From The New York Review of Books—On the great jazz bassist, Charlie Mingus.
One of his best: Haitian Fight Song.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013 James Ament From Pacific Standard:
Why is music such a constant in human history? Perhaps because it helps us build the emotional maturity we need to advance intellectually.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament An article from Slate, filled with angst, and carried forward in numerous pages of comments. (Hat tip: Instapundit)
Several observations:
All of which is to say that I am a weak supporter of the music business. The industry only has itself to blame, not unlike the newspaper business, a place where the product has declined rather sharply in recent years.
I’m waiting for louder cries for subsidies for the arts, which I do not find at all palatable.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament From the bestcolleges.org, The 10 Essential Poets Every Student Should Encounter in School, or even later in life.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament A poem by Rudyard Kipling published in 1919, found here. The point of the poem?
Kipling “foresaw the decline of his country’s empire and attributed it to a loss of the old virtues, and to a general complacency entailing that ‘all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins’ (38). The central message of the poem is that basic and unvarying aspects of human nature will always reemerge in every society that becomes complacent and self-indulging.
The ‘copybook headings’ to which the title refers were proverbs or maxims, extolling virtues such as honesty or fair dealing that were printed at the top of the pages of 19th-century British students’ special notebook pages, called copybooks. The school-children had to write them by hand repeatedly down the page” (Source: Wikipedia)
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament As a jazz fan, I found this article about Thelonious Monk and Nica de Koenigswarter fascinating:
The moment she first heard Thelonious Monk play the piano, Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter walked out on her own life, including five children, and devoted herself to the American jazz genius. The Rothschild family disowned her, but now her great niece, Hannah Rothschild, tells her extraordinary story.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament The great jazz artist’s memoir, As Though I Had Wings.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament From Accredited Online Colleges:
While many of us have read poetry, either on our own time or at school, far fewer have ever endeavored to memorize a poem in its entirety. Yet memorizing a poem can be one of the most fulfilling and fun ways to explore poetry, even though rote learning has long since fallen by the wayside in the typical American classroom. Don’t believe us? Read on to learn why memorizing poetry can be an incredibly valuable practice, for your brain, career, and overall well-being.
I should probably try memorizing something amazing, particularly for point #4, but then I am something of a utilitarian…check the first link to read the list.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament The man now lives a quiet life in the Colorado Rockies. I read a couple years ago that he’s settled in among a bunch of old ranchers and plays poker with them. From Writer Unboxed, an excerpt:
Mr. “You Are So Beautiful” (really high note:) “to me.”
Ever heard him talk?
Here you go: Terrific interview on NPR – great job by Rachel Martin — from earlier this month on Weekend Edition Sunday. Cocker’s torching for his new CD, of course, Hard Knocks. And I want you to hear him talk.
Get a snootful of that dialect.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 James Ament From Richard Nordquist, a poem by Jonathan Swift:
Consult yourself, and if you find
A powerful impulse urge your mind,
Impartial judge within your breast
What subject you can manage best;
Whether your genius most inclines
To satire, praise, or hum’rous lines,
To elegies in mournful tone,
Or prologue sent from hand unknown.
Then, rising with Aurora’s light,
The Muse invoked, sit down to write;
Blot out, correct, insert, refine,
Enlarge, diminish, interline;
Be mindful, when invention fails,
To scratch your head, and bite your nails.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 James Ament 
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