Tom & Bryn

It's a nice summer day and I've been listening to Bryn CDs while doing various chores indoors and out, so here's a nice YouTube with Bryn Terfel and Tom Jones singing together.


Yummy men, both of them, each in his own way.


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A lovely short film: The Dinner Guest

Beautiful.

UPDATE, Monday 26 May
Welcome, Anchoress readers.

Friday afternoon Leonard Cohen: First we take Manhattan

UPDATED
Jeremayakovka has a tribute to Leonard Cohen, who we both like.

There are a lot of Leonard Cohen's videos on YouTube which can not be embedded. I particularly like First We Take Manhattan with its upbeat tempo. Here are the lyrics:

(Radio announcer's voice)
Was die Attentäter betrifft, die in Berlin den Anschlag auf die Deutsch-Arabische Gesellschaft verübt haben, ist die Polizei einen Schritt weiter gekommen. Die jetzt nach dem Anschlag...

They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
For trying to change the system from within
I'm coming now, I'm coming to reward them
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I'm guided by a signal in the heavens
I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin
I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I'd really like to live beside you, baby
I love your body and your spirit and your clothes
But you see that line there moving through the station?
I told you, I told you, told you, I was one of those

Ah you loved me as a loser, but now you're worried that I just might win
You know the way to stop me, but you don't have the discipline
How many nights I prayed for this, to let my work begin
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I don't like your fashion business mister
And I don't like these drugs that keep you thin
I don't like what happened to my sister
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I'd really like to live beside you, baby ...

And I thank you for those items that you sent me
The monkey and the plywood violin
I practiced every night, now I'm ready
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I am guided

Ah remember me, I used to live for music
Remember me, I brought your groceries in
Well it's Father's Day and everybody's wounded
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

What does it mean?

The upbeat tempo belies the threatening words.

But I don't even know what the German words at the beginning mean.

Unlike most pop songs, Cohen's lyrics always have meaning.

Do the lyrics mean that the man singing the song is a killer who went to prison the first time for an attempted act of violence and is now coming back to try again? Why all the references to family, i.e., "I don't like what happened to my sister", "Well it's Father's Day and everybody's wounded"? Who is the "mister" from the fashion business?

Go read Jeremayakovka's post - he's created some verses inspired by LC. While you do that I'll ponder the lyrics of First We Take Manhattan.

Here's two other versions, one by REM, another one by Joe Cocker


UPDATE
I bothered a few people canvassed a few friends and EuropeNews kindly explained that

There was an assassination at the Deutsch-Arabische Gesellschaft Berlin 29. March 1986.
in front of the Deutsch-Arabischen Gesellschaft office in Berlin-Kreuzberg detonated on march 29 an explosive charge. eleven persons were hurt

A terririst attack, twenty-one years ago.

The song was copyrighted on 1987, so it appears that yes, the song refers to an assasin who left prison and is now back on the prowl. Terrorism in our times.



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Truly disturbing: young child threatening the President

Via Gates of Vienna and Jawa, this video of a young boy (perhaps of school age but it's hard to tell) threatening to kill the President and his family.

This boy is clearly very disturbed. He refers to himself as "a little kid who is f***ng psycho".

He had to have had help on making the video, coming up with the text of the message (notice how he does not hesitate or repeat in the way people normally do when improvising a message), reading it or memorizing it, and then posting it on YouTube which removed it. If you read the comments, there is even more hate there.

Whether the kid can be located and helped, and the adults helping him arrested, remains to be seen.

But the question of where does a culture of death leads us is very much an issue that will not go away.


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Yes, it's that kind of day...

Traffic jam? Oh yes.
More blogging later.

Skype sucks: The wait; and today's links

After the phishing, the wait
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waiting
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Saddam's Files, They Show Terror Plots, But Raise New Questions About Some Media Claims

The Bolivarian Republic of Massachusetts, via Instapundit

Why Can’t People Just LEAVE KWAME ALONE!!!!

Three stages in a man's life

Via Ed,


Major offensive against Hizbolla - in IRAQ

Wishing Kevin McCullough great success!

Dance time, with Miro's art:




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Tuesday night tango: El dia que me quieras

Tango lessons on Monday night, tango YouTube on Tuesday:

An absolutely beautiful song, "The day that you love me"
side-by side translation
Acaricia mi ensueño
el suave murmullo de tu suspirar.
Como rie la vida
si tus ojos negros me quieren mirar.
Y si es mio el amparo
de tu risa leve
que es como un cantar,
ella aquieta mi herida,
todo todo se olvida.

El día que me quieras
la rosa que engalana,
se vestirá de fiesta
con su mejor color.
Y al viento las campanas
dirán que ya eres mía,
y locas las fontanas
se contaran su amor.

La noche que me quieras
desde el azul del cielo,
las estrellas celosas
nos mirarán pasar.
Y un rayo misterioso
hara nido en tu pelo,
luciernaga curiosa que veras
que eres mi consuelo.

El día que me quieras
no habra más que armonía.
Será clara la aurora
y alegre el manantial.
Traerá quieta la brisa
rumor de melodía.
Y nos daran las fuentes
su canto de cristal.

El día que me quieras
endulzara sus cuerdas
el pajaro cantor.
Florecerá la vida
no existira el dolor

La noche que me quieras
desde el azul del cielo,
las estrellas celosas
nos mirarán pasar.
Y un rayo misterios
hará nido en tu pelo.
Luciernaga curiosa que veras
que eres mi consuelo.



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Happy St Patrick's Day

Via Denny

Now all I need is a dog and a boat

Wish I were there...

... and if I was, the doggie would be wearing a life jacket!

Press One for English

Amen to that!

Saturday afternoon Phantoms

A friend and I were discussing over the phone just now the Phantom of the Opera. She shares my opinion that Howard McGillin's the definitive Phantom.

Best Phantom: Howard McGillin

continued here


Screen Phantom: Gerard Butler

oh, wait, this:


Not-so-good Phantom: Antonio Banderas


This post is dedicated to my friend S, and to Mamacita, another Phantom fan who's fond of mysterious men in capes.

PS,
Music of the Night lyrics right here:
Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses

Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender
Turn your face away, from the garish light of day
Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light
And listen to the music of the night

Close your eyes,
And surrender to your darkest dreams
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before
Close your eyes, let you spirit start to soar
And you'll live, as you've never lived before

Softly, deftly, music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it, secretly posses you
[Music Of The Night lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]

Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind
In this darkness that you know you cannot fight
The darkness of the music of the night

Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world
Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before
Let your soul take you where you long to be
Only then can you belong to me

Floating, falling, sweet intoxication
Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in
To the power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the night

You alone can make my song take flight
Help me make the music of the night

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Friday night Bei mir bist du schön

Via Maria, a song,

Saturday song: Momentos

Life is made up of moments... moments that never come back

Friday night Song for the Asking

One for Mamacita:


And one from Mamacita,

South Carolina debate live blog

I'll be joining the guys at Heading Right to liveblog the South Carolina debate, starting at 8:50PM Eastern (give or take a few minutes).

After that, Ed's having the traditional round-table wrap-up at Debate Central, but it starts at 11:30PM Eastern so I'm sorry to miss it since I have to get up early tomorrow.

In the meantime, a funny video via Wretchard, who's got an Open thread: what will 2008 bring?



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5-minute Christmas love story

Saturday evening periodic table

What were you expecting, more tango?
Well, in that case,

Give me six months of intensive training and those shoes, & I'll be dancing like that.

Through the back door:

Socialized Medicine through the back door:
Doug Ross explains SCHIP for Dummies and Self-Employed Woodworkers.

Mark Steyn knocks on the woodworker part of the story.

And here's the punchline:

"And in order to get enough money to pay for this, it would require 22 million new smokers."

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Terrorist memorial through the back door:
At the crescent of death, Why only 38 Memorial Groves?
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One more push towards the Fairness Doctrine, through the back door:
Republicans rule radio but Democrats fight back
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Another U.N. Power Grab through the back door:
What would Reagan do? On the Law of the Sea Treaty, we know the answer

Such developments only serve to reinforce the concerns President Reagan rightly had about the central, and abiding, defect of the Law of the Sea Treaty: its effort to promote global government at the expense of sovereign nation states--and most especially the United States. One of the prime movers behind LOST, the late Elisabeth Mann Borgese of the World Federalist Association (which now calls itself Citizens for Global Solutions), captured what is at stake when she cited an ancient aphorism: "He who rules the sea, rules the land." A U.N. publication lauding her work noted that Borgese saw LOST as a "possible test-bed for ideas she had developed concerning a common global constitution."

------------------------------------------------------
Charlie Gibson might be shown the back door if he keeps it up:

CHARLES GIBSON, ABC ANCHOR: The U.S. military reports the fourth straight month of decline in troop deaths, 66 American troops died in September, each a terrible tragedy for a family, but the number far less than those who died in August. And the Iraqi government says civilian deaths across Iraq fell by half last month.

As War Dragged On, Coverage Tone Weighed Heavily on Anchors:

By training their powerful spotlight on the chaos gripping Iraq, the anchors were arguably contributing to the political downfall of a president who had seemed to be riding high when he won his second term.

But not to worry: Howard Kurtz has been told:

To Kurtz's obvious frustration, his guests - Robin Wright of the Washington Post and Barbara Starr of CNN - both supported the press burying this extremely positive announcement.

Watch:

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Al Jazeera through the YouTube back door:
YouTube Deepens Commercial Relationship With Al Jazeera
------------------------------------------------------
Sharia law through the Med School Back door:
Muslim medical students refuse to learn about alcohol or sexual diseases:

Some Muslim students claim studying sex and alcohol related diseases is 'offensive'.
...
Professor Peter Rubin, chairman of the GMC's education committee, said: 'Examples have included a refusal to see patients who are affected by diseases caused by alcohol or sexual activity, or a refusal to examine patients of a particular gender.'

Spare them their feelings and kick them out of med school, then.
------------------------------------------------------
Special thanks to Larwyn for the links.


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Saturday night Bates

"The proper way to eat a fig in society..."

Sabado em no Brasil

After a spin in the city with Keiffer,


You can always leave the city behind and go fishing in Rondonia:


Tips of the hat to Blogs4Bauer and Siggy.

Speaking of Siggy, did you listen to this week's podcast yet?