Feed aggregator
Francis Bacon
Henry David Thoreau
W. Somerset Maugham
Ambrose Bierce
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Oscar Wilde
2045: A New Era for Humanity
15-16 juni 2013, New York.
The mission of the 2045 initiative is the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity.
Key Topics: Project Avatar, Android robotics, Anthropomorphic telepresence, Neuroscience, Mind theory, Neuroengineering, Brain-Computer Interfaces, Neuroprosthetics, Neurotransplantation, Long-range forecasting, Future evolution strategy, Evolutionary transhumanism, Ethics, Bionic prostheses, Cybernetic life-extension, Mid-century Singularity, Neo-humanity, Meta-intelligence, Cybernetic immortality, Consciousness, Spiritual development, Science and Spirituality.
Gilbert Chesterton
Charles Dickens
Jerome K. Jerome
Kwasi Kloos in "De Rijp"
Op 24 maart jl trad Kwasi Kloos op tijdens het ReMix koorfestival in Hotel "De Rijper Eilanden".
De tamelijk lange afstand die we moesten afleggen om er te komen werd meer dan goed gemaakt door de fraaie ambience en het resultaat: we hebben daar heerlijk gezongen en ons laten inspireren door andere koren.
Maar we kregen ook een mooie recensie! En ik schep niet graag op, maar ik kan het niet laten het krantenartikel hier alsnog te publiceren:
Links onderaan staat Kwasi Kloos:
Sommige koren gaat het alleen om het samen zingen en zij geven een vrij statisch optreden, andere maken er een complete show omheen. Zo krijgt het Haagse KwasiKloos grote complimenten voor de aankleding. Het a-capellakoor heeft humorvolle closeharmonyarrangementen gemaakt en kleedt de uitvoering aan met een leuke, niet overdreven, show. De nadruk blijft op de veelstemmige zang liggen, die perfect verzorgd is.
Niet slecht.... :-)
Opus 16: Three Easy Pieces.
During a short holiday, playing with Propellerheads “Figure” app, I made three little, experimental pieces.
Starting with these tracks I also experimented with the naming of my work; I generated haphazardly some Nordic-sounding names. Of course I also have to keep track of the chronology, so I numbered them Op.16, not sure in what order I made these pieces.
So:
Op.16,1: No Ryhemu
Op.16,2: Rerefyjo
Op.16,3: Pydodo
I exported the files with AudioCopy to FlStudio Mobile, and tried to make it into one composition by adding some tracks to it with the Alchemy synth and some native FL instruments. However, I’m not satisfied with this piece, so I will consign it to oblivion.
Gilbert Chesterton
St. Tuathal of Saint-Gall (Tutilo)
March 28 was the day of the medieval monk and composer Saint Tuotilo (Tutilo of Saint Gall, ca. 850 – ca. 915).
He was educated at the Abbey of St. Gall and remained to become a monk there. He was the friend of Notker of St. Gall, with whom he studied music under Moengal. Around 900 he visited St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz, a sister Benedictine abbey. From there he transferred two ivory plates for the Evangelium Longum to his home abbey and carved them.
Tuotilo could, anachronistically, be called a renaissance man: he was a speaker, poet, hymnist, architect, painter, sculptor, metal worker, and mechanic. He is more or less the inventor of the ecclesiastical drama, since the history of the ecclesiastical drama begins with a trope sung as Introit of the Mass on Easter Sunday, that has come down to us in a St. Gallen manuscript dating from the time of the 10th century monk Tutilo.
The conversation held between the holy women and the angels at Christ's sepulchre forms the text of this trope, which consists of the four sentences:
Quem quaeritis in sepulchro, o christicolae
Jesum Nazarenum, o coelicolae
Non est hic. Surrexit, sicut praedixerat.
Ite nuntiate quia surrexit de sepulchro.
Resurrexi, postquam factus homo, tua jussa paterna peregi.
Medieval Sourcebook: Ekkehard of St. Gall: Three Monks of St. Gall
The lives of three monks who lived in the abbey of St. Gall at the end of the ninth century were chronicled by Ekkehard of St. Gall a century later. The monks are more human and istinctive than the monastic rules seem to suggest.
I will tell now of Notker, Ratpert, and Tutilo, since they were one heart and soul, and formed together a sort of trinity in unity.... Yet, though so close in heart, in their natures (as it often happens) they were most diverse. Notker was frail in body, though not in mind, a stammerer in voice but not in spirit; lofty in divine thoughts, patient in adversity, gentle in everything, strict in enforcing the discipline of our convent, yet somewhat timid in sudden and unexpected alarms, except in the assaults of demons, whom he always withstood manfully. He was most assiduous in illuminating, reading, and composing; and (that I may embrace all his gifts of holiness within a brief compass) he was a vessel of the Holy Ghost, as full as any other of his own time.
But Tutilo was widely different. He was strong and supple in arm and limb, such a man as Fabius tells us to choose for an athlete; ready of speech, clear of voice, a delicate carver and painter; musical, with especial skill on the harp and the flute; for the Abbot gave him a cell wherein he taught the harp to the sons of noble families around. He was a crafty messenger, to run far or near; skilled in building and all the kindred arts; he had a natural gift of ready and forcible expression whether in German or in Latin, in earnest or in jest; so that the emperor Charles [the Fat] once said, "Devil take the fellow who made so gifted a man into a monk!" But with all this he had higher gifts: in choir he was mighty, and in secret prayer he had the gift of tears; a most excellent composer of poetry and melodies, yet chaste, as became the disciple of our Master Marcellus, who shut his eyes against women.
Ratpert, again, was midway between the other two. Master of the Schools from his youth, a straightforward and kindly teacher, he was somewhat harsh in discipline, more loth than all the other Brethren to set foot without the cloister, and wearing but two pairs of shoes in the twelvemonth. He called it death to go forth, and oftentimes warned Tutilo to take heed to himself upon his journeys; in the schools he was most assiduous. He oftentimes omitted the services and the mass, and would say, "We hear good masses when we teach others to sing them." Though he would say that impunity was the worst plague of cloister life, yet . he never came to the Chapter-house* without special summons, since he bore that most heavy burden (as he called it) of reproving and punishing.
These three senators of our Republic being such as they were, yet they suffered constantly (as learned and strenuous men must ever suffer) the detractions and backbiting of such as stagnated in sloth or walked in frivolity; more especially, since he was the less ready to defend himself, that saint (as indeed he was) Dom Notker; for Tutilo and Ratpert, who were of sharper temper and less patient under contumely, were more rarely attacked by such folk. But Notker, the gentlest of men, learned in his own person what insults meant: I will here cite but one example, wherefrom thou mayest judge the rest and know how great is Satan's presumption in such things. There was here a certain Refectorer named Sindolf, who afterwards by feigned obsequiousness (for there was no other use in the man), and by bringing false accusations against the Brethren, wormed himself into the grace of Abbot Solomon, who promoted him to the Clerkship of the Works. Yet even as Refectorer he showed evil for good so far as he had dared, and more especially against Notker.
Now Solomon was busied with many things and unable to look closely into every matter; wherefore many of the Brethren, seeing their food sometimes withdrawn and sometimes tainted, would accuse him of injustice; among whom these Three seemed sometimes to have said something [of the kind]. But Sindolf, who ever fomented discord, knowing that ancient spark which had kindled illwill between these schoolfellows [the four had been fellow pupils in the monestary, but Solomon was now promoted far beyond the others], wormed himself into Solomon's confidence as one who would tell him a matter concerning his own honour; and he, though he knew that nothing is more harmful for prelates than to give ear to whisperings from their subjects, yet asked of Sindolf's tidings. Then the liar told how those Three, ever wont to speak against the Abbot, had on the day before uttered things intolerable to God. The Abbot believed his words, and conceived against his unsuspecting fellows a grudge which he soon showed openly. They, unable to learn aught from him concerning the ground of their offence, guessed that they had been ensnared by Sindolf's wiles. At length, when the concurrent testimony of the rest, had convinced the Bishop* that they had said nothing whatever against him, then all demanded vengeance upon the false witness; but the Bishop dissembled, and they tacitly acquiesced. Now these Three inseparable Brethren were wont to meet in the Scriptorium, by the Prior's permission, in the nightly interval before Lauds, and there to hold debates of Holy Scripture, most suited to such a time.
But Sindolf, knowing of their colloquies at this time, crept stealthily ne night to the glazed window by which Tutilo sat, whereunto he closely applied his ear and listened whether he might catch something which he might twist to evil and bear to the Bishop. Tutilo became aware of this; and, being a resolute man who trusted in the strength of his arms, he spoke to his companions in the Latin tongue (for Sindolf knew no Latin), saying, "The rascal is here, with his ear glued to the window! Thou, Notker, who are a timid fellow, go into the church; but thou, my Ratpert, seize the Brethren's scourge which hangeth in the calefactory, and hasten forth. 1, when I hear thine approach, will suddenly open the window, catch him by the hair, and drag him to me here by main force; and thou, dear friend, be strong and of a good courage, and lay upon him with all thy might, that we may avenge God on his body!"
So Ratpert, who was ever most ready to discipline, crept softly forth, caught the scourge, and hastened swiftly to the spot, where he found the fellow caught up by the head, and hailed blows upon that defenceless back with all his might; when lo! Sindolf, struggling with arms and legs together, caught the scourge as it fell upon him and held it fast. But Ratpert was aware of a rod that lay hard by, wherewith he now laid on most lustily again; until the victim, after fruitless prayers for mercy, thought within himself, "Now is the time to cry!" and roared aloud for the Brethren. Part of the convent, amazed to hear these unwonted sounds at such an hour, hastened up with lanterns, and asked what was amiss. Whereupon Tutilo cried again and again, "I hold the Devil, I hold the Devil, bring hither a light, that I may see more clearly in whose form I hold him." Then, turning that unw'lling head hither and thither to the beholders, he asked as though I in astonishment: "What! Is this Sindolf" "Yea, indeed!" cried they, and prayed for his liberty: at which Tutilo released him, and said: "Woe is me! for I have laid hands upon the bishop's intimate and privy whisperer!" But Ratpert, when the Brethren hastened up, had gone aside and withdrawn himself privily, nor could the victim know who it was that had smitten him.
When, therefore, some enquired whither Dom Notker and Dom Ratpert had gone, Tutilo answered, "Both departed to worship God when they heard the Devil, and left me alone with that fiend prowling in the darkness. Know ye all, therefore, that it was an angel of the Lord whose hand dealt him those stripes." The Brethren therefore departed, and the matter was much debated (as was natural enough) by the partisans of their side; some said that it had befallen by God's justice, that privy eavesdroppers might be brought to light; others, again, argued that such a man should not thus have been handled unless it were true that an angel of God had smitten him.
from Ekkehard, "History of the Vicissitudes of St. Gallen" in G. G. Coulton, ed., A Medieval Garner, (London: Constable, 1910), pp. 18-22.
Human Being @ Risk
Bij uitgeverij Springer is een boek verschenen over Human Enhancement, Transhumanisme en Ethiek, geschreven door Mark Coeckelbergh, docent filosofie aan de Universiteit Twente en managing director van het 3TU Centre for Ethics and Technology.
In zijn boek gaat Coeckelbergh vooral in op kwetsbaarheid en de relatie tot technologie. Ik zou het graag eens willen lezen, maar dat zal moeten wachten tot het boek beschikbaar komt in een bibliotheek, want het boek is, zelfs in de e-book versie, verschrikkelijk duur: € 83,29 voor de pdf en € 105,99 voor maar liefst 218 pagina's treeware.
Ik zal hier dus het persbericht citeren:
Nieuwe technologische ontwikkelingen gaan gepaard met grote beloftes en roepen ethische vragen op. De laatste jaren is er vaak sprake van het verbeteren van de mens door technologie, zogenaamd “human enhancement”, bijvoorbeeld door de mens genetisch te veranderen of hem “uit te breiden” met electronica. We lijken hard op weg naar een bestaan als “cyborg”: half mens, half machine. Maar mag dat wel? En vooral: wat willen we daarmee bereiken?
Transhumanisten omarmen de nieuwe technologische mogelijkheden en beloven dat we met nieuwe technologie minder kwetsbaar zullen worden, misschien zelfs onsterfelijk. De auteur van dit boek vindt ook wel dat technologie de mens zal veranderen (en altijd al heeft verandert), maar gaat in tegen de idee dat dit ons minder kwetsbaar zal maken – laat staan onsterfelijk. Met zijn analyse van existentiële kwetsbaarheid en hoe die veranderingen ondergaat door technologie laat hij zien dat net onze strijd tegen kwetsbaarheid door middel van technologie steeds nieuwe kwetsbaarheden creëert, waardoor we onszelf en de wereld steeds weer opnieuw transformeren.
Zo lijkt het alsof we door informatietechnologie kunnen ontsnappen naar een risicoloze wereld, maar ons opgaan in electronische netwerken en informatiestromen maakt ons dan weer kwetsbaar voor computervirussen en cyberaanvallen. En misschien kan de wetenschap ons genetisch veranderen, maar als daar dan een “nieuwe mens” uit voortkomt zal die ook weer nieuwe lichamelijke en psychische kwetsbaarheden vertonen. We kunnen onze existentiële kwetsbaarheid niet zomaar opheffen, ons bestaan zelf is een blootgesteld-zijn-aan en onze pogingen om nieuwe schilden te maken creëren steeds weer nieuwe Achilles hielen.
De auteur pleit daarom voor grondige ethische en politieke reflectie over nieuwe technologieën en de nieuwe risico’s en kwetsbaarheden die ze met zich mee zouden kunnen brengen. De toekomst van de mens staat immers op het spel. Bij een dergelijke ethiek gaat het niet om de “objectieve” risico’s van nieuwe technologieën en hoe we deze risico’s kunnen incalculeren en er een “assessment” van maken, maar om de vraag hoe technologie het menselijke bestaan verandert en zou kunnen veranderen. In zoverre we dit al kunnen sturen is het belangrijk om na te denken over wat voor mensen we in de toekomst willen worden.
Voor een meer persoonlijke bespreking van het boek moeten we dan maar wachten op betere tijden, met name waar het de prijzen van boeken betreft. Want transhumanisme is inmiddels mainstream aan het worden en human enhancement is al geen vraag meer naar het "of" maar naar het "wanneer" (het is al begonnen, merk je dat niet?).
Dit boek kan hopelijk bijdragen aan een brede en vooral open discussie, maar dan moet het natuurlijk wel beschikbaar komen voor het alweer achterhaald is, want het gaat hard in de wetenschap.
A correction of my post on "Cheristanens Denkstein".
I was very enthousiastic about the book "Die Pokornys" by Oskar Pausch and I wrote about it, mainly because the alleged discovery of two unknown Lortzing pieces.
Last week I received an e-mail by Irmlind Capelle, the world's most acknowledged expert on Lortzing, who compiled the catalogue of Lortzings works - "Lortzing Werkverzeichnis" (1994, ISBN 3-89564-003-4).
While doing her research for this book, she had the manuscripts of "Cheristanens Denkstein" and the "Türkischer Marsch" examined and concluded that the handwriting was clearly not by Lortzing, which was earlier also mentioned by Georg Richard Kruse, another expert on Lortzing's life and works. Because of this, and because a performance of the music is mentioned nowhere, the authorship of Lortzing is ruled out.
Because Ms. Capelle mentioned the piece (and her conclusions) in the preface of her work (pp 7-8), I think it is rather disputable that Pausch boasts on page 106 of his book:
Gleich das erste abgegebene Stück, eine Bühnenmusik zu Cheristanens Denkstein mit unterlegtem Text, (...), dazu ein türkischer Marsch sind bisher als Werke Gustav Albert Lortzings unbekannt geblieben und scheinen in keinem Werkverzeichnis auf.
There is simply just one Lortzing-Werkverzeichnis and that is the one I mentioned above. So, Pausch obviously didn't check this book. The pieces are definitely not unknown, and just don't appear in the catalogue, because according to Ms. Capelle they are not works by Lortzing.
Unfortunately, I also have to blame myself, I didn't check it either, which is a shame, because my books on Lortzing are always within reach.
So, the big question that remains is: can I trust the rest of Pausch's book? Because it was a very good read with lots of information. But that doesn't help you much when the information is wrong. However, I can still recommend the book to anyone who is interested in the musical theatre of the (early) nineteenth century. But with the caveat: check the references!
Oscar Wilde
George Eliot
Upton Sinclair
