Happy New Year!

A meditation in verse for today:

Musical Interlude For New Year's Eve

(If you must have politics,  please scroll down)

From Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964):


Are you celebrating this year's end and the new year's arrival in style or in a quiet fashion?

Busy, Busy, Busy

(If you must have politics, please scroll down)

Tammy Swofford has been visiting for a few days. She arrived the day after Christmas.

Good times!  We've been enjoying dining out every day and taking in a few local attractions — including a visit to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

We went to the Gallery specifically to see Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections:

Click on this link for more information and many photos.

No post-Christmas blues here in the AOW household!

Nincompoopery — And Worse

(Weekend roundup post.   For the definition of nincompoop, see THIS in the Urban Dictionary. Commenters are encouraged to post links that tell of more nincompoopery)

Links to read (more possibly added as the weekend progresses):

Muslim cleric [2011]: Saying "Merry Christmas" worse than alcohol, fornication, and murder

Gay-hate-crime hoax [Paris, TN]

Rolling Stone Marathon Bomber Cover Voted “Hottest Of 2013″

So Creepy: Chuck Schumer Sleeps Next To A Life-Size Cardboard Cutout of Barack Obama

Ethnicity And Race Designations Required?

I admit that I had my doubts about this October 20, 2013 story, "Obamacare seeks to segregate patients, doctors by race" — until I visited my neurologist on December 9. Before that date, I last saw my neurologist on June 17, 2013.

Celebrate CHRISTmas

From the Gospel of Luke:

Merry Christmas!

A selection of Christmas music for today and tomorrow:

Cameo And The Christmas Tree

(This re-post will be stuck here throughout the Christmas season. Please scroll down for more recent material, including political topics.  And I will have another post specifically for Christmas Day 2013)

With many thanks to Stogie, who made the graphic for this post in 2011! Click directly on the picture to enlarge it:


I wrote the story below the fold in 2005. Over the past few years as she has aged, Cameo has mellowed — somewhat, anyway.  But the memories of those bygone days Cameo's terrorizing the Christmas tree still bring a smile to our faces. I hope that the anecdote will bring a smile to your face, too.

Another Musical Interlude

Music and images:


Lyrics:

1. God rest you merry, gentlemen,

Let nothing you dismay,
For Jesus Christ our Saviour
Was born upon this day,
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray:

O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy.

2. From God our heavenly Father

A blessed angel came,
And unto certain shepherds
Brought tidings of the same,
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by name:

O tidings ...

3. The shepherds at those tidings

Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind,
And went to Bethlehem straightway,
This blessed Babe to find:

O tidings ...

4. But when to Bethlehem they came,

Whereat this Infant lay,
They found Him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His mother Mary kneeling,
Unto the Lord did pray:

O tidings ...

5. Now to the Lord sing praises,

All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface:1

O tidings ...

Musical Interlude

Additional information below the fold:

Nincompoopery — And Worse

(Weekend roundup post.   For the definition of nincompoop, see THIS in the Urban Dictionary. Commenters are encouraged to post links that tell of more nincompoopery)

Links to read (more possibly added as the weekend progresses):

Student On Arapahoe School Shooter: "Very Proud Of Being A Socialist"

Boy, 11, Arrested For Punching Grandmother In Face After She Refused To Buy Him Toy At Department Store

School lesson portrays Obama as messiah

Dean Martin At The Top Of ASCAP's 2013 Holiday Songs List

According to Vintage Vinyl News (hat tip to I Love Dino Martin, a site that I visit almost every day):

Since November 1st, 2013, "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow"! has aired more times than any other holiday song this season, ending the four-year reign of previous list-topper "Sleigh Ride."...

The Christmas Spirit

(If you must have politics, please scroll down)

As I've mentioned before, this year the AOW household has received numerous Christmas blessings from Decorate A Vet, an organization that thanks veterans for their military service by putting skilled artisans and volunteers' hands to work. 

 Jeff Jones, the founder and vice president of Decorate A Vet says when we thank him, "Gotta love the Christmas spirit!"  And the expression on his face when he makes this statement is one of joy.

As you'll see in the some of the photos below, the blessings we received from Decorate A Vet go far beyond decorating veterans' homes for Christmas. Permanent home improvements are made!

ObamaCare Graphics (And Two Articles To Read)

Signs Going Up In Doctor’s Offices Across Nation: You Aren’t Covered For Us If You’re In Obamacare

No wonder that political cartoons are popping up all over!

Two more below the fold.

Silencing Voices

(hat tip to Jihad Watch)

CAIR/ISNA spokeswoman:

Media in the US is very gullible...If you have something to say, especially as a Muslim, they'll come running to you. Take advantage of that!

If you have a few minutes, please watch the following video, which includes a panel with two anti-Islamist Muslims:

About Global Warming

Back when I was in college (1968-1972), I heard quite a bit in my science classes about "the coming Ice Age." 

Today, of course, environmentalists' theme of "The sky is falling!  The sky is falling!" has changed to incessant chatter about global warming.

Comes this recent article from the Daily Caller:

Musical Interlude

(If you must have politics, please scroll down)

For this third Sunday of Advent 2013, my favorite Christmas carol:


The Choir of King's College, Cambridge dates back to 1441.

Nincompoopery — And Worse

(Weekend roundup post. For the definition of nincompoop, see THIS in the Urban Dictionary. Commenters are encouraged to post links that tell of more nincompoopery)

Link to read (more possibly added as the weekend progresses):

Harassed boyfriend jumped to his death after his girlfriend insisted on going into another clothes shop

No security ever built into Obamacare site

End Presidential Term Limits?

Saudi Offers “Castrated African Slave” for Sale on Facebook

Objectionable Windows?

The Washington National Cathedral's stained class windows incorporate many different themes and subjects.

Upon the recent death of Nelson Mandela, objections have now arisen to two of the stained glass windows — two separate windows depicting General Stonewall Jackson and General Robert E. Lee, both of them officers in the Confederate Army:

"Flash Mob"

At the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on December 3, 2013 (hat tip to Bloviating Zeppelin):


A Christmas surprise!

The blurb at YouTube:

Personal Update: Still Sick (But Enjoying Christmas Blessings)

(If you must have politics, please scroll down)

It's going to take a while to get over this miserable head cold.  Until I'm feeling better, blogging will be be light — if I blog at all. Thankfully, the classes that I teach will be on Christmas Break as of Thursday at 2:50 P.M.

Despite this misery, I ventured out to Hair Cuttery on Saturday to get my hair colored. As of Thanksgiving morning, I have no more bubbles in my eye, so I could finally tip my head back to access the shampoo bowl. I had to do something with my hair after a student's comment to me last Thursday: "You look like you've been run over by a dump truck."  Indeed!

Musical Interlude

(If you must have politics, please scroll down)

For this second Sunday of Advent 2013, clarion voices singing an a cappella arrangement of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel":

Nincompoopery — And Worse

(Weekend roundup post. For the definition of nincompoop, see THIS in the Urban Dictionary. Commenters are encouraged to post links that tell of more nincompoopery)

Links to read (more possibly added as the weekend progresses):

IRAN DISSES OBAMA: Gov’t TV Broadcasts ‘Down With America’ to Mark Nuclear Deal

Exclusive [ABC News]: US May Have Let 'Dozens' of Terrorists Into Country As Refugees

The horrific and savage details of the slaughter of Drummer Lee Rigby on the streets of London [Reuters]

Paramedic sent to treat horrifically injured soldier Lee Rigby 'saw killer sharpening his meat cleaver' in aftermath of attack

Personal Update: Sick!

(If you must have politics, please scroll down)

I have been felled by a head cold — just in time for the approaching winter storm.

The pitch of my voice has dropped to basso profondo.

Charming, just charming.

Until I'm feeling better, blogging will be light.

I will, however, be co-hosting this afternoon's edition of The Gathering Storm Radio Show. Our guest is Duck. The topic for discussion: the surveillance state.

First They Came...[ObamaCare]

Those employer-based plans, many of which are going to be slammed by the end of 2013, and the information comes from Obama's own Department of Justice (hat tip to Bunkerville for the video below):


For all those who have been sighing with relief because they have employer-based policies, a reminder from 1946:

Non Sequitur

(Two posts today. Please scroll down. The two posts are somewhat related)

Last week in my mailbox on the front porch, I received a card from UPS.  The card stated as follows:

We are unable to deliver this package(s) because:
CORRECT STREET # NEEDED, NOT DELIVERED
Your shipment will be held at the above address until:
Dec 02, 2013
After that date, it will be returned to sender.

Please pick up your package(s) at the address listed at the top — a government issued photo ID is required — or you may call us...

The shipment was a set of four audio CD's from Amazon. Clearly, an item that easily fits on my large front porch, where UPS has left numerous large packages over the years.

What makes this topic worthy of a blog post? The utter inanity of it all!

Recommended Reading

See CULTURE OF IGNORANCE – PART ONE at The Burning Platform. A lengthy read, but one that I hope you will take the time to peruse and absorb. Brief excerpt below the fold.

ObamaFail

And he still has an approval rating as high as it is?  It's the Cult of Obama!

About cultism:

Musical Interlude

For this first Sunday of Advent 2013, Of the Father's Love Begotten, a poem paired with the medieval plainchant melody Divinum mysterium:



Another arrangement of the same Christmas carol:


Please take a few moments to consider this meditation for today.