Ramblin' with Roger

On Christmas Day, in the morning

mostly Isaiah and Matthew

On Christmas Day, in the morning, I decided on three pieces. The third one I always select for this day.

The shepherds farewell from the oratorio L` enfance du Christ by Hector Berlioz, performed by the Chorus of the Royal Opera House. Kelly Sedinger wrote:” Since the events depicted in the oratorio come after the birth of Jesus, maybe this isn’t properly a Christmas selection, but that’s how I tend to view it.” Since Christmastide begins with Christmas on the church calendar, I would agree.

Not incidentally, I love this piece, in no small part, because it has an inverse pedal point. Kelly explained to me what the heck that meant. Other pieces with this feature include Maybe by Alison Krauss and Raindrops by Chopin. The effect practically brings me to tears.

We Three Kings – Patti Smith. Also, after the birth of the child. This rather astringent version of the song is from A Very Special Christmas 3 (1997). As the narrative goes, Herod sent the wise guys to Bethlehem not to honor the child but to find him so he could be eliminated. It’s a none-to-cheerful detail of the narrative.

Finally, Messiah by Georg Frederick Handel, the Christmas section. I’ve sung And The Glory Of The Lord, And He Shall Purify, Glory To God In The Highest, and especially For Unto To Us A Child Is Born often.

The scripture is, in order, Isaiah 40:1-5; Haggai 2:6,7; Malachi 3:1-3; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 40:9; Isaiah 60:1-3; Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 7:14; Luke 2:8-11, 13, 14; Zechariah 9:9,10; Matthew 21:5; Isaiah 35:5,6; Isaiah 40:11; and Matthew 11:28-30.

The eve of Christmas

O Holy Night

This is the eve of Christmas, and a Saturnday to boot. This will be a different year. Our daughter has gone off to college, and while she’s back for the holidays, it’s a different dynamic. I think she’s stopped believing in Santa Claus, but I’m not positive.

Every year, I threaten to write a Christmas letter, and each year it fails to happen. Not that much happened in 2022. My wife retired from teaching. The three of us all got COVID, delaying said entry into college.

Our car got stuck in the ice in front of our house for a week.

We saw several plays and musicals this year, at Mac-Haydn and Barrington Stage in the summer and Proctors in Schenectady and Capital Rep in the spring and fall.

I’ve been writing in my blog about the events of 1972.

Well, I guess no Christmas letter this year either.

The music

These are the pieces I decided on for this year. Or maybe they decided for me.

Shepherd’s Hey by Percy Grainger, “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band

Gloria by John Rutter. I have sung this.

O Holy Night – Carols from King’s Chorale

Wexford Carol – Alison Krauss and Yo-Yo Ma. This is from a compilation album my wife owns. Alison Krauss is one of her favorite artists.

What Child Is This? · Vanessa Williams. This is from A Very Special Christmas 2 (1992), one of the best tracks on the album.

Star Carol · Simon and Garfunkel. This appears in the Simon and Garfunkel box set from 1997, though it was recorded 30 years earlier.

Away in a Manger – Pentatonix. My daughter was really into this group for a couple of years before being into BTS.

Silent Night – Sarah McLachlan. One of my favorites.

O Holy Night – Trombone Shorty. Yes, a second version of this song, but a very different read.

Social media and bias

woke

The Weekly Sift guy linked to articles about social media and bias. He discredits the belief offered by conservatives that “social media algorithms are biased against them… But it’s worth pointing out that people who have done research on the topic have found the exact opposite…

“When you think of people who have been banned from social media, the names that pop to mind are high-profile conservatives like Trump and MTG, rather than equivalently high-profile liberals.” Even when she rewrites the January 6 script or fantasizes about killing her colleagues, that’s free speech, right? (The latter may be treasonous.)

So I’m always looking for my own bias. It’s always a challenge to double-check one’s own assumptions. On 60 Minutes, Jonathan Haidt, “a social psychologist and professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business… says the people most likely to fire their social media dart guns are those on the far right and the far left.”

But damn! Jordan Klepper Fingers the Conspiracy on The Daily Show podcast over the issue Is JFK Jr. Still Alive? It would be easy to dismiss true believers as “crazy.” But “crazy” has roots in real-world facts, mixed with extrapolations that I can’t understand.

Psy-Op

When I read that some “researcher” has “proved” that George Floyd’s death was “a Psy-Op to Usher in U.S. Race War,” I first had to ask, “What the heck is a Psy-Op?” OBVIOUSLY, I’m just not with it.

“Definitions of psyop. Military actions are designed to influence the perceptions and attitudes of individuals, groups, and foreign governments. Synonyms: psychological operation. Type of: military operation, operation. Activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign)”

One example of PSYOPS is “propaganda, a type of communication or advertisement that aims to influence a targeted group’s way of thinking or decision-making. Ultimately, the goal of a propaganda campaign is to compel a population to take action in line with a specific message by introducing influential information.”

The Deep State paid for Floyd’s funeral, so obviously, there is a nefarious objective at work. Florida’s General Counsel, Ryan Newman, explained what “woke” means to the DeSantis administration. “It would be the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them.” The description actually seems reasonable. But Newman thinks it’s a BAD thing.

Social Media

Tressie McMillan Cottom, the writer, sociologist, and MacArthur Fellow, was on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah in early December. She talked about The Illusion of Twitter as a Public Square. I think it’s worth the ten minutes to take in her POV.

Of course, the whole Internet may be vulnerable to attacks on the infrastructure. But also underwater cables keep the system operating. “When they congregate in one place, things get tricky.”

Your comments: Ask Roger Anything

You KNOW you want to ask me SOMETHING

Some of the things I most appreciate about blogging are your comments. Some of them come to me via Facebook. Occasionally, someone will email me directly. And, of course, I get a few on the blog directly.

Most of the comments are thoughtful. A few have surprised me. And more than a few, written mostly in response to one particular post of mine about race, are rather… let’s say, telling. But those are far in the minority, thankfully.

I know for certain that comments influence what I write. Sometimes, they may lead to posts in response. I admit I LOVE these. When I write a post, I don’t usually come with the thought that what I think is the gospel. I can be persuaded about some topics, although anything involving a lack of civility probably won’t sway me. By the same measure, it’s why I tend to read more right-wing newsletters. I’m willing to be persuaded.

Really, I am!

So I’m interested in whatever you are interested in asking me. I write this to say that when you think of your Ask Roger Anything questions – and SURELY, you will – see if there are ideas, thoughts, and ideologies of mine that have changed over the years. I’m sure there are some. I hope I’m not the same person I was when I was 24 as I am now. Maybe you can probe into some specific topics.

As I’ve indicated in the past, no questions are out-of-bounds. Well, at least so far, I haven’t received one. Maybe yours will be the first! And even the ones I might duck, I’ll point out WHY it is not being answered.

As always, I’ll be sure to respond in the next four or five weeks. Post your questions in the comments section of the blog. OR contact me on Facebook. Always look for the duck.

I’ll use your name unless you specify that you want to be anonymous. Hey, why don’t you come up with a pseudonym? Comment here, e-mail me at rogerogreen (AT) Gmail (DOT) com, or send me a message on Facebook.

Winter holiday tunes

Suzy Snowflake

Almost everyone knows that there are a lot of songs of this season that are winter holiday tunes. They have nothing to do with Christmas trees or presents, let alone Jesus. And this is more than fine.

I’ve long been fascinated by how Christmas just “happened” to fall around the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. From here: “December 25th is not the date mentioned in the Bible as the day of Jesus’s birth; the Bible is actually silent on the day or the time of year when Mary was said to have given birth to him in Bethlehem. The extrabiblical evidence from the first and second century is spare…: Origen of Alexandria (c. 165–264) goes so far as to mock Roman celebrations of birth anniversaries, dismissing them as ‘pagan’ practices—a strong indication that Jesus’ birth was not marked with similar festivities at that place and time. As far as we can tell, Christmas was not celebrated at all at this point.”

And from here: “Pope Julius I chose December 25 [for Christmas]. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival.” Others doubt this account.

Tunes

Winter Wonderland – Guy Lombardo from 1934.

Jingle Bells – Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters (1943). This is not the oldest version I could find. Benny Goodman charted an instrumental in 1935. And Glenn Miller performed the track in 1941, featuring Tex Beneke, Ernie Caceres, and the Modernaires on vocals, with references to Mexico and tequila.

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! – Vaughn Monroe with the Norton Sisters. This was a #1 pop song for five weeks at the beginning of 1946.

Solstice Bells – Jethro Tull. From the album Songs from the Wood), which I own.

A Midwinter’s Night Dream – Loreena McKennitt

It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It’s Spring) – LOVE UNLIMITED, from the 1973 album UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF LOVE UNLIMITED

Winter Solstice – Lisa Thiel

The Chicago connection

Frosty the Snowman – Gene Autry (1950)
.
Suzy Snowflake – Rosemary Clooney (1951). But the version I first heard was from a few years later – this.

Check out the Chicago Christmas Classics: Frosty; Suzy Snowflake; Hardrock, Coco, and Joe, the latter trio surely a Christmas harbinger. But Hardrock et al. first aired in Johnstown, PA. My buddy Eddie turned me onto H, C, and J in this post from 2012.

Also

A short (20 minutes) documentary about the kid-sized monorails that were used in some large department stores, usually in the toy sections, in the mid-to-late 20th century

The Surprising Advent Message of Darlene Love

Coverville 1424: The 2022 Christmas Cover Show