3 Younglings in the Fiery Furnace

Well, u could always end up in an oven. Or have a new album out.

The title of this song obviously refers to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednago of fiery furnace fame from the sensational antique book Daniel (attention: non-canonical scroll).

However, the phrase seemingly was used in music in 1931 by one Robert MacGimsey in a song of that name (written as Shadrack). Louis Armstrong and others covered that one (Watch on YT).

Silvester Stewart - of Sly and the Family Stone fame - in time used the phrase in "Loose Booty", a single and title on their 1974 album "Small Talk", where it was repeatedly and rhythmically spoken throughout the length of the song (Watch 2 if u got time).

There are more references, as one should expect. Be warned though, extensive theological knowledge is required for getting that side to it. The three younglings and their prayer are only part of the greek text, acknowledged by the catholic and orthodox churches but not accepted as canon in the hebraic masoretic text, nor in most protestant teh books.

Now at last, hear them perform it to a quite abstracted expressionistic moving illustration.

Authors: Adam Yauch, Adam Horowitz, Michael Diamond
Performers: Beastie Boys
Album: Paul's Boutique
Song: Shadrach

Shadrach

Riddle me this brother can you handle it
Your style to my style you can't hold a candle to it
Equinox symmetry and the balance is right
Smokin' and drinkin' on a Tuesday night
It's not how you play the game it's how you win it
I cheat and steal and sin and I'm a cynic
For those about to rock we salute you
The dirty thoughts for dirty minds we contribute to
I once was lost but now I'm found
The music washes over and you're one with the sound
Who shall inherit the earth the meek shall
I think I'm starting to peak now Al
And then the man upstairs well I hope that he cares
If I had a penny for my thoughts I'd be a millionaire
We're just 3 M.C.'s and we're on the go
SHADRACH MESHACH ABEDNAGO

Only 24 hours in a day
Only 12 notes a man can play
Music for all and not just one people
And now we're gonna bust with the Putney Swope sequel
More Adidas sneakers that a plumber got pliers
Got more suites than Jacoby & Meyers
If not for my vices my bugged out desires
My year would be good just like Goodyear's tires
So I'm out pickin' pockets at the Atlantic Antic
And nobody wants to hear you cause your rhymes are so frantic
I mix business with pleasure way too much
I mean wine and women and song and such
I don't get blue I gotta mean red streak
You don't pay the band your friends and that's weak
Get even like Steven like pulling a Rambo
SHADRACH MESHACH ABEDNAGO

Steal from the rich and I'm out robbing banks
Give to the poor and I always give thanks
Got more stories that J.D. got Salinger
I hold the title and you are the challenger
I've got money like Charles Dickens
Got the girlies in the Coupe like the Colonel's got the chickens
Always go out dapper like Harry S. Truman
I'm madder than Mad's Alfred E. Newman
Never gonna let them say that I don't love you

My noggin is hoggin all kinds of thoughts
Adam Yoggin is Yauch and he's rockin of course
Smoke the holy chalice got my own religion
Rally round the stage and check the funky dope musicians
Jerry Lee Swaggert or Jerry Lee Falwell
You love Mario Andretti cause he always drives his car well
Vicious circle of reality since the day you were born
And we love the hot butter on what the popcorn
Sippin on wine and mackin
Rockin on the stage with all the hands clappin
Ride the wave of fate it don't ride me
Being very proud to be an M.C.
And the man upstairs I hope that he cares
If I had a penny for my thoughts I'd be a millionaire
Amps and crossovers under my rear hood
The bass is bumpin from the back of my Fleetwood
They tell us what to do hell no
SHADRACH MESHACH ABEDNAGO

Media, Hot & Cool - Chapter I

In our news series "Mise en abyme" we present propositions on notorious expressions that have seen wide spread usage in recent years. Feel welcome to condemn, blame, retrieve, praise, defend, obsolete or whatever you and your mind is triggered to.

Proposition: If you have no good conception of Media, hot & cool, you can at most understand half of the entangled set of movers or reasons that have led to the relative amount of success of youtube and the relative lack of success of HD television and radio in the last 7 to 8 and 20 years respectively.

Proof: Not worked out well enough yet

Corollary; The order of relative success of youtube can compute in 2 different ways. The easy way is to state that youtube has around 40 per 100 share in the developed western internet video markets. Every single of its competitors has under 10 per 100. The more difficult assesment is the share youtube has as opposed to real TV and its more related forms. It seems, internet video, in terms of quantities consumed has grown to anything between 1 and 2 per 100 of overall moving pictures view time in the same developed western markets. Sans pocket calculator we can estimate a market share of an order of magnitude of 0,5 per 100 for the different Northern American and European markets. With the largest competitors at 14 (Germany) to 20 (UK) per 100 in developed competitive markets, we can start to talk about youtube's relative success. Considered, that traditional TV, conceived as a form of distribution is largely a national affair still and youtube is a thoroughly international affair, next to facebook it is a media force to probably recon with, somehow.

Allthough more than a half of the US households own HDTV sets and the number of HD television channels has grown to more than 700 in Europe this year, the market share of HD Television viewed is well under earlier expectations of many so called analysts. The difficulty of retrieving hard figures on the web alone should tell us enough.

Mise en abîme

Zum Metaphysiker wird in der Geschichte des Szientivismus leicht einer dem Nächsten. Durkheim selbst erging es nicht anders; seine Lehre vom Kollektivbewusstsein, vollends der outrierte Enthusiasmus, mit dem er auf dessen Seite sich schlug, waren ungeschützt gegen Angriffe desselben Typus wie der seine auf den Fortschrittsbegriff. Das Kollektiv mit Fähigkeiten und Funktionen auszustatten, die offensichtlich vom einzelmenschlichen Individuum abstrahiert sind, und sie dann als diesem vorgängig zu setzen, ist für den unreflektierten Menschenverstand nicht weniger provozierend als die Kategorie Fortschritt, die an der Entfaltung von Rationalität ihre mächtige Stütze hat. Th.W.Wiesengrund in einer J.H. gewidmeten Einleitung zu Emil Durkheims "Soziologie und Philosophie", suhrkamp 1970