Crank It Up

 A tradition on this blog: Dougie MacLean shows how to sing "Auld Lang Syne." 

Sweet Bunch

 Ann Althouse and Glenn Reynolds on the politicized Justice Department.

Some Unusual Films That Should Be Seen At Least Once

 

Understanding the Structure

 

I Can Support All of Them

 A Large Regular has some excellent goals for the New Year.

Rudeness is Unacceptable

 The American Spectator; R. Emmett Tyrrell on when Matt Gaetz was banned from The Saturday Evening Club.

As the End of the Year Looms

Note what was achieved, what was overlooked, which solutions have brought new problems, what is likely to be lurking in the new year, and how you'll prioritize your work.

But set aside your activities for a while and prepare your attitude. To the greatest extent possible, be calm when there are no challenges and even calmer when there are.

List and analyze your assumptions. They may be as light as cobwebs, but they can soon turn into chains.

There is a grand world out there and there are many roads to your destination. You may have to create more than a few paths.

[Photo by Nick Haupt at Unsplash]

First Paragraph

 During the last days of the Western Roman Empire and throughout the Middle Ages, Western Europe was threatened, and often invaded, by outsiders. First came the Huns, then the Arabs, then the Magyars, then the Vikings, then the Mongols, and then the Turks. Each in turn, they were described as ferocious warriors none could withstand. Each in turn, their hordes inflicted immense bloodshed, destruction, and suffering on a continent rendered almost defenseless by the prevailing socio-economic-political structures and the internecine struggles to which it led.

- From Pussycats: Why the Rest Keeps Beating the West and What Can Be done About It by Martin van Creveld

Find Something Beautiful Today

 

[Photo by Mar Cerdeira at Unsplash]

The Ultimate College Application Essay

ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

Read the rest of the story of Hugh Gallagher's college application story.