Obsidian Wings

In Praise of the (former) Mosque at Cordoba

In the spirit of lazy Sunday, here's lazy Monday: The (former) Mosque at Cordoba, Spain. It is elegant in its simplicity, and quiet even in crowds. Go there, and see it.

By the way, there's an elegant Baroque Chapel* that was inserted into the center of the Mosque. At any other spot, it would have been a destination in and of itself. Placed where it is, my opinion of the Chapel is the same as that of the King of Spain's statement to the architect: You have ruined it.**

*My apologies if the term "chapel" is incorrect; I believe that the Mosque is now designated a Cathedral in Roman Catholicism, but "Cathedral" is too fine a word for this accidental monstrosity. And, anyways, humble Presbyterian, here.

**Paraphrase.

If the lawyers lead, the judges will follow

Judge Posner, influential federal appellate judge (Seventh Circuit*) and self-described legal pragmatist, is guest blogging over at Larry Lessig's website. (Via Professor Bainbridge.) Agree or disagree, Posner is an incisive writer and a true judicial luminary -- as Article III Groupie might have put it (but, sadly, didn't), he's a "male Superhottie of the Federal Judiciary"!

I'm as surprised as y'all that I actually wrote that. Typically, it takes a couple beers . . . . . ;-)

Anyway, be sure to drop by Lessig's blog -- it ain't often that a true judicial superstar stops by for a chat.**

von

What's a Medal Worth?

ObWings reader Tina made a point in the Killing Me Softly thread that deserves its own post:

I don't think the SBV people really understand what they're doing. Now whenever I see a decorated soldier, there will be a little voice whispering in my ear, "I wonder if he really deserved those?" Do they really want the phrase "war hero" to be forever prefaced with "alleged"? Or always put in quotes? That's the logical outcome of this process.

And Columbus Dispatch's senior editor, Joe Hallett, echoes that same idea (via Kos):

If the tactic works, none of the men and women now fighting in Iraq can trust that the medals they earn won't someday be used against them.

Ironically, this whole issue is coming from the same camp that insisted those of us who opposed the invasion of Iraq should shut our mouths and support the troops. Only "supporting the troops" seems to have a rather curious half-life with some of these people...it seems to expire when one of those soldiers decides to challenge them (I'm thinking McCain and Clellan).

Now clearly, military service does not grant one perpetual protection from criticism, and highlighting your military record does invite scrutiny, but to set a precedent whereby it's fair game to microscopically examine events in order to second guess whether someone who fought for his country was injured quite enough to satisfy our (what?) bloodlust(?) is thoroughly distasteful, disrespectful, and something the Bush camp should show no hesitation denouncing.

Unless, of course, the viture of American military medals means nothing to them.

The Sagrada Familia is finished, sort of

Continuing with Moe's excellent choice of lazy-Sunday-suited subjects...

Visiting the great cathedrals of Europe you can't help but marvel at the dedication represented by a construction project that would not see completion for possibly hundreds of years after the architect and original engineers and financiers were long dead. Off-and-on construction on my very favorite European cathedral, the Duomo in Milan, lasted from 1386 to 1813, for example.

My "second favorite" cathedral has always been somewhat of a dodgy choice because it's still not complete and most likely won't be for at least another 30 years. Who knows if I'll actually like the end result (or if I'll be here to see it)? But having visited the "in-progress" Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, I can say no other building in the world has so powerfully fired my imagination or captured what I feel 20th Century Christian spirituality had achieved and/or aspired to than this particular vision. "Masterpiece" seems an understatement for something that seems so otherwordly.

Architect Antonio Gaudí died* when his greatest work was only 15% complete, and his notes and designs were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. It's still only about 40% complete (and finishing it is not uncontroversial) but thanks to technology, some contemporary imagination, and an impatient advertising executive and film producer named Toni Meca, we can now see how it will/might look when finished:

Virtual Sagrada Familia

The technology it took to accomplish this---The degree of detail in computer models is measured in units called polygons; the finished Sagrada Familia model required 35 million polygons, more than 10 times the number used to create the model of the ship in the film "Titanic."---is described in more detail on the website http://www.tmdreams.com/.

Let a thousand Op-Ed Cartoons bloom...

...I'm guessing, at least. Armed Robbers Steal Munch's 'The Scream' in Oslo:

OSLO (Reuters) - Armed robbers stole "The Scream" and another masterpiece by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch on Sunday in a bold daytime raid on an Oslo museum packed with terrified tourists.

Two masked robbers ran into the Munch Museum, threatened staff with a handgun and forced people to lie down before grabbing "The Scream," an icon of existentialist angst showing a waif-like figure against a blood-red sky, and "Madonna (news - web sites)."

Some stunned tourists said they feared they were victims of a terror attack. The men yanked the masterpieces from the wall, walked out the front door and escaped in a black Audi car driven by a third man who had been waiting outside, police said.

Now, aside from an uncontrollable urge to post this one with a Have you seen me? tagline - and, of course, a relief that at least nobody got hurt - my major impression from all of this is that it reminds me a little of the Mona Lisa heist early in the last century, in the sense that I suspect that a ransom demand isn't going to be forthcoming. I'm wildly guessing that a wealthy collector wanted the paintings for his (or her) very own. So... either they find them and the crooks right away, or else it'll be twenty years.

I've been meaning to ask.

There probably isn't any real money in this sort of thing, is what I'm guessing - but is there anybody out there who can tell me whether we're doing well, at least?

Damn.

They beat Australia. I didn't expect that. Looks like Iraq may just come out of this with a medal.

Cool.

Moe

PS: Yup, I read some of the hostile comments about the USA made by the Iraqi team. And?

Slightly Squiffelated Observation

I'm currently engaged in the tricky task of metabolizing two beers and several glasses of a surprisingly good cafe zinfandel at this NJ D&D party that I'm at now, but I must say: the America's 9/11 Ride thing was pretty cool. Even when it held us up for a half an hour at the Delaware toll plaza.

Consider this an open-except-for-Swifties thread, but I'd recommend topics that will lower blood pressure. 'Course, I'm feeling no pain and all men are my brothers right now, so what do I know?

[UPDATE] My girlfriend has just snorted and said, "It was fifteen minutes, not half an hour." Ignore her, she's been drinking.

Killing me softly

I know, I know -- the fashionable thing to do these days is to snipe about the SwiftVets. And, for the record, I'm still doing the "impossible": thinking the SwiftVets are lying scum (more on that from the New York Times and Kevin Drum*) while simultaneously believing that Kerry has done more than his fair share of "embellishing" for political gain. I realize that the traditional approach to these things is to choose a side and then figure out the facts. Call me eccentric (or Ishmael, as may please you).

All this aside, it does seem that the blogosphere is strangely silent about the continuing fighting in Najaf. Doubtless, this is partially because we've been here before: Marines medothodically tearing apart the Mahdi army; check. Mahdi army using religious shrine as cover; check. Doubts 'bout whether we will (or be permitted to) finish the job; check.

This time, though, is different. This time is probably the last time that U.S. forces will have the opportunity to confront Sadr and the Mahdi army directly. This is the last time that we'll have a chance to win this particular fight. It's critically important that we do in fact win -- completely, utterly, and without conditions. Sadr is a threat (whether he's a greater threat because of our own bungling I'll leave to others to debate) not only to the potential for Iraqi democracy, but to the stability of Iraq itself. So long as Sadr remains, he will be a rallying point for the central government's enemies.

He must be removed -- imprisoned or killed. His troops must be killed or stripped of the will to fight. There can only be one king.

UPDATE: Talk about missing the firefight for the boat.

Much of the commentary is SwiftVet-focused. Yes, it is endlessly fascinating to debate whether Kerry's "vivid" recollection of being in Cambodia on Xmas day is accurate.** I mean, the Vietnam War is only thirty years old. There's yet time to win it.

But, really, this illustrates my point. (Alternatively, it illustrates that I failed to effectively communicate my point.) Everyone is working themselves into a lather over the SwiftVets. In so doing, they're ignoring the fact that there's a crucial battle going on, right now, in Najaf. That battle could very well determine whether Iraq succeeds as a nation state. The very success of our mission is tetering on the brink. No one wants to discuss it. (And I don't mean success in the "build a shining democracy on the Mesopotamian Hill" kinda way; I mean success in the "prevent Iraq from sliding into anarchy and three decades of civil war" kinda way.)

von

*By the way, (1) Drum's not been among the "snipes" (lest I be misunderstood) and (2) I'm with Drum in thinking that the SwiftVet story is about to turn on Bush (Harley of Tacitus.org has also remarked on this). Bush should've expressly denounced the ad in the same way that Kerry expressly denounced the much-milder Moveon.org ad. Yeah, yeah, I know Bush is trying to make a point regarding 527 money in general -- albeit a point that appears frightening wrongheaded in its implications (as Eugene Volokh notes). Still, he's been stuck in lawyerly locutions on the subject for nearly a week; even I, a lawyer, am getting tired of hearing them.

**I can't resist violating my own advice (I'm a weakling): The river Kerry was supposedly on while "on" or "near" Cambodia on Xmas day is not, in fact, on or near the Vietnam-Cambodia border. Kerry's vivid memory is an embellishment -- at the very least. Yes, politicians do these kinds of things.

A-Ha!

So this is why I saw a kid wearing a black T-shirt with the words "Neutral Evil" written across the front when I stepped out to lunch. It's not just geek chic -- the D&D people are in town! Having once been one of them, I'll raise my First Edition Player's Handbook and say: Happy 30th Birthday, D&D!

(Via Swordstyle.)

UPDATE: Bjurk helpfully provides a link to the Alignment Calculator, so that we all may continue to wallow in the depths of geekdom. Thanks a whole friggin' lot, Bjurk.