Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, July 06, 2007 15 Of Your Sparks

DAMN IF YOU ARE GOING TO LEAVE THEM WITH MUSIC AT LEAST MAKE IT UPLIFTING!
OK,, OK GET OFF MY BACK!

This one has always been able to get me to feeling better about things...so we share it with you...
The song is called "Mountain Jam" and in the credits it says "Theme From First There Is A Mountain"
Music is credited to the band...



If you have the time...listen...

This just - to me - illustrates a climb...it begins...quickly...building...building...then it slows down...hitting the wall...and then the motion begins again...falling backward...getting up and trying once again...until the crescendo at the end...when you know you have made it...

To me, it is an uplifting song, especially the second half...

But it is not a background song...you have to give it your attention...There is layer upon layer of music here and to appreciate it...If you can...turn it up, close your eyes and just let it envelop you...

It is long (33 minutes)...but if you can get 15 minutes in or so, after the drum solos you will hear the most magnificent slide guitar work...

Anyway...we have been listening to it often - not working yet...

See you all soon.



Please stay well and enjoy happiness...

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Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Thursday, July 05, 2007 12 Of Your Sparks



Please stay well and enjoy happiness...

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Independence Day 2007

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Wednesday, July 04, 2007 15 Of Your Sparks

A rerun from 07/03/2006
With a new opening, some formatting changes and the addition of music
enjoy!

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HAPPY
INDEPENDENCE DAY
to our guests from the U.S.A.

To those of you not celebrating
Happy Wednesday!

Musically, today you have your choice of:
Elvis

or Ray
(who does the third verse and then the well know first verse)

or BOTH today!


Please stay well and enjoy happiness...

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June 11, 1776, five men meet in secret...their goal, to draft a resolution by which the 13 colonies would break from rule by the British. These five men (John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston & Roger Sherman), decided that Mr. Jefferson would write the original draft.

When he was done, Franklin and Adams made some minor changes and these changes were incorporated prior to presenting the document to the Continental Congress on June 28, 1776.


John Trumbull's famous painting is usually incorrectly identified as a depiction of the signing of the Declaration. What the painting actually depicts is the five-man drafting committee presenting their work to the Congress. Trumbull's painting can also be found on the back of the U.S. $2 bill.




On July 2, 1776, independence was declared as outlined in the "Lee Resolution" presented to the Continental Congress by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia on June 7, 1776, which read (in part):

"Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."

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The full declaration (after some additional rewriting) was adopted at the Pennsylvania State House on July 4, 1776.

The original was signed by John Hancock and Charles Thompson. Then a local printer, John Dunlop spent the evening printing 150-200 copies of the document. The original document never survived but there are about 25 original "Dunlap broadsides" in existence.

On July 19, 1776, Congress ordered a new handwritten copy be produced and signed by all of the original delegates to sign.

On August 2, 1776, most of the delegates signed this document, in geographic order of their colonies from north to south, though some delegates were not present and had to sign later. Two delegates never signed at all. As new delegates joined the congress, they were also allowed to sign. A total of 56 delegates eventually signed. This is the copy on display at the National Archives.

The youngest to sign was Edward Rutledge (26). The oldest, Benjamin Franklin (70).

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THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

Today- do not skip over it - read it...this is our freedom

When, in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the Causes which impel them to the Separation.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence indeed, will dictate, that Governments long established, should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.

Such has been the patient Sufferance so these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the Present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let the Facts be submitted to a candid World.

COUCH NOTE: * The signers then list 27 grievances against the British Crown. The grievances are directed personally at the King

In every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.

Nor have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We have warned them from Time to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence.

They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends. We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL CONGRESS, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of the divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

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THE SIGNERS
In order - North to South
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Were these men perfect? Absolutely not! We all know that many were slave owners and that their words did not represent slaves. Women were also not represented in this document or it's meaning. But right in the beginning, they also gave those that follow the ability to change as the times changed:

"that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Over the centuries, our ancestors have righted these wrongs and given those who were once slaves their freedom and women the right to vote.

Did these changes come easily? Of course not, change is never easy. The change that these men saw fit in the 1700's was certainly not easy. The civil war pitted brother against brother in some cases. The fight for a woman's right to vote was long and hard.

For the most part the changes that have needed to be made have been made.

Are we perfect today? Like our ancestors, we are not. We have many things that we still need to change and slowly over time we can only hope they will.

Will they change without struggle? Again...no.

But the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is built on the words that change can be made...and without those words who knows what our lives would be today.

Today we celebrate the day these patriots stood up to a government that was intolerable. We get together with friends and loved ones and enjoy the company of all. We barbeque and eat and drink and laugh and smile.

Many will watch the fireworks - which represent the battles that took place during the original fight for freedom.

What we no longer do, it seems, is stop to reflect on the lives that were lost during this struggle and the lives that have been lost in the many struggles that followed. Not only the wars we fought with our military (we have days to honor those brave men and women)...but the lives that were lost fighting for freedom within the USA.

The lives lost by those who fought for racial freedom.

The lives lost by women during their struggle for equality.

The lives lost over the right to choose.

The lives lost by those who have protested what they have felt are unfair policies of our govenment.

All these lives have been lost in the continuing struggle to get it right.

Will we ever get it right?

I certainly can not answer that question, but I can certainly hope and pray we do our best to get as close as possible.

So, today, JULY 4, 2007, as you sit with friends and family and throw another burger on the grill or pop open another beer, take one moment and silently thank those people who began the fight in 1776 and all of those who have continued the fight over the last 231 years...

We are not perfect...but we could be so much less perfect without them.

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CREDITS:

"AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL"

Elvis Presley
"Live In Las Vegas"
12/06/1975
-+-
Ray Charles
"A Message From the People"
1972

Words by Katharine Lee Bates,
Melody by Samuel Ward


COUCH NOTE: Have you ever read all the lyrics? So much more there than just the first verse which praises our land. The verse every child knows.

The remaining verses praise the people and the struggle that was fought and won.

Katharine Lee Bates wrote the original version in 1893. She wrote the 2nd version in 1904. Her final version was written in 1913.

Here is a note from Katharine Lee Bates we found on the internet:

"One day some of the other teachers and I decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pikes Peak. We hired a prairie wagon. Near the top we had to leave the wagon and go the rest of the way on mules. I was very tired. But when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse."


O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

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Vacation

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Tuesday, July 03, 2007 20 Of Your Sparks

As you all know, we are a semi-regular with DOC BLOGSTEIN on his RADIO HAPPY HOUR with JANE every Tuesday evening at 9:00pm EDT.

The link is along the left side bar.
We now ask you, our guests here on THE COUCH, to help raise the presence of the RADIO HAPPY HOUR around the world...

If you have a few second (no signups required)...do the following please:

1.Go here

2. Click vote

3. Enter email address (they don't send emails--only ask for confirmation)

4. Ask a friend or two or twelve to do it too

5. Rinse and repeat once per month
From Doc and Jane and myself..... danks so much!

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If you have not noticed, we linked our dear friend Meribah over under the FAV SITES...just look for the insane puppy!

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Other than that...I really have nothing else to post about.

I did write a long very intense post, but this is not the right place for it.

Consider this a vacation

I might be visiting your homes, I might not...

Don't forget us...we will be back sometime

Wednesday, we will post our contribution from last year for the holiday.

PLEASE be safe...


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Too Much Information...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Monday, July 02, 2007 23 Of Your Sparks

It feels like we am Mimi for a day with 3...count 'em kiddies....
THREE memes flung at us...

SO...without further ado...(ummmm adooooooo adooooooooo - be right back - OK, went to the mirror and watched the lips adoooooooooo is cool...not as cool as other words, but cool...)

Where were we?
GET A MOVE ON YOU IDJIT...THIS IS TAKING FOREVER
PLEASE, LET HIM TRY AND BE SLIGHTLY HUMOROUS, YOU KNOW HOW THAT MAKES HIM FEEL BETTER...
SLIGHTLY HUMOROUS? IS THAT ALL I AM?
OH PLEASE, DO NOT LISTEN TO MY CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM...
BUT...
WILL YOU SHUT UP AND JUST DO THE DANG MEMES?



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MEME ONE FROM STARR...
"THE BIRTHDAY MEME"

Here are the rules: You go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (only month & day). Then you write down 3 events, 2 births, 1 holiday, and then you tag 5 friends.

JUNE 16, 1954

3 Events
1960 - Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho opens in New York.

1967 - Monterey Pop Festival begins; Monterey, California.

1996 - First round of voting in the Russian presidential election.


2 Births
1970 - Phil Mickelson, American golfer

1971 - Tupac Shakur, American Rapper

1952 - Gino Vannelli, Canadian singer and songwriter


1 Holiday
Bloomsday, in honour of Leopold Bloom, the hero of James Joyce's Ulysses set on 16 June, 1904.

There are five slots in the meme list.... as you are tagged, you have to remove the name in the first slot and bump everyone up so that your name can be added to the bottom.

Are We There Yet?
Maggie Moo
108th
Starrlight
Big Leather Couch


This one has been round and round..please grab it if it has not reached you...

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Starr also slid this one in under the door...so

FIVE THINGS

1.What were you doing 10 years ago?
We had just moved back from Boston. We moved in March of ’97. Was working 10 minutes from home and the company was honoring their agreements (at that time). Matt was 10 and playing Little League and was just playing in his first All-Star Tournament. Unfortunately, we had made plans to go to Florida and he only played in one game. It was the last year we ever planned any vacations before August!

2.What were you doing 1 year ago?
Out of work…at home…ducking creditors…not having a good time at home.


3. Five snacks you enjoy:
Popcorn – no butter
Chips Ahoy cookies
Famous Amos Oatmeal Raisin cookies
Cantaloupe
Rocky Road ice cream


4. Five songs to which you know all the lyrics:
Sugar Magnolia – Grateful Dead
One Way Out – Allman Brothers
Walk This Way – Aerosmith
Frosty the Snowman – The Chipmunks hehe
Places I’ve Been – Taylor Hicks


5. Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
Pay for college for all my nieces and nephews
Pay off the homes for Rich/Cindy, Lynn/Kevin and mom and dad
Establish a trust for Matt for when he hits 30
Pay off my debt
Establish a charitable fund to help rebuild hurricane ravaged and inner city baseball fields


6. Five bad habits:
Procrastination
Snacking
Smoking
Letting my emotions get away at times (ah the Gemini)
Not always finishing what we star……


7. Five things you like doing:
Listening to live music
Watching live baseball (all levels)
Blogging
Watching TV
Swimming in the ocean



8. Five things you would never wear again:
Black suede Beatle boots
Flared bell bottoms
Hukapoo shirts
Shoulder-padded linen jacket
Speedo (We worked as a lifeguard in our “yute” and yes we worn them)




9. Five favorite toys:
Remote control
DVD recorder
Risk
Trivial Pursuit
4 silk scarves


Again...if you have not done this one...go crazy...

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THE MAGIC 8

We’ve been tagged by the lovely and talented Angell from Angell’z Secretz to give eight pieces of trivia about myself.

First, The Rules:

We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.

  • Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
  • People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
  • At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
  • Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

  1. We lie in bed on Sunday mornings watching SportsCenter, Outside The Lines & The Sports Reporters.
  2. We wake at 7:05 AM every morning. At one point recently we had our own private wake-up service. It was wonderful.
  3. There is a TV on always..even when music is playing (yes, we mute the TV sound).
  4. Can not help but tear up if Extreme Home Makeover is on. Just gets to me every time. (Go on giggle...we will wait....done? OK, let's move on...)
  5. We have not been in a movie theater in over 5 years. Sad, we know.
  6. We have never read Moby Dick. Sad, we know.
  7. We hate those Geico "Caveman commercials" and now they are even making a comedy series about them!
  8. There is someone who makes me smile.
Taking the total easy way out... all y'all can tag all ya want...

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At this point (8:11 PM) lifelogger.com (Where we store our music)
is down for maintenance. Maybe no music....
10:50...lifelogger.com back in business and so are we...

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CREDITS:

"YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL"
Joe Cocker
Composers: Billy Preston & Bruce Fisher

"I CAN STAND A LITTLE RAIN"

Joe Cocker (Vocals)
Randy Newman (Piano)
Greg Mathieson (Piano)
Chuck Rainey (Bass)
Nicky Hopkins (Piano)
Clydie King (Bass / Vocals)
Henry McCullough (Guitar)
Jim Price (Organ /Piano / Trombone / Keyboards / Vocals)
Jimmy Webb (Piano)
Stewart Blumberg (Trumpet)
Ollie E. Brown (Drums)
Merry Clayton (Vocals)
Cornell Dupree (Guitar)
Venetta Fields (Vocals)
Jay Graydon (Guitar)
Ralph Hammer (Guitar)
Jim Horn (Saxophone)
Jim Karstein (Drums)
Trevor Lawrence (Saxophone)
Steve Madaio (Trumpet)
Greg Matheson (Piano)
David McDaniels (Bass)
Daniel Moore (Vocals)
David Paich (Piano)
Ray Palmer (Guitar)
Jeff Porcaro (Drums)
Ray Parker, Jr. (Guitar)
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie (Drums)
Chris Stewart (Bass)
Richard Tee (Organ / Piano / Keyboards)
Mayo Tiana (Trombone)
Dave McDaniel (Bass)
Ollie Brown (Drums)
Peggy Sanduig (Organ)
Sherlie Matthews (Vocals)

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