The Colonel’s Music List – Year-End Edition 2016

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Phil Christensen

A few selections from the shelves.

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Mozart – 1756 -1791.

I’ve lost lost tract of just how many of Mozart’s works I have on my possession.  Between CD’s (I still purchase them once in a while) and MP3s, it has to number over 100.  I have all his symphonies.  Numbers 26 and 35 are among my favorites.  The Marriage of Figaro (of course), and any number of concertos for any number of instruments.  This past year saw something of a revival for Mozart.  Decca label’s “Complete Works” box set turned out to be 2016’s best seller according to Billboard, if one counts the individual CDs.

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Posted in Hearth and Altar, Music | 2 Comments

Why We’re Not In Space Yet.

Posted on December 26, 2016 by Phil Christensen

“Because I don’t want to go to Space.” That’s how my wife answered the question. Of course getting her on a plane would prove a challenge, so there you go.

I cut my teeth on Star Trek – an optimistic view of the future where the military undergoes a conversion to a diplomatic corps.  Sort of like how we’ve stalled on the Global War on Terror. (Getting rid of the term ‘Overseas Contingency Operations’ would be a good start if we want to regain our momentum). Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Science & Technology | 7 Comments

The Tree. A Short Tale of Winter Solstice.

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Phil Christensen

The Tree.

Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg, George III’s consort is generally credited with ordering the first Christmas Tree in England, making it enormously popular with the aristocracy of the time.

Prince Albert Christmas Tree @manningthewall.com

Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s consort, was not the first royal to bring Christmas trees to England, but he did bring them into fashion for the middle and lower classes.  America, populated by anglophiles quickly followed suit.

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Posted in Defining Western Civilization, Hearth and Altar, History | Leave a comment

We Keep Watching The Same Medical Drama

Posted on December 10, 2016 by Phil Christensen

The Medical Drama you’re watching today is the same one your parents watched.  They same one.  This isn’t to say that some aren’t interesting, or that they don’t have decent character development. If you’re a fan, I get it. But you’re watching the same show, and often enough, the same episode. Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Television | 2 Comments

How The Federal Government Jacked With Your Retirement

Posted on December 3, 2016 by Phil Christensen

Retirement – sounds so final, doesn’t it?  You’re not getting there.  Not the way you think. Or not the way you thought.  Remember the days of company financed pensions?  Yeah, neither do I.

How The Federal Government Jacks With Your Retirement - manningthewall.com

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Posted in Current Events, History, National Debt | 4 Comments

A Simple Soldier, & The Battle of Remagen

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Phil Christensen

March, 1945.

A war-ravaged continent, a bridge called Ludendorff, and a town called Remagen.

Die-hard patches of snow littered the ground here and there.

Months before, the German Wehrmacht launched a daring winter offensive, nearly negating the hard-fought Allied gains from the summer and fall.

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Posted in Hearth and Altar, History | 3 Comments

The Colonel’s Reading List – An Eclectic Edition

Posted on November 19, 2016 by Phil Christensen

The shelves are almost up.  Really.  One way or another this room is going to be completed by Thanksgiving. In the meantime, the de-humidifier is running nearly 24 hours a day down in the basement, otherwise the books will just sponge up the water in the air. Here are my picks from (I would like to say from my shelves but…) the bins and boxes in the basement going into the weekend.  Other selections from my reading list can be found here. Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Hearth and Altar | 1 Comment

Trump’s Election: Struggling With Meaning.

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Phil Christensen

This election week has been a struggle for me. That’s unusual, because I don’t struggle with anything. I make a serious effort to remain centered around my God which by default means I am also centered around my principles. The sorting and ranking of my moral imperatives has been going on for fifty-plus years and by this time requires only the mildest of teaks now and then.  While I have resolved the bulk of the conflicts between my principles, I occasionally face a divergence of principles.   Usually, I can execute a solution swiftly and without drama.  I know what’s under my control, and maintain peace with that which is not.

Donald Trump, President-elect. 2016 Presidential Election

Donald Trump, President-elect.

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Posted in Current Events | 16 Comments

A Functioning Society – How It All (Really) Works

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Phil Christensen

Some Of Us Need Better Hobbies.

This past week students advocating for segregation at the University of Berkley, CA attempted to block some of their fellow students from attending classes. You can read about it here.  It occurred to me: at what point point does such intense focus on the trivial render a functioning society ineffective? Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Defining Western Civilization, Socialism | Tagged | 3 Comments

Movies That I Like & My Kids Hate

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Phil Christensen

Pop-Culture Gap In General, Movies in Particular.

“Hate” may be a strong word.  Our children are often bored by what we find interesting.  Most of us can relate.  Like a feminist matron glumly watching a lovingly gifted special edition copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves sit on her daughter’s bookshelf year after year collecting dust, we often have to resign ourselves to our children’s individuality.  Movies can provide a good barometer between generational differences. Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged | 8 Comments