An old tradition here at Around the Grid, Bing Crosby and David Bowie in a duet from Bing’s last Christmas special
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…The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.”
Here are some photo tips from Strawberry Singh, which I discovered today on New World Notes — thanks, Ham! Even old hands can learn new things, and I discovered some goodies about WindLight and Firestorm I didn’t know about.
Be prepared for maybe a minute of dead air at the beginning as Berry is getting things set up; don’t touch your dial, as she’ll come in soon. Additionally, be prepared for a photobombing visitor in the background close to the end — a rather “EEEwwww”-worthy Hallowe’en clown (grin).
When I did the original article “The Carnival Is Over” back in April, I strung the photos I selected to the lyrics of an old Seekers song, and included a clip from an Australian television show at the bottom to give everyone the chance to hear the actual song, one of my favorites.
But I had all these photos that I shot — I try to take at least 15 photos for any session I do, other than landscape and candid work, so I can pick the best from the collection’s contact sheet for use in an article, as well as on Flickr. And, while I was fiddling around the other day with things, I realized I have the tools to make a sort of video from all those photos; and so I said to myself, “Self,” I said, “you’re gonna make that video!”
The sad thing is that Mignonne region, where I did the camera work, is now closed and sunk beneath the tides of the Great Virtual Sea. I wanted to go back and see if I could do some more work to better fill in the story, but that was now impossible. However, I think I did a respectable, if not Oscar-worthy, effort with the 30 photos I did have, and I offer it to you for your enjoyment. Please tell me what you think!
An old tradition here at Around the Grid, Bing Crosby and David Bowie in a duet from Bing’s last Christmas special
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…But thou, Bethlehem-Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting….
Why am I, an assured American citizen, writing about Australia Day (which is, technically, January 26)? Because my store, Harper’s Fine Arts and Photographs, is owned by Tegg Bode, who is an Aussie in real life. The Aussies have a grand country in many ways, and a proud tradition that dates from the Aborigines’ settling of the Southern Continent some 40,000 years ago, and more recently the original European settlers’ arrival as transported convicts in the late 18th Century. The country has its problems — race relations between the original and the later colonizers, tangled politics, and all the other ills of a modern society. But the Australian spirit is still there, and the average person on the street, from Perth to Darwin to Melbourne to Brisbane, is proud to call themselves Australian.
As a salute to Australia Day and a gift to customers, anyone who comes to my store at the SLurl link above and clicks on this sign will receive a free copy of the 1930s Sydney Bridge Celebration poster you see in the background. This will last until 10:00 p.m. SLT on Sunday, so make sure to stop in. (Also make sure to click on the graphic, not the area around the colors, as this box is mostly alpha. Anything not part of the graphic will shoot through to the floor or wall — and one of the posters there. If it asks you to pay something, you’ve missed!)
An old tradition here at Around the Grid, Bing Crosby and David Bowie from Crosby’s last Christmas special
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…The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”….
An old tradition here at Around the Grid, Bing Crosby and David Bowie from his last Christmas special
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And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth….
It’s an exciting time for me since my move to my new house. Beyond the fact that, a few weeks ago, the landlord came and restored the landscaping that I’d accidentally booted off the land, I’m getting a pair of avatars in to decorate the plot for winter and Christmas. My first time putting together a real Michigan Christmas, instead of just putting up a tree in my apartment; I’m looking forward to this tremendously.
Why am I doing this? Because the seasons have firmly changed now in the Real World. Since it’s turned cold — at least sometimes — here in RL Alabama, it’s time for me to start wearing coats and sweaters outside, at least at night; and to me that always implies in world as well. I rarely go “outside” in SL now without a jacket, unless the region I’m in is hopelessly tropical. When that happens, of course, it doesn’t make sense to be wearing a fur or shearling, or even as light as a windbreaker. But if there’s no otherwise clue, I decide for myself that the temperature has dipped into the low 50s (maybe around 7-12 Celsius), and I dress appropriately to stave off the nip in the virtual air.
And why do I think this way? Well, I suppose it’s because I’m hopelessly from Michigan, even though I live in Alabama now. My mind longs for falling leaves and snow on the ground, ice on the roads and frost in the air. I haven’t lived year-long in Michigan since I was 21 years old, but I still long for the lands I’ll always regard as home. In Second Life, I can recreate that outside my windows with a little investment, now that I have a plot of ground all to myself, and so that’s what I’m doing now. If you stop back in tomorrow, I’ll have some photos of what my landscaping team have come up with, and let you know who they are.
Don’t know why there’s no sun up in the sky
Stormy weather since my man and I ain’t together
Keeps raining all the time, the time
Life is bare, gloom and misery everywhere
Stormy weather, just can’t get my poor self together
I’m weary all the time, the time
So weary all the time
When he went, you went away, the blues walked in and met me
If he stays away, ol’ rocking chair will get me
All I do is pray, the Lord above will let me walk in the sun once more
Can’t go on, everything I had is gone
Stormy weather since my man and I ain’t together
It’s raining all the time
One of the finest singers the Real World has known passed away a few days ago. Miss Lena Horne had known both sides of the blues, the pain and the delight, in her 92 years. I think she emerged on the high side at the end.
Her signature song, of course, was “Stormy Weather,” and that’s what I based these photos on. But if you want to hear the woman herself, just click on play….
Did anybody watch CBS News Sunday Morning today? Specifically, did they watch Mo Rocca’s segment?
As Mo says above, and in case the video disappears, it all started last year, when he made one of his periodic appearances on the NPR comedy-quiz show, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, hosted by Peter Sagal. If you’ve never listened to this show, do so! Download the podcasts, or listen to your local NPR station. It is one of the funniest things on radio! But, any road, there was a question up before the panel whose answer involved hand-knitted sweaters for plucked chickens. (I did say this was a comedy-quiz show, I believe….) Mo, offhandedly, dropped a remark that “hand-made sweaters are always itchy.” Little did Mr. Rocca know what he had started….
Approximately two weeks later, Peter took a moment between rounds to introduce Mo on the phone, after giving a few words of background about what had happened, to wit: the nationally respected comedian had raised the ire of the worldwide knitting community, particularly on Ravelry, one of the best sites for knitters and crocheters on the Web. (You’ll see their sticker in my sidebar, as I’m a knitter myself.) Peter asked Mo, “Do you have anything to say in response to this?” and was answered, “Yes, Peter, I have prepared a statement….” He proceeded to give a speech that would have done the best Washington flack proud, explaining that as an exchange student in Peru during his school years, he had been forced to bed down with an alpaca in its pen.
This, of course, was the purest spin, as we all know just how soft an alpaca fleece can be; and the yarn from it is completely divine! Therefore, a dedicated group of Ravelers resolved to make Mo eat his words, with Rocca salt for the seasoning. A matter of a few months later, they did just that, by presenting him a gift — on stage at another taping of Wait, Wait, with a handmade, 100% Merino wool sweater. And it fit perfectly.
Well, apparently, my fellow Ravelers wrought their “revenge” far better than they knew, for it appears we’ve made a knitter out of Mo. Watch the film and see!
Second Life® with Harper, Conan, Jem, Diana and Morgan
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