Use only primitive tools

An Oblique Nosewisk:

More:

http://www.barefootwordsmith.com/2018/04/footprints-in-snow.html

http://voosk.tumblr.com/post/172631267804/anthony-trollope-ate-my-lunch

https://twitter.com/brianhutzell/status/981966453963411456

http://voosk.tumblr.com/post/172655020304/dftba

https://twitter.com/brianhutzell/status/982240777341251584

https://aladdinfoot.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-monster-under-bed-wants-rhubarb.html

Brown

An Oblique Nosewisk:

More:

https://twitter.com/brianhutzell/status/982654261401149440

http://www.barefootwordsmith.com/2018/04/dress-up-from-another-era.html

http://voosk.tumblr.com/post/172692843144/with-anchovies

https://aladdinfoot.blogspot.com/2018/04/dilettante-ism.html

https://twitter.com/brianhutzell/status/985615132180049920

I become Agnetha

An Oblique Nosewisk:

More:

https://aladdinfoot.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-monster-under-bed-wants-rhubarb.html

http://www.barefootwordsmith.com/2018/04/dress-up-from-another-era.html

http://voosk.tumblr.com/post/172765346394/wear-a-false-beard

https://aladdinfoot.blogspot.com/2018/04/dilettante-ism.html

https://twitter.com/brianhutzell/status/985615132180049920

Dilettante-ism

An Oblique Nosewisk:

More:

http://voosk.tumblr.com/post/172655020304/dftba

https://twitter.com/brianhutzell/status/982654261401149440

http://www.barefootwordsmith.com/2018/04/dress-up-from-another-era.html

https://aladdinfoot.blogspot.com/2018/04/research-extensively.html

Research Extensively

An Oblique Nosewisk:

More:

https://twitter.com/brianhutzell/status/982654261401149440

https://aladdinfoot.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-monster-under-bed-wants-rhubarb.html

http://www.barefootwordsmith.com/2018/04/dress-up-from-another-era.html

http://voosk.tumblr.com/post/172692843144/with-anchovies

Force it awkwardly

An Oblique Nosewisk:

More:

https://twitter.com/brianhutzell/status/982654261401149440

https://aladdinfoot.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-monster-under-bed-wants-rhubarb.html

http://www.barefootwordsmith.com/2018/04/dress-up-from-another-era.html

http://voosk.tumblr.com/post/172765346394/wear-a-false-beard

The Monster under the bed wants Rhubarb

An Oblique Nosewisk:

More:

http://www.barefootwordsmith.com/2018/04/write-left-handed-right.html

https://aladdinfoot.blogspot.com/2018/04/add-more-weight.html

http://voosk.tumblr.com/post/172655020304/dftba

https://twitter.com/brianhutzell/status/982240777341251584

Add more WEIGHT

An Oblique Nosewisk:

More:

http://aladdinfoot.blogspot.com/2018/04/add-dot.html

http://www.barefootwordsmith.com/2018/04/footprints-in-snow.html

http://voosk.tumblr.com/post/172631267804/anthony-trollope-ate-my-lunch

https://twitter.com/brianhutzell/status/981966453963411456

http://www.barefootwordsmith.com/2018/04/write-left-handed-right.html

Add a dot

An Oblique Nosewisk:

more...
http://www.barefootwordsmith.com/2018/04/footprints-in-snow.html

Church

Every Wednesday evening and every Sunday morning I find myself playing with a praise band, usually as the keyboardist, but sometimes as the bassist, and once in a blue moon as a singer.  As much fun as I have playing in the praise band, I’m not wild about a lot of the music. Neither Hillsong nor Chris Tomlin nor most any of the other stuff that currently fills up the Billboard Contemporary Christian Chart does much for me. Frankly, as a listener, I find a lot of it terribly dull and repetitive. Beyond that, I find I don’t relate to many of the lyrics. My trouble with them is that they all sound very self-assured, as if every line has an unwritten exclamation point after it, when pretty much every thought I have about God or Jesus or Heaven or Hell has a question mark after it.

Maybe I’m wrong in this, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I am not alone in my confusion and doubt. I also doubt that I’m alone in my disgust with the hypocrisy I see in church: my own and that of other attendees.  I have frequently been a vocal critic of organized religion, and yes, I am prepared to defend that criticism. Still, I am a regular church-goer, even if my motive is at least in part that they pay me to play. I enjoy the people and the ritual and the sense that there is something beyond us which is behooves us to recognize. But we fall short. I refer to “religious community” in the broadest possible sense when I say: I think we can do better. We need to do better.

Judging the Art by Judging the Artist

Last year, Kevin Spacey found himself accused of sexual harassment on several occasions. The accusers, according to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Spacey) were “numerous,” and famously included Rent star Anthony Rapp. In 2014, Bill Cosby also faced multiple allegations of harassment. If both of these men (among others) are guilty as charged, then clearly some sort of punishment is appropriate, but should we deprive ourselves of their artistic accomplishments? Spacey is a fine actor, writer and director. Cosby is one of the best comedians of the past fifty years. Can I still listen to and enjoy his work without feeling guilty?

It’s easy to find cases of people with remarkable and admirable accomplishments who nonetheless led far from impeccable lives. Richard Wagner was rabidly anti-semitic. Composer Percy Grainger was into hardcore bondage. Silent film star Harold Lloyd was obsessed with pornography. Frank Sinatra, by most accounts, relished his Mafia connections and didn’t hesitate to use them. Most of our heroes are not as perfect as we would like them to be. Should we judge their work in tandem with their personalities?

Back in the 1980s, singer Cat Stevens gave an interview in which he seemed to agree with a fatwa calling for the death of Salmon Rushie, author of The Satanic Verses. Tower Records, at that time an important music retailer, pulled all of Stevens’s recordings from their shelves. I remember supporting Tower’s decision, but I have since wondered if that was the right decision.

My question is: How much do we let what we know about an artist affect our enjoyment of that person’s art?