Mood Swings

Surprise, Surprise

One of the more amusing results of Tuesday's election is that it exposed, yet again,
the hypocrisy of the "get over it" progressive crowd. When an important political dispute goes their way, as with Obergefell v. Hodges, or the disgraceful cash-for-hostages deal, or the sketchy manner in which Obamacare was enacted, progressives smugly tell their opponents that we must come to grips with the fact that we "lost," and that we should stop being so "bitter and divisive." They tell us to just "accept defeat and move on."

But when things don't go the progressives' way...oh, my! Then we get...

So, we're back to "dissent is the highest form of patriotism" again?

...bunches and bunches of nitwits who not only have no intention of accepting the election's outcome, but who have every intention of being as disruptive as possible.

Some of the responses are beyond parody.

Persuasive.

Hard to believe most
of the country doesn't want to see these people in charge, isn't it?

"The circus is back in town, is it?"

For awhile, yeah...

Happy 241st Birthday!

November 10 is celebrated as the birthday of the United States Marine Corps, which was established on that date in Philadelphia in 1775.

Semper fi, you devil dogs!

Please know that we are grateful
for your service, and hope you have
a great birthday ball today...

"Oorah!"

Damn straight...

Feast Day

El papa san León I Magno, by Francisco de Herrera el Mozo

Today is the feast day of Pope St. Leo 
the Great, the first pontiff to earn that appellation. His many contributions to the faith led him to be named a Doctor of the Church in 1754 by Pope Benedict XIV.

Leo was famously eloquent both in speaking and in writing, so I have always had a special fondness for him. Leo is the patron saint of speakers, and my teaching career was devoted to the art of public speaking.

The legend that it was Leo's eloquence which prevented Attila the Hun from sacking Rome is most likely apocryphal, but there is no doubt that the two men met, and that Attila chose not to plunder Rome. Draw your own conclusions.

Buh-Bye

From the pen of Lisa Benson, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

Once my 9th grade year of school began in the fall of 1967, I began making friends with people who listened to music very different from my own preferences. In particular,
I began hanging out with some kids who were fond of something that came to be called progressive rock. I had friends who championed bands like King Crimson and Procol Harum, though they certainly didn't do much for me. Largely due to those friendships,
I eventually became a fan of groups like Jethro Tull and The Moody Blues, and I'm glad that I did.

There are many rock historians who actually credit The Moody Blues with being the first progressive rock band. I don't know about that, but I do know that their music was very influential (and much discussed) in the late '60s. They had started out as a fairly straightforward British R&B act, but with the addition of guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist John Lodge, the band quickly turned to more experimental music.

On November 10, 1967 the band released Days of Future Passed,
a "concept" album featuring the band joining with the London Festival Orchestra. The unusual music took quite awhile to find its audience in America.

I had some friends who listened to it obsessively in high school (including a cute girl on whom I had an enormous crush), and the FM rock stations played its lengthy tracks reasonably often, but it wasn't until years after its release that the album succeeded commercially.

In 1972 it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, fueled by the popularity
of radio edits of "Tuesday Afternoon" and my personal favorite, "Nights In White Satin" (whose lyrics are tough to beat if you're a lonely, mopey teenager with a sentimental streak, which is what I was). 

Today's send-off is the 1978 remix of the full-length original album track, from the band's YouTube channel. Enjoy...