The Latest from Green Man Review

My brain shut off yesterday and I forgot to post the latestl isue of Green Man Review. Well, here it is, better late than never:

Chicago’s Field Museum’s Cyrus Tang Hall of China, Live Music from Midnight Oil, A Potpourri of Music Reviews, Some Mars Fiction, Lots of Chocolate and Other Cool Stuff

So dive in and enjoy.

The Creationists Were Right!

There were dinasausrs on the Ark. We know them as "birds".

wha's New at Green Man Review

It's that time again:

Lots of Doctor Who stuff, Jennifer has a warming soup for these cold days, and music from Hawaii, Turkey, Russia, Finland, and elsewhere

Have at it, and enjoy.

Catching Up With green Man Review

I seem to have missed an editionin February, so here it is:

What’s New for the 21st of February: Charles Stross’ The Halting State, Matt Wagner’s Grendel Archives, The Talons of Weng Chiang, La bruja te prende fuego, Pappy Van Winkle, Steeleye Span and Other Matters

And here's this wee's edition:

What’s New for the 7th of March: Equal Exchange Chocolates, A Bevy of Mysteries, Wagner’s Grendel, Jesco White on Film, Ursula Le Guin Reading for You and Other Stuff to Warm You Up

hHave fun catching up. A note: I'm suffering from glauoma and my eyeseight is impaired. Working on the computer is especially difficult, which is why I haven't been posting -- I can't read the news, andit's very difficult to post. I don't know if it will get bette -- there's damage to my optic nerves, which don't repair themselves. We'l see.

In spite of the bitter cold, we have outr usual misx of goodies:

ome trad music for your listening pleasure, Spiegelman’s Maus considered, lots of dark chocolate, two looks at Garner’s Owl Service and Other Creature Comforts

So find a nice cozy corner and enjoy.

One of the Things

I love about eing a grown-up, is that if you decide you want pizza for breakfast, you can have pizza for breakfast.

Sparrows

One of the ubiquitous parts of city life is sparrows. By "sparrows", od course, I mean the English sparrows that somehow made their way from Europe in the distant past and made themselves at home.(There are native sparrows, but unless you've got a keen eye and a good bird book, they tend to vanish in the crowd.)

What brings this to mind is the juniper bush outside my front door -- at least, it started life as a bush. It's grown intoa bushy tree, about 20 feet high, with very dense foliage -- a perfect place for sparrows to roost at nigh -- sheldter from the elements, high enough to discourage wandering cats and rats.

However, the racket from a flock of sparrows waking up in the morning has to be heard to be believed -- everyone wishing everyone a good morning, taking roll call, who knows?

If

This is about as blatant as it gets"

The Republican chair of Arizona's state House Ways and Means Committee introduced a bill Wednesday that would give the Legislature authority to override the secretary of state’s certification of its electoral votes.

GOP Rep. Shawnna Bolick introduced the bill, which rewrites parts of the state's election law, such as sections on election observers and securing and auditing ballots, among other measures.

One section grants the Legislature, which is currently under GOP control, the ability to revoke the secretary of state's certification "by majority vote at any time before the presidential inauguration."

The Arizona legislature is, of course, controlled by the GOP -- and I'm sure they intend to keep it that way.Another reason to abolish the electoral college. Via Joe.My>God.

It's Green Man Review Time

And here we are again with our usual mix of goodies:

Live music from Lúnasa in Australia, Taco Tapes’ Trad is Rad, Robert’s Visit to the Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, Alastair Reynolds’ The Prefect audiobook, Tom Baker’s Birthday, Jennifer Stevenson’s Lasagna and Other Neat Stuff

So dive in and enjoy.

What's New at Green Man Review

Through lock-downs, insurrections, and all the rest, Gren Man Review has a slate full of goodies for you:

On Hobbits in print and on film, An unusual Inn, Jabberwock puppets, Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate, Classical Music and Other Winter Comforts

So hunker down with a nice warm drink and ignore the news for a while.

Backlash

Trump's little exercise in armed insurrection didn't work out quite the way he planned, to the extent that he had to issue a statement that is nothing more than dodging responsibility:

After encouraging his supporters to march to the Capitol on Wednesday, triggering an insurrection inside the halls of Congress as he sought to overturn the election result, the president turned to social media after being suspended from his accounts.

“Like all Americans I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem,” he said in a brief video message, days before the end of his one-term presidency as lawmakers prepare to remove him from office.

He said that the rioters “who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy."

Meanwhile, there are calls from all sides of the political spectrum for his immediate removal from office. Twelve more days. Wonder what he'll try next, or whether his staff will be able to resdtrain him.

Culture Break: Ravel: Bolero: Two Versions

I don't know if I've ever posted this particular flash mob before, but it's a fairly appeapling:

And of course, who could forget this one?

A Note on Posting

Or lack thereof. Actually, a couple of notes.

1. Politics at thi point (whih is mostly what I comment on) has turned into kabuki: lots of posturing, not much subtance. Let it suffice to say that the REepublicans, after working toward this point for the last forty years or so, are openly trying to destroy American democracy.

2. The last month has been difficult because of a couple of health-related issues. Fortunately, they are under control, for the mot part, except that my vision has deterioritaed due to glaucoma and complications from the other issues. It's especially hard to work at the computer -- a matter of most web pages being low contrast (something you don't notice until it hits you in the face, so to speak), which is the most difficult condition for my eyes to deal with. This had to happen, of course, right after I got new readng glasses. We'll see if stronger lenses can help.

So that's why I've been silent for so much of the past month or so. I am recovering, so we'll see if I can get back up to speed soon.

Random Note

I have more Philip Glass in my music files than Mozart and Beethoven combined. This is from a collaboration with a number of South American composers, Aguas de Amazonas.

Happy New Year?

I keep thinnking I should post somethig philosophical about the year past, and the prospects for the year ahead, but all I aI can think of is "It can't possiblky be worse. Make the most of it."

What's New at Green Man Review

"Boxing Day has come and gone!" -- Short and sweet, but that's only the header. Our usual eclectic mis fo tyhis, that and yet more, so scoot on over and enjoy.

What' New at Green Man Review

We're back, with our usual eclectic mix of goodies:

An Appalachian Mystery, a Most Unusual Fox, Chicago’s Own Wizard for Hire, Iceland, a Family Christmas, Boiled in Lead, Fairport, and much, much more

Click on over and hunker down with a nice cup of hot cocoa and enjoy.

Today's Must-Read: What We Say, What They Hear

From Digby:

I came across this comment by a commenter named peacerme over at Emptywheel (reading this piece.) I thought it was a good way to think about the problem of prosecuting Trump.

I truly fear the codependent belief that Dems have acted out for years, that taking the moral high ground is the moral equivalent of letting bygones be bygones. This would be what happens in domestic violence when he/she or they forget about the beating last night and move on hoping it will never happen again.

Ignoring the broken laws of the Republican Party. From Iran contra, to Plame, to Iraq war, to Russian interference in our elections, to literally torturing children on the border in a way that will alter their brains for life. Dems behave with this moral superiority that is really just codependency.

There's more, of course, but my own summation, given the history of Democrats' reaction to the excesses and outright lawlessness of Republican administrations, is simply this: We say "We're better than this. It's time to move forward and leave this behind us." What they hear is "You got away with it, so you can do it again and nothing will happen to you."

I think it's way past time to remind the Republicans that the rule of law includes punisment for transgressions, anr "moral high ground" be damned.

Culture Break: Arvo Pärt: Stabat Mater

I normally try to keep the "Culture Break" entries somewhat brief, say the length of a popular song or slightly longer. However. I found myself listening to this one and got copletely lost in it. So, I'm going to recommend that you turn off the world for half an hour or so and let the music surround you:

Image du Jour

With thanks to commenter duke of gibbon at Friendly Atheist:

The article is worth reading, on how evangelical"Christians" are really just power-hungry hypocriets. Thinking back, it occurs to me that the "Moral Majority", which Reagan's handlers enlisted to boost his election chances (Tail Wags Dog! Film at 11) was never a religious movement. It was always a political movement. And evangelical "Christianity" is still a political movement.