The Constitution can’t defend itself, and we can’t defend it either if we don’t know what it says. That’s why I study a little bit of it each week. There are seven articles in the Constitution, and I’m still on the first one. Article One has ten sections; I’m studying Section 8, which enumerates the powers of Congress. Last week I read Article 1 §8.3, about Congress’ ability to take on debt. Today I’ll look at Clause 3, better known as the Commerce Clause. Read More
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Constitution Article 1 §8.3, On Intercourse
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Music I Liked in 2018 Week 3
I got sidetracked from researching the music of Terrorfest last week, mostly because I was trying to decide which concert to attend in February to fulfill my resolution. So I still got to listen to some pretty good music. Read More
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Renaissance Man
The last time I could afford to go to Bumbershoot, I saw Chimurenga Renaissance, a project the Stranger called
a wildly experimental hiphop collaboration
between Zimbabwean-American Tendai “Baba” Maraire with Congolese-American musician Hussein Kalonji. A member of Seattle’s intellectual Black Constellation hip-hop collective, Maraire also performs with Shabazz Palaces with local hero Ishmael Butler (formerly of Digable Planets fame).
The first Chimurenga Renaissance album was released on a carved wooden flash drive pendant. A copy is on display at Seattle Art Museum.
He also makes his own traditional instruments. The Globalist has an interesting interview with this renaissance man.
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Problematic Done Right at Seattle Opera’s Cosí fan Tutte
Photo by Philip Newton c/o Seattle Opera
My daughter was scandalized when she saw the Seattle Opera poster for “Cosí fan Tutte – Mozart’s Comedy About Sex.”
She was even more scandalized when she found out I had tickets.
If I’ve been doing my job right as a parent, I think the plot would offend her as much as it did the Victorians, who bowdlerized it. But where the Victorians were appalled by the opera’s depiction of women as subject to sexual desire – and gasp – acting on it, I would hope my 21st century daughter would be at least as offended by the free pass it gives the manipulative and judgmental men in the story as by the women’s weak commitment to monogamy.
But, if I had taken her to see the opera, I think she would have loved it. Read More
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Constitution Article 1 §8.2, National Debt
The Constitution can’t defend itself, and we can’t defend it either if we don’t know what it says. That’s why we read it on Wednesdays. Last week I learned about Article One, Section 8, Clause 1, about Congress’ power of taxation. Section 8 is all about the powers of Congress, and today I’ll look at Clause 2. It’s a doozy. Read More