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FReeper Canteen - Christmas Music Dedication - 21 Dec 2013
Our Troops Rock!!!!!
| The Canteen DJ Elves
Posted on 12/20/2013 6:00:29 PM PST by AZamericonnie
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Free Republic
KEYWORDS: canteen; christmas; military; troops
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To: spel_grammer_an_punct_polise
Good evening Gram & thanks for the Rumba! *Hugs*
Just what I needed right now for a boost of energy!
To: AZamericonnie
Thanks, Connie, for today's Christmas Music Dedication.
22
posted on
12/20/2013 6:14:57 PM PST
by
Kathy in Alaska
((~RIP Brian...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~))
To: AZamericonnie
23
posted on
12/20/2013 6:14:59 PM PST
by
HiTech RedNeck
(The Lion of Judah will roar again if you give him a big hug and a cheer and mean it. See my page.)
To: Colonel_Flagg
WooHoo! So glad your Soldier can spend Christmas at home with his family! A blessing indeed....
Amen & Merry Christmas Colonel! *Hugs*
To: All; everyone; AZamericonnie; Kathy in Alaska; LUV W; MEG33
25
posted on
12/20/2013 6:16:40 PM PST
by
Cindy
To: Kathy in Alaska
Good evening Kathy & I’m off to make some dinner.
Hope your day went well. *Hugs*
Had a couple of coyotes here today & a mountain lion last Monday at the pool again. Crazy!
To: Kathy in Alaska; laurenmarlowe; BIGLOOK; alfa6; EsmeraldaA; SandRat; mylife; TMSuchman; PROCON; ...
Welcome To All Who Enter This Canteen, To Our Serving Military, To Our Veterans, To All Military Families, To Our FRiends and To Our Allies!
Missing Man Setting
"The Empty Chair"
By Captain Carroll "Lex" Lefon, USN (RET), on December 21st, 2004
"In the wardroom onboard the aircraft carrier from which I recently debarked was a small, round table, with single chair. No one ever sat there, and the reasons, both for the table being there, and for the fact that the chair was always empty, will tell the reader a little bit about who we are as a culture. The wardroom, of course, is where the officers will dine; morning, noon and evening. It is not only a place to eat – it is also a kind of oasis from the sometimes dreary, often difficult exigencies of the service. A place of social discourse, of momentary relief from the burdens of the day. The only things explicitly forbidden by inviolable tradition in the wardroom are the wearing of a cover or sword by an officer not actually on watch, or conversation which touches upon politics or religion. But aboard ships which observe the custom, another implicit taboo concerns the empty chair: No matter how crowded the room, no matter who is waiting to be seated, that chair is never moved, never taken.
The table is by the main entrance to the wardroom. You will see it when you enter, and you will see it when you leave. It draws your eyes because it is meant to. And because it draws your eyes it draws your thoughts. And though it will be there every day for as long as you are at sea, you will look at it every time and your eyes will momentarily grow distant as you think for a moment. As you quietly give thanks.
AS YOU REMEMBER.
The small, round table is covered with a gold linen tablecloth. A single place setting rests there, of fine bone china. A wineglass stands upon the table, inverted, empty. On the dinner plate is a pinch of salt. On the bread plate is a slice of lemon. Besides the plate lies a bible. There is a small vase with a single red rose upon the table. Around the vase is wound a yellow ribbon. There is the empty chair.
We will remember because over the course of our careers, we will have had the opportunity to enjoy many a formal evening of dinner and dancing in the fine company of those with whom we have the honor to serve, and their lovely ladies. And as the night wears on, our faces will in time become flushed with pleasure of each other’s company, with the exertions on the dance floor, with the effects of our libations. But while the feast is still at its best, order will be called to the room – we will be asked to raise our glasses to the empty table, and we will be asked to remember:
The table is round to show our everlasting concern for those who are missing. The single setting reminds us that every one of them went to their fates alone, that every life was unique.
The tablecloth is gold symbolizing the purity of their motives when they answered the call to duty.
The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones who kept the faith.
The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes our continued determination to remember them.
The slice of lemon reminds us of the bitterness of their fate.
The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those who loved them.
The bible represents the faith that sustained them.
The glass is inverted — they cannot share in the toast.
The chair is empty — they are not here. They are missing.
And we will remember, and we will raise our glasses to those who went before us, and who gave all that they had for us. And a part of the flush in our faces will pale as we remember that nothing worth having ever came without a cost. We will remember that many of our brothers and sisters have paid that cost in blood. We will remember that the reckoning is not over.
We many of us will settle with our families into our holiday season, our Christmas season for those who celebrate it, content in our fortune and prosperity. We will meet old friends with smiles and laughter. We will meet our members of our family with hugs. We will eat well, and exchange gifts and raise our glasses to the year passed in gratitude, and to the year to come with hope. We will sleep the sleep of the protected, secure in our homes, secure in our homeland.
But for many families, there will be an empty chair at the table this year. A place that is not filled.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER."
Many Thanks To Alfa6 For Finding Capt. Lefon's Chronicle Of "The Empty Chair."
"Träumerei"
Robert Schumann
(Click)
Never Forget The Brave Men And Women Who Gave Their Lives To Secure Our Freedom!!
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"Riamh nár dhruid ó sbairn lann!"
Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)
27
posted on
12/20/2013 6:20:11 PM PST
by
ConorMacNessa
(HM/2 USN, 3/5 Marines RVN 1969 - St. M <center> <tablichael the Archangel defend us in Battle!)
To: AZamericonnie
Well,...we all are going to Nate’s house for Christmas, but it still will be a blast. *Hugs*
28
posted on
12/20/2013 6:21:57 PM PST
by
SandRat
(Duty - Honor - Country! What else needs said?)
To: AZamericonnie
My favorite...*very* favorite...Christmas song.Since I was a little kid.It still brings a tear...a tear of joy *and* sadness...to my eye.
Little Drummer Boy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z07LaaY8VJ8
29
posted on
12/20/2013 6:26:53 PM PST
by
Gay State Conservative
(Osama Obama Care: A Religion That Will Have You On Your Knees!)
To: AZamericonnie; ConorMacNessa; Kathy in Alaska; MS.BEHAVIN; LUV W; left that other site
Schubert: "The Winter Evening"Margaret Price with Graham Johnson on piano from the Hyperion Schubert Edition. One of the greatest of the songs from the last year of his life.
30
posted on
12/20/2013 6:30:00 PM PST
by
Publius
("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
To: The Mayor; ConorMacNessa; SandRat; BIGLOOK; mountainlion; HiJinx; Publius; laplata; Jet Jaguar; ...
31
posted on
12/20/2013 6:32:26 PM PST
by
Kathy in Alaska
((~RIP Brian...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~))
To: AZamericonnie; Former MSM Viewer
32
posted on
12/20/2013 6:35:33 PM PST
by
BenLurkin
(This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
To: Cindy
Good evening, Cindy, and thanks for the Friday Night Videos for the troops to enjoy. ((HUGS))
33
posted on
12/20/2013 6:40:35 PM PST
by
Kathy in Alaska
((~RIP Brian...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~))
To: AZamericonnie; All
Good evening all, I hope you all are doing great.
How about some music for the Scrooge or the Grinch. I am just not feeling the Christmas spirit this year!
34
posted on
12/20/2013 6:42:58 PM PST
by
TMSuchman
(John 15;13 & Exodus 21:22-25 Pacem Bello Pastoribus Canes [shepard of peace,dogs of war])
To: AZamericonnie
Bob Rivers - Chipmunks Roasting On An Open Fire
Chipmunks roasting on an open fire,
Hot sauce dripping from their toes,
Yuletide squirrels fresh fileted by the choir,
They poked hot skewers up their nose. Everybody knows some pepper and a garlic clove
Help to make them seasoned right.
Tiny rats with a crisp golden coat
Will really hit the spot tonight.
And now when Santa sees his tray,
There'll be some home-made chipmunk jerky for his sleigh.
And every hungry child is gonna' spy
To see if chipmunks really sing when they fry.
And so I'm brushing on some honey glaze
To keep them crisp and juicy too.
Let's hope they get served many times, many ways...
Tasty chipmunks..... good food.
And so I'm offering some recipes
From chipmunk pie to chipmunk stew.
I'm not really sad that it ended this way
Furry chipmunks..... screw you.
35
posted on
12/20/2013 6:44:00 PM PST
by
Iron Munro
(Orwell: There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them.)
To: AZamericonnie; ConorMacNessa; Kathy in Alaska; MS.BEHAVIN; LUV W; left that other site
The successful writers of Christmas carols were men with the common touch, such as John Wade, Franz Gruber and that wonderful old pro Anonymous, who wrote so many carols. But the great classical composers sometimes got their names on Christmas carols, but not in any way they would have recognized.
There is an old saying in the classical music game, “Good composers borrow, but great composers steal.” George Frederick Handel stole from himself constantly, but he also freely stole from others, once saying of another composer, “That melody was too good for him.” The composer gets credit for “Joy to the World”, but only because someone stole part of a Handel chorus for a carol of his own. It was a case of karmic payback years after the composer was dead and wasn’t in a position to complain.
Felix Mendelssohn gets credit for “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” because a tune from one of his cantatas was stolen as a replacement melody for Charles Wesley’s original solemn tune. Those early Methodists were definitely solemn! Temperance will do that to you, especially around Christmas.
In his day, Franz Schubert was as prolific a songwriter as Paul McCartney or George Gershwin, penning more than 600 tunes written to German poetry. At the Vienna Choir Boys School, Antonio Salieri ran a musical gym for Schubert, and the young composer tried his hand at everything from poems to old Italian opera libretti. In this period Schubert even tried writing a Christmas carol, but the song remains forgettable and unknown.
Johannes Brahms turned a poem by Emmanuel Geibel into “Lullaby of the Spirit”, a song for contralto with piano and viola accompaniment as his Christmas contribution. (Don’t confuse this song with the famous “Brahms Lullaby”.) The text of the poem is Mary’s plea, asking the treetops to be still lest they wake the baby Jesus. While the contralto sings Brahms’ musical line of Geibel’s poem, the viola sings a completely different German Christmas carol under her as a counter-melody. It’s a brilliant achievement, but not something that can be sung by anyone with a voice of less than operatic quality.
The classical winner has to be Adolphe Adam (accent on the second syllable of both names), the French composer of the rather insipid ballet “Giselle”. On one of his better days, he composed Cantique de Noel, known in English as “O Holy Night”. That alone qualifies him for a spot in the Composer’s Hall of Fame – despite “Giselle”.
“Cantique” is written in D-flat Major (5 flats) which can be a bit of a problem for inexperienced organists; occasionally there is transcription to the less difficult keys of C or D Major. But the real challenge is for the vocalist. At the end, Adam expects his tenor or soprano to hit a high A-flat and come down to D-flat, carefully sounding each note separately, not using portamento to slur the notes. Good singers can handle this, and some church choir soloists are quite up to the job, even if transposition to a different key is necessary.
But the fun really starts when a well meaning choir director decides to have the congregation sing along. I recall all too well listening to my fellow congregants fall flat on their – ahem! – faces at the those eighth notes at the end.
You’re not supposed to giggle in church!
36
posted on
12/20/2013 6:44:17 PM PST
by
Publius
("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
To: ConorMacNessa
Good evening, Mac...*HUGS*...hope you had a tolerable morning commute. No bomb scares in the afternoon?
Tree up and decorated?
Starting to warm up some....it’s 21 now.
37
posted on
12/20/2013 6:48:45 PM PST
by
Kathy in Alaska
((~RIP Brian...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~))
To: HiTech RedNeck
I guess one has to have an account to listen to this?
Merry Christmas HiTech RedNeck! *Hugs*
To: AZamericonnie; All
Kicking off this weeks' continuation of Canteen oddities is Paul McCartney's demo of the song "Come and Get It" which he wrote for the 1969 Ringo film, The Magic Christian, to be recorded by the newly signed Apple label-mates Badfinger.
McCartney recorded the solo demo of the song on 24 July 1969, when he arrived early for an Abbey Road session with the Beatles. He sang the double-tracked lead vocal and played all the instruments: singing and playing piano on the first take, singing again and playing maracas on the first overdub, drums came third and then bass guitar was added last. It took less than an hour to finish.
McCartney presented his demo to Badfinger (then called The Iveys). He offered produce this song and two other Iveys originals for the movie starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. The Badfinger single was released on Apple Records in sarly December 1969 in the UK, but not until mid-January 1970 in the U.S. where it became a hit for the band, peaking at number 7 in the United States, and number 4 in the United Kingdom. It was the opening theme for the film and was repeated during the movie's closing credits.
Demos, Out-takes and Rarities
Come And Get It (Demo)
~ Paul McCartney ~
Come And Get It
~ Badfinger ~
39
posted on
12/20/2013 6:58:37 PM PST
by
Drumbo
("Democracy can withstand anything but democrats." - Jubal Harshaw [Robert A. Heinlein])
To: AZamericonnie
Good evening, Connie, and thanks for the tributes to our troops.
A mountain lion???? Oh my gosh. Did you call animal control? Have you seen it again? They have big teeth and claws.
40
posted on
12/20/2013 7:01:03 PM PST
by
Kathy in Alaska
((~RIP Brian...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~))
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