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Uplifting Thoughts for the Isolated and Depressed in Times of Plague

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Some fine music from one of my favourite places


Haydn, then Philip Glass (from about 25:00, with a short visual tour of the house and its wonderful collection),
and some music from 18th century Scotland (from about 34:00)
 
Some fine music from one of my favourite places


Haydn, then Philip Glass (from about 25:00, with a short visual tour of the house and its wonderful collection),
and some music from 18th century Scotland (from about 34:00)
Kettle's Yard does seem a special place, Eul. Being pot-like, I would never call it black!

Should I gather that "Drunk at Night" and "Dried Out in the Morning" represent high Scottish Culture?

My cultural heritage includes both Celtic and Appalachian. And uplifting when performed by lovely lassies.

 
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A little humor for our sexy dancer, @Jackie1111
Why thank you dear! I had no idea what I was looking at until the very end. :p

I think you may have given me an idea for something I could pursue someday in the future. Unfortunately, my legs and body won't allow me to dance forever, but stage comedy might be something I could enjoy very much.

For that, I will dedicate my "solo" during this evening's show to you, Mr. P. Enjoy.


 
The Charles Schulz Philosophy
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The following is the philosophy
of Charles Schulz,
The creator of the 'Peanuts'
comic strip.
You don't have to actually
answer the questions.
Just ponder on them.
Just read the e-mail straight
all the way through, and you'll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

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How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers……..They are the best in their fields yet we do not remember them.
But sooner or later the applause dies….Their Awards tarnish…..And Their Achievements are forgotten.
Most of the time, except for a Few special ones, their Accolades and Certificates are buried with their owners.
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Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

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Was this last Quiz Easier????

The lesson here is:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money ... or the most awards. They simply are the ones who care the most.
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Pass this on to those people whom you keep close in your heart.
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in
Australia!"
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Please don't shoot me if I say that I find her performance exciting and even (almost) sexier that the original by Blondie.
Let's be clear: Debbie Harry has often populated my wet dreams when I was a kid, but Miley..

 
A wonderful song written by 21-year-old Bob Dylan. This version, from Nashville Skyline, is immaculately performed by Dylan and Johnny Cash. I wonder if they had @Eulalia in mind? The song and that thought uplift me magically.

The song's lyrics borrow from the traditional English ballad, "Scarborough Fair." There were three women who have been mentioned as the inspiration. One was Bob's high school sweetheart, Echo Star Helstrom. In his memoir, Dylan referred to her as "...my Becky Thatcher", (Tom Sawyer's love interest in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) He also wrote, "Everyone said she looked like Brigitte Bardot, and she did."
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I do not know if this will be considered uplifting or not. On the chance that it is uplifting, I want to post it.

Was talking to family members who are not well. Nobody is really well in my family. Three of our members died last year. We are all living day-by-day, hour-by-hour.

But I told my family members that those of us who are still alive owe it to each other, and to those who are no longer with us, to go on. We all need to survive this. Our goal, our mission in life, right now is to stay alive, so that, when this pandemic is over, we can all hug each other again.
 
Please don't shoot me if I say that I find her performance exciting and even (almost) sexier that the original by Blondie.
Let's be clear: Debbie Harry has often populated my wet dreams when I was a kid, but Miley..

Well, I reached for my gun and was preparing to do you in, but then I had to admit that was pretty darned interesting.

Can't say that I'm a fan, and I did wonder why she didn't just sing rather than yell the lyrics, but she was just so damn sexy I soon didn't care. Love the outfit, the hair, the glitter eyeliner, the bling, and those sky-high stilettos! :very_hot:
 
Well, I reached for my gun and was preparing to do you in, but then I had to admit that was pretty darned interesting.

Can't say that I'm a fan, and I did wonder why she didn't just sing rather than yell the lyrics, but she was just so damn sexy I soon didn't care. Love the outfit, the hair, the glitter eyeliner, the bling, and those sky-high stilettos! :very_hot:

Yeah, 35 years ago if someone told me that I would have disowned Debbie I would have killed them, too..



Sorry, Debbie remains my true love!

I fully understand you, brother! :)
 
A bit of theology from Don Camillo's* inquiries to Jesus ...

“Don Camillo, what do you mean by “idea”?’

‘As a poor country priest, all I can say is that ideas are lamps shining through the night of human ignorance and lighting up some new aspect of the greatness of the Creator.’

Jesus smiled.
‘Poor country priest,’ he said,

‘you’re not so far from right. Once a hundred men were shut into an enormous dark room, each one of them with an unlit lamp. One of them managed to light his lamp, and so they all could see one another and get to know one another. As the rest lit their lamps, more and more of the objects around them came into view, until finally everything in the room stood out as good and beautiful.

Now, follow me closely, Don Camillo: there were a hundred lamps, but only one idea; yet it took the light of all the lamps to reveal the details of everything in the room. Every flame was the hundredth part of one great idea, one great light, the idea of the existence and eternal greatness of the Creator.
It was as if a man had broken a statuette into a hundred pieces and given one piece to each of a hundred men.
The hundred men groped for one another and tried to fit the fragments together, making thousands of misshapen figures until at last they joined them properly.

I repeat, Don Camillo, that every man lit his own lamp and the light of the hundred lamps together was Truth and Revelation.
This should have satisfied them.
But each man thought that the beauty of the objects he saw around him was due to the light of his own lamp, which had brought them out of the darkness.

Some men stopped to worship their own lamps, and others wandered off in various directions, until the great light was broken up into a hundred flames, each one of which could illuminate only a fraction of the truth.
And so you see, Don Camillo, the hundred lamps must come together again in order to find the true light.
Today men wander mistrustfully about, each one in the light of his own lamp, with an area of melancholy darkness all around him, clinging to the slightest detail of whatever object he can illuminate by himself.

And so I say that ideas do not exist; there is only one Idea, one Truth with a hundred facets. Ideas are neither finite nor finished, because there is only this one and eternal Idea. But men must join their fellows again like those in the enormous room.”


For those not familiar with it, Don Camillo & Peppone was a series set in post-war Italy, a childhood V favorie of mine, following a Catholic priest and a Communist mayor in a small town, who were of course constantly at odds, but nevertheless deeply though grudgingly respected each other. Don Camillo would sometimes get into religious discussions with Jesus speaking through the crucifix on his wall...
 
A bit of theology from Don Camillo's* inquiries to Jesus ...

“Don Camillo, what do you mean by “idea”?’

‘As a poor country priest, all I can say is that ideas are lamps shining through the night of human ignorance and lighting up some new aspect of the greatness of the Creator.’

Jesus smiled.
‘Poor country priest,’ he said,

‘you’re not so far from right. Once a hundred men were shut into an enormous dark room, each one of them with an unlit lamp. One of them managed to light his lamp, and so they all could see one another and get to know one another. As the rest lit their lamps, more and more of the objects around them came into view, until finally everything in the room stood out as good and beautiful.

Now, follow me closely, Don Camillo: there were a hundred lamps, but only one idea; yet it took the light of all the lamps to reveal the details of everything in the room. Every flame was the hundredth part of one great idea, one great light, the idea of the existence and eternal greatness of the Creator.
It was as if a man had broken a statuette into a hundred pieces and given one piece to each of a hundred men.
The hundred men groped for one another and tried to fit the fragments together, making thousands of misshapen figures until at last they joined them properly.

I repeat, Don Camillo, that every man lit his own lamp and the light of the hundred lamps together was Truth and Revelation.
This should have satisfied them.
But each man thought that the beauty of the objects he saw around him was due to the light of his own lamp, which had brought them out of the darkness.

Some men stopped to worship their own lamps, and others wandered off in various directions, until the great light was broken up into a hundred flames, each one of which could illuminate only a fraction of the truth.
And so you see, Don Camillo, the hundred lamps must come together again in order to find the true light.
Today men wander mistrustfully about, each one in the light of his own lamp, with an area of melancholy darkness all around him, clinging to the slightest detail of whatever object he can illuminate by himself.

And so I say that ideas do not exist; there is only one Idea, one Truth with a hundred facets. Ideas are neither finite nor finished, because there is only this one and eternal Idea. But men must join their fellows again like those in the enormous room.”


For those not familiar with it, Don Camillo & Peppone was a series set in post-war Italy, a childhood V favorie of mine, following a Catholic priest and a Communist mayor in a small town, who were of course constantly at odds, but nevertheless deeply though grudgingly respected each other. Don Camillo would sometimes get into religious discussions with Jesus speaking through the crucifix on his wall...
Yeah, I read some of that in the seminary for "spiritual reading". Appealing to "hidden truths" and mystery keeps people from thinking on their own--always inquire of the crucifix on the wall. And, whatever answer you get is not yours and therefore not subject to dissent, but divine wisdom to be followed "religiously". It's kind of like reading Marx in the old Soviet Union. The Party has to interpret for you. (Sorry for the cynicism.)
 
Appealing to "hidden truths" and mystery keeps people from thinking on their own--always inquire of the crucifix on the wall. And, whatever answer you get is not yours and therefore not subject to dissent, but divine wisdom to be followed "religiously". It's kind of like reading Marx in the old Soviet Union. The Party has to interpret for you. (Sorry for the cynicism.)
Hmm, in the context of the Don Camillo & Peppone stories, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Camillo_and_Peppone) the two characters (Catholic & Communist) are in tension, but the series doesn't transport any sense of "the church is always right", rather it shows how they're both good-hearted but thick-headed people each with their own part of the truth. And the "crucifix on the wall" tends to remind Camillo to be less doctrinal, not more so.

But I guess that parable can be interpreted differently.
I saw it more as a reminder that a search for greater truth is a collaborative effort. "Some men stopped to worship their own lamps, ... each one of which could illuminate only a fraction of the truth." -- surely we all know examples of people who've devoted themselves to some cause, and see in it a solution to everything ... or they've recognized some ill, and see in it the root of all evil. And then there are those who see some tiny sliver of something, and imagine enormous shadows behind it ... conspiracy theories ...
The "one and eternal idea" that the Jesus-figure talks of could, of course, only ever be seen by rising above the human plane -- even if we were part of the illuminated room, we would still see everything from whatever point we're at, our perspective.

But even without a belief in a supreme being, it relates to the question -- despite all human failings and limitations, is there in fact a truth out there somewhere, that we can try to approximate? Or is truth never "revealed", everyone just entirely creates their own truth due to where they stand?

Of course the moment some human power structure, be it the Church or the Party, decides their leadership has in fact risen above the human place, and is entitled to enforce their insight onto all others ... then it turns around. But that's not what I got from Don Camillo ...
 
Yeah, I read some of that in the seminary for "spiritual reading". Appealing to "hidden truths" and mystery keeps people from thinking on their own--always inquire of the crucifix on the wall. And, whatever answer you get is not yours and therefore not subject to dissent, but divine wisdom to be followed "religiously". It's kind of like reading Marx in the old Soviet Union. The Party has to interpret for you. (Sorry for the cynicism.)
I understand your point of view. Please do remember that posts in this thread should be to uplift and encourage others. I at least took some comfort in those words that Malins supplied.
 
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