asteroid B612

Following up to what was probably the last remotely thoughtful thing I blogged, and which I'm sad I haven't been able to follow up on before, because my thinking life went on vacation along with my physical self, thus rendering my blogging to be more on the moot thoughts side than the musings side.

The topic under consideration is The Absolute. I have just spent a paper examining 19th c. German thinkers (namely Hegel, Feuerbach, and the composer Richard Wagner) and their relationship to one another. One thing that struck me about 19th c. Hegelianism/German thought is this obsession with the Absolute Idea. (i know, maybe I should've picked that up in CHOW, but what can I say? I'm only getting it now.) Simply, it is a universal point at which reason (hegel) or someone-ish/experience/physical (feuerbach) comes to the point where it at once recognizes itself in the process of resolving itself against the Other and recognizes itself as the end product of resolution that is no more, because it is perfected in the future. I think I got that sort of right. In other words, it is an organic, wholistic, universal, complete thing. Without a doubt, it is extremely more complex than I can grasp, much less try to put down here.

It is the cry for many Christians to cling to an absolute. Maybe this cry is passé in a general way as we move beyond the contra-modernism/postmodernism of Van Til and Schaeffer, but in day-to-day church conversazione it's more likely to find someone who is against so-called "government" universities because they're all a bunch of relativists. The story goes something like this: "I know someone who went to a lecture at a university and the professor said, 'all things are relative.' And my friend said to the professor, 'do you mean that absolutely?'" And then the group of well-meaning Christians break off laughing at how clever they are and how dumb the professor is. I mean, it takes a simple question, doesn't it, to tear down their whole system? Well, I think most people in the church, including educated people, don't really understand when they say something is absolute. They think they are saying that there is one God, omniscient, omnipotent, etc. and one way salvation, wh. is Christ. etc. etc. And in a sense, they are right in that these are unconditional truths. But this world is not perfect, thus things are conditioned on each other. They are relative/relate to each other. All things are indeed relative. And what is absolute anyway except that which is known by God only. And historically, if we say something is absolute, it really has nothing to do with God, rather a certain view of the way time progresses that is dialectical. There are lots of things that come into play here. The 19th century German view of the Absolute for one thing, but also the 19th century German idea of objective historical knowledge or the Grand Narrative. "Absolute" is such a complex word, that I think we should be more careful the way we use it. The world isn't as black and white as many would like to have it. I think that to say of something like historical knowledge that it is true or to say that there are objective facts is a kind of idolatry. The only One who is objective, unconditioned by this world, is God. To say that something else is "absolutely" true is to associate something conditioned with God that shouldn't be.

again, my disclaimer, I'm not trained in philosophy, so please forgive bad argument structure, etc., if you are so philosophically sensitive

shannon put this link on her blog some time ago. I followed it, was intrigued, but until haven't had time to really read. It's the best blog I have ever read. It's definitely worth going back and reading from the beginning. It's sort of like reading a novel, except you don't know if it's real or not. I just finished reading all the way through the May archives. I'm absolutely riveted. Definitely, the most amazing blogger I have come across, even if it is fiction...or not...

As I was getting out of the shower I took finally this afternoon, the neighbor's car alarm went off, it actually sounded like someone was just laying on the horn. Then the one tone of the horn was joined by another tone a major third higher. It was so cute. This car was singing a major third. I saw the lady reaching in the car trying to turn it off, and it blipped off in an octave.

don't eat a big bowl of frosted flakes (even if it's the ONLY cereal) when trying to purge body of last night's fast food bought in a moment of weakness

my dad sent me eflowers. :-)

So the first week of school is almost over. I started behind with incompletes from last semester. I'm so tired and already overwhelmed. But my classes are really great. I'm taking Symphonic Lit (or History of the Symphony), a seminar in editing Renaissance manuscripts, and I'm doing an independent study with my favorite prof on the nature/history/historiography/whatever of musicology... Most schools have an introduction to musicology class for their musicology grad students, but ours does not. Rather LSU has this lame-o class for all music grad students on Introduction to Research in Music or something like that. Most people find it really hard, but then most people didn't really have to write papers for their undergrad performance degree. Thankfully, I got exempt from it, seeing that it was rather redundant of things I learned from my history major about bibliography and stuff and I wrote a SIP. So my independent study sort of makes up for that class. This week I'm looking at histories of music all the way back to the 18th c. Yesterday my prof took down a book in Italian and said "here, read this." Until the 20th c., none of them are in English. I guess it's time for me to be a grown-up. My Symph Lit class, I think, is going to be really great. The prof is so organized, and he makes classes worth preparing for. And my editing class is going to be fab, but that almost goes without saying. It's taught by my aforementioned favorite prof. My TA assignment is for the junior undergrad music history year long survey...like last year, but with a different prof. I think it will be my lesson in sanctification this year, since this prof is a little difficult to love. She exudes pessimism and negativity and is not very organized. The former makes it difficult to be around her in general and the latter makes it difficult to be her TA. One good thing, though, is that I'll probably get more teaching experience. It's kind of funny, every year I get older, but freshman do not. Walking across campus this week, I'm stunned at the sight of what looks like 14 yr olds lighting up a cigarette and carrying bookbags like they go to LSU. But these apparent 14 yr olds aren't really 14, they are more likely 18, maybe even 19 or 20, and go to LSU.

I'm so tired. It's beginning to be apparent that I just won't get home before 8 or 9 at night the days I go up to Baton Rouge (MWF this sem, yippee!)...at least on MW, since I have my afternoon seminar on those days. Last night Chris and I went to bed at 9.30. We're just exhausted. It's depressing to think about how tired I am this early in the game. Maybe when my body gets used to getting up 5.30...Thank goodness for Labor Day to massage our shell-shocked, back-to-school bodies. We're planning an in-house vacation...movies, turn off phones, and order pizza...for Monday. can't wait.

Today the boys at Desire Street are playing their first football game. Chris and I were going to go, but then he realized yesterday that it's a pre-game exhibition thing at the Superdome before a Saints game! Chris realized this too late to get tickets. :-( We hope our boys win!! (and behave!!!).

My goal for today is to finish the Wagner paper.

I'm a cousin....again. My aunt just had the 27th grandchild of wh. I'm the oldest...hmm that's an average of more than a grandchild a year since I was born 25 years ago.

The sunrise was out of this world this morning! Just fabulous! It was so hard to keep my eyes on the road as I kept glancing behind me on my westward route. Big piles of cumulus clouds dwarfed our world, and their layers and shapes were brilliantly illuminated by the rising sun with their backsides still violet and blue-grey crouching from the reaching rays. The sun moved into the pile of clouds and occasionally peeked through various openings. The hiding sun at times dazzling outlined in untangible gold the edges of the clouds. It was so amazing! Could that I do justice in words to the beauty and marvel I experienced this morning.

I just found out that Alison (Fikkert) and Nicolas Farelly just had their baby! William Nicolas Farelly, born yesterday evening at 8:57 PM (Pacific Time) a week early. He was 6 pounds, 13 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. All are well.

It is so hot here.