Emergency Christmas

Hello from Eugene, Oregon, USA, where I'm celebrating Emergency Christmas with my family. Emergency Christmas is what we've named our family Christmas celebrations, which take place when we are able to get together--not necessarily when the calendar says we should.

Here's the reason we call this family holiday Emergency Christmas:

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Onward to Mongolia

We are not carrying video equipment on our rail journey from Moscow to Ulan Batar, so I was glad to see this video made by a Danish traveler. The Danish sounds very nice to my Norwegian ears, but if you don't know the Scandinavian languages, there are elegant English subtitles.

We will get off the train at Sukhe Batar, just across the border with Russia, and stay there for a few days. Then we will take another overnight train to Ulan Batar, but unfortunately we have to go from there to the USA by airplane. *sigh*

The Trans-Mongolian Railway from Inuk Jørgensen on Vimeo.

The doctor plays piano

(link to purchase)

"Baby, Please Make a Change" (with Tom Jones and Irma Thomas)



I beg you baby
'Most every night
Please don't scold me
Just treat me right

Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
I think it will do you good

Let them change an ocean
And the deep blue sea
Be kind to your baby
There be a change in me

Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
I think it will do you good

I tell you something
That'll do you good
That'll get your man out of this neighbor hood

Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
I think it will do you good

Well darling I'm telling you
That I ain't mad
But if you tell me again you gonna make me sad

Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
I think it will do you good

I have forgiven all day and night
I'll end up going if you don't change my mind

Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
I know it will do you good

Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
Baby please make a change
I think it will do you good

Oh baby please make a change (please make a change)
Please make a change (oh please make a change)
Baby please make a change (please make a change)
Why don't you please make a change (please make a change)
Please make a change
I think it will do you good

S200: Songs by Charlie Musselwhite and Elbow

(link to purchase this MP3 file) (unavailable)

"In a Town This Size," Kieran Kane (performed by Charlie Musselwhite with Kelly Willis)

In a town this size, there’s no place to hide
Everywhere you go, you meet someone you know
You can’t steal a kiss in a place like this
How the rumors would fly in a town this size.

In a smoky bar, in the back seat of a car,
In your own little house, someone’s sure to find you out,
What you do and what you think, what you eat and what you drink,
If you smoke a cigarette, they'll be talking about your breath

In a town this size, there’s no place to hide
Everywhere you go, you meet someone you know
You can’t steal a kiss in a place like this
How the rumors would fly in a town this size.

(Charlie’s harp)

Oh, I had a fight with my girlfriend last night,
Before the moon went down, it was all over town
How I made him cry, how I said goodbye,
If it’s true or not, it don’t count a lot

In a town this size, there’s no place to hide
Everywhere you go, you meet someone you know
You can’t steal a kiss in a place like this
How the rumors would fly in a town this size. In a town this size. In a town this size.

---

(Link to purchase this MP3 file)

"Dear Friends," Guy Garvey (performed by Elbow)

Dear friends
You are angels and drunks
You are magi

Old friends
You stuck a pin in a map I was in
And this is a note for a road sign

Cuttin’ the breeze in this Tennessee sundown
Came the sounds of the voices I know
I’ve been pondering trees
On the steeliest come down
And now a moment I’m home

I’ve got bluster enough
For the sails of a clipper
And the truth never frays a good yarn
But it struck me to say while so far away
You are with me today
You are here in my head, in my heart

Dear friends
You are angels and drunks
You are magi

Old friends
You stuck a pin in a map I was in
And you are the stars
I navigate home by

S200: Essay on being famous

Comment on the following statement:

Many people dream of becoming famous celebrities, but fame can bring many pressures and problems.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being famous? Write 200-250 words, using the following plan:

1. title
2. introduction (state the problem/topic)
3. list the advantages and give reasons/examples
4. list the disadvantages and give reasons/examples
5. draw a conclusion (give your opinion or a balanced consideration of the topic)

This essay is due between May 12 and 17.

S200 groups: My absence; makeup dates

My classes (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 207) will NOT meet on these dates:

Monday, April 25

Wednesday, April 27

Friday, April 29

Monday, May 2

Instead, you may choose one of the following times to meet:

Saturday, April 23: 3 p.m. [FULL] or 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 7: 3 p.m. or 4:30 p.m.

Please tell me which time you would like to choose. If nobody chooses one of those sessions, I will cancel it.

HAPPY EASTER!

Institute: Hus du gezen in deine leiben?

(Yiddish) "Have you ever seen the like in your life?"

From Blazing Saddles


Mel Brooks, Indian Chief AnimalCO