The Sound of the Crowd

Revel in the wonder of man’s technology.

Thanks to my pal Corey Klemow (star of Spiders!–now availble as part of a triple DVD box set– and Angel!)–for the link.

We of Ink 19 were attacked by a hacker. Fortunately this seems to have been fixable by Ian Koss, heroic publisher and editor.

1. “Fairytale of New York,” by Shane MacGowan. Performed by Kirsty MacColl with the Pogues

It was Christmas Eve babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me, won’t see another one
And then he sang a song
‘The Rare Old Mountain Dew’
And I turned my face away
And dreamed about you

Got on a lucky one
Came in eighteen to one
I’ve got a feeling
This year’s for me and you
So happy Christmas
I love you baby
I can see a better time
When all our dreams come true

They’ve got cars
Big as bars
They’ve got rivers of gold
But the wind goes
Right through you
It’s no place for the old
When you first took my hand
On a cold Christmas Eve
You promised me
Broadway was waiting for me

You were handsome
You were pretty
Queen of New York City
When the band finished playing
They howled out for more
Sinatra was swinging,
All the drunks they were singing
We kissed on a corner
Then danced through the night

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing ‘Galway Bay’
And the bells were ringing
Out for Christmas Day

You’re a bum
You’re a punk
You’re an old slut on junk
Lying there almost dead on a drip
In that bed

You scum bag
You maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse
I pray God
It’s our last

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing ‘Galway Bay’
And the bells were ringing
Out for Christmas Day

I could have been someone
Well so could anyone
You took my dreams
From me when I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Can’t make it all alone
I’ve built my dreams around you

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing ‘Galway Bay’
And the bells were ringing
Out for Christmas Day

2. “Christmas Time Is Here,” written by Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson; performed by Vince Guaraldi trio with children’s chorus.

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Christmas time is here
We’ll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year…

3. “The Christmas Waltz,” written by cahn/styne, performed by Frank Sinatra

Frosted window panes
Candles gleaming inside
Painted candy canes on the tree
Santa’s on his way
He’s filled his sleigh with things
Things for you and for me

It’s that time of year
When the world fall in love
Ev’ry song you hear seems to say
“Merry Christmas, May Your New Year
Dreams Come True”

And this song of mine
In three-quarter time
Wishes you and yours
The same thing too

Grey Eye Glances

Hybrid

BTW, one of these is on my forthcoming best of 2003 list…guess which. It’s fun!

…at this point, do any of you need me to tell you to read Talking Points Memo by Josh Marshall any more? If you do, I’m telling you again. Today we have his well-considered thoughts on this whole Libya giving up their weapons thing.

Check out the bizarre tactics the Bush campaign is using to smear Clark and Dean’s campaigns. They use allusion so well you’d think they were fiction writers. Oh, wait…anyone working for the Bush administration is, by definition, a fiction writer.
Also, does anybody but me find it funny that the Canadian group quoted in the story felt it necessary to point out that theirs is not a Communist country? As Jimmy Tingle said: One Communist country left in the world, and apparently, it’s Canada. All those years we had missiles pointing at Moscow, when we should have been pointing them at Montreal: The great white threat to the north.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, that is, and don’t worry, there’ll be no spoilers in my blog. I just wanted to say to those of you who glance here now and again, that I can’t remember the last time a movie made me feel this way.

Can I just say, oh my goodness gracious?

And when I say, “best thing I have ever seen,” I don’t just mean movies, BTW. I mean Best Thing I Have Ever. Seen.

Or to put it another way, Oh. Wow.

So what the hell are you lot doing that you’re not out seeing it right this very moment?

Those of you who have been reading my blog for the last month or so will know that I don’t always have the same warm fuzzy feelings for Michael Moore as do many of my fellow obnoxiously blatant liberals. But the man’s got a good eye for a pithy quotation. In the latest message to his mailing list, which my mom is on–thank you, mother, for forwarding it–he prints letters the troops have sent him. My fave:

…”a Specialist in the U.S. Army wrote to me this week about the capture of Saddam Hussein:

“Wow, 130,000 troops on the ground, nearly 500 deaths and over a billion dollars a day, but they caught a guy living in a hole. Am I supposed to be dazzled?”

Scout

No, it doesn’t seem to be true. Drat. The American political system needs a silly gesture at this stage, and Cleese would be just the man to do it.