maher mahem

Hey, everyone. After reading this last batch of essays, I'm convinced that we need to do more work with revision. So here's the plan for next week. On Tuesday, we'll continue to discuss Bill Maher's When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden (for those of you who aren't finished with it yet, here's your chance to catch up with the rest of us). On Thursday, we'll do a peer review of the rough draft of your next paper.

In that rough draft, I want you to express a strong opinion using the essays in Bill Maher's When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden, as a guide. Begin with an observation, a personal story, a story that you've heard about in the news, or even one of your pet-peeves that relates to day-to-day life in the United States. Then explain to your readers how things would be better--more just, more fair, more meaningful--if people would make one or two changes in their lives. Be smart, be sharp, and have some fun. The paper should be 2-3 pages long. Bring three copies of it with you on Thursday for our review session.

Since you'll be writing that paper this weekend (long meaningful pause), you don't have to write a post for the blog. But I do want you to post something that you find inspiring--a link to a video, song, or picture, or perhaps the text of a speech, article, or poem. That's right, "inspiring," not "ironic" (although I suppose the two aren't mutually exclusive).

Here's my contribution. Less than two months after the 9/11 attacks, U2 appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman," a show that's recorded in Manhattan about two miles away from Ground Zero. U2 performed two songs that night, but it's the opening number--"New York," with slightly changed lyrics--that still makes my skin tingle. Unfortunately, the picture-quality of this video isn't very good. But you do get a few close-ups of Bono puckishly trying to coax a tense, benumbed nationwide audience to start feeling again. Thankfully, the sound is rich and booming, so you can't miss the beautifully revised lyric, "Come September/a lot can change/summer love/turns to winter's pain." There is also the defiant lines, also slightly different from the original, "religious nuts and political fanatics/don't belong/New York is singing a different kind of song," underlined with an homage to Marvin Gaye--"What's going on?" Perhaps most inspiring is Bono's soaring vocals when he sings "I love New York" at the end of the song. There was a time after 9/11 when some of us really needed to hear that.

Long live U2, long live rock and roll.

(At 10:40 in the video, Bono talks to Letterman about "What's Going On?" and AIDS relief, as well as a 9/11 benefit at Madison Square Garden. Bono's lyrics for the album version of "New York" are here.)