Dona Nobis Pacem - 1st Anniversary

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Wednesday, November 07, 2007 56 Of Your Sparks




WELCOME TO THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF
DONA NOBIS PACEM
(Give Us Peace)

This is something we whipped up for our friend Mimi
yesterday to put a smile on her face.

Twas the night before Peace Globes
and all around the earth
people were busy
designing Peace Globes with mirth...

They had heard of a marble
all big and blue
they heard the story of Papa
and all that he knew

Mimi was reciting
the story with glee
how Papa would teach her
and she would make the world see

Peace is a hope
a solemn wish and a dream
some think it is untouchable
like a single marble trying to stop a stream

But Papa and Mimi
came together as one
and spread the word throughout our world
that peace can be won

Add your Peace Globe to the others
pile them up wide and high and complete the dream
If we all do so together
We can make a statement - even stop the stream

So tomorrow listen closely
if you can drown out the clatter
you might just hear Papa speak
and that is all that will matter

You will hear his voice clearly
and together with might
we can all shout to the world
Peace Globes for all
and to all a PEACEFUL NIGHT!
2007VEM


She has been working around the clock the past few weeks and we know she is exhausted.

Mimi, my friend, it is all worth it...Papa is so very proud!





Why are we posting today? Well, one simple word....PEACE.

There is so much hatred in the world and we find it so hard to comprehend. When a child comes into the world, they do not know the emotions hate or love. They must be taught these.

Yes, there is the instinctive love a baby has for it's mother and father, but love to be felt toward others is an acquired emotion.

So is the emotion hate. This emotion is learned in the home. Watching parents and siblings and how they react to each other and to the outside world. Sitting at the dinner table at night, listening to adults talk about their hatred of someone who they work with, someone who cut them off on the road that day, someone who treated them poorly...

BUT especially, the hate that is spewed about the people who are a different nationality, or ethnicity or race or religion. This is the hatred we deal with that causes young men and women from a multitude of countries to have to pick up weapons and fight each other.

As we were brought up in a Roman Catholic household, we were taught that the Bible teaches to 'love thy neighbor' and that god forgives those who sin. Forgiveness and love are basic tenets within the Bible.

This is also true of the Tanakh, the Jewish Bible which is composed of the Torah, the Nevi'im and the Ketuvim.

This is also true of the Qur'an (Koran), the holy book for Muslims. The Qur'an's teachings on matters of war and peace have become topics of heated discussion in recent years.

This misinterpretation tends to be on both sides, both Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Some critics allege that some verses of the Qur'an in their historical and literary context sanction military action against unbelievers as a whole both during the lifetime of Muhammad and after.

In response to this criticism, some Muslims argue that such verses of the Qur'an are taken out of context, and claim that when the verses are read in context it clearly appears that the Qur'an prohibits aggression, and allows fighting only in self defense.

Here within our borders, the great USA, there is still too much hatred.

Between the different nationalities...

Between the different races...

So, what it comes down to is you and me. Each of us taking the responsibility to talk to our children and not spew hatred. We can be only two generations away from PEACE if it began today.

If those around the world all made a vow to teach the children of today that love and acceptance were the only acceptable form of living their lives.

We always stressed in our home that everyone was the same...no one was different from us...

Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated...

Ah...The GREAT GOLDEN RULE....

Do Unto Others As You Would Want Them To Do Unto You

Learned it as a kid...and in the end it seems to come back to that simple statement...




"Peaceful World"
(John Mellencamp)
JOHN MELLENCAMP

Cuttin' Heads
2001
Columbia Records

* John Mellencamp - vocals, guitar
* Andy York - electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, banjo, lap steel, bass, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
* Steve Jordan - drums and percussion
* Willie Weeks - bass
* Miriam Sturm - violin, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
* Jenn Cristy - flute, percussion, background voclas, piano, organ, violin
* Moe Z M.D. - organ, clavinet, drums, percussion, backing vocals
* Pat Peterson - background vocals
* Courtney "PeeWee" Kaiser - background vocals
* Mike Wanchic - guitar, backing vocals
* Dane Clark - drums, percussion
* John Gunnell - bass
* Kenny Childers - acoustic guitar, background vocals
* David Wierheke - accordion on "Peaceful World" and "In Our Lives"
* India.Arie - vocal on "Peaceful World"

Come on baby take a ride with me
Im up from Indiana down to Tennessee
Everything is cool as can be in a peaceful world

People know this world is a wreck
Were sick and tired of being politically correct
I see through it now but I didn't at first
The hypocrites made it worse and worse
Lookin down their noses at what people say
These are just words and words are okay
Its what you do and not what you say
If you're not part of the future then get out of the way

Come on baby take a ride with me
I'm up from Indiana down to Tennessee
Everything is cool as can be in a peaceful world

Racism lives in the u.s.a.
Get hip to what Martin Luther did have to say
I don't want my kids being brought up this way
Hatred to each other is not okay
Well I'm not a preacher just a singer son
I can see more work to be done
Its what you do and not what you say
If youre not part of the future then get out of the way

Come on baby take a ride with me
I'm up from Indiana down to Tennessee
Everything is cool as can be in a peaceful world

Lay back the top and ride with me
Im up from Indiana down to Tennessee
Everything is cool as can be
In a peaceful world

The moneys good and the works ok
Looks like everything is rolling our way
Til you gotta look the devil in the eye
You know that bastards one big lie
So be careful with your heart and what you love
Make sure that it was sent from above
Its what you do and not what you say
If youre not part of the future then get out of the way

Come on baby take a ride with me
Im up from Indiana down to Tennessee
Everything is cool as can be in a peaceful world

Lay back the top and ride with me
Im up from Indiana down to Tennessee
Everything is cool as can be
In a peaceful world



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Weekend At Matt(ies)......

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Tuesday, November 06, 2007 19 Of Your Sparks




TOMORROW THE BIG CELEBRATION!!!!

FLY YOUR PEACE GLOBES TOMORROW
AND SHOW THE WORLD!!!!




Well, our flight to Baltimore was uneventful. We spent most of the flight reading the new Vince Flynn book, "Protect & Defend"...Flynn has done it again. We love Mitch Rapp and love his attitude and as we have said before, if the US could just send Rapp, Scott Horvath, & Jack Ryan over to the Middle East all of our problems would be over!

Landed and called Matt who was waiting in the 'cell-phone lot'....LOL how the world has changed in the last few years. Now almost every airport has bought property off site or converted property at the end of their borders to allow cars to sit and wait for that call to come pick up their arriving parties...

Walked outside and a few minutes later here he comes. He jumps out of the car and we grab each other in a big ole hug and kiss....(Yup...we still kiss...something I have done my whole life with my grand dad and my dad...and now with Matt)...

Jump in the car and head out. We went to his apartment which is not all that bad, but way empty. Only a couple of chairs and the TV in the living room and his futon and two small dressers in the bedroom. The microwave is on the floor in the kitchen since there is no counter space at all...

We then headed out for dinner and Matt picked a place where he could get a steak and they had a bunch of sports on the TV's...

Afterward, we headed back to his place and just talked and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Saturday began a little slow (well, hell he is a 20 year old and still knows how to sleep!), and then we headed to the Towson campus.

We ate at one of the dining halls and had a nice breakfast. We got to meet a few of the friends he knows (all women!) at the dining hall and then did a walking tour of the campus. Dang...lots of up and down on that campus...and it is bigger than we had imagined.

We ran into his friend Aaron who informed us that his fraternity was playing football that afternoon, so we decided to shoot out to the store and then come back for the game.

Off to Wal*Mart we ran, where we purchased a 12 quart pot and some of the fixin's for a pot of gravy. Then back to campus for the game.

We got there to find out the other team had forfeited the game...

We met one of Matt's other new friends, Andrew. Andrew is also pledging the fraternity that Aaron is and they tried to get Matt to pledge. Matt's thought is to do so next semester...it is not TKE like we are a member, but that is fine...

This is Matt & Andrew
Andrew said something really interesting. He had also been playing club baseball with Matt, but dropped out because the pledging was taking too much time. He told Matt on Saturday that another guy he knew had been thinking of trying out for the club team, but had been told by some of the other team members that, since he was a catcher, his task was almost impossible...seems there is a 'new kid who has the spot locked up'.

Yup...the other kid is Matt!

Andrew then took a few pictures of us, as we picked up a throw-away camera at the Wal*Mart. We thought Matt had the digital camera with him on campus, but were mistaken.
We headed out to the store to get the rest of the ingredients we needed and even found the plum tomatoes packed in Italy(you know...where Julie is with Sara!). Basically had to buy all the spices needed...

Back to the apartment around 4:30, we began the process of making a pot of gravy. Since he did not have a food mill, this pot was made with the tomatoes whole...you just cook a with a bit more heat and let them fall apart as they cook...we also made 19 meatballs...

Matt watched and helped so he could learn and do it himself soon....
Note the whole tomatoes early in the cooking stage
Stir the pot often, making sure to get all the way to the bottom

Plans were to go out to dinner, but we decided to get a pizza and some wings and rent a movie or two and hang and do something we had never done together....

We drank beers and watched the movie. It was pretty cool that we finally got to have that 'right of passage' together. We have never just sat and knocked back a few and it was nice to be able to do with Matt.

We watched "Casino Royale" which was OK, not the best Bond movie (We tend to like the Sean Connery versions best). We knocked off some beers and all the pizza and wings while we watched and as the gravy slowly cooked.

Sunday morning, we woke early and as Matt slept, we put the gravy and meatballs into tupperware and slid them into the freezer (which obviously gets SO MUCH use! LOL)...

Each round tub - 3 meatballs...The rectangular containers - 2 meatballs
There was also a pot on the stove for his Sunday dinner - 4 meatballs
Yup..that is 19...we split one! LOL

Then off to breakfast and then to the airport where we took some of these pictures in fun...



Matt broke some news to us that we will share in the next couple of weeks if his plans pan out as he is thinking....

We did not get to see his girlfriend Danielle as she was in her dorm room sick sick sick....

When we got home, we received two calls on the 'making of dinner' and gave our recommendations...

Too freakin' short ... the time went too freakin' fast...but we have discussed his coming to Memphis in January while he is on break, if he is not booked with lessons...(Matt is an instructor at a baseball academy in NJ and has a roster of clients who he works with).

Love my son...he is everything to me...and every parent knows exactly what we mean by that...



BLOGTALK RADIO UPDATE

Coming up this week on DR. BLOGSTEIN'S RADIO HAPPY HOUR: (Live on Tuesday November 6th at 9PM ET and forever archived at BlogTalkRadio.)

To show solidarity to the striking members of the Writers Guild, the Radio Happy Hour will once again be totally unscripted!

Political cartoonist Lloyd Dangle stops by to give us his humorous analysis of current events. We'll find out from the creator of "Troubletown" which of the presidential candidates will give him the most material for his cartoon, how many death threats a political cartoonist can expect to receive and what its like to grow up with a last name like "Dangle".


Also, Hollywood producer John Loar will join us. Loar, head of one year old Red Bird Cinema, a joint venture with actor Kevin Pollak and St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, will discuss the Sugar Ray Leonard biopic they have in the works. We'll also get his opinion of the Writers Guild strike and find out if we're in for a steady diet of reality TV for the next few months.


All that plus, Dangerous Lee co-hosts, SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE CYBERWAVES Vinny Bond drags his Big Leather Couch into the Radio Happy Hour Lounge and chats live with the listeners, and your calls at 646-652-4804.

Join us live every Tuesday night at 9PM ET. The Radio Happy Hour Lounge--a live chat room during show time--is a whole new reason to make sure you listen live! It’s the show within the show!


THEN ON WEDNESDAY
THE DAY OF PEACE GLOBES IN THE BLOGGOSPHERE
A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE YOUR STORIES
IN A COMPLETELY NEW WAY...




Looks like Thursday will be "GRAVY & LASAGNA" day...

Lifelogger still acting up and not allowing us to load anything new.

So...into the vault...Roger mentioned this and we have to agree...The mix of rock, jazz and even some Latin makes this a classic...



From the Allman Brothers At The Fillmore East album. Composed by Richard (Dickey) Betts.

This is from the entry for "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" on wikipedia.com:

In this performance, Betts opens the song with ethereal volume swells on his guitar, giving the impression of violins.

Slowly the evocative, lilting first theme begins to emerge, and Duane Allman's guitar joins Betts in a dual lead. The next section has the tempo pick up to a Santana-like, quasi-Latin beat, with a strong second-theme melody being driven by unison playing.

Betts now takes a solo, featuring his usual metallic-toned guitar playing. This leads into a thoughtful organ solo from Gregg Allman, with the two guitars churning rhythm figures in the background.

Now it is Duane Allman's turn, and he starts out quietly rephrasing the first theme in his more wood-toned guitar style. He then gradually builds to a high-pitched climax, with Berry Oakley's bass guitar playing a powerful counterpoint lead underneath him against the band's trademark percussive backing.

Allman cools off into a reverie, then starts up again, finding an even more furious peak. It was this long, masterful solo that drew comparisons of Duane to jazz immortal John Coltrane.

Spent, the band drops off and a relatively brief but to-the-point percussion break is taken by Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny Johanson.

The full band then enters to recap the mid-tempo second theme, and the song is smartly finished off.

Clearly kept in rapt attention, a couple of silent beats pass before the Fillmore audience erupts in applause.

The song is named after a headstone Betts saw at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia. By no coincidence both Duane Allman and Berry Oakley are buried in the same cemetery as Elizabeth Reed, as it was a place frequented by the band in their early days, for relaxing and writing songs, among other things.




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Monday with Music

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Monday, November 05, 2007 14 Of Your Sparks



DON'T MISS OUT ON THE BIG CELEBRATION!!!



OK, we have the greatest Guests on EARTH!

We love all of the comments from our Matt! post on Friday.

The weekend was fantastic, and we will tell you all about it tomorrow with pictures...

no promises on the pictures, many were taken of the two of us by the two of us (You know, holding the camera out arms length and snapping!) LOL

But one of his friends took a couple of shots...but that is part of the story so...

Pretty tired tonight...


Get involved with the BLOGBLAST FOR PEACE this Wednesday.

As most of you already know, it is the brainchild of our good friend Mimi.

Use the link above to get your Peace Globe.

If you need help, Sanni has offered to do Peace Globe for free...

And you can always send us a email and we will help out.



First three off of the i-Tunes shuffle this evening...

1) "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio): From the Together album, released by MotownRecords in 1969. It was the second and final duets studio album combining DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES and THE TEMPTATIONS into an eight-person Motown act.

Together was released on the same day (September 23, 1969) as Puzzle People, a regular TEMPTATIONS album showcasing the group's then-current psychedelic soul sound.
* Diana Ross – vocals
* Mary Wilson – vocals
* Cindy Birdsong – vocals
* Dennis Edwards – vocals
* Eddie Kendricks – vocals
* Paul Williams – vocals
* Melvin Franklin – vocals
* Otis Williams – vocals
* Various Los Angeles area session musicians – instrumentation



2)

"Peaches en Regalia" (Frank Zappa): This is the first piece on Frank Zappa's 1969 recording, Hot Rats. Hot Rats was a solo recording produced by Zappa without the Mothers. As with much of Zappa's music, there is a slew of instrumentation in this piece from the regular guitar, bass and drums to saxophones, clarinets, an octave bass guitar, flute and auxiliary percussion played by Zappa himself.
* Frank Zappa – Guitar, percussion, octave bass
* Ian Underwood – organ, clarinet, flute, piano, saxophone
* Shuggie Otis – bass on "Peaches en Regalia"
* Ron Selico – drums on "Peaches en Regalia"
* Lowell George - guitar (uncredited)




3) "Whipping Post" (Greg Allman):From the debut Allman Brothers Band album. Later recreated in it's 22:00+ minute rendition on Live At The Fillmore East album. Duane and Dickie trade guitar licks throughout.
* Duane Allman: slide guitar and lead guitar
* Gregg Allman: vocals, organ
* Dickey Betts: lead guitar,
* Berry Oakley: bass guitar, backing vocals
* Butch Trucks: drums
* Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson: drums, congas

Well folks...Lifelogger is not allowing us to upload this evening. We will try in the morning. Zappa was already uploaded, so we got that one there.




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WOOOOO WEEKEND WITH MATT!

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, November 02, 2007 28 Of Your Sparks


Julie left yesterday to see her Sara in Italy...They are together already....

Today at 5:20 PM EDT, we get to see Matt!

We are flying up to Baltimore to spend the weekend with Matt!

Tonight we will take Matt! to dinner and sit and catch up on all the things going on in both of our lives...

We understand Matt! misses our cooking....
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

So, Saturday will be spent touring the campus and the sourrounding area and then going to the store to pick up some groceries, and cooking dinner for Matt! at his apartment.

Sunday morning we will put on a big pot of gravy and meatballs and sausage so Matt! can freeze it when it is ready. Then he can have his Sunday dinners like he remembers!

It has been 6 months since we have seen Matt!

Talking on the cell phone every couple of days with Matt! just does not cut it...but this is obviously what happens...the natural progression of life...

But that does not mean it has to be easy!

As some of you might remember it was real difficult when we moved to Memphis 13 months (yup! we have been here longer than a year!) ago. How leaving Matt! behind hurt so much...sure he should have been already gone away to school, except he stayed local to play baseball at the JuCo and lived at home...but we were leaving Matt!

But today, we get to hang with Matt!

and it will be a FREAKIN' GREAT TIME!



COUCH NOTE TO SELF: GET SOME PICTURES THIS WEEKEND...



This is an oldie...but it was in our head yesterday...so

"True Love Ways" is a song co-written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and recorded with the Ray Ellis Orchestra in October 1958, four months before the singer's death.

It was first released on the posthumous The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2 in March of 1960.

This is obviously a digital recording of a vinyl release. You can hear some snaps and pops throughout, but in our opinion, it gives the entire song a warmer, feeling..

Listen closely...

You will hear Holly preparing to sing and record, saying "Yeah, we're rolling."

A piano player and trombone player start to play some notes, Holly mutters "Okay," and clears his throat.

A recordist yells "Quiet boys!" to everyone else in the room, and at the very end of the talk-back, the recordist says "Pitch Ernie" to signal the piano player to give the vocalist (Buddy) the proper note to start with.

Single releases

* USA: "True Love Ways" b/w "That Makes It Tough" (Coral Records - June 29, 1960)
* UK: "True Love Ways" b/w "Moondreams" (Coral Records - May 20, 1960)


Yes you know why
Why you and I
Will by and by
Know true love ways.

Sometimes we'll sigh
Sometimes we'll cry
And we'll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways.

Throughout the days
Our true love ways
Will bring us joy to share
With those who really care.

Sometimes we'll sigh
Sometimes we'll cry
And we'll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways.

(Instrumental Interlude)

Throughout the days
Our true love ways
Will bring us joy to share
With those who really care.

Sometimes we'll sigh
Sometimes we'll cry
And we'll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways.


Then to start the weekend...this is one of those live performances we have collected over the years. To be honest, we can only tell you that the band includes Kim Simmonds who has been the driving force of SAVOY BROWN...

Can't tell you when or where this recording was made, or even what line-up...

Might have to do a Tuneage Tutelage on SAVOY ... the lineage through and out of it is pretty impressive ....

This is labeled "Boogie", well that is what SAVOY BROWN was... a Boogie band... enjoy...




ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND...

DID WE MENTION
WE WERE GOING TO SEE

Matt!

TODAY?!?!?!!?!?!?!?


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Two Voices...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Thursday, November 01, 2007 9 Of Your Sparks



DON'T MISS OUT ON THE BIG CELEBRATION!!!

How To Get Your Peace Globe November 2007




This came to us through an email...It is a Great Idea!!!

When you are making out your Christmas card list this year,
please include the following:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington , D.C. 20307-5001



We ended up at the Grizzlies home opener against the World Champion San Antonio Spurs. Griz played a pretty decent game, though we think the Spurs could have been had tonight. They opened last night at home and had the ring ceremony and raised the banners and all... Then after the game, they HAD to celebrate right?

NOW, MAYBE THEY DID NOT CELEBRATE KNOWING THERE WAS A GAME TONIGHT.
ARE YOU KIDDING? WE'RE TALKING BASKETBALL PLAYERS HERE...THOSE GUYS PROBABLY EACH HAD FOUR WOMEN...
NOW NOW, BE NICE...THAT IS VERY MEAN...
CLAMP IT SHUT GOODY-TWO SHOES..EVEN THIS GUY KNOWS I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT...

Will you two PLEASE calm down ...it is late and we need to finish some kind of a post today...

Well, anyway...we are not huge pro basketball fans, but the seat were cool...got the tickets at the last minute and with it being Halloween, people had kids to deal with or plans, so we ended up going alone. First time we were ever in the Fed-Ex...

Someone please tell me, I know that the last pro game we went to was in San Antonio 2 years ago. We have watched it here and there on TV...BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the Fed-Ex, whenever the Grizzlies are on defense there is the obligatory da da clap da da clap sound effect...or the DE-FENCE chat over the P.A. system...We've got that, but what we are used to is a more reserved use of sound effects when the home team has the ball.

At the Fed-Ex, when the Grizzlies have the ball, they play MUSIC...not sound effects, but pieces of MUSIC! We are talking about rock and roll and light rap, and for no apparent reason other than to make sure there is noise...BUT WHILE THE OFFENSE HAS THE BALL????

Sorry, we are 'more mature' than most of you, but we remember going to basketball games and yes, you had the organ...and it did many of the sounds we hear recreated digitally now, but they were more filler then a constant soundtrack...Like the sound of sneakers scraping the floor, and being able to hear the players talking to each other (even in the higher seats in some of the old arenas)...

WHERE THE HELL DID THIS RANT COME FROM?
WILL YOU JUST PLEASE HUSH...HE IS ON A ROLL AND I AM TIRED.
HUSH UP?? WHAT THE HELL IS HUSH UP? TIRED? C'MERE AND I WILL KNOCK YOU INTO TOMORROW...

Will you PLEASE!

Where were we? OH yeah... the need to have constant entertainment...and it is really not just at basketball games, it is at football and hockey and YES!!! even at baseball games. Thought there is no use of sound effects while the ball is actually in play.

Why can't the American sporting public be entertained by what is going on during the game.

With golf, you actually have the total opposite...total silence.

With NASCAR, it is so damn loud from the cars that sound effects would be pretty incidental.

Football, hockey and baseball use the 'crowd chant' sound effects between plays, but this new thing we experienced last night during a basketball game was just a bit too much for us...

THAT'S IT? THAT'S ALL YA GOT DUDE?
WILL YOU PLEASE JUST ALLOW HIM TO FINISH.
HE IS FINISHED...THE GUY HAS NOTHING..
I AM SURE HE DOES...

WELL...MAYBE ALL THEY ARE TRYING TO DO BY PLAYING SO MUCH MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS IS TO DROWN OUT THIS GUY:



BUT I LOVE THAT GUY!!!!!!!!!!! I AM THAT GUY!!!!!!!!



Hell, we have used it before....but ....


"CENTERFIELD"
John Fogerty
Centerfield
1985
Warner Brothers

John Fogerty played all instruments on the album.



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Music On The Couch