Sunday Serendipity

December 19

When looking for good music around the Christian holidays, I admit I cheat a little and take the easy way out. I believe I have said this before (repeatedly?), I am not a believer and have no classical music education so around Christmas my taste tend to be more plebian and not inspirational. My cheat was to search this blog for “Jace, Christmas”

So, for Christmas week, the next two Sunday Serendipities are courtesy of our absent friend, Jace

May I be wrong, and he be right so that he is in the hereafter, busy organizing the music for the Christmas feast.

Both selections are choral pieces that represent the diversity of Christianity

Enjoy, Jack

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36 thoughts on “Sunday Serendipity”

  2. something different – very different – last night on SNL


    Paul Rudd is formally inducted into Saturday Night Live’s Five-Timers club by members Tom Hanks and Tina Fey.

    Weekend Update anchors Tina Fey and Michael Che tackle the week’s biggest news, like Elon Musk being named Time Magazine’s person of the year.

  3. I really dig catching up with the late night ramblings after I wake to the sound of the automatic coffee machine cookin away at 4:30.
     

  4. worth revisiting and taking to heart is last night’s opining by our lovable trail friend Bink starting around 10:54 with

    Listen: i know your bodies are broken, and mine’s getting there, but your minds aren’t, and you made it to the future that you all dreamed about- might as well enjoy it as much as you can, shitty electronica and all🚀
    [10:56]
    …self-driving cars, handheld supercomputers, wireless global video chat (that’s fucking insane, people), etc., etc.,
    [10:57]
    …it looked ridiculous in Adam West’s Batmobile, now standard in all new cars
    [10:58]
    WIRELESS GLOBAL VIDEO CHAT!
    [10:59]
    mRNA vaccines!  What in the sweet Christ have people accomplished!
    [11:00]
    A vaccine that isn’t even a virus that uses the body’s own genes to program its own immunity!  WTF?!
    [11:03]
    Every piece of Audio/Visual Media ever produced, available ON DEMAND INSTANTLY
    [11:04]
    Grocery stores full of food.  My pops had to fight his brothers for dinner, no bullshit
    [11:05]
    The bastard ate a can of sardines like a guy who grew up having to fight for his food
    [11:08]
    Paper-thin screens can roll up and fold now
    [11:08]
    We really need to stop desertifying the planet, ASAP, tho 

     

    sadly, Bink, looks like we’ve already jumped the shark but thanks anyway for a few feelgood moments there.

  5. another great leap for humankind

    to infinity and beyond?

    Nasa sets new date for James Webb space telescope launch | Space | The Guardian

    The much-delayed launch of the James Webb space telescope will go ahead on 24 December, Nasa and the company overseeing the launch have confirmed.
    The project, begun in 1989, was originally expected to deploy the instrument – which will be the largest and most powerful telescope ever to be launched into space – in the early 2000s.
    […]
    “The James Webb Space Telescope is confirmed for the target launch date of December 24,” tweeted launch company Arianespace, adding that it would go ahead at 12:20 GMT on that day.
    Nasa tweeted that the telescope was “encapsulated inside its @Ariane5 rocket fairing”.
    It follows in the footsteps of the legendary Hubble telescope but will be located much further from the sun. It is hoped it will reveal what the Universe looked like even closer to its birth nearly 14 billion years ago.
    The new telescope is named after the late James E. Webb, who ran the fledgling Nasa space agency for much of the 1960s.

  7. Jack & Jace – Thanks

    patD – Thanks for posting SNL, as I slept through it. This morning, it’s like nothing ever happened. My arm isn’t even sore anymore.

    Somehow, this didn’t seem as odd and sad as the SNL Hanks remote-hosted from his house in 2020…which seems like about eight years ago.

  8. So SNL was a bit odd last night, but I enjoyed seeing Tom Hanks and Tina Fey on the show again. The WU segment was different, and the jokes didn’t land well without the banter between Che and Jost. So is Keenan leaving with his new show starting?  I assume so.  

  9. the good judges evidently don’t know or don’t think Druidism is a religion.

    Judge says Carmel school cn refuse to display menorah symbol at tree-lighting ceremony (sfchronicle.com)

    When a woman in Carmel sought to add an inflatable balloon decorated like a menorah to the tree-lighting ceremony at the school her third-grader attended, the school turned her down — and had a basis for its refusal, a federal judge says.
    Although the after-school festivity centered around a Christmas tree, the Supreme Court has ruled that Christmas trees are no longer purely religious symbols in U.S. society, U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman of San Jose said Friday.
    “Although Christmas trees once carried religious connotations, today they typify the secular celebration of Christmas,” Freeman said, quoting the court’s 1989 ruling in a Pennsylvania case.
    [continues]

    from a Druid himself On the Christmas Tree – Druid Journal discussing erroneous info on origin espoused by christians like the good judges and their ignorance of trees’ religious connections:

    Saint Wilfred lived in the late 600’s AD, at which time England had been solidly Christian for hundreds of years. There was, in his time, a certain amount of tension between “Roman” Christianity and “Celtic” Christianity, but there was no question about the “Christian” part. It is doubtful that good Wilfred ever was fortunate enough to meet a Druid.
    Evergreen plants such as pine and mistletoe were, in fact, prized by the Druids for precisely the reason that Wilfred states: they represent rebirth and eternal life, which was part of the Druidic teaching of reincarnation.
    Oak trees, which are indeed sacred to Druids, do just as good a job pointing to the heavens as fir trees do. They also stand considerably taller, and have a strong connection with the heavens, as they are known for their ability to be struck multiple times by lightning and survive.

  13. Jack… nice tribute to Jace!
     
    haven’t put up an Xmas tree in 2 years…   I got a couple kittens…  and even though they are now cats… they are the most rambunctious cats I’ve ever owned…

  14. https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/18/politics/washington-state-senator/index.html

    “A Washington state senator has died a month after confirming with a local radio station he was in El Salvador and sick with Covid-19….had repeatedly called for the resignation of Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, in numerous posts on his website. His latest news release, dated November 1, said the state was the “national leader in authoritarian government.”

    One, less Republican who didn’t care about public safety.

  16. I hope Joe Manchin’s yacht goes down with him on it. He doesn’t care about answering to his constituents in WV any more than he cares about the American people, at large. He serves up fried baloney every day.

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/19/politics/joe-manchin-build-back-better/index.html

    With friends like Joe Manchin, who needs enemies?

    “On Tuesday of this week, Senator Manchin came to the White House and submitted — to the President, in person, directly — a written outline for a Build Back Better bill that was the same size and scope as the President’s framework, and covered many of the same priorities,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki wrote in the statement. “While that framework was missing key priorities, we believed it could lead to a compromise acceptable to all.”
    According to Psaki, Manchin “promised to continue conversations in the days ahead, and to work with us to reach that common ground.”

    “…Manchin’s office communicated directly to the White House and Democratic leadership approximately 30-40 minutes before Manchin went on Fox.”

  17. did going on Faux news mean more than a “no” on bbb bill?  for instance, switching from dem to either indie or GOP and handing the senate over to mitch? 

    ‘course going on faux gets him a wider audience – all of faux’s groupies plus the outraged headlines on all the other media formats.  i heard claire Mc once say on msnbc that sen. joe really really loved to be the center of attention.   IMO his efforts portend more than just seeking the limelight, he’s after bigger game.

  19. If that schmuck switches parties there will be no joy in Mudville……why would a guy like that care what party he’s in to begin with…..

  20. Jack 

    Thank you for the great music of the season.  You don’t need to be a believer of any stripe to appreciate the great music in all genres written for it.

     

  21. BID

    If you have access to Netflix, I just caught a delightful romcom totally set in New York.  Check out Dash and Lily if you haven’t seen it.

     

  22. While I understand Manchin’s support of coal jobs in a coal state, that doesn’t change the fact that he negotiated in bad faith.

    As a result, he betrayed the party, betrayed the President, and betrayed his constituents who desperately need much of what is in BBB.  That he did it on Faux Spews is totally unconscionable.

     

  23. This piling on Manchin today (Omar called him “bullshit”) has me less worried about his impact on BBB than how it could drive him into McConnell’s arms and we lose majority. Truth is he’d be better off, given the political math of WV. 

  24. His position that programs like child tax credit should be 10yrs, not one, makes sense to me. If GOP gets Congress they won’t renew it but wouldn’t have the guts to repeal it.

    Fewer programs, but give them longer life spans, can still be called Build Back Better, Manchin votes for it and victory declared. 

  25. At this point I’d rather campaign for midterm on a few specific, popular programs, instead of a big, complicated and expensive beast that’s an easy target for socialism attacks. Manchin might be doing us a favor. 

  26. In the forefront for me are voting rights sometime before these GOP states totally destroy access to the polls and a fair count of the ballots.

    After that, I’m fine with doing BBB one piece at a time, but that might require doing away with the filibuster.

    It was the ann202ouncement on Fox that was particularly galling.  He doesn’t face reelection until 2024, so there is no need to grovel to the ignorant and delusional yet.

    Maybe they gave him a Trump Tree ornament in exchange

    Amazon.com: Kurt Adler President Donald Trump Red 80mm Glass Ball Christmas Tree Ornament C7572 New : Home & Kitchen

  28. Manchin just acts like a POS.  He blindsided the WH with his announcement on Faux.  He’s already on Team Yertle.  POS.  A Republican POS. 

  29. That’s just it. He’s not up for re-election next year, and, he’s 74.
    He has nobody to answer to who is of any concern to him, except the big money people. If he runs in 2024, make sure everyone in WV knows how he hurt them by not voting for BBB. Again, he’s 74 now, so he may not run, again.

    Why Joe Manchin’s good faith is bad for the poor

    “…Manchin has proposed attaching means testing and work requirements to the child tax credit, argued against the For the People Act on voting rights, vowed to defend the Senate’s obstructive filibuster and opposed raising the minimum wage to $15/hour.“

    “…run counter to Manchin’s claims that his Catholic faith informs his politics. Blocking funding for life-saving social programs is at odds with Jesus’ transformative work of bringing good news to the poor.“

    He claims to be a Christian, but he’s clearly not worried about answering to his maker. He’s nothing but a lying, Republican POS.

  31. So, the difference between Krysten Sinema / Joe Manchineel and Mary Landrieu / Max Barca’s is?, . . . 

  32. msn:

    Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker tested positive for the coronavirus, according to tweets Sunday from their official accounts.

    The Massachusetts Democrat, who is vaccinated and boosted, said she is experiencing mild symptoms. The New Jersey Democrat, who is also vaccinated and boosted, also reported mild symptoms.

    Warren was on the Senate floor last week before the chamber went on recess.

    “I regularly test for COVID & while I tested negative earlier this week, today I tested positive with a breakthrough case. Thankfully, I am only experiencing mild symptoms & am grateful for the protection provided against serious illness that comes from being vaccinated & boosted,” Warren tweeted. “As cases increase across the country, I urge everyone who has not already done so to get the vaccine and the booster as soon as possible – together, we can save lives.”

    [continues]

  33. fox:

    Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., announced on Sunday night he has tested positive with a breakthrough case of the coronavirus.

    In the statement posted to Twitter, Sen. Booker said that he has received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine and has received the booster shot. He first began feeling symptoms on Saturday, according to the tweet.

    “I learned today that I tested positive for COVID-19 after first feeling symptoms on Saturday. My symptoms are relatively mild,” Sen. Booker tweeted.

  34. excerpt from White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s statement on Sen. Joe Manchin and Build Back Better – The Washington Post 

    In Sunday’s White House statement on Manchin, Psaki shared behind-the-scenes details about negotiations, presumably to demonstrate just how close the White House thought it was to reaching a deal with him.

    […]

    “On Tuesday of this week, Senator Manchin came to the White House and submitted — to the President, in person, directly — a written outline for a Build Back Better bill that was the same size and scope as the President’s framework, and covered many of the same priorities,” Psaki said. “While that framework was missing key priorities, we believed it could lead to a compromise acceptable to all. Senator Manchin promised to continue conversations in the days ahead, and to work with us to reach that common ground. If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate.”

    […]

    Psaki finished her statement by saying the White House would work with Manchin, “to see if he will reverse his position yet again.” But even in that olive branch was a not-so-veiled accusation that Manchin turned his back on the party.

  35. Jamie – No Netflix, but I’ll put it in my “to watch” file if I get the chance somewhere.

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