Christmas At Ground Zero

“Christmas At Ground Zero,” written and recorded by “Weird Al” Yankovic, 1986. Enjoy the warm glow of a Yuletide nuclear holocaust, in a wall-of-sound production by Rick Derringer. There’s a jaw-dropping music video on Weird Al’s website.

“It’s Christmas at Ground Zero
The button has been pressed
The radio just let us know
That this is not a test”

Weird Al website

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Life Is Precious . . . Unless It’s Not

Mrs. Betty Bowers, America’s Best Christian, explains why life is precious . . . unless it’s not.

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Bye Bye Boris

UK commentator Jonathan Pie gives a proper “Ta ta!” to Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Jonathan Pie website

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Memorial Day 2022

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a holiday once known as Decoration Day, the time to remember those who fell in defense of our country.  Memorial Day is now officially observed on a Monday to form a three-day holiday weekend, and the original significance has been distilled down to a 60-second Moment of Remembrance.

But there are 259,199 more minutes to a three-day weekend, and human nature abhors a semantic vacuum, so the holiday has acquired meanings in other realms:

Ceremony: Solemn ritual processions.

Ritual garb: White footwear.

Nutrition: Ceremonial meals.

Transportation: The Brickyard.

Economics:  Door-Busters.

Calendar: Memorial Day is the official Unofficial Start of Summer.

The National Moment of Remembrance is at 3:00 PM to 3:01 PM (local time in each time zone) on Monday, May 30, 2022. U.S. Code, Title 36,114, Stat. 3078, Sec.(2)(7): “… reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble event that that day is intended to be.”

For more about the origins of Memorial Day, see Burying the Dead but Not the Past by Dr. Caroline Janney.

Related:

“The forgotten history of Memorial Day,” Richard Gardiner, Quartz

“Why Memorial Day is often confused with Veterans Day (but shouldn’t be),” Valerie Strauss, Washington Post

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Shortlink: https://wp.me/p6sb6-z3q

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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New! A Hotline for Racists

New! A Hotline for Racists, invented by Niecy Nash. A New York Times opinion piece.

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Pharmaceutical Money

Pharmaceutical Money, a video from John Oliver. Ask your doctor!

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Green Chri$tma$

“Green Chri$tma$,” a 1958 send-up of holiday commercialism by humorist Stan Freberg, who was also an award-winning advertising executive. Music Director Billy May led the Columbia Records house orchestra and Jud Colon Chorale. At first the record was denounced as sacrilegious and many radio stations refused to play it, but the reality of this satire’s target became all too evident.

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Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-xRF

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

Memorial Day 2021

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a holiday once known as Decoration Day, the time to remember those who fell in defense of our country.  Memorial Day is now officially observed on a Monday to form a three-day holiday weekend, and the original significance has been distilled down to a 60-second Moment of Remembrance.

But there are 259,199 more minutes to a three-day weekend, and human nature abhors a semantic vacuum, so the holiday has acquired meanings in other realms:

Ceremony: Solemn ritual processions.

Ritual garb: White footwear.

Nutrition: Ceremonial meals.

Transportation: The Brickyard.

Economics:  Door-Busters.

Calendar: Memorial Day is the official Unofficial Start of Summer.

The National Moment of Remembrance is at 3:00 PM to 3:01 PM (local time in each time zone) on Monday, May 31, 2021. U.S. Code, Title 36,114, Stat. 3078, Sec.(2)(7): “… reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble event that that day is intended to be.”

For more about the origins of Memorial Day, see Burying the Dead but Not the Past by Dr. Caroline Janney.

Related:

“The forgotten history of Memorial Day,” Richard Gardiner, Quartz

“Why Memorial Day is often confused with Veterans Day (but shouldn’t be),” Valerie Strauss, Washington Post

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Shortlink: https://wp.me/p6sb6-xbL

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Green Chri$tma$

“Green Chri$tma$,” a 1958 send-up of holiday commercialism by humorist Stan Freberg, who was also an award-winning advertising executive. Music Director Billy May led the Columbia Records house orchestra and Jud Colon Chorale. At first the record was denounced as sacrilegious and many radio stations refused to play it, but the reality of this satire’s target became all too evident.

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Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-vOo

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Commencement Address, Class of 2020

Felicitations! Greetings to all of you joining us today on Zoom (and later on YouTube) on this glorious occasion! Graduates of the Class of 2020, you have passed a final test like no other, the test of coronavirus quarantine, and will now confidently stride, a prudent six feet apart, jaws set firmly under your surgical masks, into the post-pandemic ruins of the world of adulthood.

Each and every one of you has downloaded the distilled wisdom of Western Civilization in a grand adventure in online enlightenment, receiving the best education allowed within the limits of your broadband service contract. You are well-prepared for the long, vacant road ahead, a road of online job searches, Animal Crossing and, for the lucky few, Working From Home. For the rest, you who will deliver our meals and Amazon purchases, we salute you! Please ring the bell when you leave packages at the door.

As you log off now, if you remember anything, make it this: wash your hands, and don’t touch your face. Excelsior!

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Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.