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The Ledes

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Washington Post: “Indonesia’s Mount Ruang has erupted at least three times this week, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people. On Wednesday evening local time, the volcano’s eruption shot ash nearly 70,000 feet high, possibly spewing aerosols into the stratosphere, the atmosphere’s second layer.” Includes spectacular imagery.

Public Service Announcement

The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705

"Countless studies have shown that people who spend less time in nature die younger and suffer higher rates of mental and physical ailments." So this Washington Post page allows you to check your own area to see how good your access to nature is.

Marie: If you don't like birthing stories, don't watch this video. But I thought it was pretty sweet -- and funny:

If you like Larry David, you may find this interview enjoyable:


Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Allison Hope comments in a CNN opinion piece:

~~~ Here's Chapman singing "Fast Car" at the Oakland Coliseum in December 1988. ~~~

~~~ Here's the full 2024 Grammy winner's list, via CBS.

He Shot the Messenger. Washington Post: “The Messenger is shutting down immediately, the news site’s founder told employees in an email Wednesday, marking the abrupt demise of one of the stranger and more expensive recent experiments in digital media. In his email, Jimmy Finkelstein said he was 'personally devastated' to announce that he had failed in a last-ditch effort to raise more money for the site, saying that he had been fundraising as recently as the night before. Finkelstein said the site, which launched last year with outsize ambitions and a mammoth $50 million budget, would close 'effective immediately.' The New York Times first reported the site’s closure late Wednesday afternoon, appearing to catch many staffers off-guard, including editor in chief Dan Wakeford. As employees read the news story, the internal work chat service Slack erupted in what one employee called 'pandemonium.'... Minutes later, as staffers read Finkelstein’s email, its message was underscored as they were forcibly logged out of their Slack accounts. Former Messenger reporter Jim LaPorta posted on social media that employees would not receive health care or severance.”

Washington Post: “The last known location of 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by world-renowned Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was in Vienna in the mid-1920s. The vivid painting featuring a young woman was listed as property of a 'Mrs Lieser' — believed to be Henriette Lieser, who was deported and killed by the Nazis. The only remaining record of the work was a black and white photograph from 1925, around the time it was last exhibited, which was kept in the archives of the Austrian National Library. Now, almost 100 years later, this painting by one of the world’s most famous modernist artists is on display and up for sale — having been rediscovered in what the auction house has hailed as a sensational find.... It is unclear which member of the Lieser family is depicted in the piece[.]”

~~~ Marie: I don't know if this podcast will update automatically, or if I have to do it manually. In any event, both you and I can find the latest update of the published episodes here. The episodes begin with ads, but you can fast-forward through them.

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Click on this link to e-mail Marie.

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Wednesday
Dec242014

Worst Christmas Songs 2014 Edition

Defunct videos removed.

This year's effort is dedicated to the Grand Old Party.

Note: You may have to call up Reality Chex in Google Chrome to capture all the videos. In Firefox, I get a number of black boxes.

In this horrible original song, Stephen Colbert captures the GOP Christmas spirit:

December 2011:

Okay, sentiment aside, this is truly awful. I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Justin Bieber can't sing:

You have to give the First Family credit for sitting through this:

For some reason Maura Sullivan thinks "Christmas Eve in Washington" is wonderful. Her lyrics don't mention maybe that's because Congress is adjourned:

Apparently you have not won the "War on Christmas," Gen. Bill O'Reilly. Here's video, via the Epic Times, of a WalMart manager in Klamath Falls, Oregon, earlier this month threatening to call the cops on kids singing Christmas carols in the store.

"Eight Days of Hannukah," lyrics by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah):

Not exactly a Christmas carol, but still a classic: Nixon Piano Concerto No. 1:

I suspect this is the most popular Christmas flash mob evah -- performers sing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from "The Messiah" at a U.S. shopping mall:

I'm partial to this Spanish mob, performing the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's 9th, sponsored by Banc Sabadell:

This is as flash-mobby as the Air Force gets. "The USAF Band Holiday Flash Mob 2014 at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum":

Merry Christmas, Everyone. Or whatever. Thank you for your continued readership. And a hearty Ho Ho Ho to contributors; no lumps of coal for you. -- Constant Weader

News Ledes -- December 25

USA Today: "Online game networks Xbox Live and PlayStation Network have been offline much of Christmas Day in an apparent DDos (distributed denial of service) attack. Taking credit for the takedown: a group called Lizard Squad, which previously claimed credit for August attacks on the PlayStation Network and online games World of Warcraft and League of Legends."

New York Post: "JetBlue airlines said Wednesday it will be offering free flights to police officers from around the country who wish to attend the funerals for the two slain NYPD cops killed over the weekend. The airline said it will allow up to two cops from each department to fly at no charge from anywhere across its route network to New York City."

Atlantic: "Russian President Vladimir Putin cancelled the extended New Year holiday for government ministers because of the ongoing financial crisis, informing the agencies they must work to help strengthen the economy and take protectionary measures in the face of a combination of governmental mismanagement, dropping oil prices, and economic sanctions that have caused considerable panic in Moscow in recent weeks."

AP: "Russia on Thursday offered sympathy to North Korea amid the Sony hacking scandal, saying the movie that sparked the dispute was so scandalous that Pyongyang's anger was 'quite understandable.'"

Weather Channel: "Winter Storm Eris will virtually guarantee a white Christmas in the Rockies, and not just over the higher elevations. Eris,(air-is; from Greek mythology: the goddess of discord) will bring snow to some valley floors of the Northwest, Great Basin and Rockies in time for the Christmas holiday. Parts of the Plains and Upper Midwest will also likely see a fresh blanket of mainly light snow from this system."

AP: "Former President George H.W. Bush will remain hospitalized through Christmas Day after experiencing shortness of breath two days ago."

AP: "Demonstrators took to the streets for a second night after a white police officer in Berkeley, Missouri, killed a black 18-year-old who police said pointed a gun at him." ...

... St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "By 7 a.m. Wednesday, police released surveillance footage showing the men approaching the police cruiser as soon as it pulls onto the lot. [Antonio] Martin can be seen walking away from the officer several times after the officer gets out of his car to talk to the men. Martin then turns toward the officer and appears to be pointing a gun at him. The officer fires and stumbles to the ground as he tries to back away." The three surveillance videos are here.

Washington Post: "Researchers studying Ebola in a highly secure laboratory mistakenly allowed potentially lethal samples of the virus to be handled in a much less secure laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, agency officials said Wednesday. One technician in the second laboratory may have been exposed to the virus and about a dozen other people have been assessed after entering the facility unaware that potentially hazardous samples of Ebola had been handled there."

AFP: "Pope Francis led Christmas Eve mass in the Vatican calling for 'tenderness' and 'warmth' after a violence-plagued year as millions of Christians began marking the holiday. The Argentine pontiff's brief homily was replete with Gospel references in his Christmas Eve mass, broadcast live in 3D for the first time."

Times of Israel: "A five-year-old Palestinian boy was severely injured when he was hit in the face by a rubber-coated bullet shot by Israeli troops Wednesday, Palestinian media reported."

Here's Google's announcement that the film "The Interview" is now available on Google Play & YouTube Movies. So, in the spirit of the season, you can gather your family around the teevee to watch Kim Jong-Il's head explode. Sweet. ...

... And on your Xbox, too.

Emperor, No. Princess, Yes. Politico: "White House photographer Pete Souza shared a photo on Instagram on Wednesday of the president donning a tiara with a group of Girl Scouts from the White House Science Fair earlier this year in May. In the caption, Souza wrote the girls from Tulsa 'convinced' Obama to join in on the fun."

At a Toys for Tots event, the Big Elf "breaks down gender stereotypes":

Comments Off

Reader Comments (5)

Thanks for the links, Marie, and a merry to you and all who check in here,

My favorite xmas toon (pun intended), however, is a tad secular: The Drifters’ White Christmas.

December 24, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

@James Singer. I love that one, too. Leon Redbone does okay by "White Christmas," too. And I always disliked "Frosty the Snowman" till this.

Marie

December 24, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterMarie Burns

For several years I've recommended to friends (though I think for the most part that they've ignored me) that one of the best Christmas films to watch is the French "Joyeux Noel". It was one that I liked so much after my first Netflix view that I purchased the DVD. (Not available in Netflix streaming to my knowledge).

Then this morning just browsing through several Web sites, spotted this story on the BBC, which provides a background story for the film of which I wasn't fully aware.

"How France has forgotten the Christmas truce soldiers" http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30433729

It's my annual go to view around Christmas, just as "Babette's Feast" is my New Year's Eve tradition!

Merry, merry celebrations to RC readers one & all, with a special extra toast of cheer and good fortune in 2015 to the one-and-only Constant Weader, who keeps us informed, challenged, and amused throughout the year!

P.S. No problem with my Firefox browser to view above videos.

December 25, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

@MAG: looks like Amazon prime is streaming "Joyeux Noel." It's not on Hulu prime, YouTube or Netflix streaming. I don't have Amazon prime (tho I could sign up for a free trial). I watched 7 pirated parts of the movie (minus Parts 2 & 9, which Sony has blocked).

I think I'll watch John Huston's "The Dead," such an uplifting Christmas movie (ha!). And it is available on YouTube for 3 bucks.

Marie

December 25, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterMarie Burns

I've seen that flashmob "Ode to Joy" before. It's wonderful. I have had it bookmarked for some time. It ought to be retitled, however: "Ode to the Joy of Young Children." A delightful and delighted audience!

December 25, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer
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