Cherry Tops

Took a walk in the park in Newark on Saturday. Branch Brook Park has a multitude of cherry trees, all in bloom. Took a lot of pictures - this one seemed sort of representative.



And lots and lots of trees like this guy -

Sunday Night Springsteen

The other day, we heard of the death of an original member of the E Street Band, Danny Federici. I heard it Friday morning, before heading for the train. I dialed through the Ipod my kids got me for Christmas, which they had thoughtfully loaded with “The Wild, The Innocent, And The E Street Shuffle”. I listened as Danny’s fingers danced across the keys of his accordion - longingly on “Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”, and playfully on “Wild Billy’s Circus Story” – and again across the keys of his Hammond Organ on songs such as “Incident” and “Rosalita”.

He was truly an “original” member, since he was one of the guys who asked Bruce Springsteen to join their band in those now-legendary days of the New Jersey shore music scene. The New York Times has not one, but two obituaries for him. There’s the first, perfunctory one from news releases, and the one the next day from music critic Jon Pareles, who must have recognized that this passing deserved a little more reflection.

Someone let me know if the term “irony” covers the fact that Mr. Federici succumbed to melanoma – it wasn’t drugs or violence which claimed the first deceased member of our favorite band, but the sun.

So, for this Sunday, some video of Danny in action. First, Danny Federici’s last performance, a guest appearance on the current tour, which his illness made him unable to continue (from the Bruce Springsteen website) –



A complete performance of “Sandy”, from the 1978 show broadcast on the radio from the Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ – the video has great shots of Danny swinging with his accordion.



And, just because this clip captures a sense of the fun these guys must have had together, a performance of “Fire”, with Danny on one side of Springsteen, with his accordion, and Nils Lofgren on the other, on guitar, and all three of them mugging it up.



[Edited on April 21] From Dr. Alterman, I see that Mr. Federici's family has set up the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund, which is "dedicated to the research and development of new and effective treatments for melanoma through funding for additional clinical trials based upon Danny's melanoma treatments and other methods headed by Dr. Paul Chapman [at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center]. Our other objective is to raise awareness for this aggressive disease."

A Random Thought

I was listening to a news report about the Mass celebrated at Yankee Stadium today, with the Pope presiding.

There was a mention of New York's new governor, David Paterson, and that he was a Catholic.

And I thought to myself, "I didn't know that."

And then I thought to myself, that it's really annoying that nowadays when you say "Catholic Politician from New York", people think of Rudy Giuliani instead of Governor Paterson, let alone Mario Cuomo (remember him, defeated for re-election by an empty suit, because he opposed capital punishment?).

"You Know That Flag Flying Over The Courthouse ..."

I don't usually watch the Sunday talking heads shows.

But the weather today was a little grim, so after coming home from church I plopped down on the couch and surfed around the news shows. And I saw the end of "Face the Nation" where Bob Schieffer delivered a much-needed dose of intelligent discourse to the current political silly season. And, thank goodness, David Kroning at Daily Kos has put the text and the video online for us.

I watched the ABC debate the other night when the question came up, again, about why Senator Obama doesn't wear a flag pin in his lapel.

Since no one asked me, here's my thought on all that.

I think it is a nice thing if people want to wear a flag on their lapel.

But I believe it more important to keep the flag behind our lapel; in our hearts.

I feel the same way about wearing my religion on my sleeve; it fits better for me on the inside.

When I go to see our local baseball team, I do wear my Washington Nationals baseball cap. But am I less a fan if I don't wear it to work?

The truth is I have been known to wear a red, white and blue, stars and stripes tie on the Fourth of July. Am I less patriotic when I trade it for my Santa Claus tie at Christmas?

Patriotism is no more about signs or pins than religion is about reminding others how pious we think we are.

No, the proof in these puddings is not the signs we wear but how we act.

Wouldn't that also be a better way to judge our presidential candidates than by the jewelry they wear?

The Big Payback

Possible backlash from the Boss's endorsement?



Too funny. Via Jeralyn at TalkLeft, who shows that even Clinton supporters can have a sense of humor. ;-)

On The TeeVee

Wouldn't you know, the best coverage of Pope Benedict's visit to the U.S. was on Comedy Central, when Peter Steinfels was a guest on the Daily Show -



Via dotCommonweal, of course.

Land of Hope and Dreams

As far as I’m concerned, it’s over. It's sort of like, "I'll see your Elton John, and raise you by The Boss" -

Dear Friends and Fans:

LIke most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.

He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."

At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams of My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.

After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.

Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for President.



Bruce Springsteen

Sunday Night Springsteen

It's been a while, but who cares ...

We SHALL overcome -

Might As Well Say It

I admit it, I'm getting annoyed reading and listening to those "pundits" and others who criticize Senator Obama by using snippets from Reverend Wright. I think that they do so as a substitute for what they really want to say about the Senator -

"And I Believe In A Promised Land"

Forty years ago today, the day before his assassination forty years ago tomorrow, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told us that he had seen the promised land -

Well, I don't know what will happen now.
We've got some difficult days ahead.
But it doesn't matter with me now.

Because I've been to the mountaintop.

And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life.
Longevity has its place.
But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will.

And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain.

And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land.

I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land.

And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

The only question is, can we see it, and if so, how close is it?

Easter

Easter is earlier this year, than any of us will see again.

As for the meaning of Easter, this is what it's all about -

On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.

That's the cool part.

Of course, then you might ask, "What does that have to do with me?"

There's an answer to that, in a reading for this day from St. Paul -

Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast,
so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

So, toss out the old yeast, folks. Feel free to insert any particular political views that may apply to this "old yeast" category.

And Happy Easter, and keep it going for the rest of the year.

Belief

In reading about Senator Obama and Rev. Wright, I was dreading what appeared to be the inevitable "moment of truth". Senator Obama was going to be presented with a choice - does he run away from people who have been a part of his political and social growth, or does he fall victim to the Fox-type smears.

I'm less bothered by Rev. Wright's speech excerpts, than by the fact that Senator Obama had to give that speech today.

I know that it was an intelligent and adult essay on race and religion, and I also know that it deserves to be examined and commented on for years, because it is rare that our politicians talk to us like this.

But it's also sad, that even Senator Obama is unable to break through the distortions of the media, and point out how we've been hood-winked about Rev. Wright and his preaching.

De crackabloggahs ...

... deys stats ter hollah."

This is too good.

And this Jonah Goldberg character is truly an idiot, with the worst sense of timing, to go along with his awful political sense.

"With All Due Respect ..."

I've been reading critiques of the Democratic Debate last night, where the MSNBC moderators are being criticized as much as the candidates. Tim Russert seems to get the bulk of the criticism, but my favorite moment was actually the result of a Brian Williams question, at the end -

WILLIAMS: Well, we don't have such thing in our format as a closing statement, but I am going to ask a closing and fundamental question of you both. And I'll ask it of you fist, Senator Obama.

What is the fundamental question you believe Senator Clinton must answer along the way to the voters here in Ohio and in Texas, and for that matter across the country, in order to prove her worthiness as the nominee? And then we will ask the same question of Senator Clinton.

OBAMA: I have to say, Brian, I think she is -- she would be worthy as a nominee. Now, I think I'd be better. Otherwise, I wouldn't be running. But there's no doubt that Senator Clinton is qualified and capable and would be a much better president than John McCain, who I respect and I honor his service to this country, but essentially has tethered himself to the failed policies of George Bush over the last seven years.

On economics, he wants to continue tax cuts to the wealthy that we can't afford, and on foreign policy he wants to continue a war that not only can we not afford in terms of money, but we can't afford in terms of lives and is not making us more safe. We can't afford it in terms of strategy.

So I don't think that Senator Clinton has to answer a question as to whether she's capable of being president or our standard bearer.

I will say this, that the reason I think I'm better as the nominee is that I can bring this country together I think in a unique way, across divisions of race, religion, region. And that is what's going to be required in order for us to actually deliver on the issues that both Senator Clinton and I care so much about.

In other words, he said to Brian Williams, basically, "With all due respect, you can take your question and shove it up your ..."

I think Senator Clinton is lucky that he was asked this question first, so she had the chance to be just as gracious, and not fall into the anchors' last trap.

A Wild Ride

Well, this month has been crazy, at least for news junkies. Primaries, caucuses, debates, candidate good-byes and semi-scandals.

Now, unfortunately, it's getting even sillier. You see a lot of good people, ripping at each other over the Obama vs. Clinton fight. I hope folks come to their senses, soon, because if the Democratic nomination is settled in a fight to the death, there's a good chance that the election will be won by the Republican candidate.

And I'm tired of hearing Democrats who say, "I'll vote for McCain if my candidate loses." I feel like saying, "Why are you voting in the Democratic primary, then?"

Time Slips Away (Again) . . .

So, I have to ask myself this question, "And what have you done?"

Been watching the news, and reading a lot about the campaigns. The silly season is in high gear.

Other than that, I haven't got much done at all. I was barely able to get the Christmas decorations off the house, as Lent is about to begin. I wasn't even able to get this post up in a timely manner.

What the heck, let's see what tomorrow brings.

Sunday Night Springsteen

It's Christmas. Has everybody been good out there, or what?

We've been bad. The DSL has been acting up all week, so the internet has been hit or miss. And we've been fighting the Christmas wars in the shopping malls.

This is a "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" from about a week ago. The show is in Paris, and people start throwing Santa hats onto the stage, to get the band to do that song.



Merry Christmas!!!

Sunday Night (Not) Springsteen

New Jersey repealed the death penalty this week.

I join with those who applaud this.

On "BlueJersey.net", Thurman Hart, the Xpatriated Texan, thought that a link to a Steve Earle song would be appropriate for the occasion.



I heartily agree. As Mr. Earle has put it - "I object to the damage it does to my spirit for my government to kill people, because my government is supposed to be me, and I object to ME killing people. It’s very simple."

Yo, Jersey, we rock!!!

Nothing But A Child

Once upon a time
In a far off land
Wise men saw a sign
And set out aross the sand
Songs of praise to sing,
They travelled day and night
Precious gifts to bring,
Guided by the light

They chased a brand new star,
Ever towards the west
Across the mountains far
But when it came to rest
They scarce believed their eyes,
They'd come so many miles
And the miracle they prized
Was nothing but a child

- Steve Earle, Nothing But a Child

It's a little early for Christmas posts, perhaps, but since it's the middle of Advent, maybe not too early. As I've mentioned here before, my favorite Christmas special is, and has for years been, "A Charlie Brown Christmas". One of the reasons is that scene which takes place, after Charlie Brown has been barraged by Christmas commercialization, and has been made fun of for bringing a forlorn little (real) Christmas tree for the Christmas "pageant" the kids are putting on. He can't take it any more, and simply shouts: "Doesn't anybody know what Christmas is all about?" Linus calmly replies, "I know what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." Then he walks to the center of the stage, and recites a description of (what some consider) an improbable event from the second chapter of Luke:

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying:
"Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

And today, via The Ironic Catholic, from over in my reading list, comes a link to a Garrison Keillor essay about discussing the Nativity story with some teenagers. It takes the same story, and teases out some new way to look at it -

We sat in a sort of triangle, two couches at a right angle, a line of chairs, a window looking out at the snow on Amsterdam Avenue, and talked about the rather improbable notion that God sent Himself to Earth in human form, impregnating a virgin who, along with her confused fiancé, journeyed to Bethlehem where no rooms were available at the inn (it was the holidays, after all), and so God was born in a stable, wrapped in cloths and laid in a feed trough and worshipped by shepherds summoned by angels and by Eastern dignitaries who had followed a star.

This magical story is a cornerstone of the Christian faith and I am sorry if it's a big hurdle for the skeptical young. It is to the Church what his Kryptonian heritage was to Clark Kent -- it enables us to stop speeding locomotives and leap tall buildings at a single bound, and also to love our neighbors as ourselves. Without the Nativity, we become a sort of lecture series and coffee club, with not very good coffee and sort of aimless lectures.

On Christmas Eve, the snow on the ground, the stars in the sky, the spruce tree glittering with beloved ornaments, we stand in the dimness and sing about the silent holy night and tears come to our eyes and the vast invisible forces of Christmas stir in the world. Skeptics, stand back. Hush. Hark. There is much in this world that doubt cannot explain.

However you view the meaning of the event as described, in song, or story, or essay, I hope you enjoy the season.

Nothing but a child
Could wash these tears away
Or guide a weary world
Into the light of day

And nothing but a child
Could help erase these miles
So once again we all
Can be children for awhile

Sunday Night Springsteen

I learned today that Mr. Springsteen and the Band will be performing this summer at Giants Stadium - the scene of many performances I attended, too far from the stage and/or while sitting in the rain.

Then there was the time we took the kids, and used them to wrangle floor seats, but that's a story for another day.

In any event, to mark this auspicious announcement, here's a video from what I believe is the last time I saw those folks at the stadium (and the last time they were there), on my birthday in 2003 -

Poor Man Wanna Be Rich, Rich Man Wanna Be King . . .

Tbogg apparently felt that he was too "small time", with his own quirky blog, and has gone all "big time blogger" now.

So now I have to go fix the links in my reading list. I hate going under the hood and messing with stuff, but looks like I have to.

(Now, if only I could get myself some of that big time attention. I might actually post on a regular basis if that happened.)

Faith

This is a simple post, with a simple comment about Mitt Romney's speech on religion and politics, delivered today. Here are some excerpts, which I think show that his argument had little to do with genuine "religious liberty" -

There are some who may feel that religion is not a matter to be seriously considered in the context of the weighty threats that face us. If so, they are at odds with the nation's founders, for they, when our nation faced its greatest peril, sought the blessings of the Creator. And further, they discovered the essential connection between the survival of a free land and the protection of religious freedom. In John Adams' words: 'We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion... Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people.'
. . .

There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. My church's beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each religion has its own unique doctrines and history. These are not bases for criticism but rather a test of our tolerance. Religious tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree.
. . .

As I travel across the country and see our towns and cities, I am always moved by the many houses of worship with their steeples, all pointing to heaven, reminding us of the source of life's blessings.

It is important to recognize that while differences in theology exist between the churches in America, we share a common creed of moral convictions.
. . .

We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism. They are wrong.
. . .

We should acknowledge the Creator as did the Founders – in ceremony and word. He should remain on our currency, in our pledge, in the teaching of our history, and during the holiday season, nativity scenes and menorahs should be welcome in our public places.
. . .

And you can be certain of this: Any believer in religious freedom, any person who has knelt in prayer to the Almighty, has a friend and ally in me. And so it is for hundreds of millions of our countrymen: we do not insist on a single strain of religion – rather, we welcome our nation's symphony of faith.

This was supposed to be a "no religious test for office" speech. You could have fooled me.

In fact, Romney’s speech boils down to this -

1. There most certainly is a religious test for public office.

2. I pass that test. Other people don’t, but we won’t get into that now.

3. Don’t ask me any questions about my religious beliefs - trust me, I do pass the test.

"I ain't got much sense, but I still got my feet . . ."

Even though it's been some time between posts, we're still around.

In the last month we traveled to the West Coast, for a big family celebration, and welcomed the Cautious Kids home from college for Thanksgiving. It was the first time, for us, that Thanksgiving dinner was literally the first time we were all together around the table since the summer. That's a new thing, for us.

Somehow, I didn't get around to typing out any rambling random thoughts. Not that there hasn't been a lot of nonsense going on, out there. Anyway, we'll see what happens going forward.

Have You Heard The News

There's been more news about the decline in newspaper circulation. This always seems to be a source of joy for the likes of Ms. Malkin, and other right-wingers. I always wonder why that is. They still rely on the news-gathering functions of these newspapers, but they just prefer to get the stories online, or second-hand through some news filter like "Drudge" or some other editor aggregator. Ms. Malkin actually quotes approvingly from someone who thinks that talk radio should be our substitute for the news. Don't those talk radio folks just sit there reading to us from the newspaper, and then ranting about it?

I was especially curious about this comment, which came at the end of Ms. Malkin's dance of joy -

Parting question: I’m curious about how many of you still subscribe to a dead-tree newspaper. It’s been years since I had one delivered to my home. How about you?

Years? Really? No newspapers at all in the house? Three questions come to mind.

1. Leave aside whatever prejudices you may have about the "mainstream media" (or MSM, as they like to say, probably because it reminds them of KSM). Don't you live in a community, and doesn't it have a local paper? Aren't you the least bit curious about what is going on in your town or city, in local government, or in your schools? Sure, local papers might be lower down on the media food chain, but they still are something to use in order to keep up with what's going on, where you live.

2. Don't you have kids? What are you teaching your kids about being an informed citizen? Are you just training your kids to stare at a video screen? Kids should be provided with good examples, including seeing their parents reading and discussing the news. My kids have grown into well-informed young people, not because we berated them about reading the news, but because it seemed like a natural thing to do. Oh, and get a good newspaper into your home each day, and your kids' vocabularies will grow - heck, if the "raise more informed kids" reason doesn't appeal to the average right-winger, maybe the "score higher on the SATs" motivation will work.

3. The comics. How can you not get the comics?

Sunday Night Springsteen

"Blind Faith" edition.

If you're reading the news and commentary, there's an undercurrent of opinion that the Iraq War could have been a good thing, if only it hadn't been mishandled. Unspoken in those comments, is the idea that the Iran War will be managed better.

It never ends, unfortunately.