Stasis

There are several items on the blogging agenda this evening (er morning, I suppose now):

a.) General blogging

Alas, I've been seriously remiss in my posting. Since getting back from the Middle East, grad school has once again monopolized all of my cogent thoughts. Some of my closest friends and confidants have recently taken to the blogosphere, however, so I feel it is only appropriate to keep active in the conversation (whatever that may be). I still have some posts in the works detailing my travels through Jordan, Israel, and Egypt - having a few months worth of perspective has actually been quite useful in making sense of my many thoughts on those excursions.

For the socio-political musings of a truly deranged yet genuinely brilliant mind, see "The Perils of Thinking" in the links to the right. For insights into the lives of Peace Corps volunteers in Morocco - two of the most genuinely altruistic and conscientious people I know - see "Sean Shiel in Morocco" and "The Life and Times of Moroccan Amber."

b.) Matters of conscience

The New Mexico State Legislature passed a bill this past Friday repealing the death penalty in New Mexico. Governor Bill Richardson has through Tuesday to either sign the bill into law, or veto the legislation. Most reports suggest that he is erring towards the former, but there is still some question as to the decision he will make.

The United States is one of only a handful of countries left in the industrialized, democratized world that still applies capital punishment. In 2007, it was fifth behind regimes like those of China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan in total numbers executed. Fourteen U.S. states have effectively repealed the death penalty, with several others currently debating the matter. I won't say any more, as you can probably infer where I stand on the matter.

Bill Richardson's office is currently taking phone calls and emails from the citizenry regarding their opinions on the issue. For those readers who are New Mexican (or have New Mexico connections), I would encourage you to make your opinions known, whatever your stance - this is a democracy and a democratic decision.

c.) The music

I'm going though yet another phase of zealous music acquisition. This week, I'm on something of a post-rock kick. For those not familiar with the genre, it's a generally instrumental school, merging the instrumentation of rock with some of the aesthetics of classical music, electronica, and mood-conjuring minimalism. The albums are reminiscent of soundtracks; the beauty of the music (for this critic, anyway) comes from uniting the sounds with the imagery of one's own life and world perspective. Some of my favorites in the genre:

The Oktober People - (self titled)
The Oktober People hail from my own Land of Enchantment, and their sole full-length record to date is a masterpiece. The first track - "The Sky is Falling" - conjures up just that feeling, and tends to drift through my head whenever I take in the news these days.

Explosions in the Sky - "Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever"
The Austinites of EITS have helped provide much of the blueprint for this genre. This is their debut album, and in my opinion still their best. I'm particularly partial to track 4, "Have You Passed Through this Night?," which is set to dialog from Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line," one of the best films about war and humanity ever made.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven"
This band of antiestablishmentarianists from Canada produces some of the sparsest and bleakest albums in the genre. Music for the apocalypse.

Helios - "Eingya"
After you've given up on humanity's future from listening to Godspeed, put on this one. Helios is the work of one brilliant musician, Keith Kenniff, and tends towards the more electronic end of the genre. This album conjures up a wide range of emotion and sentiment, and is the first record in awhile that has made me just want to lay back, listen, and reflect.

Sigur Ros - "Takk"
I reviewed this band's most recent album a few posts back, and noted that it was a bit more conventionally structured than previous offerings. "Takk" is still probably my favorite of their many good albums, if only for the first four tracks alone. Track 3, "Hoppipolla," with its uber-dramatic crescendos, horns, and strings, is one of my favorite pieces of music in any genre, period.

Vaya en paz.