Take Your Good Intentions

Title track of the 1983 Katzberg and Snyder album. 
Music and lyrics by Stephen Snyder

Atomic Love

Hello. My name is Ahmed Algohbary. I'm from Yemen, Dhamar City. I'm going to talk about my best friend, Bilal. 

Everyone in this life has a best friend. Someone who knows all your secrets. Someone you talk to every day. Someone who can always put a smile on your face. My best friend is Bilal.

Me and Bilal were playing football together, surfing the net, watching movies and going to school together. Bilal always knows how to make me laugh. He has changed my life and made me a better person.

Three years ago Bilal went to the capital, Sana'a, to study there. And a year ago Saudis started to bombard my lovely country, Yemen. 

On the 19th of April, 2015 I went to Sana'a to meet my friend, Bilal. I took him to a coffee shop. We had a nice chat. And then I went back to my house, and Bilal went to his uncle's house. Saudi jets targeted Faj Attan mountain. It was the biggest explosion. My house windows shattered. Three hours later I received a call from Bilal's mother.

She said, "Ahmed, Bilal is dead."

I said, "What?" I was in a very big shock. 

She said, "Saudi killed my son." And she was crying. I cried, too. I couldn't really believe that: my best friend killed by Saudi air strikes. 

Bilal is one of many who are killed by Saudi war on Yemen. 

I will never forget watching 'Game of Thrones' episodes every day and dancing around his room together and singing.

I hope one day I will wake up and the war will be over. 

My message to the Saudi coalition: Please stop killing. We have kids. We are human beings like you. This is not a game.

Another message to United Kingdom: Please stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.

And also now the Saudi jets are over my city.

Reproduced by permission of the author
© 2016 by Ahmed Algohbary

When Ahmed Lost His Friend

Performing arts students from Iraq have gathered for summer camp run by Americans at a college campus in Kurdistan.

YES Academy Teaching Performing Arts in Iraqi Kurdistan

Here I come A-wassailing... and the tradition of not-your-average Christmas music continues, and once again this year, there are quite a few 45rpm singles in the mix. Among them are hard-to-find tracks from Chipper, Honey and the Bees, Spot The Dog, and a rare - and very scratchy - blues track from John Lee Hooker. New tracks - on vinyl and cd - from The Monkees, Rodney Crowell, J.D. McPherson, and even William Shatner, are also included. No matter what the source, or if they're old or new, hopefully there's some songs that will bring a smile to your face, and perhaps even a little joy to the season!

The artwork ("Old Christmas")for this year's offering is by Robert Seymour and comes from Thomas Hervey's "Book of Christmas."

As always, let me know which track is your favorite, and feel free to leave notes on whichever tracks strike your fancy! DOWNLOADS ARE ENABLED!

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!!

Mike

Wayward Wassailing - 2018 Christmas compilation

The world's biggest platinum producer, Anglo American Platinum, fired 12,000 striking workers in South Africa Friday. It's the latest action in a labor dispute that has been going on for months, spurred on by a deadly police action at the Marikana mine in August, that killed 34 strikers.

Atomic Love

Stephen_Snyder

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