26 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  1. American Russians leaving socialist-leaning cities:
    “Many Russian immigrants to the ‘red borough’ of Staten Island are flocking to the Republican Party, saying that the national Democrats’ ‘socialistic’ policies remind them too much of the top-down oligarchy they fled in their native land.
    “With many of the borough’s Russian arrivees already owning businesses and active in civic organizations, their muscle could help the Island GOP solidify electoral gains made this year, when the party took back congressional and Assembly seats…”

  2. A dispute over the existence of God between four Russians, drunk on a litre of pure alcohol, resulted in two of them being killed, news agencies reported.

  4. Cross post, by me, from Reader Tips yesterday, in response to Erik Larsen’s comments about Gorecki’s Symphony #3:
    “Erik, Gorecki’s ‘Symphony of Sorrowful Songs’ is one of the most sublime pieces ever written. I have the recording with Dawn Upshaw. Bayrakdarian’s voice is darker than Upshaw’s but they both sing this prayer exquisitely.
    “(The link I followed didn’t work: this is where I accessed the Isabel Bayrakdarian video:)
    http://collaborativepiano.blogspot.com/2010/02/isabel-bayrakdarian-sings-gorecki-third.html
    “To English speakers’ eyes, the Polish language looks very harsh on the page. What a revelation to HEAR it: it’s a most mellifluous and beautiful sounding language!
    “The second movement is a prayer to Mary: ‘O Mother, do not cry. Queen of Heaven, protect me always. Hail Mary, full of grace.’ (“Prayer inscribed on the wall of cell no. 3 in the basement of ‘Palace’, the Gestapo’s headquarters in Zakopane; beneath is the signature of Helena Wanda Blazusiakowna, and the words, ‘18 years old, imprisoned since 26 September, 1944.’” Liner notes.)
    “This music and Helena’s words—the juxtaposition of such beauty, hope, and goodness with such evil—breaks one’s heart.
    Millions of Gorecki’s Third Symphony have been sold, and I think he’s now quite well known, along with other “minimalist” (and Christian) composers as Arvo Part and John Tavener. I’m sorry to hear that Gorecki has died. “May light perpetual shine upon him.”

  5. Erik and EBD, many thanks for the link to that incredibly moving piece…a stunning composition and performance.

  6. Thank you EBD, for your hard work and for always having a wonderful nightly selection for us – it is most appreciated – and I do look forward to them so much!

  10. Erik: thanks for the kind words, and the musical tip, and – if I may – for being such an exemplary gentleman over the years in such an incredibly contentious and often hostile medium. You and Ken (Kulak) have so consistently shown so much common grace and generosity of spirit as to *regularly* prompt me to pre-emptively delete my more petulant/retributive/angry responses to (perceived) slights, and to trolls; I suspect that more than a few other commenters here do the same, for the same reason. And that’s a good thing.
    Lookout (1:02): Have you ever seen Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “The Decalogue”? It’s a series of ten (short) films, all under 60 minutes, set in modern times, each one a parable of sorts based on one of the Ten Commandments. Just on a hunch, based on your comment above, and on your comments in an ongoing way, I have a feeling that you would really appreciate it.
    It’s available on DVD, btw, and fairly inexpensive.

  11. AGW’s PR: Choke* Edition.
    “*Coldest December in Sweden in 110 years”
    …-
    “The green hijack of the Met Office is crippling Britain”
    “The Met Office’s commitment to warmist orthodoxy means it drastically underestimates the chances of a big freeze, says Christopher Booker”
    “By far the biggest story of recent days, of course, has been the astonishing chaos inflicted, to a greater or lesser extent, on all of our lives by the fact that we are not only enjoying what is predicted to be the coldest December since records began in 1659, but also the harshest of three freezing winters in a row. We all know the disaster stories – thousands of motorists trapped for hours on paralysed motorways, days of misery at Heathrow, rail passengers marooned in unheated carriages for up to 17 hours. But central to all this – as the cry goes up: “Why wasn’t Britain better prepared?” – has been the bizarre role of the Met Office.
    We might start with the strange affair of the Quarmby Review. Shortly after Philip Hammond became Transport Secretary last May, he commissioned David Quarmby, a former head of the Strategic Rail Authority, to look into how we might avoid a repeat of last winter’s disruption. In July and again in October, Mr Quarmby produced two reports on “The Resilience of England’s Transport System in Winter”; and at the start of this month, after our first major snowfall, Mr Quarmby and two colleagues were asked to produce an “audit” of their earlier findings.
    The essence of their message was that they had consulted the Met Office, which advised them that, despite two harsh winters in succession, these were “random events”, the chances of which, after our long previous run of mild winters, were only 20 to one. Similarly, they were told in the summer, the odds against a third such winter were still only 20 to one. So it might not be wise to spend billions of pounds preparing for another “random event”, when its likelihood was so small. Following this logic, if the odds against a hard winter two years ago were only 20 to one, it might have been thought that the odds against a third such “random event” were not 20 to one but 20 x 20 x 20, or 8,000 to one.
    What seems completely to have passed Mr Quarmby by, however, is the fact that in these past three years the Met Office’s forecasting record has become a national joke.”
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/8223165/The-green-hijack-of-the-Met-Office-is-crippling-Britain.html
    Joke/Choke:
    http://www.thelocal.se/31072/20101226/

  12. Thank you, EBD. Hauntingly beautiful, heartbreakingly sad.
    I haven’t seen this version before. It’s powerful. Watching it brings to mind the crucible the Poles have always been in — for centuries — and how their Christian faith strengthens and sustains them through the most appalling atrocities.

  13. Erik, thank you so much for suggesting Gorecki’s Symphony No. #3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs). The CD I mentioned is on the Electra Nonesuch label: Dawn Upshaw with the London Sinfonietta, David Zinman conducting. This performance is among my very favourites: it’s beautifully and sensitively done. Fortunately, it’s received the recognition it deserves: over a million copies of this symphony have been sold—so I hope Gorecki (bless him) died a millionaire!
    Here’s the Wikipedia entry for The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, with a picture of the CD cover:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._3_(G%C3%B3recki)
    EBD, I really appreciate your tip about “The Decalogue”. I’ve never heard of it, but your hunch is absolutely correct: I’m VERY interested and will look into it. Many thanks.

  15. AGW Reporter Confesses:
    We have good news and other news.
    …-
    “Snow storms a boon for Ont. salt mine”
    “LONDON, Ont. — Southwestern Ontario’s pounding from early winter snowstorms has found more fans — laid-off workers being recalled to the giant Sifto Salt mine.
    Along with skiers and students, freed by frequent snow days, Sifto workers are celebrating a busy winter and the return of 65 laid-off workers, with demand heavy for the road salt the Goderich, Ont., mine — soon to be the world’s largest by production volume — produces.”
    http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/12/28/16686751.html
    …-
    “Over 100 people stranded on ski lift”
    http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2010/12/28/16690181.html

  16. Fine post at 1:02 am., lookout. I have the Dawn Upshaw too.
    Paradoxically, Upshaws’s lighter voice seems to deliver a more powerful effect to these tired ears, which is not at all to denigrate Isabel Bayrakdarian’s. It sounds more ethereal, more otherworldly, more sublime. More spacious. More empty.
    My wife and I saw Bayrakdarian at the Chan Centre in Vancouver a few years back. Shockingly she was booed at one point, I’m guessing by a Turk on behalf of his insulted country.
    Thanks Erik Larsen/EBD.

  18. sda 20 Million Kate !!??
    December 29th at 1900 hrs central is my guess.
    Happy New Year – Happy New Era !!

  19. Left-liberal massage from G-G.
    …-
    “NP | Governor General delivers new year’s message
    OTTAWA — Gov. Gen. David Johnston urged Canadians to be inspired by the work of troops in Afghanistan and to “not forget our neighbours in need” during a heartfelt new year’s video message released Tuesday.”
    (jacks)

  20. If you’d ever like a textbook example of the truly dreadful political discourse we’re presented with on the Canadian MSM, listen to two Lefty nitwits, Monty Paulsen and Simi Sara, present their worldviews to Norman Spector. The “fun” starts around 6:00 into the podcast.
    Among other things, you’ll hear Paulsen refer to himself as “Centre Left” whereas anyone who would dare vote for Stephen Harper over Iggy or Taliban Jack or Lizzy May must be “Far Right”, which we all know is code for “small minded white bigot”.
    Truly, truly pathetic!

  21. If you’d ever like a textbook example of the truly dreadful political discourse we’re presented with on the Canadian MSM, listen to two Lefty nitwits, Monty Paulsen and Simi Sara, present their worldviews to Norman Spector. The “fun” starts around 6:00 into the podcast: http://www.corusradio.com/Shared/AudioVault/CKNWAMaudioVault.asp?VaultDate=20101227&VaultTime=10
    Among other things, you’ll hear Paulsen refer to himself as “Centre Left” whereas anyone who would dare vote for Stephen Harper over Iggy or Taliban Jack or Lizzy May must be “Far Right”, which we all know is code for “small minded white bigot”.
    Truly, truly pathetic!

  22. AGW Progress Report: Rating AAA+++.
    >>> “So much snow has fallen that authorities have allowed it to be dumped in the sea, which is normally forbidden.”
    …-
    “Snow-bound Danish island of Bornholm calls for help
    COPENHAGEN, December 28, 2010 (AFP) – Authorities on the Baltic Danish island of Bornholm called for help to clear the roads on Tuesday as some of the island’s 43,000 snowed-in inhabitants are running short of fuel and medicine.
    “You can’t even imagine how bad this is. The roads are closed, and they are digging and digging, and they just can’t get through,” said Helle Skov Olesen, who lives on the island nestled between Sweden and the northern coasts of Germany and Poland.
    “They don’t even know where to put the snow,” she told daily Politiken.
    Denmark’s meteorological institute (DMI) measured 140 centimetres (55 inches) of snow on Bornholm, “the equivalent of the amount of snow at various ski resorts,” Steen Rasmussen of the institute said.
    The heavy snowfall started Thursday, and according to television reports, lay up to six meters (19.6 feet) deep in some locations.”
    http://www.swedishwire.com/nordic/7860-snow-bound-danish-island-of-bornholm-calls-for-help-

  24. Thanks, Me No Dhimmi, and we agree on Dawn Upshaw. Her Gorecki is the best, I think. Your “More spacious. More empty” description of her performance is perfect. (I wish some orchestra in Canada near me would feature this exquisite music: I’d remortgage my house to attend!)
    Dawn Upshaw, with Kent Nagano and L’Orchestre de L’Opera de Lyon (Erato) do the best Songs of the Auvergne I know. I’ve heard lots of very good versions, but Upshaw’s are breathtaking: transparent or robust, as needed, and magical.
    Here are three: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-1_Shsz1D8

  25. maz2: “not forgetting our neighbours in need” ” is NOT a liberal-left concept. Conservatives are among the most generous people I know.

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