fritz

hey bb

Hey Suzanne,
Love those Muppets — time to break out Muppets Christmas Carol! And we have a new Sony HD tv!

suz!

hey christine e – i really could not choose between these two versions – so i put up both.

i miss the muppets

newton!

ES feelin like some warm weather, swiming and tropical drinks on sandy beaches. Winter dreamin, break out the boards and wax.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBthi_An5qQ

Suzanne it you Hi My Red friends are all over the cuffing of Illinois Governor…oh well. So is CT on the mountain?

I adore the Muppets. And, oddly enough, Jane Austen and English novels.

more like suzanne trying to come to grips that there is an actual chance it will snow here fri nite and saturday. made me think of warm tropical nights and folks who are probably wishing they were in the tropics somewhere instead of facing harsh chicago winter weather.

thanks – making me smile all over again :)

Don’t feel strange.
I love the Stooges… And Prokofiev.

And Zola, I must admit. And Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain.

I never missed the Muppet show when i was growing up in the 80s. I was sad to see it leave in its original incarnation. The 90s version was cute, but didn’t have quite the same wit. The movies have kept the whole feeling, of which i profusely thank Henson’s kids for. So we great stuff like the Muppet’s Christmas Carol (which i saw and enjoyed immensely in theaters).

I need to buy more of the older movies and as much of the tv show on DVD. *sighs* And my parents wonder where i got my love of satire from? *grin*

Two videos for this evening… a John Lennon video, because it’s that terrible anniversary… Instant Karma and I’m looking at you Mark David Chapman.

And because he played in Raleigh last night and I did not get to see him, David Byrne because I found out too late and it was like $50 a ticket…I heard he played that toon..

Hiya, Suze… all is well, thanks to you!

glad to hear jofish

Hey, Jo Fish!
David Byrne was here at the Cleveland Museum of Art and we were at least four people running all over looking for him!! This included Security (rockers) and librarians (musicians) and we never found him!

yup, the 80’s muppets were the best. i was watching them as a mom and loved em. they were like the old bugs bunny cartoons – appealing to both children and adults

Heh.
Ask your Red friends how they feel about Fitz now. Was he right in prosecuting Scooter Libby, or is his pursuit of Blago just a “partisan witch hunt”? Unless they don’t actually care if their partisan hypocrisy shows in public…

Hi, Suz! Hi, Pups!

FunnyD

All true Suzanne.

hey funny d – you getting ready for the cold blast headed our way?

But didn’t Prokofiev write a piece about Lieutenant Keejay? Not quite the Stooges, but a pretty silly story for Russians…

FunnyD

Yup. The cartoons you rarely see on american TV anymore. Which sucks. They weren’t politically correct, but since when is satire PC? Much less just having a good time while being smart. I can watch Disney with glee, but when i want a major laugh? I go to the old Looney Toons.

Yup, yup, yup.

Much of Prokofiev’s music is best played with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The music from Lt Kije is definitely in that vein.

I do too. ;-)
Hi Chris, Suz, BB, everybody. Nice beach music for a rainy evening with snow on the way.

Cause he was hiding out in the Carolinas? LOL…

Hey Margot!
This rain is so depressing. I’d rather have snow, really!

Something like that. Listening to the Fifth right now.

But some of those old cartoons (most notably the original Popeye cartoons) are despicably racist in tone. And I can’t detect any of the sarcasm or other social criticism that give the old Warner Bros cartoons some redeeming value. Okay, lots of redeeming value.

It was pretty hilarious that at least four of us were roaming the whole museum looking for him… never found him.

Missing a snark tag? *raises an eyebrow and grins*

You mean there’s more and worse cold coming? Sheeeeeeeeit. It’s already damn raw here. I’m a Cali gal born and raised. Anything frozen on the roads and I stay home. Good thing I’ve got a nice new pair of slippers and a “portable kitten heater” if the power goes out. I gotta start saving my pennies again for a trip to The Spaaaaaahhh. Actually, it’s my BD next month, so I can go for free. Which may even be worth taking some time off work!

My friend is thinking of heading down to Astoria later this week. He’s the only person I know who doesn’t have/use the internet at home or work. Guess I’d better remind him to keep an eye on the weather. Then again, he’s got studded snow tires on his truck, and grew up in the Colorado Rockies, so he’s not as much of a weather wuss as I am…

FunnyD
Keep your friends close and your cats closer…

I think it’s the tone of the cartoons. I honestly can’t bear to watch them to figure out why they are so disturbing.

and as long as I’m “Byrning” up the house, please tell me that DB was not influenced by Frank Zappa on this version of “Crosseyed and Painless“… that intro sounds like it was written by Zappa as does the rest of the song. Or maybe it was, I don’t have the label to know…anyone?

Yes.
Nothing light about “Sasha” Nevsky, though. Except that silly music that goes with the “battle on the ice”. And the unintentional laughs that go with watching an early and earnestly/woodenly acted Soviet nationalist flick.

FunnyD

did you try the Men’s Rooms?

FunnyD

How about a rowdy bedtime song?

Need Your Love – Cheap Trick

hey margot

funny d – read this and talk to your friend about the timing of that trip

I’ve never had a chance to play any of the music from Alexandr Nevsky. Did Uncle Sergei leave us a suite of that music? I’ve done the Kije Suite a couple of times, and the Romeo and Juliet suites once. Would love to do the Scythian Suite sometime.

i musta heard this song at least 6 times on various radio stations on my recent run down to ca and back. still logical

Thanks!
But I’m shocked, shocked to see you pallin’ around with terrists at the Weather Underground!

FunnyD

Hi Funnydiva!

*innocent and whistling*

laughing – its pretty forking funny looking back at what i was and what i am now.

Hey Funnydiva,
I did not! But I think that the Security people did…

bct – for my sat nite toons, i always look for ones that are not offensive. there are many that i don’t use but… there are plenty that i can. the popeyes and 30’s warner bro stuff tends to have the most racist or stereotypical stuff that i refuse to show.

Well, the film of Nevsky periodically makes the rounds of concert halls with live orchestra and chorus. Seattle just did it in June.

And, yes, Uncle Sergei left the music in Cantata form for chorus, Mezzo soloist and orchestra. And it’s significantly more satisfying to perform than the film version, which isn’t really surprising. Gotta have a big, loud chorus, though. Uncle was really, really fond of his thick, rich orchestra textures. Which is great, but it takes a LOT of lung power to compete with that wall o’ sound.

And now I’ve discussed both of the Prokifiev pieces I actually know. He’s one of the several lacunae in my musical expertise. I defer to no one when it comes to Mozart operas, however!

FunnyDiva

got some fresh eye candy pictures over at my place – gosh, i sure love looking out my windows.

Wow, wow,
Wish I was there.

Hey, Margot
What’s shakin’? Were the losses at the film archives this summer as bad as feared? I didn’t follow the story.

OT, my sis and all her friends and colleagues in San Diego were unscathed by that F-18 crash yesterday.

FunnyD

And speaking of the Beach Boys… God Only Knows — a song that will always make me think of porn and Mormons thanks to Boogie Nights and Big Love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tPhAbIEdEU

…and…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mbh2HtJQ4k

Yeah, Suz. I’m sure you will bolt if winters there are too cold.
Right.
Very nice winders you got there.

I just now finished reading this posting by Glenn Greenwald, and it hit me strongly for two reasons:

* I realized yet further that 90% of our press corp are nothing but stenographers at best and propagandists at worst. And that is why I’m not shedding tears that the Tribune Company has filed for bankruptcy. But, goddamnit, those other 10% are do very good and can’t be replaced by blogs. IMHO, we need them but have no appropriate way to pay for them, not that we ever did.

* I happened to listen to the quoted segment of the Diane Rehms Show as I was pulling in to my favorite Starbucks, and Michael Hirsh’s comment sent me over the edge:

Rehm: And it was lots of bloggers who apparently pointed out that he [John Brennan] had somehow been involved in the decisions –

Michael Hirsh, Newsweek: Without any direct evidence, of course — as is so often the case in the blogging world (chuckles)… .

Apparently, Glenzilla heard/read that same thing (among other scurrilous nonsense by Brennan supporters) and posted the excellent piece I linked to above.

oh those are great ones… i used to play beach boys 45’s in my room, lol pasadena, surfer girl, etc, in my room on my record player.

Hi guys,

wow the synchronicity…i waslooking up colleges for my daughter in the midwest and was staring right at Kokomo and thinking of that song this afternoon. Or maybe I just spend too much time here.

LOL. I’m a big chunk of that wall o’ sound… bass trombonist.

I’m going to look for the cantata version … any recommended recordings?

Any feelings about Ralph Vaughn Williams? Particularly Dona Nobis Pacem?

hey dosido

thanks to you, Suzanne, I’ve been playing clips from LSOH and giggling to myself. family’s worried.

Oh, man. Eye candy indeed. Good enough to eat.

I think you’d like my friend–the one with a place in Astoria. Great sense of humor, with a high snark quotient. Strong resemblance to ZZ Topp. Large collection of crazy eyeglasses. And he named his (adopted) dog “Muttley Crew”.

OK. Much as I love you all and enjoy your company, I’ve gotta get myself tucked into beddie byes. Keep warm. Be kind to yourselves and each other!

XXOO
FunnyD

Amen! I’m really sick ill of the “journalism” of today. Careerists and money chasers. But we need outsiders to hold government accountable, for goodness sake.

Does anyone remember the movie The Pelican Brief? I only remember one line and it’s when one of the govt henchmen plays a video tape and says “Goddamn PBS”.

Those were the days.

g’nite funny d

gotta stop bogarting those clips and share with the family

Good night ‘pups.

nite bct

Jo Fish (if you’re still about) -

Wrt your 16…live in NC?

g’nite bct

These bastards have to go. And, in terms of analysis, they’ll never compete with the blogs. But where does the “shoe-leather reporting” come from now?

I don’t know, but some hopeful news on C&L is that the Pulitzer Prize committee is now going to take submissions from online only publications that feature original reporting.

Sorry I can’t stay longer…stay warm and snug, wherever you are, pups!

gonna be interesting to see how that shakes out – what is and what is not deemed within their boundaries.

Muppets rule!

Hi everyone. My blogger training is complete. I’ve learned to use “douchenozzle” in a sentence.

cujo! to using douchnozzle!

That particular douchenozzle wrote itself! LOL!

Gaaaaaaahhhh!!! Brass players are the worst best as far as noise-to-person ratio! Us poor string players and singers just can’t compete if youse guys don’t wanna play nice!

No recommended recording for the cantata. I only know it because I was in the chorus awhile back when the Seattle Youth Symphony played it. If I had to find something, I’d go classic Russian conductor, orchestra and chorus.

I’m not familiar with the Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem. And I’m certainly more familiar with him when he’s in his more folk-music-preservation vein. I suspect it’s a piece I’d enjoy, though. And who isn’t praying for peace these days.

Speaking of trombones…gotta love the opening of “Laudamus Te” in the Poulenc Gloria. Though I think it’s for regular-sized ‘bones. Actually, that’s a fun piece. Nice parts for brass, fun to sing, and French harmonies without having to make French vocal sounds!

Gawd, I looooove finding other music nerds to chat with. I’m on sabbatical from my symphonic chorus this season, and money’s too tight for voice lessons, so there’s kind of a hole in my artistic life.

OK, for realzies. Nighty-nighty good ni-hight!

FunnyD

Wow, that’s great!

The quality and honesty of the analyses I read on-line are light-years ahead of the stuff from all but the very best of the print commentators, and even then …

But the best newspapers have some great “diggers,” and I don’t know how to support them online.

nite diva

That’s the question for me. It takes time to track things down, particularly when they’re not on the Internet. ;) There really is a professionalism that papers try to enforce when they can. Both of those things will be hard to reproduce online, unless someone can figure out how to make enough money out here.

Heaven knows I haven’t figured it out.

‘nite for realsies funny d

I suppose you could call it low-hanging fruit, couldn’t you?

Petitioning Urban Dict for update now…

Synonym = “Bush Administration official”

I’m a music nerd, just not in your particular vein, FunnyD. *grin* I was never able to study the classical aspect as much as i wanted to. No money for formal training beyond a one semester voice class and no lessons after that either. I had great choir teachers, but we never had the time to go over things the way i could if i had extended time to study it.

Meanwhile i’ve had time to mess around in techno/electronica genre extensively on my own. Of which, interestingly enough the better aspects of it lean itself towards classical structure. With definite buildups, constructing of entire sounds, and progression to another part of the audio ’story’ the better artists tell.

Nite, Funny D. Hope you figure out how to swing some lessons.

Wishin’ Carl Hiaasen would go national. He’s got florida scandals nailed.

If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.
–Oscar Wilde

Scum of the earth Fourth estate down the toilet of corruption. Fuctards. Can’t report the news…only spin. Should be writing fiction…of that’s what happened they recruited English majors instead of Journalism majors. They give them creative assignments.

There really ought to be a Blogging Syndicate. It would be a ‘build it and they will come’ kind of a deal, but Intrepid New Reporters – out there getting the 5-W’s of a story – would gladly connect with some of the world’s best, battle-tested, reasonable and sensible story analysis centers.

There are people out there, right now, who are damn good at getting the facts of a story, that care about Free Speech and a Free Press, just like We do, who would make excellent partners with us bloggers.

Imvho, the AP is ripe to be replaced by a More Professional Journalism Organization – something like ‘the Associated Blogs’, the AB, or Jane could launch the Line of Fire Blogging Syndicate, or something like that.

Wow, indeed. Love sunsets over the ocean.

Looks like he does every once in a while. That column on the auto execs was spot on.

Exactly!

This interview of Jane Hamsher and Ruth Marcus on David Schuster’s program this afternoon, shows the differnece between an intelligent commentator and a professional spinner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..gn-for-it/

ohmystars – that was a forking great interview jane did.

I agree, but I always come back to the question of how to support it monitarily.

Wasn’t that something!
It didn’t help that Marcus is, you know, pathetic.
Intellectual and rhetorical mismatch deluxe.

Yup. And it provided such stark contrast to Ruth Marcus’s blithering nonsense about Camelot. We’ve had eight years of a leader who people “wanted to have a beer with.” And look where that got us! Let’s start thinking with our big heads for a change.

What the hell do they keep her around for? She’s kind to animals?

If you are going to flush what’s left of your tattered cred, you don’t do it over a fairy tale.

This is sweet:

A Congressional oversight panel led by Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren is expected to release a report Wednesday critical of the bailout’s accountability and wondering if the Treasury is engaging in a “giveaway.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/…..And_Policy

That’s exactly what Ian predicted from the first day it was suggested.

Yep. He always hits it.. and cracks me up.
Double Whammy and Tourist Season made me a fan for life.

LOL
I can see it in future criminal reporting.
“The defendant, who was known only as ‘Douchenozzle A’ in DOJ records….”

hahahaha

SPEW!!!

Phoenix Woman had his family pegged way back in August of last year.
Rove being a douchenozzle (small d), while warming to the Progressive heart, is the least of his problems.

that link is a 404 newton the user

That link’s broken.

whoops…
little help, mod…
http://firedoglake.com/2007/08…..gle-snort/

lurk is fixing it and i remember that post… oy

thanks. fixed now.

It’s my time.

G’nite, all.

nite wigwam

g’nite wigwam

Wait, I just got out of YouTube Land, and now everyone’s leaving? Is that fair?!

Nite, Wigwam.

Yep, Karl’s just a bundle of laughs, isn’t he?

I was just watching some of those clips about Caroline Kennedy and Jane. I’m sorry to say that nothing about cable news has gotten better lately. None of those people appeared to know much about either Kennedy or New York.

Marcus the washington wennie cocktail circuit sucks up to the in crowd.
Jane perceptive fair wants a vetting of the candidate….turns the phrase..The House of Lords says it all in four words. Chump vs Champ

I can’t see much difference between Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich and Blagojevich’s behavior except that Clinton probably didn’t say “Fuck” as much. So why do we have Eric Holder as the nominee for Attorney General instead of Fitz? Would Fitz have helped arrange the Rich pardon?

I would rather have the integrity of quasi-Republican Fitz than the go-along status quo of Holder. Fitz as AG is change we can believe in.

dang – no one dugg me – was the question too hard?

the ladies have taken the night off…
hold on…

I agree that Fitzpatrick would have made a better nominee, but I’m not concerned about Holder. He’s gotten some pretty good marks as a prosecutor. The Rich pardon was something he had very little to do with. With the short time remaining in the Presidency, it’s hard to imagine someone resigning over such a thing.

Not sure I’m qualified to dugg.

Gotcha DIGG right here…

thanks dood

I forked it!

I wonder…
Try this one.

that one worked

Yeah, same link as before.
That’s what karma handed me for referring to the usual late nite diggers as ‘ladies.’

i was wondering about that… karma is a lady iirc

No argument :-)

time for me to do the dishes. thanks for hanging out with me tonight pups.

Really like the Muppets —but, Beach Boys.

The Constitution of the United States of America
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

That says it for me every day every way “We the people…read it when you get up when you go to bed…know we are the envy of the world because we are free and I for one will not trade or give up any of my rights and do not authorise anyone..including any aswipe like GWB to do so it is my birth right. They had a saying for USMC recruits…”You are lower than whale shit on the bottom of the ocean.” Well George W Bush is lower than that.

nite suz
i’m cashing out, too

Looks like I’m not up on the latest Holder gossip. Here’s a a recent Greenwald article on Holder. A one line summary might be “What do you expect, this is DC?” Not a ringing endorsement, but by the same token, not an alarm, either.

Goodnight, Suzanne, Newtonusr. Think it’s time for me to head out of here, too. Have an Iain M. Banks novel to finish before I fall asleep.

Goodnight, all.

P.S. Here, here, bigbother @ 129.

I want my goddamn rights back…fuck the telecoms…I know them and they a crooks and liars, schemers and swindlers;
The Patriot Act defiles the meaning of Patriotism…democracy has no room for dictatorial powers. Freedom of Speech…The right to privacy…due process under habeous corpus…freepress nor press syndicate…liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
George Bush was America’s first and last dictator a stain on the constitution, the flag and the good reputation of our country. His name will go down in infamy in the history books. My fondests hope is that the Hague will find a docket for him.