38 thoughts on “Sunday Serendipity”

  1. jace, lovely.

    parry’s most famous piece was his hymn “Jerusalem” putting music to wm blake’s words:

    And did those feet in ancient time
    Walk upon England’s mountains green?
    And was the holy Lamb of God
    On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
    And did the countenance divine
    Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
    And was Jerusalem builded here
    Among those dark Satanic Mills?
    Bring me my bow of burning gold!
    Bring me my arrows of desire!
    Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!
    Bring me my chariot of fire!
    I will not cease from mental fight
    Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
    Till we have built Jerusalem
    In England’s green and pleasant Land

     

    an interesting explanation of that rather strange poem according to wiki for the trail’s sunday school lesson:
    The poem was inspired by the apocryphal story that a young Jesus, accompanied by Joseph of Arimathea, a tin merchant, travelled to what is now England and visited Glastonbury during his unknown years. The poem’s theme is linked to the Book of Revelation (3:12 and 21:2) describing a Second Coming, wherein Jesus establishes a New Jerusalem. The Christian church in general, and the English Church in particular, has long used Jerusalem as a metaphor for Heaven, a place of universal love and peace.
     
    In the most common interpretation of the poem, Blake implies that a visit by Jesus would briefly create heaven in England, in contrast to the “dark Satanic Mills” of the Industrial Revolution. Blake’s poem asks four questions rather than asserting the historical truth of Christ’s visit. Thus the poem merely implies that there may, or may not, have been a divine visit, when there was briefly heaven in England.
     

  4. from Faribault daily news (pioneer press):

    Al Franken: Whatā€™s next? ā€˜Iā€™m not quite ready to answer yet.ā€™

    [….]
    ….a letter to supporters that arrived in inboxes Friday morning.
    [….]
    Al Frankenā€™s thank-you letter
    This has been a tough few months. I canā€™t tell you how hard it was to step away from serving in the United States Senate ā€“ the best job Iā€™ve ever had.
    And I canā€™t tell you how much itā€™s meant to me, to Franni, and to our family to hear from so many supporters wishing us well and telling us that youā€™re still ready to fight for the progressive values we share.
    As I said on the day I announced my resignation from the Senate, I might be giving up my seat in that chamber, but Iā€™m not giving up my voice. Iā€™m going to keep fighting for those values, too.
    But, today, I just wanted to write to say thank you.
    Thank you for taking a chance on me more than a decade ago when I stepped up to run for the Senate ā€“ and helping me to win that first race by just 312 votes.
    Thank you for fighting alongside me every step of the way for the progressive values we share: values like justice, equality, integrity, and honesty.
    Thank you for making it possible to practice a politics focused, as my hero Paul Wellstone put it, on improving peopleā€™s lives.
    I am so proud of the progress weā€™ve made together. From passing the Affordable Care Act and extending health insurance to tens of millions of families to pairing veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with service dogs that make their days a little easier. From defending net neutrality and fighting back against media consolidation to asking the tough questions in hearings and exposing the corruption and incompetence of the Trump administration.
    And I know that there is a lot more progress to be made in the months and years ahead. We have to fight this administration and its far-right agenda. We have to take back power in this yearā€™s midterm elections (starting with re-electing Minnesotaā€™s two fine senators, Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar) so we can finally hold this President accountable. We have to stand up for our progressive values, stand up for middle-class families ā€“ and stand up for the truth.
    I know that you are going to keep fighting to make that progress. And I want you to know that Iā€™m going to be right there alongside you, every step of the way.
    As hard as it is not to be there in the Senate right now, I still believe, as Paul Wellstone did, that the future belongs to those who are passionate and work hard. Iā€™m still as passionate as ever about the values we share. I look forward to continuing the hard work weā€™ve done together to move our country forward.
    And, most of all, I am deeply grateful for your friendship and your support.
    Thank you,
    Al
    P.S.: Over the last few weeks, Iā€™ve heard from a lot of people who want to know what Iā€™m doing next and how they can help. Itā€™s a good question, and one Iā€™m not quite ready to answer yet. For the moment, Iā€™m enjoying spending time with Franni, our healthy and brilliant kids, and our adorable grandkids ā€“ and feeling very lucky to have them in my life. But I do want to thank you for being there for me during this difficult time. And I hope that, like me, youā€™ll continue to look for ways to stay involved during this critical election year.
     

     

  7. Might as well put a little bit of a kink in Craig just to let the British have a ball the last night of Proms with Jerusalem/God save the Queen and then all the bouncing and flag waving for Land of Hope and Glory

    YouTube thumbnail

     

  8. Jamie, thanks for that wired article.Ā  explains a lot.Ā  scary.

    ….two critical parts of the Facebook advertising infrastructure: The ads auction, and a benign-sounding but actually Orwellian product called Custom Audiences (and its diabolical little brother, Lookalike Audiences). Both of which sound incredibly dull, until you realize that the fate of our 242-year-old experiment in democracy once depended on them, and surely will again.

  9. Jerusalem = Chariots of Fire = Eric Liddell = Ian Charleson.

    Mr Charleson died of AIDS related complications in 1990 & requested his cause of death be publicized to bring attention to this horrible disease. I remember being saddened at the thought of such a loss, this talented man in the prime of his life, respected by his peers & public. It also brought home the utter awfulness of losing friends & loved ones to an illness treated as being a “judgment”; those who got it deserved it. Prejudice can never be cured, it bounces from one group to another, a flaw in our make up. But to those of us who remember the legacy of Mr Charleson stating truth, ugly truth, it was a noble act. I will forever think of him in the opening credits of his most famous movie, running, running, running along the beach with a life force of sheer masculine power, backed by unforgettable music. Thank You, Ian Charleson. Rest in Peace.

  10. Lovely interlude…how ya feeling, Jace?

    china to drop prez term limits…trump and his gop accomplices will most likely follow suit.Ā  Ā Forget about 2020, like the other asians, the norks?Ā  We will live with the trump regime and their lifetime repression on citizens…mostly female and those with different skin color.

    Tower Trash Go Home and will the last fbi agent please take-out the trash before turning-off the lights of democracy?

  12. Another morning surf of the news with Jace’s tunes in the background, always a pleasure.

    By the way I recently noticed our Blogroll of favorite sites has disappeared and I can’t find it anywhere, no idea what could have happened. I liked having it for quick jumps to the news.

    Post your favorites in comments and I will build another one.

  13. usa Olympian gus kenworthy tweet this morning:
    “So proud of all these people! Everybody here has worked so hard to make it to the Olympics and have the opportunity to walk in the closing ceremony!”
    “Well… Everyone except Ivanka. Honestly, tf is she doing here??”
     

  16. I am sure suckabee and vanka had their fill of dog meat in south korea.Ā  Ā Maybe a side of squirrel was offered for the offspring of sire huckster.

  17. So … does Kevin de Leon have a chance at an upset against 84 year old Dianne Feinstein?

    Time’s Up: Time for Blonde Wino’s surfing young jackasses to pick up the torches & move the Party out of the 20th & into the 21st century … ?

    How old is too old? Is relevance to constituents based on age, results? How would these arguments impact a future Biden Presidential run? How do age optics play into advertising/Polls/donations?

     

  20. speaking of steyer,

    After Parkland, Steyer pledges $1M to register high schoolers to vote

    Washington (CNN)In the wake of the Parkland school shooting, a billionaire Democratic donor is pledging $1 million to help young people register to vote with the hope that they will help elect pro-gun control politicians in the midterm elections.

    “Over the last week, we’ve all had a chance to hear the powerful, thoughtful, important appeals from the Floridian high school students about the need for meaningful gun control,” Tom Steyer says in a video posted to Twitter Thursday.
    Steyer says he was joining with two gun control advocacy groups, Giffords and Everytown for Gun Safety, in sponsoring the voter registration drive “so that we don’t just hear their voices and their feelings and their hearts on CNN, but that next November, their votes get counted by every official in America and they understand we either get gun reform now or we get rid of them then.”
    In his announcement, Steyer accused the Republican Party and President Donald Trump of “putting NRA money ahead of the lives of Americans.” He also doubled down on his call for Trump’s impeachment — an effort he has promoted with a multi-million dollar ad campaign.

    “If you consider what the job of the President is, number one: protect the American people,” Steyer said. “If he won’t enact the kind of reform necessary to protect our children, that’s just another reason he’s gotta go.”
     

  24. also at cnn via msn:
    President Donald Trump’s approval rating in a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS stands at 35%, down five points over the last month to match his lowest level yet.
    The slide follows a January bump in approval for the President, a finding that appeared connected to a bullish stock market and strong reviews for the economy. His new rating matches a December poll, which marked his lowest approval rating in CNN polling since taking office in January 2017.
    The President also earns his lowest rating yet among Republicans, though he is still viewed positively among his own partisans. Overall, 80% of self-identified Republicans say they approve of the President, one point below his previous low mark of 81%, hit in late September of last year. Just 13% of Republicans say they disapprove of the President’s performance. Approval for the President stands at just 5% among Democrats and 35% among independents.
    [….continues…]

     

  26. Where is the dem mentoring program?Ā  As graceful as a jackass can be leaving the stage, most the of old timers need to be kicked-off — sassy and braying doesn’t cut it.Ā  A sad ending to a life of excellent and well-paid service.

    I recently became a member of the dem party and I am having a difficult time in my donkey suit.Ā  Ā But, I wanted to see how the dem party fulfillment welcome kit worked.Ā  I did get a postcard and a open hand when I joined the party.Ā  The hand was for money.Ā  I suggest the dem send two ears instead of hand.Ā  Start a listening program…I noticed the trumpence junta successfully stole that idea with their phony session after the FL school shooter, but then the repugs went to crazee-pac for some real time religion and guns.

  27. Enjoy the day, mixers…I am hoping bannon and cambridge analytica gang are in the ‘car’ that has Mueller in the side-view mirror.Ā  Ā The CA group claimed they had the ‘secret sauce.’

    Was CA a cover-up for the ruskie election heist?Ā  From the NYT article of March, 2017.
    But a dozen Republican consultants and former Trump campaign aides, along with current and former Cambridge employees, say the companyā€™s ability to exploit personality profiles ā€” ā€œour secret sauce,ā€ Mr. Nix once called it ā€” is exaggerated.
    Cambridge executives now concede that the company never used psychographics in the Trump campaign. The technology ā€” prominently featured in the firmā€™s sales materials and inĀ media reportsĀ that cast Cambridge as a master of the dark campaign arts ā€” remains unproved, according to former employees and Republicans familiar with the firmā€™s work.
    Mueller will figure it out…his ending mosaic will be a fine art of investigation.

  29. bw, I so do hope that Mueller is making a mosaic fire blasted hard which will hold up and not a mandala of sand which temporarily pleases but eventually will be blown aside.

    kgc, thanks. MAGA IT does bring to mind the maggot in chief.Ā  am beginning to see a lot of t-shirts, hats etc available expressing similar feelings.

  30. @RepAdamSchiff
    Wait a minute, Mr. President. Am I a phony, or sleazy, a monster or little?Ā  Surely you know the key to a good playground nickname is consistency. I thought you were supposed to be good at this.

    @realDonaldTrump
    ā€œCongressman Schiff omitted and distorted key factsā€ @FoxNewsĀ  So, what else is new. He is a total phony!
    21h21 hours ago

    More

    Adam Schiff Retweeted Donald J. Trump

    Wrong again, Mr. President. It confirms the FBI acted appropriately and that Russian agents approached two of your advisors, and informed your campaign that Russia was prepared to help you by disseminating stolen Clinton emails.

    Donald J. TrumpVerified accountĀ @realDonaldTrump
    The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!

     

  34. Mr. Cracker and I have enjoyed the Olympics and are looking forward to the closing ceremonyĀ  –Ā  we are fans of lily-gildingĀ in certain circumstances

  35. Don’t panic its organic.Ā  Ranchers challenge fake meat, but prefer their news fake?Ā  Personally, I like my meat (plant based) well done like my news.Ā Ā Ā U.S. Cattlemen’s Association is looking to draw a line in the sand.
    The association launchedĀ what could be the first salvo in a long battle against plant-based foods. Earlier this month, the association filed a 15-page petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture calling for an official definition for the term “beef,” and more broadly, “meat.”
    I do remember Oprah from 1998 when she and the ranchers got into a tussle over meat.
    Oprah accused of whipping up anti-beef ‘lynch mob’
    Marketing is having a field day from ‘where’s the beef’ to ‘nothing burger’ to ‘we have the meats.’

  37. Wow this CNN Patty Hearst series was excellent & reminded me what a creature of the ’70s I am. In school I kept a scrapbook about the kidnapping/bank robberies. Fascinating.

    Two weeks from now a series on the Kennedys starts. What could we possibly not know?

  38. SJ

    I moved to SF that year and arrived the of the food give-a-wayĀ  that was part of the ransom demand.Ā  Ā Strange times indeed

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