Some Like It Hot

As of 9:05 PM PDT at this moment, the outdoor temperture is 86°F/30°C. Tomorrow it is expected the valley will feel its first century mark temperture in the day time for this summer season.

Beneath the Southern Cross

Some of songs from the War Years (i.e. World War II) were beautifully written both in score and lyrics. Many of the songs were songs of longing. Longing for the loved ones fighting a war somewhere, or keeping the vigil at the home front. Harry James' Sleeping Lagoon, for example, was one such song.

Today is Richard Rodgers 103rd birthday (b. 28 June, 1902). Our parents and grandparents grew up with his music. They all knew "Blue Moon" (Rodgers & Hart). It was written in the 1930s. We are still singing this song today. And of course, some of our parents taught us "Do-Re-Me" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music" (1965).

In 1951, Rodgers wrote the scores to an NBC World War II wartime documentary Victory at Sea. Among the compositions were the most beautiful and haunting piece, Beneath the Southern Cross. It was such a big hit,two years later, when he and Hammerstein collaborated in the musical "Me and Juliet" (1953), Rodgers interpolated this very same score as the show's theme song. Perry Como, the Singing Barber, recorded this number one hit song the same year, "No Other Love (Have I)."

If you haven gotten this far by reading the post, you could be interested to find out what Beneath the Southern Cross sounds like. If so, have a listen and tell me what you think. I trust you know where in the blog to find this music. If not, leave me a comment, I will point you the way. :)

War and Peace

For those who live in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is upon us. Summer vacation plans with the hope of meeting "Ms. Wonderful" or "catching the big one" are bantered about the water cooler. A hackeyed retort from the skeptic would be "Yeah. And I am going to read War and Peace on the beach of Waikiki."

Looking beneath the jest conversation, we see the person wanting to catch someone or something expressed hope, albeit less assured. The skeptic was not going to read Tolstoy. He never intended to read this epic work.

Many Christians and Christian churches today have given up on War and Peace of another kind. They no longer think it is politically correct and culturally relvant to admonish each other and the world against spiritual forces of wickedness (Ephesians 6:14-18). In essence, these people are saying to Jesus that times have changed; they don't believe in supernatural evil forces anymore. They and the world are one.

One can ferret out these "we are the world" churches, however, with a two-fold litmus test. First, there won't be any solar sciptura sermons preached on Ephesians Chapter 6. Second, any "insensitive, unloving, and militant" Christian hymns will not be sung. These include old traditions like: Onward, Christian Soldiers; Soldiers of Christ, Arise; Am I a Soldier of the Cross?; and Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.

It would be enlightening also to see how these churches put their haute-theology spin on Revelation Chapter 3. They probably have already.

Getting There on Part 4 of 4 of Psalms

I am more than half-way on completing the final installment on Part 4 of 4 on the Psalms and Music in Worship. I should like to finish it before my leaving for Grand Teton National Park the first week of July.

First Day of Summer

heart of June
apices of dreams

caressing breeze
midlife essays

delicate murmurs
gazebo band

under the boardwalk
porch swing

plans
something summer

The One True Perfect Father

This post was sent from the mobile iPAQ xh2755.

The One True Perfect Father
Lisa Traughber 2002

He is love.
He will never leave you.
He holds you in the palm of His hand.
He knew you before you were born.
Do you know Him?

He offers a free gift.
He is life everlasting.
He is word made flesh in Jesus Christ.
He waits at the door of your heart.
He is listening.
Do you hear Him?

He bore the weight of the world
on His shoulders.
He can bear your every burden.
He will meet your every need.
Will you let Him?

On this Father's Day you are invited to listen to the beautiful choral arrangement of "The Lord's Prayer" from the film King of Kings (1961) at L'Envoi Music Selection.

Graffiti Night

George Lucas Plaza, Modesto, CA. (18 June, 2005)

The Saturday after high school graduation, we have the Graffiti Night. This year it falls on 18 June. It's a nostalgic strode or drive down the memory lane ala George Lucas' 1973 "American Graffiti" motif. Classic cars cruised after sunset on the main drag McHenry Avenue (it has been bannned since 1993). Poodle skirts. Sock Hops. Doo Wops. And even once upon a time we had the radio personality Wolfman Jack as the unofficial host (now deseased).

This annual event is now sanctioned and orchestrated. There is a designated area on the lawns of the local city college for classic cars display. The car show lasts through the weekend. Regulated classic cars cruising takes place tonight.

George Lucas is from this area. We have a plaza named after him for memorializing the Happy Days era. Even with him being far far away in the Hollywood galaxy, Lucas still has family ties in Modesto.

Summer kicks off on Graffiti Night.

Play Misty for Me

Today is the 84th birthday of Erroll Garner (1921-1977), the "Debussy of Jazz".

The background picture of L'Envoi Music Selection was taken on a rainy misty mornng in August 2004 at Logan Pass, Glacier National Park, MT.

I Only Have Eyes for You

If you know the song on the subject line, then you have heard of Al Dubin. He wrote the music to this song with lyricist Harry Warren.

Today, 10 June, is Dubin's 114 birthday. I'll upload some of his music also.

Cole Porter's Birthday

Today, 9 June, is Cole Porter's 114 birthday.

Recently, I came across a showing of a recent release of "De-Lovely" (2004) on the telly. A biopic of sorts on the songwriter Porter with Kevin Kline as the lead. I didn't finish watching the flick, because the singing was so bad. I like the Cary Grant's version in "Night and Day" (1946) much more.

I will upload some Porter tunes on the next few sessions of L'Envoi Music Selection.

Another First For Me

I bought over $40 of groceries this evening. When I got home I found the signed credit card slip for the purchase with the reciept. So back to the I store I went with the signed copy of the slip.

This Has to Be a First Anywhere

Tuesday is garbage collection day. Each Monday evening, I have all the disposables put in the trash can and cart it out to the curb. Wouldn't you know it, I threw away a couple pairs of brand new unworn Bermuda shorts purchased on Sunday last.

The pants were inside a plastic shopping bag which was placed next to the side door leading out to the gararge. It had been there since Sunday and I'd forgotten about the pants already by Monday night. I didn't bother to look what was inside the bag and took it along with other bags of stuff and tossed them into the trash.

Some people, I believe, would rather be playing with their hi-tech toys than worrying about clothes. So, I am attributing my absentmindedly of tossing out the new pants on the account of the new iPAQ xh2275 I bought on Saturday.

The moral of the story? Don't buy clothes and tech gadgets on the same weekend. At least I shouldn't.

The Longest Day - June 6, 1944

Normandy Beach Memorial, France.

"It is the young men born into the false prosperity of the 1920s and brought up in the bitter realities of the Depression of the 1930s...The literature they read as youngsters was antiwar, cynical, portraying patriots as suckers, slackers as heroes. None of them wanted to be part of another war. They wanted to be throwing baseballs, not hand grenades, shooting .22s at rabbits, not M-1s at other young men. But when the test came, when freedom had to be fought for or abandoned, they fought. They were soldiers of democracy. They were the men of D-Day."

-- from Stepehen E. Ambrose "D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II."


Note: D-Day began at midnight, June5/6, 1944, when the first British and American airborne troops jumped into France to launch the invasion to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany. It ended at midnight June6/7, 1944.

Brouhaha over New Mr. Coffee

I had a Mr. Coffee that served me my 4-cup of joe faithfully each day for many years. It had a clock to which I set the night before. Each morning at 5:50 AM my hot coffee awaited me. For the last year or so, it was showing signs of incontinence. The mountain spring water with which I make the coffee would steam out from the seams of the housing. Alas, the escaped liquid denied the full pleasure of my having a "good to the last drop" colombian supremo enjoyment.

For some reason, Mr. Coffee stopped making the programmable 4-cup brewer since I got mine many moons ago. It wasn't until two weeks ago I espied the new DRX 5 with a green digital clock at the Target Store. My Holy Grail cost $20.00 (USD).

And yet, this new Mr. Coffee irks me. I have used many thingamajigs and hi-tech instruments that are equipped with time keeping devices. I have not once encountered a digital clock that couldn't keep relatively accurate time, until this Mr. Coffee DRX 5. Each day I click the minute-button forward 4 minutes just to have the DRX 5 clock to stay more or less accurate for another 24-hours.

The root of the problem lies not with Mr. Coffee, of course, but with the manufacturer. So today I wrote to the company regarding the product defect.

This is a good object lesson to remind us (myself) of not looking for a faulty Mr. Coffee in others or at the institutions. More often than not, the hubbub resides in our own hearts.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.
-- (Psalm 139:23-24 NASB)