End, Week!

Thank Tash It's Friday!

"Fire up that barbecue grill, if you know what's good for you!"

Death of the Party

"We don't need no steenkin' conservatives!"

As I have noted on many occasions, I am person of conservative political principles and views who tends to vote Republican because more often than not that party's candidates are more closely aligned with those principles than a typical Democrat.

That said, I am emphatically NOT
a Republican party member, and
I am not emotionally invested in the party's future.

To the extent that it commits ideological and electoral suicide by nominating asshat Donald Trump for president, I will shake my head at its foolhardiness, and explore other options for participating in our political system.

If you wonder what makes so many conservatives unhappy with the national Republican party these days, all you have to do is consider the intemperate display put on yesterday in a speech at Stanford by former House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio.

Having resigned his leadership post in response to a conservative rebellion that eventually elevated Paul Ryan to the Speakership back in October of 2015, Boehner no longer has any reason to hide his utter contempt for conservatives and his complete lack of principle. He'd vote for Trump (a lifelong progressive Democrat) as his party's standard-bearer, but never for conservative Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

Keep that sort of thing in mind when you hear Trump and his supporters claiming CRUZ is the "establishment" candidate. It doesn't get more "establishment" than Boehner, folks...

"Is he as big a douchebag as he looks?"

Bigger, as it turns out...

Happy Birthday, Danny Boy!

As "Hawkeye" in The Last of the Mohicans

On April 29, 1957 Daniel Day-Lewis was born in the Kensington district of London.
He would go on to become one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation.

Daniel is the only male actor to receive three Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscars. He has received numerous other accolades for his work, including a knighthood in 2014.

He also starred in Michael Mann's 1992 version of The Last of the Mohicans, which is near the top of the list of my all-time favorite films (and spent many years at the very top).

His performances are so consistently amazing that I am willing to overlook
the fact that he is a method actor.

"Wow! He must be really good for you to say that."

He is among the greatest ever, absolutely...

Feast Day

St. Catherine of Siena (1870), by Prosper Guéranger

April 29 is the feast day of
St. Catherine of Siena, a tertiary of the Dominican Order who was an influential writer and philosopher in the 14th century, a most unusual accomplishment for a woman.

Catherine's best-known work is  
The Dialogue of Divine Providence, in which a soul on the way to Heaven engages in a philosophical discourse with God Himself. It is a remarkable book, one which is still widely read today by the faithful.





In the fall of 1970, during my senior year of high school, Catherine was named Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI. Not quite 30 years later she was named one of six patron saints of Europe by Pope John Paul II.

Catherine is also patron saint of those who are gravely ill.

Early 20s Revelations

From the delightful webcomic xkcd, by Randall Munroe, which you should read every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as I do.

Until Next Time...

On April 29, 1899 Edward Kennedy Ellington was born in Washington, D.C. A prolific composer and arranger as well as a gifted pianist, "Duke" Ellington and his orchestra were a fixture in American popular music for more than 50 years. In his career Ellington won 12 Grammy Awards, and is a member of the Grammy Hall of Fame.
He has been inducted into numerous other Halls of Fame also, including the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Downbeat Hall of Fame. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969, and was featured on a postage stamp in 1986.

My dad really liked big band jazz, so my first exposure to Ellington came at a young age. I didn't really become a serious fan until I encountered his music in one of my favorite movies, though.

Original 1959 "one sheet" poster

In 1959 Ellington and his writing partner Billy Strayhorn provided the score for Otto Preminger's film Anatomy of a Murder,
one of those movies I won't ever get tired
of watching.

Among his other eccentricities, the lawyer portrayed in the film by James Stewart likes to play what his legal partner calls "rooty tooty" music, also known as jazz, on his upright piano. Ellington himself has a small role in the film

Ellington's playful and evocative score is considered a landmark in motion picture music, and produced three of his Grammy Awards.



Today's send-off is a suite of themes and motifs from his groundbreaking score. Enjoy...