Jack's Lament, Ricky Skaggs, and SOS Antony Blinken

Here we are at the second Friday in October, can you believe it?! I saw on a sign today that we have 74 days until Christmas, which seems equally far away and not far away at all. I have combined a list of mostly music and some other bits. Not too terribly much, but hopefully you are able to find at least one thing to enjoy.

I would be more than remiss to not mention what transpired last weekend in Israel. And I will share some of the words that Secretary of State Blinken, himself a Jew – his grandfather fled pogroms in Russia and his stepfather survived Auschwitz, Dachau, and Majdanek – shared October 12th in Tel Aviv.

“And yet, at the same time – at the same time that we’ve been shocked by the depravity of Hamas, we’ve also been inspired by the bravery of Israel’s citizens: the grandfather, who drove over an hour to a kibbutz under siege, armed only with a pistol, and rescued his kids and grandkids; the mother who died shielding her teenage son with her body, giving her life to save his, giving him life for a second time; the volunteer security teams on the kibbutzes, who swiftly rallied to defend their friends and neighbors, despite being heavily outnumbered. And we are lifted by the remarkable solidarity of the Israeli people, demonstrated in the long lines of people giving blood, in the hundreds of thousands of reservists who’ve mobilized, some rushing home from abroad, people around the country opening their homes to fellow citizens displaced from the south…..Anyone who wants peace and justice must condemn Hamas’s reign of terror. We know Hamas doesn’t represent the Palestinian people or their legitimate aspirations to live with equal measures of security, freedom, justice, opportunity, and dignity. We know Hamas – instead of promoting the well-being of its citizens – rules repressively and dedicates the resources it has to terror tunnels and rockets. We know Hamas didn’t commit its heinous acts with the interests of the Palestinian people in mind. We know Hamas does not stand for the future that Palestinians want for themselves and for their children. Hamas has only one agenda: to destroy Israel and to murder Jews.”

 Now for the list,  

·       JACK'S LAMENT | Low Bass Singer Cover | The Nightmare Before Christmas | Geoff Castellucci - YouTube, I have yet to tire of this soundtrack. Geoff has a beautiful voice and his ability to maneuver his voice is incredible.

·       Toby Keith - Don't Let the Old Man In (Official Lyric Video) - YouTube, beautiful, beautiful  song…feels more poignant with the cancer  that he’s been facing.

·       The first ever film of Appalachian music (1928) | "Doggett Gap" - Bascom Lamar Lunsford [RESTORED] - YouTube, I do love some mountain music and it’s so incredible to see the first of people playing the music.

·       Ricky Skaggs Will The Circle Be Unbroken - YouTube, this hauntingly, beautiful song is one of my absolute favorites. And Ricky Skaggs on the mandolin is icing on the cake.

·       Relaxing Halloween Music - Pumpkin Jack O' Lanterns 🎃 Dark, Spooky Sounds, Halloween Ambience - YouTube, I do enjoy a good, themed playlist for working. This one is great for background music and not as high on “spooky” as the title implies.

·       How an advanced civilisation vanished 2,500 years ago – BBC News - YouTube, ancient civilizations is a phrase that is music to my ears. The Tartessos, around for 500 years and an advanced society yet, vanished under interesting circumstances. Fascinating short video on current excavations related to why they disappeared.  

·       All the Light We Cannot See | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube, I have not read this book but the film itself looks beautifully done – sure to be thought-provoking and heart wrenching.

·       How to Keep a Commonplace Book (And Why You Should) - YouTube, here’s a short video on keeping a commonplace book. A fascinating concept that I am sure some people may already do without having a specific name for it.  

I hope that you have an enjoyable weekend, full of lovely Autumnal festivities. I am headed off on a family vacation this coming Monday and I am very excited!