THE DEPROLIFERATOR — This year the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to President Obama on spec, if you will. In other words, it was a show of faith that he’d not only follow through on his nuclear disarmament plans, but launch other peace initiatives.
Of course, despite the monetary award, the prize doesn’t contractually bind the recipient to a specified course of action. Still, one can’t help but wonder how the president’s decision to inject a fresh infusion of troops into Afghanistan, a country already on life support, can be reconciled with his status as a Peace Prize winner. (Yes, I know about Henry Kissinger and Yasser Arafat.) Full story »
Ah, finally. Medieval Christmas music is by far my favorite category, since this is what I listen to most of the time. Being in London helps, because whenever I used to go on a business trip to Frankfurt or Munich I would hit the record shops, and Germans tend to go a little gaga at Christmas anyway. I usually try to get there in December to hit the Christmas markets, but wasn’t able to this year, sadly. Anyway, there are dozens and dozens to choose from. Picking from the ones that I own alone is tricky. But the past several years (if my iPod table of music listened to is any indication), what I have been listening to most is a simply wonderful disc from a group called Ioculatores, called Fro Fro. Just magic. They have several other albums out as well, all from Raumklang records, and all worth acquiring if you’re interested in medieval music. If I had to reduce my collection to just one Christmas album, this would be the one. It captures the magic and mystery of Christmas more elegantly than any other album I can think of, although there are many that come close. Again, there is little on this album that a modern American listener would associate with Christmas—but that’s the point.