Friday, December 29, 2017

                                       Empathy Dilemma
When one is in a desperate situation or under extreme dire circumstances one tends to feel isolated, abandoned, all alone in their own despondency.

Often others act callous, indifferent, or even contemptuous towards one, subtly implying that somehow one is responsible for bringing about whatever hardship one is experiencing.

Having to suffer attitudes and behaviors like these will cause one to develop a steady animosity towards others, and in the event one witnesses someone else suffering greatly themselves, instead of feeling empathy for that other poor soul one may feel a sense of schadenfreude, figuring "Screw them!!  When I needed help everyone else just left me to deal with it all myself.  They acted like I 'deserved' what I was going through, like I 'brought it about' by my own stupidity or ignorance.  So, as far as I'm concerned, let this poor sap 'figure THEIR OWN WAY out of' their predicament".
                                  A Social Class Lecture
Paul McCartney---one of the world's wealthiest entertainers.

I remember, in 1964, when it was revealed each member of The Beatles were worth at least $7-million each.  And how folks would often comment "No person on earth is worth THAT much!"

However, though, back then the attitudes toward the common disparities surrounding the financial worth of different individuals were more passive, only occasionally wishing they "had that kind of money" and "what they'd do if" they had that amount of wealth.

For the most part, how much money another person earned or had to their name was pretty much really "the business of" that particular individual and not of any concern for most average persons (outside of a bit of vicarious envy).

Of course it should be mentioned that in the 1960s there was considerable prosperity, so even those making low to average wages---as well as upstart business ventures---were usually managing to make enough to get by adequately, and prices were low enough things were somewhat affordable.  
Not to mention there were more choices when it came to the basics, such as homes and residential units, food, furniture, and other essentials.  There were always different price ranges for just about everything one could buy and for just about every place one could live, whether house or apartment---or even rooming houses or weekly motel rooms.  A variety of choices and price ranges for entertainment items such as televisions, radios, stereos, records, books, small appliances, and the like.

And it's a fact that, so long as one is getting by well enough they can afford to be content with just focusing on their own life and needs and desires, they're not going to be as prone to giving much thought to how others are living or getting by.
It's only when the social and economic climate is so discordant and dysfunctional to the point when the disparities between their finances and assets and the cost of living are so great they're in jeopardy of financial ruin anytime, coupled with the possibility of losing their source of a steady income, that people start becoming despondent enough to start thinking about "their place in society", which in turn causes them to start comparing themselves with how a lot of others in the world live, which then leads to resentment and a need to lash out at anyone who appears to be better off than they are.  Even if those "better offs" are more upper-middle-class than wealthy.

It's in such a totally disastrous economic climate one starts hearing disparaging comments and statements about "the 1 percent" or "corporate elite" and others of comparable socio-economic status.
When one's life is a total disaster anyone who is or appears to be doing well is to be disdained and condemned for being "greedy" and "heartless".
It's that need for those who are suffering to find a viable "causation".

In short---how much the average person is or is not concerned with the financial state of (particularly) those in the upper echelon social class range is a good barometer of the overall prosperity of the given culture.
The less the average person really gives a damn about how the wealthy live or how much any one of them is worth, the better off and more prosperous the society.
The more the average person frets and goes on moral outrages about the "greedy rich" and such, the more indicative it is that said society is either experiencing a lot of intracultural conflicts or might even be degenerating and deteriorating.  

CeleBirthdates

Marianne Faithful
She turned 71 today.
I hear she checked out the online dating site OurTime recently.  They found "an ideal match" for her---a certain Michael Phillip Jagger ...

...speaking of The Rolling Stones: Keith Richards turned 74 on December 18th (a week before Christmas)

And 2017 ends with Burton Cummings turning 70 (he was born December 31 1947)

Michael Nesmith turns 74 tomorrow

Is Edgar Winter still living?  If so, he turned 71 yesterday.

Jimmy Buffett turned 71 this past Monday (Christmas day itself).  Too bad it didn't hit me until just now.  Had I mentioned his (then-upcoming) birthday a week ago I would have been able to say "'Come Monday' Jimmy Buffett turns 71"

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

                                              Final Adages of 2017

Corporations, merchants, and advertisers are a bit like perverts---one molests another physically, the other psychologically


No-one ever seems interested in anything you might have to say.
     ...yet they'll always lend an ear to gossips intent on smearing you
  That man is a social animal by nature is but a curse ...
... it means we're all forced to be invasive and predatory ...

...you can't ask for help or advice without approaching another and interrupting whatever they happen to be doing at the time.

...if you're lonely and desire companionship how do you go about finding another unless you keep badgering one stranger after another, randomly asking each one for special favors they may not be too keen on doing for you?

...you often can not engage in activities of your own choosing without interfering with the activities of another.

If I could only know all, do all, and be all, and be satisfied with just myself, my life would be a utopia.

Responsibility (revisited)

Why I dread it so much any time I need to take care of something:

Most tasks look to be simple enough in concept and theory
...but when trying to carry them out you end up going through more steps than even someone performing brain surgery.

I remember my junior high math teacher telling the class how he "feels really bad for anyone who either can't take algebra in high school or takes it and ends up failing it" because, as he put it, "if one can't understand algebra they'll never be able to fully make sense out of how things work in the real world".

Do I need to mention I'm among those who failed algebra?

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

                                           Dealing With Others
The misanthropic one explains why he so dreads any time he has to go out in public:

"...too many folks out there who want to punish me for something their mean uncle did to them when they were 10 or 11 ..."

...yes, as if we ourselves don't already have personal issues of our own that chronically plague us ....



                                      Another site to check out: www.diediehipster.wordpress.com
 
                                                   Musing For Today
When going out in public you'll usually find the outside world to be "everyone else's living room and patio"
      'Tis the season to "help out the homeless"
"The homeless".  Sounds like some kind of cult organization.

If someone is one of "the homeless" does that mean they belong to a club whose members relish wandering around destitute like a band of gypsies, sleeping outside in the open every night regardless of weather conditions, being eternally hygiene-impaired, donning ill-fitting sloppy and dingy garments, surviving on inadequate diet and nutrition, always lacking adequate funds?

It's not like homelessness is some kind of lifestyle.  It could, you know, possibly be a circumstance one finds themselves in when they run out of finances, resources, support from family/friends/acquaintances, and can no longer afford to remain in a long-term dwelling place.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

                              Cultural Climate Gentrification
The most dynamic, creative, and passionate people are often also among the most troubled, rebellious, defiant, inquisitive and heretical.

Which means they're also among those most apt to resort to unorthodox methods of accomplishing their ends, to eschew certain social protocols, and have idiomatic belief systems.

Lately the system has been quite zealous in its pursuit of some kind of "social gentrifying" agenda.
It seems the desirable individual is one who is eternally compliant with whatever the current collective narratives are on behaviors, beliefs, viewpoints, speech, and social mores.  They have to be unconditionally "considerate of others' feelings", completely free of any kind of scandal, concerned with staying inside prescribed boundaries wherever they may be set.
Harboring a mindset more befitting Artificial Intelligence than a living emotional human.

However, "dutifully" culling social heretics would also mean discrediting some of the most creative and dynamic personalities who, in spite of their frailties and occasional underhanded endeavors, would still have it in them to offer the world elements which enhance and enrich the overall social climate, the creative/inventive realm,  and collective whole.

To turn everything over to only those who can demonstrate "proper upbringing", "moral purity" and a "society-approved" persona can only result in a social and intellectual climate that's sterile at best, and devoid of any semblance of sentiment, passion or inspiration at worst.

It's not bad enough the world is hell-bent on "purifying" the social climate (gentrification via brand new or remodeled residential and commercial structures) and the internet (with the elimination of Net Neutrality).
They seem to be working the same sort of "secular sorcery" on living humans as well.

Song Analysis: Jumbo

Another one of those quirky songs the "Brothers Gibb" were known for in their early days.

This particular one seems to involve a fictitious children's character who seemingly echos the wishes of the parents.

To most children parents represent authority and worldly knowledge, but not friendship like what they have among their peers and siblings.
And kids also have fantasy heroes from storybooks, comics and cartoons.
So, invent a storybook character hero the kid can believe in and cunningly have his words and advice "coincidentally" align with the similar ones of the parents.

Anyway, that's how the lyrics come across to me.

The Wrong Rights (revisited)

                        Special  Library Etiquette  Edition
So ...
... it's okay to have loud conversations, yell on your cellphone, even use speakerphone when sitting at the computer terminals in the library.

...but, if you're using headphones and the sound bleeds out any, you're told you have to turn it down because it's disturbing others.

Personally, I think it should be the other way around.  However, library standards differ from my own
... especially considering that, when it comes to loud talking, the staff themselves are often among the worst offenders.  And when those in charge are among the offenders who can one turn to?

Perhaps the reason some people have the volume turned up on their headphones is to drown out all the loudmouths and cell phone shouters.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

CeleDeaths and CeleBirthdate

DON'T YOU KNOW?
Della Reese died Sunday.  She was 86.

...also:  Malcolm Young, AC/DC guitarist, died last Saturday at age 64.

Meanwhile Gordon Lightfoot celebrated his 79th birthday this past Friday.
The guy's still around (yet).



                            Another site to check out: www.thiswallisnotinfallible.wordpress.com

Song Analysis: The Snake

This 1968 R&B/pop hit by Al Wilson is, essentially, a commentary on and warning of the dangers of being too gullible and trusting.

In short, one should be cautious  in life and careful of just WHO it is they're trusting and giving the benefit of the doubt to.  That, no matter how much one might feel for someone in a seemingly dire predicament, one's own self preservation still takes primary precedence over even sentiment and compassion.

This song is loosely based on an old Aesop's Fable THE FARMER AND THE VIPER.
     Modern-day McCarthyism is in full swing
I'll tell you----that "Hurricane Harvey" affair sure started one hell of a "wildfire".
And it still continues to "burn out of control", now to the point where there's no chance in hell anyone will ever "put it out".
And the aroma of "Weiner Stench" has spread out and about over "miles" and "miles" of mediatory territory.

Not that I care shit about either these "trophy prick" hotshots in the television, news, or music industry, or about any of the whiney "trophy cunts" they "victimized" via taking advantage of their social status and "credibility" standing at the time.
When taking any kind of job or occupation one has to expect their bosses and managers to be a bit condescending and derisive towards them as a rule of thumb.
And that the only concerns the bosses and managers will have towards them will only be along the lines of how they can use said employee to enhance their own personal gain.

Western societies exist primarily as bastions of social rank fascism.  One has to expect plenty of double standards and duplicity par for the course, and forget about any kind of transparency.   Without any level of equitableness there can be no honesty, as any degree of honesty denotes possibly exposing attitudes of discontent with the mind games and oppressive mandates of a system of bosses and subordinates.

But plebeians in western societies have always been hypnotized into believing they should have the same rights as royalty and the elitists, refusing to face up to the fact that there will always have to be a majority with "secondary" status.
Hence, obviously taking cues from "The Joe McCarthy Handbook On Social/Political Persecution", the media and government authorities have taken it upon themselves to sacrifice some of their own "Marie Antoinettes" (or, rather, "Maurice Antoinettes") to pander to and appease the present-day rabble by catering to their obsessions with "sexual misconduct" and alleged "conspiracy against the women of the world", and the mandates to "respect women" (which, I'm sure for example, doesn't include minority elderly women in nursing homes who are routinely neglected and left to lay in their own feces by nursing home employees too lazy to even as much as change their diapers since these patients "don't matter" anyway.  And I don't think anyone would exactly bow down to Casey Anthony or Jodi Arias should they enter the room.   So much for "respecting women").

In short----the media and authorities have to "stay in good with" the normals by catering to their collective dogmas and prejudices so as to maintain that illusion of society as still being one of "moral dignity" and "justice".  This whole hysteria and persecution of previously exempt and deferred celebrity elitists is, essentially, a type of psyop being perpetrated upon the collective mass.
If those in the media and authority were seriously concerned with the moral ramifications of the social climate of the political, industrial, and media subcultures these incidents would be occasional anomalies.  But, instead, we suddenly have one after another after another after another in a long series of "surprise laundry lists" of celebrities and past incidents, most of them decades old, springing up "out of nowhere".
How "coincidental".   

Saturday, November 11, 2017

                                          Adage For Today
                             Blogging is a lot like getting tattoos
                                             ...permanent records of passing moods



                          Musing For Today
Even when things are going okay I still continue to be cynical.  It's sort of a warning to myself not to become too complacent.
Just because things are going well at present, it doesn't mean fate is "turning over a new leaf" and "feels guilty" about what it's put you through in the past.  It's simply just another phase in your life.  Things can still return to a "shit-sucking" mode once it passes.




Another CeleDeath to report:
Robert Knight, famous for recording the original version of EVERLASTING LOVE, died Sunday (the 5th) at age 72.
                              FREE
                               STD
                            CHECK

What do they check for?  To make sure your STD is still doing okay?  That it's not having any issues?



                 SHIT HAPPENS

                            ...and the censored versions:
                                    Fecal Matter Happens
                                    Excrement Happens
                                    Stools Happen
                                    Defecation Happens
                                    Poop Happens
                                    Universal Health Care
Yes, I am also a believer in the notion that health care for everyone should be an unconditional given.

Here in the U.S. they could simply put all its citizens on Medicare.  Actually entitle anyone and everyone to receive all needed medical and dental services at no personal cost to them.  Those covered would include the most destitute (sleeping outside in sub-zero weather) to the most affluent C.E.O. billionaire---and everyone else in-between wealth-wise.  Everyone would get "equal billing" on it.

And the medical and dental professionals would receive set wages for their services based on how the medical boards rate their level of services as well as on seniority.  Similar to how the military branches run their medical and dental services, with medics, corpsmen, and medical officers paid according to their rank, despite having the same level of general knowledge and following the same procedures.

The system in the U.S., as it currently stands, is not exactly a model of collective altruism.  Most individuals who decide to go into the medical and dental fields do so on account of the earning potential of such professions.  The reason such potential exists is because practitioners are allowed too much autonomy in deciding how much to charge for their services.
As such, it stands that the patient can easily wind up incurring considerable expenses in the events when their insurance policy doesn't cover all necessary procedures performed on him/her.

And it's not like anyone would ever deliberately come down with an ailment their insurance doesn't happen to cover solely for the purpose of "stiffing" their health-care providers.  Things just happen, that's all.
One should be able to get a serious or substantial health matter taken care of and dealt with as and when needed without being transformed into some kind of "sacrificial lamb".

Friday, November 3, 2017

When it comes to being prejudice ....
Have you ever noticed that the people you're most apt to mock or make disparaging comments and remarks about are the ones you find obnoxious or imposing or menacing?

Those are the ones you're most likely to make racist or sexist comments about.  Or make fun of their looks, or weight, or social status.

On the other hand, you'll notice that when you have a great degree of reverence for someone it doesn't matter what kind of "defect" or "imperfection" that person has.  You simply conveniently overlook it.  Such persons are too valuable and too much of a "saving grace" to be focusing on such pettiness.

You save all your underlying judgmentalisms for the ones you consider to be "obstacles" or "menaces".

                                               Adage For Today
People are so vapid and inadequate anymore
...in order to get them to "say anything" one has to "finish their sentences" for them


                                         Another site to check out:  www.theinsaneasylumblog.com

Fake News ....

What is it?  What is "fake news"?

Even as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries, when the proverbial newspaper was "king" of conveying the latest hot-button topics and essential stories-of-the-day, it has always been a common practice for the news media to often either cover something up by presenting a false account---or, when what they reported was factual, conveniently leave out essential details, or put their own spin on a story, presenting the known facts in a way that fit the popular narratives of the day. 
And, to this day, those essential practices of the news media still remain pretty much the same.   All throughout the era of radio and television, and now well into the era of the internet, that underlying mindset appears unchanged .

However, I wouldn't quite call it "fake news".   There's still a lot of truth in what usually gets reported.
Rather, I'd refer to it more as "deceptive news".  Or "inadequate accounting", wherein what's reported is usually factual enough, but is presented in a subjectively suggestive manner for the purpose of leaving a certain impression of the subject on the viewer/listener/reader.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

                                          Too Much To Ask?
I took an online "personality test" recently.
The results showed that, for the most part, I tend to have a generous and helpful nature
...however, it did mention I also have a psychopathic tendency to "get whatever it is I want or desire any way I can, by whatever means necessary or available".

So I also tend to be an opportunist.  Why is that necessarily "psychopathic"?
Isn't that the way a lot of successful individuals got where they are today?  Taking advantage of opportunities and loopholes?

So why is it so "terrible" if I do similar for myself?  Why does that make ME some kind of "predator"?
What's my alternative?  Continuing to settle for being deprived, oppressed, vulnerable, still "kept in the dark", still "held out on", still given the runaround?  Why NOT try to "grab a little for myself" if and when possible?

Should I just casually allow myself to be harshly judged by a world of fortunate types who make six-figure incomes, have good social and sex lives, are allowed to hop-scotch from one continent to another like it's just another walk around the block, eat out every night, go to fancy clubs or concerts or theater venues or illustrious arts and cultural events every weekend?
...and then treat the likes of me with contempt for merely wishing twopence for myself, like I'm attempting to bankrupt the National Treasury?

Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday

...and back to normal time for another five months.

Why don't they just leave the clocks alone?  Having to readjust the clocks twice a year is just one more thing to have to "also remember to do".

You don't "gain" or "lose" an hour by simply changing the position of the hour hand on your clock.  The clocks just read an hour later or an hour earlier, that's all.

I'm intrigued by the fact that this whole thing is actually legislated.  The state and federal courts have the time and resources to waste on a frivolity like this, in lieu of all the serious issues chronically plaguing us left and right.
Have they nothing better to do?
Oh yeah ...of COURSE they do: obsess over abortion, gay rights, hate speech, figuring out how to "abolish hate and prejudice" and deal with drug and alcohol addiction without having to make any efforts to improve the quality-of-life of the average citizen, how to destroy Medicare and Medicaid
...I keep forgetting how busy these guys really are.
Engaging in all these endeavors sure to accomplish so much for mankind.  
                                  Musing For Today
One thing that bothers me is the way one's made to feel they have to explain or "justify" anything they do or say.

Why can't one simply do what they do or say whatever they say because it's just their style and honest viewpoint?

I don't like the way I always seem to "owe the other person something".  Who are these people that they seem to have so much command over everything?  They get to decide what goes down.   Why should I have to "answer to" them if they don't "approve of" something I do or have to say?

And why does the world literally hand all these "others" the keys to everything it has to offer while keeping the likes of me caged and boxed in?

And why are these "others" allowed the monopoly on the world's amenities, on even the right to freedom-of-expression and on satisfying basic desires?


They can talk loud and blast their music and televisions without being accused of "disturbing the peace"
They can feel sexual desires without being looked upon as being "perverted" and "lascivious"
They can get outraged or angered or excited or elated and raise their voices or shout and scream without being considered "threatening", "menacing", "annoying" or "imposing".
Whatever their conjectures and however myopic their perspective they still "have the last word on" everything.

What's most bothersome is that when I wish to claim even a minute bit of space for myself they have to shove me aside and claim even that for themselves.

Any time the world takes offense at me it always seems to be when I start expressing myself too freely, or loosening up a bit and becoming more confident, or start expecting entitlements, acting too "uppity".
It's like the real offenses don't really have anything to do with ethics, morals, or "lack of consideration".  It seems to be more about me "muscling my way into their 'monopolies'".
The retaliations are really about putting me back in my "place".
                          We are all cultists
A cult is any ideology, group, or organization that demands unconditional loyalty to and belief in whatever it deems to be proper or to be true from its members (or those aspiring to be members).

The family is the first cult most people end up being a part of.
Parents raise their offspring to be loyal to "the family" first and foremost---loyal to the parents, to their siblings, to their grandparents, to the beliefs espoused by the parents.  Any show of individual autonomy on the part of any one offspring is looked upon as "treasonous" and "a betrayal of the family unit"
Children are never raised to be independent, to think or do for themselves, or to have a life of their own.

And the schools and churches are not much better.  They teach loyalty to the "community" and to the social mores, and to worship society and its "system".   And the notion that each person constantly "owes" everyone else around them, and to not do or say anything to another that could be interpreted as being "disparaging".

As a result we have a whole world of shills and sycophants, people who do not dare have thoughts of their own or act on their true desires or feelings, whose biggest concerns involve "fitting in" and "being accepted".

...and a world full of all kinds of cults for the people of the world to attach themselves to, as they've all been raised to commit themselves to others at their own expense ...
    ...just take a look for yourself at some of these typical collective cults:
*Liberals
*Conservatives
*White Supremacists
*Black Lives Matter
*LGBT
*Feminists
*Men's Rights Activists
*Fraternal Order Of Police
*Democrats
*Republicans
*Tea Party
*Communists
*Environmentalists
*The Corporations
*The Organizations
*Pro-abortionists
*Anti-abortionists
*Unions
*Anti-union organizations
*Educators
*Fraternities
*Sororities
*Bicyclists
*Vegetarians
*Business Communities
*Arts Communities
*Activists
*CEOs
*Muslims
*Jews
*Catholics
*Christians 
*Baptists
*Atheists
*Satanists
*any person who identifies themselves via their ethnic background or ancestry, or by their social class/rank
*Economists
*Lawyers
*The Legal/Court Systems
*The Economic Systems
*Governments
*The Military
*Gangs
*Clubs
*Sports teams and their fans
*Terrorist Organizations
*Militant Organizations

             Investment vs. mere purchasing
When I purchase clothes, electronic appliances, shoes, dishware, or any other item I anticipate having for the long run I'm always hoping for at least some degree of longevity from them.

Few things are more despairing than paying $90 for a pair of shoes that can't make it even a year without either the soles wearing down completely or separating from the frame itself.
Likewise, appliances or electronics that start malfunctioning when only two or three years old.

Maybe I'm just too persnickety, or just not realistic or whatever, but, outside of really basic items---like shampoo, cleaning supplies, food, toothpaste, shaving razors, and the like---I'd like to think I'm more "making an investment" when I buy the more "serious" items than just simply "making another purchase".

It unnerves me to think the industry is only making everything under the sun "expendable", and the concept of "investing" completely eludes them in their quest for accumulating as much wealth as they can (presumably within the prescribed legal limits).
The industries seem to be little more than "profit vacuums", always going after wealth as if it were some kind of "precious jewels" to seek after and collect as treasures or mantel pieces. 

Another Campy Quote

                       "We all shall grow old one day"

How true!
A few examples of the veracity of that statement:
*Buddy Holly
*Jimi Hendrix
*Janis Joplin
*Jim Croce
*James Dean
*John Lennon
*Edgar Allan Poe
*Patsy Cline
*Bobby Daren
*Ritchie Valens
*Harry Chapin
*Brian Jones
*Eddie Cochran
*Otis Redding
*Jim Morrison
*Elvis Presley
*Gilda Radner
*Laura Nyro
*Sam Cooke
*Marvin Gaye
*Chuck Willis
*Karen Carpenter
*Keith Moon
*Marc Bolan
*Johnny Horton
*Andy Gibb
*Duane Allman
*Sal Mineo
*Clyde McPhatter
*Van McCoy
*Tammi Terrell
*John Belushi

Thursday, October 26, 2017

                                           Adage For Today
       Being out in public is a lot like being stuck between floors in an elevator with 30 other people

Me (Wants To Make Sense) Too

For those of you who want to read an article about sexual harassment and sexual assault that actually reads out in an intelligent, reasonable and sensible manner, check out this one from the National Review by Michelle Malkin
....a level-headed PROFESSIONAL veteran columnist/journalist:
  www.nationalreview.com/article/452808/metoo-may-exaggerate-prevalence-sex-crimes

Another CeleDeath to report:

Fats Domino
   ...the "Fat Man" himself.
This recording legend passed away Tuesday at the age of 89.

First it was Chuck Berry (in March).   Now it's another R&B/pop/rock n'roll pioneer.
Even MORE proof of just "how late it is" ....of just HOW MUCH time has actually gone by for some of us aging gnomes and hobbits.

Friday, October 13, 2017

           Babysitting the babysitters (revisited)
Let's say you need a plumber.   The pipes under your sink are leaking and there's a ton of water on bathroom floor.

So you call up a plumber you know to be a competent worker---very skilled and knowledgeable in his trade.

However, this guy has an issue with punctuality.  He can't be relied on to show up when he promised to.  And often he doesn't show up at all when scheduled.  Later he may apologize and tell you "a family issue came up suddenly" and that he had to take care of it right then and there.
And, unfortunately, this seems to be a regular pattern of his.

Hence, you're stuck with the formidable task of having to badger someone you're dependent upon, in a somewhat parental manner.   In short, having to assume authority over someone who's suppose to have an authority over you.

Much like a landlord who fails to make repairs or maintain the residential building.
Or your supervisor at work who fails to mention you've been given an extra assignment that particular day ...then, when you come in the next day, you find yourself being penalized for "negligence" and "insubordination".  
It's like you have to "boss the boss around" to get them into action.
These sort of situations are among the worst kind of precarious ones to be in.  Because you don't wish to risk offending someone who's "over you".  Yet, if you DON'T say or do anything certain problems stand to never get solved. 

Song Analysis: Somebody's Been Sleeping

What is there to say about this R&B/pop hit by 100 Proof Aged In Soul from the fall of 1970?
Essentially a "Goldilocks and the Beanstalk" meets "Jack and the Three Bears" take on an adult theme (infidelity), using an improvisation of  two children's fairy tales as metaphors.



                                            Another site to check out: www.stupid-people.net

CeleBirthdate

Paul Simon turns 76 today
...and David Lee Roth turned 63 on Tuesday (the 10th)

...and a few CeleDeaths of late to mention as well ...

Walter Becker of Steely Dan
...and Tom Petty as well, leaving a number of "Heartbroken" fans in the wake of his passing
...and Jimmy Beaumont of The Skyliners

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Oh, but to live in Singapore ....

A clean, orderly, well-mannered country.
No filthy phlegm-infested sidewalks to greet you every time you step outside.
No "gang rule" social climate.
Strict health and safety regulations (actually enforced)
Strict zoning laws that ensure an immaculate and aesthetically-appealing cultural environment.
Laws which apply equally to everyone.

Should I be singing the praises of a draconian-ruled country that strenuously resorts to some of the most artificial and contrived methods of social engineering to ensure an unconditional utopia of civility and safety?

Look at it this way:  Their leaders take one look at countries where people are allowed to be their natural selves, without constraints on their emotions or general behaviors---like, say, Haiti, India, or the Middle East.  Or they take a look at the western nations and their brand of uneven law enforcement, where certain offenses garner undue attention while other (sometimes more serious ) ones get ignored, alongside their obsessions with "civil liberties" and privilege.  And at what overall shitholes and "bastions of anarchy and incivility" these countries all are as a result of their political/legal/social climates.
And, afterwards, probably say to themselves "We do NOT wish to live like that!".

Yes, I do realize, as a quintessential western-bred ingrate, that I'm sure I stand a good chance at getting caned a few times or so before I finally "get with it" should I ever decide to move there to reside (highly unlikely anyway).

It's just that I get burned out at the inadequate and uneven excuse for "law enforcement" here in the U.S..
The only laws that seem to matter here are (for the most part) property laws, revenue laws, and those that cater to puritan-like obsessions with any kind of improprieties (abusive language, sexual misconduct, offensive behaviors and speech, and the like).

U.S. officials practically sit back and allow the gangs, drug dealers, identity thieves, scam artists, and various roughneck types to take over and control society.  While expending all kinds of efforts and resources to go after various outliers, misfits, and oddballs---most of whose worst offenses involve offending the sensibilities of upper echelon types.
                                             Musing For Today
I have an elevator in my apartment building that sounds like a microwave oven every time anyone presses the "call" button.
And it's located next to my unit and gets so much use it often sounds like a "microwave oven convention on steroids" convening in the hallway just outside my door.

And, of course, there are all those iPhones and Smartphones abounding in the hands of practically everyone around me every time I go out in public.
Just about every place I go sounds like an office environment or a busy airport or bus/train station, with all the beeps, blips, and electronic "musical serenades" emitting from all these gadgets constantly.

One would think that, by now, the industry would have finally figured out how to design and produce a high-tech gadget capable of functioning silently, without having to make such a racket and disturbing the peace.

Song Analysis: (If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?

I remember the off comments radio disc jockeys would make when playing this 1970 hit by Ronnie Dyson:  "How can you make love to someone without touching them?".

It depends on what's meant by "make love".  Does it refer to actually getting laid or engaging in foreplay?  Or is it simply a term used to describe the relationship of "being boyfriend and girlfriend" itself?

And does "touch" mean physical contact?  Or are they having intimate physical contact, but at the same time not divulging anything personal?  And the request to "touch" actually means opening up more, to share more of each others' secrets?

Generally speaking, everybody tends to have their own brand of "legalese", hence interpersonal communication doesn't always run so smooth as a result.

Monday, September 18, 2017


"Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result each time is the definition of 'insanity'"
Actually, that adage is far from accurate.
For example, when job hunting ...if, on the first two or three attempts at finding employment you don't get hired, or the business doesn't even call you up for an interview, do you just "hang it up" and figure "Obviously I wasn't meant to work and make a living, or have any money"?  Or do you persevere and keep trying other places?

If you're in a country that embraces freedom-of-speech, where you're free to criticize or comment on anybody or anything---even it's government
...and, afterwards, visit another country, but this other one is a harsh dictatorship, but you still freely criticize IT'S institutions and government, do you get the same results from repeating the same actions?

Don't you think it's a matter of environment, and the character and demeanor of the others around you, that actually determine what you may or may not do?

Actually, "insanity" is not recognizing nuances and idiosyncrasies, and---maybe---also being guilty of lack-of-discretion.



                                     Another site to check out: www.internetisinamerica.blogspot.com
                                                   ...and ANOTHER one: www.myplanetmyrules.blogspot.com  
Walking by a small business, one notices the sign in the parking lot:

                                 CUSTOMER PARKING ONLY
                         ALL OTHER VEHICKLES WILL BE TOLD AWAY

Do they have a security staff who, upon noticing a vehicle parked in their lot whose owner is not a store patron, start chanting "Away!  Away!  Away!" at it?

                             I can see that .....
Security:  Away!!!  Away!!! Away!!!  Go away!!!
Passerby: What are you guys doing?
Security:  The owner of this car is not doing business with our restaurant, yet they still parked in OUR lot.
So, we're "telling their car 'Away!'".
                                           Musing For Today
There's nothing actually morally wrong with being antisocial.

Society is corrupt and bigoted as a rule---full of all kinds of duplicity, illusory and sophism.

Who should ever seriously be so cordial towards such an institution so full-of-shit?

Monday, August 28, 2017

R.I.P. Jerry Lewis

I'm guessing the late Jerry Lewis was plenty pissed with that Jerry Sandusky fellow.
Namely because, for decades, the term "Jerry's kids" was synonymous with Lewis' annual televised Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy marathon.  But after the revelations of the Sandusky fiasco the sick jokes came out of the woodwork.

One question:  Why did it take so long for everyone to "figure out" what that Sandusky guy was up to?

Oh-h-h, yeah!! ...Of course!! ....
Jerry Sandusky was a "respectable" "upstanding" upper-middle-class professional type.  "Credible" and "respectable".  Not the type who is "supposed to" engage in such lasciviousness, especially habitually.
Naturally they had to "reclassify" him, "demote" him to the lowest social-status category possible.
Society's all about profiling and pigeonholing you know ......
Society is ...
people with peculiar quirks who make fun of you for being "weird"

Society is ...
contemptuous and condescending assholes who condemn you for your "lack of empathy" or for your "lack of consideration for others"

Society is ...
hysteria-ridden individuals who shun you on account of your "mental illness"
  Two things to know about the rules and the laws ...

A) You really have to "walk on eggs" at all times ....watch whatever you say or whatever you do, as you're always subject to arrest anytime---or at least eviction or banishment ...for you're constantly under penalty of law

B)  Others around you are allowed to pretty much do as they like and go anywhere they please, as somehow they're not under the same martial laws you are

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

                           Adage #3 For Today
Those who make the rules and write the laws are those who will, for example, make it an offense to "disturb the peace by making sudden unexpected loud noises"
...then proceed to start sticking someone repeatedly with a sharp object.
                                           Adage #2 For Today
What I hate most about the world is the way it's run by and for bigots, tyrants, tricksters, hypocrites, and the eternally clueless
                           Adage #1 For Today
                There's only one way anyone should ever have  a problem.
                                  And that way is "Solved!".

Thursday, August 10, 2017

 Let's hope the eclipse doesn't eclipse the world's better judgment
August 21st promises to be a(nother) "world event"---a "once-in-a-lifetime experience".  A total solar eclipse transpiring in a good 1/3 of the U.S..

It shows how cosmically provincial humanity is, even to this day.  Everything is so earthcentric.  That's why two to five minutes of darkness in either mid-morning or mid-day is such a cause for celebration.

Some are even attributing metaphysical elements to this event, like it's somehow "ushering in a new age for mankind".

Certainly the Gods are responsible for this act.  It stands to reason that the ones who/that created everything, likewise, are the ones who/that established all cosmic patterns of the universe, including the patterns of our own solar system.

But this pattern and all other patterns have been preset hundreds of millions of years ago.   It's part of an overall pattern of which our solar system's is but integral.

My only actual concern about this event is the "tourist attraction" aspect.   That could be a disaster in the making.
       Contempt for Construction Obstruction
As I've said before, one thing I detest about all this excessive construction all around me is the way they have to tear up every place all at once, the way I have to go a dozen blocks to the left, 4 more to the right, then a dozen to the right---just to walk somewhere a few blocks up.
Then, once one figures out a good detour these assholes start tearing up THOSE streets and sidewalks, practically fencing me in so I can't go anywhere.

That's what I hate about American society.  Once one figures out a good compromise the system has to block that path as well.  It's like any portals you discover they have to destroy as soon as possible.  Society just doesn't want its citizens to have the right to just simply live.

The biggest mistake one can make is assuming everything their society builds and creates is for their use and benefit.   But, just as women dress up and doll themselves up NOT to "attract men" but for each other to "see who can look the most polished", likewise societies are trying to see which ones can have the most advanced technology, or have the most sophisticated highway system, or have the leading edge in medical research, or have the world's best public transportation system, or the most sophisticated and functional international airports, and the like.

Their civilian population are but incidental beneficiaries of such egotistic endeavors.

Song Analysis: Do What You Do Do Well

This 1965 country crossover hit by Ned Miller about an affectionate and philosophical father imparts some essential advice that can pertain to just about anyone:

That whatever it is you find you have a strong aptitude or penchant for you should make strong efforts to enhance and exemplify that aspect of yourself.

Even if you don't have what it takes to be a scientist, historian, or medical researcher, it doesn't matter.
If you have a penchant for making designs, or for drawing, or writing, focus on those attributes and try to be the best you can be at those.  That'll be your merit in life.




On a separate note ....
A CeleDeath:  Glen Campbell, one of the best vehicles for a few of songwriter Jimmy Webb's best songs, died Tuesday.
And HE leaves behind quite a legacy, as do many other recording acts who've passed away within the last few years.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

                                            Unbridled Synergism
Richard J. Daley, Chicago's illustrious 5 1/3-term mega-mayor, might have been among the most corrupt politicians, with his mob ties and the use of "dirty money" to fund a lot of his agendas, but he was also known for being quite resolute in his convictions and also quite meticulous in the way he often carried out those agendas of his.

Take, for example, his commitment to the city's park and recreation systems.
During the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention protest riots at Lincoln Park and Grant Park he would put the orders out to his minions in the maintenance division of the Parks and Recreation Department to thoroughly clean up and restore the parks back to a level of cleanliness and manicured perfectionism each night after all the participants, protesters, media and police departed the premises.

And thorough the maintenance crews were.  Every piece of litter, down to each and every candy wrapper and cigarette butt, picked up.  And the grounds completely scrubbed down.   All within mere hours.
Anyone who visited either park the very next day would never guess the day before there were violent demonstrations and police confrontations if they hadn't already heard about it on the news or read about it in the papers.  That's how good a job Daley's administration performed.

No matter how anyone feels about Richard J Daley, no matter how much of a bastard one thinks he was, one has to admit this level of synergy is the stuff of the most idealistic of dreams in terms of organization and functionality.  Very rarely does one find this kind of cooperation, even within organizations, institutions, or workplaces (NASA's Apollo program being among the exceptions, naturally).