Sorta annoying.It’s a zombie series. As a result, really don’t care much about character or plot development or even story line for that matter.
I’m thinking Lori peeing on a stick was having more fun than watching much of last night’s episode☺ That said, I’m really thinking Lori wished she had a clothes hanger and a Bic Lighter to take care of that annoying pregnancy thing – oh, that’s really bad – gonna burn ‘fer sure ‘fer that one☺ Wasn’t it just last week when Lori was weighing the benefits of letting Jr. croak and bemoaning the insanity of raising a child in zombieland? How’s that for a swift kick in the pants? I’m hoping her predicament presents the opportunity for Rick to finally find out about Shane – that boy definitely needs to go.
The search for Sophie is dragging on way too long and continues to leave me wondering why her mother Carol never seems to go out and look for her own daughter?
I’m thinking throwing the zombie in the well was a last minute, "throw the less sophisticated viewers" (such as myself) a bone. The only surprise came when Glenn was in the well and I expected that it would be the rope and not the pipe that would break. ‘Tho I must admit, the dude getting ripped in two was sorta funny.
Am however glad that Glenn and Maggie got themselves some – other than axing some walkers, it’s the only productive thing to do during the zombie apocalypse.Speaking of which, they missed a golden opportunity to throw in a couple of undead either before, during, or after the two did the nasty.
Andrew Lincoln (Rick) seems to be doing more than his share of over-acting. His character definitely needs to get rid of the Sheriff's outfit.
Daryl continues his climb to be the most compelling character on the show. Is he down to his last cross bow arrow (bolt)? Sidebar: did you know that Norman Reedus – a.k.a., Daryl Dixon, played Murphy MacManus in the Boondock Saints sequel?
In any event, anxiously awaiting next week’s triumph return of our good ‘ol friend Merle…
As many know, today is the anniversary of the November 5, 1605 Gunpowder Treason Plot, also known as Guy Fawkes Day (and also known as the Catholic Gunpowder Plot).Briefly, the plot involved a group of Catholic conspirators led by Robert Catesby who plotted to blow up King James I and the English House of Lords on the opening day of Parliment by detonating 36 barrels of gunpowder placed in the cellar underneath the Parliament building.While many today choose to view this attempted insurrection as a noble yet failed revolt against an oppressive government, we need to recall that the whole episode took place in the middle of the European Wars of Religion and that the intent of the plot was not to remove the monarchy and replace it with a benevolent ruler, but rather to restore a Catholic monarch to the English throne.
Fawkes was described as "a tall, powerfully built man, with thick reddish-brown hair, a flowing moustache in the tradition of the time, and a bushy reddish-brown beard," who was a "a man of action ... capable of intelligent argument as well as physical endurance, somewhat to the surprise of his enemies.” Because of his extensive military experience, Fawkes was chosen to light the fuse that would detonate the gunpowder on the opening of Parliment, and to then escape to Europe.
Map of Parliament showing "Guy Vaux" location of the gunpowder.
Cellar beneath the House of Lords.
Let there be no doubt, Fawkes was a true-believer in the cause of assassinating the King. He was up to his nose in the entire conspiracy.Indeed, Fawkes described King James I as "a heretic", who intended "to have all of the Papist sect [Catholics] driven out of England."
Anonymous letter revealing the existence of the plot
(author never reliably established).
As these things go, an anonymous letter was sent to a nobleman informing of the plot.During the early morning of November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes, dressed in a cloak and hat, and wearing boots and spurs was discovered in the cellar near the barrels of gunpowder.He was arrested and an investigation ensued.That subsequent inquiry identified the various conspirators who were hunted down and some were killed, although it appears that for the most part, Fawkes kept his silence despite extensive torture.
The trial found many of the participants guilty of high treason.The condemned were sentenced to a brutal death: "put to death halfway between heaven and earth as unworthy of both". Their genitals would be cut off and burnt before their eyes, and their bowels and hearts removed. They would then be decapitated, and the dismembered parts of their bodies displayed so that they might become "prey for the fowls of the air."
Engraving of eight of the thirteen conspirators,
Fawkes (Guido Fawkes) is third from the right.
On January 31, 1606, Fawkes and three conspirators were dragged from the Tower of London.Fawkes watched as his fellow conspirators were brutally executed. As he climbed to the top of the gallows, he jumped from the scaffold breaking his neck. His body was nonetheless quartered and limbs sent to the corners of the Kingdom.
A 1606 etching depicting Fawkes's execution
Here’s the traditional English Fifth of November poem (c. 1870):
The Fifth of November
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
Guy Fawkes and his companions
Did the scheme contrive,
To blow the King and Parliament
All up alive.
Threescore barrels, laid below,
To prove old England's overthrow.
But, by God's providence, him they catch,
With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
A stick and a stake
For King James's sake!
If you won't give me one,
I'll take two,
The better for me,
And the worse for you.
A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,
A penn'orth of cheese to choke him,
A pint of beer to wash it down,
And a jolly good fire to burn him.
Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!
Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!
Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!
(note that it ain't an homage to Guy Fawkes)
[P]ut to death halfway between heaven and earth as unworthy of both". Their genitals would be cut off and burnt before their eyes, and their bowels and hearts removed. They would then be decapitated, and the dismembered parts of their bodies displayed so that they might become "prey for the fowls of the air.
Uncle Mo beat the Doomsday rush and done got his brains blowed out. To the rest of us vile, sinful heathens….
HAPPY DOOMSDAY!!!
Yeah, that does seem a bit flat what with it being our collective demise 'n all (I'm guessin' Doomsday includes the entire planet?). O.K., o.k., – how's about this? Let’s go with...ahhhmmm...o.k., let's try this little ditty (using my best Tom Waits voice)…
♫♪♫ Happy Doomsday to You♪♫♫♪
♫♪♫ Happy Doomsday to You♪♫♫♪
♪♫ Happy Doomsdaaay Dear Heathens♪♫♫♪♫
♫♪♫ Haaappy Doooomsdaaaay tooo YOOOU!!!! ♪♫♪♪♫
(and many more?)
Yup, that’s right…today's the end of the world☺ Ta-DA!!! And...ummm...I do hope you're enjoying it and that it's everything you hoped it would be? Recall that it was our dear friend Brother Harold Camping who was keen to remind us how, “...we must realize that October 21, 2011 will be the final day of this earth’s existence.”
Remember it was Brother Camping who predicted that May 21st was the day when those few, those happy few, that pre-elected Band of Brothers were gonna be Raptured away to their eternal reward (up a-course cause ya know's, ain't none of them EE-lec-Ted's a-goin' down, no siree Bob 'cause they'uns be the most excellent, most super-special, secret squirrel holier above all other holier pre-selecteds, EE-lec-Ted's) leaving only those slovenly heathens such as myself (and you, if’n you be readin’ this), to wallow in our own brand of filthy, smelly evilness – which would of course usher in a five-month period that would certainly end in the Zombie Apocalypse as verily, the dead will surely rise (See Revelation 20:13, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and Death and Hell gave up the dead which were in them; and then Isaiah 26:19, “Your dead will live; their bodies will rise”)? In reality however and apparently after getting cold feet, May's much ballyhooed Rapture apparently was Rapture-less. Harold was keen to clarify that indeed the Rapture did however happen - we just didn't get the tickets to see the movie. See, “it was not a Judgment Day that was visible.” Rather, it was “…a spiritual Judgment Day.”
We fondly recall how Camping was nearly called home -- but for some odd reason, it was not on the day of the Rapture? Rather it was nearly three-weeks after the “Spiritual Rapture” when Camping suffered what can only be described as a divinely-inspired cerebral infarction (that’s a stroke). Fortunately, the Good Lord decided Camping was far too special to drag (down) to his eternal reward...just yet. He apparently saved Camping from certain demise in order to allow him to continue to minister to us unclean sinners. As a result and in true martyr fashion, dear Brother Camping continues to perform his Godly calling asking for money to allow him to ask for more money, to allow him to ask for more money and yet more money, to continue his warning to us about our impending damnation. Yes naysayers and unclean heathens, verily I say unto thee, not only is the End Nigh -- it's freakin' here! Doomsday is today!
Crap, and I got a thing I gotta go square away. Well, at least Doomsday should be today. But then again, maybe not. If notm then rest assured...sometime soon, real soon. Brother Harold sezs that if not today, then "…probably within the next month” or so.
Traffic on the way to work was exceptionally light this morning so naturally today must indeed be the End of the World. To my family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, random strangers, and even annoying passengers on the train, here’s hoping you have a great End-of-the-World and an even better eternity burning in Hell☺
Here's something that'll certainly lift your spirits and seems quaintly appropriate on this most final of all last days. It's Tom Wait's Calvinistic masterpiece, Misery is the River of the World (everybody row):
Fortunately for all of us, Camping was able to clarify that the End of the World ain’t gonna be all earthquakes, floods, fire and brimstone, and other such nastiness like we foolishly thought. Camping tells us that this go-around, “…there will be no pain suffered by anyone because of their rebellion against God…the end is going to come very quietly.”
On Today’s date in 1862, Union Maj. Gen. William "Bull" Nelson, widely viewed as "overbearing, inconsiderate, tyrannical," and yes, "easily giving offense" (verily I say, 'tis indeed a man tuggin' at me own heart) was shot dead, murdered by Union Brig. Gen. Jefferson Davis – yup, same name, different side.
Very briefly, in August 1862 the traitors (I’m sorry, Tea Baggers – er crap, I’m sorry, why am I always doing that?), the Confederates under the Command of Confederate Lt. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, invaded Kentucky, a neutral border state that saw twice as many citizens volunteer to fight for the Union than for the Confederacy (60,000 for the North vs. 30,000 for the South and this disparity is part and parcel of the The Lost Cause mythology – forewarning how Tea Baggers and Fundamentalists re-write history to fit into their own exclusive narrative, but that's a different story entirely). Due in large measure to his political connections as well as his ability to raise and arm Kentucky volunteers, MG William “Bull” Nelson, a native Kentuckian and career naval officer, received a commission into the regular United States Army.
In command of the Department of the Ohio, Union Major General Horatio G. Wright ordered Nelson to defend the town of Richmond (south of Lexington) from the Confederate advance into the heart of the Bluegrass State (in reality, Kentucky's a Commonwealth, not a state but that's neither here nor there). After what is best described as thoroughly impressive Union defeat that saw Nelson wounded in the upper thigh during the August 29–30, 1862 Battle of Richmond (5,353 total Union casualities of which 206 were killed, 844 wounded, and 4,303 captured/missing compared to 451 total Confederate casualities of which 78 were killed, 372 wounded, and 1 missing) and Nelson reportedly slashing his sabre at soldiers fleeing from the Confederate advanced, the General traveled to Louisville to organize a defense of that city.
Brig. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis
While in Louisville MG Nelson was approached by Brig. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis who had been in Cincinnati recuperating from illness and had subsequently traveled to Louisville to offer his services to Nelson and assist in that city's defense. Nelson accepted Davis' services and was placed in charge of organizing a home guard militia. In hindsight, probably not the best tactical decision Nelson ever made. The two quickly agitated one another when Davis asked for arms but was apparently unable to provide an accurate troop count.
To be clear, there are numerous conflicting stories about what transpired. Moreover and although I seriously doubt the veracity of the reported exchange (if for no other reason than the recently living but subsequently deceased Nelson was unavailable profer his version of events), this is how the incident was reported in the October 18, 1862 Harper's Weekly:
GEN. NELSON: “How many men have you?”
DAVIS: “About twenty-five hundred men, General.”
NELSON (roughly and angrily): “About twenty-five hundred! About twenty-five hundred! By G—d! you a regular officer, and come here to me and report about the number of men in your command? G—d d—n you, don't you know, Sir, you should furnish me the exact number?"
DAVIS: “General, I didn't expect to get the guns now, and only wanted to learn if I could get them, and where; and, having learned the exact number needed, would then draw them.”
NELSON (pacing the room in a rage): “About twenty-five hundred! By G—d I suspend you from your command, and order you to report to General Wright; and I've a d—d mind to put you under arrest. Leave my room, Sir!”
Davis. “I will not leave, General, until you give me an order.”
NELSON. “The h—l you won't! By G—d I'll put you under arrest, and send you out of the city under a provost guard! Leave my room, Sir!”
Davis left Louisville crossing the Ohio River into Jeffersonville, Indiana where he joined BG Burbridge (also relieved by Nelson). Both traveled to Cincinnati where MG Wright ordered Davis to return to Kentucky and join Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell.
Davis returned to Louisville to meet with MG Buell. On September 29, 1862, Davis observed Nelson at the Galt House (the old, old Galt House – not the new, new Galt House) where he also found Indiana Governor Oliver Morton. Davis requested that the Indiana Governor witness his conversation with Nelson and then approached the General.
Davis accused Nelson of insulting his honor and abusing his authority. Nelson apparently put his hand to his ear, “Speak louder, I don't hear very well” (a sort of “I can’t hear you, I can’t you” gesture). Others say Davis threw something at Nelson who then back-handed Davis twice and proceeded to walk up a staircase.
While the stories appear to lack credibility, what is clear is that Davis walked away and purportedly went to the “ladies parlor” where he borrowed a revolver from a Captain Gibson (an acquaintance), returned, found Nelson, pulled out the revolver and shot Nelson in the chest. Nelson is reported to have exclaimed “I am shot,” grabbed onto a bystander and attempted to stagger up a staircase but collapsed. The mortally wounded General was carried to his room where died shortly thereafter. His last words after being baptized and expressing “great penitence” over “the many sins he had committed,” were that “It's all over.”
Drawing of Brig. Gen. Jefferson Davis shooting Maj. Gen. William "Bull" Nelson
contained in the October 18, 1862 Harper's Weekly.
Jefferson Davis was subsequently arrested and indicted for manslaughter. At the urging of Maj. Gen. Horatio G. Wright, Davis was later released. His case languished for sometime until the indictment was ultimately dismissed and by 1864, it was forgotten. Interestingly, Davis went on to march with Sherman to Atlanta and the Sea.
Below are photographs of various historic markers regarding MG Nelson (click on the pictures for a larger view):
Historic marker in Louisville, Kentucky
marking the site of the old Gault House
giving mention to the "assassination"
of Maj. Gen. William Nelson.
Historic marker at the site of Camp Nelson in Jessamine County, Kentucky.
Names in honor of Maj. Gen. Nelson on June 12, 1863, Camp Nelson was a Civil War supply depot and African American recruitment center.
Marker at the Camp Nelson National
Cemetery providing information
about Maj. Gen. William "Bull" Nelson
and his September 29, 1962 murder.
Here’s a link to the October 18, 1962, Harpers Weekly that reported on Nelson’s murder:
As part of the 2011 leg of his Never Ending Tour, Bob Dylan has 87 shows booked, starting with venues in the far east in Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. He then jumps to Europe with dates in Ireland, England, Israel (I know, not Europe but I’m guessing he has a commitment there), Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, and Sweden; then to the states for shows in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire; and finally, back to Europe for dates in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland.
Considering that Bob’s been in the business for more than half-a-century; has played for leaders throughout the world including Presidents, Kings, and Popes; received the highest artistic awards and recognition not only in our country, but throughout the world; is widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential artists of the last half of the twentieth century; and one who turned 70 this past May, his schedule is made all the more impressive when considering that as opposed to sitting back and basking in his glory or counting his millions, Bob still has the drive to perform for his fans.
Leon Russell
He did just such a show last night when we were treated to an exceptional Bob show at the Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia, Maryland. The show opened with Leon Russell performing a series of largely lackluster and unimpressive songs for the first hour (never really a fan of Russell or his song writing); followed by the Drive-By Truckers – a group I am familiar with only by name, but of whom I’m pretty sure I could grow to enjoy.
Drive-By Truckers
At a little after 9pm, no Rhondo or Fanfare for the Common Man but still:
"Ladies and gentlemen…please welcome the poet laureate of rock-n-roll. The voice of the promise of the sixties counterculture. The guy who forced folk into bed with rock. Who donned makeup in the seventies, and disappeared into a haze of substance abuse. Who emerged to find Jesus. Who was written off as a has-been by the end of the eighties, and who suddenly shifted gears; releasing some of the strongest music of his career beginning in the late nineties…Ladies and gentlemen…Columbia recording artist…Bob Dylan."
I haven’t been following much in the way of Bob for quite some time – freakin’ work. As a result, I was pleasantly surprised to see Bob sporting a goatee and backed by Tony Garnier (Bob’s long-time “musical director” on bass), and joined again by members of his “old” band (I was never a big fan of the last group of players backing him up). George Recile was on drums, Stu Kimball on rhythm guitar, of course Charlie Sexton played lead guitar – great to see him back, and Donnie Herron (replaced Larry Campbell a few years back) who played well, just about everything else.
Bob opened with Rainy Day Women #12 &a 35 and followed it up with It's All Over Now, Baby Blue. As with just about everything, Bob continually changes arrangements to all of his songs—favoring a heavy rhythm to accompany his singing style—this concert was no exception. We were pleasantly surprised to see Bob step away from the keyboard onto center stage while playing the harp and belt out an excellent rendition of Things Have Changed:
“There's a woman on my lap and she's drinking champagne
Got white skin, got assassin's eyes”
– those lines never cease to invoke all kinds of images.
Bob on harp
Bob stayed away from the keyboard with an enjoyable version of Tangled Up In Blue, but it was after that when things started to really pick up.
Surprisingly, Bob grabbed an electric guitar for a thoroughly enjoyable rendition of Beyond Here Lies Nothin'! For those unfamiliar, appreciate that because of arthritis (likely resulting from a 50+ year musical career), Bob rarely plays the guitar in concert. He then then went back onto the keyboard for Mississippi – where we found out that for Dylan, a day too long is waaay too long.
Bob on guitar
Bob was back at center stage on his harp for a very, very good, rhythm-heavy rendition of John Brown – can you believe he wrote that tune way back in ’62? He was back to the keyboard for Summer Days and then back center stage for Cold Irons Bound. Bob was seemingly all over the place—in a good way. Back on keyboard again for Highway 61 Revisited where the audience was reminded how:
Oh God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son”
Abe says, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on”
God say, “No.” Abe say, “What?”
God say, “You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin’ you better run”
Abe says, “Where do you want this killin’ done?
God says, “Out on Highway 61.”
Bob yet again picked up the electric guitar to perform Simple Twist Of Fate – now that was definitely was an unexpected pleasant surprise!
Bob followed this up with Thunder On The Mountain and closed his show with a very nice version of Ballad Of A Thin Man. For encores, Dylan treated folks to Like A Rolling Stone and All Along The Watchtower. 70 years old and more than 50 years in the business, Bob is still able to belt out the line and provide a genuinely enjoyable show. Because he feeds off the energy from the audience and because the audience was energized on this night, Bob seemed to enjoy himself as much as his fans enjoyed the show.
The famous crowned "Bob-Eye," presumably staring into the soul of the audience (left to right: Tony Garnier, Charlie Sexton, George Recile, and Bob Dylan; Donnie Herron is barely visible behind Bob while Stu Kimball is not pictured).
Sunday, May 22, 2011
I’ve said this before, Top Documentary Films is worthwhile website. Here’s the BBC’s “What Darwin Didn't Know,” narrated by Evolutionary biologist Prof. Armand Marie Leroi who reviews evolutionary theory since Darwin first published “On the Origin of Species” in 1859.
This is an enjoyable overview of Darwinian evolution including brief discussions about the work of Gregor Mendel (unfortunately only a broad brush stroke on dominant genes) and Ronald Fisher (including a disturbing short clip on eugenics). Enjoyable discussions about Darwin’s famous doves, the peppered moth, Lake Malawi, and the eye.
Leroi says “It is precisely this sort of agreement between DNA and fossil evidence that makes the case for evolution so utterly compelling,” and reminds us that the only thing Darwin said with respect to human evolution was that, “Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history.”
Berg's Three Orchestral Pieces was enjoyable and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 was traditional and well played. Unexpectedly, Beethoven's Triple Concerto with violinist Nurit Bar-Josef, cellist David Hardy, and pianist Lambert Orkis was the highlight of the evening.
To my friends working in the public as well as the private sector, in 1968, Lawrence J. Peter, PhD., educator and heirarchiologist, determined that "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence." Commonly known as the “The Peter Principle,” all of us have no doubt witnessed Professor Peter’s now famous axiom... first-hand and in all its glory.
Earlier this year during the 2010 20th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony (yes, that's right), Profs. Alessandro Pluchino, Andrea Rapisarda, and Cesare Garofalo of the University of Catania, Italy, received the 2010 Ig-Nobel Prize for Management for "demonstrating mathematically that organizations would become more efficient if they promoted people at random."
See: http://improbable.com/ig/2010/.
Abstract:
In the late sixties the Canadian psychologist Laurence J. Peter advanced an apparently paradoxical principle, named since then after him, which can be summarized as follows: ‘Every new member in a hierarchical organization climbs the hierarchy until he/she reaches his/her level of maximum incompetence’. Despite its apparent unreasonableness, such a principle would realistically act in any organization where the mechanism of promotion rewards the best members and where the competence at their new level in the hierarchical structure does not depend on the competence they had at the previous level, usually because the tasks of the levels are very different to each other. Here we show, by means of agent based simulations, that if the latter two features actually hold in a given model of an organization with a hierarchical structure, then not only is the Peter principle unavoidable, but also it yields in turn a significant reduction of the global efficiency of the organization. Within a game theory-like approach, we explore different promotion strategies and we find, counterintuitively, that in order to avoid such an effect the best ways for improving the efficiency of a given organization are either to promote each time an agent at random or to promote randomly the best and the worst members in terms of competence.
For Immediate Release January 12, 2011 Remarks by the President at a Memorial Service for the Victims of the Shooting in Tucson, Arizona
McKale Memorial Center
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
6:43 P.M. MST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Please, please be seated. (Applause.)
To the families of those we’ve lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants who are gathered here, the people of Tucson and the people of Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today and will stand by you tomorrow. (Applause.)
There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: The hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy will pull through. (Applause.)
Scripture tells us:
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
On Saturday morning, Gabby, her staff and many of her constituents gathered outside a supermarket to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and free speech. (Applause.) They were fulfilling a central tenet of the democracy envisioned by our founders –- representatives of the people answering questions to their constituents, so as to carry their concerns back to our nation’s capital. Gabby called it “Congress on Your Corner” -– just an updated version of government of and by and for the people. (Applause.)
And that quintessentially American scene, that was the scene that was shattered by a gunman’s bullets. And the six people who lost their lives on Saturday –- they, too, represented what is best in us, what is best in America. (Applause.)
Judge John Roll served our legal system for nearly 40 years. (Applause.) A graduate of this university and a graduate of this law school -- (applause) -- Judge Roll was recommended for the federal bench by John McCain 20 years ago -- (applause) -- appointed by President George H.W. Bush and rose to become Arizona’s chief federal judge. (Applause.)
His colleagues described him as the hardest-working judge within the Ninth Circuit. He was on his way back from attending Mass, as he did every day, when he decided to stop by and say hi to his representative. John is survived by his loving wife, Maureen, his three sons and his five beautiful grandchildren. (Applause.)
George and Dorothy Morris -– “Dot” to her friends -– were high school sweethearts who got married and had two daughters. They did everything together -- traveling the open road in their RV, enjoying what their friends called a 50-year honeymoon. Saturday morning, they went by the Safeway to hear what their congresswoman had to say. When gunfire rang out, George, a former Marine, instinctively tried to shield his wife. (Applause.) Both were shot. Dot passed away.
A New Jersey native, Phyllis Schneck retired to Tucson to beat the snow. But in the summer, she would return East, where her world revolved around her three children, her seven grandchildren and 2-year-old great-granddaughter. A gifted quilter, she’d often work under a favorite tree, or sometimes she'd sew aprons with the logos of the Jets and the Giants -- (laughter) -- to give out at the church where she volunteered. A Republican, she took a liking to Gabby, and wanted to get to know her better. (Applause.)
Dorwan and Mavy Stoddard grew up in Tucson together -– about 70 years ago. They moved apart and started their own respective families. But after both were widowed they found their way back here, to, as one of Mavy’s daughters put it, “be boyfriend and girlfriend again.” (Laughter.)
When they weren’t out on the road in their motor home, you could find them just up the road, helping folks in need at the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. A retired construction worker, Dorwan spent his spare time fixing up the church along with his dog, Tux. His final act of selflessness was to dive on top of his wife, sacrificing his life for hers. (Applause.)
Everything -- everything -- Gabe Zimmerman did, he did with passion. (Applause.) But his true passion was helping people. As Gabby’s outreach director, he made the cares of thousands of her constituents his own, seeing to it that seniors got the Medicare benefits that they had earned, that veterans got the medals and the care that they deserved, that government was working for ordinary folks. He died doing what he loved -– talking with people and seeing how he could help. And Gabe is survived by his parents, Ross and Emily, his brother, Ben, and his fiancée, Kelly, who he planned to marry next year. (Applause.)
And then there is nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green. Christina was an A student; she was a dancer; she was a gymnast; she was a swimmer. She decided that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the Major Leagues, and as the only girl on her Little League team, no one put it past her. (Applause.)
She showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age. She’d remind her mother, “We are so blessed. We have the best life.” And she’d pay those blessings back by participating in a charity that helped children who were less fortunate.
Our hearts are broken by their sudden passing. Our hearts are broken -– and yet, our hearts also have reason for fullness.
Our hearts are full of hope and thanks for the 13 Americans who survived the shooting, including the congresswoman many of them went to see on Saturday.
I have just come from the University Medical Center, just a mile from here, where our friend Gabby courageously fights to recover even as we speak. And I want to tell you -- her husband Mark is here and he allows me to share this with you -- right after we went to visit, a few minutes after we left her room and some of her colleagues in Congress were in the room, Gabby opened her eyes for the first time. (Applause.) Gabby opened her eyes for the first time. (Applause.)
Gabby opened her eyes. Gabby opened her eyes, so I can tell you she knows we are here. She knows we love her. And she knows that we are rooting for her through what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult journey. We are there for her. (Applause.)
Our hearts are full of thanks for that good news, and our hearts are full of gratitude for those who saved others. We are grateful to Daniel Hernandez -- (applause) -- a volunteer in Gabby’s office. (Applause.)
And, Daniel, I’m sorry, you may deny it, but we’ve decided you are a hero because -- (applause) -- you ran through the chaos to minister to your boss, and tended to her wounds and helped keep her alive. (Applause.)
We are grateful to the men who tackled the gunman as he stopped to reload. (Applause.) Right over there. (Applause.) We are grateful for petite Patricia Maisch, who wrestled away the killer’s ammunition, and undoubtedly saved some lives. (Applause.) And we are grateful for the doctors and nurses and first responders who worked wonders to heal those who’d been hurt. We are grateful to them. (Applause.)
These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle. They remind us that heroism does not require special training or physical strength. Heroism is here, in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens, all around us, just waiting to be summoned -– as it was on Saturday morning. Their actions, their selflessness poses a challenge to each of us. It raises a question of what, beyond prayers and expressions of concern, is required of us going forward. How can we honor the fallen? How can we be true to their memory?
You see, when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations –- to try and pose some order on the chaos and make sense out of that which seems senseless. Already we’ve seen a national conversation commence, not only about the motivations behind these killings, but about everything from the merits of gun safety laws to the adequacy of our mental health system. And much of this process, of debating what might be done to prevent such tragedies in the future, is an essential ingredient in our exercise of self-government.
But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized -– at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who happen to think differently than we do -– it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we’re talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds. (Applause.)
Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding. In the words of Job, “When I looked for light, then came darkness.” Bad things happen, and we have to guard against simple explanations in the aftermath.
For the truth is none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped these shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind. Yes, we have to examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of such violence in the future. (Applause.) But what we cannot do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other. (Applause.) That we cannot do. (Applause.) That we cannot do.
As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let’s use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy and remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together. (Applause.)
After all, that’s what most of us do when we lose somebody in our family -– especially if the loss is unexpected. We’re shaken out of our routines. We’re forced to look inward. We reflect on the past: Did we spend enough time with an aging parent, we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices that they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in a while but every single day?
So sudden loss causes us to look backward -– but it also forces us to look forward; to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. (Applause.)
We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we're doing right by our children, or our community, whether our priorities are in order.
We recognize our own mortality, and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame -– but rather, how well we have loved -- (applause)-- and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better. (Applause.)
And that process -- that process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions –- that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires.
For those who were harmed, those who were killed –- they are part of our family, an American family 300 million strong. (Applause.) We may not have known them personally, but surely we see ourselves in them. In George and Dot, in Dorwan and Mavy, we sense the abiding love we have for our own husbands, our own wives, our own life partners. Phyllis –- she’s our mom or our grandma; Gabe our brother or son. (Applause.) In Judge Roll, we recognize not only a man who prized his family and doing his job well, but also a man who embodied America’s fidelity to the law. (Applause.)
And in Gabby -- in Gabby, we see a reflection of our public-spiritedness; that desire to participate in that sometimes frustrating, sometimes contentious, but always necessary and never-ending process to form a more perfect union. (Applause.)
And in Christina -- in Christina we see all of our children. So curious, so trusting, so energetic, so full of magic. So deserving of our love. And so deserving of our good example.
If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate -- as it should -- let’s make sure it’s worthy of those we have lost. (Applause.) Let’s make sure it’s not on the usual plane of politics and point-scoring and pettiness that drifts away in the next news cycle.
The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better. To be better in our private lives, to be better friends and neighbors and coworkers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their death helps usher in more civility in our public discourse, let us remember it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy -- it did not -- but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to the challenges of our nation in a way that would make them proud. (Applause.)
We should be civil because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other’s ideas without questioning each other’s love of country and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American Dream to future generations. (Applause.)
They believed -- they believed, and I believe that we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved life here –- they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that’s entirely up to us. (Applause.)
And I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us. (Applause.)
That’s what I believe, in part because that’s what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. (Applause.)
Imagine -- imagine for a moment, here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that some day she, too, might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council. She saw public service as something exciting and hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.
I want to live up to her expectations. (Applause.) I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it. (Applause.) All of us -– we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations. (Applause.)
As has already been mentioned, Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called “Faces of Hope.” On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child’s life. “I hope you help those in need,” read one. “I hope you know all the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart." (Applause.) "I hope you jump in rain puddles.”
If there are rain puddles in Heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. (Applause.) And here on this Earth -- here on this Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and we commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.
May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
Bob Dylan's life is short on concrete facts and figures, very much by design, but the experts seem to agree on this one: The man born Robert Zimmerman arrived in NYC on January 24, 1961, exactly a half-century ago.He immediately started showing up at the Village's Cafe Wha? (that's him on the left with Karen Dalton and Fred Neil, in a pic dated just a few weeks later, February 6) and lying about having arrived in town via freight train. As he explains in his memoir, Chronicles: Volume One:
When I arrived, it was dead-on winter. The cold was brutal and every artery of the city was snowpacked, but I'd started out from the frostbitten North Country, a little corner of the earth where the dark frozen woods and icy roads didn't faze me. I could transcend the limitations. It wasn't money or love that I was looking for. I had a heightened sense of awareness, was set in my ways, impractical and a visionary to boot. My mind was strong like a trap and I didn't need any guarantee of validity. I didn't know a single soul in this dark freezing metropolis but that was all about to change -- and quick.
To celebrate, this week SOTC is offering a mess of Dylan-centric content: a multi-suite video tour of Bob Dylan's Greenwich Village (which has changed ever so slightly in the past 50 years), old Dylan pieces from the Voice archives, essays from a few different Dylan scholars and high-profile admirers, and a compilation of various artists' favorite Dylan songs. All in honor of a guy who didn't waste any time once he'd landed here -- via '57 Impala, not freight train, but no man on earth is more deserving of a little poetic license. For a mere $2 back then, you could've seen it for yourself. We hope you enjoy.
As fate would have it, I had planned on visiting our friends from the Westboro Baptist Church during their January 14, 2011 redneck hootenanny at The American University. Unfortunately I was tied up with work. Fortunately Fugelsang’s spot-on...
The Westboro Baptist Church's only successful protest continues to be their boycott of every single thing Jesus ever said...
The Westboro Baptist Church is to Christianity what Jesus Christ was to ignorance, hate & inbreeding...
The Westboro... Baptist Church doesn't “want” to hate Gay people, but God commands & they're just following orders. Like Nuremberg with bad teeth...
In the event that perhaps you doubted young Mr. Fugelsang...
Matthew 6:5-15 (King James Version):
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
There you have it kids, JC chastising the hypocrites...yet again. I'm telling ya, he really--really--really--really, hated--no, I think distained is a much better word, really...distained freakin' hypocrites.
BTW...what's all this about "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Here's the deal. I hereby forgive Bank of America for, for...well, I guess for being the all-around, generic, money-changer (changing) worms that they are (calm down, I'm talking the institution--not the individuals, barely know 'em). Ipso facto, Quid pro quo and an E pluribus unum for good measure...my mortgage is now...forgiven?
