Blogrophenia: The Reverend Aton's Site

On the Road Again

After a brief two day stop back home in NYC, including a fun night with the Deertick, Deertick's wife Masey, her sister Cory from Tampa (shout out!) and brother Endy from Las Vegas, I am back on the road. I've been squatting in Springfield, Mo. The program for the next few days may include a stopover in Little Rock for the Clinton Museum, Independence, Mo for the Truman Museum, maybe Holcomb, Kansas to visit the situs of Capote's "In Cold Blood" story and, of course, some time in Kansas City for a, hopefully, meaningful Chiefs game versus the exciting Bengals. Needless to say the program also includes mass consumption of BBQ and Kansas City strip steaks. Speaking of which, in my annual travel bout with food poisoning I may have had some bad alligator at Hemingway's at the Bass Pro Shop HQ's here in Springfield, Mo. Early night for your dear narrator and hopefully I'll be better in the morning.

It's about time btw that the increasingly out of control Kobe Bryant is punished, last Sunday on Christmas day he was all over Wade with the elbows. I could see it from my seat behind the basket and yet the refs couldn't. . .

Speaking of that game last Sunday, my fellow Heat fan that day, Donald"The Don" Trump is rumored to be running for governor of New York. Interesting turn of events and interesting possible challenge to Eliot Spitzer.

Finally, a big shout out (while I'm doing them) to Blogrophenia regular contributor Zambone Zammy who's birthday party I missed this year due to my aforementioned current travels. Happy birthday brother, I owe you a drink.

I'll try to log in as soon as I can but I am going to be somewhat tied up through mid next week.

Happy New Year!

I'm still alive,
Moses

A lovely poem written by one of my best friends and favorite people and slightly edited by me:

What of it man?
Who am I to say?

Fertility potions and swirling emotions
Finding genetics awry,
Normal's defined, blind leading blind
Without anyone asking why.

Who am I to say who might enjoy a summer's day?
Mathematics elude me along with various physics Decrees;
still I walk through the Warm summer's breeze.
Perhaps that's a reason
To have the opinion that I too Am replete with disease.

And who am I to say who might enjoy a summer's day?
Rights will change hands
On political demands
And Mothers will beat their breast.
But where would I be, as a fetus you see,
if I could not have passed their test?

So who am I to say
who might enjoy a summer's day?

Christmas Day in South Florida and Other Thoughts

Although, me and my family have been spending time in South Florida for the better part of two decades, none of us can remember a Christmas that we've ever spent here. So finally, in 2005 part of the family decided to spend our Christmas down here and boy is it something! First of all, I attended a Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins game on Christmas Eve that stood in very sharp contrast in terms of comfort and enjoyment to the Chiefs at Giants game that I attended last week at the Meadowlands. Ricky Williams looked great, the Dolphins won and I actually broke a sweat while wearing shorts and a T shirt on Christmas Eve at a football game. Man, that's living!

The next day on Christmas Day I was fortunate enough to attend the Lakers at Heat game in Miami. Although, the game was incredibly hyped it actually lived up to the billing as it went down to the last seconds.

I wish that I had brought my camera because I could have added to my collection of me with stars with a picture with me and Dan Marino who was up a few rows in front of me. Also there, was A-Rod, Donald Trump, Trick Daddy, Ronnie Seikaly, Glen Rice and Tim Hardaway among others. The game was really exciting and it's just kind of cool seeing the Lakers. Sort of the basketball equivalent of the Yankees and there were just so many subplots between Shaq and Kobe (who completely ignored each other before the game), Phil Jackson and Riley (actually Jackson went over and said hello to Riley and Shaq before the game) etc. . . It was really quite a way to spend Christmas.

So , I've pulled off a hat trick South Florida wins now having seen the Panthers, Dolphins and Heat all win at least once.

Things are not looking good in Egypt these days as Mubarak rival Ayman Nour has been put away for five years and Coptics Christians may have been blocked from getting visas. No matter what happened with Nour, it's curious that Mubarak would be so openly courting criticism. On the heels of his much ballyhooed"democritizing" of Egypt this is a rather odd move. . .

In other, and happier, news I finally got with the program and got an XM radio. It features, every MLB game, ACC (Duke) hoops and (Miami) football, soon will feature a show with Bob Dylan playing DJ which should be interesting. I also dig the comedy. My little Delphi receiver can be used as a home radio, a portable device and can even transmit an FM signal for the car. Very, very cool.

So I've pretty much been having a ball and just cooling and relaxing around the holidays.

I hope this entry find you all as well.

At Christmas time,
We let in light and we banish shade,
Moses

Being the saltwater aficionado that I am, both in water sports and in fishing, I always keep my eye out for interesting shark stories. Many of them end tragically, here's one that didn't. . .

No, I won't back down,
Moses

Boxing Day

Today is Boxing Day one of my more favorite sort of obscure holidays. The origins of Boxing Day are unclear although the theories include:

Centuries ago, merchants would present their servants food and fruits as a form of Yuletide tip. Naturally, the gifts of food and fruit were packed in boxes, hence the term "Boxing Day".

In feudal times, Christmas was a reason for a gathering of extended families. All the serfs would gather their families in the manor of their lord, which makes it easier for the lord of the estate to hand out annual stipends to the serfs. After all the Christmas parties on December 25, the lord of the estate would give practical goods such as cloth, grains, and tools to the serfs who lived on his land. Each family would get a box full of such goods the day after Christmas. Under this explanation, there was nothing voluntary about this transaction; the lord of the manor was obligated to supply these goods. Because of the boxes being given out, the day was called Boxing Day.

In Britain many years ago, it was common practice for the servants to carry boxes to their employers when they arrive for their day's work on the day after Christmas (26 December). Their employers would then put coins in the boxes as special end-of-year gifts. This can be compared with the modern day concept of Christmas bonuses. The servants carried boxes for the coins, hence the name Boxing Day.

In churches, it was tradition to open the church's donation box on Christmas day, and the money in the donation box were to be distributed to the poorer or lower class citizens on the next day. In this case, the "box" in "Boxing Day" comes from that one gigantic lockbox in which the donations were left.

In Britain because many servants had to work for their employers on Christmas day they would instead open their presents (ie. boxes) the next day, which therefore became known as boxing day.

Marxist historians find evidence for "perpetuation of class difference" theory in what superficially seems to be Boxing Day's one direction of giving--i.e. from the rich lords to the poor croppers. They are right in observing that equality and respect are only found if there is a proper exchange of gifts. Looking only at quantifiable material value, they are right in finding inequality between the lords and peasants and justified in seeing reactionary and class-repressive origins for Boxing Day.

Ha ha ha!! You can read about all of this and more by clicking the link above.

Happy Boxing Day!

And when I wake up in the morning,
To feel the daybreak off my face,
Moses

Moses in the Tropics

Greetings from South Florida, where I am spending time with my family (minus Yolanda, Van and my niece, Fifi). I have however been hanging out a bit with former NYC sportscaster journalist, who I went to a Panthers game with last night. He's a heck of a guy and we have a
ton in common.

I have come around a bit on Johnny Damon and am excited to have him leading off for the Yankees. Should be pretty exciting at some point this year to see him step in against Pedro at the Stadium. More importantly, it'll be nice seeing him setting the table for the rest of that monstrous lineup all summer.

Cool new blog I found today through Andrew Sullivan's blog. I've also been catching up on the work of New Yorker music critic Alex Ross's whose work is very impressive and whose ambitious first book on 20th Century culture and music I am eagerly anticipating.

I hate to talk politics at such a nice time of the year, but for all those Republican jerks who think the NY Times is evil, has it occurred to anyone that in some very meaningful sense that the NY Times sat on this very controversial wire tap story for over a year? It occured to me today while I was on a walk that that means that they sat on it through last year's election. I wonder if Bush still wins if that story has broken. . . So tell me again how liberal the NY Times is. . .

And while I've stepped out of the spirit of Christmas, does it strike anyone else as odd that the Pontiff is as fashion conscious as he is?

Probably won't be blogging the next few days with the holidays and all the great games that are on, some of which I may attend down here. . .

Happy holidays to all. . . Sorry about me stepping out of the Christmas spirit for a minute there. . .

Do they know it's Christmas time at all?,
Moses

A Note on the Winter Solstice 2005

Apparently, 1:35 was the moment of the solstice in 2005. I always love today, it's a great sort of annual microcosm of life in some ways. For someone like me who hates the cold and the dark it is, in some sense, the worst day of the year. But it's also a reminder that at the worst moment as hard as things are that they can only get better. From now on the days only get longer!

Daisy, in the Great Gatsby, says, "Do you always wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it."

Let us not miss the shortest day of the year this year and most importantly let's not miss the message that when things are really bad that they can only get better.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

La vie est bon.

Here Comes the Sun,
Moses

The Weezer iTunes Scam

I almost purchased a few Christmas tunes by Weezer from iTunes, before I realized that the tunes can be gotten FOR FREE at the Weezer website. Get them there folks.

I've always liked Weezer, I absolutely love their first two albums and was one of the few people who liked their second album, Pinkerton, immediately. Pinkerton has an interesting story, it appeared to bomb at first but hung around and kept selling and turned into an almost cult favorite. Their next few albums have all been solid if unspectacular.

Why bother?,
Moses

Damon Signs with Yankees

I don't see what this moves really does at all. The Yankees have needed defense not more offense. I mean I like him and he'll be a good leadoff hitter, I think for most of this contract, but. . . I don't know. . . I guess he'll make a good leadoff hitter and move Jeter to second.

I wanted Nomar. . .

You can't always get what you want,
Moses

Said Calls It (25 years or so ahead of time)

As you probably don't know, the great Edward Said was a voice for peace in one of the most violent parts of the world. Writing in 1980, Said anticipated an eventual policy of military aggression by the United States toward the Middle East, a prediction some observers find evident in the actions of the U.S.A. after the 9/11.

"So far as the United States seems to be concerned, it is only a slight overstatement to say that Moslems and Arabs are essentially seen as either oil suppliers or potential terrorists. Very little of the detail, the human density, the passion of Arab-Moslem life has entered the awareness of even those people whose profession it is to report the Arab world. What we have instead is a series of crude, essentialized caricatures of the Islamic world presented in such a way as to make that world vulnerable to military aggression"

Wow. . .

You were the one who imagined it all,
All those years ago,
Moses

The Best of 2005
by Moses Aton


My Top Five Albums of 2005

5. Takk - Sigur Ros - Critics will call this more of the same but the fact Sigur Ros is a true original and no one of their contemporaries comes close to sounding like them or rivaling their ability to move the listener without lyrics.
4. Late Registration - Kanye West - Kanye West proves the College Dropout wasn't a fluke with this excellent album. The hottest rapper in the hottest genre is here to stay.
3. Guero - Beck Beck returns to his happy self as in Midnight Vultures with much more standard Beck follow to his outstanding, if morose Sea Change that is best thought of as "Beck's Blood on the Tracks". We loved Sea Change but it's good to have Beck back.
2. In Your Honor - Foo Fighters - Grohl just continues to add to his almost impossibly impressive career in rock. Fairly straightforward hard rock on one CD and a previously rarely explored soft side of Foo Fighters on the second CD. This probably could have been one really incredibly great instead of two, but although many will, I'll never penalize an artist for giving us more music.
1. Out of Exile - Audioslave - This band is just incredible. It's a true "super band" Chris Cornell's got probably the best voice in rock and roll and those three former Ragers can rock it with anyone, the result? Probably the closest thing to perfect rock album that one can get nowadays. Certainly one of the best albums since the peak of the Seattle scene.

My Top Five (really Six) Movies of 2005*

5. Wedding Crashers - Hilarious! Hilarious! Hilarious! I was laughing out loud. Vaughn and Wilson are one of the best comedic duos out there right now.
4. Batman - Think of this as Indiana Jones meets Batman. Finally, the cinematic Batman begins to approach the genius Batman standard set forth in Frank Miller's mid eighties conception of the Dark Knight.
3. Cinderella Man - Crowe and the stunning Zellewegger put up two great performances in this outstanding and true epic about a Depression era boxer.
2. 40-Year Old Virgin - One of the funniest movies in years, it's a real original that's gets really wacky and manages to even throw in a little sweetness amidst the raunch. A must see for comedy lovers and fans of the Swingers/Tao of Steve relationship comedy genre.
1. and 1. Capote and Walk the Line - Two exceptional biopics that focus on a small sliver of the subjects life. Capote with a performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman for the ages and Walk the Line with two incredible perfomances by Phoenix and Witherspoon in which they manage not only to channel Johnny and June but to rival their subject's considerable singing and performance talents. In the era of biopics these two movies really stand out.

*(In the interest of disclosure I should note that I have yet to see the bulk of the holiday movies: Brokeback Mountain, King Kong, Syriana, Munich and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe as well as The Squid and the Whale, A History of Violence and Crash)

Best Books of 2005

5. The Beatles: The Biography - Bob Spitz One of the best biographies of the Beatles to date. Although, it's certainly a committment there's no doubt it's a must have for any Beatles fan.
4. Are Men Necessary - Maureen Dowd Actually this book sucks, but I believe it may warrant it's appointment to this list by virtue of what it may accomplish: The discrediting of one of the biggest intellectual frauds of our time: Maureen Dowd. She doesn't deserve the platform that she has and can manage to make you wish she didn't agree with you. Hopefully this book can make us all begin to ask: Is Maureen Necessary?
3. Our Inner Ape - Frans De Waahl Fascinating look at our primate cousins and how much we share. Also introduced the word "bonobo" into my lexicon and got the artist formerly known as "Blue Trash" a new nickname. . .
2. Freakanomics - Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner Will introduce you to a completely new way of looking at the world and maybe change the way you think. Fascinating.
1. Friedrich Nietzsche - Curtis Cate - An eminently readable biography that humanizes the one of, if not THE, most important intellectual in Western history. We are still very much in the adolescence of understanding this profoundly brilliant man's thought and this book goes a long way in helping us to understand HIM. As an added bonus the book offers an intriuging look glimpse into the life of the great composer Richard Wagner and his relationship with Germany, Cosima and, of course, with Nietzsche. A must read for anyone interested in Western thought and/or intellectual history.

Ev'rybody had a hard year,
Ev'rybody had a good time,
Ev'rybody had a wet dream,
Ev'rybody saw the sunshine,
Moses

Great quote from Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, which I am told by everyone from Spitfire to my own father, is a great book:

I truthfully feel none of us have anyone to blame for whatever we have done with our own personal lives. It has been proven that at the age of 7 most of us have reached the age of reason -- which means we do, at this age, understand & know the difference between right & wrong. Of course -- environment plays an awfully important part in our lives such as the Convent in mine & in my case I am grateful for that influence. In Jimmy's case -- he was the strongest of us all. I remember how he worked & went to school when there was no one to tell him & it was his own WILL to make something of himself. We will never know the reasons for what eventually happened, why he did what he did, but I still hurt thinking of it. It was such a waste. But we have very little control over our human weaknesses, & this applies also to Fern & hundreds of thousands of other people including ourselves -- for we all have weaknesses. In your case -- I don't know what your weakness is but I do feel -- IT IS NO SHAME TO HAVE A DIRTY FACE -- THE SHAME COMES WHEN YOU KEEP IT DIRTY.
--from In Cold Blood

If you haven't yet seen the movie yet go see it. Philip Seymour Hoffman is outstanding!

Mott the Hoople and the game of Life,
Moses

An excellent little bit from Andrew Sullivan today:

This is about as brilliant an exposition of what evil can come from people who believe they are sanctioned by God and a "cause" that renders any means permissible. That evil is not restricted to Muslims. It is a universal human temptation. And, in the torture debate, it has infected us as well.

Since 9/11 and the Bush administration's horrible response to it, many in this country have become openly hostile towards Arabs and Muslims in particular. I have friends and acquaintances who actually espouse the theory that Islam is a hostile and dangerous religion. Sullivan's point above is an important one, namely that Islam is no more inherently "evil" than any other religion or ideology including, especially, some promulgated by this administration. An administration that responded to the threat of some misguided Muslims by engaging Crusader rhetoric Hell and Brimstone language and drawing further lines in the sand. Lines that have already cost more live. What is at stake, as Bush himself may put it himself in his often unneccesarily dramatic and metaphysically bombastic ways, are our very souls. Totalitarianism evil always starts somewhere, for some of these misguided Muslims it appears to have started with Sayed Qutb the original Muslim fanatic, for us it may be starting in Gitmo. . .

Now war is declared - and battle come down,
Moses

NEWSFLASH: Benedict Gets Something Right

Mark Your Calendars Folks: Benedict Actually Got Something Right in saying there are no excuses for human rights abuses! Presumably this proclamation excludes gays. . .

You know you're right,
Moses

Iraq by the Numbers

There are only two types of people who proclaim this war in Iraq a success: Liars and morons. The facts are in and it's clear, this war has been an abject failure. Here we go by the numbers.

Just gimme some truth!
Moses

The Foie Gras Dilemna

Very interesting question here, should the city of Chicago ban foie gras? I do agree that
the whole process probably pretty damn immoral any way you look at it. Unless, you're a psychotic right wing creationist type or just don't give a damn. That said, it's pretty disturbing when the government gets into the business of legislating what we can and cannot eat! Tough call here. In the interest of full disclosure I should admit that I am a foie gras freak. I can't enough of the stuff. In fact, the amount of foie gras I consume is limited only by my pangs of guilt over the process, the prohibitive cost of the item and the health consequences of the divine stuff. . .

Tried to amend my carnivorous habits,
Made it nearly seventy days,
Moses

Good for Obama who called out the Republicans, this man will be President someday. . .

You're a superstar,
yes that's what you are,
Moses

Joe Lieberman

That monster of a man Joe Lieberman will hopefully be leaving the Democratic party soon. I am working on a longer article for this blog explaining exactly why I despise the beast so much. Good riddance JL, you were a deplorable embarrassment to the party. Go join the Republicans it's were you belong. . .

Get back to were you once belonged,
Moses

Richard Pryor

The great Richard Pryor died yesterday, to an entire generation Pryor is model of what a comedian should be. Do yourself a favor and go watch old Pryor stand up. The man's a genius.

His edgy race and class based humor blazed pathways still being explored by everyone from the obvious suspects like Chris Rock and Eddie Izzard to Sarah Silverman and even Jerry Seinfeld.

His movie Stir Crazy with Gene Wilder isn't half bad either. . . RIP RP. . .

If you want to save money,
knock on wood,
and do what a good woodpecker would,
Moses

Benedict seems to think that materialism "pollutes" Christmas. I can't disagree, but I wonder does he think that blatant discrimination against homosexuals for the way they were inherently created "pollutes" the Church and Christian community?

If you hate something,
Don't you do it too,
Moses

Random Droppings

Twenty five years after his tragic assasination, it's still mindblowingly sad and overwhelmingly emotional to think of what the world lost for no reason whatsoever. I've never bought the argument that the fact that he was imperfect in his personal takes away at all from his legacy of peace. Many of the bright lights of the 20th century were dubious in their personal lives, including JFK and MLK. . . His song Imagine will stand forever as a reminder that we should never stop hoping and dreaming for a better world. . . I feel terrible for poor Soriano who is now forced to spend his walk year in spacious Washington and maybe out of position. . . Speaking of baseball in the Beltway Tejada has asked out of Baltimore, I'd love to see him come the Yankees, have the Yankees sign Nomar and field the all SS infield with probably the worst actually at SS. . . Clinton was pretty embarrassing on CNN last night and Ariana Huffington rightfully took him to task for it. . . Just when you thought things couldn't get worse a complete monster of a man Joe Lieberman may be taking over for Rummy. . .

Imagine all the people,
sharing all the world,
Moses

The Seven Train

Check out the latest installment of column the Seven Train in the form of article entitled "Dos Carlos" where I take a look at the Delgado's decision to cease and desist his protest of God Bless America because of the unjust Iraq war here.

Through the night with a light from above,
Moses