Previous William Thomas Sherman Info Page postings, quotes, observations, etc.
["Don McLean - And I love you so (1976)"]
In case you missed it at our Lee's Legion page, "The Woeful Fates of the Cavalry" (.pdf)
Wow, Julie Adams on a "Bonanza" episode (circa 1961)! As misery loves company, I thought some of you, out of charity, might want to share with me in this. I'd prefer to post apropos clips instead, but since such is not at present possible, we'll have to settle for the full episode, and which can be seen (following a needless commercial) at Wow, Julie Adams on a "Bonanza" episode (circa 1961)! As misery loves company, I thought some of you, out of charity, might want to share with me in this. I'd prefer to post apropos clips instead, but since such is not at present possible, we'll have to settle for the full episode, and which can be seen (following a needless commercial) at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKUBhT7HKFA&feature=related
The war that never ends you think is over, but, in truth (and, of course, unfortunately), it never is (or was); not, at any rate, until there is truth.
I was doing a search for the best version of this song on YouTube I could find, and regrettably couldn't locate one that would quite do. Each has one thing or other not quite right with it, and this particular song (and coming as it does from a show), superb and outstanding as it is, needs to be done just right in order to give it it's true and proper force (or it will fall flat.) This performance from a production staged at Cagayan University in the Philippines is as good or better as any I heard on YT, only Judas and Jesus seem to be too distant from the microphone. Mary (Princess Aline Nonieh Zorayda Casinabe Improso), however, suffers from no such problem, and since her singing is so good it's at least worth posting for that reason.
["Everythings Alright - Jesus Christ Superstar Liceo"]
How perfectly apt a metaphor must a man's drowning at sea be to a person's death in the sometimes chaotic and inundating circumstances of this life -- a vision and view no where better realized than in William Cowper's (1731-1800) poem "The Castaway" (1799):
"OBSCUREST night involv'd the sky,
Th' Atlantic billows roar'd,
When such a destin'd wretch as I,
Wash'd headlong from on board,
Of friends, of hope, of all bereft,
His floating home for ever left.
"No braver chief could Albion boast
Than he with whom he went,
Nor ever ship left Albion's coast,
With warmer wishes sent.
He lov'd them both, but both in vain,
Nor him beheld, nor her again.
"Not long beneath the whelming brine,
Expert to swim, he lay;
Nor soon he felt his strength decline,
Or courage die away;
But wag'd with death a lasting strife,
Supported by despair of life.
"He shouted: nor his friends had fail'd
To check the vessel's course,
But so the furious blast prevail'd,
That, pitiless perforce,
They left their outcast mate behind,
And scudded still before the wind.
"Some succour yet they could afford;
And, such as storms allow,
The cask, the coop, the floated cord,
Delay'd not to bestow.
But he (they knew) nor ship, nor shore,
Whate'er they gave, should visit more.
"Nor, cruel as it seem'd, could he
Their haste himself condemn,
Aware that flight, in such a sea,
Alone could rescue them;
Yet bitter felt it still to die
Deserted, and his friends so nigh.
"He long survives, who lives an hour
In ocean, self-upheld;
And so long he, with unspent pow'r,
His destiny repell'd;
And ever, as the minutes flew,
Entreated help, or cried—Adieu!
"At length, his transient respite past,
His comrades, who before
Had heard his voice in ev'ry blast,
Could catch the sound no more.
For then, by toil subdued, he drank
The stifling wave, and then he sank.
"No poet wept him: but the page
Of narrative sincere,
That tells his name, his worth, his age,
Is wet with Anson's tear.
And tears by bards or heroes shed
Alike immortalize the dead.
"I therefore purpose not, or dream,
Descanting on his fate,
To give the melancholy theme
A more enduring date:
But misery still delights to trace
Its 'semblance in another's case.
"No voice divine the storm allay'd,
No light propitious shone;
When, snatch'd from all effectual aid,
We perish'd, each alone:
But I beneath a rougher sea,
And whelm'd in deeper gulphs than he."
After all that's happened and the ample time one has had now to think about it, I'll never for the life of me ever understand why anyone ever listened seriously to spirit people in the first place (aside, of course, from the holy spirit who and which is, after all, the Great Spirit.) They have their virtues and strengths, true, yet so overtly devious and underhanded, if not acutely violent, are their methods; so hypocritical and self-contradicting are their self- importance juxtaposed with their simultaneous forcing themselves on others; so egregiously manipulative are the ecstasies and putative heaven they would foist; the very stupidest and most arrogant people in the world (without exception) are and always have been such as listen to and follow their lead; that how much rudimentary intelligence and powers of ratiocination does it take to realize they are discredited and not worth trusting? Really, there is a lot of childishness and foolishness in this furtive interacting with the "beyond' that has gone on through the ages; a signal fact that must and should not be ignored or overlooked. Naturally, we don't want to be prejudice or unfair to spirit people, but to accept and receive them on the basis of whatever their prodigious strengths and merits makes as much sense as saying that because this person is white and rich he is therefore a good and honorable man.