Weekend Open Thread: 4th of July Music — and HELLO DALAI and the ‘Global Compassion Summit’!

By
Greg Diamond
– July 4, 2015Posted in: "The OC", Fresh Juice

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s 80th Birthday Will Be Celebrated at Honda Center to Kick Off a Three-Day Global Compassion Summit.

 

This year, the 5th of July may be as big for Anaheim as the 4th, as the Dalai Lama — apparently approving of the “City of Kindness” campaign of Mayor Tom Tait, who he invited to spend some time with him in India this past spring — comes to the Honda Center on his 80th birthday tour.  His actual birthday is on July 6, but he was born in Taktser, in the Chinese province of Qinghai, which is 15 hours ahead of Pacific Time — so his birthday starts here at 9 a.m.!   Yes, he’ll be in Anaheim as he turns 80.  Do not bring presents, though; he’s big on things like feeding the poor.  So consider celebrating by doing something special — like not voting to give Disney a 45-year moratorium on a gate tax!

(Fun Fact: Did you know that never before in history has anyone thought of using the obvious pun “Hello Dalai!” in a headline?  Well, it’s as true as the claim that the Resort District brings in over half of the money in Anaheim’s General Fund — so if you’re swallowing that one you can swallow this too!)

Thank you to our Contributing Editor — or, more commonly, Editing Contributor — Ricardo Toro for collecting some holiday favorites for your enjoyment today with the help of this longer list.  Everything between the equal signs is his:

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4th of July renews our common values. It is a time to appreciate how these values have been achieved in such a diverse country. It is a day to reflect on how to expand the participation in determining shared values. In addition to fireworks, to the company of family, neighbors and friends, let’s enjoy some music that captures the meaning of this day.

Frank Sinatra, “The House I Live In”

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpZ3jPMM5Ac

Los Lobos with Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, “This Land is Your Land”

Bruce Springsteen, “Chimes of Freedom”

J. Cole, “Be Free”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VzpCmRtCL0

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This is your holiday Weekend Open Thread. Talk about that, or anything else you’d like, within reasonable bounds of discretion and decorum. And don’t burn anything down this weekend accidentally! (Also, not intentionally either.)

About Greg Diamond

Somewhat verbose attorney, semi-disabled and semi-retired, residing in northwest Brea. Occasionally ran for office against jerks who otherwise would have gonr unopposed. Got 45% of the vote against Bob Huff for State Senate in 2012; Josh Newman then won the seat in 2016. In 2014 became the first attorney to challenge OCDA Tony Rackauckas since 2002; Todd Spitzer then won that seat in 2018. Every time he's run against some rotten incumbent, the *next* person to challenge them wins! He's OK with that. Corrupt party hacks hate him. He's OK with that too. He does advise some local campaigns informally and (so far) without compensation. (If that last bit changes, he will declare the interest.) His daughter is a professional campaign treasurer. He doesn't usually know whom she and her firm represent. Whether they do so never influences his endorsements or coverage. (He does have his own strong opinions.) But when he does check campaign finance forms, he is often happily surprised to learn that good candidates he respects often DO hire her firm. (Maybe bad ones are scared off by his relationship with her, but they needn't be.)