09/07/2005
Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly certifies ballot initiative that would ban gay marriage.
Feds instruct journalists: no photos of the dead.
How opera saved Rufus Wainwright's life: "The first time was when he was 14 and felt isolated and reckless. He picked up an older man in London. 'I got in over my head,' he said, describing the resulting encounter as 'essentially rape.' In the months and years that followed, opera helped him recover from this trauma. Alone in his dormitory room at the Millbrook School in upstate New York, he would dance naked to the voluptuous strains of the 'Dance of the Seven Veils' from Strauss's 'Salome' and blast Verdi and Wagner into the quad, where his uncomprehending classmates played lacrosse. During this period, he was secretly convinced that the sexual incident had left him H.I.V. positive. (It had not.) 'With opera I could relax and relate to that kind of despair and fear,' he said, yet 'regain some innocence.'"
Apple introduces iTunes-enabled Motorola Rokr phone, Harry Potter collectible iPod emblazoned with Hogwarts crest and complete Harry Potter audiobook collection, and complete Madonna catalog. Rokr phone will hold 100 songs and automatically pause when the user gets a call. Also new is the iPod nano
Posted 1:23 PM EST by Andy Towle in Elsewhere | Permalink
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i read the full article, but i'm still not clear on the equation here...
is the suggestion that his presumed HIV status made him contemplate suicide, and that it was opera that give him reason to live? or is it that his presumed status would naturally lead to psychosomatic manifestations of illness from which only opera would deliver him? or was it that the isolation and recklessness Wainwright experienced would convince him to refuse medical treatment, thus increasing the likelihood of opportunistic infections that could lead to death?
the guesswork that Wainwright and Tommasini (the author of the NY Times piece) require of the reader is problematic. within the silence around the relationship between HIV diagnosis and the life-saving capabilities of opera, we find Tommasini suggesting that it goes without saying that being (or believing oneself to be) HIV positive will necessarily end in death. yes, the article says that Wainwright was lucky enough to
a. be mistaken about his status
and b. have opera music to bolster his emotional health
but, the equation of one's HIV+ status and the inevitablity of death stands. This equation is as inaccurate as it is indicative of dated attitudes about HIV/AIDS and the mismanagement of the epidemic within the media and the American public.
ps: nice site!
Posted by: larry d. lyons II | Sep 7, 2005 2:08:34 PM
WOW..that's amazing about Rufus...I guess Opera is quite healing...I love his music!
Posted by: Roy | Sep 7, 2005 2:15:03 PM
Kids, kids. Who the fuck do they think they're kidding? We know EXACTLY why they don't want photos taken--and it has zip to do with respecting the deceased, or the feelings of possible survivors. It's the same reason the Bush SS forbids photos of coffins returning from Iraq--they want to be spared the possible consequences of people's outrage. I suppose next they'll be organizing orchestras in the evacuee sites, and releasing propaganda film of all the happy "darkies" and poor white folk. Where is Leni when we need her?
Posted by: Leland | Sep 7, 2005 2:52:52 PM
another ipod?? i'm so tired of apple and their crappy itunes. i'm going back to minidisc.
Posted by: nomadisthefuture | Sep 7, 2005 3:18:50 PM
"....no photos of the dead."
Unless they are related to Saddam Hussein.
Posted by: jessejames | Sep 7, 2005 3:40:40 PM
How would you feel if CNN photographed one of your dead relatives? How would you like your children to watch them pull dead people from a house? The press doesn't need to show us this. we know there are a lot of dead. I respect our rights to free press but the line has to be drawn.
Posted by: The Yankee | Sep 7, 2005 6:36:59 PM