THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS WEEKLY R&R REVIEW - week #5

There's more to life than war, taxes and politics - and a lot of it's more fun, too! That's why every WEEKEND, here at THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, we post our opinions on some of the cultural things we're into, things we think you might also find entertaining, enriching, and stimulating. Good for "Rest & Relaxation" - "R&R".

Please check it out every week - and tell your friends. We just might turn you on to something cool. After all, the arts - ALL ARTS, not just fine arts - are a big part of what our liberty is for, and what we're fighting to defend!

Always On Watch: READING

Sometimes my grading of students' compositions actually qualifies as R&R, especially when the course I'm teaching is Creative Writing. This year's first creative-writing assignment was "A Further Adventure of Tom Sawyer” based, of course, upon Mark Twain's timeless novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. With a minimum of instruction from me, all the students in the class were off and running. I got the best batch ever of first-assignments, and even my one slacker submitted a story! Students actually begged to read their stories to the class.

Such moments make me love what I do for a living. Once students' rewrites are completed, I'll be posting a few of their stories at my blog.

Pastorius: stay tuned...

Reliapundit: MUSIC:

Here's an Oldie but Goodie: Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. Have you listened to it lately? You should. It's music that can calm the savage right-wing beast. Buy it here. Listen to it all HERE.

Popinjay: READING:

Been re-reading some George Orwell this week. Lots of people like to use the term "Orwellian" but really don't understand what it means. Unless you've read his works (or you're Christopher Hitchens) you need to temper your use of the term. For someone that never saw Stalinist Russia, he had a complete understanding of what thought-control was all about. Other than his master works "1984" and "Animal Farm", I strongly suggest reading "Down and Out in Paris and London" - it's an excellent book that puts living hand-to-mouth in some perspective. Just a great writer. I wish he could have lived a little longer and seen what an impact he made on Western society.

(Relipundit adds: I also never tire of re-reading Orwell, and I especially recommend Homage to Catalonia - (which relates Orwell's experiences in the Spanish Civil War, the experiences which awakened in him both fear and loathing and a keen understanding of totalitarianist ideologies of all stripes), and Keep the Aspidystra Flying, and Coming Up for Air. These last two are sentimental, nostalgic and self-deprecating tales of the mundane, told in the warmest possible way; IOW: Orwell's humanity shines as much as his cold logic and brilliant intellect. Read'em.)