American military officials, who had custody of Mr. Hussein, were particularly upset and pushed hard to ensure that the execution of his co-defendants, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former head of the Mukhabarat secret police and the younger half-brother of Mr. Hussein, and Awad Hamad al-Bandar, who was chief judge of the revolutionary court under Mr. Hussein, was carried out properly.
The government spokesman who announced the executions, which took place at 3 a.m., Bassam al-Husseini, said both the executioners and the witnesses had to sign statements promising to behave in a dignified manner.
In what government officials called a “rare incident,” the head of Mr. Tikriti was severed from his body by the noose as it snapped tight around his neck.
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Monday, January 15, 2007
Science and Humanity
One of my favorite paintings is Experiment with an Air Pump, by Joseph Wright of Derby. I saw it for the first time when I visited the National Gallery in London, in 1988. I sat gazing at it for about a half hour. Here is the painting.
The painting is large and magnificent, as is its theme. In the center a bird is enclosed in a glass bulb. The only way to prove that a vacuum was achieved, at that time, was to put a living creature in the bulb. If it died, that meant that the air was sucked out.
The setting is a Victorian room. On the left a couple sit. The man is looking at the master of ceremonies, and his date is looking with equal attention at him. There is love. Another man, lower left is also watching the experiment and his date is bending over to get a good look; but the fellow in the lower right is lost in thought. We cannot know what he is thinking. Perhaps he is the conscience of the group. Perhaps he is pondering the principles involved.
To the right of the apparatus, a father is explaining the procedure to his two daughters. He has his arms around the one, who is covering her eyes. The other is looking at the doomed bird, but if I remember correctly, she has tears in her eyes. The cause of the trauma is evident. The empty bird cage in the upper right, just above the boy who is opening the shade for more moonlight, indicates that the bird is a family pet, sacrificed to demonstrate a principle of nature.
In the center is the scientist. He is wearing a robe. It was the father who is the host. Grandpa probably wondered into the party and got people talking. Then he invited them into his laboratory. His long hair and focused gaze, directed at the viewer, tell us that he is no ordinary man.
I love science. But this painting is one of the most profound critiques of the scientific passion that I have ever seen. The desire to know maybe the most powerful human passion, the one that has most changed the world. But that desire must be moderated by a concern for other, more ordinary human concerns. That, when all is said, is the moral of the story of Socrates.
What got me to thinking about all of this was a 1955 movie: The Quartermass Xperiment. I loved it as a child, and when I watched it this afternoon I was prepared to be disappointed. I was not. With only the most minimal budget, it is a competent alien invasion story. An alien life form hitches a ride back to earth on the first space flight. The main character, Quartermass (pronounced KAYtermass), is a scientist, arrogant and unconcerned with the lives of everyone around him. For him, knowing is the only thing that matters. When he has very narrowly saved the human race from extinction, he calmly walks out to plan the next space flight. Like Experiment With an Air pump, it was a limey production.
SDP Jazz Note: John Pizzarelli
My SDP Jazz Note yesterday mentioned jazz vocalist and guitarist John Pizzarelli. Today I received this informative e-mail:
I read on your blog that you enjoyed John's appearance on Ramsey Lewis' Legends of Jazz show. Did you know that John hosts a radio show of his own? Check it out on his website at http://johnpizzarelli.com/go.php?id=6
Click on the Listen to Radio Deluxe link and you will find archived shows for your listening pleasure. I hope enjoy listening to them!
--
Laura McCulloch
Radio DeLuxe
13008 NW Marina Way
Portland, OR 97231
503.274.9536 office
503.869.0776 cell
I have no idea how many of our readers share Jason's and my own love of jazz. But if you do, the website and podcast are no doubt worth checking out.
503.222.1268 fax
www.radiodeluxe.com
Alternative email: [email protected]
Sunday, January 14, 2007
SDP Jazz Note: Ramsey Lewis
This evening I watched an episode of Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis, on the Great American Songbook, a collection of standards from the 30's through the 50's. The show is found on the BET channel, which is marvelous in HDTV. The show featured guitar player and singer John Pizzarelli, and singer Jane Monheit. The former is the son of Jazz guitar great Bucky Pizzarelli, whose name makes him sound like an Italian cowboy.
Legends of Jazz is one of those shows I should watch all the time, but haven't got around to much. It has a little discussion, but a lot more music. John Pizzarelli does something I have rarely seen: he sings jazz and plays jazz guitar at the same time. Jazz vocals are so demanding that this looks almost impossible. Many times he was playing a duet with himself, hitting a lot of the same notes with his voice and his guitar, but at the same time exchanging ideas between his vocal cords and his fingers. This says something very interesting about the human brain, at least when it is endowed with genius.
And when I checked out the American News website, I found this about the host Ramsey Lewis:
NEW YORK - Pianist and broadcaster Ramsey Lewis joined the "in crowd" of Jazz Masters at a gala concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of the awards program for lifetime achievement in jazz.
The 71-year-old, Grammy-winning pianist, who topped the charts with such hit recordings as "The In Crowd" and "Wade in the Water," was among seven Jazz Masters named for 2007.
At the end of the episode I watched, Lewis filled in on piano for Pizzarelli and Monheit. One thing I observe, and it's relevant to the discussion of family that my colleague Professor Schaff provides below, is that all three grew up in houses where music was was important. Jane Monheit's father was a bluegrass musician. Ramsey Lewis heard Duke Ellington and Art Tatum on his father's record player.
SDP congratulates Mr. Lewis on his award and on his show. Jazz fans live in an age of abundant riches.
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