I knew "Hard Times Come Again No More" forever before I learned a year or so back that it's a Stephen Foster song.

Merry Christmas, friends. It's been a hard year. Take heart, take comfort where you can.

"All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well."
-- Blessed Julian of Norwich.

Non-Itunes user anarcho-capitalist query: that's not Emma's version on Itunes, is it? (If so, I might consider downloading and installing.) There's a free, not bad, non-Itunes version, here.

No, those links don't go to Emma Bull's version, more's the pity. Merry Christmas, Lenny, you excellent pain in the ass.

Thanks, Patrick, and Lenny (that's the one I'm listening to, not being up to the iTunes thing at the moment).

Merry Christmas, Making Light folks, and in particular to Teresa and Patrick, for, well, having us all over at your place. It is a haven, and in its way a blessing. Thank you for another wonderful, insightful, funny, outrageous, horrifying, joyful year of commentary and discussion.

Here in Perth, Western Australia (Dave Luckett could back me up here), it's a particularly splendid, mild afternoon, about 26 degrees Celsius, sunny, light breezes blowing.

Patrick notes 'No, those links don't go to Emma Bull's version, more's the pity. Merry Christmas, Lenny, you excellent pain in the ass.'

According to Emma, Cats Laughing played it live, but there are no recordings of it.

If any of you haven't heard Cats Laughing, we've got an authorized MP3 of their 'For It All' song up here

greenmanreview.com/mp3/catslaughing_foritall.mp3

Lenny, that was Mavis Staples singing on the Stephen Foster tribute album. So asking if it was me is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about me. Woohoo!

I have a Stephen Foster songbook from 1961 (originally published 1934): Songs of Stephen Foster, University of Pittsburgh Edition, 25 cents. It was my mother's and it not only has his songs, but offers specific voice arrangements, stories about the songs, and pictures and illos.

2005: For me personally, a year of struggle, a year of learning what doesn't work and how to fix it, a year of living on savings (partly choice, partly circumstance), a year of watching peoples around the world get it in the shorts far harder than I had, a year of listening to people who had it far better than I am piss and moan about it, a year of giving when I could, taking gracefully when it was given, and trying to be a good friend when possible.

2006: End of 2005 got the house refinanced with enough cash out to ease the financial stress, Jim starts a new job on Jan 3 that actually pays him a good salary, everybody's healthy (except for Hermes who went to the vet's the other day for what the vet calls his "quarterly abcess inspection"), and possibilities for growth and good things happening.

Thank you for reminding me of this song, Patrick. I listen to the Jennifer Warnes version whenever I can find it. We own it, but I admit that I am powerless over music, and my music is unmanageable.

I never did thank you for the Carlton Draught Beer ad, which I have bookmarked. Now I have something to giggle about whenever I play Carmina Burana. It's dreadful to be a classical musician and have words by Allen Sherman, Fred Waring, et al running through your mind as you play the world's greatest music.

Peace to all on all holidays,
Madeleine

Madeleine: don't you mean Fred Oo-aring?

You'll be happy (?) to know that the director of Philharmonia, the middle-school-age feeder group for Athens Youth Symphony, upon finding out that most of them had never seen it, sat the entire orchestra down and made them watch "The Rabbit of Seville" (they were learning the overture to Barber of Seville at the time).

Ah, culture!