Peace,
emaycee
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Water is wet
It's not surprising that so many have piled on Paul Ryan for forgoing his "principles" in deciding to endorse Donald Trump--Trump is a terrible candidate and it's in Democrats' best interests to tie every single republican they can to the man who will not be king. But what is surprising is the assumption that it was ever going to be any different.
Paul Ryan is all about Paul Ryan, and if he is to have any chance to be the republican nominee in 2024 (I figure he's smart enough not to challenge a sitting President, barring an unforeseen disaster), he has to have the republican base behind him and there's no way they would ever forget that he failed to endorse their chosen candidate. Ever.
In short, it was an unprincipled move by an unprincipled politician--unless that principle is spelled P-A-U-L-R-Y-A-N.
Peace,
emaycee
Paul Ryan is all about Paul Ryan, and if he is to have any chance to be the republican nominee in 2024 (I figure he's smart enough not to challenge a sitting President, barring an unforeseen disaster), he has to have the republican base behind him and there's no way they would ever forget that he failed to endorse their chosen candidate. Ever.
In short, it was an unprincipled move by an unprincipled politician--unless that principle is spelled P-A-U-L-R-Y-A-N.
Peace,
emaycee
They only get what they deserve
A few years back I wrote about how Hostess had used its bankruptcy proceeding to a) seriously enrich its executives, and b) destroy the union that made its products. So it was with a certain amount of glee that I noticed while grocery shopping this week that Hostess is recalling numerous products (710,000 packages to be exact) because they may have been contaminated with peanuts.
One can only wonder if this would have happened had Hostess had a work force that was paid a decent wage and actually gave a shit about its products--which may well result in countless lawsuits from those allergic to said peanuts.
Just another in a long line of examples that show how little Corporate America actually cares for Americans unless its to siphon off our tax dollars for Corporate Welfare.
With apologies to any who may have suffered physically because of Hostess' greed, Schadenfreude is sometimes a beautiful thing.
Peace,
emaycee
One can only wonder if this would have happened had Hostess had a work force that was paid a decent wage and actually gave a shit about its products--which may well result in countless lawsuits from those allergic to said peanuts.
Just another in a long line of examples that show how little Corporate America actually cares for Americans unless its to siphon off our tax dollars for Corporate Welfare.
With apologies to any who may have suffered physically because of Hostess' greed, Schadenfreude is sometimes a beautiful thing.
Peace,
emaycee
Monday, June 6, 2016
The Greatest
"I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong."
There have been many excellent tributes to Muhammad Ali since his death this past Friday, but I don't really think any of them can truly conjure how special he was. He was poetry in the boxing ring and courage personified outside of it. His braggadocio and humor toward his chosen career were traits previously unseen, and his determination and honesty in the career he had thrust upon him as an activist were an inspiration to the world.
Muhammad Ali was the first hero I ever had, and I can still picture the poster of him that hung on my bedroom wall when I was still a very young man. I will never forget crying my eyes out after his loss to Ken Norton in 1972, in which he boxed for six rounds with a broken jaw, and his chances for ever being heavyweight champ again appeared to be over--just as I'll never forget his stunning victory over George Foreman in 1974 and being probably the only kid in my conservative Indiana high school that had a smile on his face the next morning.
It wasn't until I was older that I understood what it had really meant for him to refuse to kill other human beings in a war (though I had fully witnessed the hatred that his actions brought upon him), and for a burgeoning young Liberal it was a courage of conviction that I strive to emulate to this day.
I don't ever remember crying at the death of any famous person before, but I cried when I heard that Muhammad Ali had died last Friday.
The world is a worse place without him in it.
Peace,
emaycee
Friday, June 3, 2016
Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXV--Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run (Album)
Pop quiz: What do F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, and Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run have in common?
Answer: Each of them changed the way I would look at their individual art forms forever, taught me that art could transform you, and specifically that it could be epic and grandiloquent, violent and unexplainable, and hopeful yet ultimately triumphant (among many, many others).
When I first started Friday Night Jukebox, I thought about making it a mix of both albums and singles each week--but after researching the first one (for those with fuzzy memories, Crosby, Still's and Nash's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"), I quickly realized an album would take a novel a week and I really don't have the time to write a novel a week. But I've still always wanted to do Born to Run not only because, for better or worse, it's my favorite album of all time, but also because Bruce Springsteen as a music artist remains culturally relevant and has never stopped fighting the good fight these last forty-five some odd years since he first started with the Dylanesque Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. And since tomorrow's my fifty-seventh birthday, I get a free "Gee, Wasn't Music Really Great Back in the Day?" card and I'm going to use it on Born to Run.
In the interest of not turning this into a novel, we'll dispense with Springsteen's history (New Jersey, won every award and honor imaginable, lots of record sales, heroic concert tours, the true heir to Woody Guthrie, a uniquely and unabashedly American artist), and give a (hopefully) brief recap of the album's eight songs and the oh, so glorious thirty-nine minutes of joy they still give me to this day:
"Thunder Road"--I'm not sure there's a more quintessential Springsteen song than this one. It's got girls, cars, the shredded American dream, and yet despite it all, there's still a whole hell of a lot of hope on the horizon. Favorite line: "It's a town full of losers/And I'm pulling out of here to win..."
"Tenth Avenue Freeze-out"--Believe it or not, I wasn't exactly enamored with the album the first few times I heard it. He may have been on the cover of Time and Newsweek in the same week when both were still relevant (and which is what made me buy the album in the first place), but I thought the album was kind of dull. Except for this song--which stuck in my head and made me keep coming back for more and eventually very much made me a Springsteen and Born to Run fan for life. Favorite line: "And I'm all alone, I'm all alone/And kid you better get the picture/And I'm on my own, I'm on my own/And I can't go home..."
"Night"--While I would never say this was a bad song, it's the one on the album that's never really grabbed me. It fits well with the album's theme, but not a song you wait for when seeing him in concert.
"Backstreets"--Surprisingly, bar none, my favorite Springsteen song. "Born in the U.S.A." might be the best song he's ever written, but this is a close second. A tale of love lost (and if there's anything rock and roll does well it's tales of love lost), Springsteen absolutely fucking nails this one instrumentally (think power chords), vocally (complete abandon), and emotionally (you can feel the hurt) from beginning to end. Another in line of songs I can't sing along to without getting a lump in my throat. Favorite line: "Laying here in the dark/You're like an angel on my chest..."
"Born to Run"--Pete Townshend once said this song was the sound of "fucking triumph", and I'm certain I couldn't describe it any better. Felt by many to be Springsteen's best song (deservedly), it's exploding intro is instantly recognizable and never lets up from beginning to end. P-O-W-E-R--that would be "Born to Run." Favorite line: "The highways jammed with broken heroes/On a last chance power drive..."
"She's the One"--Another subject rock and roll does very well is the mystery of love, and how oftentimes someone we love gets in our heads and stays there forever--and that would be this song. Often sung and played in machine gun bursts, it's "Born to Run" without the American overtones. Probably the song I most underrate on the album. Favorite line: "But there's this angel in her eyes/That tells such desperate lies/And all you want to do is believe her..."
"Meeting Across the River"--A subtle masterpiece that is often forgotten among the power pop that makes up the rest of the album. Springsteen paints a sparse (lots of subtle piano and sax) picture of a failed New York'New Jersey hood going for that one score that'll impress the big boys and more importantly, his girl, but somehow you know, despite his fervent hopes, that it'll never happen. As good as any short story I've ever read and would make a hell of a movie. Favorite line: "Cause this guy don't dance/And the word's been passed this is our last chance..."
"Jungleland"--Sprinsteen's magnum opus, an eight minute opera about the characters and tragedies of New York City. It's a tour de force with rollicking highs and whispered lows. I've been listening to it for 42 years and I still find new moments in the song that amaze and delight me. A grand ending to a classic album. Favorite lyrics: "Outside the street's on fire/In a real death waltz/Between what's flash and what's fantasy/And the poets down here/Don't write nothing at all/They just stand back and let it all be..."
Beautiful.
Can I just mention that the cover, in black and white, with Springsteen holding his guitar,leaning on Clarence Clemons back and smiling, while Clemons wails on his sax may just be the coolest album cover in the history of rock and roll.
If you have the time, enjoy:
Answer: Each of them changed the way I would look at their individual art forms forever, taught me that art could transform you, and specifically that it could be epic and grandiloquent, violent and unexplainable, and hopeful yet ultimately triumphant (among many, many others).
When I first started Friday Night Jukebox, I thought about making it a mix of both albums and singles each week--but after researching the first one (for those with fuzzy memories, Crosby, Still's and Nash's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"), I quickly realized an album would take a novel a week and I really don't have the time to write a novel a week. But I've still always wanted to do Born to Run not only because, for better or worse, it's my favorite album of all time, but also because Bruce Springsteen as a music artist remains culturally relevant and has never stopped fighting the good fight these last forty-five some odd years since he first started with the Dylanesque Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. And since tomorrow's my fifty-seventh birthday, I get a free "Gee, Wasn't Music Really Great Back in the Day?" card and I'm going to use it on Born to Run.
In the interest of not turning this into a novel, we'll dispense with Springsteen's history (New Jersey, won every award and honor imaginable, lots of record sales, heroic concert tours, the true heir to Woody Guthrie, a uniquely and unabashedly American artist), and give a (hopefully) brief recap of the album's eight songs and the oh, so glorious thirty-nine minutes of joy they still give me to this day:
"Thunder Road"--I'm not sure there's a more quintessential Springsteen song than this one. It's got girls, cars, the shredded American dream, and yet despite it all, there's still a whole hell of a lot of hope on the horizon. Favorite line: "It's a town full of losers/And I'm pulling out of here to win..."
"Tenth Avenue Freeze-out"--Believe it or not, I wasn't exactly enamored with the album the first few times I heard it. He may have been on the cover of Time and Newsweek in the same week when both were still relevant (and which is what made me buy the album in the first place), but I thought the album was kind of dull. Except for this song--which stuck in my head and made me keep coming back for more and eventually very much made me a Springsteen and Born to Run fan for life. Favorite line: "And I'm all alone, I'm all alone/And kid you better get the picture/And I'm on my own, I'm on my own/And I can't go home..."
"Night"--While I would never say this was a bad song, it's the one on the album that's never really grabbed me. It fits well with the album's theme, but not a song you wait for when seeing him in concert.
"Backstreets"--Surprisingly, bar none, my favorite Springsteen song. "Born in the U.S.A." might be the best song he's ever written, but this is a close second. A tale of love lost (and if there's anything rock and roll does well it's tales of love lost), Springsteen absolutely fucking nails this one instrumentally (think power chords), vocally (complete abandon), and emotionally (you can feel the hurt) from beginning to end. Another in line of songs I can't sing along to without getting a lump in my throat. Favorite line: "Laying here in the dark/You're like an angel on my chest..."
"Born to Run"--Pete Townshend once said this song was the sound of "fucking triumph", and I'm certain I couldn't describe it any better. Felt by many to be Springsteen's best song (deservedly), it's exploding intro is instantly recognizable and never lets up from beginning to end. P-O-W-E-R--that would be "Born to Run." Favorite line: "The highways jammed with broken heroes/On a last chance power drive..."
"She's the One"--Another subject rock and roll does very well is the mystery of love, and how oftentimes someone we love gets in our heads and stays there forever--and that would be this song. Often sung and played in machine gun bursts, it's "Born to Run" without the American overtones. Probably the song I most underrate on the album. Favorite line: "But there's this angel in her eyes/That tells such desperate lies/And all you want to do is believe her..."
"Meeting Across the River"--A subtle masterpiece that is often forgotten among the power pop that makes up the rest of the album. Springsteen paints a sparse (lots of subtle piano and sax) picture of a failed New York'New Jersey hood going for that one score that'll impress the big boys and more importantly, his girl, but somehow you know, despite his fervent hopes, that it'll never happen. As good as any short story I've ever read and would make a hell of a movie. Favorite line: "Cause this guy don't dance/And the word's been passed this is our last chance..."
"Jungleland"--Sprinsteen's magnum opus, an eight minute opera about the characters and tragedies of New York City. It's a tour de force with rollicking highs and whispered lows. I've been listening to it for 42 years and I still find new moments in the song that amaze and delight me. A grand ending to a classic album. Favorite lyrics: "Outside the street's on fire/In a real death waltz/Between what's flash and what's fantasy/And the poets down here/Don't write nothing at all/They just stand back and let it all be..."
Beautiful.
Can I just mention that the cover, in black and white, with Springsteen holding his guitar,leaning on Clarence Clemons back and smiling, while Clemons wails on his sax may just be the coolest album cover in the history of rock and roll.
If you have the time, enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
emaycee
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Run, Marco, run
Apparently republicans are shitting themselves so much over their prospects in this year's Florida Senate race, that Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump are begging Marco Rubio to get back in the race and seek re-election for his current seat.
Rubio may very well be the best candidate republicans have in Florida, but it's hard to see where he's the best candidate for Floridians. I mean, Jesus, the guy literally hated being a Senator (missed more days than any other Senator), ran a brutally bad Presidential campaign (highlight: discussing penis sizes in a debate), and was proven time and again to be a reactionary lightweight (example: Rubio is one of about three Americans who think normalizing relations with Cuba is bad for the country).
It'd be one thing if the majority of Floridians were as fucking nuts as the majority of Texans, but they aren't.
And they can do a lot better than Rubio.
Peace,
emaycee
Rubio may very well be the best candidate republicans have in Florida, but it's hard to see where he's the best candidate for Floridians. I mean, Jesus, the guy literally hated being a Senator (missed more days than any other Senator), ran a brutally bad Presidential campaign (highlight: discussing penis sizes in a debate), and was proven time and again to be a reactionary lightweight (example: Rubio is one of about three Americans who think normalizing relations with Cuba is bad for the country).
It'd be one thing if the majority of Floridians were as fucking nuts as the majority of Texans, but they aren't.
And they can do a lot better than Rubio.
Peace,
emaycee
What do you mean "we"?
Digby had a short piece yesterday in which she asked if Donald Trump, as a candidate, was the best we as a nation could do.
"We" didn't nominate Donald Trump to be the next President of the United States--republicans did. And yes, he may very well be, considering what the republican party has become, the best they can do.
For all the uproar over his candidacy among moderate republicans, Trump is a lot closer to their worldview than Hillary Clinton.
And though I doubt they'll see it, this November may very well show them just how out of touch with most Americans they really are.
Peace,
emaycee
"We" didn't nominate Donald Trump to be the next President of the United States--republicans did. And yes, he may very well be, considering what the republican party has become, the best they can do.
For all the uproar over his candidacy among moderate republicans, Trump is a lot closer to their worldview than Hillary Clinton.
And though I doubt they'll see it, this November may very well show them just how out of touch with most Americans they really are.
Peace,
emaycee
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