Weekend Wise Words

First, I'd like to say that today is the anniversary of Frank Zappa's death (12/04/1993) and it marks the passing of, although weird, a genius.

Some other interesting historical items:

December 4

1696 - died, Empress Meishō, Japan (b. 1624)
1964 - Berkley student boycott

1969 - Fred Hampton, US Black-Panther leader, murdered
1971 - died, Shunryu Suzuki, Zen teacher, founder of SF Zen Center

1976 - died, W. F. McCoy, Northern Irish politician (b. 1886)

1976 - died, Tommy Bolin, rock guitarist (Deep Purple, T Rex), dies of heroin overdose
1981 - Reagan authorizes CIA to spy on citizens
1991 - SLA chairman Charles Keating convicted on 17 counts of securities fraud

1992 - President Bush orders U.S. troops into Somalia
1993 - died, Frank Zappa, US music/composer (Mothers of Invention), dies at 52

December 5
1484 - Pope makes Paganism punishable by death

1791 - died, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer, dies in Vienna Austria at 35

1870 - died, Alexandre Dumas, père, born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (b. 24 July 1802)

1895 - died, Chief Gall, Sioux chief (b. 1840)
1933 - Prohibition ends!
1945 - 5 U.S. Navy bombers disappear into Bermuda Triangle 

1983 - died, Robert Aldrich, dir/producer (Last Sunset), dies at 65

Now....for something completely different:

In 1973, near the height of the Sino-Soviet conflict, Solzhenitsyn sent a Letter to the Soviet Leaders to a limited number of upper echelon Soviet officials. This work, which was published for the general public in the Western world a year after it was sent to its intended audience, beseeched the Soviet Union's authorities to:

"Give them their ideology! Let the Chinese leaders glory in it for a while. And for that matter, let them shoulder the whole sackful of unfulfillable international obligations, let them grunt and heave and instruct humanity, and foot all the bills for their absurd economics (a million a day just to Cuba), and let them support terrorists and guerrillas in the Southern Hemisphere too if they like. The main source of the savage feuding between us will then melt away, a great many points of today's contention and conflict all over the world will also melt away, and a military clash will become a much remoter possibility and perhaps won't take place at all [author's emphasis]."

-- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, author of The Gulag Archipelago (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008)

Ad banned on US channels

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOpyggmTmeE

Directly from the post on Youtube:

A new television ad about the U.S. national debt produced by Citizens Against Government Waste has been deemed "too controversial" by major networks including ABC, A&E and The History Channel and will not be shown on those channels. The commercial is a homage to a 1986 ad that was entitled "The Deficit Trials" that was also banned by the major networks. Apparently telling the truth about the national debt is a little too "hot" for the major networks to handle. But perhaps it is time to tell the American people the truth. In 1986, the U.S. national debt was around 2 trillion dollars. Today, it is rapidly approaching 14 trillion dollars. The American Dream is being ripped apart right in front of our eyes, but apparently some of the major networks don't want the American people to really understand what is going on.

The truth is that the ad does not even have anything in it that should be offensive. The commercial is set in the year 2030, and the main character is a Chinese professor that is seen lecturing his students on the fall of great empires. As images of the United States are shown on a screen behind him, the Chinese professor tells his students the following about the behavior of great empires: "They all make the same mistakes. Turning their backs on the principles that made them great. America tried to spend and tax itself out of a great recession. Enormous so-called "stimulus" spending, massive changes to health care, government takeover of private industries, and crushing debt."

Perhaps it is what the Chinese Professor says next that is alarming the big television networks: "Of course, we owned most of their debt, so now they work for us".

Vladimir Vysotsky - Russian Bard

Years ago, I heard some music, probably in a film. There was a Russian song in it, with a rough, gravelly voice singing with passion and intensity, two very similarly sounding, but very different things. Then I heard that voice from time to time and finally, after I had watched a movie with a song in it I knew had to be by the say singer, I watched for who he was: Vladimir Vysotsky. So, I asked about him to people and after a few attempts, someone knew who he was and said he was a dissident, almost underground singer in the Soviet Union, that was greatly loved by the people.  I found he was called, "the most famous Russian bard", "the greatest Russian bard of the second half of the 20-th century", "voice for the heart of a nation".

Vysotsky

I found that fascinating. To be who he was, in that culture. I knew that had to mean hard times, for anyone like that. I had read The Gulag Archipelago (Solzhenitsyn) and I had an image of USSR that was both mysterious and fearful. How could one then, not respect someone such as Vysotsky?

Solzhenitsyn

In Vysotsky's own words:

"I'd like to say a few words about these songs of mine. Many years ago, I was with my closest friends. From my various travels I have brought back for them... well, impressions, impressions in verse set to a sort of rhythm. So I took my guitar in hand and began to strum away. And what emerged was something like a song. But it was not a song. It was, the way I see it, poetry recited with musical accompaniment. In short, poetry set to rhythm. I remember the atmosphere then. It was the atmosphere of trust and unconstrained freedom, and, what's more important, friendship." -  V. Vysotsky

 I have had days when I just felt it was a "Vysotsky" kind of day, and put his music on. I've been doing that for years, never knowing what the hell he was singing about. Until recently, when I started looking him up on the internet. There are just times when there is nothing to do it, but the right sound. He has pulled me out of the feelings of oppression, and has raised me up to be ready to drink vodka and party all night long. 

And apparently, I'm not the only one in the world that feels that way.

For more:
Vladimir Vysotsky

On Freedom and what is good in America

You know, we all use our various "bully pulpits" to speak to the masses, to try to evoke good, evoke change for the better of all. To stand up for the little guy, to speak for the underdog, to stop injustices, to open up freedom and the pursuit of happiness for all, as befits a rational, brotherly and sisterly World.

All for one, and one for all; where the good of the one should not out weigh the good for the all; And the good for the all should not overbear on the good for the one.

And sometimes we forget what good has been achieved.

There are still unequal rights. We still have bullies in power around the world, putting their will on those below. We still have religions saying stupid crap, leading to death for people that is simply unnecessary because they are trying to make an ancient mystical belief system work in a modern day world that the ancients could never fathom because they simply didn't have a God whispering into their ear over their shoulder.

Not once does the Bible, the Koran, or any other holy text mention cell phones, motor cars, or any of the many other obvious and easy to mention without damaging anyone types of things that would lead to absolute proof that we should pay attention and worship a super being. Religions even say things that lead to people being murdered in the name of their God.

Back in the 1960s, theater in the US was pushing hard for more freedom. And so they put nudity in plays and musicals to the outrage of the conservatives and the non-art community; they picked subject matter that pushed the envelope. And they for one, have achieved much. They wanted to know what was ugly about the human body, why it should be viewed in awe and wonder. Why ancient statues would be covered up, or in some cases, even had their sexual organs hacked off for propriety's sake. What was bad about nudity? All that because of religious tenets? So we were to be ashamed of our beautiful form (the obese in spandex notwithstanding and yes, sometimes I wish for a fashion police, but let's not go that way, okay?).

Comedians like Lenny Bruce, George Carlin (God Love them and may they rest in peace), paved the way for what many now consider to be a down side to comedy, as the bluer it got, the bluer it went. But comedy does help us face things we cannot face without it. Things like bigotry, discrimination, and later, reverse discrimination, bringing to light things about the government in the areas of sex, drugs, race (but not religion, no no, we can't touch that sacred cow, but shouldn't they pay taxes too? Especially, the fake religions?).

Cinema and television (broadcast and cable/satellite) have made great strides. I've wondered for all my life, how we are "the greatest nation in the history of the world", yet they have bare breasts in newspapers and on TV in Great Britain; but we were too beneath that here. France and many other locations have legal nude beaches (remind me again, why are we so afraid of our naked forms?). There are so many areas wherein we are behind, and therefore, we are NOT the greatest nation; except perhaps, only by our own yardstick.

I believe for us to truly be the Greatest nation in the history of the world, we still have some stretching to do. But for now, really, we aren't too bad. We are doing well for the most part. Well, if we could stop going around the world, meeting interesting people and killing them. A minor indiscretion when we need oil I suppose.

Just never forget, you still have a long way to go, America!
You're a very sexy lady.
Now swing with it, babe!
And let 'er rip!

The Mummy's Hand TV - 1958

In 1958 on the 15th of September, having traveled to Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy Airport) in New York, from Tacoma, Washington, we then flew to Madrid, Spain.

That's me, at the airport, on the way to Spain. That was taken by a photographer for TWA and sent around the world. My first modeling job, press release, and notification to the world that, I was out and about.

Things happened. Then we flew back to New York on 21st of October and took up residence in Philadelphia where most of our family was. We lived there for a couple of years until we moved back to Tacoma.

My mom liked to watch a midnight scare show and all these years, I've wondered about it.

One night I got sick and woke up in the middle of the night. My mom took me to bed with her and we continued to watch a show. I liked it so much, the next time it was going to be on, I asked if I couldn't watch it again with her. She said it was too late but I insisted, so she said she would flash the flashlight in my eyes, and if I woke, she'd let me watch it. Its possible, that was a Friday night, when I had been sick, and then Saturday night it was on again.

So at the right time, she flashed the light and I woke up and we watched the show. What I remember was on the TV, a "dancing" hand, undulating, coming out of an exotic maybe woven, maybe copper pot and it said it was, as I remember it anyway, "The Mummy's Hand". But in researching this now, I'm not so sure, what I remember being and what actually happened.

A week later, I asked about it and she said, she'd try the flashlight device again, but alas, this time I didn't wake up. Looking back, and now having myself been a parent, I suspect she thought it wasn't best waking me up and I probably was cranky the next day. I complained the next day about it (precocious for a 5 year old yes?) but she said I hadn't woken up. I wanted to argue but didn't see a way to win it, and so after that, I simply forgot about it. Its strange being able to remember something going back so far. But I can remember back to when I was about eighteen months old. But that's another story.

Now, what's interesting about this, is that with the internet, you can find out all kinds of things. I looked up the dates for our leaving and returning from New York and Spain. I looked up the city and dates of the show and what show it might have been and what shows, showed when...and amazingly, I found this:

From the web site http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/roland.html>Broadcase Pioneers:

"Unless otherwise stated, all Monday, Tuesday and Friday airings started at 11:25 pm. Saturday shows began at 11:20 pm. Airing station was WCAU-TV, Channel 10 in Philadelphia. Originally called "The Shock Theatre," later shortened to just "Shock Theatre.""

Friday, February 28, 1958
The Mummy's Hand (1940) Philadelphia TV Debut
Archeologists set out in search of the tomb of a princess.
Starred Dick Foran and Tom Tyler.

The Mummy's Hand

So, we were watching a show called, "The Shock Theatre".
But the film, "The Mummy's Hand" seems to have been on before we ended up living in Philly.

Its pretty amazing what you can find out online now a days.

China's dream: Finally, a unified Korea

It would look like leaked documents and in interviews, China would be able to deal with a unified Korea.

Is it possible? Does China look forward to a solidified Korea once Kim Jong Il drops dead and should the country fall apart?

I don't think there is any doubt, that if North Korea should crumble, China would be overjoyed that there could be a single Korea. After all, North Korea has been a thorn in the world's side for some time now. China has had to deal with this ADHD country for some years now. They have had difficulty controlling the Kim Jong family and the out of control military matters on their borders.

One would have to consider that China, if they feel this way, which it appears that they do, has to also be working actively toward the fall of North Korea and a unification plan to follow shortly thereafter. That, is simply how things work. Country's build plans toward possible eventualities, and that, is a very plausible scenario. I would also suspect that the new leader, would prefer to have a normalized relationship with the world, considering his propensity for parties and fun. His only problem, is the other leaders of the party and the military who wouldn't want to lose their power.

So, its probably best, that these leaders either sign on to the eventuality, or disappear from their beds in the middle of the night.

The people of North Korea, especially, those in charge now, need to be making plans, not unlike those military leaders of the Nazi regime did back during WWII. Replace your unstable top end government with one that will allow you all...ALL, in the country to start having food, jobs, and holidays filled with fun and not tripidations.

Rock's greatest Feuds

I ran across this piece on eleven of Rock's greatest feuds, on Rolling Stone magazine's web site and found it entertaining, enlightening, and answering a few questions I've had over the years, so here it is, enjoy:


Rock's Greatest Feuds article on Rolling Stone