60 thoughts on “Sunday Serendipity”

  1. Jack, thanks. quite a piece of work there.   wiki in another article writes of another Kreutzer Sonata:

    The Kreutzer Sonata (Russian: Крейцерова соната, Kreitzerova Sonata) is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, named after Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata. The novella was published in 1889, and was promptly censored by the Russian authorities. The work is an argument for the ideal of sexual abstinence and an in-depth first-person description of jealous rage. The main character, Pozdnyshev, relates the events leading up to his killing of his wife: in his analysis, the root causes for the deed were the “animal excesses” and “swinish connection” governing the relation between the sexes

    Tolstoy’s novella inspired the 1901 painting The Kreutzer Sonata by René-Xavier Prinet.

  2. now to ruin the mood, from the musical mag-ick of Ludwig to just the “ick” of maher.

    warning: not for tender eyes and ears

    Donald Trump is stained with “the ick,” but liberals who scold and shame those who don’t share their worldview risk being tainted by it, too.

    however, as one commenter wrote: “You don’t like Trump, then don’t be like him” … good advice

  3. speaking of Mr. Ick Epitome

    Attribution: Trump talks by Dave Whamond, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com

  4. Thanks Jack, I needed a sweet tune to calm my nerves. There appears to be a stall in Harris momentum in the new NYT/Siena poll (one of the highest rated for accuracy and transparency).

    It was bound to happen, I suppose. August  was non-stop good news for the new Democratic ticket.

    Most significantly, 30 percent of the voters tell this pollster they want more information about Kamala to make a decision. They’ll get that opportunity at the debate in just two days.

  5. Mary L. Trump’s ‘Who Could Ever Love You’ gives new detail on the Trumps – The Washington Post

    […]
    Trump’s crass and demeaning remarks about his enemies — calling them pigs, ugly, fat and losers — is rooted in his upbringing, according to his niece Mary L. Trump, who has written a new memoir, “Who Could Ever Love You.” This is the third book she has published since 2020, all of them critical of her uncle.
    It’s safe to say that Donald Trump won’t be thrilled with his niece’s new book, which expands on themes she has explored before: the Trump family’s callousness, arrogance and win-at-all-costs credo. Now she offers vivid new detail about how those family values harmed her and her father.
    […]
    Now, in her new book, Mary Trump elaborates with stories based on what she says are eyewitness observations of the Trump family dysfunction.
    Trump, the daughter of Donald Trump’s older brother, Fred Trump Jr., describes the former president’s mother as “seriously ill and psychologically unstable” and his father as “a sociopath.” She says that Fred Trump, Sr., was hard-hearted, and so craved publicity that he devoted a room to news clippings about the real estate empire he founded and felt zero empathy for tenants in his cockroach-infested New York apartments. She says her Uncle Donald became just like him.
    s a child, Donald Trump was a bully who had no friends and developed a “widening cruel streak,” his niece writes. When her uncle became one of the most famous people in the world, his lack of empathy and disrespect to others made her ashamed to even use her credit card bearing her last name. In 2021, she sank into a depression so severe that she tried ketamine therapy.
    Several of this memoir’s most vivid scenes revolve around Mary’s father, who struggled with alcoholism and died at age 42. Donald Trump has said his older brother’s alcoholism is why he never drank, for fear he would not stop.
    “Dad’s embarrassed by you,” Donald told his brother, according to Mary Trump. “He tells everybody you’re just a glorified bus driver.”
    Mary Trump recalls other gratuitously hurtful comments by Donald Trump, who became president of the family business in his mid-20s. While she was away at school in 1981, her seriously ill father was rushed to the emergency room in New York. Her grandfather informed Donald, then in his 30s, but he “went to the movies,” she writes, adding that her father died alone that night.

    Weeks later, Mary Trump describes being in the home of Fred Trump Sr., a teetotaler, for Thanksgiving. Her aunt, Maryanne, offered a toast to her deceased brother.

    “To Freddy,” she said.
    “We raised our glasses of Apple juice and Coke, which is all that was ever offered.”
    My grandmother sat next to me, and I could see her lips trembling.
    “To Freddy,” the rest of us responded.
    Except for my grandfather, he didn’t bother.
    Mary’s only sibling, Fred Trump III, also describes Uncle Donald’s heartlessness in his recent book, “All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way.” He has a son with cerebral palsy who suffered severe seizures and, after his grandfather died in 1999, his family, with its significant medical bills, was cut off from the Trump family’s health insurance plan, leading to a lawsuit that received widespread media attention at the time.
    But when Trump became president, Fred Trump III said he was grateful to his uncle for allowing a White House meeting where he and others advocated for more resources for those with disabilities — until it was over and his uncle spoke to him privately and said, “Those people. … The shape they’re in, all the expenses, maybe those kinds of people should just die.”
    The takeaway is that Donald, like his father, who flashed the $100 bills he carried, valued money over people — and squeezed every last cent out of everyone.
    […]
    At the end of her book, Mary concludes: “Here we are, Donald and I, still on diametrically opposite ends of everything, just as we were at my grandparents’ formal dining room table. The difference now — he’s not the only one with power.”

  6. Watching and listening to sfb output during these last two or three hundred years (it seems like it) there is a major change going on, and not to the good.  A few years ago there were comparisons to the DSM V and other great works of diagnosis, he scored quite well in several sections.  Lay people talked about the “sundowner” part of things and how it fit him well.
     
    Considering his actions against President Biden it might be one example of it in action.  Also, notice how few late afternoon and night events his babysitters take him to, it is like they know what not to do.  If I were a gambling woman I might bet on him going bad against Vice-President Harris.

  7. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/08/americas/venezuela-opposition-candidate-gonzalez-spain-intl-hnk/index.html

    “Venezuela has been in a state of crisis since the poll, in which authoritarian incumbent Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner by the country’s electoral authority – a body stacked with his allies – with 51% of the vote.
    But tens of thousands of tallies published by the opposition showed a convincing win for Gonzalez. Venezuela’s opposition and multiple Latin American leaders refused to recognize Maduro’s victory, which sparked deadly protests during which thousands were arrested.
     
    Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez has left the country en route to Spain, according to both nations’ governments, after an arrest warrant was issued last week accusing him of terrorism, conspiracy and other crimes related to July’s disputed presidential election.”
     
    This is why tRUMPsky is so enamored of Venezuela.

  9. Bill Mahar has more than his share of ick, but as for Kennedy’s wife…..that’s her problem, not mine.

  10. “…notice how few late afternoon and night events his babysitters take him to…”

    BB, evidently they’ve been told about “sundowning.”

    from alz.org

    Sundowning is increased confusion that people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia may experience from dusk through night. Also called “sundowner’s syndrome,” it is not a disease but a set of symptoms or dementia-related behaviors that may include difficulty sleeping, anxiety, agitation, hallucinations, pacing and disorientation. Although the exact cause is unknown, sundowning may occur due to disease progression and changes in the brain.

  11. You’re listening to the official audio for Gordon Lightfoot – “Sundown” from his album of the same name. “Sundown” was Lightfoot’s only single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (1974).

  12. or if you prefer the boss

    Music video by Bruce Springsteen performing Sundown (Official Audio). (C) 2019 Bruce Springsteen

  15. Lots of good reading and listening in here today. I’ll try to keep up but I’m expecting interruptions and unplanned chaos today, all good I hope. We did move out here to be with family and here they are.

    We had the privilege of seeing and hearing Joshua Bell perform at UAB’s Alys Stephens Center. Brilliant.

    Thanks, Jack.

  16. Pat, thanks, I didn’t know Mary Trump had a new book out. Her other books were worth reading, so I’ll read this one too. She’s a serious psychologist and effective writer and storyteller. Her inside tales about Donald are not just gossip, they’re analysis of a sick and contagious family system that’s now infecting us all. 

  18. As damn near a professional Trump watcher here is my debate take:

    He is capable of doing Eddie Haskell pleases the parents for about 20 to 30 minutes. Then he gradually goes nuts and eventually runs out of steam. A lot of viewers tune out after the first half hour but clips of his crazy moments can make a difference in the news cycles afterwards. 

    My advice to Kamala: Bait him immediately, trigger him in that first half hour. Shouldn’t take much. Any version of calling him crazy, dumb or a loser will set him off, and her work is done. 

  19. Craig, thanks for laying it out. It’s an excellent plan of attack and I hope Kamala uses her prosecutorial skills to carry it out. Timing is everything.

    Sadly, I fear too many of his people enjoy seeing eruptions and meltdowns which they view as “leader-like.” It’s also quite entertaining to them (i.e., “stupid is funny.”)
     

  20. Ivy, do you and Mr Ivy ever go to joints in Denver to hear the locals playing music?

    I’ve seen Kamala in action in a number of hearings and so I have no doubts about her ability to twist Stump into a pretzel shape and then kick him to the curb. Plus, I know this….he is scared shitless. (Quite was a development for him and his diaper). He tried to evade it every way he could but he was trapped into doing it. President Joe is a great politician, but Kamala is a prosecutor, with years of practice.
    I think he’s going to learn what “comeuppance “ means.

  22. Sturge, thanks, Mr. Ivy would love to hear suggestions on where and who, if you have any. He goes to Denver for a flamenco guitar class whenever his teacher comes over from Spain to teach it. 
    There’s also a music community here in Fort Collins that he’s hoping to clear his schedule for, but work keeps calling. 

  23. The friends of mine who still play out are Jeff Golden and his son Eric.     They always put up a spot on FB about where and when etc, next time I see one I’ll put it up here.  They both are excellent players.   (If you do Facebook you might send them a friend request.). You might keep an eye out for Rocky Ramjet and the Fabulous Boogienauts, but I haven’t heard anything fro them lately.   in case you ever peruse Speakers, a friend owns AcmeBass dot calm…..I used to use one for the keyboard when I was still out bangin’ around, and it’s a great speaker.  

  26. Nikki Haley on Face the Nation. Forced to go to the mute button, too much blabbing from a loser who caved. She might have made a better VP candidate than the one they got stuck with but she wasn’t “The Chosen One.” I wonder why? 

  31. A thought or two on today’s Beethoven selection.
    From the wiki link:

    It is commonly known as the Kreutzer Sonata after the violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, to whom it was ultimately dedicated, but who thoroughly disliked the piece and refused to play it.

    I  can see why, the timing required is so intricate that a mistake by your duet partner can easily look like a mistake on your part. The two performers are musically standing naked before the audience.
    It requires 2 masters of their craft to pull it off successfully, which Wang and Bell obviously are. 
    Jack

  32. Those videos are fairly new, it was 84-85 when Andy and I were with him.  

    When Leon was 9 he appeared on Juliet Prouse’s TV show as Little Leon Payne. The way Leon tells it is he was born in a motel room in Craig, Colorado when his mom was on break.

  33. Nikki Haley… wasn’t “The Chosen One.” I wonder why? -Ivy
     
    Very simple.The Russian wanted Vance. -sturge

    Also, she is a woman, and women are exclusively sex objects to republicans. Just ask the guy they did pick

    i can think of 10 women that would have been a better VP pick than Vance, Lake included

  34. The misogynists and racists and holy tillers are beyond saving.   

    Will Orange Adolf signal them with a “stand by” comment on Tuesday?   If all hell breaks loose, any signaling  can and will be used against him in a court of law when he looses, but refuses to accept it.

  35. I am just going to believe the Alan Lichtman prediction and ignore everything else.

  36. Do you realize how far down the misogynist hole you have to go down to come up with “the sole purpose of postmenopausal women is raising children”?? (-JD Vance)
     
    Only a deeply fucked-up mind can crystallize that gem

  38. always fun when someone uses terms like “purpose” in the context of evolutionary biology, my suspicion is that it’s not a sign of great intelligence 

  39. Ok, the question becomes how much of the fleet are you willing to burn to win the war, i don’t think the libs have it in them so y’all had better GET OUT THAT VOTE
     
    Anybody.  Everybody.  If the people in your orbit are unpersuadable, find a new orbit, let’s win this thing and then be done.  One last ride, let’s fucking gooooooooo 🇺🇸 

    🫡

  41. I would like to hear from one Christian or another what EXACTLY Jesus has actually DONE for them.  “He died for my sins” they’ll say.   Can they explain to me EXACTLY what his death had to do with their sins?   I just don’t get the connection.   I do like the red words though, much the same way I like the words of Kierkegaard. 

  43. Christianity is just behaving like a religion. If you are the dominate religion, you believe that your true path is the best and at some time, in either or both the past and future, a significant number of your fellow religionist will want to force their beliefs on their neighbors.
    Given that a significant number of my neighbors have the “god gene” or ability to believe, which I don’t, I think we should count our blessings that we grew up in a time that was mostly tolerant. At least not being tortured to death for our beliefs. . It hasn’t always been so and I don’t look for it to last much into the future. But fortunately I won’t be here to find out.
    Jack
    Jack 

  44. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/06/texas-ken-paxton-travis-county-voter-registration/

    “Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Travis County to block an effort to register more voters before the November election.”

    May the folks that you block
    all be those you need.

    *****
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/texas-sues-records-women-abortions-b2608856.html

     
    “Texas has sued the federal government to try and get around federal health privacyprotections so officials can get information on women who’ve had out-of-state abortions.”

    “The state filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in Lubbock, Texas, targeting a law enacted in 2000 to protect Americans’ medical privacy. In April, an addition to the law prohibited the disclosing of medical records for criminal or civil investigations if they dealt with “the mere act of seeking, obtaining, providing or facilitating reproductive health care.”
     
    May all Republicans running at the local, state, and federal levels be voted out of office this November. 
     

  45. https://www.badfaithdocumentary.com/

    “BAD FAITH reveals how Christian Nationalist leaders have spread fear and anger for decades, distorting political issues into Biblical battles between good and evil. Financed through the secretive Council for National Policy, Christian Nationalists have succeeded in taking over the Republican Party, turning it into a powerful weapon to demolish democracy from within. Discover the origins of this organized grasp for power and the grassroots coalition of secular and interfaith leaders bravely confronting the unholy forces threatening democracy.”

    I’ve seen at least one, large church showing this documentary and having a discussion afterward, maybe to remind folks what they should already know.

  46. “…it’s also quite entertaining to them (i.e., “stupid is funny.”)”

    Ivy,  might explain the otherwise unexplainable votes from otherwise rational people.  the big draw and popularity over the years of stuff like slap stick genre, the 3 stooges, jerry lewis movies, forrest gump, even shakespeare played around with it (ex: midsummer night’s dream’s silly actor troop, the donkey beloved of the fairy queen, the mixed up foursome lovers etc.)

    as willy wrote: “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”    

  47. I remain astonished Democrats managed to raise the profile of this thing so effectively, I’d like to see someone study just how that was done. blueINdallas, your determination paid off…

    Today’s NYT poll: “Three-quarters of likely voters said they had heard about Project 2025, and of those, 63 percent said they opposed it. Mr. Trump’s distancing aside, 71 percent of those who have heard of Project 2025 said they believed that the former president would try to enact some or most of the policies that it espouses.”

  48. The resident MAGAt doesn’t believe in Project 2025. They don’t believe tRUMPsky can put his opponents in prison “when he wins” as he said in his latest post.  I explained that only tRUMPsky loyalists will be allowed to keep their positions, and that Project 2025 lays it all out.  I reminded them that nobody could believe J6 could happen here.  They didn’t seem to believe J6 was a big deal.   I’m glad some folks are paying attention, and I wish the MSM would bring up one part of it every night…or share the story about TX trying to get medical records of pregnant women who left the state to get abortions…or any one of the awful things MAGAts are doing, but it’s pretty much just the sound of crickets chirping. 

  50. https://www.thedailybeast.com/planes-targeting-donald-trump-project-2025-fly-over-college-football-games

    Craig – I didn’t see any coverage of the banners on MSM or socials.

    “The DNC is reaching voters where they are,” DNC spokesperson Abhi Rahman told CBS News on Saturday, of the campaign’s innovative strategy of flying planes with anti-Project 2025 banners over college football games.”
     
    “At the University of Wisconsin vs. South Dakota game on Saturday.. a plane with a banner that reads “Jump Around! Beat Trump + Project 2025,” in reference to the end of the third-quarter tradition when Wisconsin fans begin jumping up and down in the stands.”
     
    “Eastward, at the Michigan vs. Ohio State game a banner reading “JD Vance ‘hearts’ Ohio State + Project 2025,” will also fly over.”

    “In Georgia at the Tennessee Tech vs. Bowling Green game, a “Beat Trump, Sack Project 2025” banner is scheduled to fly over.”

  51. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/new-kamala-harris-ad-trump-project-2025-black-voters-rcna169665
     
    “Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign launched a new ad focused on “Project 2025” Thursday, taking direct aim at former President Donald Trump and “his MAGA loyalists’ dangerous plan” that, it claims, will control Americans’ lives.”

    “The Harris campaign’s new 30-second spot, which was shared first with NBC News, is aimed at Black Americans in key battleground states in hopes of making inroads with a demo Democrats need to win over to be successful in November.”

    “Trump’s Project 2025 agenda will give him unchecked political power with no guardrails,” a narrator says at the start of the ad, adding that, if implemented, the plan would take Black America “backwards” by stripping voting rights protections, eliminating the Department of Education and monitoring women’s pregnancies, among other issues.”

  53. I’m not saying NYT is wrong but it’s an outlier..
    July ->Late Aug/Sept nat’l poll shifts
    NYT: Trump +1 -> Trump +1
    Quinnipiac: Trump +2 -> Harris +1
    WSJ: Trump +2 -> Harris +1
    Economist: Trump +3 -> Harris +2
    Emerson: Trump +6 -> Harris +2
    Morning Consult: Trump +2 -> Harris +3

  55. Craig – I’ve gotten several texts asking who I’m voting for (from team blue, allegedly), and a lot of ads pop up in my news feed asking the same (not sure who they claim to be).  It’s the MAGAts who aren’t afraid to put out yard signs or speak up in public.  So if you need 1,000 folks to answer your question, and there are a lot unwilling to participate (more coming from team blue), then of course it looks like it looks. Maybe that’s not how it works, though. Anyway, the only poll that matters is the real one in November.   

    I do believe the orange monster will lose, and I also believe he’ll call for violence, again.

  57. Between now and December there is going to be one perfect storm of orange bullshit.   It’s going to get worse and worse and worse.  That fucker is going to throw everything which can be thrown. He has no choice.   

  58. Will he be able to control himself on the debate stage?  Better administer those meds at exactly the right time.   I can see him getting so frustrated that he goes nuts and has to be restrained. 
    I think more folks need to hear the full Access Hollywood tape. 
    The debates will help Dems.  
    SNL will help Dems.
    Russia will help MAGAt Republicans. 

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