Let’s see what happens when your host (me) has nothing to say, and instead it’s open mike night. Step right up, speak your mind, tell a story, sing a song, whatever.
11/23/2024
Anything goes #3
46 responses to “Anything goes #3”
-
How do your roommates talk for hours about professional football in general and the local team in particular when the local team is playing like the German cast of Hogan’s Heroes? I don’t know much about present-day professional sports, except that there’s too much money and not enough of whatever it is the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame had. Horses, for one thing. Grantland Rice isn’t going to be writing soon about any Seattle professional football team:
“Outlined against a blue-gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below.”
Nope, the Head Coach is gone and everybody else is bathing in money instead of executing the playbook, not that I blame them. The NFL has more sponsors than Hitler’s army, and EVERYBODY sponsored Hitler’s army.
I know he’s a Republican, but it Steve Largent still available?
jtb
-
That Rice quote was about a football game. He also wrote about the eroding influence of money on sports, which he decried:
Money to the left of them and money to the right
Money everywhere they turn from morning to the night
Only two things count at all from mountain to the sea
Part of it’s percentage, and the rest is guaranteeI miss Mr Rice. Nobody lives forever.
jtb
-
And Rice wrote that in a time when pro players needed off-season employment to make the mortgage on a three-bedroom house and a two-year-old Plymouth…
-
-
Hey, that’s my running joke every time anyone mentions the Seahawks to me. No idea who’s on the team in 2024, but I remember a few names from the 1970s so it’s always “How’s Jim Zorn doing this year?” or “Did Steve Largent get 100 yards?” Eyes roll, and if eyes roll far enough I’m hoping friends and family and flatmates will shut up about the Seahawks.
-
-
Any system that will put a Trump into leadership (twice no less) is verifiable junk. The charade is over. Democracy is stupid. Handing the nuke codes to the village idiot every other cycle is retarded.
-
When you’re right you’re right and you’re right. Democracy is stupid.
Got a better idea, though?
-
I knew a girl who was almost a lady
She had a way with all the men in her life
Every inch of her blossomed in beauty
She was born on the fourth of JulyWell, she lived in an aluminum house trailer
And she worked in a juke box saloon
And she spent all the money I give her
Just to see the old man in the moonI used to sleep at the foot of Old Glory
And awake in the dawn’s early light
But much to my surprise
When I opened my eyes
I was a victim of the great compromise. . . John Prine
-
Oh… … …
It’s one of them metaphors…
I may have already known that, but I’d forgot that.
So the girl who ditched him at the drive-in is the same girl who ditched me at the drive-in. What a floozy she is!
-
It’s about the Great Compromise, which, directly or indirectly, gave us slavery, several absurd Presidents, many retrograde tax laws, and nearly got Prine sent to Vietnam.
jtb
-
The “Great Compromise,” House kinda based on population, Senate with equal weight for every state. Doesn’t seem catastrophic on the surface, but it has been.
You would’ve been exactly the deadly age for Vietnam. Have we talked about that? Why am I somehow certain you didn’t go?
I was young enough to read about escaping to Canada, but for me it was theoretical.
-
-
-
-
Democracy without money.
-
Take away the big money donations, have elections publicly funded? That’s a step toward a solution.
But that doesn’t stop amplified lying, like Musk did so much of this time around, and the essence of everything from Fox News and the rest of the cro magnon mouthpieces.
The First Amendment needs some tinkering. Elections fueled by lies are perhaps a bitter problem than elections fueled by money.
-
-
-
-
The broad question in the Federalist Papers, which essentially form the foundation of the Constitution, is, Are we 13 (soon 15) colonies operating together when it makes sense (as in war), and separately (as in slavery and taxation) when THAT makes sense? The founders compromised and decided we could have it both ways, so slave states kept slavery, and the less (white) populous southern states voted above their weight in the Senate and in elections. Thus, Mrs Clinton won the 2016 election by 3,000,000 votes and Trump became President. THIS is the Great Compromise that caused terror for Black Americans for two centuries and longer and created our goofy election protocol. Until the Civil War, the federal government had almost no power to tax its citizens: it essentially had to live on taxing imports, which wasn’t much income. The Great Compromise was a gift to the white south.
John
-
Original sin. Punishment unto every generation into the future, until we run out of future.
Not like the North is idyllic or anything, but it’s the South, its ‘traditions’ and Senators and backwater politics, that seems to underlie all the things that suck most about America.
-
If I had to make one statement about the nation in which I find myself a citizen it would be this: We are a democracy if all people are created equal in terms of their rights; otherwise we are not a democracy. Every other question is irrelevant until the democracy question is answered.
John
-
We’ll never get to equality without reining in the rich. Tax the inhumanity out of them, 90+%, and their corporations too. Universal health care. Fund schools to make the next generations less stupid than we are…
On an on, a long list of things that’ll never happen, because the rich decide everything and America’s rich don’t want democracy.
-
-
-
-
Starting in the fall of 1968, I had an S2 deferment, which meant that I registered with my local draft board, but couldn’t be drafted because I was enrolled as a full time college student. As my grades plummeted and I got closer to dropping out, The Nixon administration implemented the draft lottery system. Each year, males who turned 18 that year entered a lottery based on their birthdate, and there was a public drawing like the money lottery, except with 365 balls. If your lottery number was one of the first 75 or so drawn, you might as well enlist, because you were going to be drafted. My number was 304, which was a really good number. I dropped out of college, worked for a year saving money, and enrolled in a two year Technical College course in what was then called Commercial Data Processing. I finished #2 in my class and got a job offer before I graduated. My college roommate got a lottery number in the thirties and went to Vietnam, where he managed to survive (but not everybody did). I knew people who escaped to Canada in the pre-lottery days, and it wasn’t a bed of roses.
John
-
Did your friends who went to Canada ever come back? Cripes, I never would.
And I remember the lotteries. All America went Shirley Jackson, and most did it obediently, no questions asked.
Never have heard a reason that seemed reasonable, for killing a couple million Vietnamese and getting 58,000 Americans killed. When we were too young to know better, they made us pledge allegiance to the flag behind it all.
How come we never say “never again” about shit like that?
-
Johnson, then Nixon were invoking the Truman Doctrine, a policy which probably made sense in Europe, for which it was intended (specifically for Greece and Turkey). When China went authoritarian (communist) (long story) Johnson and Nixon tried to implement the Truman Doctrine in Asia. It didn’t work as well in non-democracies. (Just to be clear, I’m addressing the question about the reason for massive militarization in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.)
Side note: Lyndon Johnson could have been the next Great Populist President (Medicare, Medicaid, a hundred other programs for the old and the poor) but Vietnam torpedoed his domestic agenda. Too bad for all of us.
jtb
-
Dipshit mistake on LBJ’s part, then. He could’ve actually made America better but all we got was a stupid war. Did he get something out of it? Did America? Serious questions, btw.
Without researching it, I get my Monroe and Truman Doctrines mixed up. They’re essentially the same, aren’t they? “America will intervene wherever it’s in our national interest.”
-
-
-
-
Since 2016 the Dems have deluded themselves into thinking they can throw the book at those who break the rules while the Republicans have been hard at work making sure the rules mean fuck all when used against them.
-
Egg Zactly. Nobody’s going to throw the book at the rich and powerful, until there’s literally revolution in the air.
-
-
I lived with them on Montague Street
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the cafés at night
And revolution in the airThen he started into dealing with slaves
And something inside of him died
She had to sell everything she owned
And froze up insideAnd when finally the bottom fell out
I became withdrawn
The only thing I knew how to do
Was to keep on keepin’ on like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blueB. Dylan via jtb
-
There will never be another like Dylan, not because nobody else has the talent, but because the music infrastructure has changed so much, and of course what’s left won’t last long, what with the coming collapse of civilization and all.
Happy Thanksgiving!
-
-
Once a year I should say it, so I’ll say it:
Thanks for reading this page, and occasionally commenting. There’s nobody in my real world as cool as you guys.
-
There are some well-informed people out here. Thanks for providing the forum and the stimulus. . . . jtb
-
-
Maybe the second-to-last word on The Great Compromise . . . In suggesting that each state should create its own abortion policy, Trump is trying to reverse the resolution of the original compromise: First by A. Lincoln, then by the 20th century Democrats who desegregated the South against their will. We’re one country.
jtb
-
> We’re one country.
Well, that’s the theory. It doesn’t feel like it, though, and I’m not pledging allegiance. I’d be pretty dang happy if somebody wangled a deal to let the South rise again, and take all the red states with ’em.
-
-
I vote for Democrats even though they don’t do much, because at least they’re not trying to make situations worse. That doesn’t mean Democrats don’t suck because sucking less is still sucking.
-
America has two right-wing parties, the Democrats right-centrist and always inching further right, and the Republicans right off the edge of sanity. I vote Democrat too, but always muttering under my breath, and the lack of enthusiasm keeps many millions from voting. Basically, the Democratic Party is running sham elections, making little genuine effort to win.
-
DNC didn’t nominate Joe Biden because he could beat Donald Trump, they nominated him because he could beat Bernie Sanders. Beating Sanders is all that mattered.
-
Sanders got rooked by the DNC twice, 2016 and 2020. The party has no interest in anything more than an inch to the left of the right.
-
Oddly enough, Biden DID beat Donald Trump. I’ve fought ground wars with the DNC, but I’ve never doubted that their objective was to beat the Republican nominee. I’ve rarely agreed with them about candidate selection, but I’ve never suspected that they were supporting a candidate so he/she would intentionally lose the election. The DNC did a lousy job of supporting McGovern, but the job fell far short of sabotage.
John
-
The polls had Bernie Sanders beating Trump in 2016, the top candidate on the Dems side. The DNC squeezed him out.
I don’t remember the polls from the 2020 primaries, but Biden squeezed Bernie out by getting most of the other remaining candidates to quit and endorse him, all over a day or two. I’d wager money that the DNC was involved.
Sanders is too old now, but I’m hoping AOC will run next time, and if she does the DNC will work against her. They want to win, sure, but first and foremost they want to be bland and cater to the rich.
-
-
-
-
-
-
There might be a way for the Cold War between the United States and Europe on the one hand and The Soviet Union, formerly Russia, formerly The Soviet Union, formerly Russia on the other to be mitigated, if not eliminated. From 1986 until 2016, the Leningrad Cowboys of Finland and the Red Army Choir of Russia, formerly etc, etc, joined musical forces to present shows to audiences on both sides of the former/present Iron Curtain. Here’s a small sample of their work from halfway through their joint careers . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrg0X9H6FGU
jtb
-
I *love* the Leningrad Cowboys but I’d forgotten or never knew they were Finnish. Some humorless scolds might call it appropriation as if that’s a bad thing, and it is but it’s not and it’s beautiful.
-
-
This is a slightly late version of Led Zeppelin (without John Bonham) at their very best, singing about a trip half a world away to meet Joni Mitchell. Don’t let the camera work fool you. Yeah, Jimmy Page plays a solid acoustic guitar and Robert Plant is wonderful on vocals, but what holds the song together is the brilliant mandolin playing of John Paul Jones, mostly off-camera.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhVfuacsLDw&list=RDnhVfuacsLDw&start_radio=1
jtb
-
Led Zeppelin was usually louder than this, weren’t they?
Throw me a line, if I reach it in time
I’ll meet you up there where the path runs straight and highSure captures the feeling…
-
-
Zep broke up after John Bonham’s death in 1980, but when they performed as a group until then, they would, from time to time, present an acoustic set, with Bonzo either sitting out or playing brushes. Jimmy Page was just as adept at the acoustic guitar as he was with the electric, and John Paul Jones would switch from electric bass to the mandolin during acoustic sets or songs. Zep is only accessible through their albums, as was the case for most rock groups formed in the 70s. (Zep is more or less the remains of the Yardbirds — the original name of Zep was The New Yardbirds.)
jtb
-
People tell me Led Zeppelin is one of the best, but my Zep awareness is mostly The Immigrant Song and Stairway to Heaven. To make up for that, I’ve listened this morning to lots of what folks on YouTube say are LZ’s greatest hits.
I’m immune, I think. They’ll never be deeply beloved by me. Always liked a solid melody and turn of lyric more than a power guitar or an insistent bass beat, and when Robert Plant really belts out a song it sometimes gets on my nerves.
Black Dog, D’yer Mak’er, Good Times Bad Times, Heartbreaker, Tangerine, When the Levee Breaks, and Whole Lotta Love are all kind to my ears, but it’s always gonna be The Immigrant Song and Stairway to Heaven for me.
-
-
Good for you for trying. Maybe I haven’t mentioned this, but Zep is an album-oriented group. I spent my early 20s listening to Zep II and the unnumbered IV. I’m not even sure I could name the songs on them beside Stairway…, but each album had a different sound. I assume you’re using good headphones. Some of their best stuff is in the background. I suppose, all in all, the music was intended for younger audiences.
John
-
Sorry, man. No headphones. They’re still in the box I packed when I quit my last long-term job, and that box is buried under the permanent mess of my room. But I had my mono speaker turned up loud enough to rattle the cat and probably annoy my downstairs neighbors.
Ain’t many bands with nine songs I like, but yeah, I’m a singles guy, more than an albums guy. An entire LP of songs sung by Robert Plant all start sounding the same to me, which is blasphemy, I know.
-
-
I didn’t know Robert sang spirituals, but I’ll check it out. I’m guessing you can discern subtle differences between Stairway to Heaven and Going to California. The mandolin sort of gives it away. I mean no insult — just making a small point: It’s hard to be a singles guy after 1965. I only assert this because I care about your listening pleasure. A better comparison would be between two Beatles albums: Meet the Beatles and Abby Road.
And, my brother, I derive only pleasure from your writing. In many cultures, an elbow to the ribs is an act of affection.
John
-
DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, I listened to as an album, but the Beatles album I played most by far was GREATEST HITS. Utterly uncultured am I, wearing plaid and chewing straw at the symphony.
-
-
Oh that’s painful. I didn’t know there was an actual album called “The Beatles Greatest Hits” and still suspect you’re pulling my leg or something close to my leg. The Beatles spent as much time sequencing Abbey Road as they did recording it, and some dolt extracts “Here Comes the Sun” and puts it on an album with the unlikely name “The Beatles Greatest Hits”?
I had to look it up. It was released in 2021. Amazon has a Beatles Greatest hits released in 2024: the vinyl is 98 bucks — that’s probably the one you have.
So here’s what I don’t get: You don’t own a car, you seem to have an older television set, you don’t exactly follow clothing trends, and your political ideas are your own, but you base your record acquisition on what OTHER PEOPLE like best. No, you don’t have to be consistent, but you’ve lived your life away from the crowd, and you let the crowd decide what music you’ll listen to next. I’m not scolding you (I’ll leave that to your Mom). I just don’t understand why you make a life exception to music. (I know the mob: their tastes suck).
OK, I’ll check the latest music polls and find what to comment on next. Thank god Michael Jackson is dead: I don’t think I could post him up: he always misses the easy shots.
as always,
jtb
-
The Beatles albums I listened to over and over were called 1962-1966 and 1967-1970, a/k/a the “red” and “blue” albums — two double-disc collections of singles. Pretty sure I got the set as a Christmas present, cuz I rarely bought music myself, and until playing the records I hadn’t been aware that most of the songs were the Beatles. They were just “songs I’d heard on the radio.”
No car, no TV, and no albums any more. No record player, no CD player. The only music I ‘own’, 99% of it pirated, is several hundred mp3s that I always played over headphones at work. Since retirement though, I don’t think I’ve played any of them.
I was just never big into music, so yeah, following trends is about all I’ve done music-wise. Don’t know much more than whatever was played on the radio, until I turned the radio off.
🎝”American Top 40!” 🎝
-
Comments with attachments or multiple links are held for manual approval.
Leave a Reply