the universe will not be controlled by the likes of us
the title is a brilliant phrase uttered on the intertubes by AdamSelene @ theoildrum.com. this space accumulates other such short, poetic, and found-elsewhere insights into the limits of human cognition. it is a project dedicated to Wes Jackson’s vision of an “ignorance-based worldview.” a brilliant phrase uttered by his friend Wendell Barry in a letter.Archive for sacred music
the girl in the purple dress
so last Sunday it was Pascha (or “Easter” if you’re into Ishtar – as this church might as well have been) except for the Eastern Orthodox (theirs is on Apr 19). my buddy Henry & i went to Akureyrarkirkja – a Lutheran church, state-sponsored. we went to the “family” service. i told Henry the word “family” in front of anything spells bad news; i told him they were definitely going to get out the guitars for this one. they did, and it got worse: a group of kids sang “Mama Mia” by ABBA, in English, which such resurrection-themed lyrics as:
Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My my, just how much I’ve missed you
this was after a PowerPoint presentation about two ball cap-wearing chickens fighting within the cramped confines of an egg, and eventually bursting out.
but one little girl refused to sing. she was maybe three years old. she wore an adorable purple dress, and pigtails, and she clasped her dress with her little hands, and spun in circles the whole time. it was a statement against the absurdity of the adults’ failure to take anything seriously in church. it was, that is to say, a satirical mockery of the vertigo of nihilism.
