87 thoughts on “Sunday Serendipity”

  1. jack, thanks for picking such good stuff for our sunday enjoyments and thanks for your kind words the other day.

    wiki about that ballet:

    Rodeoopens with a grand fanfare, vamping until R5-6, where the woodwinds introduce the Cowgirl’s theme. This quiet theme continues until theRodeotheme begins presenting a highly rhythmic motif that evokes the trotting of horses. The lone Cowgirl seeks the affections of the Head Wrangler, who is rather taken with the more feminine Rancher’s Daughter. The cowboys enter to the railroad tune of “Sis Joe”, envisioned by de Mille as an event “like thunder,” which Copland obliges with heavy drums and brass. As the cowgirl seeks the attention of her quarry, she mimics the surrounding cowboys, reflected in the heavy use of the tune “If He’d Be a Buckaroo” in this section. The theme is repeated by various solo instruments before being realized in triplecanonby the full orchestra. After a brief return to the quiet Cowgirl theme, the fanfare returns. “Sis Joe” reappears again, before the entire orchestra triumphantly plays “If He’d be a Buckaroo”.
    […]
    In what is considered one of the earliest examples of a truly American ballet, Rodeo combines the exuberance of a Broadway musical with the disciplines of classical ballet. Of particular note, the first scene requires men to pantomime riding and roping while dancing solo and dancing in groups (not very common for male ballet dancers), and while interacting with an awkward Cowgirl, who seeks their acceptance. The cast dresses in stylized western garb, which makes it all the more difficult to execute many of the moves.
    Classical ballet storylines typically involve some boy-meets-girl relationship, or at most a love triangle. But Rodeo forces an American Cowgirl to compete against an army of local girls in a quest to win the attention of the Champion Roper. The pairing and mutual attraction of the men and women in the cast appears fluid, and at times confusing to the rejected Cowgirl. Against this backdrop, the Cowgirl emotes strength, awkwardness, confidence, femininity and vulnerability, while executing rapid-fire footwork and pantomime, which mimics the bronco-busting of the men. Any comic dancer who plays the Cowgirl must succeed at being a failure, only to emerge triumphant in the end when she finally dons a dress for dance night.
    Regarding this nuanced role, DeMille said: “She acts like a boy, not to be a boy, but to be liked by the boys.”

    bits and pieces of it

    Highlights from Choreographer Kristy Nilsson’s re-telling of the Old West ballet “Rodeo,” with music by Aaron Copland. Performed by Houston Repertoire Ballet / Director: Victoria Vittum / Music: Aaron Copland / Costume Design: Julie Hacker & Judy Jackson / Still Photography © Scott Nilsson Photographer Dancers: Catherine McCoy as The Cowgirl; Ian Brooks as The Champion Roper; Hortense Pelletan as The Pinto Pony; Eden Davila, Hannah Pidgeon & Quinn Price as the Rancher’s Daughters; and, the company dancers of Houston Repertoire Ballet.

  2. puzzlement: what’s behind calling on Joe and not the convicted felon to withdraw from the race?

    why aren’t there more editorials and op eds like

    To serve his country, Donald Trump should leave the race | Editorial (inquirer.com)

    There was only one person at the debate who does not deserve to be running for president. The sooner Trump exits the stage, the better off the country will be.

    and

      Opinion | Trump’s verdict means one thing: He must drop out – The Washington Post

    For the good of his country and his party, Donald Trump must withdraw from the presidential race.

  3. patd – you almost get the feeling there is a conspiracy among the media, which are all not liberal, to damage if not destroy the Dems and America as we know it.

  4. Woo-hoo! for this morning’s featured music!

    Double woo-hoo for Biden/Harris 2024!

    ps – There will be no Harris/Newsome/Whitmer tussle next time, because if tRUMPsky were to win (God forbid it!), there will be no next time. If Dems can’t bring themselves to campaign for Biden, then they need to campaign against Project 2025. That should rattle everyone off of their sofas.

  5. we’re not the only ones with election chaos/blues/angst/despair.  here’s john describing the upcoming (4th of july no less) brit ballot battle as “kind of like the U.S. but whimsically worse”

    John Oliver discusses the UK elections, who’s running, why people are so upset with the Tories, and the happiest surgeon in all of Lithuania.

  7. The tRUMPer who was fed Michelle Obama as a replacement (which I batted down), started spewing the (loose) Pelosi connection when I mentioned Newsome, and said he ruined San Francisco.  He was governor. Not the whole state?  Nope,  just San Francisco…where they have NEVER visited.  Anyway, Gavin is not the answer for fairweather Dems.

    Biden/Harris 2024

  8. https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/30/europe/russia-hybrid-war-nato/index.html
    “Russia wants to confront NATO but dares not fight it on the battlefield – so it’s waging a hybrid war instead”
     
    Campaign against Putin (tRUMPsky).
    Campaign against Project 2025.
     
    Biden/Harris 2024
     
    Why wouldn’t Wall Street want to keep the current administration?  Aside from abolishing taxes for the rich and companies, which will destroy what’s left of the middle class and plunge us into the financial abyss…well, hopefully, not everyone is so greedy as to have it distort their long-term vision. 

  9. “ Why wouldn’t Wall Street want to keep the current administration”

    cuz trump offered to sell the government to them for the low low price of $1 b!ll!on

  12. My serendipitous plagiarism of the day.

    Be the person who cares. Be the person who makes the effort,
    the person who loves without hesitation.
    Be the person who bares it all, the person who never shies away from the depth of their feeling, or the intensity of their hope.
    Be the person who believes in the softness of the world, in the goodness of other people, in the beauty of being open and untethered and trusting.
    Be the person who takes the chance, who refuses to hide.
    Be the person who makes people feel seen, the person who shows up. Trust me when I say, be the person who cares.
    Because the world doesn’t need any more carelessness, any more disregard, because there is nothing stronger than someone who continues to stay soft in a world that hasn’t always been kind to them.
    – Bianca Sparacino

  15. Denise Wheeler
    Hey New York Times, when you get tired of trashing Biden how about reporting on why Trump’s plane was next to a Russia embassy plane & Saudi plane in Dulles yesterday, while Trump was doing a rally in Virginia. Or is treason part of your journalistic standard now too?

  16. Biden should call for both of them to undergo an unbiased biopsychosocial exam publicly released. That’s much broader than the 20-minute rudimentary neurological questionnaire Trump’s disgraced doctor supposedly gave him with no fully published results (whose name Trump recently forgot when he bragged about it.)

  17. Jack & Pat

    Thank you for this wonderful contribution.  Copeland is so universal and the DeMille choreography a gift for the eyes.  

  19. Oklahoma!

    It was de Mille’s success with Rodeo that led to her being hired to choreograph Oklahoma! which changed dance on Broadway forever.

  20. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv2gx7d0qwdo

    [,,,]
    The president, 81, attended a series of fundraising events in New York and New Jersey on Saturday, and defended his performance in CNN’s Presidential Debate.
    Speaking at one event, Mr Biden admitted, “I didn’t have a great night, but neither did Trump” on Thursday.
    “I promise you we’re going to win this election,” he said.
    […]
    Biden campaign chairwoman Jennifer O’Malley Dillon said on Saturday, however, that internal post-debate polling showed “voters’ opinions were not changed”.
    “It will not be the first time that overblown media narratives have driven temporary dips in the polls,” she said.
    While the Biden campaign has acknowledged that the debate had not gone as they had hoped, it has maintained its stance that the president will not step aside for another nominee.
    Mr Biden has also said he understands the concerns, but pledged to fight harder.
    New Jersey’s Democratic governor Phil Murphy attended the fundraiser in his state alongside Mr Biden and the First Lady – and told Mr Biden that “we are all with you 1,000%”.
    [continues]

  21. Washington Post: At a fundraiser Friday night, the First Lady told donors her husband had admitted something went wrong. “After last night’s debate, he said, ‘You know, Jill, I don’t know what happened. I didn’t feel that great,’” she recounted. “And I said, ‘Look, Joe, we are not going to let 90 minutes define the four years that you’ve been president.’”

    By the end of his three-day swing, even the president was acknowledging publicly that the night did not go his way. “I understand the concern after the debate. I get it — I didn’t have a great night,” he said at a fundraiser Saturday night in Red Bank, N.J. “But I’m going to be fighting harder.”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/30/how-biden-debate-prep-led-to-damaging-event/

  24. Interesting that a former top Republican operative who hates Trump is one of the strongest voices out there right now saying Biden should stay in.

    Stuart Stevens: “For those who think replacing Biden would help defeat Trump, here’s a question: How long has it been since a party in the WH held on to the WH without incumbency? 36 years. Good luck, guys.”

  25. He toned it down to “sexual assaulter”. Could say “adjudicated rapist”.

    Rick Wilson:

    “Donald Trump remains an existential threat to democracy, the Republic, the Constitution, and our most fundamental liberties, in addition to being a fraud, a liar, a felon, a degenerate, a sexual assaulter, a global embarrassment, and an ally of evil.”

  27. Biden aides plotted debate strategy for months. Then it all collapsed.

    Washington Post:

    “Aides were bewildered by his performance. Many felt they had never seen him collapse so dramatically. After all, Biden was a veteran of numerous debates — as a senator, vice-presidential nominee and presidential candidate. And they did not understand why he gave an entirely different answer on the age question than the one they spent more than a week perfecting.”

    free link — https://wapo.st/4cmS8Sg

  28. No matter how well the fallout from this episode turns out for Biden, for the next four months every glitch, stumble, misplaced word or odd facial expression will bring this whole discussion back front and center. Not pretty.

  29. Doug Burgum did himself no favors on Meet The Press — his spin was was not deft or clever, just plain foolish.

    BURGUM: Donald Trump at the end of his term left the White House. We had a smooth transition.
    WELKER: January 6 wasn’t exactly a smooth transition.
    BURGUM: Well, I think we have to say there was a smooth transition. I’ve been living under what I call the Biden dictatorship.

    And this — So it’s OK when he’s just repeating his lies???

    WELKER: Do you think Donald Trump should stop saying things that aren’t true?
    BURGUM: “Everything Trump said on Thursday night he’s been saying before. So this is not news”

  30. It’s not going to be Doofus Doug and it’s not going to be the Ohio Hillbilly. 

  33. One thing about it Ivy, I do think Kamala can beat any of these clowns in the VP debate. Getting swing voters comfortable with Kamala is now mission critical. Even more likely they’ll assume Biden can’t remain viable until end of next term at age 86.

  35. excerpts of responses by black leaders reported by the hill this morning

    gov. wes moore:

    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) affirmed that he would not seek the Democratic nomination if President Biden dropped out from the race, emphasizing that Biden will stay in the presidential election.
    “I will not, and Joe Biden is not going to take himself out of this race, nor should he. He has been a remarkable partner,” Moore said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” when asked if he would pursue the nomination.
    […]
    “Joe Biden is our nominee. Joe Biden is our leader. And Joe Biden has earned and Joe Biden deserves the confidence, the respect and frankly, the partnership that we now have to provide to him. So I will be in Chicago. I will probably be supporting the president in Chicago. I will be a member to make sure he gets reelected. So yes, I think that President Biden has earned the respect,” Moore responded.

    sen. warnock:

    Warnock, in the interview, pivoted to attacking former President Trump and his performance in the debate, saying the former president spent the debate “trash talking the whole country.”
    “The question this morning is not, ‘what is Joe Biden going to do?’ The question is, who has Donald Trump ever showed up for other than himself and people like himself? I’m with Joe Biden, and it’s our assignment to make sure that he gets over the finish line come November, not for his sake, but for the country’s sake,” Warnock said.

    rep. clyburn

    “Yes, it was a bad performance. I’ve been around these things. I’ve been a part of debate preparation before, and I know when I see what I call preparation overload. And that’s exactly what was going on,” Clyburn said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
    “The other night, I saw Joe Bidenreppin for words and phrases, and even numbers that he was loaded up with. The next day, he gets to North Carolina, he’s freewheeling, and he captivated the audience. And that’s what we should do,” he added.
    He also said that preparation for the next debate should be “different.”
    Clyburn suggested that Biden needs to prepare for the debate with “deflection” instead of just with information. He said Biden needs to prepare “the kinds of things that we did not see in Joe Biden the other night and saw it four years ago.”
    He also said it is “very clear” that Biden should stay in the race, which echoed his previous comments last week where he said the president should “stay the course.” 

     also according to Hakeem Jeffries assures CT Democrats Joe Biden can win election (stamfordadvocate.com) another influential black leader, the house minority (and next majority) leader said:

    “Certainly, as Joe Biden himself has acknowledged, the debate did not go the way that we would have hoped,” Jeffries said. “It was a setback.”
    But he learned in church growing up that “a setback is nothing more than a set up for a come back, and the Democratic party can always come back on behalf of the American people. And we know Joe Biden is a good man, an honest man, a family man who’s running against a con man on the other side of the aisle… The Democratic Party will always stand on the side of truth, which is why it’s an all-hands-on-deck moment to win in November.”

  36. Getting swing voters comfortable with Kamala is now mission critical.

     
    In complete agreement, Craig. We all need to get very comfortable if we weren’t already. 

  37. Nikki reached out to Orange Adolf, whom she said was “unfit” to serve.  She’s bucking for VP, but Harris would wipe the debate floor with her.  JD Vance is the biggest a-hole, but Adolf’s ego probably won’t let him pick a much younger man.  Duh-g is rich and homely and his kissed the ring.  Little Marco? 

  39. My money’s on Nikki as the best antidote to Kamala. The Felon will forced to suck it up. He’ll find a way. So will she. Nothing’s too low.

  40. “Galloping Gish Gadfly” as an ad hominem needs to be affixed to the orange nicknamer tout de suite.

    The tricks going on behind the curtain need to be exposed. Where’s Toto when you need him?

  41. Craig – this goes back to the run in 2020, I would have preferred someone younger to run, but with the choice of Harris I went to “okay”.  Now, same thing, but with more knowledge of he is one of our greatest presidents.  He was “off” last week for a couple hours.  I have more “off’ time than he has every week.  I can see Harris taking over, just as I did the last run.  The Dems have many quality people who could run this country.

  43. So now the inner circle blaming staff, while staff blamed Biden today in WAPO. Not a good sign.

    NYT:

    “There is real anger within the Biden family and among close allies about how the president was staffed and prepared ahead of the debate, per people familiar. Biden himself is not stewing, trying to move forward.”

  44. Why are those two papers being perceived by anyone as having any relationship with the truth?    Woodward and Bernstein are long gone and the NYT is obviously out to sabotage Biden. Those two papers have become nothing more than rags for the fascist rich. 

    The cow patty don’t stink until you stir it with a stick. Why do they never stir convicted felon rapist Patties?
    I think I’ll subscribe to that paper which called on him to scram.

  45.  I personally think Biden should fire his debate prep team. They obviously failed.  Worse than that they started leaking to cover up their failure.  Biden may be old, he may be senile but those are things you know going into the debate. You develop a strategy for him to cope. That they failed spectacularly is fireable, like maybe yesterday.
    Now would be the best time to clean house. It needs to be done. 
    It might also shut up all the has been Democratic operatives  who have been job trolling Fox, ect by throwing fire bombs at the Biden camp. They are probably stupid enough to believe they will get a job in the new shuffle.
    Jack

  46. Yes the nature of and the depth of Joe’s fuck-up calls for extensive clean up on aisle 3, but that’s what a good team does.   If you make a mess, you have to clean it up. 

  47. time to call in the progs and demonstrate a symbolic stewardship to a new generation
     
    AOC’s people, Fettetman’s people, Sanders’ people…

    get the new rock stars up front and on stage

    …like, “Biden’s our guy and we young progs have his back” kind of messaging

    …or “Biden’s not a man alone, he represents a big tent and so do we”

    spitballin’

    and yo progs: you’re policy agenda is ****** if you can’t get folks to the polls for Joe

    Defend Grandpa! ⚔️

    Pro-Palestinian? trump does not GAF. LGBT? trump will let the evangelicals elbow you out of society. Can’t afford a starter home? the GOP is running a slumlord. Need a hand-up? GOP thinks you need to pull yourself up by hour bootstraps

    Mods and indies: trump’s an obvious russian agent, be careful to whom you bow, you might get thrown out a window, or indicted on bullshit bribery charges when a scapegoat is needed, and a scapegoat is ALWAYS needed

    oh and if your granddaughter is raped, they’ll force her to have that piece of shit’s baby, enjoy having those genes at the family BBQ, idiots

    make the message the message, not the man

  49. https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/2024-uk-election-rishi-sunak-vs-keir-starmer-predictions-5995496

    “The United Kingdom is preparing to go to polls on July 4, with odds heavily favouring the Labour Party leader Keir Starmer. While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is trying hard to keep his Conservative Party in power, the voter fatigue — stemming from the 14-year Tory rule — is visible in predicted numbers.

    Keir Starmer is projected to win a historic mandate in the upcoming general election. In contrast, the Conservatives may see their lowest numbers in nearly two centuries. The Liberal Democrats, too, are likely to achieve their best-ever performance.”

  51. Yee haw, Jack. Doesn’t really get more American than Copland’s wester themes. 
    Bink, good spitballing. 

  54. Craig,
    That was a sad story, Poor former Butlers and serving staff. LOL, poorly written click bait. Or a headline in search of a story.
    BTW, I wonder why they were former. 
    Jack

  55. The Philadelphia Inquirer.  Not just because they agree with me, but what it is they agree with me about. 

    CNN viciously sucker punched the President.

  56. Biden  has a problem and if he is up to it he needs to get out and do interview, both formal and late night informal. If he can’t then we need to know about it and Kamala has to step up. Maybe Kamala and Mayor Pete?
    Jack

  57. The Dems and media  continuing  to give air to the spark from Thursday night are now the problem, not the portion of the debate where there was a falter.

  59. This is that point where after a staggering set back, Mickey Rooney gets up and gee-whizzes all the kids into getting fired up about finishing the theater (barn) and going on with the show.   

  61. Bink
    surrogates can only do so much. This is on Biden and his campaign staff.
    I think he needs to come out and own it.  Trumps lies were so over the top that they kind of blew him away.  He failed to address them, but how do you do it in 2 min. CNN couldn’t do it and they owned the mike. Trump is an over the top fabulist and liar. If that is what you want for president then God bless, vote for him.
    BTW, this is only if he can.
    Jack

  62. Poo-tin is enjoying the Dems spiraling over nothing.

    Yeah overall, considering the job Biden has done despite SCOTUS and congressional MAGAt-weasels, there is zero reason to throw it all away.

    Biden/Harris 2024

  63. Elton John fires up the crowd for Joe.

    “Do we stand up for our vision and our values or let misinformation and senseless scapegoating turn back the clock? No fucking way.”

  64. Craig – It’s not surprising that the progressives at Data For Progress would create a poll trying to support getting rid of Biden.  

    Bink had it absolutely right.  Focus on the issues and threat to democracy.    
    Changing candidates at this point looks weak and creates chaos, not good energy.
     
    Biden/Harris 2024

    G’nite

  65. It was CNN’s task to get in hand a video clip of Bider looking awful.  

    Artfully done, Fascist sympathizers.

  67. NYT: Former Biden chief of staff who ran debate prep Ron Klain said that it was “100 percent certain” the president would stay in the race. “He is the choice of the Democratic voters. We are seeing record levels of support from grass-roots donors. We had a bad debate night. But you win campaigns by fighting — not quitting — in the face of adversity.”

  68. Geez…they left behind this great looking wooden horse. Let’s drag it inside.

  70. Three post-debate polls and they’re still tied

    No debate meltdown boost – voters are worried about Biden but not enough to switch to Trump. Republicans have the wrong nominee. Any other Republican would be ahead outside the margin of error.

  71. Those weren’t “moderators”, they were question-askers.
     
    AI could have easily done the job Tapper and Bash did, and if you don’t believe me, a company that develops that kind of tech advertises before every episode of Olbermann’s podcast, and even the voices in the ad are AI-generated and sound completely natural
     
    CNN got the debate it wanted, we’re still talking about it, and them

  73. “ Donald Trump represents no one but himself.  Joe Biden represents a broad coalition of Americans who don’t always agree, but agree on one thing; we all must work together in these challenging and exciting times. Join Us.  Biden/Harris 2024”
     
    …can’t believe i write this shit for free 😒 
     
    use it

  74. Sturge, Yep. 
    I said something similar a couple of days ago.
    Say Biden is senile, we know Trump is. So that gives us a choice of the crazy man yelling at everybody or the quiet one mumbling to himself . They are both senile but which one will cause the least damage.
    That is your vote.
    Oh and only one of them hires people who think putting children in cages is cool.
    Jack

  75. …throw in a Kinzinger; “hey, i’m GOP and i’m voting Biden
     
    …throw in a Berniecrat: “hey, our agenda is too important to risk staying home”
     
    yada yada, cut, print, win, let’s go

  76. “Biden may be old, but trump acts like a child.  Vote for the adult.  Biden/Harris 2024”

  77. “24 randomly selected jurors, vetted by defense lawyers, found trump guilty and liable.   trump says the legal system has been weaponized against him, or maybe honest Americans just aren’t buying his bullshit.  Biden/Harris 2024”

  79. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are focused on making the American Dream a reality for millions of Americans.  donald trump is more concerned with Putin’s dreams (insert debate clip)”

  82. Biden’s family privately criticizes top advisers and pushes for their ouster at Camp David meeting

    https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/30/biden-camp-david-family-debate-00165970

    The Atlantic’s Ronald Brownstein: “The focus on the staff allows the family to overlook Biden’s own failings in Atlanta. Of all the responses to Biden‘s performance, that he was overprepared is the most absurd. His problem was he couldn’t express a coherent thought”

  83. from that KO :

     CBS-YouGov polling released Sunday says even in the wake of the understandable blunt-force trauma we all went through as we watched, 55% of the Democrats have NO interest in changing horses while after the same debate 54% percent of EVERYBODY says TRUMP should drop out. 

  84. I chipped in another 100 bucks before the deadline. It only took 500 texts and emails.

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