A choice selection for more than just the apparent reasons. With the Indus to the east, the Caucasus to the north, and the Zagros in its heart, the Mesopotamian region suits the “valley” description quite well.

As for the “shadow of death”: it is no secret that modern-day Babylon and the surrounding states have been plagued by sectarian conflict for thousands of years (while also being an early hub of civilization and, fittingly, the birthplace of all three Abrahamic religions).

There is some external meaning to these lines in that in late 2012 the Williams and White stated they would be taking a break from music.

The two cited “internal discord and irreconcilable differences in ambition” as the reason and their rocky relationship seems evident here, as they yearn for the feelings of their earlier interactions.

Falwell, of the then mainstream radical Christian right, here spews grade-A malarkey. In no way can a causal relationship between the activity of the ACLU and co. and the terrorist attacks of 9/11 be established. He even went so far as to say that the attacks were “probably what we deserve[d]”.

Reverend Falwell’s comments are a compelling case about the necessity of keeping fundamental religion out of the political arena.

This line is reminiscent of his lyric on “U.O.E.N.O.” which lead to a considerable amount of backlash from just about everyone.

This line represents a transformation in Ross’s dealings with women (or at least his rapping about dealings with women): they know they are gonna fuck Ross by the end of the night, he doesn’t even need to ask!

There’s a lot of confusion regarding transsexualism and gender variance. Doesn’t “female” describe sex– and isn’t Manning biologically male?

But that’s the point of gender identity. It’s how you identify. If you say you’re female, you’re saying that’s how you want to be identified. It would be antithetical for Chelsea to say, “I’m male, but I identify as female in terms of my gender.”

She is who she says she is.

“Splashdown! Apollo has splashdown.” “Hornet copy, understand splashdown.”

Said Buzz Aldrin of the splashdown:

There’s a big solidness to the force as you’re coming into the atmosphere, and it’s gradually decelerating the spacecraft. You could sense a g before it really showed up on the indicator, and by then it’s pretty firm.

After landing in the ocean, the module was picked up by the USS Hornet (who also picked up Apollo 12) via Sea King helicopter, where they were met by Richard Nixon himself welcoming them back to Earth. After this though – to prevent any sort of extraterrestrial contamination, the entered quarantine for 15 days!

Cage composed(?) a piece in 1952 called “4'33”“, pronounced “four minutes and thirty-three seconds”. The whole four and a half minute score features nothing but silence, as well as a few page turns to differentiate the three movements. It was apparently inspired by an affinity for Zen Buddhism, and was controversial and iconic, with some saying things about it along the lines of

Part of what makes the drama so compelling is the utter simplicity of the concept

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTEFKFiXSx4
Not surprisingly, the arrangement was written for any combination of intstruments (though people do tend to fancy pianos).