I recently purchased some Jascha Heifetz recordings in Super Audio CD format (SACD). These recordings (Brahms & Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos, Beethoven & Mendelssohn Violin Concertos) are probably half a century old and are remastered.  It’s not everyday that you can say that you can say that you got goosebumps just from listening to music.  Maybe that’ll soon change with my Sennheiser HD-580’s and Total Bithead amp. 

This weekend, I rented a documentary film on Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg titled “Speaking in Strings”.  One of the best documentary films I’ve seen.  Even if you don’t give a bleep about classical music like 99% of all people, it’s still worth checking out.  Being a classical musician/soloist has gotta be incredibly tough.  Living out of a suitcase, feeling underappreciated given her rare talent, being alone, the existential despair, etc. 

It never ceases to amaze me just how ignorant people can be.  Hollywood, of course, is very keen on this and so they capitilize on it by feeding the masses with unflattering portrayals of various ethnic groups.  Some try to legitimize the racial overtones by equating it with a satire/parody work (”we need to confront the realities….”).   It is rare nowadays to find a ‘critically-acclaimed’ film that doesn’t reinforce negative stereotypes or portray certain groups in a negative light.   Some might defend this practice by arguing that these movies are only trying to show how people think, not necessarily how we should view things, and hence, that is ok.  I’m sorry, but I just can’t see how this leads to social progress.   If anything, it is reactionary. 

And the celebrities and directors’ show of solidarity against the Iraqi War….while at the same time, promoting racism and ignorance about other cultures, and promoting hate…..the hypocrisy of it all.