Here is something to make you feel slightly uncomfortable. For those of you who know anything about some of the darker sides of rock, punk, industrial music and the like, you may be familiar with Laibach, a Slovene band. They are a strange bunch. With a militaristic and authoritarian style, no one knows if they are radical Stalinists or Nazis. The fact that they sing largely in German (hence the use of the German language name for the capital city of Slovenia, Ljubljana) and the fact that they use totalitarian imagery and style doesn't do much to make one comfortable. For a while they were banned in parts of Yugoslavia and even in America. Whatever their pose is meant to be, it seems to be just that, a pose done to shock, criticize, etc.
I had never heard of them before this summer, so when I was poking around YouTube a while back I decided to look for some of their stuff. Some of it is interesting. For example a cover of Europe's "Final Countdown." Two songs in particular got my attention, both from their Opus Dei album. The first is "Geburt Einer Nation," which is a cover of a Queen song "One Vision" and the other is a cover of an Austrian band Opus' "Leben heißt Leben" or "To Live is Life" which according to Wikipedia made it to the Top 40 in 1986.
Anyway, the reason I particularly like these two songs is that by applying their disturbing style to these hippy-dippy "one world" peace and love songs show how some flights of modern liberal fantasy can sound an awful like totalitarianism. Examples below:
It is getting worse. A Christian kindergarten going without Christmas. If I get any chance to talk to Mr. Steyn on Wednesday I will be sure to ask him his thoughts. BTW, I heard him on the Power Line podcast this weekend and he was spot on. Wednesday really will be a gloriously provocative day. Did I tell you that I'm also going to an event with the Danish editor of "the cartoons" that afternoon? Well, I am.
No, I'm not talking about Chicago's Christkindelmarkt, or Vienna (what for Lepanto?), or Spain (whither Andalucia?). I am talking about in my own hovel. I don't have many Christmas decorations, sadly. But of the few I have, I have one sad little red ribbon that I hang on my door knocker (the door is green, so it works well). This morning I awoke and stepped outside and found that my little red ribbon had gotten even sadder. You see, someone came along in the night and tugged at one of the ends and mangled it and tore it. What is the world coming to.
I do not have Christmas cards yet. The longer I wait the less likely I will be able to find cards that fit my most exacting standards. The knowledge of said fact, that I am late and that there are no worthy cards remaining, makes me despair and not go out to find cards, thus returning me to the initial position. The question is, how will I break the cycle? When will I break the cycle? WILL I break the cycle?
If you are going to buy things off of someone's Amazon Wish List, don't immediately call them up and tell them "don't look at your Amazon Wish List" because that is precisely what they are going to do.
Also, if you are going to buy a book, make sure it is not the 3rd volume when the first two are also on the list. After all, what is the point of reading the third book when you completely miss out on the infamous madelaine scene?
No, I don't mean Christmas. I mean finals! Lots of papers to write. Not enough time to do them in. Ugh.
Below is a video (a German one, so for those of you who don't like it, you are forewarned). It is by Xavier Naidoo, and was a big song around the World Cup. Supposedly the national team listened to it before every match. The song is actually about building a relationship with God and how it is difficult to do so but the rewards are great. The German team took it and applied its message to the long, hard road in the tournament. Naidoo didn't seem to mind and sang it at the national celebration after the World Cup ended. I am now applying it to the long, hard road I have ahead of me with my papers. Of course, I don't think the rewards of these papers will be as great as either doing fairly well in the World Cup or having a close relationship with God. Enjoy.