Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Evanston: 'dare greatly'; history lesson; spring; request


        Last Sunday near the beginning of CBS’s 60 Minutes an ad ran that proclaimed, “Dare greatly.”  It is aimed apparently at those who think daring greatly is to buy a luxury car.  My thought:  they have no idea—and I include whatever overly paid ad agency hack came up with the slogan and whoever at Cadillac thought it a good idea, as well as the intrepid car buyers.  
        I also think the ad agency and Cadillac should be fined for gross misuse of language and impertinence.  Though neither is a crime, perhaps they should be.
        Naturally there is even a dare-greatly.com.
        I really need to get to GANNET.

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        One hundred and fifty years ago the Civil War was coming to an end.  According to the Civil War Today iPad app, the casualties were nearly even:  North  374,444; South 357,883.  The difference was that the North could replace them; the South could not.  I have read that during the four years of the war, one in five white southern men of military age was killed.
        One hundred years ago what we now call World War I was barely half way through the first of its four even bloodier years.  Poison gas had been used on the Eastern front and was about to be used in the West.  The Second Battle of Ypres was about to be fought.  Australian and New Zealand troops were about to land at Gallipoli.  
        Fifty years ago the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam increased
from 23,000 to 183,000.
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        After last Friday’s record low for the date in Chicago of 0°F/-18°C, spring arrived.  Saturday was more than 40°F warmer.  Yesterday reached 52°F/11°C and next Monday may be 60°F/15.5°C.  
        I opened the doors to the balcony yesterday afternoon to let fresh air into the condo for the first time for months.

———

        When I wrote the introduction to this site nine years, one circumnavigation and part of another, a blind eye and a torn shoulder ago, I said that the artist’s defining responsibility is to go to the edge of human experience and send back reports.  The artist has no responsibility that anyone read or experience those reports, which might be words or a painting or a composition or a number of other things.  If enough people do it can change his or her life; but that is not the point.
        But, having said that, it is probably better to be read or heard or have your work viewed than not.  So I am going to ask you a favor, not for myself but another.  It will cost you nothing and take less than four minutes of your time.
        If you want, open another tab and go to the poetry page where “leaves of men of leaves” is the second poem and follow the words.
        Listen to Brian’s composition to the end.
        At the moment it shows only 62 plays.  
        I will be grateful if that number is soon considerably higher.
       Thank you.