up by delusion, and hatred (hatred especially of Barack Obama, a man that did not look like them).

Then i read the bushjr book, and began the Obama book. There is much redundancy between gwbjr and Trump. Frank saw a danger to the country in bushjr, and wrote the book. He has empathy for bushjr, and believes his religious conversion was genuine. If it was, he could not have chosen any other sect [evangelicals] that so conveniently accommodates fraud. Besides the obvious reports on junior, he sees a mild form of Tourette's syndrome. Both Trump and bushjr are horrible, but Frank is not so generous about Trump. 

Malignant narcissism, mendacity, sadism, a profound ignorance, and the desire to be dictators are in both. They would have been nothing, if their fathers were not born before them. Both really enjoy destroying, they glee in destruction. Trump moreso. Trump is extremely loud and gaudy, while gwbjr enjoyed a smug emptiness, and politically wanted to appear folksy. The oft asinine statement repeated by many was "the kind of guy you'd enjoy a beer with"; he is a dry drunk, who when active was a terrible drunk.

I have many times found myself reading about Trump's behaviour of the day before, and i would fume and catch myself using gwbjr's name, and have to correct and say "Trump" whenever in discussion. They have several similar qualities of personality, habit, action, and response. Trump is an extreme con man, with bottomless rottenness. gwbjr had two looks: the smirk of sadism, and the emptiness of incomprehension.

I have been thinking for months what sort of film(s) can be made on the Trump presidency. Recent films like Spotlight, and The Post come to mind. Before he was inaugurated it seemed inevitable that he would be removed from office, or hellacious disaster would come. Reading about the politics leading up to WWI, it reads as the war between the great powers would come inevitably. Reading about the Galveston hurricane in 1900, and how reports came from Cuba to get ready were ignored, that the storm was going to hit hard no matter what officials in Texas thought. Trump's fall from power was evident before he "won" the election. I nominate Martin Scorsese to direct the Donald Trump biopic. His body of work - Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, etc - suggests he has done a great job bringing similar characters to life on film. The best thing that can be said about Trump is that we are closer to the end of his presidency than the beginning.

Now, Obama is a different story: "Obama is more intelligent and more articulate than many of his critics and remains civil and respectful even in the face of criticism. This angers envious people who are insecure about their own intelligence and who cannot stand kindness in people they hate." p. 190 [of the Obama book]. 

The trouble with Obama is he is too much a political gentleman, and refuses to see the malevolence of Republicans. He truly wants unity. Obama believes everyone has a view to consider, and he avoided confrontation. Obama wanted to be a president for all Americans. Yet his detractors called him 'divisive'.  His greatest failure was not to prosecute the busheviks, and then the Wall Street financiers, and British Petroleum. Obama, unlike the shit gibbon clowns before and after him, is not a narcissist: 'No drama Obama' as many have said.

Zima Winter Invierno L'hiver

 St. Vladimir Parma, Friday 18 January 2019

I figured that because this part of January is the coldest time of the year here, it would also be across the country; but, no. January 19, 1994 it was -20°F in Cleveland. I decided i wasn't going to work, i was working at the baseball park. To schedule events now is foolhardy.

                                                 from Casimir the Cat Weather Bureau:
With the upcoming storm this weekend, Casimir is nervously preparing for his Feb. 2 forecast. Many of you will recall that Casimir’s prediction was right on the money again last year as we endured a brutal April. His words were simply: “Sorry, you’ll be Freezing your Whiskers off for weeks to Come”. Casimir still batting 100%. Remember Casimir makes his forecast at High Noon on Feb. 2. He has the brains to sleep in not like that varmint in Pennsylvania. Look for the news release about 12:30pm that day.  

Wishing you many happy pierogi dinners followed by paczki for desert,
                                             —John Niedzialek

John is perhaps the most fervent member of St. Casimir Cleveland. When the Homecoming Mass, the 14oᵗʰ week after the attempt of episcopal extinction, arrived a street kitten was found.  John named the cat, Casimir. John teaches at Lakeland Community College and had been giving weather forecasts with his cat, Abby, on February 2nd. Casimir inherited the duties. [click]

But here, in the Middle West and the North East, now is generally the coldest days of the year. A polar vortex, or air blowing in from Siberia, would make it worse. Monday is the MLKing Jr. holiday, and several cultural institutions around Cleveland (and elsewhere) have scheduled events, and museums have free admission. The weather makes leaving the home not so cheery.

In the bottom part of the mural is the Baptism of the (Kievan) Rus nation in 988. The holy day on the 19th is also the baptism of Jesus. Some places in the old country people go for a dip outside, sometimes a hole has to be cut in the ice. The cross is a better idea, if you are not in Greece or somewhere warm.

finished

group picture

time to go home

Now, on the Julian calendar, January 19ᵗʰ is the Theophany/Epiphany/Baptism of Jesus. St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox in Parma erects an ice cross. To-day's the 18ᵗʰ and the waters have been blessed, and for the 34ᵗʰ time the parish's cross has been made. [click, and click] Some years the timing goes perfectly for the weather.  Sometimes, in the old country the ice is stained with beet juice. The cross is red, this has not been done in Parma. I asked Fr. John, where else in America do they do this. At one time, Maplewood New Jersey, but not now.