Brass Tacks Dispatch

Back from the dead...

noreply@blogger.com (JFP) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:54:00 +0000

Figuratively speaking of course, as my blogging exploits have been resumed. Although "Latin American Affairs" has been my primary blogging subject in theory, it has yet to materialize on screen in this virtual space. A summer independent project that was to focus on the press in Latin America, regrettably went awry, as I spent entirely too much time on the soccer pitch, coaching and playing. Perhaps it is for the best. With my course load severe this semester (16 grad credits) it would have been unlikely that I would have the necessary time to devote to a thorough and thoughtful exploration into the relationship the between news media and governments of our neighbors to the south. Spring semester, with only News Editing and the daunting task of dealing with Prof. Trayes' demands the only school issue to confront, there should be more opportunity to delve into this highly intriguing theme.

Almost on the Fratellis bandwagon, almost...

noreply@blogger.com (JFP) — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 18:05:00 +0000

Admittedly, I'm not exactly tuned in to what the kids are listening to these days. I suspect I would find some of the stateside musical offerings of the day enjoyable, yet most I encounter I find contrived, formulaic, and gimmicky.

So thank God for Scotland! Aside from giving the world Robert Bruce, the Old Firm derby, the Loch Ness monster, Sean Connery, and Glennfiddich single malt, her musical contribution is most splendid- the bagpipes (duh), Dexy's Midnight Runners, Eurythmics, Simple Minds, Beta Band, Garbage, Teenage Fan Club, Travis, Mogwai, Mylo, Franz Ferdinand, the list goes on... and now The Fratellis.

Now only if I could get a video on this stupid blog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPUZqcibh4E&mode=related&search= (the best I can for now)

A raucous, infectious, good-time, sing-along pub anthem that makes you want to drink McEwan's Export with total strangers til you're dizzy.

Hooray for Tim Hardaway

noreply@blogger.com (JFP) — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 16:34:00 +0000

He was asked a fair question and he gave an honest answer. Exchanges of this kind are necessary. When we grow complacent, and become comfortable with the 'progress' we as a society are making on the issue of bigotry, we lose sight of the fact that we have a long way to go. Hardaway's sentiments are sadly those of many profesional athletes, where toughness and testosterone are as necessary on the field of play as technique. Often this corresponds to a hatred toward those who do not exhibit this hyper-masculinity that is tolerable and indeed promoted inside locker rooms. and the world at-large.

It needs to be addressed and corrected. Hardaway shouldn't be designated paraiah status. He should be cast into the light and held as an example of what is wrong with the way we raise our boys.; boys from all culutures and communities. And furthermore, how religion undergirds this ignorance.

His words cannot be undone, but his actions henceforth can perhaps diminish them. What we say matters less than what we do. Hardaway would be wise to lay-low for awhile, then resurface, if he is truly sincerely sorry for his awful utterance, and stand with those he persecuted.

Why Brass Tacks?

noreply@blogger.com (JFP) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 22:21:00 +0000

By definition it refers to "the most fundamental matters worthy of consideration." I expect this blog to be full of them. ;-)

2) its etymology has been traced to "cockney rhyming slang" which is a linguistic stlye I find amusing. What is it? I'll get to that later, "just keep yer Alan's on." (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels)

And "dispatch" is of course just another name for a type of communication or message or bulletin.

En El Inicio...

noreply@blogger.com (JFP) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 21:52:00 +0000

"We talk far too much. We should talk less and draw more. I personally should like to renounce speech altogether and, like organic Nature, communicate everything I have to say in sketches. That fig tree, this little snake, the cocoon on my window sill quietly awaiting its future - all these are momentous signatures. A person able to decipher their meaning properly would soon be able to dispense with the written or the spoken word altogether. The more I think of it, there is something futile, mediocre, even (I am tempted to say) foppish about speech. By contrast, how the gravity of Nature and her silence startle you, when you stand face to face with her, undistracted, before a barren ridge or in the desolation of the ancient hills." -Goethe-

As an introductory post on a newly formed blog, the above quote is hardly fitting. So it seems it will be an on-going process of trying to reconcile my desire to talk less and listen and watch more with this foreign medium which I have now become involved. A blog seems anathema to lessening the amount of talking one does. I suppose so does signing-up for the Master's in Journalism.

I wish I could communicate everything in skectches. I'm envious of those who capture realities (or perceptions thereof) and transmit them in non-verbal ways. But you gotta use the talents you were given, and play 'til you hear the whistle, as Chris has reminded me.