Song Analysis: Rainbow Connection

Jim Henson's Muppets are already a synergy of themselves with the most imaginative of minds to begin with.

Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and others are, for all practical purposes of judgement, literally "dolls come to life".

But imagination, when allowed to travel anywhere it wants totally unfettered, will invariably eventually travel into the realm of the spiritual and even the metaphysical.

And this song does all these and more.  It focuses on the fact that there has to be more than just the meaningless routines of everyday life and normal interpersonal interactions.

That communication goes beyond verbal cliches and mere exchanges of essential information.
That it's the subconscious silent communications between the terrestrial mortal and the cosmic overseers (who understand the importance of the intimate and of the concepts of stewardship---unlike the mortal terrestrial overlord "leaders" who only desire obedience and worship).

The idea we all should be living primarily to be entitled to discovering the wonders and secrets of the world and of the universe we all exist in. 

Song Analysis: Mr. Businessman

This 1968 hit by singer/songwriter Ray Stevens marked a departure from the "novelty song" mode he (at the time) has been stuck in for the longest time.

Ray Stevens apparently figured that along with a switch to another record label (Monument) he should also do a "reinvention" of himself into that of a "poet laureate" type singer/songwriter.

And this song does have some classic lines:
Do you ever stop to smell the fragrance of the roses growing in your yard?
And did you stop to hear the laughter of your children as they play?
Do you find it great to be alive, or are the limits of your senses such as only "to survive"?
You can "wheel and deal" the best of them and steal it from the rest of them.
You know the score.
Their ethics are a bore.

Unfortunately songs like UNWIND and MR. BUSINESSMAN were not among his bestselling singles (even though they did make the top-40 as "minor" hits)
So, the following year, he made a return to the "AHAB THE ARAB mode" with GITARZAN, trading the desert for the jungle.

                                    On Freedom and Liberty
In my personal experience any time I ever have any freedom or liberties is when I'm in the company of those who are either accepting of me, comfortable with me, or have some kind of affinity towards me.

And that any time I'm being oppressed and restricted is when I'm in the company of those who are either hateful or contemptuous toward me, or paranoid and dubious of me.

The presence and existence of a Constitution or Bill of Rights has never had any bearing one way or another on the level of freedom I'm allowed to experience.

                                     The truth be known ...
No practical-minded person really cares anything about the gender, race, of belief systems of whoever's in charge.

What one really cares about is that whatever policies are put forth are those that benefit them somehow.

Or, if not benefit them, at least not interfere with or destroy whatever's already in place that works for them ( "...if you can't lend a hand then get out of the way...".  Where have I heard that line before?  Or one like it?).

Who really cares about race, male or female, liberal or conservative, or any silly religions, so long as we're still allowed to have our own lives?

                                              Adages For Today

         Without entertainment and amusements all that's left in life are the sowing and reaping.



People are okay with you so long as you recognize they're in charge and whatever they say goes.
But the minute you let it be known you "want a few things yourself", or ask for them to compromise, they "have a problem with you".

CeleBirthdate

                             William "Smokey" Robinson turned 77 on Sunday.
Among his many hit songs was MORE LOVE (with the Miracles), from The Summer Of Love (1967).



                          And, speaking of The Summer Of Love:
          It Was 50 Years Ago Today, Sir Paul Made The Band Change It's Name
We can chant that ditty this coming June, the 50th anniversary of the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

                                               Musing For Today
Any time there's a disaster, catastrophe or a tragedy, the first thing the analysts do is try to find a causation.

The one single factor, event, individual or group who or that  singlehandedly brought about a negative set of events.

Problem is, there never really is just any one factor that leads up to an ultimate consequence.  Everything and everyone is integral, interwoven, and interactive.
What happens and whatever ends up being or becoming is always a result of ongoing chain-reaction events and factors mixing together to create the overall environment at any given moment in time.

This is why blaming any one single person, group, or isolated event as being "the cause of" is so foolhardy.
But societies do it all the time.
And, notice:  None of our issues ever get resolved.

                                                     Attention!

If you've had hernia surgery between 2009 and 2012, and suffered pain and personal injury as a result, you may be entitled to a large cash settlement.

Jackson & Jackson, makers of a wire mesh used in common surgical procedures to fix hernias, has recalled all their products manufactured between 2009 and 2012 due to a tendency of the fabric to split and fracture.  This could lead to fragments getting embedded in the surrounding tissue as well as sharp edges piercing the front lining of the intestines.

If you or a loved one experienced such an injury or episode as a result of hernia surgery performed between 2009 and 2012, contact the injury law firm of Amber, Lance & Chaser.
We've settled claims such as these for as much as 3 million dollars.

                                       The law offices of
                                            Amber, Lance & Chaser


Because logic dictates that the only way to ensure medical providers and clinics provide and perform the best services possible is to sue the bastards into bankruptcy.
That'll teach them a thing or two.

CeleBirthdate: Carole King

                                             Carole Klein turned 75 on Thursday


                                              Among her classic songs:

(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
One Fine Day
Pleasant Valley Sunday
Sometime In The Morning
He's In Town
Don't Bring Me Down
Just Once In My Life
Take Good Care Of My Baby
Chains
Don't Say Nothin' Bad About My Baby
Keep Your Hands Off Of My Baby
The Locomotion
I'm Into Something Good
Will You Love Me Tomorrow?

...oh, and from the early '70s on she started writing songs for herself as well.

                                                       First Lady duties
I understand one of the first issues Melania Trump plans to take on as "First Lady" is addressing the problem of CyberBullying.

Well, she could begin on the homefront itself, starting with her husband's erratic Twitter rants ...

                                                    Musing For Today
Life is like entering a movie theater with the featured film already in progress, then having to leave before it's over.
Hence, you don't really know how the feature began or how it's going to end.

Just Don't Call It "Immigration" (Revisited)

Who ARE all these refugees from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan and three other countries who, apparently subsidized by secret organizations unknown, keep flooding into the U.S. on a daily basis?

Who's paying their way?  Who's providing the passports and visas? 
They're supposed to be refugees, yet they seem somewhat "already well-off" enough to afford the air fare for trips abroad.

I'm not much on President Trump or on his administration and staff of blowhard aristocrats and ultra-partisan demagogues.  I don't see how such types could ever have the best interests of the "average Joe/Jane" in mind as they're of an entirely different breed of humanity altogether.

However, I'm all in agreement with the "travel ban" and can't understand all these "trophy bastard" protesters obstructing normal functions at some of this nation's busiest airports.   And in support of "the rights of" outsiders to randomly stroll right into our territory like it's a "second home" to them.

I also can't understand what these outsiders see in the U.S..  It's a country run by a perpetual police state, street gangs and the mafia.  The average person just gets fleeced by industries and corporations when overpaying for shoddy merchandise and products while getting bogged down by oppressive overkill laws.

The protesters will argue that "the United States has always been a nation of immigrants" (Not true!  It was a nation of Native Americans who were forced into "refugee camps" by the first European invaders from the 16th century to the 19th century), and that America is "a land of opportunity" (also not true.  Automation is taking over everything, plus the U.S. has always also been a land of ghettos---which are simply "refugee camps" for the unsuccessful).

I hope the Travel Ban gets reinstated.  I don't think it's right for random foreign outsiders to be "more important than" or to "matter more than" those of us who were actually born and raised in this country.

                                 My argument against partisanship

is, simply, that the problem one finds with any kind of partisanship is that each faction insists ALL practices and beliefs they embrace to be ultimate panaceas.

With ANY faction, be it liberal, conservative, religious, gender related, racial, lifestyle, crusaders, or what-have-you, you're liable to find that about half of their agenda and beliefs are quite sound and make sense enough.

But there'll also be other beliefs of theirs that are a bit over-the-top or too presumptive to ever be resolute about.

But each faction, no matter who they are, demands unconditional loyalty to all the practices and belief systems they embrace from those who would consider themselves to be members.

This is why I stay within the moderate/centrist mode with my thinking.

Whatever makes sense to me I'll gravitate toward.  Whatever I think is absurd or ludicrous I'll try to avoid.

                                              Beatlesque Debonair
I recently watched an hour-long special on The Beatles, and during the early portion of it they showed film clips of some of their live performances during the early days of their career, and I noted that after each one of their performances they would bow to the audience in appreciation of their patronage.

Such was 1964.  It was still a world of civility and orderliness at that point of time in modern history.

Of course the 1960s wouldn't let out without becoming a bit narcissistic and rag-tag, with the advent of the hippies, anti-war demonstrators, psychedelic, and the infusion of the "drug culture" into the mainstream consciousness.

For sure, in due time "rock and rollers" would not be characterized by gestures of humble appreciation or by basic social etiquette.  Ostentatiousness, bizzare antics, and "trailer park dreg" persona would become more the norm.
However, one can always appreciate the few who still come across as being more human than the "average" celebrity.

The "Climate Change" Dilemma

People are STILL jostling around with this subject?

Seems like they've been on this subject FOREVER doesn't it?
And, like always, continue to be extremely partisan over it as well.   Either you believe that modern civilization's desecration of the planet is the primary cause of all the extreme weather patterns and environmental decay, or you contend it's just another planetary cycle that's behind any unexpected changes in the environment.

Meanwhile there are (still) no concerted efforts by any impartial or independent and non-affiliated scientific communities to engage in any kind of legitimate research into the matter.

I, myself, am one who neither denies or embraces any climate change theories.
This issue, to me, has enough angles to it so as to render it quite ambiguous in nature---hence, there are two or more ways to argue this subject.
But no-one wants to debate it.  They only want the world to affirm their myopic viewpoints on it.