Chit Chat

By Ted Belman

From now on comments on every post must relate to the content of the post.

Comments that don’t relate to the post must go here.

Any person who contravenes this demand will be put on moderation. Also their offending comment will be trashed.

The reason for this demand is so that people who want to read comments which pertain to the post, don’t have to wade through the chatter.

Everyone will be happier.

April 16, 2020 | 8,793 Comments »

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50 Comments / 8793 Comments

  1. MICHAEL_

    So…after showing your “snob” level, you admit that you are a “chicken plucker” with hearing problems

    I could have guessed all that without a confession.

  2. Hi, Michael

    Ain’t Nobody Here but Us Chickens
    Article Talk
    Language
    Watch
    Edit
    “Ain’t Nobody Here but Us Chickens” is a jump blues song, written by Alex Kramer and Joan Whitney.[1] Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five recorded the song on June 26, 1946, and Decca Records released it on a 78 rpm record.[1] It was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013.[2]
    “Ain’t Nobody Here but Us Chickens”

    Single by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five
    A-side
    “Let the Good Times Roll”
    Released
    1946
    Recorded
    June 26, 1946[1]
    Genre
    Jump blues
    Length
    3:02
    Label
    Decca
    Songwriter(s)
    Joan Whitney Kramer, Alex Kramer
    The single debuted on Billboard magazine’s Rhythm and Blues Records Chart on December 14, 1946.[3] It reached number one and remained at the top position for seventeen weeks, longer than any other Jordan single.[3] It also reached number six on the broader Billboard Best-Selling Popular Retail Records chart.[3] The flip side, “Let the Good Times Roll”, peaked at number two on the R&B chart.[3]
    Jordan’s hit song popularized the expression “Nobody here but us chickens”, but the phrase is older.[4] Its first known appearance was a joke published as a reader-submitted anecdote in Everybody’s Magazine in 1908 regarding a chicken thief, formulated as, “‘Deed, sah, dey ain’t nobody hyah ‘ceptin’ us chickens.”[5] From there, it was picked up by newspapers and reprinted far and wide. Wikipedia

    But, I recall reading or hearing it came from Jazz musicians because chickens are night owls, too! supposedly. Never dated one, 😀 cheers

  3. Hi, Sebastien

    @Michael My personal favorite:
    Viktor Tretyakov (violin); Yuri Bashmet (viola) play Bruch Double Concerto – video 1985

    I’m afraid I never inherited my father’s talent with musical instruments; and years of working with power tools has made a mess of my hearing. The closest I’ve come to real appreciation of the art, is my fondness for George Handel’s “Messiah”. He seemed to be a master at “powering up” the choir, as needed, with kettle drums, etc. Tshaikovsky was also fabulous in this regard, in “1812 Overture”. I also love anything from John Phillip Souza, and Dvorak’s “New World Symphony”.

    About 25 years ago, I was transporting some chickens for a friend in the back of my station wagon. The were all agitated, and sweating up a storm, when I played a cassette tape of Handel’s Messiah. Then they cooed and clucked calmly. Those were chickens after my own heart.

  4. @MIchael Your cornucopia of family tragedy reminds me of the old joke that goes:

    Q: Did you know that a woman is assaulted every 8 minutes in the United States?

    A: OMG! That poor woman.

    picture of fire is pretty mindboggling. As well as pretty. I’ve always hated fire works except for the really distant professional ones that have no sound. Feels like I’m in a war zone.

  5. @Felix What do you meam? I just covered it..

    The most important reason this damn war must come to an end is so that he can come back to Carnegie Hall. 😀

  6. From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China is a 1979 Academy Award winning documentary film about Western culture breaking into China produced and directed by Murray Lerner. It portrays the famous violinist and music teacher Isaac Stern as the first American musician to collaborate with the China Central Symphony Society (now China National Symphony Orchestra).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGymQ5NuEJs

    Search for: Did Isaac Stern save Carnegie Hall?
    What musician helped save Carnegie Hall?
    It seems inconceivable now that Carnegie Hall, having fallen into disrepair in the late 1950s, was once slated for demolition. The building was saved only when bought in 1960 by the City of New York after a major campaign led by renowned violinist Isaac Stern and key civic leaders.

    A Short History | Carnegie Hall

    https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/Press/A-Short-History

    “…In his capacity not only as the president of Carnegie Hall, but also as an adviser to the powerful ICM Artists management agency, the chairman of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and chairman and music adviser of the Jerusalem Music Center, he was able to encourage and open doors for young musicians he considered exceptionally talented. Mr. Ma, Mr. Ax, the violinists Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Shlomo Mintz, Sergiu Luca, Joseph Swenson and Cho-Liang Lin and the pianist Yefim Bronfman were all given a crucial push by Mr. Stern early in their careers…”

    “Violinist Isaac Stern Dies at 81; Led Efforts to Save Carnegie Hall
    Share full article

    By Allan Kozinn
    Sept. 23, 2001”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/23/nyregion/violinist-isaac-stern-dies-at-81-led-efforts-to-save-carnegie-hall.html

  7. @Michael My personal favorite:

    Viktor Tretyakov (violin); Yuri Bashmet (viola) play Bruch Double Concerto – video 1985

    Rewind to beginning. I don’t know why it starts later in. Yes, the same Max Bruch who wrote Kol Nidre though he wasn’t himself Jewish. Bashmet is, though. “Yuri Bashmet was born in 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in Russia and spent his childhood in Lvov, Ukraine. He began his studies at the Moscow Conservatory when he was 18, first with Vadim Borisovsky, the violist of the Beethoven Quartet, and later with Feodor Druzhinin.” He also conducts the orchestra he founded, ‘Moscow Soloists.” The most important reason this damn war must come to an end is so that he can come back to Carnegie Hall. 😀

    https://youtu.be/IOtZUgQb1K0?si=qZT5F0ciRUW1KmtP

  8. PELONI-

    It may be bad for Israel-UK relations, but I think Business dealings will continue.

    Also A MAJOR good. Huge increase in Aliya from the U.K is likely. not certain but likely.

  9. Hello again, Sebastien.

    That’s intense. How? In the same catacylsmic event?

    2019-20:

    1. premature heart attack
    2. old age, kidney failure
    3. old age, heart attack
    4. premature heart attack
    5. overdose

    2022-23:

    1. old age
    2. premature heart attack
    3. fall, broken neck

    Those are just the close family members. Some close friends of long standing died during the same time period. This is just what it means, to be in your seventies. It’s a little like being in combat. You get “used to it”, but not really. Then you keep on going: You’re still in a war. My eldest brother-in-law lost his brother; he followed him, and my sister buried him. We went to the memorial service, and came back a couple of months later, when his brother-in-law died. We went to the memorial service. After we got back home, my widowed sister lost her son, then her grandson. The rest of the family got their affairs in order, during the next three years; then my sister died. We went to the memorial service and returned home. After getting here, we got the call that my niece’s husband died (We had just talked with him, two days before). A few months later, another brother-in-law broke his neck. Job had it much worse, long ago. That’s why those stories are in the Bible.

    You’re a violist? Wow! When I was still getting about, we went to a small church that had a drummer, two violinists, a bass guitar, a keyboard, a lead guitar, a singer — and a cellist, who actually made his living playing for the local philharmonic. The cello’s a beautiful instrument. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a viola in action. My father used to make his own violins, during the Depression. He used to play in the tavern, along with the man who would become the conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony. I didn’t get to know my father much, but I inherited two of his violins.

    “Violin” is “kinnor” in Hebrew, but it looks like a lyre. The word for “harp” seems, ironically, to be “kittarh” (like “guitar”). There seems to be no end of variations.

    https://youtu.be/y22bp6TPqvE

  10. I finally got around to asking Google if irrelevant and immaterial was redundant and this was the funniest of the answers on Quora, and the first that came up:

    Rosemary E Williams
    ·
    Follow
    Author of the Williams on Bankruptcy series and many others
    ·
    3y
    I spent most of my litigation life in federal courts, and federal judges are certainly willing to exert their authority to control what goes on in their courtrooms. If I had ever tried to slide by something like the Perry Mason line, I probably would have been judicially instructed to specifically describe each basis for objection seperately, including the applicable Rule number, to put me in my place. Never, ever waste a federal judge’s time, or assume she/he isn’t listening.

    It’s just a television thing in my years of experience, and one that risks looking like an idiot.

    😀 Google had rephrased the question:

    Is “incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial” a real objection used in today’s criminal court, or is it just a Perry Mason line?

    😀

    Who knew? 😀

  11. Omurice is a popular Japanese and Korean dish of early 20th century American origin consisting of a rice filled omelette with a smiley face in ketchup on top. I learned about it from watching Korean dramas and about Americanos (watered down espresso) from the Korean Church I used to play in that had a Starbucks-like coffee shop in the lobby.

    Happy Fourth.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omurice

  12. @Michael So, Governor Gavin Newsome left a raging fire to attend a Biden function? Yes, well, in his place, I don’t think I would mention my stint as Governor on my resume if I were applying for a job as somebody’s baby sitter. Like, when I was randomly chatting with someone about how absurd I thought certain policies were in my home town and what policies I would suggest and this person said gushingly that he or she – I don’t remember – would vote for me if I went into politics – I said that if I ran for president, I would declare that if elected I would serve only on the understanding that I would sub out when gigs came up, particuilarly on the weekend – you know, as a violist in an orchestra or in a string quartet, for a wedding or something. 😀

    I will say one thing for winsome Newsome however, when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. insanely advocated for Sirhan Sirhan’s parole – incredibly along with half the Kennedy family – after meeting with him one time and saying he didn’t think the evil bastard was guilty 😀 Newsome blocked it. He’s still in there, thank God. As is Major Hassan who murdered all those young unarmed soldiers 20 years ago in New Jersey because Allah told him to – himself a psychiatrist, right? – even though he was sentenced to death 20 years ago!

  13. @Michael

    During the past five years, I’ve lost my oldest sister, as well as her husband, son, grandson, my second sister’s husband, and many friends and close relatives

    All in the past five years? OMG! You must be still recovering. My mother never recovered from my sister’s death even after more than 30 years. That’s intense. How? In the same catacylsmic event?

  14. Whistleblower: FBI is revoking security clearances of conservative agents

    by WorldTribune Staff, July 3, 2024 Contract With Our Readers

    A former FBI supervisor who oversaw security clearance reviews is the latest whistleblower to allege that the bureau has been suspending or revoking the security clearances of agents it believes hold conservative political views, a report said.

    The new allegations surfaced Tuesday in correspondence obtained by Just the News that was sent to the House and Senate Judiciary committees and Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

    The ex-FBI supervisor provided several examples of political bias in the complaint he field. The bias, the whistleblower said, was directed against individuals who appeared supportive of President Donald Trump, held doubts about how the bureau was pursuing J6 suspects, and held skeptical views of the effectiveness of the Covid shots

    https://www.worldtribune.com/whistleblower-fbi-revoking-security-clearances-of-conservative-agents/

    BBC Host Calls for Biden to ‘Have Trump Murdered’ After SCOTUS Presidential Immunity Decision

    https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2024/07/03/bbc-host-calls-biden-have-trump-murdered-scotus-presidential-immunity-decision/

    These people are busy!

  15. Hi, Sebastien

    ‘The mind can’t understand the size of this fire’

    The fires out here are rather remarkable — as are the trees, the mountains, etc. The very things that make this a place of outstanding beauty, also make it quite dangerous to live in. This is where I sought a relationship with my Maker; and I found Him without need of a preacher’s presence, instructed by the power and vastness of a forest, whose canopy rose to over 250-300 feet above my head.

    That said, I posted this news item out of a sense of duty, against the odd chance that one of the readers might be in some danger. Some four years ago, we had a similar inferno roaring down the river valley in a firestorm. I was alerted first by smell of smoke, then the red-black that filled the midnight sky, then the solid orange that filled and covered the entire landscape at sunrise, blocking out all detail. The “Leave Now!” evacuation orders came up to our city limits.

    My big sister died in one of these right after all my pro-Pal activism in the late 80s.

    That;s a great loss. During the past five years, I’ve lost my oldest sister, as well as her husband, son, grandson, my second sister’s husband, and many friends and close relatives. These can be difficult times.

    @Michael Since we were both ’70s American New Age babies before your “Great Awakening,” you can just say, “heavy, man, ” and let it go, or be, as the case may be. ?

    I’m glad we can connect somewhat in our life experiences. Actually, I don’t think I picked up much of the hippie lingo. My experience with the Movement was in the early 1970s. Before and after that, I was a blue-collar worker from a blue-collar family.

  16. Seb-

    I don’t understand this. Only 4,000 acres according to the report.

    I’ve seen reports of 100 sq miles ablaze in the past , years ago, and many other close to it.

    In Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver a massive peat bog sozens of miles sq has been smouldering and on fire for the past 60 years. I think it still is . Just like as if it was in a fireplace at home.

    In Ireland we used to have coal fires until the WAR, then used peat from the Irish bogs. in much of the countryside.

    Trains could not get up to more than abou 15 mls per hour.
    I travelled to Cork City , 160 miles from Dublin took nearly 12 hours.

  17. ..

    Israeli firefighter in California: ‘The mind can’t understand the size of this fire’
    BY MAYA MIRSKY | SEPTEMBER 18, 2020
    Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what’s happening in the Jewish Bay Area.

    Israeli firefighter Idan Braun, who had come halfway around the world to help fight Northern California’s wildfires, couldn’t believe his eyes.

    “The mind can’t understand the size of this fire,” he said, describing the massive LNU Lightning Complex in Napa and Sonoma counties that spread across more than 360,000 acres at its peak. “It’s huge, it’s huge.”Braun was part of a team of 10 Israeli firefighters who volunteered to help Cal Fire battle the monster blaze. For nearly two weeks they worked shoulder to shoulder with state firefighters to push back against the LNU wildfire, which began in mid-August and covered five counties. It is nearly fully contained now.

    https://jweekly.com/2020/09/18/israeli-firefighter-in-california-the-mind-cant-understand-the-size-of-this-fire/

    In response to a request from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, a team of 10 Israeli firefighters have deployed to California to assist in battling some of the largest wildfires in the state’s history.

    https://news.caloes.ca.gov/israeli-firefighters-arrive-in-california-to-assist-wildfire-response/

    This operation was initiated by the Consulate General on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs by submitting an offer of assistance, which was accepted by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention. Within 48 hours of submitting the mutual aid offer, the Government of Israel mobilized this task force for immediate deployment.

    The operation is taking place in the spirit of shared values and mutual respect that has been forged over many decades of partnership between Israel and California. Israel previously received similar aid in 2010 and 2016.

    “This mission is also a reciprocal gesture for the United States after providing
    critical firefighting resources to Israel in the past,” said Kofman. “Israel is
    honored to be able to assist California in combating these wildfires that have
    ravaged so much of the state. We do this to honor the US firefighters who stood
    with us in the past. Israel cherishes its strong friendship with the people of
    the United States. Just as the United States provided emergency assistance to
    Israel in 2010 and 2016, we are honored to extend our hand in solidarity to our
    closest ally and longtime friend when needed,” said Kofman.

    https://embassies.gov.il/san-francisco/Newsandevents/Pages/Firefighter_IL_US.aspx

    articles about Fires caused by Hezollah rockets in Northern Israel and arson of a synagogue NOW in moderation.

  18. Israeli firefighter in California: ‘The mind can’t understand the size of this fire’
    BY MAYA MIRSKY | SEPTEMBER 18, 2020
    Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what’s happening in the Jewish Bay Area.

    Israeli firefighter Idan Braun, who had come halfway around the world to help fight Northern California’s wildfires, couldn’t believe his eyes.

    “The mind can’t understand the size of this fire,” he said, describing the massive LNU Lightning Complex in Napa and Sonoma counties that spread across more than 360,000 acres at its peak. “It’s huge, it’s huge.”Braun was part of a team of 10 Israeli firefighters who volunteered to help Cal Fire battle the monster blaze. For nearly two weeks they worked shoulder to shoulder with state firefighters to push back against the LNU wildfire, which began in mid-August and covered five counties. It is nearly fully contained now.

    https://jweekly.com/2020/09/18/israeli-firefighter-in-california-the-mind-cant-understand-the-size-of-this-fire/

    In response to a request from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, a team of 10 Israeli firefighters have deployed to California to assist in battling some of the largest wildfires in the state’s history.

    https://news.caloes.ca.gov/israeli-firefighters-arrive-in-california-to-assist-wildfire-response/

  19. Fires set off by Hezbollah rockets spread through northern Israel

    https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/fires-set-off-by-hezbollah-rockets-spread-through-northern-israel-2024-06-03/

    Hezbollah is setting Israel’s North on fire. This is how you can help
    While the Galilee suffers rocket and drone attacks, KKL-JNF teams are putting out the fires and preparing to rehabilitate the forests. They need support.
    By ALAN ROSENBAUM JULY 3, 2024 20:50

    https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-808848

    Fire that broke out in Jerusalem mountains under control
    JULY 1, 2024 19:54
    Updated: JULY 1, 2024 20:47

    https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-808548

    Police arrests Beit Shemesh synagogue arsonist
    Police arrested a suspect for setting fire to a Beit Shemesh yeshiva synagogue, damaging holy books and property. Following initial investigation, more allegations were associated with the suspect.
    By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
    JULY 1, 2024 11:01

    https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-808447

  20. @Michael Since we were both ’70s American New Age babies before your “Great Awakening,” you can just say, “heavy, man, ” and let it go, or be, as the case may be. 😀

  21. @Michael A little personal anecdote: My big sister died in one of these right after all my pro-Pal activism in the late 80s. I met my mother’s first cousin who flew all the way from YESHA to attend her memorial concert and we bonded. Divine punishment through my family and a road to redemption is how I’ve always seen it. I may not buy into all the obsessive-compulsive religious traditions that I wasn’t brought up in, anyway, but I do perceive, however dimly, that there is somebody up there who does love Israel and doesn’t fuck around – even if
    he/she/it/none of the above does have an absurdist and, at times, downright sardonic sense of humor, clearly.

    And, also at times, perhaps just a wee bit hypocritical?

    “Are trees people that you would besiege them?” -Deut 20 😀

    I was searching for the line that goes woe to the poor little children in order to changs children to trees – no, not Scott Joplin’s only opera, the ragtime, “Treemonisha” – and this amazing song lyric popped up. Chillingly relevant poetry, especially after Oct. 7

    “O Children
    Song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

    OverviewLyricsVideosListen
    Pass me that lovely little gun
    My dear, my darling one
    The cleaners are coming, one by one
    You don’t even want to let them start
    They’re knocking now upon your door
    They measure the room, they know the score
    They’re mopping up the butcher’s floor
    Of your broken little hearts
    Forgive us now for what we’ve done
    It started out as a bit of fun
    Here, take these before we run away
    The keys to the gulag
    Come on
    Come on
    Come on
    Come on
    Here comes Frank and poor old Jim
    They’re gathering round with all my friends
    We’re older now, and the light is dim
    And you are only just beginning
    Oh, children
    We have the answer to all your fears
    It’s short, it’s simple, it’s crystal-clear
    It’s roundabout and it’s somewhere here
    Lost amongst our winnings
    The cleaners have done their job on you
    They’re hip to it, man, they’re in the groove
    They’ve hosed you down, you’re good as new
    And they’re lining up to inspect you
    Oh children
    Poor old Jim’s white as a ghost
    He’s found the answer that we lost
    We’re all weeping now, weeping because
    There ain’t nothing we can do to protect you
    We’re happy, Ma, we’re having fun
    And the train ain’t even left the station
    And have you left a seat for me?
    Is that such a stretch of the imagination?
    I’m hanging in there, don’t you see?
    In this process of elimination
    We’re happy, Ma, we’re having fun (children)
    It’s beyond my wildest expectation (oh, children)
    We’re happy, Ma, we’re having fun
    The train ain’t even left the station (oh, children)
    (Hey, little train, wait for me)
    (I once was blind but now I see)
    Source: LyricFind
    Songwriters: Nicholas Edward Cave”

  22. OAN’s Abril Elfi
    3:28 PM – Wednesday, July 3, 2024

    Thousands are now under evacuation orders in Northern California due to fast-moving wildfires that have traveled to scorch over 3,000 acres.

    During a week of intense heat across the state, firefighters have been battling to protect homes from the so-called Thompson Fire, which broke out near Oroville on Tuesday, roughly 70 miles north of Sacramento.

    There have already been multiple homes destroyed in the aftermath, but early on Wednesday, no injuries had been reported.

    An estimated 13,000 people received evacuation orders, and for the roughly 20,000 residents of the community, a state of emergency was declared.

    Highs of 100 degrees were predicted later in the week as well in Northern California.

    https://www.oann.com/newsroom/thousands-evacuated-in-northern-california-following-fast-moving-wildfires/