Neddy's Palaver

“And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave [him] leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.” (John 19:38-42 KJV)

Mural of Jesus from the Crypt at Washington National Cathedral

The chapel that contains this mural is located on the crypt level of the cathedral. It contains New Testament imagery that show the promise of eternal life: Jesus’ birth, his death and entombment, and his resurrection. This somber mural tells the story of Jesus’s entombment following the crucifixion. I snapped the photograph at the CHAPEL OF SAINT JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA. Joseph was the wealthy man who gave his tomb for the burial of Christ’s body after the crucifixion.

The image, Mural of Jesus, was originally uploaded by barneykin. It is posted here from Barneykin’s account.

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The Smithsonian wants it, but Aretha Franklin is not keen about reliquishing her hat with the big wool bow sparkling with genuine Svarovski crystals. At latest count there are more than twenty-five Fan Groups for her hat at Facebook and probably as many at Flickr. The hat’s Detroit designer has more than 3,000 requests for silk replicas at $180 each. The original in wool would cost upwards of $500, and it is unknown how many have ordered that version. And … Even I have finally got my own official “Aretha Franklin Inauguration Hat.” Mine is the original - all wool Svarovski. Now I can die happy. My only regret is that it was not available in fire engine red.
Flickr Slide Show of Aretha Chapeaux

(The Weekly Standard)

The image, Edna-Aretha, was originally uploaded by barneykin. It is posted here from Barneykin’s account.

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Today, January 5th is the Eve of the Epiphany.

For our ancestors, who celebrated “Old Christmas,” the night preceding January 6th is the Eve of Epiphany. It was on this night, over 2000 years ago, that the Magi came to Bethlehem to find the baby Jesus.

Today, the Day of Epiphany is still known as “Old Christmas,” which was the day that Christmas was celebrated before the calendar changed in the 18th century. One of the old beliefs concerning the Day of Epiphany was that a person should never lend anything to anybody on Old Christmas Day, because the lender would never get it back again. Also, the Eve of Epiphany is the night when the Holy Spirit manifests Itself upon the earth in many subtle ways. Upon that night, no matter how hard the ground was frozen, elder bushes would sprout from the ground. Even more mysterious is our ancestors’ belief that at midnight on Old Christmas Eve, if they crept silently into a barn or field, they could hear the cattle and sheep praying. At the exact stroke of midnight on Old Christmas Eve, animals would start moo-ing and baa-ing and bellowing as though they were crying, in remembrance of their own ancestors who had been present in the stable at Bethlehem to witness the birth of the Christ Child and His revelation to the Magi.

A wonderful book that I am reading about celebrating Christmas in England of long ago is “Old Christmas” by Washington Irving.

• “On The Twelth Day of Christmas”
• Old Christmas in Rodanthe, North Carolina.
• Epiphany 2007

The image, The Epiphany, was originally uploaded by barneykin. It is posted here from Barneykin’s account.

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I am celebrating by playing with my new iPhone on this exciting New Year’s Eve of 2008. I even made my own docking station tonight. See my iPhone dock above. I made it myself and was so proud until Katy Blue jumped onto my desk and knocked it over. CATS! ROTFL. ;)

I went down to the Apple Store yesterday to complain that my iPhone was not working. The Apple geeks (very sweet young women) told me that I was clicking too many things at once - causing the iPhone to freeze and crash. Oh yeah? Cliff says, “oh yeah, that’s exactly what she does all the time, with everything that doesn’t respond immediately.”

Anyway, they were so nice and helpful, and I was so relieved to be assured by a genuine Apple geek that my iPhone was not defective, that I went ahead and purchased the iPhone case she recommended. I think I like having the iPhone encased, as it is now. It’s a bit bigger, not as sleek, but it seems easier to handle and hold onto.

When she sold me the new white case she also tried convincing me to purchase the iPhone dock. I didn’t feel that I would need it. I already have three docks that I have been using for my iPod Touch - one Apple dock for my home theater, one Bose Sound Dock, and one iPod dock that came with my Cambridge Soundworks radio. She described how this iPhone dock sits next to the computer and charges and syncs the iPhone.

Well, once I came home I have been feeling the lack of not having an iPhone dock sitting next to my laptop. It is quite amazing. I have been using my computer to charge my iPod Touch without a dock for the past year, and never felt I was missing anything. Now I feel I must have a dock for my iPhone. The seed of want has been planted into my brain.

I spotted a little cardboard card box on my desk and then found an exacto knife to cut a slot for my iPhone to rest in. Now I know that I really do need that Apple iPhone dock. This makeshift contraption of recycled cardboard is not going to suffice for long, especially with marauding cats on the prowl. Next time I’m at the mall … Apple Store, here I come.

The image, My iPhone Dock, was originally uploaded by barneykin. It is posted here from Barneykin’s account.

Visit Neddy’s Archives for more of Edna’s writings.

Celtic-Appalachian Folk Music

The DVD works! I have been wanting this set of DVDs, but it is from Scotland, and there did not seem to be any guarantee that it would work in an American DVD player. Well, it was a Christmas present for me, and it works. It works in my DVD player even though the DVD itself has “PAL” scribed upon it. When I ordered it at Amazon, it was listed as for NTSC. GADS, it is so difficult to figure out all the ins and outs of technology. I wrote about it here when I first ordered it: “Transatlantic Sessions 3.” This set of DVDs is a lovely musical creation - took a lot of musical and video-graphic talent to plan and create it. Of course, only those who love old time acoustic music will appreciate it.

This is a link to YouTube of a very great piece on the second DVD by Tim O’Brien - real old timey Bluegrass music: Tim O’Brien. Here is a link that has more video of some of the pieces on the two DVDs: http://www.squidoo.com/transatlanticsessionsvideoshowcase.

Here I am with my new iPhone that I just unwrapped on Christmas Day. Cliff purchased it at the Apple Store in Pentagon City, with the assurance that it was all set up and ready to use. No such luck!

Here it is on the 27th of December and I am still working to get it set up. Nothing is ever easy is it? Called AT&T and was told they were closed. Does that mean I am to be without a phone the entire weekend? Finally - the Apple Store where we purchased it, advised me to contact AT&T on my iPhone at “611!” Cool! That worked and I now have a working iPhone.

Part of the problem was ME! I had set the iPhone to transfer calls to my home phone. Then I forgot that I had done that. Embarrassing! Even if the iPhone didn’t work, the iPod part of the Apple iPhone was doing fine, as it downloaded my tunes, contacts and photographs from iTunes. Great! Then the nice lady at AT&T’s 611 number told me that the maps were the most fascinating thing to her. I tried them, and she is right. Absolutely too easy for words to describe. Of course, I already had that feature on my iPod Touch, but never used it, as when I need maps, I thought, was when away from home and no Internet connection. Now, supposedly, with the iPhone I am connected to the world at all times. At least, I hope that is the case. I guess I should go somewhere just to find out.

Well, I do need to get to my car and see if I can manage to get the BlueTooth enabled. It doesn’t look easy. The car manual has 25 pages instructing how to do it. I may have to take the iPhone and car to the dealership, but we shall see. Can a 67-year-old do this type of thing on her own?

Pavarotti singing on my TV in the background is the DVD that I received last Christmas, 2007. The Maestro is performing Christmas music at the cathedral in Montreal. Still haven’t found time to play my new DVD from Scotland - The Transatlantic Sessions. Perhaps I should stop blogging, Tweeting, Flickring, and Facebooking for a few minutes.

I wonder what AlphaInventions.com would think of all this. I cannot understand how it works either, but it does.

The image, Edna, was originally uploaded by barneykin. It is posted here from Barneykin’s account.

Visit Neddy’s Archives for more of Edna’s writings.

I made this Christmas card using Picnik. My 2008 Christmas Card, was originally uploaded by barneykin. It is posted here from Barneykin’s FLICKR account.

My Christmas Gifts For You

Twas The Night Before Christmas read to you by Librivox.org.
• Saint Francis and the Creche
• Old Christmas Eve
• An American Christmas Carol
• Christmas Archives
• The Christmas Story
• Annie’s Wiseman Page
• A White House Christmas
  See the Barney Cam!
• A Swedish Merry Christmas
• A Victorian Christmas Scrapbook
• Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus
• “Old Christmas” by Washington Irving
• A Neddy Christmas

Visit Neddy’s Archives for more of Edna’s writings.

T’was The Night Before Christmas Read to You by Librivox.org.

The Choral Group from Carl Sandburg Middle School, directed by Jeanne Crowley, concluded their presentation for Nelly Custis DAR chapter with "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," performed on the main staircase of the Woodlawn Mansion, Woodlawn, Virginia. Regent Pamela wanted her chapter to experience a brief moment from a long ago Virginia holiday. It was as though we had been transported back to those early American days of Nelly Custis Lewis and her family when they celebrated Christmas at Woodlawn Plantation, with no radios, televisions, cds and computers.

The talented young women sang a musical round also that I have not the title. The video is posted here: My Flickr Album.

Veterans Day 2008 - In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, Row on Row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian physician, also died in France, the same year as my great aunt’s husband, Frank Heming, a casualty of World War I. In 1916 McCrae was Chief of Medical Services at a Canadian Hospital in France, where wounded soldiers from Arras were received. His poem remains one of the most memorable war poems. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres Salient in the spring of 1915. Poppies sprout best in newly cultivated soil and, when this was written, the entire Western Front was covered with poppies blooming as never before seen on the freshly dug graves.