Friday, December 24, 2010
Luminous Christmas Time
It is -
oh yeah, it sure is
the most wonderful time
of the year!
******** Share It.********
No matter which way you can.
God Bless
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* UPDATE *
...or more like...
Time Travel,
pure and simple?
.jpg)
NEVER believed in "Santa"...
However... One of my most favorite plush toys
and cherished childhood memory
remains that "Papa Noel" or Santa Claus
DOLL (I guess it was - really was... ugh!)
that I was gifted simultaneously as
my cousin got... Mrs. Claus - cuz being a girl!
(SHE got the REAL DOLL - there you go!)
As the luminously gifted (in that other most important way)
imaginative kid that I was, I would soon invent
a new persona for that doll -
complete with a moniker to match:
"Cap'n Adventure"
((Yeah - he became yet another super-hero;
and his team was made up of several other
actual anthropomorphic plush toys!))
(((But that's another story!)))
((((For another blog, too:
THE SAUDADES BLOG!))))
HO. HO. HO.
Labels: Christ-mas, Luminous, music video, saudades simulpost, Time Travel
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Monday, September 01, 2008
Luminous Words
Découvrez F.R. David!
For such a luminous wordsmith, I can sometimes have a problem with WORDS. (Well, for starters, it isn't easy PLACING the always-judiciously chosen words and always-biting ones at the right places and at the right time; not when you're always being interrupted throughout your speech or, worse yet, when people simply don't want to hear what you have to say, for whatever reason it may be - usually not wanting to hear the Truth! The intended audience will go out of their way to IMPEDE your words, in those harsh conditions! Another aspect of the problem is also related to the audience, as it simply isn't always attentive, or it only gives you a few seconds to deliver those WORDS! They can without any ill-intentions towards you or your discourse, but if they do not have anything close to an adequate attention-span, nothing can be achieved, see? How can one be expected to deliver BIG WORDS then, I ask you - with such conditions prevailing? The exact words, fit for EACH audience, become IMPERATIVE then - and that is not always so "easy" to find, indeed - not in the spur of the moment, no!)
A problem akin to F.R. David's problem, as you can surely assess already, which came to prominence a whopping 25 years ago in the Year of our Lord 1982 (okay, it's 26 years ago now - I missed the 25th, mea culpa!) when his song climbed the charts, peaking at number 2 on North American soil. However, this timeless song reached the very top in several countries across the Big Blue only in 1983, so it is fair to speak of a 25th anniversary here instead, after all...!
F.R. David a.k.a. Eli Robert Fitoussi, in a Tunisian-born "one-hit wonder" as they call those fortunate or unfortunate enough to have met with massive approval only ONCE in their careers... Those illuminaries, the likes of Eli Robert, have been blessed with knowing what "success" is - and, verily, twice-blessed too because they have been fortunate enough to see just how ephemeral it is RIGHT AWAY... Way before it got to become too much and it started to ruin them irremediably, like so many others among those "artists" who've had more, er, "sustained" careers...? But those are other (sad) stories - sad stories of another kind.
Like a handful of other great songs in that blessed year of 1982 (and, overall, blissful Eighties) "Words" stood out immediately. As far as "soft rock" goes, it cannot get any better than this; other fine examples from the same era include "Cruel To Be Kind", "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime", "You Could Have Been With Me" and "Cool Night". All of them are pretty much mid-tempo tunes that got top rotation playing time during those years, having hit the airwaves at just about the same time indeed. All of them represent a trend, collectively. A trend I can only hope to see the return of! All of them, unquestionably, have that certain "je-ne-sais-quoi" that can be instantly recognized and categorized as "catchy" and "with potential" too - for success as a single release. All of these extraordinary songs came about in a sort of mini-boom of creativity and sensitivity that simply amazes - for it could have not been at all! Remember that this is barely past the "disco era" - and the only dancing that can conceivably be done with this material is (very) slow dancing! They are not your average sappy love songs either; the five that I lump together here and the few worthy contemporaries to be found nowadays are true timeless gems, songs that stand on their own merit no matter what is deemed "in", "hip" or "cool" at whatever time in the history of music that we can think of. And their uniqueness is further emphasized by the lack of continuity in this vein... They just don't make them like that anymore - not in any kind of "sustained effort" they don't, that is for sure!
These songs have a two-fold strength that just can't be beat - the melody is simply unforgettable, for one. But the lyrics are the true treasure each time - the WORDS (and that is always my focus too, incidentally, as logic would dictate...!)
Simply listen, listen closely, to any one of these songs, and you will agree as well: these songs are timeless wonders due to their WORDS, not simply their enchanting, rapturous melodies...!
Luminous words they are indeed - that each and every single one of us can relate to, at virtually any moment of our lives...
And it sure is preferable, also, to listen to just the song - without any video to deconcentrate thee! Still, to please everyone that does drop by here, I've provide more than a few links for thy video-craving each time out.
Eli Robert has continued to make music all these years, encouraged and spurred on by the huge success of "Words". Of course, he was never to repeat such success - so far, anyways. Some songs are just PERFECT the first time around, hence his huge hit has only been covered by another artist ONCE - that is another rather disappointing aspect of the whole thing, considering that so many downright AVERAGE songs get to be redone over and over again, by a neverending succession of up-and-coming new and allegedly promising artists... "Words" -as any other of the five I mentioned here- deserves to be repackaged, re-recorded and re-interpreted over and over again; by as many diversified singing voices as possible too... Perhaps it isn't happening so frequently due to the practically flawless nature of the original songs, hmm? Such perfect creations intimidate any wanna-be cover artist - and with good reason too!
Maybe they'll get to it NOW though... Since most are into SAMPLING these days!
Now that the 25th anniversary of "Words" reaching the number one position in Germany, among other places, has come - and gone - it is time, I say!
Even that didn't come easy, you know...!
Nothing ever does...!
Labels: music, music video, saudades simulpost
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Saturday, July 05, 2008
He Preached A Song Of Love...
Imagine that: a movie such as that has created
renewed interest in this song...
I am still not entirely sold on the validity of likening
- King of kings and Lord of lords,
to the "Hurdy Gurdy Man" that Donovan sang of
even though both did spread a message of LOVE
- as it is well-illustrated indeed...
I felt even less sure when I learned
of the unfortunate existence of a cover version
by a band that is truly a lot of B.S.
Hopefully that cover version
will not ruin this version, for you guys.
Just steer clear of the damnable list of
"related videos" and other offerings
that will pop up on the bottom
of the YT screen, right after...
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Labels: music video
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Luminous Songs - Surgissant Du Passé - Returning To Us... To Yesteryear
Marie Carmen Aubut
She who has renounced her career
to now devote herself to the sick
the poor and the afflicted
in places like Perù
and Venezuela.
As she has said herself
she has quit the spotlight
she has left the shadows
and sought the Light -
not the opposite,
as many who see
but are blind to the
Truth
have told her, over time,
stunned that she
left behind a lucrative
musical career
to be so altruistic
and become, verily,
a Light in this dark world.
The above song is by Marie Carmen
and reflects all of the luminous soul
that resides within her
as she does a stunning cover
of the classic "L'Aigle Noir"
from French songstress Barbara.
Of Marie Carmen's stunning repertoire
put together over such a short span of time
in the late 80s and early 90s
"L'Aigle Noir" is only second to
the nostalgic classic for the bereaved,
"J'ai L'Blues De Vous"
- with "T'Oublier"
a close third
in my personal top ten...
Below, we have the other side
of the spectrum -
a song that states it like it is today;
The World Is Darker
by
Neverending White Lights
and the mesmerizing
(much in the same way of a Lilith)
Melissa Auf Der Maur
A video that has a definite
Kubrickian quality
à la Eyes Wide Shut
something that is missing
in the minimalistic charm
of the Marie Carmen video
- which proves once again
that one cannot have everything!
And the true chorus line
of this gem of a song
by NWL and MADM
is verily the best advice
one could ever obtain
from such forms of entertainment:
"watch your back
if your heart is weeping -
watch your heart
if your back is bleeding"
Quite simply...
Luminous!
Melissa Auf Der Maur
A video that has a definite
Kubrickian quality
à la Eyes Wide Shut
something that is missing
in the minimalistic charm
of the Marie Carmen video
- which proves once again
that one cannot have everything!
And the true chorus line
of this gem of a song
by NWL and MADM
is verily the best advice
one could ever obtain
from such forms of entertainment:
"watch your back
if your heart is weeping -
watch your heart
if your back is bleeding"
Quite simply...
Luminous!
Labels: Marie Carmen, music video, Neverending White Lights
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Tuesday, January 01, 2008
TLB Prime Premiere!
Dedicated to my friend Jesuvenne - who is fighting cancer.
What better way to start the new year
on the Luminous Blog - TLB Prime Itself
The center stage of the TLB Prime Network
and cornerstone of my luminous projects
(if not just a stepping stone, per say!)
WHAT BETTER WAY, FOLKS -
THAN WITH A PREMIERE!
And so, without further ado,
For the first time ever on ANY blog
or website (or even webpage)
that is a part of the vast and
far-reaching TLB PRIME NETWORK -
here is the one, the only,
... Marilou?!?
Well - yes!
First screen above is Marilou's
haunting hit from 2007
"Danser Sur La Lune"
(featuring Merwan Rim -
not Merman Wim...!)
while the second screen above
was supposed to be my very own
songstress cousin - São!
Alas, her creative partner
Larry (not to be confused
with the Vermont gent
who had a brother Darryl
and another brother Darryl...)
Larry, hence, does not want to allow
ANYONE to embed São's videos
onto their own websites!
Still, you may see the videos here.
So much is okay with Larry!
:)
And if those fine music samples aren't enough,
here are some more that I simply find...
well... luminous, of course!
At the very top, you have audio tracks
truly miscellaneous/luminous there...
And below are some select artists...
Elite artists!
Hayley Westenra [Artist]:
'Shenandoah/One Fine Day/E Pari Ra Medley'
Artiste: Hayley Westenra [Artist]
Étiquette: Decca Classics
Compositeur: Traditional, [Composer/Author]
![Hayley Westenra [Artist]: <br />'Shenandoah/One Fine Day/E Pari Ra Medley'](http://images.sympatico.ca/content/feeds/videos/umg/hayleywestenra_shenandoahonefinedayepariramedley_00028947591429.jpg)
Hayley Westenra [Artist]:
'Shenandoah/One Fine Day/E Pari Ra Medley'
Bond: 'Victory'
Artiste: Bond
Étiquette: Decca Classics
Compositeur: Tonci Huljic
Bond: 'Victory'
I'll even throw in Ima!
She whom I identify greatly with São...
IMA : Que sera sera
IMA : Baila
The preceding was my very own
luminous way to say...
HAPPY NEW YEAR everybody!
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Labels: marilou, music, music video, sao, saovision
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Thursday, May 17, 2007
You're On "The Right Track" - But Going The Wrong Way...?!?
Aye - many brats are to be found headed in the wrong direction these days...
It has been that way since the dawn of time, verily...
Not much to do about it, I'm sure...! :!
Here: have more illegal Timbaland music, in the meantime
(that sure is going all wrong about it
while being on the right track!)
====
OK - enough Timbaland for U!
Labels: music video, Timbaland
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Friday, December 01, 2006
Luminous Friday Night MP3 Player! (Gone To Heck!)
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(N.B.: none of the above artists need apply!)
And now, hence, another selection of songs under the key of... luminous! Not 30, not 40 but 50 this time! That should make us all bide our time well until Christmas gift unwrapping time I think... Not that that is even remotely close to the true meaning of Christmas, of course... But that is another story for another blog post and another time - when I do have more time!
Until then... Enjoy the music and the musings!
(The luminous archives are open 24/7! ;)
UPDATE - SAME PROBLEM HERE AS OCCURRED DURING THIS WEEK RIGHT HERE...
SAME SOLUTION, IN SEVERAL STEPS:
A) OBLITERATION OF THE UNUSABLE, INSUFFERABLE, OBSOLETE MP3 PLAYER
B) BOYCOTT FOREVERMORE THE SO-CALLED ''SERVICES'' IMPLICATED IN THE SORDID AFFAIR
C) CURSE THEM ABUNDANTLY... UH... I MEAN, MAKE THEM RUE THE DAY THEY WENT INTO BUSINESS... UH, NO, THAT'S NOT IT EITHER... SIMPLY RELAX AND CALM DOWN WHILE LISTENING TO THE REPLACEMENT MUSIC ABOVE
(Here's hoping it will work fine - longer!)
(Aye - ONLY TIME will tell...!!)
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And now, hence, another selection of songs under the key of... luminous! Not 30, not 40 but 50 this time! That should make us all bide our time well until Christmas gift unwrapping time I think... Not that that is even remotely close to the true meaning of Christmas, of course... But that is another story for another blog post and another time - when I do have more time!
Until then... Enjoy the music and the musings!
(The luminous archives are open 24/7! ;)
UPDATE - SAME PROBLEM HERE AS OCCURRED DURING THIS WEEK RIGHT HERE...
SAME SOLUTION, IN SEVERAL STEPS:
A) OBLITERATION OF THE UNUSABLE, INSUFFERABLE, OBSOLETE MP3 PLAYER
B) BOYCOTT FOREVERMORE THE SO-CALLED ''SERVICES'' IMPLICATED IN THE SORDID AFFAIR
C) CURSE THEM ABUNDANTLY... UH... I MEAN, MAKE THEM RUE THE DAY THEY WENT INTO BUSINESS... UH, NO, THAT'S NOT IT EITHER... SIMPLY RELAX AND CALM DOWN WHILE LISTENING TO THE REPLACEMENT MUSIC ABOVE
(Here's hoping it will work fine - longer!)
(Aye - ONLY TIME will tell...!!)
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Labels: Enya, music video
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Sunday, November 05, 2006
My Own Personal Remembrance Day...
Song not playing - AGAIN?
Look for it on YouTube!
Please.
Labels: commemorative, music video, The Fray
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Friday, October 27, 2006
Light... (s)... Camera - Action?!?
Are you a child of Light?
A "sort-of-a-blog-bulletin-thing"
shared by illuminaries such as
"Sea'lestial" and "Lightworker" -
to whom I say... thank you!
Read it - in the luminous comments section!!!
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Labels: Enya, music video
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Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Luminous thoughts I found somewhere... And their Luminous addendums...
1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.
1a. Save the trees. Not when they're down to a pulp now...
2. A day without sunshine is like, night.
2a. Opposites attract though - Night and Day - so, let the sunshine in, eh!
3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
3a. Use them wisely - remember that it is different strokes for different folks!
4. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.
4a. Thank God that I was not on a train of thought there and only on foot - ow, my foot!
5. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
5a. The other 57.3 percent mark the spot - usually with chalk all around them.
6. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
6a. The one percent left go into politics.
7. I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
7a. I fear no ticket-tendering officer. Not even a.l.f.y ones.
8. Honk if you love peace and quiet.
8a. Those who really do though, have no D.L. - they're on the D.L.
(Baseball season in-joke - sue me)
9. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
9a. The other half you just don't know them well enough to be able to tell.
10. He who laughs last thinks slowest.
10a. He who laughs best thinks and strikes lowest.
11. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
11a. Rage is anger mixed-in with surexcitation, judgementalism and little or no sense of right-and-wrong...
12. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
12a. Too bad that the cheese has mildew on it by then...
13. I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.
13a. Eat a lot, drive carelessly, leave a chubby corpse.
14. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
14a. And some people, like bacteria, spread their opinion like wildfire...
They call that being trendy in certain circles...
15. Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7 of your week.
15a. The winter months are an atrocious way to waste 40% of the year!
16. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
16a. Elephants, as we all know, are known as the greatest sinners the world has ever known, yes...
17. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
17a. Chances are though, if it is evitable, you will not deal with vending machines at all...
Three words for you: buy in bulk!
18. Get a new car for your spouse. It'll be a great trade!
18a. Don't except to be in her good graces for years to come after she learns of this though...
19. Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.
19a. By the same token, expect a spontaneous generation of oxymorons to sprout out from your mouth each time you try to gear conversation towards your plans...
20. Always try to be modest, and be proud of it!
20a. Just don't bother to be humble - that's just too humiliating...
21. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
21a. Note to self: caring is not the same thing that it used to be in olden days...
22. How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise your hand...
22a. Rumors have it that Pamela Anderson has telekinetic abilities -
since her Baywatch debut in fact...
23. OK, so what's the speed of dark?
23a. Dimwits can figure this one out - come on!
24. How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
24a. By the same token, how can you spell-check your messages penned with invisible ink?
25. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
25a. Note to self: I can't quite put my finger on what seems to be going so well around here though...?!?
26. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
26a. It's time to head for that light at the end of the tunnel then...
27. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
27a. And our forefathers paid off all of our dues in the past - so, no worries! Keep the pace is all we need bother doing - following in another's footsteps!
28. Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
28a. Enough celluloid has been wasted as it is anyway...
29. If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
29a. And if G.I. Joe is so professional, where has all of his ammo gone?
Sold - to the Axis of Evil? Say it isn't so, Joe... :(
30. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
30a. Also, weasels' toupees look more real than a bald eagle's...
31. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
31a. Note to self: it is a good thing that not everything is cumulative, like air miles...
32. I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out.
32a. Alas, I couldn't remain close-minded to everything - lest I wind up voting for the Republicans.
33. Garage guy tells you: I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
33a. Thank God for those guidance counselor types that He sends our way so that a clear path or alternative starts becoming apparent to us, finally...
Oh, wait - it could be a trick from the other guy...
A louder horn - that little in-joke gave it all away,
you horny loud-mouth evil one you!
Go for a pit stop - NOW!
34. Slow guy asks you: Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
34a. Best reply: Their own conscience forces them to give you a chance to hazard a guess
and expose them as total and complete phoneys!
35. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the hell happened.
35a. Inside every crying baby is an angel wondering why he was cast down to this mudball in the first place!
Blessings!
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Labels: humor, Luminous, music video, weird al
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Saturday, August 12, 2006
Smoking - part deux
Nooooooo - I am not done with SMOKING!
By no stretch of the imagination! Fact is, smokers have come out of the closet about it already and have labeled themselves as handicapped, nothing less, because of their dependence to tobacco! Yes... They sure are missing quite a few vital brain components too, for having such an obtuse habit to kick! Everything to get some small chance at winning their case, though... Because, you see, they have an infinitesimal glimmer of hope that glitters there, in the dark fumes of their own stinking smoke, that maybe, just MAYBE, the Bill of Rights can protect them and get them what they think they crave and need...!La Charte des droits protège les fumeurs!
Un fumeur qui se fait imposer de ne pas fumer dans son appartement par son proprio peut, en théorie, porter plainte pour discrimination fondée sur le handicap.
There is a world and a half between theory and practice, luckily enough...
À ce jour, aucune plainte concernant un locataire fumeur n’a encore été portée à l’attention de la Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse du Québec, mais la chose est techniquement possible, indique Daniel Carpentier, conseiller juridique à la Commission.
Ahhhhh - the commission defends both the rights of the everyman AND, specifically, those of today's YOUTH. Hmm... In an ideal world, today's youth is put back in its proper place, shuts the hell up, and NEVER EVEN STARTS LIGHTING IT UP - EVER!
Brothers and sisters, I saw evidence, the other day, that "le ridicule ne tue pas" as they say - I saw a chubby slacker riding his near-tricycle around his block, and he was SMOKING! He stopped to cough and, most probably, the nescient creature has no clue whatsoever why he is coughing... Nor will he have any when it keeps getting worse and worse still, with the years...
But let's now get back to the landlords that want no smoking tenants...
«Il est possible que ça soit une forme de discrimination fondée sur le handicap. La cigarette crée une dépendance, c’est écrit sur tous les paquets, et les dépendances sont un handicap au même titre que l’alcool et la toxicomanie», explique Carpentier.
And, as the OTHER Carpentier used to say, "à la semaine prochaine si Dieu Le Veut!"
Gee - of course being dependent upon such noxious and nauseating things can be viewed as a bad "dependency" and makes you, henceforth, sick automatically. To say that it is a "handicap" that big mean landlords, out to protect their and (MAYBE) their other tenants' long term health as well, are being "discriminating" here is beyond ridiculous. Are soldiers out on the field "discriminating" when they destroy bacteriological weapons - BEFORE these weapons can be used to make them sick and die?!? Come on...!
Alas, there is article 5 of the aforementioned Bill of Rights, which is man-made and thus hardly foolproof... Said article is all about respecting privacy. Ha, what a farce. Obtuse attitudes are not "privacy" - they're something else that actually rhymes with it; idiocy!
L’article 5 de la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne prévoit également que toute personne ait droit au respect de sa vie privée, rappelle Daniel Carpentier.
Thus, all it takes is one loudmouth that goes against common sense on an entire other level to "shake things up" - the wrong way.
«Un propriétaire qui veut empêcher un locataire de fumer dans son appartement peut voir cette interdiction contestée si quelqu’un veut aller aussi loin.»
Shades of that atheist a-hole who, for close to two decades now, has "contested" the presence of a legitimate religious monument on top a mountain... Contesting is not always done because it is RIGHTFUL to do so, but only because it is "lawful" to do so at the moment, before the earthly flawed law system that is in place...
La Charte interdit toute forme de discrimination fondée sur la race, la couleur, le sexe, la grossesse, l’orientation sexuelle, l’état civil, l’âge, la religion, les convictions politiques, la langue, l’origine ethnique, la condition sociale, le handicap ou l’utilisation d’un moyen pour pallier ce handicap.
To quote the immortal MR. T - "I pity the fool who makes usage of tobacco in order to "palliate to his handicap/dependency" - fool!" (Okay - that was more like paraphrasing, I admit!)
I predict (...) many more wasted and misused funds from the tax payer's pocket that will go into unnecessary court time... May it come from chain-smoking addicts' pockets then!
Labels: luminous simulpost, music video, Pimentel le Pugiliste, Pundit Blogger Me, simulpost
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Thursday, July 20, 2006
No blogging today!
Labels: Boardman quote, Captain, Glorious, Luminous anger, music video
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Sunday, June 25, 2006
Just Luminous!
I don't expect a weirdo like Steve Martin to get it right - maybe ever. I don't expect all the Bible exegets to quit being the wackos that they are!
But YOU who stumbled across this blog post - let it sink in!
And, most importantly and above all,
LET THE BIBLE CHANGE YOU!
Labels: Enya, Luminous, music video
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Friday, April 14, 2006
Happy Celebration of the Sacrifice Made For Our Redemption... and the Promise of the Resurrection!
No Bunnies Need Apply!
It would be interesting to know if this is one of the very few (and perhaps meaningful?) times that Good Friday coincided with the date of the sinking of the Titanic... The date has coincided with a lot of meaningful items of interest before, so much is for sure;
73 A.D. - According to Jewish historian Josephus, 967 Jewish zealots committed mass suicide within the fortress of Masada on this last night before the walls were breached by the attacking Roman Tenth Legion. (Two women and five children survived by hiding in a cistern, and were later released unharmed by the Romans.)
1796 - Death of Joseph Swain, 35, author of the hymn, "O Thou in Whose Presence My Soul Takes Delight."
1906 - The Azusa Street Revival -- proto-mission out of which the modern Pentecostal movement spread world-wide -- officially began when the services led by black evangelist William J. Seymour, 36, moved into the building at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles.
1940 - English Bible expositor Arthur W. Pink wrote in a letter: 'Nothing is too great and nothing is too small to commit into the hands of the Lord.'
Amen to that, Arthur! And I like the coincidence that I am the exact same age as Mr. Seymour was, back in 1906 - exactly 100 years ago hence.
Labels: Céline, music video
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Saturday, April 08, 2006
Are YOU going up there...?
Verily, I see some vicious predators getting there - but not so much certain civilized human beings...!
Labels: Enya, music video
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Saturday, March 18, 2006
This Is It - Today Is Supreme Sacrifice Day!
Are you ready for such an act of self-denial? Are you capable of such an act of... LOVE? If you doubt that this "holiday" exists - check out the list here. It sure is not mentioned on the main link today though... I guess that it wasn't the focus of that site's administrator... As for an example of Supreme Sacrifice... evidently there is none better than this one:
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Labels: Hosanna, music video, Praise
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Sunday, February 19, 2006
Tis T.I.D. today - Temporary Insanity Day!
In 1859, Dan Sickles was acquitted of murdering his wife’s boyfriend on account of temporary insanity. It was a first of its kind and so Temporary Insanity Day is commemorated every year to mark the judgment. But this February 19, please don’t indulge is any harmful insanity—just freak out with your buds and go temporarily insane riding on a high of fun!
That's according to one source.
According to another source, most of the former colonial United States adopted the "McNaughton Rule" from an earlier case that was the true first of this particular kind... The rule arose from a 160-year-old British case and is named after Daniel McNaughton. In 1843, McNaughton shot and killed the secretary to the British prime minister because he believed that the prime minister was plotting against him. McNaughton was the first defendant to be found not guilty of a crime "by reason of insanity." Instead of being sent to prison, McNaughton was sentenced to a mental institution for the rest of his life."
More on this rule and on the rarity of such cases: here.
Law.com enlightens us further on this rule too -as well it should- complete with the 19th Century spelling of McNaughton, for this historian's delight, I'm sure.
The traditional test of insanity in criminal cases is whether the accused knew "the difference between right and wrong," following the "M'Naughten rule" from 19th century England. Most states require more sophisticated tests based on psychiatric and/or psychological testimony evaluated by a jury of laypersons or a judge without psychiatric training. A claim by a criminal defendant of his/her insanity at the time of trial requires a separate hearing to determine if a defendant is sufficiently sane to understand the nature of a trial and participate in his/her own defense. If found to be insane, the defendant will be ordered to a mental facility, and the trial will be held only if sanity returns.
There's much more to read on this too - here.
For a brief overview of many famous and infamous cases of unbridled temporary insanity, check out this third and final link now and that would be - here! This entertaining summary is brought to you the overall sane staff of the acclaimed TV documentary and public affairs show "Frontline".
It brings to light yet another discrepancy in all this: yet another "first of its kind" (for it seems that everyone and their cousin wanted to have the dubious honor of being the first to be found innocent because totally and irremediably insane!)
Richard Lawrence was an unemployed house painter in his 30s who fired two pistols at U.S. President Andrew Jackson as Jackson walked through the Capitol Rotunda during a funeral procession. Both pistols misfired, and Lawrence was quickly apprehended. He was the first person charged with the attempted assassination of a U.S. president. Lawrence apparently suffered from delusions of persecution, believing that he was heir to the British throne and that Jackson had thwarted him by conspiring to keep him from receiving a fortune with which he could return to England and claim his seat. He also believed that Jackson had killed his father. At his one-day trial, Lawrence repeatedly interrupted the proceedings, loudly proclaiming that he was the kind of England and Rome. The jury acquitted him by reason of insanity after only five minutes of deliberation, and he spent the rest of his life -- 26 years -- in an asylum.
All of this took place in 1835...!
The apparent urge to be the first of its kind is noticeable even on the typo made in this summary, when it is mentioned that Lawrence thought himself to be "the kind of England and Rome". Hmm... lest it was meant as "the kind king of England and Rome"...? Kind but fierce when he feels ripped off! Only natural, one supposes...
Amidst all of these notorious cases of rampant lunacy, one probably finds comfort in the realization that one's own temporary lapses of judgment are not so bad after all. After all, the worst kind of temporary insanity most of us are capable of falling prey to are of the order of guilty pleasures. That and several of the seven deadly sins too... When we knowingly indulge a caprice or do wrong, it can be explained as temporary insanity - to our own conscience that is.
That is, those of us who have a conscience too.
Certain shrinks I know, a would-be real estate tycoon from Armenia, several substance users and people abusers and one or two compulsive liars I've run into in the course of my life are the "peeps" that, quite frankly, I doubt own anything remotely close to a "conscience"... But that is another story.
If the curiosity bug bit you while reading this, and you would like to find out just how potentially insane you may be yourself (temporarily or permanently) - check out this insanity test - provided to you courtesy of TLB Prime!
Link
That's according to one source.
According to another source, most of the former colonial United States adopted the "McNaughton Rule" from an earlier case that was the true first of this particular kind... The rule arose from a 160-year-old British case and is named after Daniel McNaughton. In 1843, McNaughton shot and killed the secretary to the British prime minister because he believed that the prime minister was plotting against him. McNaughton was the first defendant to be found not guilty of a crime "by reason of insanity." Instead of being sent to prison, McNaughton was sentenced to a mental institution for the rest of his life."
More on this rule and on the rarity of such cases: here.
Law.com enlightens us further on this rule too -as well it should- complete with the 19th Century spelling of McNaughton, for this historian's delight, I'm sure.
The traditional test of insanity in criminal cases is whether the accused knew "the difference between right and wrong," following the "M'Naughten rule" from 19th century England. Most states require more sophisticated tests based on psychiatric and/or psychological testimony evaluated by a jury of laypersons or a judge without psychiatric training. A claim by a criminal defendant of his/her insanity at the time of trial requires a separate hearing to determine if a defendant is sufficiently sane to understand the nature of a trial and participate in his/her own defense. If found to be insane, the defendant will be ordered to a mental facility, and the trial will be held only if sanity returns.
There's much more to read on this too - here.
For a brief overview of many famous and infamous cases of unbridled temporary insanity, check out this third and final link now and that would be - here! This entertaining summary is brought to you the overall sane staff of the acclaimed TV documentary and public affairs show "Frontline".
It brings to light yet another discrepancy in all this: yet another "first of its kind" (for it seems that everyone and their cousin wanted to have the dubious honor of being the first to be found innocent because totally and irremediably insane!)
Richard Lawrence was an unemployed house painter in his 30s who fired two pistols at U.S. President Andrew Jackson as Jackson walked through the Capitol Rotunda during a funeral procession. Both pistols misfired, and Lawrence was quickly apprehended. He was the first person charged with the attempted assassination of a U.S. president. Lawrence apparently suffered from delusions of persecution, believing that he was heir to the British throne and that Jackson had thwarted him by conspiring to keep him from receiving a fortune with which he could return to England and claim his seat. He also believed that Jackson had killed his father. At his one-day trial, Lawrence repeatedly interrupted the proceedings, loudly proclaiming that he was the kind of England and Rome. The jury acquitted him by reason of insanity after only five minutes of deliberation, and he spent the rest of his life -- 26 years -- in an asylum.
All of this took place in 1835...!
The apparent urge to be the first of its kind is noticeable even on the typo made in this summary, when it is mentioned that Lawrence thought himself to be "the kind of England and Rome". Hmm... lest it was meant as "the kind king of England and Rome"...? Kind but fierce when he feels ripped off! Only natural, one supposes...
Amidst all of these notorious cases of rampant lunacy, one probably finds comfort in the realization that one's own temporary lapses of judgment are not so bad after all. After all, the worst kind of temporary insanity most of us are capable of falling prey to are of the order of guilty pleasures. That and several of the seven deadly sins too... When we knowingly indulge a caprice or do wrong, it can be explained as temporary insanity - to our own conscience that is.
That is, those of us who have a conscience too.
Certain shrinks I know, a would-be real estate tycoon from Armenia, several substance users and people abusers and one or two compulsive liars I've run into in the course of my life are the "peeps" that, quite frankly, I doubt own anything remotely close to a "conscience"... But that is another story.
If the curiosity bug bit you while reading this, and you would like to find out just how potentially insane you may be yourself (temporarily or permanently) - check out this insanity test - provided to you courtesy of TLB Prime!
Labels: Alanis, law follies, music video
Link
