The recent rash of mainstream books declaring the downfall of the American mind - intellectually, culturally, philosophically and emotionally - is nothing new. Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind, from 1988, made the case very clear, and one can trace from Bloom’s sources a long lineage of such declaration and claim.

Yet whether it be my present position within the American culture or my recent sudden and unexpected interest in the state of mind of the country (as a result of our current political administration and their questionable actions, I am sure), I have found these often fanatical texts to be of extreme interest and relevance today.

One such text that I read some months back was John McWhorter’s Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care.

Way back in March I had the opportunity to perform with Mike Birbiglia, a great comedian living in NYC. We were both booked to do shows at the same college, same night, and as I was on earlier in the night I was able to sneak into the crowd and watch his show.

I had first seen Mike perform at a NACA convention earlier the previous year, where we were both selling our wares. He did a “showcase” performance which I was fortunate enough to catch, and through his brilliant setup and a fantastic hook, I never forgot his name (if you’re a fan, you know what I’m talking about. if you’re not, see him).

When the booking came through for March, I was excited to be sharing the stage with him, and he did not disappoint. He did a fantastic show.

I recently created a personal blog where I have been occassionally posting random musings and thoughts. Most of it is unrelated to my performances, but for those interested in a more personal glimpse into my life it can be had at Noumenon.

The mission and explanation of the why’s and how’s is also available there. Enjoy! And don’t forget to leave your own thoughts!

No, not a magical incantation to raise the dead (for that, see the link to Alcor), but rather a few words, reflections if you will, on playing classical guitar, written years ago.

Though short, they were recently uncovered and I thought that I might share them here.

The Nature of Classical Guitar: Reflections from a Personal Perspective

Music is magic, independent of any instrument. Music in the mind, music on paper, music as unburdened pure expression is the true music. Be that as it may, we are forced, in an effort to communicate, to express pure music through an instrument.

If I could play all instruments I would. Each instrument is to be highly respected for the individual and unique voice that it confers upon any interpretation of a piece. Available time typically limits us to one instrument or group of instruments, if one desires to truly be able to express some inner voice and move themselves and others. A significant investment of time and energy is necessary to bring ones artistry and proficiency to such a level with only one instrument.

The Technical Background

I recently purchased an Apple iPod to replace my Dell Axim as a media player in my stage show. I have quite a nice little sound setup which fits comfortably into a Staples� purchased hard-shell laptop briefcase and consists of a Behringer Eurorack twelve channel mixer, Shure wireless receiver, Shure body pack, Countryman E6 headset microphone and all of the accompanying power, XLR, and RCA cables to run the entire setup.

I have until recently been utilizing my Dell Axim X30 as a media player for music during my show. It has worked quite well, hooking easily into the mixer, but the problem has always been that I can not remotely control the tracks on the handheld. As a result, I always require a soundperson to run the sound.

Too lazy to dig through my endless stacks of old periodicals, I found myself searching the web for an archived article in Gramophone magazine that featured an interview with pianist Helene Grimaud. I recalled having read the interview and thought that she had an exceptionally healthy attitude towards life and her art and I wanted to write about it.

During said search I stumbled upon an old essay by Lara St. John, the young Canadian violinist who has impressed the world with her talent and turned many gray-haired classical music aficionados into drooling, gawking half-wits with her stunning good looks.

We all remember as children being told that we can’t have dessert unless we finish our dinner. And while the obedient child would, wincing and whining all the while, scrub his plate clean, the desperate and rebellious child would hide his lima beans in his napkin (while the smart one would sneak it onto his sister’s plate, leaving no evidence to dispose of) with the hopes of reaping the reward without paying his dues.

Whereas we don’t all share the same memories, (my family would have regarded lima beans as too exotic, being a poor potatoes and sometimes-meat family) we can all relate to the sentiment, in one way or another, of wanting to get something for nothing. But as Robert Heinlein said, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”. This concept of instant gratification and reward without work has, unfortunately for many of us, carried over into our adulthood, and it is now affecting the very structure and function of that most remarkable of human tools; the brain.

Every so often, though with decreasing frequency these days, a journal appears in print that is subversive enough to balance delicately on the edge of mainstream yet backed by enough money to warrant a glossy cover. These journals are occasionally found in the large chain bookstores, a few copies buried amongst their larger, less inflammatory brethren. And it was in just such a location that I, with eyes wide with delight, recently discovered a copy of The Thresher, sporting a wide variety of goodness on the cover ranging from Surgical Deprogramming and Meth-Sick Goddesses to Madness & Mysticism and Scientologists Punked!

My eyes continued their expressive posturing by welling with tears when I spotted the name of the editor on the inside cover: R.U. Sirius

Several weeks ago the local alternative newspaper Seven Days ran two articles in the same issue that, despite their lack of explicit connection, nevertheless seemed to betray an intimate association.

The first article concerned an eccentric local composer named David Gunn. The second was a review of the book Sudden Noises from Inanimate Objects by the now local writer Christopher Miller, though I have since learned that he was not local when he authored the text.

My suspicion was that Miller had actually used Gunn as inspiration for his novel, and quite a wonderful novel it was, I might add.

I wrote up an article, intending to publish it in the Seven Days letters section, but it turned out to be far too long for inclusion. As I was feeling much too lazy to edit it down to a shorter length, I simply sent it to Christopher Miller and called it a day.

As this site is named after a Kantian concept, I thought it would be appropriate to post an article from my own days as a philosophy student, way back when. This particular selection is from a very lengthy commentary upon Kant’s own Critique of Pure Reason that I wrote while involved in a detailed study of the text. The selection was chosen because it is the first clear discussion of the in-itself found in the text.

I should note that my writing on this topic has been known to be an exceptionally powerful cure for insomnia. I post it here more as a symbolic act than anything else.

Enjoy, or not…

Comments Upon Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason
Transcendental Logic and Transcendental Analytic through Book I, Analytic of Concepts

by Roderick A. Carder-Russell