June Meeting:
“John Stossel Goes to Washington”
At our June meeting, we will watch John Stossel’s latest
prime-time special, “John Stossel Goes to Washington.” The show, which
aired January 27 on ABC, looked at the waste and destruction caused by
government programs and what the role of the government should be.
Tax and spend, public housing, air traffic control, and the
welfare of American Indians, among other topics, are explored. Highlights
include interviews with Tibor Machan, a noted Objectivist, and Bruce
Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior.
Join us on Saturday, June 16, at 8 p.m. at the home of Joy
& Jeff Kiviat for plenty of Stossel, snacks and discussion. Call (314)
469-2723 for directions.
All About Music
Our last meeting was an interactive presentation by Ann Baldridge. Her
talk, “Music in our Everyday Lives,” looked at what music is, how we
know it, and why some of it is pleasing, yet some is not.
Ann began by defining art in general and music in particular, drawing on
a number of different sources. She looked at the physiological response of
humans to music. While our brains may record the sounds similarly, each
person’s perception of it will be different. She remarked that Ayn Rand
once said that music is one of the most personal things that you will
encounter.
In breaking down the elements of a piece of music, Ann discussed topics
such as arrangements, lyrics, performance and sophistication.
She also played a couple of songs that she considered meaningful, then
invited everyone to talk about what music means to them and to play a
recording as well. The music we heard included songs from Jimmy Durante,
Sonic Youth, Led Zeppelin, U. Utah Phillips, Rush, “Berlinerluft” by
Paul Lincke, and John Williams’ theme from “Indiana Jones.”
Ann’s presentation allowed us to learn more about music and more about
each other’s musical tastes.
Libertarian Film Guide is Available
Many readers may be familiar with
the missliberty.com website because of its coverage of the “Atlas
Shrugged” miniseries. The website’s author, Jon Osborne, has now written
a book, “Miss Liberty’s Guide to Film and Video: Movies for the
Libertarian Millennium,” which was just published.
The book contains over 250 reviews
of films with various subjects, such as free speech, taxation, regulation,
and sexual liberty. Osborne thinks that the book’s value lies in the fact
that “the visual arts have become the dominant media through which people
adopt values, form opinions, and gather information about the world. The
average person watches literally hundreds of films for every book read.”
He hopes that the book will help promote the libertarian themes of the
films. More information is available at www.missliberty.com.
Quotable Quotes
“This is art.
Not good art or bad art, but it’s art.”
–New York photographer Spencer Tunick, talking about
his photo of 2,500 nude people lying on a Montreal street. The photo is part
of Tunick’s Nude Adrift series, which includes nudes on every continent.
Tunick is trying to show humanity’s collective vulnerability in a cruel,
harsh world. From the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch,” May 27, 2001.
“When I was
12, my mom told me she’d love me even if I murdered someone. I was
appalled.”
–Tibor Machan, responding to the question “Would you
still love your grown child if he or she were a convicted murderer,” posed
by Marilyn vos Savant in her “Ask Marilyn” column. From “Parade
Magazine,” April 29, 2000
We welcome submissions of reviews, articles, columns and commentary.
Direct all correspondence to gwobjctvst@aol.com.
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