tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29014885475543599912024-03-13T15:06:21.216-07:00The SophisticatesModern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-2432189102843803752010-02-16T16:47:00.000-08:002010-02-16T16:55:29.092-08:00Fastnacht DayI love being a Dutchie in February. Groundhog Day, then Fastnacht Day. I hope all Pennsylvanians have a wonderful month. Especially our families, friends, and the Lafayette and Villanova basketball teams.<br /><br />B.Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-51805546706626546962010-01-25T12:12:00.000-08:002010-01-25T12:17:09.034-08:00Burns DayIn honor of the Poet of all poets:<br /><br />O wad some Power the giftie gie us<br />To see oursels as ithers see us!<br />It wad frae monie a blunder free us,<br /> An' foolish notion:<br />What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,<br /> An' ev'n devotion!<br /><br />Indeed.<br /><br />-B.Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-27309879599466273112010-01-23T23:07:00.000-08:002010-01-23T23:19:21.220-08:00Finally back, and it's the middle of the nightHey, bud. Been having this monumental case of insomnia the past two weeks, which is especially bad since late night television is so rotten lately. What happened to all the movies? It's just lousy infomercials and poker. Anyway, here we are again, 2 a.m. or so, not feeling like reading. What I am doing, however, is listening to that old CD in the cardboard sleeve of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, the one I've had since we lived in the suites at Moravian. I can't remember the last time I heard it, but god, listening to it through headphones in the middle of the night with a case of unspecified anxiety is trippy. And wonderful. Those low strings are incredibly moving, and ol' Schub always could write some nice clarinet lines... Maybe I should do this every night? Not that it is relaxing, but it acknowledges the beauty of unhappiness (or something like that--maybe I'm just full of crap and it is stupidly late and I'm stupidly bored).<br /><br />I hope your own psyche is in a more peaceful state, and that you see this sometime soon. I don't know how often you check this, but I obsessively do every so often, with a sense of guilt for letting it go so long, of course. I trust all is well down there in the big city; I certainly pray so, anyway.<br /><br />I suppose that is all for now: I'll try to read one of these books after the second movement ends. I also brought my Bartok string quartets upstairs with me, but I doubt that will lend itself to concentration.<br /><br />Take care of you and yours,<br />B.Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-28505334060045751712009-06-21T08:17:00.000-07:002009-06-21T08:21:29.731-07:00Iran's Rage Against the Machine - FreedomA youtube music video about the protests I found on the Huffingtonpost this morning.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_cj9MEk16M&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ehuffingtonpost%2Ecom%2F2009%2F06%2F13%2Firan%2Ddemonstrations%2Dviole%5Fn%5F215189%2Ehtml&feature=player_embedded">Iran's Rage Against the Machine - Freedom</a><br /><br />~Octavius Hussein HinnerschitzModern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-2170778004156340302009-06-18T08:05:00.000-07:002009-06-18T08:08:08.539-07:00Blogging Iran...I have to say that I have been totally drawn into the recent events in Iran. I was sucked in over the weekend by the Huffingtonpost's live blogging and now am checking in quite regularly. It is remarkable how much more information is available on various blogs than in the media. That said, there have been a number of examples of information that has been retracted after being posted in error or just being false to start with. I remember being glued to CNN 20 years ago in June watching the Tianamen Square protests and aftermath. Now I'm glued to my computer and the traditional media have just begun to pay some attention to these events in earnest.Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-5438136393206291042009-05-31T20:14:00.000-07:002009-05-31T20:15:19.286-07:00For Walt's birthday<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td align="left">The first stanza of one of the best poems:<br /><br /><br /><br />O<span style="font-size:-1;">UT</span> of the cradle endlessly <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/142/1021.html#212.1">rocking</a>,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="1"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">Out of the mocking-bird’s throat, the musical <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/142/1021.html#212.2">shuttle</a>,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="2"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">Out of the Ninth-month midnight,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="3"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">Over the sterile sands, and the fields beyond, where the child, leaving his bed, wander’d alone, bare-headed, barefoot,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="4"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">Down from the shower’d halo,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="5"><i> 5</i></a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">Up from the mystic play of shadows, twining and twisting as if they were alive,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="6"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">Out from the patches of briers and blackberries,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="7"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">From the memories of the bird that chanted to me,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="8"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">From your memories, sad brother—from the fitful risings and fallings I heard,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="9"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">From under that yellow half-moon, late-risen, and swollen as if with tears,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="10"><i> 10</i></a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">From those beginning notes of sickness and love, there in the transparent mist,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="11"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">From the thousand responses of my heart, never to cease,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="12"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">From the myriad thence-arous’d words,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="13"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">From the word stronger and more delicious than any,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="14"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">From such, as now they start, the scene revisiting,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="15"><i> 15</i></a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">As a flock, twittering, rising, or overhead passing,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="16"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">Borne hither—ere all eludes me, hurriedly,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="17"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">A man—yet by these tears a little boy again,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="18"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">Throwing myself on the sand, confronting the waves,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="19"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">I, chanter of pains and joys, uniter of here and hereafter,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="20"><i> 20</i></a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">Taking all hints to use them—but swiftly leaping beyond them,</td><td valign="top" align="right"><span style="font-size:-2;"><a name="21"> </a></span></td></tr> <tr><td align="left">A reminiscence sing.</td></tr></tbody></table>Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-32893485206909809372009-05-26T12:30:00.000-07:002009-05-26T12:34:25.087-07:00John O'Hara's PottsvilleI confess that I haven't read any O'Hara yet, but I can already see how he could have been an influence on Updike based on this story in to the Inky.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_stories/20090526_Once_a_pariah__now_a_favorite_son.html">John O'Hara's Pottsville in the Inquirer today.</a>Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-43391329301966445472009-05-25T19:29:00.000-07:002009-05-25T19:31:30.355-07:00Memory Arpeggios in Updike’s SunsetIn today's Times. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/books/26Kaku.html">Memory Arpeggios in Updike’s Sunset</a><br /><br />Fitting for Memorial Day I suppose. I lament that there will not be many more articles reacting to Updike's publications, this being the last. Enjoy the bittersweet taste.<br /><br />`HModern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-16042671041447365562009-05-08T16:01:00.000-07:002009-05-08T16:09:47.284-07:00Small feeling of accomplishmentWell, the grades are in as of 5:45 this evening, which is over 12 hours before deadline, and at least 7 hours ahead of my usual schedule. All that's left now is the crying. And knowing that I have a summer ahead that will be must be has to be dominated by dissertating. I hope your own end-o-semester is turning out well.<br /><br />After submitting the grades, I walked down the hill to catch some of the Bach Festival in Packer Chapel from the lawn, and got there in time to hear the last two movements of the last cantata. Oh well. Maybe I'll have time to drop by tomorrow, weather permitting.<br /><br />And one last random thing: I don't know if I told you that I received a copy of Updike's <em>Endpoint</em> for my b'day. It is wonderful to read through; feels like a vacation from all the other stresses of this grad school, crappy economy mess. It is relieving, if not cheering, to focus on things that actually matter (in the artsy-idealistic sense). Also reading an old John McPhee book about the Pine Barrens.<br /><br />Take care of you and yours.<br />B.Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-16968680336401357022009-04-28T09:08:00.000-07:002009-04-28T09:09:32.492-07:00Yes! Now for healthcare!!!<a href="http://politicspa.com/Specter%20Switches.htm?ref=fp1">http://politicspa.com/Specter%20Switches.htm?ref=fp1</a><br /><br />B.Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-12542277137253428502009-04-19T20:12:00.000-07:002009-04-19T20:20:26.491-07:00You and Jack Benny... Happy 39thHappy Birthday Old Man! I've searched for some appropriate verse or prose, but have failed to come up with anything quite right. 39 is an odd milestone, on the precipice of a new decade and still looking back at the preceding one, remarking on all that has change and the surprising amount that hasn't. In the inimitable words of some brewery or another. "Here's to you, You Know your kinda special!" Happy 39th!<br /><br />~HModern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-46385441084357506912009-04-19T12:30:00.000-07:002009-04-19T12:35:02.516-07:00For HarryMy assault on the Morning Call continued last week with an "editorial" that appeared in Friday's paper about Harry. Here's the link:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/anotherview/all-a.6859083apr17,0,5017704.story">http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/anotherview/all-a.6859083apr17,0,5017704.story</a><br /><br />They even included a head shot, very very close-up to my face. The comments seem to be a bit nicer about this one.<br /><br />B.Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-90484958957903766082009-04-15T12:44:00.001-07:002009-04-15T12:52:54.751-07:00The Grand Old Teabagging PartyThought you'd get a kick out of this, though they edited me a bit more than I would have liked. Not to mention I didn't put in nearly what I would have if I thought they'd take the letter:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/letters/all-rogers.6851802apr14,0,657783.story">http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/letters/all-rogers.6851802apr14,0,657783.story</a><br /><br />They've ignored my last four or five letters, so I wasn't expecting attention this time. The comments section is really fun; I want to show it to all the conservatives I know so they get a better idea of the kinds of people espousing their "ideals."<br /><br />Anyway, I was just over at the library to get a look at the most misguided people in the Lehigh Valley. To say they're a little in the middle-to-late age bracket is putting it a bit mildly. I like how they are supposed to have gotten all worked up about this from Santelli's "spontaneous" outburst on CNBC, which allegedly was then spread through Youtube. These people don't know Youtube from their own large intestines. This is so obviously a Republican establishment stunt. Plus, I am seriously offended when they dress in colonial garb and make reference to the founding and the Consitution. At least the local ones aren't smart enough to claim a connection to the tax protests of the Fries Rebels, which would be true in label only. The Fries rebels were upset about the standing army and that the rich had too much influence on controlling the government, something these latter-day Tea-Partiers don't seem to mind.<br /><br />God, I'm frustrated!<br /><br />B.Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-83326645659292955672009-04-13T12:47:00.000-07:002009-04-13T12:49:20.799-07:00Fans lose their voice...Well, the voice of our childhood has passed unto the ages. The whole region already seems to be in mourning. I wonder if they will have some sort of ceremony at the ballpark. Hard to imagine they won't. It's sad day. At least we have the memories of all of those great calls. Here's one of the most recent.<br /><br />~H<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUPiVyRSi8E&feature=player_embedded">The Call...</a>Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-79886513133091795532009-04-07T17:38:00.000-07:002009-04-07T18:04:54.898-07:0015 things to do during Holy WeekIn no particular order, here's my list.<br /><br />1. Attend the nightly Holy Week reading services at Central Moravian, which date back to the 1750s (apparently, it was originally done with Zinzendorf's own Gospels mash-up translation, but they switched to a St. Matthew-based version to avoid the tsk-ing of the more orthodox).<br />2. Pig out on Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs, while trying to forget that they are 300 calories each.<br />3. Listen to "Jesus Christ Superstar." Sing the Judas parts, since they are the best.<br />4. Make barely-rational comparisons between rebirth and baseball season.<br />5. Try to figure out what is really meant by the "Parable of the Talents."<br />6. Watch Hollywood Biblical epics, especially "King of Kings" and "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (pay special attention to John Wayne's less-than-awesome delivery of the line "Surely this man was the son of God;" what a cameo!).<br />7. Play old Moravian music records from the 1960s, with great pieces from Antes, Peter, Wolle, and Latrobe.<br />8. Make and eat vegan shepherd's pie, with a good stout, of course. (Get it? "Shepherd's" pie?)<br />9. Listen to Jethro Tull's concept album "A Passion Play." ("Do you still see me, even here?/The silver cord lies on the ground./'And so I'm dead,'/The young man said...")<br />10. Go to the Great Sabbath Love Feast.<br />11. Drive the moneychangers from the temple.<br />12. Watch "Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit."<br />13. Listen to Bach's several "Passions."<br />14. Contemplate getting a spring haircut.<br />15. Start psyching up to get up for the sunrise service on Easter.<br /><br />Hope all is well. Thank you for the recent postings.<br />B.Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-35073833977462522952009-04-06T13:04:00.000-07:002009-04-06T13:06:22.368-07:00Updike returns to Plowville for the last time...<a href="http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=132617">Updike's children spread his ashes in Plowville</a><br />from the Reading Eagle, April 6, 2006<br /><br />They spread some of John Updike's ashes on his parents grave at Plow Church.<br /><br />~HModern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-33376001626735153712009-04-03T09:13:00.000-07:002009-04-03T09:20:16.234-07:00Endpoint<a href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/reading-updikes-last-words-aloud/?scp=2&sq=updike&st=cse">Updike's last words aloud...</a> in an article from today's Times. I have to say I was also struck by the music of his poetry recently. He really was a remarkable poet and I've only begun to appreciate this aspect of his work. One of his recent poems was written in the style of Robert Burn's. What a hoot!Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-31357923403831785992009-03-29T06:57:00.000-07:002009-03-29T06:59:23.495-07:00Updike's PennsylvaniaFrom the today's Inquirer. A travelogue of Updike's Berks County. It's not perfect, but of some help. In particular, it explains the ownership of the farmhouse and barn and roughly where it is located near Plowville.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/20090329_Updike_s_Pennsylvania.html">Updike's Pennsylvania</a>Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-47428146032174487172009-03-28T08:25:00.000-07:002009-03-28T08:28:58.619-07:00Updike Event at NYPLVillage Voice describes New York Public Library event honoring Updike on his Birthday. I think a video of this event is on the Centaurian. Also, the Philadelphia Inquirer had a travel section about visiting Updike country in tomorrow's Sunday paper. It's not too bad, although definitely missing some important landmarks and<br /><br /><a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-03-25/books/lit-seen-john-updike-and-john-leonard-writers-at-rest/">Village Voice article</a>Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-59450408432726169732009-03-21T12:21:00.000-07:002009-03-21T12:37:48.373-07:00I am having a lovely time, lately, reading through E.B. White's essays, mostly from the 1950s. It is a luxury I can hardly afford, of course, since it takes reading time away from diss work, but I am powerless to the pull of a book that has called to me. It is enjoyable on several levels: he does write an amazingly beautiful sentence (I now understand Scott's "rivalry" with Updike fans); he expresses the cantankorous view of a quiet resister of unintelligent change in the world; and he represents a way to live as a liesured intellectual, keeping a kitchen garden and geese and chickens on a small farm in Maine--not for need but for the philosophy of it--then traveling into the City for the business of broadcasting his printed thoughts about life, art, and whatever else strikes his fancy. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that that life sounds pretty ideal to me, even though that kind of brahmanism is distinctly out of favor now. <br /><br />Here's one quick example from the end of a fairly famous essay about his response to the sickness and death of a pig on his farm:<br /><br />"The grave in the woods is unmarked, but Fred [his dog] can direct the mourner to it unerringly and with immense good will, and I know he and I shall often revisit it, singly and together, in seasons of reflection and despair, on flagless memorial days of our own choosing." from "Death of a Pig"<br /><br />B.Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-26589733088847901042009-03-15T17:55:00.000-07:002009-03-15T17:57:45.647-07:00Molly Maguires!Philly.com, aka, The Philadelphia Inquirer website, posted an interesting little video about the Molly Maguires. Also, some of the footage comes from Eckley Mining Village up near Hazleton and from a underground mining museum in Ashland (near Pottsville). I suspect a trip to Ashland could easily be combined with a stop at the Yuengling Brewery!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/video/090313_pc_mollymaguires.html">http://www.philly.com/philly/video/090313_pc_mollymaguires.html</a><br /><br />~HModern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-81591053987434853362009-03-15T17:35:00.000-07:002009-03-15T17:38:25.421-07:00The Updike's recall PlowvilleAn article appeared in the Reading Eagle with reminiscences of Plowville by the Updike children. The farm belongs to them now and they have to decide what to do with it. I vote for a farmhouse museum, but I doubt they're listening to me. The kids used to sleep in the barn with their grandparents when they visited. This is the same barn in the novel 'Pigeon Feathers' where Updike's has a religious epiphany of sorts.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=129692">http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=129692</a><br /><br />~Jimmy Tothero Weisenheimer<br /><a href="http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=129692"></a>Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-1029037509658745542009-03-15T17:33:00.000-07:002009-03-15T17:34:58.893-07:00PA Dutch Restaurant closes in East Texas.... PAThe Willow's restaurant in East Texas, near Macungie, has closed. These places are getting scarcer by the day. Go out and find one now and give them some business.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mcall.com/business/local/all-afsaf-a2cxo-a-a-a.6816623mar15,0,648417.story">http://www.mcall.com/business/local/all-afsaf-a2cxo-a-a-a.6816623mar15,0,648417.story</a>Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-12403388225902884382009-03-11T13:16:00.000-07:002009-03-11T13:26:57.685-07:00Frog Holler!!The new album is finally here!! Check out the blurbs!: <a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/fholler3">http://cdbaby.com/cd/fholler3</a><br /><br />PA Dutch, yo!<br /><br />B.Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2901488547554359991.post-48907671078916900222009-03-11T08:45:00.000-07:002009-03-11T08:48:18.531-07:00Wall Street CrooksVery revealing interview with former Hedge Fund manager and CNBC talking head, Jim Cramer. Makes you realize that the market is really as dirty as you suspect it is.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/11/jim-cramer-shorting-stock_n_173824.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/11/jim-cramer-shorting-stock_n_173824.html</a>Modern PA Dutchmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10621578457325309470noreply@blogger.com0