In tonight’s entertainment en route to the Tips the force of nature known as Maria Callas sings the aria Casta Diva from Vincenzo Bellini’s 19th century opera Norma.
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.

No one can say “la la la” without actually pronouncing those nonsense syllables quite like the French. Tonight we listen to the relaxing, vaguely ethereal, meadow-frolicking sounds of Claudine Longet, as she blows absently on a puffball called Lazy Summer Night.
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.

I am Vulgaris Magistralis / On a mammoth I ride around… ♫
Brought to your ears by the fine folks of Heidevolke.
Your Reader Tips, even those typed in a proto-language, are welcome in the comments.

In tonight’s entertainment en route to the Tips, filmed during a live performance at Hargadon’s Bar in Sligo, Ireland, Edmonton Folkfest regulars Dervish, along with a few of their friends, perform the traditional songs “Cooley’s” & “The Wise Maid.”
Please refrain from fisticuffs.
The comments are, as always, open for your Reader Tips.

Tonight, we look at the difference between the way dogs and cats teach their young.
h/t Kate
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In tonight’s entertainment en route to the tips the harmonizing Louvin Brothers sing one of their distinctive up-tempo country-gospel numbers called Make Him A Soldier.
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.

If Animals Were Fat.
h/t exetaz
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Men typically try to solve minor relationship disputes by bringing up so-called “facts,” but sometimes it’s not about facts, it’s about feelings.
Okay? Alright? See what I mean? Are you even listening?
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In tonight’s Tips music, which falls in the genre of “old songs that will never again be recorded by an artist living in a First World country”, we listen to “apple-pie likeable” American broadcasting legend Arthur Godfrey’s “aw, shucks!” musical exhortation Slap ‘er Down Again, Pa!.
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In tonight’s amusement en route to the Tips we watch a remarkable high-tech balancing act.
Those who lack a Y chromosome may not find it quite as amusing.
h/t
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.

Tonight we watch a mini-documentary produced by the NYT about the incendiary case of Tawana Brawley, the African-American teenager who in 1988 falsely accused three white men, including a local Assistant DA, of raping her, smearing her body with faeces, and writing racist and misogynist words on her torso.
The Reverend Al Sharpton, who first burst into the national spotlight by fanning racial hatred after the “incident”, features prominently in the retro report. Currently the host of his own nightly talk show on MSNBC, Sharpton still refuses to take any responsibility for the racial hatred he incited or admit that Brawley’s story was a lie.
As the great rhetorician himself puts it,

“I think that the lessons of Brawley is (sic) very unstructive (sic) for me and others, but I think that people want to cut off the lessons where they want.”

Exactly.
Without further ado, here’s The Tawana Brawley Case: Retro Report.
Comment we much. We must, and we will much, about that, be committed.*

Tonight, we cross the Atlantic for a some a cappella Finnish music, as Loituma perform leven Polkka. (If you don’t see the lyrics, turn on the annotations.)
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.

Jean Stapleton, the actress best known for her portrayal of the slightly dull-witted but endlessly earnest and goodhearted Edith Bunker on the Norman Lear sitcom All In The Family, has passed away at the age of 90.
RIP
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In tonight’s tips music, from the 2006 album American V: A Hundred Highways, Johnny Cash sings the traditional spiritual God’s Gonna Cut You Down.
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Although it was not yet burning at this early stage of his career, a young Elvis Presley circa 1958 sends out A Big Hunk O’ Love.
The comments, they are open for your Reader Tips.

A lot of people have heard Iggy Pop’s “Real Wild Child”, but it was Australian Rock ‘n’ Roller Johnny O’Keefe who released the first recording of the song, in 1958, under the title “Wild One”. Later that same year, he recorded a slightly different version for American and UK audiences (the one we’ll hear tonight) called Real Wild Child.
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The fact that there were only “sixteen separate airbags” might render tonight’s Tips video a not entirely accurate metaphor, but…there she goes.
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In tonight’s entertainment en route to the Tips we watch exciting action from the World Shin-Kicking Championships.
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In tonight’s Tips music, from 1940, Vera Lynn, DBE sings Now Is The Hour.
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When you’re having a frustrating day on the road it’s sometimes best to just pull over and regroup. Of course, if you’re the really determined type…
h/t
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