Author: Mark Aldrich

Today in History: Dec. 24

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!—Joseph Mohr, “Stille Nacht”

Father Joseph Mohr, a parish priest in Oberndorf, Austria, composed a poem he called “Stille Nacht,” and brought it to a local organist, Franz Xaver Gruber, to see if he could write a tune for it. Gruber did. On this date in 1818, Mohr and Gruber debuted their song, Gruber on guitar, during a Christmas Eve Mass.

John Freeman Young translated it into English decades later, and published “Silent Night” in 1859.
Read More

The Loathsome Carl Paladino

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

Today’s WTF? MomentPatentPending …

* * * *
Carl Paladino (above) has had a busy two weeks or so. Today may bring it to a close. The Buffalo, New York, real estate developer who was the 2010 Republican nominee for New York State Governor (he lost in a landslide to Andrew Cuomo, who is still governor) was New York co-chair for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and he has been spotted among the many celebrities and office holders arriving at Trump Tower in New York City for job auditions with the incoming Trump administration. Any normal human being who might fit the above description might find themselves erring on the side of caution, of circumspection, in their public statements.

Perhaps you are not acquainted with what no one in New York State refers to as the Carl Paladino Era (2010–Present). The man is incapable of circumspection … beyond that, he is incapable of human decency.
Read More

Today in History: Dec. 23

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

No one grumbles among the oyster clans,
And lobsters play their bone guitars all summer.
Only we, with our opposable thumbs, want
Heaven to be, and God to come, again.
There is no end to our grumbling; we want
Comfortable earth and sumptuous Heaven.
But the heron standing on one leg in the bog
Drinks his dark rum all day, and is content.—Robert Bly, “Wanting Sumptuous Heavens

Robert Bly is 90 today.

A film, Robert Bly: A Thousand Years of Joy, was released in 2015 and is appearing on PBS stations:
Read More