Thank you for the music. I think we need something soulful and uplifting right now.

Very nice - a great escape from the real world, even for just 8 minutes.

I just discovered that you can embed YouTube's higher quality versions by appending the following encoded string to the end of the video URL in your embed code:

&ap=%2526fmt%3D18

The video above has a very nice stereo audio track.

re: #3 Charles

I just discovered that you can embed YouTube's higher quality versions by appending the following encoded string to the end of the video URL in your embed code:

&ap=%2526fmt%3D18

The video above has a very nice stereo audio track.

Cool! I'll have to try it sometime.

re: #3 Charles

I wondered what was going on with my speakers. Sounded better then normal.

Phone call - later all. Thanks for the entertainment.

re: #3 Charles

They're good, but they're no Weird Al Yankovic.

///

Some kewl mood music to calm us down in a time of confusion. Thanks, Charles.

Reminds me of Linus from Peanuts the way the pianist puts his head down while playing the piano. Very enjoyable rendition.

This is a rerun. You posted this here before.

Thanks.

Again.

re: #7 Ozark Mountain Daredevil

There's a time for Al, but this ain't it.

/maybe later, think I can dig up more accordian polka. . . . .

re: #10 Noam Sayin'

This is a rerun. You posted this here before.

Thanks.

Again.

Recycling is in.

Man o man, full blown gun battle going on at the Taj...might be out in the street!

re: #10 Noam Sayin'

This is a rerun. You posted this here before.

Thanks.

Again.

True, but not in fabulous stereo. And it's worth listening to more than once...

my God!

re: #13 Wishing

Man o man, full blown gun battle going on at the Taj...might be out in the street!

The video on IBN is dropping in and out intermittently, so I can't see.

The gunshots are so close that the reporter keeps looking over his shoulder.
He says something may be going on in the lobby of New Taj

re: #9 Archimedes

Reminds me of Linus from Peanuts the way the pianist puts his head down while playing the piano. Very enjoyable rendition.

I meant Schroeder!

Reporter just ducked out of sight....

Ahhhh! Thank you! Back to my holiday spirit. For some reason I'm thinking not of Disneyland, but of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang!

Only one gunman left in the Taj.

re: #17 Wishing

The gunshots are so close that the reporter keeps looking over his shoulder.
He says something may be going on in the lobby of New Taj

Yah I was just thinking, if another couple of terrorist squads popped up about now, ...

re: #21 gclaghorn

Only one gunman left in the Taj.

Sounds like a bit more gunfire than one gunman...also two explosions

Quiet now...no more gunshots....oops, I take that back

re: #19 Wishing

Reporter just ducked out of sight....

I feared he got hit

Dang it, IBN's live feeds are crappy today.

commandos coming out to front of Hotel

Goes good with a pint of Boddington's Pub Ale.

Now it's quiet. I hope they got the Bastard(s)

It aint over yet..Damn

more explosions

re: #14 Charles

And it's worth listening to more than once...

True dat...

re: #21 gclaghorn

That's gonna last a long time. I'd bet on him joining the Choir Invisible in the near future. Unless he pussies out and surrenders. When it comes right down to brass tacks, a lot of these Jihadi "warriors" lack the courage of their convictions. You didn't see Mullah Omar strapping on a Semtex jock strap and rushing out to heroically die for the Grand Jihad.

More like he put on women's clothes and snuck out of dodge while the true believers were being introduced up close and personal like to Daisy Cutters.

more gunshots

Smoke coming from room in front corner of hotel, second floor

(the restaurant, apparently)

re: #31 Wishing

NDTV has live pics of smoke pouring out the first floor. Lots of gunshots.

The commentators on IBN have taken lessons in endless rambling from their colleagues in Western media.

re: #23 Wishing

Sounds like a bit more gunfire than one gunman...also two explosions

I'm just telling you what I hear on the news.

The IBN feed is working pretty well for me.

[Link: ibnlive.in.com...]

re: #38 Charles

The commentators on IBN have taken lessons in endless rambling from their colleagues in Western media.

Isn't it awful? I'm just watching with the sound turned off.

re: #21 gclaghorn

Only one gunman left in the Taj.

I hope that was a thorough count.

re: #35 Wishing

Yes, smoke coming out the second floor too.

re: #36 Wishing

Wonder what's the special today?

Seriously though, one of the identified inside men was identified as a cook on the hotel staff. This is probably where they had a lot of material stashed as he had unfettered access to the area.

re: #40 Charles

The IBN feed is working pretty well for me.

[Link: ibnlive.in.com...]

My internet service has been going up and down all day. I think it's my router, because every time I turn it off and turn it back on it works. Might need a new one.

The scroll just said at least 3 gunman inside.

I sure hope Mossad is on the ground!

re: #33 Iron Fist

That's gonna last a long time. I'd bet on him joining the Choir Invisible in the near future. Unless he pussies out and surrenders. When it comes right down to brass tacks, a lot of these Jihadi "warriors" lack the courage of their convictions. You didn't see Mullah Omar strapping on a Semtex jock strap and rushing out to heroically die for the Grand Jihad.

More like he put on women's clothes and snuck out of dodge while the true believers were being introduced up close and personal like to Daisy Cutters.

I wonder why it's taking them so long to finish off this one guy, but it looks like he's not giving up without a fight.

If Mossad isn't there yet, they are on their way! YAY!

re: #46 x-wing

The scroll just said at least 3 gunman inside.

The MSM's new slogan: "Making it up as we go along..."

re: #3 Charles

I just discovered that you can embed YouTube's higher quality versions by appending the following encoded string to the end of the video URL in your embed code:

&ap=%2526fmt%3D18

The video above has a very nice stereo audio track.

Thank you! Saving this post.

re: #42 itellu3times

I hope that was a thorough count.

Evidently not. Every network is giving a different number.

Dayum, I wish they would NOT release those names!

Hear that? These bastards rented a house near the Nariman. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I have a hunch that the terrorists are trying to ignite the hotel before their last stand.

Authorities work to answer these questions:

Who committed these atrocities. And why?

-Larry King on CNN

Well gee whiz Larry, can I buy you a clue? Will you accept free clues?

Oy fire in the lobby/1st floor of old Taj!

Was that a fire or gunfire they just showed in the lobby?

Dang! It's getting really bad in the Taj again! It sounds like a war zone and another fire has started.

Surely there are commandos on the first floor?

I pray these bastards dont destroy this hotel!

re: #48 gclaghorn

It is puzzling. There's only so much ammunition that a person can carry, and jihadis aren't exactly known for their fire discipline. You'd think that by now he'd be out of ammo, after which it is really a trivial thing to take him down, or even capture him if they are so inclined.

Someone please reassure me that they have all the exits covered?

re: #61 Wishing

I pray these bastards dont destroy this hotel!

I hope not - but serious damage has been done.

Oh, man -- I just saw in the left-sidebar newsfeed that William Gibson has died. Most people know the story of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan through Gibson's classic stageplay The Miracle Worker. (The scene of Helen suddenly remembering the babytalk-word "wa-wa" as Annie pumps water onto her hand was Gibson's invention, although it was based on several similar "breakthrough moments" from the memoirs of Sullivan and Keller.)

And incidentally, he should not be confused with the other William Gibson of 20th-century literary fame, namely the author of Neuromancer, etc.

But now that I think of it, it would be pretty cool to do a William Gibson & William Gibson mash-up about the adventures of an eight-year-old blind-deaf-mute she-ninja with stainless steel stilletto blades implanted under her fingernails. Nobody can break through into her sightless, soundless mental prison, however, so she just goes around randomly killing and killing and killing until finally a spunky young cyberthief (who's also blind) teaches her to say "wa-wa." Then the eight-year-old blind-deaf-mute she-ninja learns to talk, grows up, and puts herself through college as a hired assassin!

re: #62 Iron Fist

I remember that in some of the articles written up earlier today, that it was an inside job. There were people that were part of the staff involved in this. I would assume with 6 months planning they could put all sorts of stuff in there with inside help.

re: #62 Iron Fist

It is puzzling. There's only so much ammunition that a person can carry, and jihadis aren't exactly known for their fire discipline. You'd think that by now he'd be out of ammo, after which it is really a trivial thing to take him down, or even capture him if they are so inclined.

It depends on how long this has been planned. Remember they had at least two people on the inside which means they had plenty of time to stash the stuff.

They have NO lack of ammo.

re: #58 x-wing

NDTV said a soldier with an RPG entered the building shortly before an explosion.

re: #56 experiencedtraveller

Well gee whiz Larry, can I buy you a clue? Will you accept free clues?

Sorry, Larry. Do not pass go; Do not collect 200 dollars.

re: #69 Killgore Trout

NDTV said a soldier with an RPG entered the building shortly before an explosion.

An RPG? YIKES! They're getting serious then.

NDTV is showing a steady blaze on the ground floor.

58 hours. un-freakin' believable. I hope this is the final push.

re: #67 vapig

It depends on how long this has been planned. Remember they had at least two people on the inside which means they had plenty of time to stash the stuff.

That I had not heard. With inside men, they might have stashed away quite a lot of ammo. This entire thing was done to a much higher standard than typical jihadist operations. Just as evil, but much better training and planning. I may be off base with this next statement but the attacks remind me of the NVA attacks in Saigon during the Tet Offensive of 1968.

re: #64 vapig

You can't afford to take real estate damage into consideration in the middle of a firefight. When you start worrying about chipping the paint or burning the whole city to the ground instead of killing the enemy, you begin to lose. Destroying the city in order to "save" it is a legitimate strategy in war.

re: #71 vapig

I'm not a gun guy but an RPG doesn't seem like an indoor weapon but that's just me.

The fire is getting pretty bad!

re: #69 Killgore Trout

NDTV said a soldier with an RPG entered the building shortly before an explosion.

Maybe a thermobaric warhead. Though you'd need a hallway to fire an RPG-7 in and not get cooked by the backblast.

Flames now visible on the ground and first floors.

It sounds like they have fire in the first 3 floors. Lets' go guys'

re: #66 dmandman

I haddn't seen that, but it would make things easier. Carry in ammunition (and even spare weapons) before the first shot is fired, and you would have reserves to call on that the military/police responding to the incident wouldn't have any reason to suspect.

re: #71 vapig

An RPG? YIKES! They're getting serious then.

Sounded like flash bangs to me. An RPG should not be used inside a building

Fire billowing out the windows now.

re: #82 experiencedtraveller

Sounded like flash bangs to me. An RPG should not be used inside a building

Or concussion grenades...

re: #41 gclaghorn

Isn't it awful? I'm just watching with the sound turned off.

The audio is - remains - unbelievably bad, as though every tech up and down the line has cranked every control in reach to 11½. Those announcers (I know they're under extraordinary stress) would be shrill enough without the blown-out audio, but the technicians have made this pretty much unlistenable. It might be due to streaming compression, but it doesn't sound like it.

That said, IBN gets due credit for streaming their coverage in the first place, as should the Indian federal government for letting them run this.

re: #76 Killgore Trout

No, it's not an indoor weapon, or, for that matter a close range weapon. The rocket has to travel some distance before the warhead can arm itself. I wouldn't think you'd get straight shots with enough distance to make an RPG any more useful than a single-shot rifle.

Dick head moderator on PBS News Hour leads off by asking if Indian responses weren't slow, shouldn't have been better prepared. First two responses basically call him a dick head. Yeah, focus on the response, dick head.

re: #74 Dark_Falcon

That I had not heard. With inside men, they might have stashed away quite a lot of ammo. This entire thing was done to a much higher standard than typical jihadist operations. Just as evil, but much better training and planning. I may be off base with this next statement but the attacks remind me of the NVA attacks in Saigon during the Tet Offensive of 1968.

It has been suggested (a link was provided at this site) by a Russian Analyst that these tactics resemble the Chechens - as in Beslan.

This is like a replay of Americans watching as the towers came down.

Ok we're past the slow burn. heavy flames now. It's gonna get ugly real quick.

Fire crews moving in.

OT:

For starters, the Obama administration could gain a lot of good will by supporting more aid, mostly from the International Monetary Fund, for Latin American countries sideswiped by the financial meltdown.

Oh give me a freakin break. Tripe like this is why the NYT is failing.

They are gonna have smoke cover to escape, dammit!

re: #89 Wishing

It's not anything of a scale to compare to the Twin Towers falling. Not by several orders of magnitude. OTOH, I suspect that life may get incredibly short for Mohammedans in India over the next few days. That would be an understandable reaction to this.

It also may get very interesting how India responds toward Pakistan, especially if hard evidence comes out connecting the ISI to this raid.

re: #3 Charles

I just discovered that you can embed YouTube's higher quality versions by appending the following encoded string to the end of the video URL in your embed code:

&ap=%2526fmt%3D18

The video above has a very nice stereo audio track.

You can also skip the beginning of YouTube videos with a tag on the end of the URL: For an embedded video, add &start=60 [to start at the 60 second mark] at the end of the URL buried in the embed code. For a linked video, add #t=1m10s to the end of the URL to start at the 70 second mark.

BTW... that video sounds great compared to the usual YouTube mud! I didn't know YouTube could sound so good!

I proposed to my wife at Snow White's Grotto, just to the side of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

This is the song they played when we first entered the room for our wedding reception.

Is that a Disney commercial or what?

Very lyrical, nice hemiola.

Wow. I've been around sporadically since the pre-registration days. (My registration number is in the low 200's.) Hadn't participated much recently, and hadn't played with the new features. That "spy" thing is kind of fun.

Charles, I appreciate your love of jazz and have enjoyed many of the musical offerings you have posted, but with THIS song you have stomped on sacred ground. There is only one way to sing it.

Perfection needs no further interpretation.

A test.

Really beautiful. Thanks...