
There are actually more like 1,008 battles going on in my mind, but I'm working on it.
This week, the non-profit organization Justice Through Music, in conjunction with the musical group Op-Critical and the Harmonic Angels children's choir, released the song "Happy Springtime, Bush is Over," a plea for peace amidst the war in Iraq and the looming influence of the Bush administration.
Using the John Lennon song "Happy Xmas, War Is Over" as a starting point, the musicians composed new lyrics to fit present-day issues, but were careful to retain the music's original message. “Like Lennon more than 30 years ago, we are hoping for a quick end to an era of darkness,” said Storm, a member of the band Op-Critical. “So we are psyched that Justice Through Music worked with us to get this song out so quickly."
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Part one of the making of The History Boys."The History Boys" is adapted from Alan Bennett's award-winning stage play. There are complaints from those who have seen both Nicholas Hytner's film, which imports the stage cast, and the play that things are missing in the adaptation.
Having not seen the play, I say, "Get over it." Hytner's trims may take something out of character development, but the play - set in a boys' school in Northern England in 1983 - is essentially a cogent while entertaining argument about the importance of arts in education.
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Dr. Liviu Librescu
The Biblical passage, John 15.13, describes a real friend. Liviu Librescu, Professor at Virginia Tech, sacrificed his life for his students. The following has been copied from Yahoo news.
Librescu, an Israeli engineering and math lecturer, was known for his research, but his son said he will be remembered as a hero for protecting students as the gunman tried to enter his classroom.
Librescu taught at Virginia Tech for 20 years and had an international reputation for his work in aeronautical engineering.
"His research has enabled better aircraft, superior composite materials, and more robust aerospace structures," said Ishwar K. Puri, the head of the engineering science and mechanics department.
Librescu's son, Joe, said his father's students sent e-mails detailing how the professor saved their lives by blocking the doorway of his classroom from the approaching gunman before he was fatally shot.
"My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," Librescu's son, Joe Librescu, said Tuesday in a telephone interview from his home outside of Tel Aviv. "Students started opening windows and jumping out."
Librescu was a survivor of Nazi oppression during World War II. Here was a man who knew what life was worth.
It is not likely that Librescu's family will ever see this post, but we might all take a moment to reflect that they have a right to be quite proud of their relative. It will be difficult to honor a person so great, but they will try.George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Antique walrus print courtesy of FineRarePrints.Com