Your proposal offers lucrative spin offs. Birthing Stations administered by people now on the dole; high school and university courses such as Ingesting Young Humans and its Socio Political Reverberations in a Post Humanistic Environment; cooking schools offering a myriad of courses: Preparing Babies, its Vegan Ramifications; The Poetic Pleasures of Carving aTot; hostels caring for mothers suffering Post Partum Stress Syndrome Disorder – PPSSD; underground railroads employing thousands, who for a large fee, will transport
to Canada babies of mothers who retain a debilitating effects of compassion for the newly arrived offspring – MWRASOCFTNAOS.

The salubrious effects upon our capitalistic infrastructure are almost limitless and will attract international investment bankers and security firms. Switzerland’s Nestlé Corp. and America’s Gerber, actually the same company, would no doubt be first off the mark with formulas and feeds designed to increase the texture, tenderness and taste of the newborn, thus enhancing its market value. (Remember, Nestlé? To bolster its’ year end bottom line they sold millions of Indian mothers a non-nutritional liquid labeled baby formula.)

Pre-natal possibilities are staggering. Imagine preparing a fetus as a Prime Rib, Coq au Vin or New York strip.

Have you begun exploratory inquires with the FDA and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture? From a religious perspective, I wonder if some clerics would be interested in a more mature and gender specific product. Sexual activity is rumoured to excite taste buds as well as inducing enlightenment.

Ahh kids, don’t you just love em?”

Saturn Devouring His Son; Francisco Goya, 1819-23.

His “Noose Letter 7″ inspired by Jonathan Swift and US Congressman Paul Ryan,  suggests Americans eat their offspring. This idea inspired me to write a response to his “Nooseletter” that can be read in the next posting – “Reply to A Modest Proposal”.

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Peeling’s Noose Letter 7

‘Gentlemen, we must all hang together or we shall most assuredly all hang separately.’

Benjamin Franklin – 1776

A Modest Proposal

Jonathan Swift was the 18^th century George Orwell and I believe that in these times of crisis we should revisit Swift’s 1729 offering: “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick -  Swift suggests that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies.” – from Wikipedia.

…No, seriously, think about it – it would solve almost all our domestic problems in one fell swoop:

1. It would answer the abortion question (Certainly the most profound social dilemma facing our nation today): what woman of ordinary means would not want to spew kids out, production line fashion, if she could get say thousands of dollars for each. And most certainly new-born babies should command a price at least equivalent to truffles or caviar.

2. Were we to discourage “wholesaling” in this area of food production (a restraint that I suspect would not receive much moral support), still it would eliminate the burden of food stamps, as the poor could eat their own progeny.

3. Since children of the poor would be consumed, and the mothers would be remunerated, we could totally eliminate all welfare expenditures. On the downside this would stifle political rhetoric of the right which posits that the magnitude our financial crisis is directly proportional to welfare pay-outs.

4. If the price were high enough the poor would be returned to the ranks of earned incomers (the makers rather than the takers), thus providing significant tax revenue, and reducing the crippling financial burden on the rich.

5. Additionally we might legalize prostitution in this area of food production thereby increasing revenue among the less privileged and at the same time further enhancing the tax base.  And just as in other areas of food production prostitutes would be eligible for subsidies there by creating a whole new block of single issue voters.

6. Social security and Medicare would handsomely benefit because a women cranking out a baby every ten months, would for sure not live to age 65 (or 67…or don’t you wish 70). This would have the ancillary benefit of providing a much larger pool of old codgers available to those women of the worthy ranks who did survive, offering them the luxury of more discerning choices.

7. It would go a long way in solving our education woes. Think of it…we could eliminate Head-Start and all the programs that socialist Obama wants to institute to provide advantages for poor children; all education funds could be spent effectively on the bourgeoisie, providing relief to the wealthy who are now obliged to pay their own way in private schools.

8. The concept could be expanded to generate a large cadre of whores to service the mostly masculine military personnel required for fulfilling our commitment to perpetual war. Benefits would be extensive, not the least of which would be reduction of rape and defilement of women and girls in the nations that we invade and/or occupy. Thus we would be less burdened with the tedious requirement of justifying the naughty behavior of “our boys.”

In addition to relieving monetary requirements of the commissary, a portion of the male babies could be cordoned off and raised to be a totally committed amoral military deputation far superior to the SS of NAZI fame. The Third Reich had its “Hitler Youth”, but imagine how much more effective a program could be instituted were we able to sequester a child from birth and indoctrinate it with the hubristic exceptionalism of an unadulterated hatred for “the other.” A population imbued with a generic understanding of “the other” would be much more docile in transferring our abhorrence of one “the other”, when we have exhausted the economic advantages of eliminating that particular “the other”, to another and more profitable “the other.” Do you find this last sentence be convoluted and incomprehensible?  In keeping with current tradition of moral and political rhetoric it is meant to be so.

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Surely I have barely skimmed the surface of what I believe to be a viable and most desirable proposition. With your thoughtful consideration and suggestions, together, we can formulate a reasonable proposal to present to Congress that will go a long way in solving the economic and financial “cliffs” which we currently live in trepidation of.

My thanks (see next posting -”Reply to A Modest Proposal”) to a colleague whose intellect I have long admired. He has supplied a thoughtful analysis and offered poignant enhancements to my original ideas. We are just about prepared to provide these suggestions to the U.S. House of Representatives as a reasonable alternative to the Ryan budget.                                                                                                       E.P.

My work was going quite well until I purchased an updated version of Dragon Dictate. I contacted my professional computer expert to install the software. You must upgrade your Mac operating system to Mountain Lion, he informed me, otherwise this new Dragon Dictate will not function.

Then the troubles began.

I do not lnow when the troubles will end. This posting is to explain my lack of web site activity during the last month. There are some new and very interesting events I want to write about, not the least of which was The Fuji Trio performance here in Toronto in Koerner Hall.  A mother who studied with Keiko Abe and her two daughters are performing a wide variety or percussion ensemble repertoire at an extremely high level of artistry. Their mallet technique contrasts dramatically with Leigh Stevens and highlights phrasing and dynamic issues.

I have also been listening to Sibelius played by a variety of orchestras conducted by a variety of people including Stokowski, Toscanini, Ormandy and Spano.

I look forward to sharing these and other ideas with you.

Robin

Christine Balfa on her CD cover

Dieu Donné Montoucet

Bill Youhass left his Fall Creek keyboard percussion shop near Rochester, New York and drove north to Toronto for a short vacation and to celebrate a Baltimore Super Bowl victory.  Bill’s a true sports fan and my wife and I were looking forward to cheering on the Ravens. (The Ravens should be the Colts, but that is a story too painful to write. Anyway, the Ravens won.) A few hours before the game Bill and I wandered along King Street West and on the way home stopped in Zoe’s Cafe.  We ordered lattes, found a comfortable place to sit and began talking about percussion instruments. The conversation drifted around to our experiences exploring instruments while students.

Bill mentioned a triangle he discovered as a youngster.  It had a slight chip on one side which if struck exactly, produced an amazing sound. During an orchestra rehearsal he played on that spot and his world changed. The sound of that triangle went throughout the orchestra lighting up all the other sounds, setting him on a percussionist’s path. Prior to his tuning career, Bill played with The Percussion Group Cincinatti.

Bill’s story reminded me of a triangle I had purchased via telephone after reading a Sunday New York Times article about a triangle maker in rural Louisiana (30 April, 2006). For years Dieu Donné Montoucet (Don) had been combing the countryside in ever-growing circles, harvesting antique tines from old farm machinery. Properly tempered, these tines were durable, rang true and had a penetrating sound much admired by Cajun afficionados.

The Times article contained a photograph of Don in his workshop with triangles hanging on a cord behind him. As Don’s business grew, he had to search  farther and farther afield to find the proper metal. Antique tines were becoming scarce. The future of these Stradivarius or Montoucet triangles looked grim. The Savoy Music Center in Eunice, LA sold Don’s triangles, so first thing Monday morning I telephoned Louisiana information and asked for the Savoy’s phone number.  I was soon talking to a woman I took to be  one of the owners. I had called just in time.

When I told her I wished to buy three triangles, one of each size,  she said it wasn’t possible. She too, as well as many other people, had read the Times article and now she had only 3 left. One had already been sold and one had to be kept in the store for display. That pretty much narrowed it down, so I took the only triangle left, an 8 inch model. I sent her a check and not long after, the instrument so prized by Cajun musicians everywhere, was in hand. Now, what to do with it?

The first time I used that beautiful instrument was in a piece of contemporary music written for Nexus by Linda Smith. Linda lives in Toronto with her husband and fellow composer and percussionist Rick Sacks. Linda wrote a wonderful, delicately spacey work wherein, among other things, each member of Nexus needed a triangle.

In 2008, I purchased a CD by Christine Balfa (b.1968), a musician and daughter of Dewey Balfa, founder of the Balfa Brothers Band, now an iconic group in Cajun country. Christine learned the music as a child and played triangle in her dad’s band. When Dewey died in 1992, Christine put together Toujours Balfa in Basile, Louisiana. She sings vocals and plays rhythm guitar.

Her CD, Christine Balfa Plays the Triangle (2008. VAL-CD-0006 – Valcour Records) contains 13 selections, each a triangle solo. At the time I didn’t know the idea behind this project, but its audacity impressed me. For her solo triangle CD, Christine used and credited a “Vintage 1986 Don Montoucet triangle. To see Christine play and hear her comments about this CD, go to <www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi0BNXmzRis>

Alas, my  Dieu Donné Montoucet triangle is of recent vintage, 2006. I’m cogitating on what to do with this treasured instrument since I’m no longer playing. But for now, I keep it close and every now and again, play a note or two, or three, or  .  .  .

My Cajun Triangle

Christine jamming with friends

Angelika Kauffmann, L’Allegra.

Recreation of Rorke’s Drift

Prelude:

Islanwana was the first battle in the very brief Anglo-Zulu War. It was a stunning Zulu victory and represents the blackest of pages in British military history. A Zulu army attacked and annihilated a heavily armed, encamped, but unprepared British force of 1,800 on 22 e 1879. Although an exact count of Zulu combatants may never be known, their number has been roughly calculated at 20,000. The next day four Zulu regiments, 3,000 to 4,000 men, moved against Rorke’s Drift, six miles away.

The Film:

Zulu recounts the nine hour Battle of Rork’s Drift and is one of my all-time favorite films. Zulu is Michael Caine’s first starring role and his portrayal of Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, a public school fop whose mannerisms, not to mention his name,  make him a target for people who love to hate the British upper class. Caine’s nemesis is Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers,who appears to be from more common stock. Chard is played by Stanley Baker who also produced the film. Nigel Green portrays Sgt. Bourne, a quintessential career Sergeant Major who is as imperturbable as a British marble lion. His moustache alone seems to soothe the troops and control any situation. It is doubtful anyone at Rorke’s Drift, except the Boar who delivers the news of Islanwana and stays to fight, knew who or what they were up against. They had much to fear, more than they could ever have imagined.

Michael Caine as Gonville Bromhead

Stanley Baker

Nigel Green

The progenitor of their unease was Shaka. Considered to be a military genius, Shaka (b.1787-d.1828) was born in Kwa-zulu Natal. His skill as an administrator, diplomat and politician are still disputed, but he gathered disparate local tribes under his banner and made them into an army that was feared throughout Africa. Shaka developed unique battlefield tactics and a level of discipline among his troops which years after his death, served to propelled the Zulu to stunning victories against the Dutch Boars and the British at Islanwana. Shaka’s legacy resonates today in military schools around the world.

Though filmed primarily from the perspective of the British, Zulu manages to portray both protagonists with respect and historic accuracy. Zulu was filmed mainly on location in South Africa just 100 miles south of Rorke’s Drift in a very similar landscape. In scene after scene, details in dress, weaponry, music, conduct, speech, landscape and battle tactics confirm the production staff’s dedication to authenticity. Cetshwayo kaMpande

In one of Zulu’s  early scenes, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, played by his great grandson Chief Burthelezi, oversees a traditional mass wedding ceremony in his Kraal or fortified village. Here we meet the Swedish Reverend Otto Witt played by Jack Hawkins who has brought his innocent 20 something daughter to East Africa. Witt tells his daughter the Zulu are a great people, but she appears more embarrassed and titillated at the same time, as hundreds of bare breasted brides-to-be, match step for provocative step, the sensually aggressive dance of their warrior grooms.

Zulu Kraal

Jack Hawkins

The remainder of the film sets the scene and portrays

the Zulu assaults upon Rorke’s Drift mission station. Bromhead and Chard, both Lieutenants, must work out which of them is in charge. This leads to my favorite line, spoken by Caine, but I won’t give it away. You can’t miss it. It takes Sgt. Major Bourne some time to adapt to an unfamiliar chain of command. But of course he soldiers on and prior to the first Zulu assault, his slow walk behind the men on the firing line, is a scene of pure dramatic genius.

The Boar draws the infamous Zulu “Bull Horns” battle formation in the sand for Chard and Bromhead and patiently explains how this now famous formation accounts for Zulu military victories.
The moment Rorke’s Drift defenders realize something sinister is afoot, the hairs on my neck raised and almost 50 years later that moment still works its magic.

The Zulu appear

Zulu chsrge & stabbing spears

There are more subtle moments too, but most of them will be missed by all but avid military buffs. The depictions of British volley tactics are accurate as are the brief moments showing Zulu warrior’s inexperience with Martini Henry breech loading rifles. British officers wore only a side arm, a mark of courage and rank. There is a desperate moment when Caine, an officer, has a rifle thrust into his hand. The look of bemusement on Caine’s face takes only a nano second, but is priceless. Richard Burton provides the opening and closing voice over.

Postlude:

Because of apartheid, the Zulu could not be paid for their services. Director Cy Endfield gave them all the cattle used in the film, payment much more highly prized than money.
11 defenders of Rorke’s Drift were awarded theVictoria Cross, the highest number ever bestowed for one engagement. This largesse has been explained by some to be an attempt to expunge the stain of Islanwana.