Semi Truths A highly irregular weblog dedicated to Truth, Justice, and American Cheese…!

As long-time readers know, this site started out as a home for my “highly irregular” online column, SEMI TRUTHS, with new material coming out an average of every two weeks. Several months ago, I re-fashioned the site as a weblog, mainly to take advantage of the content management tools. Even more recently, I made a decision to start using this site more as, well, a real weblog, with the intent of adding material every day. It’s been a challenge, not because I don’t have enough to say, but because I want what I write here to be thoughtful and entertaining.

When I heard of the Columbia disaster yesterday, my first impulse was to turn to the web. I began writing down my thoughts and reactions to no one in particular, and concluded the day with a review of a concert I attended that afternoon. Going back today and reading those entries, now that the shock has worn off, my comments seem trite and painful. I am tempted to simply delete those entries, but after some thought have decided to leave them as they are. As it turns out, I was not alone. Below is a link to another site that has gathered responses from other weblogs, many just like mine, with other writers struggling to find meaningful words. See Shuttle Lost: How the Blog Community reacts.

I needed a strong incentive to leave the house today; my inclination was to stay indoors, listen to the radio, and just mope. Fortunately, we had plans. My wife is a music teacher and was participating in a district- wide concert of all the best early, middle, and high school students. These were star musicians, they had never all played together before, and had only a week to put together a great concert. It was exactly the tonic that we needed. The teachers had discussed it at a break, and all had agreed not to make an announcement to the students about this morning’s tragedy.

One of the more interesting works was by a composer from Yale (I would tell you his name, but it wasn’t in the program). Called “A+”, it was designed as an instructional piece to demonstrate how getting, say, 97% is good enough for an A+ in most scholarly exams, but how music needs aspire to a higher standard. A little over two minutes long, it was performed twice. The first time, the students were expected to play it flawlessly (and to my untrained ear, they did). It is an elaborate construct, utilizing all the instruments in the orchestra, building up in rapid waves to a triumphant crescendo. Then, pausing only a moment to take a breath, the piece was performed a second time. That time, however, each member of the 100-plus band was allowed to make a single deliberate “mistake”, at a time of the individual musician’s choosing. Suddenly, this intricate piece weaved and bobbed around the stage like a punch-drunk pugilist stumbling into an instrument shop, crash-landing with a plop and a drawn out wheeze. It is a rare event where one can laugh and learn at the same time. The concert was fun, it was enlightening, and for a few hours, it was possible to forget our collective sorrow.

At a certain point, when there is no more news and the full weight of the tragedy begins to settle in, it is wise to turn off the TV and radio and just talk. I tried calling my brother in Texas, but had to leave a message. There is no new news, just opportunities to comfort.

On the web, most of the major news sites simply repeat what we already know, or point to continuing coverage in other media. Perhaps the most poignant examination of this breaking tragedy can be found at SPACE.COM. Below headlines with updating news directly from NASA is the mission clock, counting down to the expected landing. That counter is now blank.

Children, bless them, take things in stride. They were sad to hear the news, and worried about the families, but were soon distracted when they discovered a box of Captain Crunch. I envy their innocence.

NASA has already brought up the T-word, assuring the world that it is extremely unlikely that this is a terrorist event. Nevertheless, it is sadly ironic to note that the space shuttle with the first Israeli astronaut has impacted near a small Texas town named Palestine.