Found here.
Too Much. Just. . . Too Much
“It’s going to be fun!”
Bill Whittle on “President Social Proof’s” new clothes and the fun we can have running the naked socialistas into the river. . .
I’m going to operate this year focusing on saying to every Loony Left Moonbat I can, in effect or in fact *heh*, “Although I disagree with you, I will defend your right to say what you believe. . . and my right to mock you for being an idiot. But when you try to COMPEL me to agree with you, you’re in for a fight, mmmK?”
Yólly Yöker
Sometimes I ponder God’s nature and think his nature as Love includes a lot that some folks don’t normally consider to be “love”–primarily, I think, because of their own poor concept of love. Consider God’s “tough love” as but one example (and yes, examples of really tough love abound in scripture). But his nature as Love is often made manifest, to me at least, in my perception (I certainly hope it’s not a sort of eisegesis) of His sense of humor. I mean, really–look around you at nature, at people. If this is a created order, it could only have been created by the Ultimate Jolly Joker.
Just consider how this might affect science. IF God had desired to do so, He could certainly, since He’s Omnipotent, have created all the evidence geologists, astrophysicists and biologists rely on for their various theories about the age of the Earth and the universe, and the various theories of evolution of life and intelligence.
*meh* It’s an amusing possibility. Oh, it doesn’t make any difference to me in determining my own views of various theories of real science, but I do grin a bit and even sometimes throw this monkey wrench in the works when I run into folks who treat theories of evolution, the age and nature of the universe, etc. as dogma in their Cult of Scientism-y Pseudo-Thinking. And maybe that’s one of God’s best jokes: giving people like me monkey wrenches to throw into the works of neo-paganistic cultic dogma.
In the Bleak Midwinter. . . again
Disclaimer: Yes, Dan Fogelberg’s voice was at best an indifferent instrument, and his breath control, etc., was not all that. . . polished, shall we say. But still. This is, despite all that and CRANHAM (not a fav tune), this is very definitely my favorite recording a solo performance of Christina Rossetti’s poem:
Hear that. He really sings the song.
Come, Emmanuel
Really an Advent tune but always welcome. “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
Who Is He In Yonder Stall?
Unfortunately, the only recording of this I have ever found, in an arrangement closest to what I prefer, is really poor quality. There are many other recordings available, but most of them just give me a rash. *heh* This is the Moody Bible Institute choir and symphonic band sometime in the (very) late ’80s/early 90s:
Its a 7MB mp3 file, so it may take abit to buffer, depending on your connection and how you hold your mouth.
Meanwhile, here’s a brief clip from “Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendor”
htt://www.thirdworldcounty.us/audio/Thou_Who_Wast_Rich_Beyond_All_Splendor_clip.mp3
And an instrumental of the tune, with Frank Houghton’s powerful words below:
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor,
All for love’s sake becamest poor;
Thrones for a manger didst surrender,
Sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor,
All for love’s sake becomes poor.
Thou who art God beyond all praising,
All for love’s sake becamest Man;
Stooping so low, but sinners raising
Heavenward by Thine eternal plan.
Thou who art God beyond all praising,
All for love’s sake becamest Man.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship thee.
Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
Make us what Thou wouldst have us be.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship Thee.
— Frank Houghton (1894-1972)
Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)–Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)–Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YUB4LyuZnA
O Holy Night–Jussi Bjørling
Jussi Bjørling (in Swedish)
The Wexford Carol — Celtic Woman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YClcMAn_wg
One of the best performances of The Wexford Carol.
And while I’m at it, the song that follows this one in this year’s third world county central Xmas playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uLaIiP3n2o
A Lesser-Known Christmas Carol . . .
By Charles Ives:
Ives rhythms (and the almost requisite accompaniment) make this a wee tad off for carolers going from door-to-door, but the music and lyrics are simply beautiful.
Ian Howell, Countertenor.
Douglas Dickson, Piano.