Home

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, "Home"

"So what I mean to say is that I feel at home in the idea of Jerusalem.  Otherwise, I feel at home in the company of a very few close friends.  And, I must say, Edward to me has become the one friend with whom I can share so many things, a soul mate.  I feel very at home whenever I am with him."  -Daniel Barenboim (4)


When I read this line, I immediately thought of the song "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.  This song may have nothing to do with the topic of the class, but I thought that it was ironic that Edward Sharpe wrote the song and that Daniel is talking about his friend Edward in almost exactly the same words.  I accidentally read further than the assigned reading in Parallels and Paradoxes, but I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed what they were talking about.  "In literature, the words are shared by everyone.  Everybody uses language.  The words you see in a poem, play, or novel, although they're arranged in different ways and have a highly artistic finish to them, are the words of everyday life,  I find music fascinating in part because it encompasses silence, even though it is, of course, made of sound  Music doesn't explain itself in the same way that a word in relationship to other words" (23).  I though this idea was really intriguing, especially because so much music nowadays encompasses the use of linguistics and music.

(And of course this song was stuck in my head while reading the rest of the article....)

Moving on...

I am really impressed with the website of the Barenboim Said Foundation.  I think it is very artistically and aesthetically pleasing.  I love the blue color scheme and the use of black and white photography.  I think the photos depict a very candid image of this project.  I enjoy that.  I also enjoy the music playing in the background.  And of course, I think it does a great job of conveying the intended information.

Exploring the Knowledge is the Beginning website and watching the videos of the interview with Daniel Barenboim and the one with the musicians really makes me want to watch the film.  I hope that we are able to do that at some point.

In exploring the Knowledge is Beginning website, I read the biographies of each Barenboim and Said.  I had read about both of them in Parallels and Paradoxes, but I was glad that the biographies on the website went a little bit more in depth to their accomplishments.  However, in reading each of their stories, there was something that stuck out to me.  Both of these men have their individual claims to being Israeli or Palestinian, however I notice that neither one of them really grew up solely under the influence of those individual claims.  They both have Western or European influences that I can see great contribute to who they are as people and their individual accomplishments.  I think that this fact is to their advantage, but can also be to their downfall.  However, I think their efforts in bringing together people from these territories refutes this disadvantage and together they triumph many stereotypes.

In reading "Homeland Redefined: Spaces of National Belonging",  I thought that it was really important that the definitions of Israeli and Palestinian were clarified in the beginning.  I think there were a lot of interesting points made regarding sacred space and the need for a homeland.  There were points that I agree with and certain points I don't necessarily agree with, and I look forward to talking about them in class discussion.