Sunday Serendipity

I’m probably not the best person to be picking music for today. It is not my holiday. So I will leave the joyous celebration music posts for the rest of you to post in the comments.

While we are celebrating, think of the week Mary experienced leading up to Easter Sunday. That is the theme of today’s selection, “Stabat Mater dolorosa” or “the sorrowful mother was standing” .

Stabat Mater, by Gioachino Rossini 

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46 thoughts on “Sunday Serendipity”

  1. Jack,  thank you. fine selection and apologies for breaking the mood with such things as cartoons, snl, etc.

    BTW I liked your better version of last thread’s cartoon.  no need for drawing it, your description was vivid enough to make the point. 


  2. Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) advertises his God Bless the USA bible.

    Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week’s biggest news, like former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama attending a fundraiser for President Joe Biden in New York City.

  4. Happy Easter to all who celebrate.

    Lovely musical selection.

    Many years ago, I wrote this about Mary:

    Look into the face of Mary and see what the sculptor of the pieta did in 1499. Across her lap is the body of her 33 year old son, but her face is that of the teenage girl who first heard an angel announce that she was about to become an unwed mother. She had no guarantee that Joseph would marry her. She lived in a culture that severely punished anything that was considered immorality in women, yet she accepted the duty placed on her, and this is the way that duty ended with her beloved child dead in her arms not knowing yet where this road will end. There is grief on that face, but there is acceptance and trust in the future as well. Michaelangelo takes a block of hard, cold marble and makes you see the passion, glory and the ultimate end of doing one’s duty no matter where it leads as a simple act of faith.

     

  5. pogo,
    the world is upside down:  UK crashes in round one and “bama makes the fab final four!
    think they’re gonna beat the huskies and ascend to even higher glory?

    BTW, look out for another burst of bad weather coming your way today

  6. https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/30/politics/trump-biden-video-truth-social-violent-rhetoric/index.html

    “Trump posts video that shows image of Biden tied up in the back of a truck”

    “Trump indicated that the post was filmed on Long Island on Thursday, when he was attending the wake of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, who was killed during a traffic stop this week. The video shows two trucks with flags and decals expressing support for Trump; the image of Biden was on the back of the second truck.”

     
    Orange Adolf, by posting that video, is emboldening his followers to carry out a violent attack.  This time, he is signaling an attack on a sitting President.  

    Surely, this is pushing “free speech,” given the history of “stand by” and “march to the Capitol and fight like hell” and J6. Lately, it’s been “bloodbath” and “vermin” and “root out” the “radical left.”

    I hope the the three-letter departments are monitoring the jerks with the pick-up trucks, too. If he Adolf didn’t technically threaten a sitting President, did they?

  8. Gary Paxton, Christian singer with “Fat, Fat Christians”    In a former life he recorded “Alley-Oop” with his band “The Hollywood Argyles”
    in later life he helped Tammy Fayebrecord her records.   

  10. BiD,  those 3 letter guys now have added a new more focused 3 letter group, the ETT

    Combustible year promises stress test for US election threats taskforce | US elections 2024 | The Guardian

    […]
    Four months after the panic at the Arizona executive building, the US Department of Justice circulated a memo to all federal prosecutors and FBI agents. There had been a “significant increase in the threat of violence against Americans who administer free and fair elections”, the memo said.
    The increase in threats amounted to “a threat to democracy. We will promptly and vigorously prosecute offenders.”
    The memo announced the formation of a new unit within the justice department, the election threats taskforce. Its job was to respond to a phenomenon that had barely existed before Trump unleashed his 2020 stolen election lie – violent and abusive messages, including death threats, specifically targeting election officials and their families.
    The taskforce was devised as a crack multi-disciplinary team bringing together experts from across the justice department and linking them with local FBI and US attorney offices. Its mission: to protect election officials from the intimidation let loose by Trump, by coming down hard on perpetrators.
    As the November presidential election fast approaches, the taskforce faces its greatest challenge. With Trump back on the ballot, and with swing states such as Arizona continuing to be roiled by election denial, the federal unit is at the frontlines of what promises to be a combustible election year.
    Much is riding on it. The Brennan Center, a non-partisan law and policy institute, has estimated that since 2020, three election officials have quit their jobs on average every two days – that’s equivalent to about one in five of those who run US elections nationwide bowing out in the face of toxic hostility.
    “What the election threats taskforce does this year is going to be critical,” said Lawrence Norden, senior director of the Brennan Center’s elections and government program. “They have the biggest megaphone, and they need to use it to make clear that threats of violence against election workers are illegal and will not be tolerated.”
    Day-to-day efforts of the taskforce are headed by John Keller, principal deputy chief of the public integrity section of the justice department’s criminal division. As the election year gets under way, his team is preparing itself for whatever lies ahead amid a collapse of confidence among some sections of American society in election results – and by extension, election workers – which Keller described as “incredibly concerning”.
    [continues]

  12. Which one?

    Oh….the fat Christians one? Yeah, that was a different Elvis. I think.

  14. Didn’t Shakespeare writ a play featuring those 3?     Looks like they’re getting ready to filet a fenny snake. 

    They appear to be having fun but behind them looks deserted. Effing ghost town.

  15. Welker started MTP with no mention of Ronna. I guess she might get to it later, but I can’t watch her drivel. Even if it is my homey James Clyburn. I know she’ll ask him a buncha dumb shit which will get under my skin, like a red bug.  
    I don’t want to meet her press.  

  16. Beautiful weather here in Missouri. 
    That means more yard work, This house had been a rental for several years so the yard was a mess but one large blank slate. I’m slowly getting it where I want it. BTW if you are ever tempted to plant bamboo, don’t. My neighbor did so years ago and it spread over into my yard. 

  17. think of the week Mary experienced 

     
    Thank you, Jack. I have indeed thought of that many times. 

  18. Many years ago, I wrote this about Mary

    Beautiful writing, Jamie. Thank you for sharing it with us on Easter Sunday.

  19. Early celebration yesterday and egg-hunt with the big and little maggers. No politics was served, but as a multi-generational Baltimore and surrounding suburbs family, there was much talk about the bridge collapse. Some conspiratorial thinking was “floated” that Mr. Ivy endeavored to sink, and maybe he did some good on that because they listened to him based on his engineering and marine insurance background. Back in the day his office overlooked the Harbor with daily commute through the tunnel. 
     
    Arrived home and crashed on the couch to watch the finish (Roll Tide) after which the SNL broadcast flickered across, but alas, no flicker of a smile across our lips. Reminded Mr. Ivy of the time Steve Allen challenged contestants that they couldn’t sit through his show and not laugh.
     
    We used to think SNL was funny. What happened to it? 
     
    Happy Y’all and Roll Tide.

  20. I gave up politics on Sundays years ago…   for me… it was an excellent choice.
     
    My sister who lives in NYC is here.  We went to a local service because she wanted to go….  it was nice.
    She is leaving tomorrow… a day earlier than planned.  We are suppose to be getting a snowstorm starting Tuesday night into Thursday afternoon.  18 inches is the prediction….  what the fuck happened to spring!

  23. The Youtube algo is in a whimsical mood after I played the “Easter Parade” it offered up this selection for the next play. 
     

  25. Ivy

    Thanks for the rabbits.  Until I moved to WA I had never seen wild bunnies just hopping around neighborhoods.  

  26. Trump is having an especially manic day, post after post after post. Short posts. Reposts. Over 70 so far since midnight. Just now posting this rage-filled Easter message. The man is really not well..

    Donald J. Trump

    @realDonaldTrump

    HAPPY EASTER TO ALL, INCLUDING CROOKED AND CORRUPT PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES THAT ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO INTERFERE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024, AND PUT ME IN PRISON, INCLUDING THOSE MANY PEOPLE THAT I COMPLETELY & TOTALLY DESPISE BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DESTROY AMERICA, A NOW FAILING NATION, LIKE “DERANGED” JACK SMITH, WHO IS EVIL AND “SICK,” MRS. FANI “FAUNI” WADE, WHO SAID SHE HARDLY KNEW THE “SPECIAL” PROSECUTOR, ONLY TO FIND THAT HE SPENT YEARS “LOVING” HER, LONG BEFORE THE GEORGIA PERSECUTION OF PRESIDENT TRUMP BEGAN (AND THEREBY MAKING THE CASE AGAINST ME NULL, VOID, AND ILLEGAL!), AND LAZY ON VIOLENT CRIME ALVIN BRAGG WHO, WITH CROOKED JOE’S DOJ THUGS, UNFAIRLY WORKING IN THE D.A.’s OFFICE, ILLEGALLY INDICTED ME ON A CASE HE NEVER WANTED TO BRING AND VIRTUALLY ALL LEGAL SCHOLARS SAY IS A CASE THAT SHOULD NOT BE BROUGHT, IS BREAKING THE LAW IN DOING SO (POMERANTZ!), WAS TURNED DOWN BY ALL OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES, AND IS NOT A CRIME. HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

    Mar 31, 2024, 1:21 PM

  27. Former Pastor and current   “GOP Congressman Calls For Treating Gaza ‘Like Nagasaki And Hiroshima’
     
    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gop-congressman-appears-to-call-for-treating-gaza-like-nagasaki-and-hiroshima_n_66084014e4b0fe3ef671822a
     
    “Walberg’s comments were in response to a question posed by someone at the meeting about U.S. troops being deployed to Gaza. Since Hamas militants’ brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the Israeli Defense Force has engaged in a relentless bombing campaign that has displaced the majority of Gaza’s residents and killed more than 30,000 of them, including many women and children. The U.S. has continued to send bombs, fighter jets and other resources to help the Israeli effort.”
     

    “In Dundee, a man in the audience said that he had spoken to a soldier who was going to be sent to help build the pier next month.”

     

    “Why are we spending our money to build a port for them?” the man asked. 

    To get food and medical aid to starving folks, you man who probably considers himself to be a Christian. 
     
    “It’s Joe Biden, is the reason. We need to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. I don’t think we should,” Walberg responded. He said that the port plan amounted to sending U.S. troops into Gaza, “where we shouldn’t be.” 

    “Walberg continued: “I don’t think any of our aid that goes to Israel to support our greatest ally, arguably maybe in the world, to defeat Hamas and Iran and Russia, and probably North Korea’s in there, and China, too, with them helping Hamas — we shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid. It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick. The same should be in Ukraine. Defeat Putin quick.” 

    This is right up there with TX officials in Hood county discussing the need to apply the death penalty to women who’ve had abortions.

  28. another spirited foot-tapping version

    Mahalia Jackson performing “Just a Closer Walk with Thee'” at the 1970 Newport Jazz Festival. Her show-stopping performance during the 70th birthday tribute to Louis Armstrong was a moving finale to the star-studded concert event. This is quite likely the last filmed performance of Jackson, who passed away in January 1972. Mahalia’s performance of “Closer Walk” is dedicated to Armstrong, who joins her on-stage for a rousing finish. This performance is from the original film “Louis Armstrong at Newport” produced and directed by George Wein and Sid Stiber. The original, first-generation 16mm film footage was transferred to high definition in 2008. Edited versions of the film, presented under the title “Good Evening Ev’rybody: In Celebration of Louis Armstrong,” have aired on PBS, BBC, and other broadcasters worldwide, and a feature-length version was distributed on DVD.

  29. Craig – I think Adolf’s account has been hacked, or more likely, they’ve  taken away his keys.

    No typos.

    It’s a huge, run-on sentence, but well-punctuated.

    It sounds like one of his deranged rants, but everyone can probably mimic/mock him pretty well. 

    I think Orange Adolf’s rants have been outsourced or he now has an administrator tidying up before being sent.

  30. https://www.rawstory.com/trump-biden-imagery-revoke-bail/

    “Revoke his bail’: Experts call for Trump to be jailed after Biden violent imagery stunt”

    “Early on Friday, the former president posted a video that depicts a large truck with several “blue lives matter” flags and pro-American signage. On the back of the Truck, is a mural of Biden bound and on his side.”

    “Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance suggested there could be serious consequences for Trump.”

    “I know from experience how the Secret Service interacts with people who make threats against POTUS, even ones they can’t carry out. This, from a former President, is totally out of bounds.”

    “Political science scholar Tim Hogan said that, if the Secret Service “does nothing about Trump’s violation of federal law making a threats against the POTUS [the Department of Homeland Security] head should fire the director of Secret Service and refer the matter to the DOJ for charges. Because Trump is out on bail, he should likely be held pending trial.”

  31. https://www.mediamatters.org/project-2025/project-2025-partner-floats-repealing-22nd-amendment-and-allowing-trump-serve-third
    “The American Conservative, a right-wing blog and Project 2025 partner, published an article advocating to repeal the 22nd Amendment so that Donald Trump would be able to serve a third term.”
     
    “An article headlined “Trump 2028” published in The American Conservative advocates for the amendment’s repeal so that Trump could be eligible to serve a third term should he win the 2024 election. The American Conservative is a partner of Project 2025, the conservative movement’s comprehensive transition plan for the next Republican presidency. Project 2025 — organized and led by The Heritage Foundation, a leading right-wing think tank — is a policy and staffing initiative that threatens to weaken democracy, significantly roll back civil rights, and exacerbate climate change, among other issues.”
     

    “Peter Tonguette, a contributing writer to the Washington Examiner who also regularly writes for The American Conservative, dubiously argues in his piece that the drafters of the 22nd Amendment could not have anticipated a president who would serve nonconsecutive terms, a possibility that he argues is a reflection of Trump’s supposedly unique popularity. (Polls show that the majority of Americans have an unfavorable view of the former president.) He says voters should not be “denied the freedom” to elect him to a third term.”

    “He describes the 22nd Amendment as “plainly unfair” and places “artificial limits” on “voter choice.”

    “Project 2025 is backed by a coalition of over 100 organizations and individuals, at least two-thirds of which receive funding from the Koch network or conservative philanthropist Leonard Leo. The project has also been heavily promoted by MAGA-connected media figures such as Steve Bannon, who has called it the “blueprint” for Trump’s second term…”

  34. That supposed Trump blurb is way to coherent to have been written by him.  Even if dictated, it still doesn’t have his demented quality.

     

  35. patd, thanks for the warning.  The weather that blew through KY missed EB – it went well south of here.
     
    Purdue knocked TN out of the tournament.
     
    Renee, I think Spring came too early, got tuckered out, and plans to take a nap and come back when summer’s nearer.

  36. If anyone runs across a desiccated brain in the lower part of the Florida peninsula, most likely on the east coast, would you please send it to Mar-A-Logo, attention Donald J. trump?  It appears he may have misplaced it. 

  37. Reminds of me that old joke:

    Lawyer: “Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?”
    Witness: “No.”
    Lawyer: “Did you check for blood pressure?”
    Witness: “No.”
    Lawyer: “Did you check for breathing?”
    Witness: “No.”
    Lawyer: “So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?”
    Witness: “No.”
    Lawyer: “How can you be so sure, Doctor?”
    Witness: “Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.”
    Lawyer: “But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?”
    Witness: “Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.”

     
    Or out there running for a non-consecutive term as president. 

  38. I still say there’s something fishy about that message.  

    You might be right, blue, it sounds like “fake derangement.” 

  39. If it was voice to text, I doubt the words “Fauni,” “loving,” etc., would be in quotation marks.  He def had someone else help him write this book report.

  41. I doubt the words “Fauni,” “loving,” etc., would be in quotation marks.

     
    That’s the part that rang fake… if it was his authentically deranged self, it would’ve been the full unvarnished F-word. 

  43. It’s utter bullshit. I’m guessing it’s talk to text and someone edits the groser errors out. But what do I know?

  44. Pogo – That’s what I think.  He got roasted on late night for typos, so now he has an administrator tidying up before the rants are released.  Voice to text doesn’t do that.

    Some of the words in quotation marks  seem to be there to denote sarcasm.

     It’s sad that the ~flaming tildes~ of sarcasm never caught on.

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