You know, I was going to go to the mountains this weekend, but that is just what Hitler might have done.

I was going to finish this sentence, but then I wondered, isn’t that just what the Nazis would’v

I mean, what if the US had sent their Olympic team to Nazi Germany, before World War II? What could have happened then?

Oh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympics#Politics

‘Cos, you wouldn’t want to use art or sports to encourage better relations with a the citizens of an isolated country. No way. If you can’t bomb ’em, ignore ’em.

is widely reported to be exactly like London under Big Brother in George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” where “culture” existed solely to serve the state and its murderous purposes.

Yes, real things are frequently exactly like fictional things.

The above tripped my Stupidity Tolerance so I couldn’t get through it all. Does T.T. take note of the fact that there is now regular rail service between No Ko and So Ko? That would have been a fine way to slip in a mention of Mussolini.

…I thought at once of Van Cliburn’s 1958 visit to Moscow, where he won the Tchaikovsky Competition and taught a generation of Russians that there was more to America than what they read in the pages of Pravda, thus helping to bring about the ultimate collapse of communism.

I always knew Saint Ronnie had help destroying the Evil Empire. It’s about time somebody gave his lovable sidekick, Gabby Cliburn, the credit he deserves!

I am a little concerned that North Korea managed to open up such a wide lead in the 1984 Race This calls for a massive national programs, billions of dollars in funding, and… oh… really? Well, who said George Bush is no Jack Kennedy?

Teachout is a long-term dope. He appeared as a prominent dope in a paper on American Psycho, that’s how long-term a dope he is.

“Serial killers are poverty-stricken losers, not Masters of the Universe with a taste for human flesh.” Dope. Dope, dope, dope.

Sorry. I hold grudges against dopistry.

Thanks to Teh History Channel, I am now bored with Hitler.

Fixed!!

mikey

I am not bored with North Korea anymore now that I know they have a Moranbong Hall.

what if osama bin laden had given the Nazi salute to the flag in fred Thompson’s grade school because waterboarding isn’t torture and michelle malkin WAAAHHHH….

good god that was a terrible column.

Waterboarding=swimming.

Catch the wingnut wave!

Lawyer of the Year = Gonzales

I’m hangin ten.

I must admit, I started with this:

What would you have thought if Franklin Roosevelt had encouraged the Philharmonic to accept an official invitation to play in Berlin in the spring of 1939?

and said “Well, I would’ve thought it a damn good idea, especially if plenty of Jewish musicians volunteered for the trip, ’cause you KNOW it would’ve ticked off old Toothbrush ‘Stache.”

Then I read the rest of the column and realized that Teachout and I were not only on completely different pages, but in completely different books.

Do you think such a concert would have softened the hearts of the Nazis, any more than Jesse Owens’s victories in the 1936 Olympics changed their minds about racial equality?

Good Lord, was Jesse Owens supposed to stop World War II singlehandedly? His victory essentially was a flip of the bird to Hitler. There’s something to be said for that, and not just because it’d be good US propaganda.

Awww, but there’s enough new nonsense to start filling those Nazi shoes. Here’s my latest favorite comment from a wingnut:

“I don’t believe that stating “When my daughter comes home with a lesbian girlfriend, a Muslim or a negro, I’ll know I raised her wrong” makes Dewinter a bad person.” (from here)

Yes, this is why I’ve started a new site with a fellow wingnut hater. Well, a hater of wingnuts that is, not a “wingnut hater”, the species we intend to be mocking. I’ll let you guys know when we take it off “private”. Gates of Vienna Vs. The World Vs. LGF: A Blogging Soap Opera. Too funny already.

Teachout wrote a biography of H.L. Mencken. I’m glad I didn’t buy it.

That’s it! I’m tossing all my Bach. Even the Goldberg variations…

>That’s it! I’m tossing all my Bach. Even the Goldberg variations…

Anti-semite.

HITLER

Good Lord, was Jesse Owens supposed to stop World War II singlehandedly?

They didn’t have Brian Boitano back then.

I thought at once of Van Cliburn’s 1958 visit to Moscow, where he won the Tchaikovsky Competition and taught a generation of Russians that there was more to America than what they read in the pages of Pravda, thus helping to bring about the ultimate collapse of communism.

I thought it was Nixon in the model kitchen. Wasn’t it Fridgidare dishwashers that brought about the ultimate collapse of communism?

We sent ping-pong players to China.

I think the least we should send to North Korea is some women’s beach volleyball teams, or pro wrestlers.

Do you think such a concert would have softened the hearts of the Nazis, any more than Jesse Owens’s victories in the 1936 Olympics changed their minds about racial equality?

Because sport, like other forms of culture, exists only to serve the purposes of the State. I mean, *duh*.

North Korea, by contrast, does not have anything remotely resembling a serious musical culture–and what it does have is not available to ordinary citizens

Being serious, now, this is what I hate about these idiots.

First, the idea that the only thing that meets the definition of “serious musical culture” is a Western-style Philharmonic orchestra.

Second, the assumption that Koreans aren’t familiar with Western music (IIRC, they regularly have incredibly elaborate state-produced ceremonies featuring the best in Soviet-style Western musical pageantry excess) – It may not be to your liking, but it’s SURELY a “serious musical culture” in the European mode.

Third, the assumption that there is no indigenous Korean musical culture – traditional or otherwise – being practised anywhere; and the omission of it, by that statement, from “serious” culture;

and Fourth, the idea that North Koreans – unlike human beings everywhere – haven’t developed their own popular musical culture, even under tyranny, and that it isn’t deep, rich and – yes – serious. Human beings make music, wherever they are, in a fascinating variety of ways. Particularly under tyranny – see African-American musical tradition, for one outstanding example. Would that we could become acquainted with whatever they do in North Korea.

word, g. great point.

Even if North Korea had never developed any kind of musical culture of its own (which is of course impossible) its people would still be able to apreciate other people’s music-making.
I wouldn’t recommend Wagner, though.

Why, then, is the New York Philharmonic giving serious consideration to playing in Pyongyang, the capital of what may be the world’s most viciously repressive dictatorship? And why is the Bush administration encouraging it to do so?

Actually, I believe the world’s most viciously repressive dictatorship is probably this one, if only because of longevity and the fact that the world’s powers (and sole superpower) seem completely unwilling to care even the slightest jot or tittle about the Burmese languishing under this regime.

North Korea, by contrast, does not have anything remotely resembling a serious musical culture–and what it does have is not available to ordinary citizens.

Terry Titsout, you are an arrogant, ignorant, bigoted, cunt. That’s all I wish to say on the matter.

I, too, believe devoutly in the life-changing power of Western art.

But not, of course, in the life-changing power of Eastern art. Particularly that of a culture that was producing dazzling visual art, music, dance, poetry, and other forms more than a thousand years ago, which was before your fucking ancestors realised the benefits of dropping their trousers before they shat. Jeebus H Christ on a pogo stick, this man’s a knobhead.

it will be doing little more than participating in a puppet show whose purpose is to lend legitimacy to a despicable regime.

Like this?

North Korea, by contrast, does not have anything remotely resembling a serious musical culture–and what it does have is not available to ordinary citizens.
Magic 8-Ball (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Great Gazoogle) says ‘Sadly,No!’

“Seven orchestral troupes are sponsored by the ministry in the capital: The Sea of Blood Opera Company, two people’s choruses, two art troupes (Pyongyang Moran Hill and Pyongyang), a national orchestra, and a contemporary ensemble dedicated to the music of Isang Yun (1917-1995).”

I see, I see. I mean, even if the yellow people were able to hear the music of civilized people, is it realistic to expect them to immediately start building McDonald’s restaurants and strip malls? Will they even appreciate what they are listening to?

I have a much better idea. What if we were to parachute in white women?

/snark

Damn, dude, I’d go see the “Sea of Blood Opera Company”.

That shit’s gotta rock like the Birdcage in Tombstone, right?

mikey

i just want to add that you can’t really trust polls this far out from an election.

well let me qualify that. It is especially hard to believe those “matchup” polls this far out from the election when they involve a candidate who is unknown like Huckabee. With say a H. Clinton vs maybe a Mccain they can be trusted a little more. Consider that Huckabee was considered a long-shot only months ago. Also remember a previous relatively unknown Arkansas governor defeated an established incumbent.

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/410/how-reliable-are-the-early-presidential-polls

Huckabee looks slick and personable already. Wait till the Republican money machine gets behind him–he could be highly electable.

what I’m saying is, he could present a tough challenge right now, one of the main reasons he polls low is cause few people know who he is.

rofl i dint even post this in the right thread DAMN YOU LITTLE POSTS

Damn, dude, I’d go see the “Sea of Blood Opera Company”.
Oh yes, it sounds like my kind of music.
Of course there were critics who doubted that ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ would translate well into the operatic medium…

In case any one still gives a shit: What Megan said.

i’ve thought terry teachout was a little cracked ever since i read the header on *** ********’s blog. divine? srsly?