A Pair of Links
Shilling for my brothers...
This is not a marketing ploy, but just a recommendation—or two recommendations, to be precise. As I have mentioned in the past, my brothers Addison and Robert have Substack newsletters of their own. The former’s, The Pragmatic Mystic, is dedicated to contemplative practice and theory, West and East, and the latter’s, The Musical Platypus, to music and music-theory. It just so happens that, this past week, both posted articles out from behind their respective paywalls, both of which I found particularly engaging. Addison’s is a reflection on Zen and God-language while Robert’s is an explanation of equal temperament and its importance in the evolution of Western music (as well as a nice little polemic against those who do not understand the difference between chord-progressions and melodies, whom I am sure we all find boundlessly infuriating). Anyway, purely out of the goodness of my overbrimming heart, I thought I might recommend both pieces.
I'm a bit of a chimera, I must confess; I studied trumpet and musical composition as an undergrad (as well as psychology, tho I hated it), I coach and compete in mixed martial arts (currently an amateur), I will be studying for a Masters in Philosophy soon and hope one day to earn a PhD in either religious studies or Eastern Christian theology, depending on where I can gain admission. The three of you guys cover almost all of my interest! You being my great intellectual hero of the age (philosophy, theology, politics), your older brother being wonderfully informative in matters of prayer and contemplation (invaluable to me as an Orthodox Christian), and the Musical Platypus piquing my interest as a musician. All that's left is for a fourth, younger Hart to emerge, master various martial arts, and dedicate a substack publication to the his musings and reflections on the combat disciplines east and west :P
Godspeed <3
Nepotic marketing ploys for fraternal writers is always a good thing.