Daily Archives: June 8, 2003

I’m looking forward to reading David Ledbetter’s book

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Because I've been listening intently to Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (Books I and II) for a year now, I was thrilled to see a new book on the subject: Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: The 48 Preludes and Fugues. I was disappointed that someone beat me to putting it hold at the music library -- but I need to be patient! I'm hoping the book will explicate some of the wonders of the music and pinpoint the whys and hows of the power of the WTC.

(Hmmm...using the Amazon "see related items" feature, I found another book that is currently on the shelf and can therefore be in my impatient hands sooner: Bach: The Goldberg Variations.)

MT experiments on a Sunday afternoon

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This afternoon, I was going to sit down to do some leisurely modification of
my new blog. It was supposed to be a low-stress activity -- but as I got into
it, I got sucked into an obsessive-must-figure-it-all-out-right-away-or-else-I'll-go-crazy
frenzy. That's when a nice walk helped me to break free from the infinite loop.
Now I feel free to move on to other matters more conducive to restful contemplation
on a Sunday afternoon. However, I also decided that I wante to write up what
I've looked at instead of just leaving my thoughts in a disorganized jumble.

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Steven Winn on truth and truth-telling

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From today's SF Chronicle, I read Lies are no longer damned lies / Americans reduced to expecting deceit, an article that comes at a good time for me, especially as I reflect on the challenges of getting at the "truth". The article calls for a more nuanced response than what I can give immediately -- but my off-the-cuff reaction is this: The fact that I'm not surprised by the great amount of deception half-truths, mistruths, failed attempts to convey the truth, delusions does not mean that I don't long for the truth to be told or for a system in which we can trust each other and our leaders to be truth-tellers (and perhaps, more importantly), truth-bearers. I am tired by the amount of effort it takes to figure out what's going on. It's hard enough when well-meaning people try to communicate. Add to the mix people who are struggling for power over each other and we start to get this incredible mix. I don't exempt myself from the class of people who add to the mess -- for I am deeply sinful too. Hence my dependence on a hermeneutic of self-suspicion in addition to skepticism of others. And to throw in something else I will want to elaborate as I go along -- even well-intentioned self-suspicion is insufficient!

[If I get back to revising this post soon, it would behoove me to deepen my understanding of the "hermeneutics of suspicion" -- an article on Paul Ricoeur might be a place to start for my own self-education.]