I just started reading Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton. I have not seen the musical but I hope to some time soon. This book was Lin-Manuel Miranda's inspiration for the musical. I'm still very early on, but I'm engaged. As far as I've read, young Hamilton has just made it to New York after a long, rough childhood in the Caribbean.
The most striking thing I've newly learned about Hamilton so far (I was a history major and a connoisseur of colonial history from way back in the day) is that his funding to emigrate to the North American colonies was earned by writing a poem that made a distinct impression on some rich benefactors. Hamilton composed a lyrical commentary on the human condition in the wake of a hurricane that devastated St. Croix in August 1772:
President-elect Trump today nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to administrate the Environmental Protection Agency. The consensus from reading several sources is that Mr. Pruitt has a long history of business with the fossil fuel sector and a climate change denier. His mission is to deconstruct the EPA and make it impotent. Being less than a political novice (a political nothing?), I can only assume that the United States of America is unlikely to adhere to its commitments in the Paris Accord. The greatest global agreement to curb the accumulation of atmospheric greenhouse gases and mitigate the disastrous effects of climate change could possibly unravel.
I am no poet. I am no 17 year old Alexander Hamilton. All I can say to posterity is what I now write to my children.
The most striking thing I've newly learned about Hamilton so far (I was a history major and a connoisseur of colonial history from way back in the day) is that his funding to emigrate to the North American colonies was earned by writing a poem that made a distinct impression on some rich benefactors. Hamilton composed a lyrical commentary on the human condition in the wake of a hurricane that devastated St. Croix in August 1772:
Where now, oh! vile worm, is all thy boasted fortitude and restitution! What is become of thine arrogance and self sufficiency? . . . Death comes rushing on in triumph, veiled in a mantle of tenfold darkness. His unrelenting scythe, pointed and ready for the stroke. . . See thy wretched helpless state and learn to know thyself . . . Despise thyself and adore thy God . . . O ye who revel in affluence see the afflictions of humanity and bestow your superfluity to ease them . . . Succour the miserable and lay up a treasure in heaven.The teenager Hamilton, who was a living witness to a ravaged island colony, writes with macabre disdain of man's vulnerability to nature's whims. His words so impressed some wealthy acquaintances that they pooled resources to sponsor Hamilton's education in North America.
President-elect Trump today nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to administrate the Environmental Protection Agency. The consensus from reading several sources is that Mr. Pruitt has a long history of business with the fossil fuel sector and a climate change denier. His mission is to deconstruct the EPA and make it impotent. Being less than a political novice (a political nothing?), I can only assume that the United States of America is unlikely to adhere to its commitments in the Paris Accord. The greatest global agreement to curb the accumulation of atmospheric greenhouse gases and mitigate the disastrous effects of climate change could possibly unravel.
I am no poet. I am no 17 year old Alexander Hamilton. All I can say to posterity is what I now write to my children.
I'm so sorry. The human eye is easily blinded. The human heart readily broken. The human mind easily deceived and more easily perverted. I wish I could show each of these empowered gangsters your photo and ask them to swear to heaven that they have your interests in mind. You both give me hope. For you, I will keep fighting.My five year old son is over a year into piano lessons, taking to music with great affinity. My wife, who is the musical parent, answers his many questions about musical tone, structure and composition Last night at dinner, my son asked his mother why Advent songs sound different than Christmas songs. My wife explained simply and articulately that Advent songs are written in minor keys because they are about people living in peril asking God to send a Savior, whereas Christmas songs are celebratory and composed in major keys to emphasize the coming of that Savior. I had never ever realized that, and I've been pondering this fact over the last day. And I wonder how long this world of ours will remain in the minor key, a people in darkness.