Reflection

I certainly don't date back to 1948, but still...

After the Thriller is Gone*

News comes this morning that Eagles - Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 has again regained the title of best selling album of all time, overtaking Michael Jackson's Thriller, which had previously de-throned it.

Many online opinionators were dismissive of the announcement, noting that the Eagles' release was a compilation of hits from their first four albums (which preceded their landmark Hotel California record), while Thriller was a single work. Dissention noted, the Eagles' Hotel California, their next release after Greatest Hits, and not a compilation, earned #3 status on the same list.

It's inevitable that many, this writer included, have internal biases relating to what artists and style of music they prefer.  However, the RIAA rankings are based on sales/downloads/streams, not on subjective factors. I was somewhat surprised that Rumours did not score above its #10 ranking, that The Wall was #6 instead of Dark Side of the Moon (not in the top 20), and that Lennon/McCartney's records were not in the top 10 (the White Album and The Beatles 1967-1970 ranked #12 and #18, respectively).  Incidentally, Zeppelin's IV was #5, and Physical Graffiti #20 (tied with Metallica), and piano men Joel and John each have a compilation in the top 20.

Framed inscribed CD covers on my wall...

My inscribed Frampton Comes Alive and Blue Sky Night Thunder did not make the top 20.  Pity.


* After the Thrill is Gone is a song from One of These Nights

Absolutisms

BTW, don't call me Shirley...

This is what leadership looks like

The first African-American to graduate from Ole Miss, James Meredith, rankles some in the 'civil rights movement' by saying that full liberty in American society comes with a responsibility for moral character.

 Oxford, Mississippi 1962

I pray that Americans - not just hyphenated ones - but Americans of all shades, will heed his advice.

James Meredith now

 

PC run amok

• It seems a school in Georgia has attracted the ire of the perpetually offended class, by having the audacity - no, not of hope, that would've been lauded  - to allow its cheerleaders to wear and sell t-shirts proclaiming they stand for the flag and kneel for the cross.  A school board member deemed this to be racist and horribly offensive, and promptly called for the practice to be shut down.  For my part, I checked the interweb and found the following design, which I plan to order shortly:

 

There are several similar designs, 

but I like this the best. 

• Now, for the didactic portion of our programme, we present the Merriam-Webster definition of 'moral': 

1 a : of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior : ethical moral judgments

b : expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior a moral poem
c : conforming to a standard of right behavior took a moral position on the issue though it cost him the nomination
d : sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment a moral obligation

• Nothing seemingly untoward in the preceding - most every society, culture, or religion espouses or promulgates some form of code of morality.  So, you can imagine my great surprise - has the devil been fitted for a parka? - that the mayor of a crime-ridden major midwestern U. S. city has called on citizens to behave morally.  And, believe it or not, he's being criticized for it.  No fan of the mayor I, I nonetheless commend him for saying what few in his party have the backbone to say, although on the subject of the Second Amendment, I'm sure we're still poles apart.
• A Colorado red-tape state agency, seemingly oblivious and unfazed by a U. S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year, has taken another swipe at a baker, for not accepting an order for a transgender-themed cake. The swamp is deep.  Interestingly, the hegemony of the gay lobby would-be leadership is not absolute, as illustrated by this column from conservative columnist, radio host, and lambda lady. 

Godspeed, my dearest friend

 

?  -  2018

A purer, sweeter, kinder spirit I have never known

An oft-repeated and forwarded story concerns a family that has recently had an end-of-life experience of their furry companion.  Pondering why dogs' lifespans are so much shorter than their humans', the young son provides the perfect answer:

He said, “People are born so that they learn how to live a good life – like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?” The four year old continued, “Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”

I have to agree.