Thursday, May 2, 2024

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Tuesday Newsquips

Newsquips daily news brief— Only two more sleeps before Christmas… I’m hoping to find a new car and a new dishwasher plus a new roof for our house under the tree.  Some new socks wouldn’t kill me either. 

image 1.    Are they trying to be ironic?  What’s with the liberals and their media feigning outrage at the Conservatives for picking partisans—conservatives—for the Senate division of the Liberal Party?  Are they making a joke?  Is this some o’ that famous Canadian comedy from the Montreal Comedy Festival?  The far-left’s Toronto Star reports, all official-like, in a dead serious manner, apparently trying to keep a straight face—or actually two faces as it apparently required two expert journalists to come up with their big news media report:

Tonda MacCharles
Bruce Campion-Smith
Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA–Prime Minister Stephen Harper has tapped the ranks of card-carrying Conservatives and others sympathetic to his agenda to fill 18 Senate vacancies, a move critics blasted as an abuse of power…”

Is this the laughy bit?  Is this when we laugh? 

2.    Meanwhile, sanity probably prevails among what the liberals and their media must see as the Canadian citizen dumbassitude (CTV.ca poll at left; Globe and Mail at right, showing agreement with the Conservatives’ end goal of an elected Senate):

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3. Got my “holiday” greeting from Mizzz The Great Obama, who is apparently my “friend”.  She wishes me a happy “holiday season”.  Not Christmas mind you—just “holiday”.  It’s oh so festive and exciting and Christmas-y, in that miserable, pedantic, secular-progressive, and notably UN-CHRISTMAS-y kind of way.  Plus as a bonus, it includes that weird, creepy Orwellian orb that dominates every message I get from my “friends”, the Obamas.  I am under your spell!….. I am an Obamaton!…. I believe!…. Lead me to the change!…. Yes we can!….  mm mm GOOD!…  I’m lovin’ it!…  If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit!…  Look directly into the orb!… The orb is your friend!…. Rub it and “stimulus packages” will pop out … of the magical Obama orb!…

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Awesome.

4.   Christmas reading—or listening:  Plubias.  Found a great MP3 source for Plubias, if you’re into hearing the Federalist Papers instead of reading them. 

Not very Christmas-y, so I break into Plubias with a hearty rendition of Jingle Bell Rock every few minutes.

But my favorite Christmas carol/song/music is:  Ave Maria, written by Franz Schubert (a few years after Plubias), in 1825.  And here’s what I’ve found so far.  (crank up your speakers):

· Renee Fleming will make you stop doing whatever you’re doing, and make you cry:

· Barbara Bonney will too—can’t see her but the still graphics might make you cry:

· Tarja Turunen sings smaller but nice too:

• …Not to be confused with the J.S. Bach/Gounod Ave Maria, which is completely different, but which is nonetheless one of the most beautiful things you’ll ever hear…. see if this doesn’t make you cry:
· Carmen Monarcha:

· Charlotte Church doing the Bach/Gounod also makes you stop what you’re doing and put you in the mind of angels:

• As I searched and searched for different variations I started finding all these angels all over the place singing about Maria in different ways….
·Hayley Westenra—with a voice and impeccable intonation, direct from Heaven, I think:

· This is literally angelic. Seraphim:

· Hélène Ségara actually gets down on her knees and really seems to mean it:

… and before I knew it, hours passed, listening to these angels sing angelically.  I’m still looking and listening.  Send any more that you find my way… I could do this all day….

UPDATE:
I accidentally fell in love with the above-mentioned Hayley Westenra’s singing, and found this Shubert Ave Maria with her as a much younger girl, singing with Bryn Terfel, and José Carreras.

She’s from New Zealand.  Recent album: Celtic Treasure

5.

 

 

Joel Johannesen
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