Things Have Changed
January 16, 2022
People are crazy and times are strange
I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range
I used to care, but things have changed
I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range
I used to care, but things have changed
Modern Love
January 15, 2022
Woman With A Parasol, Madame Monet And Her Son
January 14, 2022
Say Goodbye To Hollywood
January 13, 2022
Ronnie Spector, 1943 - 2022
Billy Joel
Performed by Ronnie Spector and the E Street Band and released as a single in 1977
1976
Madame X
January 12, 2022
Whisper Of The Heart
January 11, 2022
High Sierra
January 10, 2022
I've been higher than the high Sierra
Lower than Death Valley must be
I've been right, mostly wrong
Wrong about you, right about me
Lower than Death Valley must be
I've been right, mostly wrong
Wrong about you, right about me
Harley L. Allen
Performed by Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris
From the 1999 album Trio 2
From the 1999 album Trio 2
1995
Certainty
January 9, 2022
I spent the current semester that is winding to an end with my students in two different courses studying the limitless ways in which human beings have used truths they claim to be in possession of—religious, political, what have you—to justify violence against and killing of fellow human beings who happen to embrace different and incompatible Truths—the capital “T” signifying something unchanging and absolute. The Crusades, various wars of religion, the Nazis—virtually any truth can be dressed up as a Truth, then used as a weapon of mass destruction. The best comment on this dynamic I ever read came from the author of a letter to the editor in the local newspaper a number of years ago: Pursue the truth, and run like hell from anyone who claims to have it.
The truth is something that we make. This is not a surprise, because as a matter of fact all ways of seeing reality are human constructions. Truth is not an exception. Everything we believe is a product of a complex filtering and organizing process through any number of filters, from genetic to experiential. Truth is a relative business—relative to each human being since each of our filters are uniquely ours. These filters change over time as each of us changes. Supposing truth to be something to be discovered and “owned” is not only a mistake, but is also damaging. As Christian Wiman writes, Nothing poisons truth so quickly as an assurance that one has found it.
The truth is something that we make. This is not a surprise, because as a matter of fact all ways of seeing reality are human constructions. Truth is not an exception. Everything we believe is a product of a complex filtering and organizing process through any number of filters, from genetic to experiential. Truth is a relative business—relative to each human being since each of our filters are uniquely ours. These filters change over time as each of us changes. Supposing truth to be something to be discovered and “owned” is not only a mistake, but is also damaging. As Christian Wiman writes, Nothing poisons truth so quickly as an assurance that one has found it.
Vance Morgan
"Pursue the Truth, Even if You Never Catch It," published by Patheos
Photo by Teslariu Mihai on Unsplash
2021
Snow At Nezu Gongen Shrine, 1933
January 8, 2022
Christmas Night In Harlem
December 30, 2021
Wonderful Christmastime
December 29, 2021
Paul McCartney
Saturday Night Live
December 15, 2012
December 15, 2012
1979
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
December 28, 2021
Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
Performed by Darlene Love
From the 1963 album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector
From the 1963 album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector
1963
A Mother And Child Looking At The Virgin And Child
December 27, 2021
Reginald Bottomley
Coventry Carol
December 26, 2021
Traditional
Performed by Magdalen College Choir & John Harper
1600
Madonna Del Granduca
December 25, 2021
A Cradle In Bethlehem
December 24, 2021
Larry Stock and Alfred Bryan
Performed by Nat King Cole
From his album The Christmas Song (1960)
From his album The Christmas Song (1960)
1952
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
December 23, 2021
Maybe By Next Christmas
December 22, 2021
Let’s Get Away
December 21, 2021
Just Be Loving And Kind
December 21, 2021