" The best art and comedy are done in desperate times."

Well, once more we return to the old blog, and I think now we have no choice but to go to the place where many things must be talked about, discussed, dissected and rendered.

So, where have I been? A lot of places, and the world has again become a busy one. 

Let's first get this bit of business out of the way, shall we? While many believe something monumental, a master stroke, if you will, shall be thrown down, I believe we are stuck with what we have.

Yes, President Trump.

Taste that, will you?

You know what? Nothing's changed. Not one thing has changed at all. If anything, it has brought into focus the world we live in.

America, here's the choice you made. Get ready for a ride, because it's gonna be one. The ultimate reality show is now ready to take the stage. This is Donald's World, and you and I are mere extras.

What went wrong? Not that I know, but I'll tell you what I think:

1--The liberals ignored the working class, and took for granted that Hillary Clinton would carry them, while they focused on same old, same old.

2--The new liberals who embraced Bernie Sanders, and yes, what an amazing campaign that was. This at the best, has energized a generation...now will they follow through? Remains to be seen.

2a--The Bernie fans who got butthurt by the convention actions? You (and others), who took your vote and went home? YOU FUCKING BLEW IT!

You have an obligation to vote, a civic duty. Those of you who took your vote and went home. Think about that. 

3--You who voted for that self-centered posturer, Gary Johnson? Sorry, kids...Libertarianism by any name is a fantasy, a happy land that does not exist.

"I just want my bread buttered on both sides." -- Graham Parker

I want no rules, no laws, no taxes, no this, no that. I want my weed, my guns, my right to do anything I want anytime, any way. The Constooshun says I can! Let the free market run things, go to the ER if you're sick, just let me drive my SUV at 150 miles per hour down the potholed highway and off the unrepaired bridge to my certain death in a pool of contaminated, flaming water if I want...

Something like that, I guess. I have one close friend whom I call the Intelligent Libertarian, because I believe she realizes you cannot destroy the nation in order to save it.

4--Green Party? Jill Stein? The Greens can't manage a fuck in a brothel. They can barely manage lunch. No grass roots. 

Look, I can tell the Greens how to organize, but give up the big prize and do the work! Figure out a platform. Roll with it. 

Even if six or seven of you in a town are Green, do this: pick one of you. Run for office, get the signatures, get on the ballot, and fucking run!

Even if you lose, you win by getting something started. You will win new votes. You keep working, growing, stick to it.

So now we have Trump, who has given a frustrated, pissed off, angry electorate who feel ignored, a false voice. If you think he speaks for you...well, you been played.

Oh...and for the millions of people who did not vote? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BITCH. SHUT YOUR MOUTHS RIGHT NOW. 

Stop posting your shit on Facebook, and elsewhere. Grow up!

If your man won, fine. Gloat. Act like you won a show-up trophy, because that's about all you got.

We are a nation (largely) of spoiled children. We've had it so good for so long, and we want more. 

This video says it all:

So what do we do now?

I tell you what...I'm gonna do my fucking job. I am fortunate. I work in a company that does it right, straight forward, no frills. You get news. You get things that you need to know about.

On the network I work for, when you hear us, you hear news. You hear stories. You don't hear pop culture references, no opinionated whinging, no agenda journalism. You get the real deal.

I challenge you to listen to one hour of "Morning Edition" or "All Things Considered." Shut your mouth. Sit there. Listen.

If you do not come out of that learning something you did not know, then, "I can't do nuthin' for ya, man."

For those of you who continue to whine about narratives, and other buzzwords spoon-fed you by a crazed "toilet-trained media" cabal (thank you, Mark Jackson), know that you have a responsibility to not spread things you know are lies. Ranting and raving about whatever some trained monkey (sorry to the monkeys) said, that's not gonna do it.

The "proudly ignorant" (another person said that, and I do not recall who did), they believe if they yell their dumbness loud enough, it becomes truth.

Let them.

Let the dystopian, multi-tentacled life form rant, rave, howl, beat their chests (and something else)...they do nothing to me.

Let them watch their reality shows, their WWE, their UFC, their TV preachers, hell, even the new Star Wars movie for all I care. Keep amusing yourselves to death. Keep eating yourself to death. Keep being the self-centered, self-adoring, "doesn't affect me crowd."

Be like these people, which George Carlin so brilliantly caricatured:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR8aFDosQBQ

You need to paste that in...they won't let me embed it. Hmmm...

As they get played like a cheap fiddle, we can still live our lives. We know what we have to do. 

The best art and comedy are done in desperate times.

So anyway...my opinion is thus: we are in a spot, but one we put ourselves in.

We can get out of it, by not quitting. Older folks will tell you..."we've been through worse than this."

How true.

The Depression. My parents remembered that. Being broke, no money, no work to speak of, nothing. The farm barely making it, etc. 

World War II. Think about that. Think of the carnage. Our lost people, the millions lost at the hands of Nazi Germany and Japan...the millions of people in the occupied territories, entire tribes wiped out, the Krimchaks for just one of many, not to mention the Jews.

Think of how that war ended, and what we did. 

Ask anyone still alive who remembers that. We got nothing on them.

And people talk like we need that again...

We think of our upheavals, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, and what is going on in the Middle East right now.

Ask someone about Vietnam...one man who served told me bluntly, "There's nothing to talk about."

Think about what he brought home. Think about what our people bring home from the recent wars. 

I think about a veteran, half my age, with a service dog I met. This man looked whole physically, but mentally he was gone. Nice person, very quiet and kind...all he said was he'd been in Iraq. Nothing else.

I don't know what he saw, or what he did. But that meeting kills me, every goddamned time I think about it.

Think about what the refugees are running from. Why do you think they want to get to Europe, or to the US?

It's not to blow us all up, apart from a few fanatics, and we've got plenty of them right here to deal with.

Doesn't affect you, right? Wrong.

It does. If affects all of us.

So I have a job to do. I'm going to do it, to the best of my ability. What I say on here is one thing, what I do for my calling, that is a much different thing.

Now, what are you gonna do about "it"? That thing that's been wrought? 

Do what you know is right, not what people tell you is right. Your values supposedly aren't much different than mine...I hope not.

Be honest, be real, and do what you are supposed to do. 

I had a strange experience two nights ago...I was in Washington, on my way to the Verizon Center for a Capitals game. In a hurry.

At a corner, a small, elderly lady turned to me...dressed as I am...she asked would I help her across the street?

Yeah, this happened. 

I said I'd gladly do that. She was a bit unsteady. She explained she only lived a block up, and that she was recovering from a brain tumor.

I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with one. We talked about that, and she explained a little of what she'd gone through.

Next to a CVS, she said I can make it from here, and she thanked me. We talked about the game, and how I do some radio work for the Caps' AHL club, the Hershey Bears.

She knew her hockey. She mentioned Boston...living there. I said I'd lived there ten years.

"Where?"

I told her a lot of places, mostly in Watertown. Then she said, "I'm from New Hampshire, originally."

I said, "I'm from Vermont."

Never got her name, but we connected.

Things like that. Little things.

And yeah, I made it in time for faceoff.

How about that?

So suffer the slings and arrows from others, but be aware we're all one in this little reality show, and we need to do our part. Even if it's off script.

Okay, I got writing to do. I have a life to live, and I shall not destroy more of the planet than I need. I'll also save what I can. 

If this upsets you, sorry, but you'll just have to suffer it. Instead of yelling at me, calling me names, threatening me, how about you think of what you can do to be better. 

#thinkaboutit 

Peace, Out.

Too Much, the Magic Bus...

My Who quote begins as my Walkman opens fire with "Magic Bus!"  Nice...considering my plans today and this week.


I am at the Office, and since about 10 this morning, I have viewed all manner of humanity, and it makes me wonder.  It's not all bad, but it's enough.


Zen Master is here with the Bald One, two of the Wardroom regulars who have found their way back to the Office, now that it opens at 9 instead of 10.  Coffeehouse Preacher is here, and held forth on C.S. Lewis and other things to ZM.


A child-worshipping Mom was here with her nerdy homeschooled daughter.  They look exactly alike....


"Total Eclipse of the Moon," by Graham Parker...great fucking song, from the Don't Tell Columbus CD.


...George Carlin did a wonderful routine and discussion of the child worshipping parents.  My guess is that since school is in session, and because that poor kid looks just like her Mom, that she is homeschooled.  I have to tell you:  I am really strongly opposed to homeschooling as the only means of education.  Now, I do have a very good friend who is homeschooled, but I know enough about her situation to know why she is being educated that way.


Unfortunately, most homeschooled kids never learn how to interact with people who are different.  They have little understanding of the world about then, only what is drummed into their heads by overprotective parents who are breeding drones that are just like them.


I realize that is not always the case, but most homeschooled adults I've met by and large are:  ignorant, religiously/socially/politically intolerant, and some of them are downright racist.


Sorry to say it, but I can cite cases if you wanna know.


Okay, that rant is over and done with.


"So Many Roads," by Joe Bonamassa is next...ahhh...live album form Royal Albert Hall...a great performance, but overblown by certain showy tracks and a horn section that really wasn't needed.  But still great.


I sometimes like to look at the people around me in the Office, because I find them interesting.  ZM, Bald One, CP...they are the regulars in the Wardroom.  There's a bunch of folks of what I call the Laptop Generation, and I am one of them; we're all hooked up, wired in and in cyberspace, doing business, surfing, or...writing blogs.  Haha.


The comic relief today was provided by the two extras from "Jersey Shore" that walked in.  Father and Son...buzz cuts, beach tans, wifebeaters, knickers, and loud voices.  Like Father, Like Son...actually, they seemed like pretty nice guys from overhearing their brief exchange with the CP.


A member of OutKast is sitting nearby, working on his laptop.  Man, he really does look like one of those guys, the dreads, the glasses, everything.  Musical stuff, cool; I only saw from here that he was going over sheet music...wonder what he plays, I should ask.


I am gratified that my relationship with Alice has gone along well; we understand one another in a way that no one else has, in terms of me, at least.  It is scary, and this has been noted, that we are an awful lot alike, and do fit really well.  I cannot complain.


She also has a great sense of humor, and we understand much more than most people are willing to allow themselves too.  All very nice.


That said, I'm gonna miss her for the next two days.  I'm off to Annapolis for a "Writer's Retreat."


Several months ago, I read an article in "The Writer" magazine about what one author does every now and then:  just takes off and goes on a solo retreat to write, to get inspired, or to just make a change in routine.


"Grown Up to be a Man," by Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith.  RIP, Pinetop, 97 or 98, still smoking right up to the end.  What a great one; glad these guys got the Grammy, they deserved it.


Now...the idea that the author (whose name I can't remember) had was to just find a spot, go there, and be there.  It can be anywhere that is isolated, comfortable, whatever; I chose Annapolis, because I have only been there once, and that was nearly ten years ago.  It's not far away, I have a cheap place to stay, and it's within civilization, if I need it.


My aim is to finish "Silk Road Days," at the very least.  After that, an editing and addition process is going to be needed.  This book has blown up into something I can barely comprehend and handle.  I've wondered if it should just be a manga, because it might work that way, but I decided to go all out and just write the story.


The story is now more than 500 pages...I've never written anything this long before.  My feeling is that I have a trilogy, or a three-part story, but I need to finish it.  It just keeps going and going and going, like the Energizer Bunny...


...I've been trying to put too much into one story again.


"Love Ain't for Keeping," Pete Townshend demo from Lifehouse Chronicles.  Not much different from the band version, really.  Townshend recently wrote that the one thing he'd have done different was not join a band, and work like Brian Eno has all these years.  Honestly, Townshend's demos are amazingly sharp and complete.  This demos is also only 90 seconds long.


"Aja," by Steely Dan.  Nice segue.


Okay...I think also I need to leave town.  I just worked two straight weeks (almost), and while I can't really afford this, my rent is paid and my bills are about to be in a few days.  I think I can deal.  


I do find myself in need of a change; this is a cost-effective way of doing it.  I'm not sure what I'll do besides write, but I'm guessing I'll act like a fucking tourist.  Haha...me, a tourist?  Right...


My traveling is limited this year, partly due to an odd work schedule.  WITF will have only occasional work as the backup host for "Morning Edition," though I may get some other stuff to do, with the recent shakeup there.


Radio PA is keeping me busy on the weekends, and Clear Channel has a few ball games for me to do.  Not a lot of work, but I can't complain.  It lets me do what I have to, bookwise.


Oh yeah...back to "SRD."  I have been plumbing the depths of my college experiences, but I don't suppose I've really touched bottom yet.  "Silk Road Days" is another of my Japanese anime/manga tales, but sorry folks, no time travel or mystic weirdness.  A human story, once again, or at least my best effort at such.


There are recurring themes of course, but I am examining things from different angles, and I'm hopeful that they remind people of what it was like, and how we may change over the years.  


I hope to have a good, compelling story that makes you turn the pages, but it's gonna be a lot of work.  Wouldn't have it any other way; besides this is not work, this is fun.


Still waiting on a certain publisher over SDS-1; we remain hopeful, but I will not hold my breath.


Springtime is here...hot as hell yesterday, and the weather has brought us less encumbering of the clothing...something I always enjoy.


Alice and I have discussed this, and we both look.  Yes, we do!  And it's okay, because we know what is okay and what is not.  We joke about it all the time.  


Some people can't handle that; too bad for you.


This is what you get, folks...every day a new venture in the world of the blogosphere...heehee.


Nawang Khechong's flute on "Wisdom and Compassion" ends this blog...very centering, lovely stuff...reports from the road, later...

Post-Rapture Meanderings...and Additional Weird Thoughts

Well, well, well...guess I missed "The Rapture," eh?

Suppose I better check with my friend Riz and see if there's an open chair by the fire in her little spot in Hell, hahahahahaha....so I wonder how many of those stupid people who actually believed that dried up old fart's rantings that the world was coming to an end?

$80 million worth, apparently.  "Family Radio" (which family, though?  His?  The Manson Family?) pulled that much in, in "contributions" I think last year, or is that the old man's career of fleecing the sheep?

Anyway, like William Miller before him in 1844 or thereabouts, and like every other charlatan before, during and after, oops, miscalculation, it happens in October. 

Yeah, right.

So anyway...there's been some interesting discussion of late as to whether the FCC might actually get off its ass, find its stones (unlikely) and go after the Jesus Freaks who have violated their public trust by broadcasting filth, lies, propaganda and their own peculiar brand of bullshit.

Look...if you want to believe in Christianity, go right ahead; you have every right to believe in what you want (or not, if ye choose).  My beliefs are rooted in centuries past, long before a fellow named Jesus made the scene in the Middle East.  He may well have even met one of the forerunners of my path, and added that to his experience, though you'd never hear anyone say anything about that, oh no no no no no...

I actually do think that Jesus existed, but I also think that most of the stuff written about him is untrue.  Check George Carlin's discussion about that on Youtube..."Religion is Bullshit."

Back to my original thought:  will the FCC finally examine the murky licenses that seem to perpetuate themselves about broadcasting?  Will people (and by the way, YOU can do this if you are an American citizen!) begin to demand to examine religious radio station's public files?  Will they, when the time comes up for license renewal, file a protest with the FCC, and make a case that said licensee does NOT serve the public, but only a tiny portion of it, and only for themselves?

My guess is probably not.  We all have so much to do in our lives, don't we?  "Oh, never mind..." as Mike Malloy likes to say...and I like to add, "Is Oprah on yet?"

Well, the reruns are, I'm sure.  That bag of gas is finally done with her show, thankfully...now if that narcississtic cow would just take her ill-gotten billions and go the fuck away, I'd be happy.  Go built another school in Africa, get the gloss for doing so, and then ignore it until another scandal erupts.  Nice job, bitch.

I've not had the chance to blow off any steam in a while, can you tell?  Hahahahaha...I'm rather enjoying this.

So yeah...here is the deal.  My feeling is the FCC will not go after religous broadcasters, because that is like a sacred cow, in more ways than one.  The Jesus lizards (sorry to the band) will wrap themselves in the Bible, the flag, and the First Amendment and proclaim all the good they're doing.  The FCC will say, "Fine," then go see about helping a fellow commissioner get a nice cushy job at Comcrap URRRRR!!!! Comcast, after allowing them to merge with NBC.  Gotta look after their own, y'know.

Ah, feels good to get all that out.  Well, guess what, friends?  We're still on this Earth, and we have to make the best of it, don't we?  I aim to; my spiritual health is just fine, and my mental health is quite good.  Physically, doing my best to work on it.

I make NO APOLOGIES for living my life the way I have, mistakes and all, THANKYOUVERYFUCKINGMUCH.

Now, that being said:  I am still sort of in recovery from a very long and busy week.  Five straight days of getting up at 2:30 am, downing a can of Amp to get straight and working "Morning Edition," on WITF.  Then...the KYW stuff on the weekends, then two morning of Radio PA Network Sports...urgh.

Yesterday, I suddenly realized I had some time off.  Concept.  Now, weird is weird, and here it is.  I was awake at 1:30 am on Tuesday, to go do the second of two days of the Radio PA thing...that involves getting to WITF early, getting and cutting down sound from our stringer who covered the Phillies game, getting together various other voice reports, other sound, writing some new pieces, composing and voicing four sportscasts, and getting two gigantic Sportslines ready for sending out.

Busy.  Yes.

So...I get outta there at about 6 am., busy morning.  I'm home...I can't sleep, are you fucking kidding me?  So what do I do?  I put on Hank III (Damn Right and Rebel Proud) and I clean!

I'm not good at cleaning, as my former wife will tell you.  It's not that often I get at it, but I did this particular morning.  Hank III is fucking nuts...anyone know that yet? Outlaw country/punk weirdness.  I'll bet his dad is pissed at the boy's success.  Actually, I think Hank #3 is like 40 now, isn't he?  I don't even know.

Anyway, good motivational music to get the mudroom, kitchen and bathroom cleaned.  Laundry, I'm still doing it!  And anyway, that all done and then off to the Office.

"Silk Road Days" has turned into a very strange novel.  It is now more than 400 pages, and I don't know why.  It is a rough draft, to be sure; and I realize that this is gonna take a lot of rewriting, crafting, sculpting and fuck knows what else.  I really bit off more than I could chew with this idea, but I am at least patient and I'll find a way to make this thing work.

Been waiting to find out if a publisher likes the Sweet Dreams Series enough to get going on Book 1, "Searching for Roy Buchanan."  I do realize that needs a rewrite as well; and I'm prepared for however that goes.  I must, I now realize get back to my voice taking over and speaking, telling the story, etc.  I veer away from that at times.

We will see how it goes, but either way I'll get this thing done.

I also need to get back to the radio thing, and thank the gang at WITF for all their help and encouragement.  It's a real team that works there, and I want to work with them one day; I really haven't done much.  I'm the backup QB, and that's fine with me.  Got enough else to do, right?

Alice is coming to visit...<grin>...I am quite pleased at the development of our relationship.  For once I feel a bit more grounded than I ever have...very nice thing, indeed.  You can read her poetic thoughts at Edgar Alice Croe -- interesting stuff.

Ei...gotta get outside...nice day today, and I need to figure out whatever else I must do.  Couple days off is kinda nice; need a few more of these.