Amazing Grace

　
Amazing Grace
　
　

　
　

Subj:I hope you enjoyed

the Pride Parade.

Enjoy more sunshine!





From: diane03760@vancouver.ca
To: barclay1720@aol.com
Date: Sat, Jul 30, 2011 4:49 pm.
Pacific Daylight Saving Time

■"Roly-poly in the North"

Wow! I enjoyed the above article.
You put a smile on my face with all this amazing information.
Isn't it really such a small world?

You know what, Diane?...I was almost to meet you in Faro.



Do you really mean it?

Yes, I do. 　When I quit the government job in Yellowknife, I came down to Vancouver, where I was hired by Information Systems Services Inc.---a consulting firm.

So you started working as a consultant, didn't you?

Yes, my boss said to me that the firm hired me because the Cyprus Anvil Mining Corporation needed a consultant who specialized in the Hewlett-Packard mini-computer system.

So, Kato, you specialized in the HP minicomputer system, didn't you?

Yes, I did.

Then how come your firm didn't send you to Faro.

My firm changed its plan, and sent me to ICBC (Insurance Corporation of British Columbia).

Why?

Well..., now I know the reason. 　World prices for metals fell in 1982, and the mine owners announced in May a two-month halt to production starting in June, 1982. This economical downturn made the mining company stop hiring more consultants.

So, you were sent to ICBS, instead of Cyprus Anvil Mining Corporation, weren't you?

Yes, I was. 　If I had been sent to Faro, I would've certainly met you up north.

What a strange fate, Kato! 　And we met in Joe Fortes Library, Vancouver, instead.

Yes, we did. 　We were supposed to meet in this world...ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,...

---

SOURCE: "Roly-poly in the North"
(Saturday, July 30, 2011)

Imagine we could have met in Faro instead of in Vancouver and how many others that we know in the world could we have crossed paths with without even knowing.
Amazing!

Thanks for all that background about Faro as well.
I didn't know about the sheep.
My recollection is that the mine was the only thing in the town worth talking about.
Probably the golf course hadn't been built at that time.

Although you consider Vancouver to be your paradise, mine isn't certainly Vancouver.
By what you wrote about Japan, I guess we have to count our blessings here, true?!
Thanks again, kiddo.



I'm off to a Chi Gong （気功）　class tonight being led by a chi gong medical therapist (whatever that is).
I'll let you know if it's any good.
You may be interested.

By the way, I heard this most powerfully beautiful rendition of "Amazing Grace."
It definitely put me in the mood for service tomorrow.
I was so moved by the hymn and tune that I got goosbumps all over me.
I hope you'll enjoy it, too.



Love, Diane ~

Kato, did you hear the tune.



Oh, yeah! 　As a matter of fact, I've heard it so many times in my life.

Have you?

Yes, I have. 　It's one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world, isn't it?

I believe so. 　But did you hear it when you were living in Japan?

Oh, yes, I did. 　The Japanese are quite fascinated by famous foreign tunes such as "Amazing Grace."　 I really love the rendition sung by Celtic Woman.

Celtic Woman - Amazing Grace





Elvis Presley's Amazing Grace isn't bad at all.

Elvis Presley - Amazing Grace





Nana Mouskouri's Amazing Grace isn't bad at all, either.

nana mouskouri - amazing grace





Kato, do you know a story behind the song?



Oh, yes, I've found the right story on the net.

The Story of Amazing Grace





To be on the safe side, I check the Wikipedia.

Amazing Grace



"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written by English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807), published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.



John Newton

Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was pressed into the Royal Navy and became a sailor, eventually participating in the slave trade. One night a terrible storm battered his vessel so severely that he became frightened enough to call out to God for mercy, a moment that marked the beginning of his spiritual conversion. His career in slave trading lasted a few years more until he quit going to sea altogether and began studying theology.

Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It is unknown if there was any music accompanying the verses, and it may have been chanted by the congregation without music. It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States however, "Amazing Grace" was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named "New Britain" to which it is most frequently sung today.

Author Gilbert Chase writes that "Amazing Grace" is "without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns", and Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that it is performed about 10 million times annually. It has had particular influence in folk music, and become an emblematic African American spiritual. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into secular music. "Amazing Grace" saw a resurgence in popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century, sometimes appearing on popular music charts.

(Note: Pictures from the Denman library)

---

Source:
Free encyclopedia Wikipedia

While seaching on the Net, I came across this movie trailer.

Amazing Grace

movie trailer





Do you know the story line?



Oh, yes, here it is.

Amazing Grace

(2006 film)



Amazing Grace is a 2006 film directed by Michael Apted about the campaign against slave trade in the United Kingdom, led by William Wilberforce, who was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation through the British parliament. The title is a reference to the hymn "Amazing Grace". The film also recounts the experiences of John Newton as a crewman on a slave ship and subsequent religious conversion, which inspired his writing of the poem later used in the hymn. Newton is portrayed as a major influence on Wilberforce and the abolition movement.

Plot

The film begins in 1797 with William Wilberforce severely ill and taking a holiday in Bath, Somerset, with his cousin, Henry Thornton. It is here that William is introduced to his future wife, Barbara Spooner. Although he at first resists, she convinces him to tell her about his life.



The story flashes back 15 years to 1782, and William recounts the events that led him to where he is now. Beginning as an ambitious and popular Member of Parliament (MP), William was persuaded by his friends William Pitt, Thomas Clarkson, Hannah More, and others to take on the dangerous issue of the British slave trade. This led him to become highly unpopular in the House of Commons amongst the MPs representing vested interests of the slave trade in London, Bristol, and Liverpool.

Exhausted, and frustrated that he was unable to change anything in the government, William becomes physically ill (in the film he is depicted as suffering from chronic colitis), which brings the story back up to 1797. Having virtually given up hope, William considers leaving politics forever. Barbara convinces him to keep fighting because if he does not, there will be no one else capable of doing so. A few days afterward, William and Barbara marry.

William, with a renewed hope for success, picks up the fight against slave trade where he had previously left off, aided by Thornton, Clarkson, and James Stephen.



In time, after the 20-year campaign and many attempts to bring legislation forward, he is eventually responsible for a bill being passed through Parliament in 1807, which abolishes the slave trade in the British Empire forever.

(Note: Pictures from the Denman library)

---

Source:
Free encyclopedia Wikipedia

Wow! 　You're deeply absorbed in the story behind the "Amazing Grace," aren't you?



Yes, I am.

But why?

Well...Diane, you mentioned it in your mail. 　Besides, I was thinking of the Japanese situation.

The Japanese situation? 　What is that?

You know, Diane, there are no more slave trades in this world, but still some Japanese people are not free.

What do you mean by that? 　Don't tell me that there are some slaves in Japan.

Oh, no...as far as I know, there are no slaves in Japan at all. 　However, there are some mentally-enslaved people in Japan.

Kato, I still don't understand what you're talking about.

Well, look at the following statistics.





Wow! 　So many people die by suicide in Japan, don't they?



Yes, they do. 　There have been more than 30,000 people who commit suicide every year for these ten years---almost 100 people die by suicide a day---four people an hour.

Oh, what a pity!

Besides, some people are starving to death.

Kato, you must be kidding! 　Starving to death in Japan?

Here is a proof:



SOURCE: JAPAN TODAY



I can hardly believe this!



You see, Diane...this is the kind of abominable situation I'm talking about. 　In this world, there's no slavery. 　So, everybody is entitled to enjoy his or her free life. 　Yet, some Japanese are enslaved to a certain death-wish. 　I'm certain that there's something awfully wrong about Japanese society and politics.

What's that?

Well...that's why I'm writing some articles about pitiful Japanese situations.

Are you?

Yes, I am. 　Anyway, take a look at these pictures.















Compared to the Japanese social and cultural climates, I would say, Vancouver is a paradise, though we don't have many sunny days on this British Colombian coast.



Oh, Kato...you're again bringing up your kind of paradise.

Diane...you still consider Vancouver to be a city of riotous people, don't you?





Well...



Anyway, Diane, I'm glad you've got a network of happy and friendly people.

Do you really mean it, Kato?

Yes, I do. 　You forwarded me the following "Amazing Grace" mail.





You also forwarded me the following funny pictures.





I really appreciate the above message:

May your mornings bring joy,

and your evenings bring peace.

May your troubles grow less

as your blessings increase!

【Himiko's Monologue】



Yes, yes, yes, I love the above message, too.

As Kato mentioned, there's something awfully wrong with the Japanese politics, which produces miserable situations, where some people commit suicide or are starving to death.
What a pity!

As one of the Japasene citizens, I think each Japanese should take an action to improve the sad situations.
Don't you think so?

Paradise is one thing; romance is another.
Come to think of it, I've never met a decent man in my net life.
How come I'm always a loner?
I wish I could meet a nice gentleman at the library in my town as Kato met Diane.
Well, they say, there is a way where there is a will.

Have a nice day!
Bye bye ...

■"Cleopatra"

■"Queen Nefertiti"

■"Catherine de Medici"

■"Catherine the Great"



■"Mata Hari"

■"Sidonie Colette"



■"Marilyn Monroe"

■"Hello Diane!"

■"I wish you were there!"

■"Jane Eyre"



■"Jane Eyre Again"

■"Jane Eyre in Vancouver"

■"Jane Eyre Special"

■"Love & Death of Cleopatra"

■"Nice Story"



■"Scrumdiddlyumptious"

■"Spiritual Work or What?"

■"What a coincidence!"



■"Wind and Water"

■"Yoga and Happiness"

■"You're in a good shape"



■"Hellelujah!"

■"Ecclesiophobia"

■"Uncorruptible"

■"Net Travel & Jane"



■"Net Love"

■"Complicated Love"

■"Electra Complex"

■"Net Début"

■"Inner World"

■"Madame Riviera and Burger"

■"Roly-poly in the North"



ィ～ハァ～♪～!

メチャ面白い、

ためになる関連記事




■　『きれいになったと感じさせる

下着・ランジェリーを見つけませんか？』

■　『ちょっと変わった　新しい古代日本史』

■　『面白くて楽しいレンゲ物語』



■　『カナダのバーナビーと軽井沢に

別荘を持つことを夢見る小百合さんの物語』

■　『今すぐに役立つホットな情報』

■　『　○　笑う者には福が来る　○　』



■『夢とロマンの横浜散歩』

■『愛とロマンの小包』

■『下つきだねって言われて…』

■『銀幕の愛』

■『パリの空の下で』

■『夢の中華パン』

■『愛の進化論』



■『漫画家と平和（２０１１年３月６日）』

■『漫画家の壁（２０１１年３月１０日）』

■『漫画家と奴隷（２０１１年３月１２日）』



■『畳の上の水練（２０１１年３月１５日）』

■『パール判事とゴーマン（２０１１年３月１８日）』

■『軍隊のない国（２０１１年３月２１日）』

■『士風と「葉隠」（２０１１年３月２３日）』

■『アナクロニズム（２０１１年３月２７日）』




こんにちは。ジューンです。

ネットをサーフィンするのもよいですけれど、

たまにはネットから離れて

のんびりと映画を見るのも癒しになりますわ。

わたしは寅さんの映画が好きです。

嫌いな人に言わせると、

“あんなワンパターンの映画のどこがいいの？”

と言います。

でも、そのリフレーンがいいのですよね。

歌でも同じ言葉やリズムの繰り返しが

イヤではなく、むしろ快く響く事ってありますよね。

寅さん映画のテーマの繰り返しは

例えて言えば、歌のリフレーンのように快く響きます。

『男はつらいよ』

40周年記念プロモーション映像



基本的には人情喜劇なんですよね。

寅さんという「非日常」を登場させることによって、

社会や家庭、人間が持っている普遍的な悩みを

浮き彫りにさせ、家族のあり方や人間の生き方を

考えさせてくれるのですよね。

そう思いませんか？

自分の恋は成就しなくとも、

結果的に周りを幸せにする寅さんは、

ピエロとして描かれています。

寅さんという自由人は、

平凡な人にも幸せな気分を味合わせてくれるような

化学で言う“触媒（しょくばい）”ですよね。

自分は変わらないのに相手が変わって行く

“幸せの触媒”です。



ところで、愛とロマンに満ちた

レンゲさんのお話をまとめて

『レンゲ物語』を作りました。

もし、レンゲさんの記事をまとめて読みたいならば、

次のリンクをクリックしてくださいね。

■『愛とロマンのレンゲ物語』



とにかく、今日も一日楽しく愉快に

ネットサーフィンしましょうね。

じゃあね。