But sometimes it's hard to beat the great pieces of classical music that, sadly, too many people have never been exposed to. This is a musical category - calling it a genre doesn't do it justice - that is so huge, so varied, and lasting for too long a stretch of history to neatly categorize - or to narrow down to only fire great pieces.

Regardless, I gave it my best shot. Here, in no particular order, are five great pieces of classical music to enliven your Friday. //

DPDuq
11 days ago
For years, the Boston Symphony Orchestra would close out its summer season at Tanglewood with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. To hear that piece outdoors in one of the most idyllic settings is always a treat. I recall one year as the final measures of the final movement - chorus and orchestra - were thundering to the piece’s climax, the clouds (for the first time that day) suddenly parted and the sun came out. I turned to my friend and simply said, “Just kill me now - nothing will ever top this.”

Her senior spokesperson, Ian Sams — late of the White House Counsel's Office — was on CNN, and Kasie Hunt raised this very question to him, saying Harris has been part of the Biden administration for the last three-plus years. Hunt said working-class people are telling CNN, "More of them are with Donald Trump than Kamala Harris. Why — what is it about what you guys have been doing for the last three plus years that explains that?" she asked. His response was incredible.

Well, I think, again, we're trying to talk to the voters and explain this message," he said.

"We've got 60 days until the election. You know, we don't have time to sit around and think about why, over the last few years, certain things may have happened or may not have happened. We've got to go win an election."

It's "really different," he insisted. "It's a new way forward." Yeah, they have a new, communistic-like slogan. How is that different? //

It's also funny when Sams complains the media isn't giving her policies enough attention — when she herself won't even put them on her website to let the greater public even know what they are. The first thing that does pop up on the site is a request for money.

David K
6 hours ago edited
RFK Jr understands the basics of the Reagan 80/20 rule: i.e., "The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and ally, not a 20% traitor." Never Trumpers have the Reagan Rule backwards and support Democratic candidates that have less than 20% agreement with their so-called "True Conservative" values and they hate Trump and MAGA supporters even thought they arguably have more than 80% policy agreement with them. Unlike these Never Trumpers, RFK Jr isn't taking his ball and going home in a hissy fit, but following the Reagan 80/20 Rule. Similarly, Trump understands that 100% political alignment with the majority of voters is an impossible dream. He also understands that he and RFK Jr don't need to be in complete agreement for each of them to get their best possible outcome in the 2024 election. Like life, politics is not a strict zero-sum, all-or-nothing game.

etba_ss David K
2 hours ago
These people endorsing Harris to "save conservatism/democracy/the republic" are lying. They don't really believe that. They just hate Trump. Just like the left didn't believe Dick Cheney was "literally Hitler". As soon as he turns a trick for them, they like him again. The left thinks like Voldomort, both being pure evil, that there is no good or evil, only power. Only evil claims that.

Let's also acknowledge people like Dick Cheney hate us. They tolerated us when we knew our place, sat down, shut up and let them run the country. Since that gig is up, they expose themselves. They don't agree with us 80% of the time. That's why they hate us. They agree with Harris closer to 80% of the time than they do with us. They just want to funnel favors to a different set of friends. They are all for power, forever war, globalism and elitism. If they just hated Trump, they wouldn't also be campaigning against Ted Cruz. They wouldn't hate Ron DeSantis too.

These are the people who hated Reagan. Then when he got power and was so popular, they pretended they were like him. Reagan also spent a lot of money on defense, which lined their pockets. Reagan was winning the Cold War. This isn't 1980 anymore. There is no USSR. China is a real threat, but we are doing next to nothing about them. We are too busy meddling in everything else in the world to get serious about the real threat.

But now, to be on the safe side and avoid the possibility of confusion, Kennedy has altered his strategy and is now urging all of his supporters to simply vote for Trump. Kennedy explained the rationale for changing up the strategy in an appearance on NewsNation Thursday afternoon, sharing the clip to his X timeline on Friday. //

anon-oh34
9 hours ago
I'm sure this was hard for Mr. Kennedy to do, but I give the man credit for standing up for what he believes. He knows he'll be vilified if Trump wins, and anytime Trump does something he doesn't like he'll feel get burned, but that's better than allowing the deeply unprincipled, frankly scary Democrat party to retain power. //

Temujin
9 hours ago edited
In Reagan's time, the number one priority was defeating the Soviet Empire, and he accomplished that. Today, the greatest threat is the totalitarian domestic Marxist Left with its weaponization of govt. agencies. It looks as if we are seeing an alliance form against that.

etba_ss Temujin
2 hours ago edited
What Reagan fought in the USSR, and defeated, is now manifest within one of America's major political parties. The Democrats are wholly given over to communism, regardless of what lipstick they put on the pig.

I made me sad when I watched the Reagan movie to think how hard he and that generation fought communism, only for half of America to openly embrace it a generation or two later.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee (Utah) also weighed in on the BLS report, with thoughts similar to those of Trump:

This disastrous report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows what Americans have known for years: illegal immigration drives down the wages and jobs of American citizens, pushing out struggling families.

Statistics show that all of the job growth Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s claim to have created has not been for American citizens.

It has entirely gone to illegal immigrants whom they have imported at great harm to our country.It appears that the primary beneficiaries of the Biden-Harris economy are illegal aliens. > The ones shouldering the burden of their suppressed wages, inflated cost of living, and migrant crime are the American people.

This is the most disastrous presidency of the last 50 years, a great betrayal of our nation.

Not to nitpick with Sen. Lee, but a strong argument can be made that the Biden presidency is the worst in American history.

Trump War Room @TrumpWarRoom
·
RADIO HOST: Still, people believe that President Trump can handle the economy better. What would you say to them?

COMRADE KAMALA: Well, you should look at what I've accomplished so far.

Does she mean 40-year high inflation, 45% more expensive gasoline, 22% more expensive… Show more

10:28 AM · Sep 6, 2024 //

Trump War Room @TrumpWarRoom
·
You can literally hear Kamala Harris turning pages during her radio interview with Univision as she is saying we need to "turn the page on" President Trump.

10:53 AM · Sep 6, 2024

But even Dershowitz has come to the obvious realization: this is not the Democrat Party of old; no, the modern version is a shrill, extremist version that wants to fundamentally transform America into some weird socialist utopia that it was never meant to be. He announced in August on the "Talkline With Zev Brenner Podcast" that he’s had enough in a clip that was re-posted Thursday evening and has gone viral on social media.

He's no longer a Democrat:

George @BehizyTweets
·
The Democrats have even lost famous law professor Alan Dershowitz

He's another lifelong Democrat who is leaving the party for good

6:50 PM · Sep 6, 2024 //

INTERVIEWER: …Are you ready to leave the Democratic Party?

DERSHOWITZ: I am no longer a Democrat. I am an independent. I'll decide who to vote for at the last minute based on totality of the circumstances. I want to see how they deal with Iran, I want to see how they deal if Iran attacks the United States, I want to encourage the current administration to support Israel, so I'm not revealing my vote until, you know, maybe November 1st.

I need to hear all the information, all the evidence. But I am no longer member of the Democratic Party.

INTERVIEWER: And when did when did you resign the Democratic Party?

DERSHOWITZ: Well, gradually over time. I think a lot of things pushed me in that direction. Kamala Harris' failure to comply with their constitutional obligation to preside over the Senate and the House Joint Sessions for Netanyahu pushed me a lot over that. And what Joe Biden said pushed me over that. But I think the thing that really pushed me is how the Democrats conducted their convention.

I cannot be associated with the party that features as its speakers, AOC, Sharpton, Liz Warren and Bernie Sanders, that's not my party.

It's official. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act will indeed be a part of the continuing resolution (CR), which Speaker Mike Johnson introduced on Friday in a 46-page proposal to fund the U.S. government through the 2024 election. And the other side of the aisle is speaking out loudly in opposition to it.

via The Hill:

The 46-page plan would keep the government funded into March 2025, while tacking on language for stricter proof-of-citizenship requirements for voting, setting the stage for a budget showdown with Senate Democrats later this month. //

President Joe Biden has promised to veto any bill that crosses his desk containing the SAVE Act.

anon-m6q6
8 hours ago
Post this on all MSN, CNBC, Huff Post and other leftist on-line articles. It drives the libs crazy.
Someone recently asked me why I like Trump. My answer was that I don't really like a lot of things about Trump.

But this election is not about choosing the most likeable person.

Trump represents the future and has proven that he can deliver. He is a patriot to the core and even served his country for 4 years without pay.

That moment when someone says,

"I can't believe you're voting for Trump". I simply reply, “I'm NOT voting for Trump.”

I'm voting for the First Amendment and freedom of speech. I'm voting for the right to speak my opinion and not be censored.

I’m voting for secure borders and LEGAL immigration. I am voting for election integrity to include mandatory voter ID. (Why would anyone vote against this?)

I'm voting for the Second Amendment and my right to defend my life and my family.

I'm voting for the police to be respected once again.

I am voting for law & order and an end to allowing protesters to trespass and burn our cities, destroying innocent small business. (Tim Walz)

I am voting for personal responsibility and the end of the revolving door where criminals are being put back on the street. (Kamala Harris)

I'm voting for the next Supreme Court Justice(s) to protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

I am voting for doing away with all of the freebies given to all of the illegals and not looking after the needs of the American citizens and homeless veterans.

I'm not voting for Trump. I'm voting for America.

The Cash statue is the second new one Arkansas has sent to replace two existing ones representing the state at the U.S. Capitol. Another statue depicting civil rights leader Daisy Bates was unveiled at the Capitol earlier this year. Bates mentored the nine Black children who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957.

The two statues replace ones from Arkansas that had been at the Capitol for more than 100 years. The Legislature in 2019 voted to replace the two statues, which depicted little-known figures from the 18th and 19th centuries with Bates and Cash //

There are few performers with greater stature than Johnny Cash. Some might object to putting a statue of an entertainer in the Capitol, and indeed for most, I would agree. But not Johnny Cash. His cultural impact was too great, his music so defining, his life and career so quintessentially American, that he deserves this honor.

Keep singing, Johnny. America will always remember you. //

JSobieski
12 hours ago edited
HURT as performed by Johnny Cash is an awesome song that Johnny truly made his.

I consider this to be my favorite all-time montage in the history of TV. PERSON OF INTEREST is definitely worth watching. This montage mourns the death of key character and moves the plot along ... all without hearing a single word spoken. The song is perfect for this moment in the series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD8qvpMw8Vw

RIP Johnny Cash. I hope America never ceases to appreciate your gifts to this world.

know-it-all JSobieski
12 hours ago
I literally cry a bit when I here JC Hurt (a little bit more when I experience the video)

JSobieski know-it-all
11 hours ago
“I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Trump Lawyers Will Scharf and Alina Habba took to the podium at Donald Trump's press conference in New York City following appeal arguments in the E. Jean Carroll Sexual Assault Case.

Download Cylinders for free at my Bandcamp
Stream it on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and everywhere else

On 2023-10-16, Marc Andreessen, (creator of Mosaic, the first graphical Web browser, co-founder of Netscape, and general partner of superstar venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz) published a 5200 word document, “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto 6”, proclaiming technology as the root of all human progress since our species emerged from the forager lifestyle and absolutely essential to the achievement of the human destiny now and in the future, here on Earth and onward to the stars. //

I agree with just about everything in this manifesto (can you guess my lone quibble?). I wish I’d written it. I wish I wrote so well. This is well worth your time to read and digest. We are engaged in a struggle for the future. Andreessen clearly identifies the enemy.

SIMPLE & INEXPENSIVE WEBSITE MONITORING.

Pricing
You only pay for what you use, check by check. 1 credit = 1 check.

For example, check 10 websites every 2 minutes from 1.83€/month (up to 5.49€/m)

Requests:
200,000 = 5€
500,000 = 10€

SMS alerts costs 7500 credits (≈ 0.10€) per message. ///

30 days of one check every 3 minutes = 1440/month

Zenwalk is a 64 bits "pure" Slackware system [distribution] with added post-install configurations, optimizations and out of the box tweaks, with a ready to use polished desktop environment, with added graphical system tools, added office and multimedia applications, and striped to keep just "one application per task"!

NILFS or NILFS2 (New Implementation of a Log-structured File System) is a log-structured file system implementation for the Linux kernel. It was developed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) CyberSpace Laboratories and a community from all over the world. NILFS was released under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).

"NILFS is a log-structured file system, in that the storage medium is treated like a circular buffer and new blocks are always written to the end.[…]Log-structured file systems are often used for flash media since they will naturally perform wear-leveling;[…]NILFS emphasizes snapshots. The log-structured approach is a specific form of copy-on-write behavior, so it naturally lends itself to the creation of file system snapshots. The NILFS developers talk about the creation of "continuous snapshots" which can be used to recover from user-initiated file system problems[…]."[2]

Using a copy-on-write technique known as a log-structured file system, NILFS records all data in a continuous log-like format that is only appended to, never overwritten, an approach that is designed to reduce seek times, as well as minimize the kind of data loss that occurs after a crash with conventional file systems. For example, data loss occurs on ext3 file systems when the system crashes during a write operation. When the system reboots, the journal notes that the write did not complete, and any partial data writes are lost.

Sabin Howard is the foremost practitioner of, and authority on, Modern Classicism.

Sabin Howard is sculpting the National WWI Memorial, a 58' long bronze relief to be installed in Washington DC in 2024.

CH] Weisshorn (VS)
latitude 46.101389 N longitude 7.716111 E
elevation 14781 ft above sea level (14781 ft above ground)

Schiphol will invest €6 billion over the next five years to improve infrastructure. //

The announcement comes amid an 11 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger numbers throughout the first half of 2024, whilst capacity also increased 12 per cent year on year with 230,417 flights recorded between January and the end of June.

In 2023, the hub welcomed more than five million passengers in 2022 but announced that charges will increase by 14.8 per cent in 2024, higher than the 12 per cent rise that was previously anticipated. Schiphol CFO Robert Carsouw said in a statement: “We've notified the airlines and understand that they're not very pleased. At the same time, it's necessary for the quality at Schiphol and for our financial position. It's also how the legislation works. In good years we are not allowed to profit from airport charges and so in bad years we cannot afford any losses.” The airport - which did acknowledge that the charges paid to them by airlines are "strictly regulated by legislation" and cover costs such as runway maintenance, security and cleaning. The CFO added: "Simply put, Schiphol is not permitted to make any profit from airport charges. If what Schiphol earns in airport charges exceeds the costs incurred from facilitating the airlines, the additional revenue is 'given back' to the airlines

The federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Washington, D.C., scoffed at the Supreme Court’s decision this summer that recognized presidential immunity for official acts in office.

On Thursday, attorneys representing the ex-president objected to continued proceedings they argued run afoul of the high court’s ruling in July. In that decision a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas questioned the legitimacy of Jack Smith’s appointment as special counsel. //

The New York Times reported that Chutkan “chuckle[d]” and slightly rolled her eyes in the courtroom Thursday when Trump’s attorneys argued the Supreme Court was “crystal clear” in rulings on immunity.