I'd like to bring some arguments about stuff you talked about these days. First thing I remember i wanted to say something  is about  zorn's judaism  ; I don't remember if someone thought  it had to be with integrism, but at least zionism, which is almost the same. Well, I'm not sure, but i don't see Zorn in a straightjacket like this... also I found this info in the newyorker page about a film Zorn scored : 

"Synopsis : Trembling Before G-d" is an unprecedented feature documentary that shatters assumptions about faith, sexuality, and religious fundamentalism. Built around intimately-told personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay or lesbian, the film portrays a group of people who face a profound dilemma - how to reconcile their passionate love of Judaism and the Divine with the drastic Biblical prohibitions that forbid homosexuality. As the film unfolds, we meet a range of complex individuals - some hidden, some out - from the world's first openly gay Orthodox rabbi to closeted, married Hasidic gays and lesbians to those abandoned by religious families to Orthodox lesbian high-school sweethearts.

Many have been tragically rejected and their pain is raw, yet with irony, humor, and resilience, they love, care, struggle, and debate with a thousand-year old tradition. Ultimately, they are forced to question how they can pursue truth and faith in their lives. Vividly shot with a courageous few over five years in Brooklyn, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, London, Miami, and San Francisco, "Trembling Before G-d" is an international project with global implications that strikes at the meaning of religious identity and tradition in a modern world. For the first time, this issue has become a live, public debate in Orthodox circles, and the film is both witness and catalyst to this historic moment. What emerges is a loving and fearless testament to faith and survival and the universal struggle to belong."

2nd question : my favourite christmas present : it would be hard to choose but one of them maybe is Robert Craft's book of interviews with Stravinsky. I highly recommend it, some of you may know it, but at the time it opened me new paths to continue  searching great music, and i have red it many times since then. Mm, I can't choose just one so i'll put two presents more: another christmas it was 2 records, nothing special, but I loved them  and passed the first two weeks of january listening only to it : arto lindsay's subtle body and magnetic fields' distant plastic trees.

And the third one : a guitar !

About ripping cd's and all, i remember it was largely discussed and i was kinda surprised many people were against it, specially with all this imagery out-law etc. zorn carries with himself. I mean, this guy or Arto Lindsay have said many times when they were young they used to steal many albums they couldn't afford... well, I never thought as something bad ripping cd's my friends bought, we have a kind of community , we are very passionated with music and can't buy everything we'd like to hear even if we buy different things each one, so we share what we own... i also download things from internet, but i have an ethic , maybe you think it's shit but this is what i do : try to buy one cd from every artist i get a mp3 album copy. So I don't consider i'm stealing him because with the money (student) I have I couldn't buy more.

My favourite gigs this year : Dave Douglas' quintet, Calexico and Luz de Luna, Catpower, Dirty Three, Filament .

cheers

R. Ibanez