And now, back to our regularly scheduled program. . .

. . . This break from over five years of regular performance was welcome, and for more reasons than one. During that period I was listening to music that I loved and that inspired me to want to make music of my own. Well, at least music more like what I was getting into than what was popular to sing along with, dance to in a drunken stupor or simply ignore while you ate, talked and generally celebrated some special occasion in your life or just a Saturday night's social event. This I was not getting. And I have myself to blame primarily. I had the freedom to leave my musical situation at the time and seek something more to what I envisioned. But alas, freedom is one thing and drive, determination and action are three others. These, quite sadly for my then musical disposition, I lacked. It really comes down to the fact that I really didn't want it badly enough.

In addition, while thoroughly enjoying the sonic antics of my art/prog/jazz-rock favorites and desiring to play things like those they played, I simply did not have the ability to create like they did. At least not on any substantial or meaningful scale. I wrote things sporadically before my retirement (my Sonata In No Particular Key is appropriate to mention here) but there was no consistent force, or inspiration for that matter, fueling the creation of much original material. I would have loved for a million new, creative musical ideas to flow freely and bountifully from my heart, mind and fingers, but it just didn't happen.

So I went happily and peacefully about building a new, married life together with my bride. My Farfisa Fast Four and Leslie 145 were setup in a prominent location in the den of our apartment for quick and easy access. Truth is, I'm not sure if I even played once a week at that time. But I was building my vinyl record album collection of my favorite jazz cats during the period and joyfully and effortlessly soaking in their music as often as I could. My Coltrane, Dolphy, Adderly and McLean collections grew with much less reliance on the old Tull, Gentle Giant and Yes for musical satisfaction. This too combined with sounds exemplifying the musical tastes of my significant other, sometimes not so willingly or graciously.

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Somebody said. . .

. . . on line when Christopher Hitchens passed away, that 'God breathes a sigh of relief as Christopher Hitchens dies' or something to that effect. (Wasn't he supposed to be 'All Powerful'?) Well, further proof of the almighty's impotence has surfaced this week with this gem from Presidential Candidate (I use the term loosely), Rick Perry. . .

(from MSNBC.com) ". . . The famously mistake-prone Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that he prayed before a campaign event in Iowa to ask God to help him deliver an error-free performance.

Asked by a woman at the Button Factory Restaurant about the role prayer plays in his life, Perry responded, "Well, I prayed right before I walked over here that I wouldn't make any mistakes that my friends in the media would be able to put on television."The Texas governor grinned and looked out at the assembled media on the press riser -- the traveling press pool currently includes eight reporters -- before turning back to the questioner."I pray a lot," he continued, "because I'm prone to make a lot of mistakes." Perry was warmly received by the crowd of about 150 in the riverfront town, and he won particularly strong applause for his discussion of his faith. When an audience member questioned him on how to get God back into America, Perry professed to huge applause that "God hasn't ever left." "He's still here," Perry said. "He's still available." He added, "I think it's time to have a president of the United States, who will stand up say, 'Listen, I'm not afraid to admit I'm a Christian.' I'm not afraid to stand up and say, 'I'm a Christian'. . . " 

Either Hitchens was right, or the big guy doesn't listen. . . OR maybe Ricky doesn't pray hard enough!!

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One step forward and two steps back . . .

. . . by our armed forces . . .

(origin: MSNBC.com)
". . . Wednesday two women sailors became the first to share the coveted "first kiss" on the dock after one of them returned from 80 days at sea.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta of Placerville, Calif., descended from the USS Oak Hill amphibious landing ship and shared a quick kiss with her partner, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell of Los Angeles. The crowd screamed and waved flags around them. . . "

FINALLY!!!

But, meantime. . .

Maybe only a few bad eggs, but that's only a few bad eggs too many . . .(Also courtesy of MSNBC.com)". . . Eight U.S. soldiers have been charged in the death of Pvt. Danny Chen, the 19-year-old soldier from New York City who was found shot to death in a guard tower in Afghanistan two months ago.

Chen, who is Asian and is from Chinatown, was found dead Oct. 3 with a gunshot wound below his chin. Army officials never gave details about his death, but it was believed the wound was self-inflicted.

The military's investigation found that Chen had been the target of racially motivated taunts and physical attacks at the hands of his superiors and comrades before he died. . ."

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Not a Newt fan, but. . .

. . . gotta give credit where credit is due. . .

With regard to the negative ads being run by his opponents (thanks to MSNBC.com) ". . . Gingrich said speaking to an audience near Cedar Rapids. “They ought to take this junk off the air. The former House Speaker has vowed to run a positive campaign and not attack his rivals . . . at least most of the time.

Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Rick Perry all have TV ads and campaign mailers attacking Speaker Gingrich on a variety of issues, such as being a “flip-flopper” and not being a “consistent conservative. . . ”

And even though Newt may not practice what he preaches 100% of the time, the sentiment is noteworthy and commendable.




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Did it again. . .

. . . stumbled upon ANOTHER reason WHY I don't like this!!!

I'm supposed to think of material things that I WANT so that others can buy these material things (that I could just as easily purchased myself) and in addition, the kids don't ask ME, they call the ONE WHO KNOWS to ask her and she just doesn't need the aggravation or the responsibility.

Why do we do this to ourselves????. . . . . .

(from RECLAIMING THE BIBLE FOR A NON-RELIGIOUS WORLD by
John Shelby Spong © 2011 by John Shelby Spong)
". . . his birth took place in Nazareth, as the first gospel of Mark and the last gospel of John both assume, and not in Bethlehem, as Matthew and Luke seek to defend. The pressure to transfer his birth to Bethlehem is a clear bow to later messianic development. It was Paul writing to the Romans around the year 58 CE, who first claimed that Jesus was in the Davidic line and thus heir to his throne (Rom. 1:3). This was the reference, I believe, that ultimately gave rise to a Bethlehem birth story. . . "





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Except for a . . .

. . . false note on an ending to a piano/vocal performance of THANKFUL at a 'church' service this morning, we (Mystic I) performed quite successfully and soulfully today.

Some Christmas (maybe 1%-mas is more accurate) shopping and a relaxing afternoon with dinner followed by a loss by our beloved Ravens.

Less and less is my emotional connection to this holiday. I just feel everyone is out to buy gifts for other people because they're JUST SUPPOSED TO! and not that there is any rational reason for doing so. Of course, if you feel as I do about it, you are branded a 'Scrooge' or other such non-feeling soul who doesn't feel as though he must be generous to others at this time of year when Christian people celebrate the birth of one personage of whom little is factually or historically known and whose purported life and presumed purpose had absolutely NOTHING to do with giving gifts to ANYONE whatsoever.

Well, I must cooperate and 'go with the flow' (at least nominally and superficially) or I may just alienate EVERYONE around me. . . and I just DON'T want to do that!!




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The modern-day Mecken. . .

. . . whenever convincing people to read Hitchens, I would say he was the H.L. Mencken of our age. By this I meant fluent to a fault, unafraid to think, and ALWAYS, whether you agreed with him or not, entertaining.

(from http://www.washingtonpost.com)
Published: December 16 | Updated: Saturday, December 17, 6:00 AM

"Christopher Hitchens, an English writer whose powerful, persuasive essays took on moral and religious hypocrisy, died at 62 in a hospital in Houston. As Matt Schudel reported:

Christopher Hitchens, a sharp-witted provocateur who used his formidable learning, biting wit and muscular prose style to skewer what he considered high-placed hypocrites, craven lackeys of the right and left, “Islamic fascists” and religious faith of any kind, died Dec. 15 at a hospital in Houston. He was 62.

He had pneumonia and complications from esophageal cancer, according to a statement from Vanity Fair, the magazine for which Mr. Hitchens worked.

Mr. Hitchens, an English-born writer who had lived in Washington since 1982, was a tireless master of the persuasive essay, which he wrote with an indefatigable energy and venomous glee. He often wrote about the masters of English literature, but he was better known for his lifelong engagement with politics, with subtly nuanced views that did not fit comfortably with the conventional right or left.

In his tartly worded essays, books and television appearances, Mr. Hitchens was a self-styled contrarian who often challenged political and moral orthodoxy. He called Henry Kissinger a war criminal, savaged Mother Teresa and Princess Diana, ridiculed both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, then became an outspoken opponent of terrorism against the West from the Muslim world.

In 2007, Mr. Hitchens aimed his vitriol even higher, writing a best-selling book that disputed the existence of God, then enthusiastically took on anyone — including his own brother — who wanted to argue the matter.

His supporters praised Mr. Hitchens as a truth-telling literary master who, in the words of the Village Voice, was “America’s foremost rhetorical pugilist.” Writer Christopher Buckley has called him “the greatest living essayist in the English language.”

Hitchens became one of the most respected figures in the atheist community, partly because of his willingness to debate members of the religious establishment. As Susan Jacoby explained :

My old friend Julius Hobson, an unconventional Washington civil rights leader in the 1960s (he once drove a cage of rats to Georgetown and threatened to release them at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street so the power brokers would know how the other half lives), used to say, “I sleep mad.” When I mentioned this many years ago to Christopher Hitchens, who died of cancer Thursday, Christopher remarked, “What a great epitaph that would be!”

We have lost an irreplaceable person in this age of American unreason. By “we,” I do not mean only atheists (although Hitchens is irreplaceable in that respect too) but everyone who values rationality and the English language. Hitchens, whose obituaries are devoting equal space to his atheism and his support for the Iraq war (he once called me stupid to my face for disagreeing with him about the latter), was a great, scathing Anglo-American writer in the tradition of Thomas Paine, George Orwell and Jessica Mitford. We may not see his like again, because the respect for language exemplified by his writings is fading away."





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