June 14, 1775. The Second Continental Congress established a unified Army of the colonies. George Washington was named commander-in-chief.
Today marks the 246th anniversary of that event.
Happy birthday, Army!
U. S. Army: 246 years
Archive of entries posted by Basil
Tuesday Night Open Thread
Some of you may know this as the closing theme to Die Hard. And that’s okay. Die Hard is a Christmas movie, after all.
Vaughn Monroe took this to the top of the charts in late January, 1946, a month after Christmas. This is a live version from a couple of decades later.
Do you have something you’d like to share? A link? A joke? Some words of wisdom? A topic to discuss? It’s our nightly Open Thread, and you have the floor.
Friday Night Open Thread
Thursday Night Open Thread
Christmas is next week, right?
Do you have something you’d like to share? A link? A joke? Some words of wisdom? A topic to discuss? It’s our nightly Open Thread, and you have the floor.
Thanksgiving (2020)
Thanksgiving Proclamation
Issued by President George Washington, at the request of Congress, on October 3, 1789
By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favor, able interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other trangressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
Go. Washington
Tuesday Night Open Thread
I’m not a fan of Bing Crosby. I’m not a fan of the Andrews Sisters. But they were sure popular in the 1940, both separately and together.
This song spent six weeks atop the Billboard Juke Box chart beginning in October 1944.
Do you have something you’d like to share? A link? A joke? Some words of wisdom? A topic to discuss? It’s our nightly Open Thread, and you have the floor.
Tuesday Night Open Thread
Normally, on Tuesday nights, the Open Thread plays a number one hit from the 1940s. Couple of reasons for that. One, I just want to have more than “Hey, it’s open thread. Go at it.” And two, we need to expose more people to good music from days past.
Tonight, though, something different, and much more current. Still, it’s 50 years old. To the day. And because it’s 50 years to the day, I’m switching formats for one Tuesday night only.
The biggest rock star of the 1970s was Elton John. Michael Jackson was big, but Elton’s 1970s star did shine brighter than Michael’s, though the talented Mr. Jackson would be considered a bigger star overall, based on his 1970s and later catalog. The 1970s belonged to Elton John.
For many, his early years are the best. I think his last really great album was Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Although Blue Moves and Rock of the Westies were pretty good, they showed the beginning of his downward spiral. He had some good stuff in the years since, of course, but the classic Elton John is the Elton John from the early to mid 1970s, peaking (in my opinion) with Captain Fantastic.
On November 17, 1970, fifty years ago, Elton John performed a live concert for a New York radio station. Some say it’s his best concert ever. I don’t know about that — Dodger Stadium or Thanksgiving at Madison Square Garden with John Lennon might be better — but it was so popular (people buying bootleg copied from bootleggers who recorded the broadcast) that it forced the record company to release an official version. That release became Elton’s fourth simultaneous Top 100 album, making him the first artist to do that since the Beatles. And this was in 1971, when his career was just taking off.
So, I’m switching gears and presenting that concert (edited for gaps, etc.).
Do you have something you’d like to share? A link? A joke? Some words of wisdom? A topic to discuss? It’s our nightly Open Thread, and you have the floor.
Monday Night Open Thread
I think the whole world has gone bananas. Partially because we don’t learn from history.
Do you have something you’d like to share? A link? A joke? Some words of wisdom? A topic to discuss? It’s our nightly Open Thread, and you have the floor.
Veterans Day 2020
It was a veteran, not a reporter,
Who guaranteed freedom of the press.
It was a veteran, not a poet,
Who guaranteed freedom of speech.
It was a veteran, not a campus organizer,
Who guaranteed freedom to demonstrate.
It was a veteran, not a minister,
Who guaranteed freedom to worship.
It was a veteran, not a salesman,
Who guaranteed freedom to own property.
It was a veteran, not a travel agent,
Who guaranteed freedom to travel.
It was a veteran, not a politician,
Who guaranteed freedom to vote.
It is a veteran who salutes the Flag,
Risks it all for the Flag,
And who is buried beneath the Flag.
— J. L. Sager *
Tuesday Night Open Thread
In April of 1944, Bing Crosby took this song to the top of the Billboard Juke Box chart for five weeks.
Do you have something you’d like to share? A link? A joke? Some words of wisdom? A topic to discuss? It’s our nightly Open Thread, and you have the floor.
So, do we mock him, ignore him, or celebrate his genius?
Go check the recent comments. You’ll see a bunch by some guy calling himself Ted Dymski. You’ll notice that most of them are on old posts. You’ll also see that Ted doesn’t get it. He seems to have no concept of time or at least doesn’t understand what the dates next to posts or comments mean. He also doesn’t get sarcasm. Satire is beyond him.
So, what I wonder is do we mock him or do we ignore him? Or is he a genius along the lines of Andy Kaufman?
If we mock him, we may be bullying someone who really isn’t all that smart, although I suspect this isn’t really the case, since his spelling seems to be spot on. Most stupid people can’t spell worth a darn, so I’m thinking Ted Dymski isn’t a dumbski.
So, is he just a troll? I’m kinda thinking so, but I could be falling for his act. Maybe he is somebody’s Tony Clifton.
I’m really not sure. I’m still leaning towards someone who just doesn’t get it. I mean, how else do you explain his response to a comment about Lurch from the Addams Family being based on John Kerry? Go read the comment and Ted’s response.
So, since he may be a latter-day Andy Kaufman, and since Saturday Night Live is now even less funny than IMAO, I’ll play Lorne Michaels and ask what should we do about Ted?
This poll is no longer accepting votes
Don’t vote to mock him unless you actually go mock him. Let’s keep this thing above board and back up our vote with actions.
USMC: 245 years
November 10, 1775. The Second Continental Congress directed the raising of two battalions of Marines.
Today marks the 245th anniversary of the event.
Happy birthday, Marines!
Monday Night Open Thread
I love history.
Do you have something you’d like to share? A link? A joke? Some words of wisdom? A topic to discuss? It’s our nightly Open Thread, and you have the floor.
Tuesday Night Open Thread
As we go though the number one hits of the 1940s, we missed this one, which spent five weeks at the top of the charts. Well, at one of the charts. Remember, Billboard actually had three different charts, the Best Sellers, Juke Box, and Disc Jockey charts. Later, Billboard combined them, but for a period of time in the 1940s, they were all separate, and each was as valid as the other.
Do you have something you’d like to share? A link? A joke? Some words of wisdom? A topic to discuss? It’s our nightly Open Thread, and you have the floor.
Monday Night Open Thread
I love history.
Do you have something you’d like to share? A link? A joke? Some words of wisdom? A topic to discuss? It’s our nightly Open Thread, and you have the floor.