Unexpected But Appreciated Christmas Gift From Perla

About a week before Christmas I received a very pleasant surprise from Perla Batalla, a very talented, versatile singer from Ojai, California, that I had the honor of opening for some years ago at the Stone's Throw here in Eau Claire. Dedicated to her recently deceased father-in-law, Claud Mann, Jr., the album is as much of a gem as all her other great albums.

Entitled "We Three Kings", one might suspect that it is a Christmas album, but it is so much more. We Three Kings, the first cut, is done with a latin beat and sparse string accompaniment which helps to show case Perla's amazing voice.

The second cut is A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square/Joy to the World, an inventive juxtaposition of two well known songs that Perla weaves together seamlessly.

The third cut, Christmas Time is Here, features Perla's daughter Eva-Batalla-Mann. They sing together and the blend is perfect! Heavy with jazz influences, it is a very soothing, deeply moving Christmas salute that makes one want to sit in front of the fire with a cup of schnapps-laced hot chocolate and take in the beauty of a decorated Christmas tree and the warmth of a good fire. Perla adds Spanish lyrics with the help of Gilberto Gonzalez.

The fourth cut, Noche De Paz/Silent Night starts with a beautiful. jazzy Latin piano and features, once more, Perla's deeply touching vocal style. I am tempted to say that it is one of my favorites, but how does one choose a favorite???

One of the things that makes this CD so very special is that it is a compilation that you can play year round as the fifth cut is a simply scripted, guitar only, version of the old folk ballad The Water is Wide with Marty Van Loan on guitar. Marty Van Loan has been a performing singer songwriter in the southern California area for the past 20 years. In 1997 he was a finalist in the Telluride troubadour contest and after you listen to him play, you might want to look into his own recordings.

Perla teams with daughter Eva again on the old spiritual Mary Had a Baby featuring sweet, sweet harmonies.

The Little Drummer Boy follows with simple yet complex instrumentation of piano, bass, drums, and a special performance by Perla's husband Claud Mann on Congas and bongos.

Eva's Danny Boy blew me away the first time I heard her sing it! And it continues to blow me away each time I listen to this recording which she made in 2005. I can only imagine how proud Perla must be of her daughter!

As Perla was at one time a back up singer for Leonard Cohen, it is only fitting that she includes the song Hallelujah by Mr. Cohen as the next to last cut on the CD.

Perla concludes the CD with a stirring rendition of Auld Lang Syne - one which I will be certain to play tonight, New Year's Eve - and I shall lift a glass to both Perla and Eva and thank the powers that be that I was fortunate enough to meet Perla!

Do yourself a favor and order this CD! You can find it on Perla's site at: www.perla.com.

________________________________________________________________

Christmas 2008 Laid Back

Christmas 2008 was a pretty laid back affair for me. Kim left for Minneapolis to be with her mom and sister on Friday, December 19. That same day I trekked to Wisconsin Rapids and did a pizza party for a Rapids Urologist.
Christmas eve morning, armed with a brand new Garmin 750 GPS, I went to Madison to pick up my son Jonathan at the Madison airport. I am impressed with the Garmin's capabilities and it was a good purchase for someone who is constantly trying to find out of town addresses. Couple that with my constant thirst for gadetry, and it makes for more interesting road experiences.

My time with Jon was very special this year. We took a day to go over to Menomonie to the cemetery and visit, at Jon's request, the grave site of Grandpa Jack and Grandma Alice. We then drove out and past the farmstead where Jon spent many happy times visiting and jamming with child hood friend, Geoff Keezer.

Since Jonathan doesn't get many chances to experience home cooking, I rustled up a pizza the first night he was in and for Christmas eve dinner we did a turkey with all the trimmings. It was way too much food for two guys, but what the heck!

Jonathan left on Christmas morning and Kim came home later that afternoon.

December 26th we joined Kristi, Joy, and Kim's cousin Bill and his wife Helen and their two sons for lunch in Hudson to celebrate Joy's 76th birthday.

Other than that, it has been a pretty quiet time. We have been renting quite a few movies. Last night we watched Will Smith in "I Am Legend" -- pretty much a downer!

This afternoon I am meeting with the local Veteran's Administration officer to be certain that I am signed up for all benefits as there may be some serious changes as of the first day of 2009.

________________________________________________________________

I watched the Green Bay Packers final game of the season yesterday and personally I didn't think it very classy of the Green Bay fans to take up a chant of "0-16" towards the end of the game, taunting the Lions, especially since our own team ended up with a 6-10 record - not something to be that proud of!

The Lions, decimated with injuries, (17 players on disabled list!) played with a lot of pride and hung in there throughout the game.

I see the Vikings took the North Division Title -- but I don't think they will get very far in the playoffs.

_______________________________________________________________

HOW CAN I GET THIS REPORTER'S AUTOGRAPH ON AN 8 BY 10 COLOR PHOTO?

In the following story, the reporter states that the shoe throwing "shocked the world". Hell, it didn't shock me in the least. And I am very proud to hear him say that if given the opportunity he would do it again.

George Bush, as the sticker on my automobile says, is a WAR CRIMINAL and should, along with his henchman Dick Cheney, be brought before the world court for murdering untolled numbers of children.

Al-Zaidi is a hero in my estimation, and should be freed immediately without further prosecution.

_________________________________________



Iraqi shoe-thrower: I would do it again
Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:45:11 GMT


The Iraqi journalist who shocked the world by throwing his shoes at the US president reportedly says he would do it again if given the opportunity.

"In a letter to Iraqi prime minister, Muntadhar al-Zaidi has only apologized to Nuri al-Maliki himself," Fardanews reported, citing comments by an Iraqi source familiar with the case.

"He said that he felt no remorse for throwing his shoes at the 'Great Satan', George Bush, and added that he would repeat his actions if he sees him again, because Bush's forces have killed many of Iraq's children," added the source.

Al-Zaidi has told the judge investigating the incident that Bush was the target of his action not Nuri al-Maliki, whom he likes and respects, said the source, who according to Fardanews was close to the investigations.

Al-Baghdadiya satellite channel correspondent Muntadhar al-Zaidi hurled his shoes at US President George Bush during a press conference in Baghdad on Sunday, shouting in Arabic 'this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog'!

News of al-Zaidi's lack of remorse came after several Western media outlets reported that the journalist had written to Maliki apologizing for the incident, and describing it as an 'ugly action'.

Al-Zaidi's brother Uday, however, has rejected the reports, calling them 'incorrect'.

"This apology is not a real one. If they (the government) want an apology, they must first release him so he can do it freely and not under pressure," said Uday.

Fardanews also published comments by an anonymous Iraqi official involved in investigations, who confirmed that al-Zaidi had apologized to Maliki, but said that the reporter did not regret his action.

The official also said that in a written statement to the judge, al-Zaidi had said that he expected to be killed by the Bush's body guards after hurling the first shoe.

"It seemed that his bodyguards were not on full alert at the time, that was how I managed to throw the second shoe," the official quoted al-Zaidi as saying.

DECEMBER 21 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!

___________________________________________________________________

Today is December 21st, which is my son David's birthday. I called him "early" this morning and got his message: "milliions of years ago, the earth was a vast wasteland. Now you can leave me a message." So I did. Happy birthday, my son. I hope that your Colorado trip over the Holiday is fun and successful. I wish you all the best for the coming year.

__________________________________________________________________

AL-ZAIDI TRULY MY HERO - HURLS WITH A LOTTA SOUL

Pictured is my hero, Muntzar Al-Zaidi, Iraqi journalist and shoe hurler. Actually, I am envious of the man! If only I had the chance! I, of course, would have taken a dump in both the shoes before hurling them!
Now, it turns out, upon retrieval of the shoes, that Mr. Al-Zaidi wrote a missive for Bushie on the bottom of his shoes which reads:

Dear President Bush:

Sorry to throw shoes at you but was only way to get message to you. I have very much liked you as president. You have:
- weakened U.S, economy
- weakened U.S. military
- weakened U.S. influence in world
- wiped out U.S. moral high ground
- weakened U.S. vocabulary
- weakened U.S. dollar
- strengthened U.S. comedy
I have wanted thee things to happen for a long time. (cont'd on other shoe)

So I was hoping you would next become president of Turkey. I do not like them much at all and I think as their leader you could make them dumb and ruin their economy. Please?
Please answer by throwing your shoes at me. P.S. - although English is not my first language I still know you should stop using it. You are breaking it. Please communicate with gestures only. Thanks.

(from Lee Camp's blog: 23/6)

__________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

News From Bin Olson! Bush Has New Job Prospect!

This report in from reporter Osama Bin Olson, the only verified camel jockey east of the Mississppi:

Soon to be (thank God!) ex-president George Bush is said to be looking into opening a shoe shine/cobbler shop in the green zone in beautiful downtown Baghdad.

"It will be good to be actually doing some form of manual labor other than cutting and stacking brush at the ranch," the soon to be unemployed said with that silly smirk on his face. "Lord knows I haven't done anything in eight years so it'll prb'ly take me awhile to get in shape, but I think that I will model my cobbler shop after the Seattle Fish Market only in reverse. Rather than having fish tossed about by employees, customers will be bringing in shoes in need of repair and tossing them across the counter at me. Any customer that can catch me off guard and actually hit me in the head will get a 10 per cent discount. Fridays will be 'Hit Me in the Testicles' and win a free sole day."

Nobody will be allowed to win more than once a week. "Fool me once - shame on you -- fool me again -- no -- lessee -- you can fool some of the people some of the time, but fool me once and it's mission accomplished -- or sumpthin like that."

_______________________________________________________