M Is FOR MASHUP - December 26th, 2018
NaruRolled Ao Cubo (AKA "Cubical NaruRolled") - Mashup Album
By DJ Useo
Guest Article by GladiLord
This is my 3rd album, made last year. Hope you enjoy it, since it's
main theme is a very famous anime called "Naruto"
( www.viz.com/naruto ) .
Now, just some disclaimers before any further misunderstoods:
- This mashup album has some Portuguese tracks on it (half of the album, actually): it's INTENTIONAL, since the secondary theme here at spotlight is my mother language music, covers or originals;
- Some of the tracks seems a bit off: that's intentional, too, since this album is the followup of the previous ones ("NaruRolled", in which has mostly troll mashups » "Squared NaruRolled", which has way more serious mashups), mashing therefore both ^^ ;
- I'm reposting this, since I've uploaded each of the tracks individually at Sowndhaus, to make a playlist and separated DL for those.
- The order is descendant, in case of doubt, so it starts at "As Mártires Da Ribeira Do Sado".
Hope you enjoy it!
When silly crosses serious... GladiLord is always near
( sowndhaus.audio/playlist/1045/narurolled-ao-cubo ).
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: The Ghost of Trump Chaos Future (NY Times)
Sorry, investors, but there is no sanity clause.
Daniel Rey: To understand Trump's America, read John Steinbeck (New Statesman)
On the 50-year anniversary of his death, the author of The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden has never felt more relevant.
Hannah Long: Great Escapes (Weekly Standard)
You learn things about yourself when you're trapped in an Egyptian tomb with a group of relatives and strangers. In my case, I found out I'm a control freak.
JOHN PODHORETZ: A Valediction (Weekly Standard)
My career as a movie critic began almost 40 years ago in the pages of the American Spectator with a review of The Warriors, the story of a New York City teen gang from Coney Island forced to fight its way home from the Bronx through one very dark night. The Warriors was considered a dangerous and provocative film that caused life-threatening fights to break out near the theaters showing it. I saw it again last year, about 39 years later, and couldn't quite believe my eyes. Far from frightening, the cast of The Warriors looked not so much like young thugs as they seemed like overeager kids from theater camp hoping to get cast in a revival of Hair .
Julie Bindel: What gives the trans lobby the right to chastise Martina Navratilova? (The Spectator)
Never has any so-called social justice movement in the past commanded such authority and instilled such fear.
Alex Wragge-Morley: What happened when I walked into the world's quietest place (The Guardian)
Many have joined in the search for silence, but perhaps there is no such thing, writes Alex Wragge-Morley.
Ben Schott: "'Jeeves and the Midnight Mess': A Christmas short story" (Spectator)
A pudding predicament strikes on Christmas Eve.
Luke Haines: Christmas music is hell on earth… (Spectator)
...apart from one song.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
Never Happen
Hey Marty, wanna know something else that'll never happen?
A law that makes it impossible for House Representatives and Senators to collect their paychecks when they shut down the government.
And not only do they not get paid DURING the shutdown, but they do not get back-pay when they get off their butts and get the government going again.
YOU allow the government, any part of the government, to shut down and YOU DO NOT GET PAID.
You LOSE every penny pro-rated to the time, every day, every minute that the government was shut down.
Oh - and your insurance is no good either for that entire time so you'd better be buying your OWN private, non-taxpayer-funded insurance for that entire time.
No flights on the taxpayer dime.
No free taxis.
No free meals.
No franking privilege.
No ANYTHING that's taxpayer-funded.
Not even pencils or paper-clips.
How bout that?
Randall
Thanks, Randall!
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• Rabbi Israel Salanter was once asked to eat the Sabbath meal with a former student. The student let Rabbi Salanter know that in between courses of the Sabbath meal, the participants engaged in Torah and Talmud discussions and sang Sabbath songs. Rabbi Salanter agreed to eat the Sabbath meal with the former student - but only on the condition that it be shorter than usual. The former student was surprised by the condition, but agreed to it. At the end of the Sabbath meal, the former student asked Rabbi Salanter why he had made the condition. The good Rabbi replied, "I'll show you." He then called the servant who had served the meal and apologized for making her work so much faster than usual. The woman smiled and replied, "On the contrary, I'm grateful to you. Friday night meals usually end very late, and I'm exhausted from the whole week's work. Tonight, I'll be able to catch up on some much-needed sleep."
• The Rabbi of Vilna, R' Yechezkal Faivel, became concerned when the price of fish rose so high that many Jews were unable to afford to buy it for the Sabbath. Therefore, he summoned the fishermen and warned them that unless they lowered the price, he would forbid the eating of fish. The fishermen ignored the warning and kept selling fish at high prices. True to his word, R' Yechezkal Faivel forbade anyone to eat fish. The fishermen lost money and came to R' Yechezkal Faivel to ask him to lift the ban against eating fish, but he refused. As the fishermen left him, R' Yechezkal Faivel told them, "I want you to know that the prohibition against using fish applies to you as well. You and your families may not eat fish either."
• Elijah, the Gaon of Wilna, was an outstanding rabbi. Once he urged a Jew of his community to undertake a journey on behalf of some fellow Jews who were facing persecution by the government. The Jew's mission was a success, and he saved many Jews from persecution, but because of his mission he was unable to properly observe the Sabbath. Feeling guilty, he asked Rabbi Elijah what he should do for repentance. Rabbi Elijah told him, "Let's make an exchange. I will give you the reward of a Sabbath that I properly observed if you will give me the reward of the Sabbath that you did not properly observe."
• A poor Jew went to R' Zvi Yaakov Oppenheim to ask if it were permitted for him to keep his shop open on the Sabbath and hire a non-Jew to work on that day for him. R' Zvi Yaakov immediately replied that this practice was forbidden. The poor Jew then asked why the richest Jew in town engaged in this practice. R' Zvi Yaakov replied, "He is very wealthy and has this world. He has decided that he will do without the World to Come. You, however, are a poor man, and don't even have this world. Do you then want to lose the World to Come as well?"
• An emperor once asked Rabbi Joshua Ben Hananiah why Jewish food tasted so good on the Sabbath. Rabbi Joshua replied that the food tasted so good because the Jews used a special spice. When the emperor asked for some of the special spice, Rabbi Joshua answered, "This spice is available only to those who observe the day of rest, for the spice is the Sabbath itself."
• According to an ancient Jewish tradition, a blessing must be chanted when the Sabbath candles are lit. A business woman was scrupulous about chanting the blessing, but one Friday she found that she would be unable to return home in time to observe the tradition. So the business woman called home and had her maid light the Sabbath candles, then hold the telephone receiver near the candles so she could chant the blessing.
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JD is on vacation.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, dry and very windy.
Once-Secret Redwood Grove
California
Fans of a popular grove of redwood trees in far Northern California are racing to fund a project that would help protect the area from hordes of visitors.
Park officials and nature lovers are trying to raise $500,000 for a dollar-for-dollar matching grant to help pay for an elevated walkway to the Grove of Titans in Del Norte County, according to a report by the Times-Standard of Eureka. The deadline is Dec. 31.
The grove was largely a secret until the quest to find it became a popular adventure shortly after a 1998 research project inspired a book that contained clues about its location.
The grove now sees up to 13,000 cars a month. Because there are no formal trails to the grove, visitors have trampled the forest floor during their searches in the area, jeopardizing the health of the redwood trees and the surrounding forest.
The online fundraising account can be found here.
California
'Issues Of Inclusion'
Amherst
A college student who put up a sign at her dormitory window cursing at Nazis was reportedly told by a residence director to take it down in part over "issues of inclusion."
In a Facebook post, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, acknowledged that the student's sign said "F--- Nazis," and a photograph showed that it also said "You are not welcome here."
The student, Nicole Parsons, a junior, told Buzzfeed News Sunday that she put up the sign on her window after a swastika was drawn over a "Happy Hanukkah" message on a resident assistant's door. A week after she posted the sign, Parsons received an email from a residence director asking her to remove it from her window, for an unusual reason.
"There are some in the community who have expressed that the sign should be taken down as it has created mixed emotions in the community over how to proceed, issues of inclusion, and the ability to be active members of their community," the email said, according to BuzzFeed News.
In its Facebook post, the university said a "poorly worded email from Residence Life staff asking students to take down the sign does not reflect the values of the campus, and it should not have been sent."
Amherst
Christmas Message
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney said Tuesday that all we need is love - and to avoid overdoing it this holiday.
In a sweet and funny Christmas message on Twitter, the 76-year-old ex-Beatle urged fans not to eat and drink too much. "I will, but that's no excuse for you," he wrote.
The legendary performer also reminded followers to remember the true meaning of Christmas.
Paul McCartney
How Little Musicians Make
Spotify
Mariah Carey is not a struggling musician, obviously. She's super popular. According to Money Inc, her net worth is over $500 million. She's won five Grammys. Her ubiquitous season hit, "All I Want for Christmas is You," is so widely adored, it just broke Spotify's single-day streaming record with almost 11 million listens on Dec. 24.
Yet, relatively speaking, the Christmas jingle won't make that much money from this record-breaking day. Spotify pays whoever holds the rights to a song anywhere from $0.006 to $0.0084 per play. The rights "holder" can then split these earning between the record label, producers, artists, and songwriters, which means splitting pennies between many parties.
Assuming the popular song is paid at the highest price of .0084 cents per stream for 11 million listens, the rights holder or holders will earn $92,400 before splitting the earnings. It's not a terrible take for a single day, but it's also not a lot of money given just how much people seem to love Carey's Christmas jingle and its enduring appeal. Between them, the parties could all split a luxury car to share rides. Individually, they could maybe each buy a Toyota.
However, the Spotify record-day payout pales in comparison. One might imagine that having a major success during a major holiday on the streaming service would yield far greater financial returns. It turns out that's not the case and this is why music industry insiders-from pop goddess Taylor Swift to record producers like Kabir Sehgal-argue that artists are getting a raw deal from Spotify.
Spotify
Christmas Day A National Holiday
Iraq
The Iraqi Cabinet approved a law to mark Christmas Day, December 25, as an official holiday across the country "on the occasion of the birth of Jesus Christ," according to a statement released by the Iraqi government.
The Cabinet voted on an amendment to the national holidays law in the country that Christmas Day is a holiday for all Iraqis, and not only for the Christian community, as it had been for decades.
"Happy Christmas to our Christian citizens, all Iraqis and to all who are celebrating around the world," the Iraqi government said on Twitter.
Before the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, there were about 1.4 million Christians in the country. However, their numbers have dwindled to roughly 300,000 after hundreds of thousands fled the country following violence and attacks by various armed groups over the years.
Most recently, the rise of ISIS in Iraq forced many of the remaining Christians to flee the country or be killed, as CNN has documented.
Iraq
Scientists Find
Galactic Fossil
Mexico, Dec. 24 (Notimex).- A group of astronomers discovered one of the only three known fossil clouds in the Universe, which will offer new data on the formation of the first galaxies.
The cloud of orphan gas that formed after the Big Bang was discovered in the distant Universe, through the optical telescope of the WM Keck Observatory in Maunakea, Hawaii.
The discovery of the galactic fossil was carried out by PhD student Fred Robert and Professor Michael Murphy at the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.
"Everywhere we look, the gas in the universe is contaminated by the waste of heavy elements from exploding stars," Robert said.
However, he explained, this particular cloud seems pristine, not polluted by stars, even 1,500 million years after the Big Bang.
Galactic Fossil
Fall Of A Mesopotamian Empire
Stalagmite
Around 4,200 years ago Mesopotamia's first empire, the Akkadian fell, coinciding with major transformations in Egypt and the Indus Valley, the two other great civilizations of the time. A study of stalagmites in Iran suggests a widespread climatic event may have been responsible for all three.
Civilizations rise and fall for many reasons, and the causes of the Akkadian Empire's demise remain controversial. The coincidence of timing with far away events has led some historians to propose a climatic cause. The nature, and even existence, of this event has been unclear, however, coming as it did in the middle of the Holocene era of largely stable temperatures, with no known upsurge in volcanic activity or change in solar output.
However, when a team led by The University of Oxford's Dr Stacy Carolin studied a stalagmite from Gol-e-Zard Cave in Iran's Alborz Mountains formed between 5,200 and 3,700 years ago they saw something certainly happened around the relevant time. The team report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences there were sharp spikes in the amount of magnesium relative to calcium 4,510 and 4,260 years ago, coinciding with slower growth and changes in the stone's oxygen isotopes. These changes lasted 110 and 290 years, respectively before the stalagmite composition returned to previous levels.
The change in the stalagmite's composition appears to be the result of increased dust falling in the mountains, which in turn seems to be a consequence of drier conditions to the west. Today, dry years in the deserts of Syria and Iraq are associated with increased dust deposition in Tehran, just 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Gol-e-Zard. The slow growth of the stalagmite could be a sign of locally drier conditions as well.
Sediments from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman, among other paleoclimatic proxies, have previously been used to suggest western Asia experienced at least one major dry period around this time, but the dating for these was too imprecise to tie them confidently to the Akkadian collapse. The stalagmites, on the other hand, have an error of just 31 years.
Stalagmite
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