Endless Wire

This week The Who (or what's left of 'em) released thier first studio album in 24 years. As a longtime fan I was very excited about this release, which I honestly never thought I'd live to see. I was not disapointed. This is a great album. It contains some great Townshend compositions and great musical performances. Given the reduced number of original Who members, one could make the argument that this more closely resembles a Pete Townshend solo project with guest vocals by Roger Daltrey, but whatever description you choose, its a great album.

There are sure to be the whiney, bitchy naysayers who claim that it "doesn't sound like the 'old Who.'" To them I give this quote from Pete himself:

"This is not the old Who, we never said it would be. It is something else."

Kaluach

I first ran across this Hebrew calendar program a couple years ago via a link at Aish.com. Its a great little Hebrew/Civil software program that helps keep track of holidays, fast days, and allows you to track personal life-cycle events. I recently upgraded to the newer version that is built for Windows 2000/XP and  am very pleased with the innovations. Its got pretty much all you could ask for in a personal Hebrew calendar program. And you can't beat the price: Free!

• Kaluach.org
• Download Page for Kaluach 3 for Win2000/XP

Technorati Tags: Judaism, Jewish, Hebrew, Hebrew calendar, Freeware

Its Davening Time!

A bloggin' buddy of mine recently mentioned the Jewishness of the comic character The Thing (aka Benjamin Jacob Grimm) of the Fantastic Four in passing. I was reminded me of this fairly rare Jack Kirby (aka Jakob Kurtzberg, who co-created the FF with writer Stanley "Stan Lee" Leiber) sketch of the Thing:

Technorati Tags: Judaism, Jewish, Superhero, comic book,

Like Father, Like Son

A friend recently posted a cute picture of her husband and son napping together. It reminded me of this pic of me and my boy:

Perspective

I recieved this in the mail today from a friend & thought it was worth passing along.

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Rachel, Don't You Weep

Ever since I first listened to Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions album I've been in love with the song "Mary, Don't you Weep." Its a fairly well known traditional spiritual which uses lots of great imagry from the Torah. But, as a practicing Jew, I didn't feel comfortable singing a song addressed to "Mary," so I did a bit of a rewrite on the lyrics and came up with a Jewish version of this spiritual. The results can be heard on the Elijah Wilbury page at UkeLand:

• Rachel, Don't You Weep
• Direct Link to MP3
• Direct Link to Arrangement (PDF)

I've also rerecorded Series of Dreams, since the initial recording was of very poor quality. I've also posted a remixed version, which has some effects added in an attempt to make it more "dreamy" (or something):

• Series of Dreams
• Series of Dreams 2.0 (MP3)
• Series of Dreams 2.1 (Dream Remix) (MP3)

Dreams and Remembering

"When you dream, sometimes you remember. When you wake, you always forget." - Dream of the Endless in Sandman #43, Brief Lives - Part 3 by Neil Gaiman

Friendship

True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand
the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.

- George Washington, First president of US (1732 - 1799)

Preaching to Himself?

From TheRockRadio.com:

George Harrison's widow Olivia says that some critics and fans misunderstood George's spiritual lyrics as being so serious that they bordered on preachy. Olivia told us that George often used his songs as his own form of spiritual guidance: "He also wrote these things to remind himself. People sometimes accused him of preaching (laughs). But y'know, he was really preaching to himself. He wasn't trying to say, 'You be like this because I'm already like this.' No, he was always trying to remind himself. And that's the reason he liked India so much, because he said that, 'Everywhere you went, there was a reminder.'"

I think there's a lesson there for all of us who have the urge to preach...

Black Day in Baseball History

And no, I don't mean the Yankees' recent disintegration...

9 October 1919 The White Sox lose the World Series to the underdog Reds, but before next season begins eight Chicago players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, will be accused of accepting bribes to purposely throw the games.

Two Posthumous Birthdays

Today would have been John Lennon's 66th birthday & would have been John Entwistle's 62nd birthday.

My Peace (new song)

Yes, it is time again for another Elijah Wilbury ukulele song. This one is a Woody Gurthrie song I heard Arlo play earlier this year called "My Peace."

My Peace by Elijah Wilbury

Shady Wilbury

As seems appropriate for an instrument developed in Hawaii, there seem to be 'ukulele playing Wilbury cousins cropping up all over the place.

Shady Wilbury

Wild Horses, Part II

Just recieved this from Amy Nelson of Folk Uke and wanted to pass it on. Its related to the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which Amy and her Dad are campaigning for and which I've blogged about before.

UPDATE:
On September 7, 2006, the House of Representatives voted 263 to 146 in favor of H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, to end the slaughter of horses for human consumption and the domestic and international transport of live horses or horseflesh for the same purpose.


From left to right: Amy Nelson, Paula Nelson, Raelyn Nelson Sweeney, and Johnny Irion (appearing courtesy of his wife/band, Sarah Lee Guthrie) at Capitol Hill singing Wild Horses in support of The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503/ S.1915) on Sept. 5th, 2006.

The fight is not over. Please begin calling your Senators immediately to ask that they cosponsor S. 1915, the Senate companion bill.

General Switchboard number 202-224-3121. Just tell them your state and to please connect you to your Senator's office.

Once Congress goes into recess (Oct. 6th), there will be an opportunity for people to meet with their Senators.

Of course, letters help too. There are people fighting us on this. We need as much help as we can get.

Find your Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Reasons the Senate should pass The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act:

• The majority of Americans support an end to horse slaughter for human consumption.
Polls from Kentucky, Virginia, Texas, and Utah respectively show that 82, 74, 72 and 69 percent of those questioned oppose the practice. In California, a 1998 ballot initiative (Prop. 6) banning horse slaughter for human consumption passed with 60 percent of the vote.
• Our economy does not profit from this industry. Since the profits go overseas, these companies avoid paying federal income taxes. Taxpayers payed $5 million to inspect the three U.S. slaughterhouses last year.
• Slaughter is not humane euthanasia. Over 90% of horses killed are young and in good health; and there is nothing humane about the process. Frightened horses are not as easy to control as cattle, making accidents and injury a common occurence for both humans and
horses.
• Horses not specifically raised for human consumption are treated daily with products such as fly spray, wormers, hoof dressings, etc. These products have labels severely warning against use on animals used for food.
• These horses are not "unwanted", rather, they are "for sale". In fact, many are stolen. Many more are sold to slaughterhouses at closed auctions. The potential problem of overpopulation can be avoided with responsible breeding.
• It is in the best interest of all companion animals that the line is drawn here and now.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

WAIT....there's more. It's a new letter from Dad. By the way, thanks for bearing with us. I know this doesn't have much to do with Folk Uke. We're not going to get all political on you. Of course we are a folk band. Hmm...

Thanks for understanding. Love, Amy

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Dear friends,

I just adopted 11 horses from Habitat for Horses. As of this morning, they share the land with me at our ranch in Luck, TX.

Today there are 270 horses up for adoption through this great organization that goes to great lengths to save horses. As you are aware, there is a bill on its way to the Senate that will ban the slaughter of American horses for human consumption. Until it passes, many lives are in grave danger. If you have ever wanted to adopt a horse, now is the time. If you ever wanted to contribute to a great cause, Habitat for Horses sure fits the bill.

Please contact your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 1915). For more info on the bill, go to www.saplonline.org.

For more information about adoptions, visit www.habitatforhorses.org.

Thanks,
Willie Nelson
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Thought for the Day

"I have come to the conclusion that understanding ain't all it's cracked up to be. In other words, serve now, live now and love now. Don't wait to understand."
- Arlo Guthrie

Jeremiah (song)

My latest uke recording and first original song has just been uploaded to the Elijah Wilbury page at Ukeland. Also included is a PDF of the lyrics and chord arrangement:

• Jeremiah page @ Ukeland
  
• Jeremiah (Direct link to MP3)
• Lyrics/Chords (Direct Link to PDF)
• Jeremiah (Original Poem)
  

Tony III @ the 169

A bit of free publicity for a friend:

Jeremiah (poem)

A recent poem. I'm in the process of setting it to music. I set down a demo version this evening & will hopefully have something posted to the Elijah Wilbury page very soon.

Jeremiah
by John W. Leys

Jeremiah, Jeremiah
What have you done?
You used to catch dragonflies
Like an angel singing on the sun.

But now I see
There are holes in your eyes
Black burned out craters
Laying passively neath the sky

Where is that light
That used to glow
Like the full moon
Reflected in freshly fallen snow

You blackened your soul
And destroyed a life
Family torn to pieces
Joy artfully reduced to strife

Once a road drew out
Like an undying breath
Now all destined to end
In darkness and in Death.
Aug-Sept 2006