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Sunday, April 30, 2017

Musical Interlude

When in elementary school, our music teacher introduced us to the sections of the orchestra by having us listen to Peter and the Wolf. Later, when I was in college, our professor used the Peter and the Wolf as the beginning point of Music Appreciation I. Enjoy!



YouTube blurb:
This is Walt Disney's 'Peter & The Wolf' children's story. The images have been scanned at high quality, and the record digitized and cleaned as much as I can without losing the tonal clarity. It has then been edited into a short animated story to bring back memories in the big kids out there, and also something innocent and wonderful to watch for your new batch!...
Bonus video below the fold:

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Thought For Today — And Beyond

Recently, FreeThinke posted What Concerns You Most?, along with some choices of concerns.  See FreeThinke's post for the list.

I weighed in under the category of Other.

Here is my biggest concern, applicable not only to politics:

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Conundrum


If the above is true, why do we try so hard to persuade or dissuade others for whom we have no respect in the first place?

Perhaps because...


Note: explanation for my recent absence from the blogosphere is below the fold.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Russia, Syria, Iran, Turkey, the US and other players

By Warren

A look at recent developments in the Middle East and elsewhere plus a more in-depth  byplay we don't often get. It looks to me like Russia has really stuck its foot in it.

 
From StrategyPage: 


Russia: Embarrassing Cold War Reminders

  The government has an awkward situation in Syria. Immediately after the April 7 American cruise missile attack on a Syrian air base (in retaliation of earlier Syrian use of nerve gas) the Russian Internet lit up with embarrassing discussions about that happened to Russian boasts in late 2016 that the Russian air defense system in Syria was operational.

...

Warren

 

 

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Goodbye, Cameo

Cameo (July 30, 2001-April 16, 2017):

Cameo on our front porch with the azalea bush in the background.  She is gazing up at the birdhouse.

Heartbreak here. We have lost our beloved Siamese/Russian Blue to cancer.

There will never be another Cameo, our Rottweiler of a kitty. Such a spirited, domineering girl and ever relentless in her boldness! But also so very loving, on her terms, of course.

We will miss Cameo forever.

From day one, Cameo decided that the recliner was hers!

And Cameo loved to pose for the camera.

Pensive, on the back porch, June 20, 2016

Cameo on the new cat rug, March 9, 2017

Mr. AOW and I count it as a privilege to have shared space with such an intelligent and loving alpha cat with an adorable Rottweiler personality.  If only we could have had more time together!

Musical Interlude For Resurrection Day


Enjoy Felix Mendelssohn's joyous Symphony No. 4 In A Major 'Italian' on this Resurrection Day, the most important day on the Christian liturgical calendar:


Friday, April 14, 2017

Musical Interlude For Good Friday And Holy Saturday

Calvary



He died for me — as the propitiation for my sins:



I John 2:2 (KJV):
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Related reading at my friend Ed Bonderenka's blog site: What's so Good about Good Friday?


Music for meditation on this Holy Day (hat tip to Bunkerville):



Related listening at my friend FreeThinke's blog: J.S. Bach's The Passion of Our Lord According to St. Matthew.

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Recommended Reading

See How Bad is the Opioid Epidemic? (dated Feburary 23, 2016) and Trump’s FDA Chief Cites Opioid Epidemic As Top Priority (dated April 7, 2017). Apparently, the use of opioids is so prevalent that Colleges can get free doses of naloxone for students overdosing on opioids (dated April 10, 2017):
The Clinton Foundation and Adapt Pharma are working together to give colleges 40,000 doses of NARCAN nasal spray, which is the only FDA-approved nasal spray and is designed to be simple enough to administer that people without medical training can provide a potentially lifesaving dose.
According to the first link: Twelve states have more opioid prescriptions than people, and there are urgent calls for action. What should that action entail?

At this point, opioids are the most effective pain killers known, and doctors with integrity wish to help patients suffering from debilitating pain syndromes, which are often mysterious in origin. On the other hand, some doctors are nothing better than legal drug dealers.

What should be the government's role in ameliorating the opioid epidemic?

And how did we get to this sorry point?

Monday, April 10, 2017

FEATURED QUESTION: The U.S. Supreme Court

After much ado and the invoking of the nuclear option (Dangerous precedent?), last week the United States Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court.  He will be sworn in today. 

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Palm Sunday 2017 Carnage In Egypt

(For the weekly Musical Interlude, please scroll down)

Coptic Church north of Cairo, 04/09/2017

According to Reuters:
Bombings at Egyptian Coptic churches kill 36, injure more than 100

At least 36 people were killed and more than 100 injured in bomb attacks on two Coptic churches on Palm Sunday, in the latest assault on a religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, which come a week before Coptic Easter and in the same month that Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Egypt.

The first bombing, in Tanta, a Nile Delta city less than 100 kilometers outside Cairo, killed at least 25 and injured at least 78, Egypt's Ministry of Health said.

The second, carried out just a few hours later by a suicide bomber in Alexandria, hit the historic seat of the Coptic Pope, killing 11, including three police officers, and injuring 35, the ministry added.

Pope Tawadros, who had attended mass at Saint Mark's Cathedral, was still in the building at the time of the explosion but was not harmed, the Ministry of Interior said.

The bombings come as Islamic State's branch in Egypt appears to be stepping up attacks and threats against Christians....
Read the rest HERE.

Will President Trump speak about or Tweet about this using the term "radical Islamic terrorism"? If he avoids using that phrase, we then have a clear indication that National Security Advisor General H.R. McMaster is significantly influencing our President and his policy with regard to Islam.

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Friday, April 7, 2017

FEATURED QUESTION: Missile Strikes Against Syria

Last night, President Trump ordered our military to launch 59 Tomahawk missiles to strike Al Shayrat Airfield in response to chemical weapons having been deployed in Syria.

The complete text of President Trump's post-strike statement....
Text: Trump statement on U.S. military strikes in Syria

My fellow Americans: On Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. Using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many. Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror.

Tonight, I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched. It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, and ignored the urging of the U.N. Security Council.

Years of previous attempts at changing Assad's behavior have all failed, and failed very dramatically. As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilize, threatening the United States and its allies.

Tonight, I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria, and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types. We ask for God's wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world. We pray for the lives of the wounded and for the souls of those who have passed. And we hope that as long as America stands for justice, then peace and harmony will, in the end, prevail.

Goodnight. And God bless America and the entire world. Thank you.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
For his part, Bashar al-Assad has long claimed that he is quelling a dangerous uprising within his nation.

And, as we would expect, Putin Calls U.S. Syria Strike Aggression, Stops Air Cooperation.

FEATURED QUESTION (in two parts): 
(1) Was this military strike the right move? Why or why not?   
(2) Are you in agreement with the above statement by President Trump?

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Recommended Reading

Note: I rarely publish "Recommended Reading" back to back. But I'm still fairly miserable, so I won't be up to my usual blogging routine for a while.

See‘Adulting 101’: Public Library Offers Basic ‘Living’ Lessons to Clueless Millennials from Heat Street

Details about the library's Adulting 101 program are below the fold.

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Ridiculous Lawsuits

(For politics, please scroll down)

Twenty-four inanities:


What would Mark Twain have said about these ridiculous lawsuits? Read some of Twain's words about the law HERE.

[Explore additional random, interesting, and amazing facts at the web site Mental Floss]
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