Katie’s Beer

This morning I found a thread on MNSpeak that pointed out a great YouTube video clip of an all-star tribute rendition of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, featuring George’s son, Dhani Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Prince and others (if you can help me name them, that would be great). Few commenters seem to “get” the historic value of the performance (historic for modern times, at any rate). Prince shines! He provides the highlighted guitar work and seems to be showing Dhani that he can still do one of his signature moves (laying back while playing), albeit with a little assistance (this was a few months before his reported hip surgery, to be fair). Dhanni responds with delight and a big grin. It is eery how Dhani looks just like his father, especially when singing. To me, the star of the performance is Jeff Lynne and he provides the highlighted vocals for the tribute. He’s played this song many times and can sing it like no other. Here he sings with with George, Elton, Ringo, Paul, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and others in 1987,

The remaining Beatles, with Eric Clapton, performed the song at the Concert for George in 2002. Clapton, in this version, provides both the guitar and vocal highlights, though Jeff Lynne is there to play along. Dhani Harrison, Billy Preston and many others are on stage.
You can download a much better version of the VH1 tribute here. Some people claim this is the better version, but I disagree.

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Yes, SpongeBob has a great version of the F.U.N. song, but here’s an even funner song.  Funner is a word…right?

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Keep Ely in Minnesota!
Could Canadian deal to buy Ely be final by early 2009?

April 1, 2008 — Today it was announced that Canada has made an unprecedented offer, as a boost to tourism, to purchase the famous Boundary Waters town of Ely, Minn., and relocate it north of the U.S./Canadian border.

In a prepared statement, the Premier of Ontario pledged Ely will retain its worldwide reputation as the entryway to the Boundary Waters, though now from the other side, as well as its legendary lakes, resorts, restaurants, gift shops and museums, including the world-famous International Wolf Center.

Reportedly, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has entered into negotiations with the Minnesota DNR and the Governor’s office to arrive at a satisfactory price. Sources close to the deal say that Ely will become Ely, Ontario as early as 2009.

Minnesota residents are left wondering if this might be the last summer to enjoy the one million acres of unspoiled wilderness Ely is known for worldwide.

To sign the Keep Ely in Minnesota petition, click here.

To listen to radio updates on the possible sale of Ely, click here.

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This week’s Wall Street Journal Online features a piece by Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, Radio Silence.  Mollie does a great job of recapping the events.  Here’s an exerpt:

Broadcast from the nation’s oldest continuously run religious radio station, KFUO-AM in St. Louis, and syndicated throughout the country, “Issues, Etc.” had an even larger audience world-wide, thanks to its podcast’s devoted following. With 14 hours of fresh programming each week, the show was on the leading edge of what’s happening in culture, politics and broader church life. The Rev. Todd Wilken interviewed the brightest lights from across the theological spectrum on news of the day. Guests included Oxford University’s Dr. Alister McGrath, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Albert Mohler and more postmodern types, like Tony Jones, national coordinator for a church network called Emergent Village.

On its last show, on March 17, listeners learned about the life and faith of St. Patrick; scientific and philosophical arguments in defense of the human embryo; the excommunication of two Roman Catholic women who claimed ordination; and the controversy surrounding the sermons of Barack Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

Despite the show’s popularity, low cost and loyal donor base, Mr. Wilken and Jeff Schwarz, the producer of “Issues, Etc.,” were dismissed without explanation on Tuesday of Holy Week. Within hours, the program’s Web site — which provided access to past episodes and issues of its magazine — had disappeared. Indeed, all evidence that the show ever existed was removed.  Read on…

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“Evangelicalism is coming to point where the early church has become the newest staple of its diet.”

~D.H. Williams, professor of patristics and historical theology at Baylor University.

Experts say most who have taken on such practices have grown disillusioned with the contemporary, shopping-center feel of the megachurches embraced by baby boomers, with their casually dressed ministers and rock-band praise music.

Instead, evangelicals — many of them young — are adopting a trend that has come to be known as “worship renewal” or “ancient-future worship.”

Feeling Renewed by Ancient Traditions (as highlighted by Mollie Hemingway at Get Religion)

So it’s news that people are returning to ancient church practices. I think this is a wonderful development, as long as it isn’t yet another fad.

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In the fall of 1973, I was a seventh grader.  It was a fun year to get school clothes because of all the great colors - rust, brown, orange, etc - and all the great styles - jumpers, tights, bell bottom pants, etc.  Actually, I hated the colors, not to mention the hot and scratchy fabrics, but I loved the styles.

See the 1973 Sears catalog and read witty and true comments from James Lileks.

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A recent radio discussion of the value of designer labels reminded me of my years working at the Ridgedale Dayton’s books and records department in the mid-70’s. On Sundays, wealthy Wayzata people would come in to purchase their reserved copy of the New York Times newspaper which had been flown in for them. The supervisors would make sure we knew who they were ahead of time and as they paid with their Dayton’s card I would note their last names. Sometimes I knew the name, but mostly I didn’t. These supposedly wealthy people had a very quiet and low-key style; they wore certain labels (Izod, for example), but never flashy clothes. I think, for them, that they depended on certain stores (Dayton’s, The Foursome, etc) over labels, however those stores always carried “their” labels. It was my impression that while these people were never bargain shoppers they did demand quality and endurance out of a clothing label. That time period was the start of my knowledge of old money versus new money and I learned that old money people wore certain labels but never flashy clothes. New money people wore expensive flashier clothing and that penchant extended to cars and homes. I was even taught this concept in my college sociology class in 1979. I wonder if this concept is still as true; it seems that most wealthy people today would be labeled as new money people, even if they were the children of old money people.

My daughter, here in 2008, loves to learn and talk about designers and their wares. She works at a designer outlet store; not one of those outlet malls, but a true multiple designer outlet store. She comes home with bargains each week, impressed that it is a Betsey Johnson or a Coach. Her purse collection is already impressive! She owns a faux-Coach (not purchased at her store) purse which she recently loaned to me. It is a $60 imitation of a $400 purse. It should be noted that I have never paid even $60 for any purse I own. At Walgreen’s the other night, I was complimented on this fake Coach purse. I immediately offered the explanation of the purse (a habit my mother despises) and the clerk finally answered that I shouldn’t have told her. What is it about my age group that wouldn’t want anyone to think that they owned an expensive accessory item. My daughter isn’t saddled with that notion!

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For your reading pleasure…

Top Ten Myths of Thanksgiving

Quiz: What Part of Thanksgiving Are You? from Blogthings

Thanksgiving Quiz

You Are the Stuffing

You’re complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together.
People miss you if you’re gone - but they’re not sure why.

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Here’s one of my scariest stories. This really happened to us. We had a hotel stay right out of a “B” horror movie.
Below is an email exchange between me and the corporate complaint person at a major budget motel chain. My family had survived a night of spiders in a motel in Interior, South Dakota…home of the Badlands (named such by the Indians for a REASON). Here is the email trail (reads from bottom to top) which followed my initial email (lost) and my follow up phone call to make sure they got my email:

Dear Lisa,
At this point, all that is important is that this problem is corrected…even if it only exists in that one room (#8). Perhaps the spiders are getting in from outside through the large gap between the wall and carpet on the far right hand wall. That is what I suspected at the time, but really had no way of knowing. Again, the problem happened in the middle of the night. Since we had been warned of rattlesnakes, there is no way I was going out into the dark, across the courtyard and up those stairs, to bang on the door of the motel owner.
Thanks,
Theresa K.

—–Original Message—–
From: corporate office of offending motel
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2003 2:26 PM
To: offended motel guest
Subject: Re: your motel in Interior, SD
Theresa:
I will talk with the owner again. I agree that if the problem is that bad, someone else would have found spiders. I will ask her about the towels you used to kill the spiders. Again, I am so sorry this happened to you. I really wish you had felt comfortable mentioning it at the time it happened. That is always the best time to resolve a problem.
Lisa

Theresa K. wrote:
Dear Lisa,
Thanks for your email. I am simply amazed that she and the maids are not aware of a spider problem. It would be impossible not to see spiders of that size. (Housekeeping should have noticed two dead ones I left in the towels!) I assure you that they DO indeed have a problem with spiders. Someone needs to find out what kind of spiders those are and make sure they aren’t poisonous. I now feel obligated to warn others travelers by forwarding my complaint to AAA, the South Dakota Tourism board and Fodor’s travel book (they mention the motel in their book).It is sad that you and the owners are not taking this more seriously. It is ridiculous to think that I would be required to document my experience with photos or samples. You know, we were simply visitors to that motel, tired and with a busy itinerary before returning to our lives of school and work. We were unfairly drawn into a situation of an unclean motel in the middle of the night and in the middle of nowhere. I use the word “drawn” because I trusted the name of (your hotel chain) and I trusted Fodor’s travel book. Never again.
Theresa K.

—–Original Message—–
From: Lisa at corporate headquarters
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2003 11:51 AM
To: theresak@myworkemail.com
Subject: spider motel in Interior, SD
Theresa:
I called the owner of the motel in Interior to discuss your complaint. She said she is not aware of a problem with spiders. She said the maids have not seen spiders, and she has not heard from other customers that there is a problem. She said they will check each room carefully and spray where necessary. Since you did not notify them about the problem while you were there, she is not willing to issue you a refund.
Lisa
(offending hotel chain) International

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