Asymmetric

Jane Velez Mitchell on CNN, interviewing Larry Whitten, Marine and small business owner:

Larry Sanchez replies:

My last name is gē[r]ădō with a rather difficult rolling of the "r." First, I think it would sound ridiculous to say my name the way abuelo did, in the middle of a torrent of Anglicisms: "Good evening. Welcome to the first annual gē[r]ădō turkey shoot and barbacoa." Second, I'd be held liable for the mouth damage caused by inflicting the correct pronunciation (not to mention the inconvenience of driving them to the hospital) on unsuspecting Anglos.

Anglicizing Spanish names to people whose primary language isn't Spanish and who speak English is a very considerate thing to do: It's easier for them to understand and lets people off the hook for pronouncing it.

So, why is Jane Velez Mitchell so angry (I wonder if she tortures the Mitchells this way)? Well, she's a liberal (left-type). Liberals are often very angry because their philosophy is based on Marx. Marx thought of history as forces in opposition, a "dialectic" that spurs progress until the forces are equal, at which time history ends.

The result of this thinking is that progressives are always on the lookout for offense, lest their side give power away to the enemy. Originally, it was economics. Eventually, the race-conscious and feminists began using this model.

Now, Ms. Velez-Mitchell might be too stupid to realize this, but that doesn't mean that Marxism didn't influence her.

Ms. V-M thinking:

"A white man is forcing a brown man to do something. The brown man should resist or the white man, sensing advantage, will press the brown man until he enslaves us- either physically or psychologically."

Now, would anybody care, complain were Americans working in Mexico forced to say "esmith"?

Other dumminess:

It's lost on Ms. V-M that he just asked those who worked on the phone to Anglicize their names. In other words, those for whom changing the pronunciation of their names would help people be more comfortable. I assume that Spanish-speaking customers would still be able to hear the sound of Martin's name in a glorious Mexican accent.

New Mexico (why doesn't she pronounce it [nuevo mehicō]?) was part of Mexico and...what?

The names of all of those cities are religious ("the angels," "Saint Francis," "the sacrament"). What does that mean?

This song selection is inspired by this act of heroism:

A 26-year old Greek woman has become an overnight national hero after setting fire to the genitals of a 23-year old drunken Briton who allegedly tried to sexually assault her in a crowded bar.

Here.

Jerry Lee Lewis, along with a couple dozen others is one of the pillars of Rock and Roll. He's a colorful performer (some would say "nuts" with his penchant for pyrotechnics) and a genuinely talented musician and singer, both his style and musicianship being unique and inimitable.

Singing "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" on the Steve Allen Show. I thought the commercials might be interesting.

Besides the scandal surrounding his penchant for young girls, Lewis' downfall resulted from a lack of musical variety. After his piano-pounding steamrollers like "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," the pickings became slimmer, if not altogether poor (impossible, considering his talent).

Lewis' decline saw his increased reliance on music derivative of his great hits and covers of contemporary Rockers Little Richard ("Good Golly, Miss Molly"), Chuck Berry ("Sweet Little Sixteen" and others), and Ray Charles ("What'd I Say"), all of whom, ironically, suffered from a lack of musical variety to some extent or another.

Later, Jerry Lee Lewis turned to Country. I have a two-disc set which includes much of his country singles. Again, talented, but nothing absolutely necessary as far as I can tell (yes, I like Country). "Another Place, Another Time" is his most famous Country song. It's written by Jerry Chestnut.

?

Of course not. Celebrating Halloween suggests that there's something good, not just fun, about it. It's also inappropriate to observe Halloween, as it's a day of no significance. On the other hand, Christian parents don't have to willfully resist Halloween either as long as the kids don't confuse it with anything meaningful.

I have fond memories of "Trick or Treating," watching scary shows on television, and participating in school costume parades as a youngster and I've encouraged my children to experience these things themselves.

Come on. Let them have some fun.

The problem in 2009 is that the secular/sacred polarization (secular people are more boldly anti-religious causing religious people to become defensive about their faith) has caused Halloween to stray from its fun, childish roots to become a sort of gay/pagan/anti-Christian holy day: Celebrations in West Hollywood, Santa Barbara, and other places around the country are often the most festive of the year, a time to don their id-directed costumes; witches or Wiccan priestesses actually do celebrate Halloween or "Samhain"; and women nurture their inner-hoochie by dressing in ways that would make Brittney Spears blush (this is a huge problem at my high school, too).

I don't mean tomar any of these things for those who wish to participate- I certainly don't wish to ruin it for the men who enjoy ladies dressed in "Pirate Cutey" costume- but I think parents should keep a couple of things in mind during this season.

Perception is key.. As long as Christian parents emphasize Halloween's triviality (like some secularists do for Christmas), kids should be OK. Otherwise, a Christian parent can use Halloween as an opportunity to teach about history or some contemporary issues (for Catholics, it's a wonderful chance to explain All Souls' and All Saints days.), or just ignore the controversies altogether and just let the kids have fun.

A reason to participate in Halloween is to prevent anti-Christian forces from claiming Halloween for themselves, something which will surely happen if Christians abandon Halloween altogether. Who knows what it'll evolve into, then.

Stipulation: If you live in a community where people make a big deal out of it or your child gets mixed up with some friends that do, then it may be smarter to assert your different-ness.

For a professional debate, you can hear Michael Medved and his wife argue over the issue tomorrow. I'll post the show.

Update:

Vatican condemns it.

The total historical accuracy of the "sexy pirate" costume didn't deter this Halloween reveler from choosing it.

Mercedes Sosa died a couple of weeks ago. I'm OK-knowledgeable with Latin-American music and had heard of her before I read about her death, but wasn't familiar with her music. Neither was my Mexican wife.

(For an analogy, I'm sure many of you know that Tom Waits and Frank Zappa are musicians, but can't name one of their tunes. Mercedes has something in common with them, as you'll see.)

I fired up Rhapsody (great service) and played some Sosa. Her music is similar to that of the Nueva Trova trend in Cuban music in that it lacks those essential elements that make music popular such as easily recognizable "hooks." The music is minimalist, similar from song, and "atmospheric," meaning that it's similar from song to song and somewhat nondescript. And it needn't be "descript," as it's designed to serve as background politically-tinged, high-concept lyrics which I think is this music's main attraction. Sometimes the lyrics aren't obviously political, but cryptic, which appeals to the same crowd.

Better to hear for yourself from what I learned was her most famous song, "Gracias a la Vida" (above).

Now, whatever you think of the song, there's no denying that Sra. Sosa is a talented singer. In fact, when that voice encounters good material, the effect can be quite spectacular.

Mercedes recorded Ariel Ramirez' post-conciliar masterwork "Misa Criolla." She does a very fine job.

(You can listen to Jose Carreras sing it here.)

Kyrie:

Gloria:

Credo:

Sanctus:

Agnus Dei:

Well, besides being notoriously mean people, they're huge liberals. It's like I tell a somewhat hateful lefty friend of mine: "Lover of mankind- hater of men."

The list of Hollywood meanies is here.

And, yes: I'm sure that there are plenty of nice libs and mean cons. Living in LA, I've brushed against a handful of celebrities and they seemed very nice.

I heard from a friend that Michael Moore's a real wienie as well.