Concert Night At La Basilique

Natalia Orlova was in Montreal this November the 11th for a magnificent récital that reeked of nostalgia, sentiment and reverence appropriate for the month of Remembrance and the tradition of “Je Me Souviens”…
Dubbed as “the voice that will conquer your soul” she delivered on all fronts in the most veneered of all surroundings: the Notre-Dame de Montreal Basilica (that we simply dub “La Basilique” of course) in an altruistic compassionate élan for this was not only her first concert for a Canadian audience but it was also a benefit concert for the Children’s Center Mechta (mechta meaning dream.) And this just as the concert was dedicated to World War II veterans as well.
We were there and, despite the distance of our seats and the lighting being not quite favorable to that, we could take some snap shots with the old cell phone if only to illustrate this humble review; now, resolution is never close to perfection with such photography but it will give you an idea of the spectacular mise en scène that surrounded the soul-conquering voice on that magical concert evening…!

As can be read on her own website, Natalia Orlova “is a classical singer and composer from St.Petersburg, Russia” – one who is equally at ease with classical material as with more contemporary sounds, as easily demonstrated by her own compositions (which can be sampled, again, on her website.)

She graduated from the Musical College of Rimskiy-Korsakov as a classical singer and then continued her higher professional education in the Theater Arts Academy on the department of the Musical Theater.
She started to give her first solo performances when she still studied at the second grade of the Musical College. Later she got the first price at the Francophone competition as the song writer for the songs that she composed and performed in French languages. So her first international concerts started in France.
There is no doubt, her vocal range impresses more than one professional of the same field and certainly captivates all music-lover’s heart with her unique way to perform that touches the cords of the soul.
Winner of numerous competitions and festivals both in her native St. Petersburg and abroad, Natalia Orlova has collaborated with several important orchestras such as the State Academic Symphonic Orchestra, The Admiralty orchestra, The Orchestra of the Radio and Television, the orchestra “Peter the Great”, etc…besides that, she also loves to often get involved and participate in charity projects…
Natalia Orlova can employ almost every vocal genres like classical operatic arias, the beautiful Russian folk songs, jazz, chanson, classic romances or romantic ballads of her personal composition.
She sang one of her personal compositions on November 11th, right here:

Наталья Орлова – as her name is truly spelled in her mother tongue – has got an angelic voice indeed. Her demeanor is that of a natural diva too; the way she made her entrance was veritably flamboyant as she walked down the main aisle at the perfect pace, carefully placing each step forward, advancing towards the improvised stage, so as to set the atmosphere for the entire evening which she handled masterfully indeed.

She alternated between classical and lyrical with ease and, after each piece, rousing applause and a few floral bouquets were only fitting as well as entirely required – for the souls of the audience had indeed been conquered by that time!

The lights illuminating the Basilique were alternating between colors most befitting of each piece and it all added to the magical atmosphere already permeating the august walls. With the aid of five local musicians (including the Basilica’s own organ player) Natalia Orlova truly enchanted her audience. The piano, guitar, balalaica and violin only accentuated that enchantment – all instruments perfectly mastered by their respective musician, each so honored to be a part of the event.

So many memorable renditions and pieces: from Novikov’s Nightingales to Zubov’s “Don’t Go Away” – from McCrae’s “In Flanders’ Field” to Schubert’s classical aria “Ave Maria”…! And her own creation too: Natalia Orlova’s own “Birch Tree” – do sample that one in particular on her website, you will be enchanted!

Her singing, heartfelt commentary between two songs and the all-around aura about her tell of a diva different from other divas: one who believes in God sincerely, knows it is a great Gift from Him that she received to be so musically gifted and one who realizes that she has the role, in effect, to bridge the gap between Heaven and Earth with this talent for music.

Her special care and attention to focus upon the souls of the departed soldiers, right from the onset of the concert, was especially touching as much as it was à propos for us here on the TLB Prime Network – even more so, we could say, than her nice gesture to include her magnificent rendition of “ô Canada” as her finale for the evening! Verily, it was another admirable gesture on her part.

Oui, Je me souviendrai toujours… du concert “Je Me Souviens… From Russia With Love” de la DIVA de St-Pétersburg, Natalia Orlova!

Make sure that you click on each and every picture for a few extras both about the concert as from the diva herself. Spaciba!

Une Soirée Au Théãtre

1910 – back when women kicked major @$$…! How things change in a 100 years, eh…

Aye – twas a fine evening of refinement at the theater; the famed théãtre du Rideau Vert, to be more specific. An evening of fine art.
Or rather an afternoon – not an evening at all, because the dernière (opposite of premiere) of the play was at 4pm – Eastern Standard Time!

And the play was… bitter Gorki (boy – that is redundant! But purposefully so – so it goes!) revisited by Russian metteur en scène extraordinaire Alexandre Marine’s version of VASSA! Of course – who better than a Russian to adapt and modernize another Russian’s masterpiece? And, I must say, the old Mariner of the stage did a masterful modernized adaptation of this classic – and just in time for its 100th anniversary too! (100th anniversary – and third collaboration between him and the stage diva of the stage that stars in it!) An adaptation so innovative too, different from previous takes on it in so many ways…

Of course the entire enterprise is well-served by a cast that is as colorful Éas it is well-trained; starting with the matriarch herself, perfectly embodied by the local diva of the Canadian stage (on the Quebec side, anyhow) Sylvie Drapeau! From there, Marine found all the suitable thespians to surround her solidly and effectively: Catherine De Léan, Jean-François Casabonne, Marc Paquet, Hubert Proulx and Evelyne Brochu, to name but them.

It was not difficult to see the reason why, mid-way through this run, Sylvie Drapeau had to take a few days rest, on doctor’s orders. For it is indeed a very physical play in which virtually everyone on stage has to get physical at some point or another: dance numbers, so many elaborate choreographies worthy of a music video that have to be repeated day after day, not to mention the fight scenes and other types of physicality as well… (On two occasions, at least, the matriarch Vassa is found slamming her hands hard on the wooden table visibly made of massive oak. On another occasion, earlier in the play, she smashes a tea cup with a hammer that appears in her hands out of nowhere! She slaps her daughter-in-law, her maiden servant and her son on three different altercations. She wrestles with her lover, trying to wrangle free of his strong arms as he lifts her effortlessly – aye, I was impressed by the strength of the stocky goateed man! But that is another story… In the near finale, with all characters on stage, it looks like a battle royale as a brawl erupts and the deformed nephew is found kicking his promiscuous uncle into oblivion! ‘Tis a very violent play, I tell you; or rather Marine’s adaptation focuses on the violence more than others ever did before! But I am digressing now… Yet again…) All this to say that, most certainly, all of this extra exercise added to the already exhausting mental gesticulation of having to memorize and articulately deliver each and every line, every single time, it had to be more than enough to drain Mrs. Drapeau of all of her creative energy – for a time! At least long enough to justify “le repos forcé” and the cancellation of a handful of représentations… (More than two – as many as five, or so I heard through the grapevine…?)

I sincerely doubt that the play was delivered every bit as well as it was on October the 16th – especially on premiere night, the actors must have been still at phase one of fine tuning their roles. The characterization was only planned out at that stage – not put in use in any other context than one of a repetition. After weeks of this fine tuning process, they can only improve with each performance. On the final evening (or afternoon, yes) the best had to come out; due to both factors.

Thus I sincerely hope that they videotaped the performance that I saw live, on October 16th, with my beloved spouse. It was, verily, a fine evening of the arts – in the afternoon, granted, but everyone could have an early dinner for that fact! And an earlier Saturday night brewski for that matter – but that is another story… again!

Anniversaries All Around…

This spring of 2010 in Boston was a marquee year, it would appear…!  For it was time…

‘Twas time to remember the winning squad that paid the price, went all the way and won it all, lo, forty years ago – the Boston Bruins 1970 Cup championship team, led by Bobby Orr, that is!

The current roster of Bruins cannot wait to do exactly the same – and, quite honestly, should have done so in recent times too!  They had the best team in 2009 to do it – and were arguably robbed blind in the process of achieving their destiny (again – sic). But that is another story, for other blogs…

Let us stay focus on the magic number 40 – the 40th, as it is here… And so, the Bruins honor a 40th anniversary – and wouldn’t you know that there is ALSO a 4oth anniversary coming up in just a few short months after that - and you would never guess where it is being painfully remembered…! Extremely painfully, yes… (At least by those who knew Pierre Laporte…)

Indeed, another 40th anniversary of note is the 40th of the October Crisis – a tiny bit further up north, in Boston’s arch-rival town, Montréal!

Isn’t it just great, eh, when two of the bitterest rivals there could be are found to be celebrating an anniversary apiece – one commemorating truly the best of times and, the other, having to remember only the worst of them? Any more ironic it could not get to be…!

For Boston, it is the remembrance of a joyful event. For Montreal, it will be the exact opposite – for they will be remembering the only time they actually felt the sharp sting of oppression up there (well, those who actually do remember at all – not necessarily the majority at all, even though everybody and their cousins have the words “Je Me Souviens” inscribed on their car’s license plate – the fact is that they DO NOT remember squat! If they did, they wouldn’t have repeated so many times the same sorry mistakes, blunders and assorted misteps! But that is another story…)

Oppression being, in this specific case, having a threat and seeing the military walking the streets, imposing curfews and suspecting one and all of being part of that threat – said threat being not much of a threat at all since it was the FLQ – the sorriest excuse for a terrorist group like you’ll never see in the Middle-East, for instance… But still – they killed a man. For not much of a cause at all, they took a life.  Thus, as such, the FLQ is to be taken on the same level of fanaticism that Al Qaida is, reputedly on a much larger scale. But that is if you believe that 9/11 was perpetrated by a bunch of amateurish hijackers and not an inside job aiming at triggering a baseless war with Iraq just for the oil that was in it for the USA – but that is another story, once more…  (Hey – maybe we’ll get into it in greater detail as we commemorate that anniversary too: the 10th anniversary of the day of infamy that saw the twin towers collapse and planes crash here and there… That anniversary is indeed approaching fast too. Maybe we’ll get into that as well – just maybe…)

The October Crisis, though, was, overall, much ado about almost nothing.  Yes, a man (Pierre Laporte) was kidnapped by the FLQ and was subsequently killed. He was a target of choice, being part of the government, but he was an odd choice since he was, quite evidently, a francophone. Had the FLQ wanted to truly terrorize their targets, they would have really lived up to that definition of a terrorist group by targeting a victim that belonged to their defined enemy, that being the anglophone population. Had they kidnapped and killed an anglophone (resorting to murder after their “demands” were not met with approval by the then mostly anglo Prime Minister of Canada – another Pierre – “P.E.T.” – Pierre Elliot Trudeau) their campaign of terror would have been far more, ah, terrorizing. And their impact far more real and felt throughout their land of origin, Québec – which was their goal, supposedly.  For, had they done that, the anglophone population would have likely started leaving in droves – the brainiest not stopping at Ontario but going further south; perhaps even to Boston, eh…?  Montreal, Quebec would have been depleted – and left to the “Québécois (im)pure laine” and the zillions of immigrants that would have been necessary to replenish the system there…! As it is, with the practically inexistent impact that the FLQ and any “mouvement indépendantiste” that exists in Québec, only millions of immigrants are necessary in order to palliate to their (also) ineffective birth rate…

Boston comes out of all this in a double-win or a win-win situation, indeed: for, 40 long years ago, as they gained new fans on both sides of the border with what would be one of two NHL championships in three years, the city had not to endure a flow of unwanted immigrants from the north coming in either…!

I wonder what Bobby Orr thought of the October Crisis that followed his Cup Championship that year…?

Bobby is from Ontario, after all…!

:!

Three Times A…

‘Tis 10/10/10, folks!

Just like last year when we had 9/9/9… And the year before that saw us have an 8/8/8… And before that we had the magnanimous 7/7/7, of course… And the ominous 6/6/6 before that… And of course, before all that we had been prepared psychologically with the 5/5/5s through 1/1/1s…! And still, all this is not to mention that in the next two years, we will have an 11/11/11 and a 12/12/12 too (watch out for that one, folks!)

You get the idea!

These once-in-a-lifetime dates that we have been living in for the past decade are always golden occasions to verse apocalyptic on you – so why not indulge them all, apocalyptically indeed, even at the risk of becoming dangerously (and did I mention apocalyptically) redundant… hmm?

How better, I ask thee, than to indulge in music and stunning (dare I add… apocalyptically stunning too?) visuals, all merged chaotically enough on videoclips for our viewing pleasure, delight and collective fright as well?

Alas, not all appropriately apocalyptic videos are embeddable- but just enough of them (10) are and, barring any future unavailability due to the enforcing of youtube rules against copyright violations, they should still be in the near future. Apocalyptic videos such as this one:

If future apocalyptic conditions prevent the viewing of any of the videos linked above or embedded below – well, it really will not matter anymore, now will it?

Therefore, enjoy viewing – while you can!

And remember – God Is An Astronaut. So do not fret over the prospect of being blown to smithereens as in this video – so much cosmic particules that will scatter all over the universe – because, well, we will just go back to the place we came from, right? We are all made of stars, hmm?

And we will fall onto capable hands then!
At last!

(Yes – that was a jab at all of our incompetent governments – combined!)

The wrath’s gonna fall on you all right – or the sun will!

And, in the meantime, do not be afraid to go against the grain – even if they say that you’re going backwards! We’re all fading away, no matter what we do – hence, it *truly* doesn’t really matter anyway!

Do not let all that fading away into nothingness and oblivion discourage you too much, though – puh-leeeeze…!

That’s right, folks: do *not* stop believing – indubitably!
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The Many Faces Of Luminous Luciano!

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It came to my attention that, in my state of ubiquitous luminescence across the world wide web, I have garnered a multi-faceted aura that mirrors quite faithfully both my multi-sided personality as also my amazing ability to indulge in multi-tasking!
That is all well, fine and dandy with me – since I wanted it that way from the very beginning! Who do you think uploaded all those luminous visualizations of moi in the first place… hmm? Here are just a few of these…

As a matter of fact, TLB Prime has, from time to time, showcased some of these pics already…
In the right corner here, a digitalized version of Young Luminous Me…! Or, as I like to call it, Luminoso En Herbe! Herbal teas now – no pot for me! It is currently subbing for me on MySpace.Com, i.o.w. my Luminous Space on MySpace! Below, we find another allusion to my luminous corporeal form – I like to call that one “Luminous After Dark”!

However, as much as it is all out there and, essentially, all over the place (forgive the Dylanism) – I seem to have lost one, at the front!
No battles are waged without casualties, as you well know…
The former profile pic I had put up at one of the fiercest battlegrounds I know (second only to sports-related message boards) was replaced by the one pic at the top left that represents the luminous early years…
I give it back to you, here and now, complete with the caption that I added to it, on a day like today; when throwing a fit…!
And then there is always this sketch that may well be my portrait… By the ever-talented Anonymous Artist…

And yes, to those in doubt, I will confirm that I am the star of my own world – just like you are the shooting one of yours! So shut your yap and admire my luminous logo once more now… *LOL*
Nota Bene: It is strongly suggested and even luminously recommended to play the following song as you peruse the visuals of this post – for a complete luminous experience! Thank You!

persuaders theme
http://stat.radioblogclub.com/radio.blog/skins/mini/player.swf

Two more faces of Luminous for you, TLB fans… (*lol*)

Very fascinating choice of words generated by the ”cyborg namedecoder” there (hmm – maybe I am a Terminator-type yet! *lol*)
I am most proud about the immediacy of certain alleged activities there – though purported to be a part of my ”agenda” and totally unfounded claims, I am nonetheless of the opinion that, if assassination should be attempted, it needs to be an immediate, swift action – yes! No beating around the bush with THAT! *LOL*
As for the sabotage – alas, it is self-inflicted most times here…
We are our own worst enemies – don’t you all know that yet?
The Adversary can only succeed in tying us in that department…
But that is yet ANOTHER umpteenth story – yes!
For another blog – and another time!
As for here and NOW…

Aww, let’s provide my luminous fans with yet MORE depictions of their adored, adorable and adoring Luminous Luciano (adoration is a two-way street too!)

May the REAL Luminous Luciano please stand up
- and shine on!

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NOTA BENE:
I do not know why WordPress is like this – yet – but I invite you all to simply have a look how much more comprehensive Blogger is towards external sources of HTML (such as the radioblogclub music player widget or either “cyborg” version of me that simply do not show up back there anymore…!)

Because, over there, (most if not exactly) all that HTML produces concrete results; results that will not replicate here, somehow… For whatever reason it is… Just have a look here.

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com – they say. This is my first post – here, that is. After thousands upon thousands… elsewhere. “Edit or delete it and start blogging!” they advise, in closing… I dunno – this kind of serves a definite purpose as it is, also and foremost, serving as a clear and concise separation between the old transferred posts originating from MSN Windows Live Spaces – and this burgeoning blogging, here.

For Luminous (\ô/) Luciano ™ has finally arrived at WordPress.com.

And that is “Mr. Luminous” to you indeed, mister…! (See comments!)

Talking about the Pope shooter who “could face jail”… everything old is new again, eh?

 

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Pope shooter could face jail

The Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II may have been released from prison by mistake and could be sent back to his cell for the killing of a Turkish journalist, a newspaper said Friday.

 

They release killers – even those with a degree of notoriety – "by mistake" now?!?

 

*Sheesh*  

 

I had a nightmare one time… it was the endtimes and some BUG IN THE SYSTEM caused all the jails to let loose of all of their criminals… And it was total anarchy within nanoseconds!

It would be  funny in a very bitter way to see THAT dream of mine come true – when my GOOD DREAMS did not…!  

Oh yeah – Karol Wojtyla must be rolling in his grave… or whatever it is that they encased him in, in Rome…

 

Talking about “Looking at the big films of 2006″… HA!

 

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Looking at the big films of 2006

eTalk Daily’s David Giammarco has a sneak preview of the big hits of 2006, including ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ ‘Superman’ and ‘Mission Impossible 3.’

 

Really now… what is so "big" about that short list of titles there? (A list that is missing one "surefire blockbuster" – surprisingly enough – which is "X3"… another movie resting solely upon the shoulders of a single character; and that would be Wolverine! What, you thought the geeky Cyclops would be it? Nah. And people don’t take to angels anymore – so it cannot be Cyke’s fellow original X-Man member, Angel… Nowadays, people want their heroes to look and feel as evil as evil itself… that makes a whole lot sense, doesn’t it?).  

The top three films of 2006, if these predictions are correct, will be as unimaginative as the top 3 for 2005 (which were, in ascending order, Tom Cruise’s remake-of-a-vehicle for himself of… War of the Worlds… Harry Potter’s latest sequel… and the final episode of the Star Wara saga! Gee… that’s all-new, all-original stuff for you… isn’t it?).  So, in 2006, we’ll get… another Tom Cruise vehicle (doesn’t he know he was voted "most annoying star" recently? But, in fairness to it all, he was voted as such because of his RELIGION – and not because of his sorry excuses for contributions to cinematography! Which corroborates my point about angels earlier… indirectly but still…)  after that we get another adaptation of a hugely popular book (mercifully, NOT a Harry Potter book – but The Da Vinci Code is not that much of an improvement… NO) and after that we get a remake… of SUPERMAN?!?

Sheesh.

Any more unoriginal than that and Hollywood will turn into reality TV for the Big Screen…!

Kudos though for the courageous young man who will take up the Big "S" cape and mantle of "the last son of Krypton"…  officially that is (because the hipster they have on Smallville is something… anything… but NOT "Superman"!  Not Superboy either… Super Impostor?  That must be it…)

Surely, the new Superman must know what he’s up against – no, I don’t mean lame-o villainy in the form of Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Mr. Mxyzptlk, The Prankster and (hahahaha) TERRA-MAN… No… I mean the CURSE OF SUPERMAN!

What happened to Kirk Alyn’s career?  It died.

What happened to George Reeves?  HE DIED.

What happened to Christopher Reeve?  Well… you get the picture.

 

It just isn’t worth it really – to risk so much just to bring to life a four-color, tights-wearing, two-dimensional super-hero in a freaking motion picture…

 

Not to mention that Superman sort of ripped off Hercules, Samson, the origin of Moses… and Jesus Himself!

But that is another story…

THE BIG FILM of 2006 – if numbers forbode anything of value with any degree of accuracy – would be THE OMEN 666… simply because it seems to be the time for it!  It will be released on June 6th (the release date will read as… 6/6/6 hence!) and besides… aren’t we in the End Times folks?

Sure looks like chaos out there, to me!

Now THAT is cinematography that MATTERS – in sync with the dire times we live in!  No silly son of creepy Krypton, no bogus code attributed to a famous name of the past and certainly no muties with an unrealistic, improbable and all-around unbelievable "X-gene" can even BEGIN TO COMPARE…!

And comic-book readers should be reading other fare too…!   

 

 

Dialogue with the atheist…

I THOUGHT I WOULD SALVAGE THIS REBUTTAL HERE – FOR ALL OF ETERNITY *LOL* – MY REPLY TO A CERTAIN ATHEIST I WAS HAVING A HEATED EXCHANGE WITH (FLAMEWAR! FLAMEWAR!) ON SOME MESSAGE BOARD TIME FORGOT… (time might as well forget it if they ban me for being RIGHT!) 

 

"Right and Wrong 101…? 

You do need a course like that all right… 

For starters, it is so very wrong to belittle someone who is loved by another right in front of that other person… it is classless, it is base… it is low. Forget the fact that it is, *potentially* a very real God Creator of ALL that you are belittling here – it could be anybody; ONE SHOULD NOT DO AS YOU REPEATEDLY DO.

I, for one, would have never retaliated in kind (belittling you and your hubby, alternatively) if YOU had not done so first… most of the time with God Himself.

You say it cannot be proven either way – if God exists or not… then why is your stance so firm in your unbelief? I see no indication that you are any more open to discussion than you think me NOT to be!

You KNOW (if you are "spiritual" in the least) in your heart what is right and what is wrong – I need not address that! 

You know what your problem is? You likely have not been through enough in your *little* life…! If you had gone through any trial at all, you would be more sensitive where it counts…

"Religion is for those who don’t want to go to Hell. Spirituality is for those of us who have already been through it."  – Anonymous

"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

You cannot deny the spirituality in you, as hard as you may try. You stripped yourself of any religion, but you remain spiritual – otherwise, your heartlessness would reach such depths the average human mind could not fathom… however, there are many who reach those depths indeed; EVIL sure as… HELL (!) DOES EXIST!  But it comes not from minor human annoyances… it comes not even from man himself – man is but a pawn of his own basic instincts which are the ideal playground of the Evil One… but what am I saying? This group is about "GOD?" not about the "DEVIL?"But, again, as I said in my very first post here, unspeakable evil exists – and to think that a fellow human being is capable of it, all on his own, is truly sickening. The Devil is not a mere scapegoat as much as he is an explanation for otherwise unexplainable  acts, events and madness… and heartlessness, of course. You KNOW what is right – you KNOW what is wrong; therefore, there is still *some* hope for you…!It is not intrinsically "wrong" to ask questions (such as "is there a God?" even).  But it has to be done so WITH AN OPEN MIND! PRACTICE what you PREACH, I dare say! 

It is not intrinsically wrong to seek "freedom" – but freedom to do the RIGHT THINGS! Not to go astray, LEAD others astray and do as you please without moral code to speak of regulating your actions, words and endeavours…!  You just said so yourself – you CANNOT prove that you are right about this; so don’t go on a campaign proclaiming that "there is no God" – what will happen to you if THERE IS… hmm?  No – this isn"t "scare tactics"… just PURE LOGIC!  You don’t believe… fine! I don’t really want all of eternity next to you in Heaven! HOWEVER – it is your own BEST INTEREST to keep the door open… or, at least, ajar…! 

Forget about bashing the Church – they are NOT GOD. They are as flawed as you (and me, sure…)  *laugh*  Many concepts the Church has come up with are not even substantiated by the Word (but of course, yeah, you don’t read the Word…). Fact of the matter is, the Truth is only COMPLETELY known by the Creator Himself – the Bible and any other valid holy book is but distilled knowledge obtained drop by drop…Early on, in this thread, Gilgamesh was mentioned… and Utnapishtim, aka Noah! The Great Flood predates it all – the Good Book, the epic of Gilgamesh, any records of a Flood in fact (and there are so many).  Likewise the devil is a well-known character known by most if not all cultures. Jesus RETURNS in the Koran too… I could go on… countless compelling cases of prophecy fulfilled out there… but why waste my time barking up the wrong tree?  Some trees are dry beyond recuperation; only a great downpour such as… hmm… the Great Flood (!) could remedy to that! 

You hinted that I was "a bit too much" or haughty or snobbish even by decrying that having the wrong ideals and the freedom to make them prevalent was most definitely not a "good thing"…

Well, here’s one more quote for ya… 

"It is a kind of spiritual snobbery that makes people think they can be happy without money."  – Francois Rabelais (1494 – 1553)  Snobbery it may be… but TRUE IT IS ALSO! 

And note that it is "spiritual snobbery" –  got to be the very best kind! 

 "

About “eTalk’s top ten falling stars”…

 

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eTalk’s top ten falling stars

As a counter to Barbara Walters’ 10 most fascinating people of 2005, eTalk brings you the 10 stars from 2005 that we’re ready to forget about.

 

Surprisingly the top two names on that list were whatshername pictured here (…) who figures to be reigning as the current TV primetime queen… maybe not after all, eh?

And, as the number one least fascinating: a couple…

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.  Hmm… but their story has not even begun yet…?!?

 

Oh well…  

 

The rest of the top ten included, in no particular order: Pamela (…), J-Lo (…) and her new hubby (whatsisname again?), Prince William (boooooring… right?) and Nick (…).

Who’s Nick, you ask?  

Nick Lachey – the ex-Mr. Jessica Simpson!

Maybe they are right in predicting an entry into "has-been land" for him…