Things that make you smile

[2jakes]

"Girls just wanna have fun"!

 

[Fading Fast]

From my friend AmatiesGal's Twitter post:

 

[Fading Fast]

From my friend AmatiesGal's Twitter post:

In my next life, I'm not asking to be Tom Brady or Picasso, but I would like to have the incredible skill to convey the exact type of confusion that we all know Snoopy is experiencing with nothing more than a few simple lines. Kudos to that artist - he / she did so much with so little.

 

[tonyb]

How many times have you witnessed what can only be described as reckless driving and said to yourself, “sure with there was a traffic cop around here”?

Today as I was headed to the hardware store I heard a loud revving and then out of the corner of my left eye caught a blur of a red late-model Mustang going a good 70-plus mph and rapidly changing lanes on a 35 mph arterial.

And then I saw the white unmarked cop car with the lights in its grille and windows flashing.

Woohoo!

 

[Harp]

Cubs #2 Hendricks retired the last seventeen Cardinal batters he faced Sunday, may have turned the corner.

..and I love God Bless America before The Star Spangled Banner. Gorgeous wonderful music.

 

[GHT]

..and I love God Bless America before The Star Spangled Banner. Gorgeous wonderful music.

Our national anthem does not stir my soul, the reason is because it's a sycophantic song about the monarch and nothing to do at all about our country. As well as England, God Save the Queen is the national anthem of the United Kingdom and one of two national anthems used by New Zealand, as well as for several of the UK's territories that have their own additional local anthem. It is also the royal anthem – played specifically in the presence of the monarch, of Australia, Canada, Barbados and Tuvalu. In countries not previously part of the British Empire, the tune of God Save the Queen has provided the basis for various patriotic songs, though still generally connected with royal ceremony. The melody continues to be used for the national anthem of Liechtenstein, Oben am jungen Rhein, and the royal anthem of Norway, Kongesangen. In the United States, the melody is used for the patriotic song My Country, 'Tis of Thee. The sovereign and her or his spouse are saluted with the entire composition.
My speculative guess is because it was first written in the 18th century while a lot of European monarchies were falling. It's so obsequious, so oleaginous and so sycophantic, just the way we were to royalty in that era. Now, almost 300 years later, it would be unthinkable to change it. But others in The Commonwealth have their own anthem as well as God Save the Queen, why would it be so wrong for the English to have something as stirring as Scotland's, Oh Flower of Scotland? That would make me smile.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"America the Beautiful" should be our Anthem. Or "This Land is Your Land," with all the verses sung.

 

[Harp]

But others in The Commonwealth have their own anthem as well as God Save the Queen, why would it be so wrong for the English to have something as stirring as Scotland's, Oh Flower of Scotland? That would make me smile.

Anything sung by Katherine Jenkins makes me smile...

 

[GHT]

Anything sung by Katherine Jenkins makes me smile...

Can't think why?

 

[tonyb]

"America the Beautiful" should be our Anthem. Or "This Land is Your Land," with all the verses sung.

“This Land is Your Land” would get my vote, even with the two “radical” verses omitted. The imagery in the lyrics is much more evocative of the USA I know than anything in “The Star Spangled Banner,” which has the additional burden of being about a military venture that didn’t go so well for the home team.

And the “This Land” melody has a folkier feel that is more suited to a nation that likes to think itself a place of equality among people, no matter their origin.

“Roll On Columbia” is a great tune as well, although its references are exclusive to the Northwest, so that disqualifies it as an anthem for the nation.

 

[Harp]

Can't think why?

Her Requiem for A Soldier is classic.

 

[ChiTownScion]

"America the Beautiful" should be our Anthem. Or "This Land is Your Land," with all the verses sung.

I've always been partial to, "Columbia the Gem of the Ocean." The tune is quite stirring, although it has overtones of early 20th Century expansionism.

I also like the fact that the Brits "borrowed" it for "Britannia the Pride of the Ocean. Fair play turnabout, I suppose, for our purloining "To Anacreon in Heaven" for our current national anthem, and "Heart of Oak" (the anthem of the Royal Navy) for the very first US patriotic tune, "The Liberty Song."

 

[Touchofevil]

How many times have you witnessed what can only be described as reckless driving and said to yourself, “sure with there was a traffic cop around here”?

Today as I was headed to the hardware store I heard a loud revving and then out of the corner of my left eye caught a blur of a red late-model Mustang going a good 70-plus mph and rapidly changing lanes on a 35 mph arterial.

And then I saw the white unmarked cop car with the lights in its grille and windows flashing.

Woohoo!

Yes!
I am pretty sure that I wish for/say this at least twice every time I am on the road.

 

[Touchofevil]

Remembering/Thinking about my Mother and Grandparents and the good times when they were alive. They were funny, hardworking, caring, honest, really good people. I realized a long time ago that I am luckier than many.

 

[tonyb]

Remembering/Thinking about my Mother and Grandparents and the good times when they were alive. They were funny, hardworking, caring, honest, really good people. I realized a long time ago that I am luckier than many.

And you’re lucky to have enough on the ball to know how lucky you are.

I think of my grandfather often. I had him until I was 33. He was a funny, caring, decent man who took great pleasure in his grandkids.

Lucky? You bet.

 

[1mach1]

Clipping toenails without asking

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

Of American anthems, I think "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is the best. Yes, it's about war, but it's about the very best justifications for war: "As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free."
Strangely, Germany's national anthem, "Deutschland Uber Alles," is one of the least belligerent. The opening verses lay claim to some land that was never German, but the rest of it praises German wine, German music and the beauty of German women. It's literally an anthem about wine, women and song. Compare this with La Marseillaise, the most stirring of anthems, with lines like "Their impure blood shall water the furrows of our fields."

 

[Haversack]

Years ago back in the heyday of Usenet and text-only web browsers, there was an entertaining discussion on alt.fan.pratchett about national anthems. (It was shortly after Jingo came out). The upshot was that all national anthems can be sung using only the phrase, "We are right and you are wrong". Surprisingly, it works. I've tried it with the Star Spangled Banner, Hatikveh, the Internationale, the Marseillaise, God Save the Queen, Deutchlandlied, Bayernhymn, Kimigayo, etc.

 

[Stormy]

Sometimes when I get depressed, I come here to the lounge. There are always posts and comments here that make me smile and I do mean ALWAYS

 

[GHT]

I love you!

Shift over, I love this advert.

Smile please.