Random thoughts for today
(1) It’s very gloomy out there today. I’m talking about the weather, by the way. Hope it’s nicer in your neck of the woods.
(2) Have you ever wanted to write a board book for your children or grandchildren or nieces or nephews, with photos as well as text? I did, and I’m very pleased with the results. I used this website. They’re efficient, turn out a quality product, and do it in a timely fashion without charging an enormous amount of money. It’s too late now to order for Christmas, but books are good any time of year.
(3) Don’t forget to use the Amazon portal at this blog for other holiday gifts or any time of year, if you shop through Amazon.
(4) I’ve gotten most of my gifts mailed already. That’s earlier than I usually do it, being somewhat of a procrastinator. “Somewhat” may be an understatement, actually.
(5) Why not get into that holiday spirit, kitschy variety?
Have a great weekend!
Apropos of the Rockettes, their website states that “over 3,000 women have performed as Rockettes. Since the Christmas Spectacular’s opening night in 1933, more than 3,000 women have shared in the legacy by performing as a Rockette. It’s the ultimate sisterhood!”
https://www.rockettes.com/blog/10-things-you-dont-know-about-the-rockettes/
Watching their famous “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” I can’t help wondering how long it will be until the Rockettes are forced to allow Sam Brinton, Lia Thomas, or other non-binaries to audition for their kickline. Wokery ruins everything.
Sam Brinton would steal all their street clothes. Not gonna happen.
Nothing wrong with kitschy
Merry Christmas to one and all. Neo, thank you… for being you : )
Enya ~ One Toy Soldier ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LHByznq1ho&t=34s
Well, PA Cat, I think the Rockettes have strict limits on height, so they will all look the same on those dance lines. I am too tall to qualify, I’m sure, and as far as I can tell so are Sam Brinton and Lia Thomas.
om, +1.
Oldav8r:
Here’s a post I wrote in 2006 on the subject of kitsch.
Being laid up sick and grumpy, I was parked yesterday in front of the TV and I watched ‘The Red Shoes’. I would probably not have done so if not for Ms. Neo’s Dance Appreciation Class. It was quite an eyeful. Moira Shearer was stunning in every scene with that gorgeous hair. Lovely legs too. Can’t really comment on the dancing because I am afraid, I have been a poor student.
https://tomlehrersongs.com/
Wow. Someone oughta write a song about that…
As long as the Rockettes are kicking, there’s hope for the world.
I saw Tom Lehrer perform at the Crescendo club in LA about 1960. Funny, and very smart, man.
As I read my emails and use my cell phone and computer, is it my imagination, or–with all of the scams, phishing attempts, phony messages that are supposedly from legitimate sources, etc. that are bombarding us, and increasing in volume, it seems, on almost a daily basis–is what began as legitimate and useful content being overwhelmed by a tidal wave of criminality and bullshit.
P.S.–And I am very deliberately not on any of the social media websites.
I can hardly imagine the level of additional bombardment if you were also on one or more of them.
https://vimeo.com/394958570
June Taylor Dancers during their lean years.
Now that it is after sunset (on the East Coast, anyway), I can officially wish Neo and all her Jewish commenters a happy Hanukkah. May the lights of the holiday burn brightly for you all, especially in this winter of widespread sadness and anxiety. God willing, the new year will bring some blessings for everyone here.
Congratulations to Argentina. Messi finally caught the big one!
Every single part of the government is weaponized. Zero integrity anywhere. https://twitter.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1603646109376659456?s=20&t=PUATCvqnrWgI0MP-tVJW9A
Federal employment data overstated 10,000 added jobs as 1,100,000 jobs. Missed it by that much.
Thanks, Cat. I’m at the family house in Massachusetts. Found the old menorah, the one Mom used to hide notes with rhyming clues under to help us kids find the presents. Heading into town in a few minutes to take my brother to dinner. I’ll get candles at the CVS and light ‘er up. First time that’s been done in years.
Wishing you and the other commenters a Merry Christmas.
PA Cat beat me to it, but I too want to send Hannukah wishes to all who will be celebrating.
Snow on Pine: ‘is what began as legitimate and useful content being overwhelmed by a tidal wave of criminality and bullshit.”
Yep. Discouraging.
Optimism rules among activist young. Young Republicans of New York celebrated, despite the Total War waged by the enemy in what is really a spiritual battle.
Speaker highlights noted in American Thinker’s report included Marjorie Taylor Greene, Donald Trump, Jr, and Jack Posobiec, Senior Editor of Human Events.
This excerpt notes growth in R appeal among US Jews, and resistance to Wokery hubris in Poland and Hungary:
“I noted the presence of many Orthodox Jews to Ryan Mermer, head of Jewish engagement of the RNC. He said, ‘We’re proud of everything we’ve done. The Jewish Republican vote is now 33% nationally and, in Florida, it’s 45%, the highest it’s ever been.’
“Charlii Sebunya, a media personality who got my vote for the most vividly dressed, told me, ‘We don’t look at people through their race. Why are you telling me I’m oppressed because I’m black and gay? I’m not oppressed, and I find this club refreshing because I’m among like-minded people.’
“Expand the battlefield to other countries. The NYYRC energetically forges alliances with conservative forces overseas, in recognition that we face the same existential threats. Members of the European Parliament attended the Gala, along with the Polish General Consul and a Hungarian dignitary who accepted an award on behalf of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. ‘Good evening, American patriots! We believe in the family. We look on children not as a burden but as a blessing. And we believe in God!’ he thundered to the rapt crowd.
“I spoke with Dominik Andrzejczuk who works with the Polish Ministry of Defense. ‘Biden is a laughingstock in Poland. Everybody knows he’s senile,’he said. ‘The woke culture in the U.S. is frowned upon even by the left in Poland. Under Communism, we had everything forced on us, and woke culture is seen as Marxism 2.0. We still need the U.S. for military support, and we don’t know where we stand.’
“Vish Burra noted the extraordinary levels of national, international, and local influence in the room. ‘Not only is the New Right horizontally consolidated, we’re also vertically integrated,’ he said with pride.”
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/12/total_war_defiant_battlefield_assessments_from_new_yorks_young_republicans.html
Hubert–
Thank you for your kind Christmas wishes– the Christian holy day is also about light shining in darkness (John 1:5). May lighting your family’s menorah bring joy to you, your brother, and other loved ones this year.
I am so old that I remember when Hannukah was spelled with a C. Channukah. I was even once a member of the Young Men’s Jewish Council in South Shore in Chicago. They had a basketball court and the YMCA didn’t. Long ago when the world was young and people did not kill each other. Aside from WWII, I mean.
#1. Well Neo, here in the UAE it’s about 72 degrees F, sunny, with a cool breeze off the gulf, but it’s supposed to be a high in the teens with snow when I return later this week to the Southern Appalachians. Ah, mountain weather.
But, I’m a pluviophile and I love rainy days. Days that most call gloomy I just love, and not just to sleep late to sit by a fire. When I wake up and see that it’s foggy and rainy I can’t wait to get dressed and outdoors to enjoy the fog and rain. I actually loved the weather when I lived in London!
Happy Chanukah to all who celebrate…
(On the first day of Chanukah my true love said to me…?)
…and likewise, Merry Christmas …
Stocking stuffer?
The Devil’s Triangle: Mark Judge vs the New American Stasi”—
https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Triangle-Judge-American-Stasi/dp/163758072X/
H/T Lee Smith Twitter feed.
‘ A harrowing account of one man’s ordeal during the contentious Brett Kavanaugh hearings at the hands of the New American Stasi?a sinister cabal of partisan journalists, Democratic politicians, and shadowy oppo researchers the author calls “The Devil’s Triangle.” ‘
Jeff Carlson on another roll.
Extraordinary stuff posted over the past several days…
…on the FBI and its censorship campaigns, Twitter, Fauci, Musk, Marc Elias, Ted Lieu, etc.
Most interestingly, the same “circularity” tactics were used by the FBI with regard to Twitter AND the Steele Dossier—in order to “prove” and reinforce the “credibility” of the biased garbage they were strategically disseminating.
Absolutely horrendous.
Welcome to the New America?
https://twitter.com/themarketswork
+ “Twitter’s Upper Echelons Flooded With Former FBI”—
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/twitter-fbi-hunterbiden/2022/12/18/id/1100997/
+ Lee Smith on William Barr:
https://twitter.com/LeeSmithDC
All this along with arch prevaricator Adam Schiff threatening platforms NOT to end Democratic-Party-sanctioned censorship.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/democrats-like-adam-schiff-are-scrambling-to-save-censorship/ar-AA15qPpR
Can’t make this stuff up…
+ Bonus:
“The Truth About Covid McCarthyism”—
https://blazingcatfur.ca/2022/12/19/the-truth-about-covid-mccarthyism/
Key graf:
“…There were two viruses that the authorities wanted to control in 2020 and 2021. The first was the virus of Covid-19. The second was the virus of dissent….”
Taibbi dropped more Twitter Files Sunday.
https://justthenews.com/nation/free-speech/twitter-files-supplemental-shows-twitter-was-becoming-uncomfortable-fbi
It’s not about the Rockettes, but it is about dancers – George Balanchine.
https://freebeacon.com/culture/mr-ball-an-chain/
People suffer horribly when there is no accountability for abuse of power.
A couple of related posts this morning at Instapundit. One was about the complete lack of consequences for corrupt prosecutors’ illegal actions. The other was about Putin turning his troops into hamburger.
Power corrupts. Accountability matters. We now have a society where there is rarely any accountability. This is especially true for institutions run by liberals. Science and the rest of academia is broken because of the complete absence of any quality process, the lack of concern for fraud, and the embrace of authoritarian narratives instead of truth. Just like our governments.
We are a lot closer to a Putin in America than we want to admit.
BTW — remember when kidnapped kids and milk cartons were a trend? Parents were scared to death. Horror stories abounded. My wife was afraid to let our kids play in the yard. Someone might drive up, grab them and drive away.
Until a long, long time later we finally learned that 99+% of the kids were taken by a parent who had lost custody in court.
News media is worse than incompetent. As they were on the day care cases.
Until a long, long time later we finally learned that 99+% of the kids were taken by a parent who had lost custody in court.
IIRC, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was propagating the notion that 1.5 million youths were dropping into the missing category every year. Michael Kinsley pointed out at the time that about 97% of these youngsters were runaways who returned within 30 days (more often than not, within three days). The rest were largely what’s called in New York ‘custodial interference’ cases. The kids on the milk cartons began to look awfully familiar because the FBI had just 167 cases in their files of youngsters thought to have been abducted by strangers, of which 105 were put on the cartons.