It's been almost a year, but I've made quite a lot of progress on my website. It's amazing how much stuff you have to think of when you have to maintain everything, not rely on others to do so. I have learned so much!

In an otherwise dim year, what a spot of brightness to join with the worldwide community to listen in and commentate along with others during #9lc. Happy Christmas to you all, and let's do this next year?

Now the big question (at least for those of us listening to the @mpr.org stream): will Michael Barone talk over the first organ voluntary? #9lc

WORD! #9lc #happychristmas

Pace yourselves, we have 7 verses of "O come all ye faithful" today #9lc #word

Ah, yes, our annual celebration of the famous Bethlehem harbor. So much maritime traffic in the **checks notes** Judean mountains. #9lc 🕯️

I’m not normally the biggest fan of “I saw three ships,” but that was a respectable treatment. #9lc

Is this the most Rutter-iest of the Rutters? #9lc

yes go on dear cough your guts up live on BBC Radio 4 #9LC

Looking ahead after the 8th lesson and the second Rutter, we have yet another setting of "I saw three ships". Which marine vessel will be our tempo guide? #9lc

We are now firmly in the "Carols for Choirs" portion of the program #9lc

The first of two Sir John Rutter carols on the program this year #9lc

That was a jarring transition between the Britten and "Unto us is born a Son" #9lc

Now That's What I Call Bruckner™️ #9lc

If you thought Anton Bruckner was just bold and bossy symphonic works, let me introduce you to his choral works! #9lc

The way the Portman just tailed off after the last line - "Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew / And I was unaware" - poignant. #9lc

It is the hymn of our age: "Yet with the woes of sin and strife The world has suffered long; Beneath the angel-strain have rolled Two thousand years of wrong; And man, at war with man, hears not The love-song which they bring: O hush the noise, ye men of strife, And hear the angels sing!" Amen! #9lc

COMMISSIONED CAROL ALERT (after the fourth lesson) Rachel Portman's treatment of "The Darkling Thrush" by Thomas Hardy #9lc

This is the proper tune for "It came upon the midnight clear" and I will fight you otherwise. #9lc

I'm normally a RVW fanboy, but Philip Ledger's treatment of the Sussex Carol is my favorite. #9lc

This Maconchy "Nowell sing we now all and some / In Bethlehem in that fair city" is always delightful. #9lc

Ah, yes, the Boris Ord "Adam lay ybounden". And not performed like a speed contest! Delicious phrasing from the choir #9lc

There have been some good chorister readings of the first lesson in recent years. #9lc

A very safe descant choice for "Once in royal David's city" to open up the 2025 #9lc

i know we haven’t talked about it much because of the state of things but tomorrow is Christmas Eve which means it’s time for #9LC! don’t forget to download the service in advance (linked below). i’ll be here as always, come join me! www.kings.cam.ac.uk/rsdam/festiv...

On the one hand, it’s great Phoenix finally has its Micro Center. On the other hand, it’s far nicer than the one in Minneapolis. This is conflicting!

From the "and now for something completely different" Christmas music files - the Missa Carolae by the late English composer James Whitbourn. It's a delightful treatment of Christmas carols set to Mass text. In dulci jubilo as the Hosanna? Oh yes. www.naxos.com/CatalogueDet... #ejnotes

As someone who uses projects in Claude a lot to organize things, as well as have shared context files and prompting patterns, the recent UI change makes it a lot harder to use projects.

In case you didn’t know

I realize I haven’t yet listened to the JS Bach Christmas Oratorio this year. That is corrected now, and I believe I can fit in the first two cantatas before my next meeting. #EJnotes #JauchzetFrohlocket

Patio table still life

If you're looking to feel warmer in St Paul, it's 255 K outside.

At this point, the DDC should just buy what's left of the Madison Equities portfolio in downtown Saint Paul. As the saying goes: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure #dtstpaul

The Ashes will be settled at the Boxing Day Test www.espncricinfo.com/story/ashes-...

It's not Christmastide without brass choirs, and this arrangement of "Ding dong! Merrily on high" that seamlessly combines the 16th century French pavane "Belle qui tiens ma vie" is quite brilliant. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh6e... #ejnoters

The Westminster Town Hall Forum out of Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Minneapolis is a treasure for Minnesota. Today's talk is required listening...courage is contagious. www.youtube.com/live/APLDNI9...

First of all, rude

One of the biggest tragedies in the classical music world is that the French composer Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) was taken from us at age 24. youtu.be/FA7HeZz9Yag?... #ejnotes

Another day, another England Ashes collapse www.espncricinfo.com/story/ashes-...

I still follow Phoenix news, and this is promising to see. Despite the Willo Soviet's whininess about this, increasing housing density in central-city neighborhoods is good policy. (h/t @seemtoggle.bsky.social) www.kjzz.org/politics/202... #phx #mtphx #centralphoenix

It's Give to the Max Day in Minnesota, our statewide day for supporting MInnesota's nonprofit ecosystem. The Land of 10,000 Nonprofits needs our help now more than ever. www.edwardjensen.net/notes/2025-1... #gtmd25

Ah, nothing like this to start your morning

Powerful. And a reminder why local journalism matters.

Dear @mndot.mn.gov: Please hire some freeway designers from the AZ DOT to revisit your work. Especially the 35E/52/94 mess. Also: Auxiliary lanes on 94 between Mpls and St Paul. Thank you.

Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique is an incredible (or should I say fantastique?) piece of music, but it's just so programmaticly weird. (Spoiler alert: Unrequited love leads to an opium bender, meandering toward the scaffold at the protagonist's own hanging. Yeah...weird.) #ejnotes

Officially a trace of snow reported at MSP Airport. And with that, winter 2025-26 begins. #AndSnowItBegins

Having watched the original BBC version of Have I Got News For You for many years, I had doubts that a US version would stick. Have I Got News For You US is quite good. I think Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black should go on HIGNFY opposite Ian Hislop and Paul Merton once. That would be excellent.

Has anyone else noticed when using the Claude Haiku 4.5 model in GitHub Copilot (or even Claude Code), that it just loves to create summary documents and plans, but not so much do the work?

I hope new leadership in Saint Paul considers this: If you're just laser focused on adding housing to downtown Saint Paul, and forgetting everything else, you're not building a downtown. You're building a subdivision. www.startribune.com/st-cloud-dow...

Did not expect one of the best paragraphs I’d read about baseball would come from an Irish newspaper www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...