How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo that work again! (Mark Twain)
As I continue to trudge through the musical gold and platinum mines of 1971-1980, I can’t help but wonder: did people actually listen to this stuff? The sheer volume of mediocre music churned out during this time could only be explained by three quintessentially American tendencies:
Over the years I have been collecting bits and piece of witty snarks and insightful comments in a file I called “Wit and Wisdom”. I pulled it up last week and found that I had a little over one page of items, meaning I had lost the original. But wait! There were two files by that name, one with a different suffix, and it turned out to be 31 pages. I remember sitting at our dining room table in Bozeman when I first decided I needed a way to save stuff, and putting these gems onto my laptop. That it survived all these years, perhaps twenty or more, is no tribute to my competency, but rather to good luck, nothing more.
I’ve gone over those 31 pages now, and found quite a few items that I am going to repeat here, a few at a time. There’s a lot in there that I would not now take trouble to record, notably Edward Abbey, whose every written word (except some of his fiction, which I found over-the-top) I have read. I also made it a point to read everything written by George Orwell, but he does not turn up very often in this file. I suspect that is because somewhere I have a separate file for him.
I put up a comment on Watts Up With That to the effect that Michael Mann’s PhD was premature, and also citing a paper by Nikolov and Zeller stating that there was no heat transfer within our atmosphere even as more CO2 accumulates, as the process is “adiabatic” which means that the process in our atmosphere and in all of our rocky planets occurring without loss or gain of heat. Global temperatures respond to many forces including insolation and increases and decreases in the planet albedo. I also concluded with the statement that many people, including scientists, “lead with their chin” when they start out their debate by conceding that there is “some” warming caused by CO2 and the GHG effect, that is, green house gases.
After the dissolution of The Doors in 1971, another band emerged to fill the void of dark, theatrical rock: the Alice Cooper Band. That year, they released two albums, Love It to Death and Killer, both of which showcased impressive musicality. However, their true standout feature was their bold embrace of taboo themes, including manic insanity, necrophilia, and the infamous “Dead Babies.” Such provocative subject matter inevitably drew criticism and sparked debates about artistic intent, with defenders dismissing objections as either prudish overreaction or a failure to appreciate the dark humor and performance art inherent in the work.
I’ve been taking a stroll down memory lane with the top-selling albums of the 1970s, a sort of personal farewell tour. But don’t worry, this isn’t one of those “farewell” tours that music acts like The Who or Cher love to milk for decades. No, this is more like revisiting old haunts, savoring the bitter and the sweet, and offering a proper “so long” to the soundtrack of my youth. During the golden years of 1971 to 1980, I went from nine to eighteen—a stretch of time that perfectly bookended my high school era. Naturally, the music of this decade made a massive impression on me. But, like that friend who overstays their welcome, a lot of these songs have been played to death. My old kit bag will carry only a few carefully chosen relics as most of the overexposed hits are being gently but firmly shown the door.
Continue reading “Manipulative Melodies: Investigating Social Engineering in Music”I came upon the following lines from an obscure source, quoting Horace, among the many legends of ancient literature whom I have not read.
“Parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.”
The line translates to “Mountains will be in labor, and a ridiculous mouse will be born.” This phrase comes from Horace’s Satires (Book 1, Satire 8) and is often interpreted as a commentary on the disparity between expectations and outcomes. I am plagiarizing that last line starting with “This phrase…”.
Kevin Starr recently suggested a strong facial resemblances between Earl Holliman (who just died a couple of weeks ago at age 96) and Paul Rudd. I thought there was something in Holliman that looked familiar, so I thought I would run him against the Bokonovsky Brats. But first, Holliman/Rudd:
They eyes, nose, ears, hairline, facial shape and chin all align quite well, but not the mouths. Struck out.
One of the many atrocities that played out against us during Covid was the trashing of the Bill of Rights. Specifically, the following amendments were jettisoned:
First Amendment: Prohibition of the free exercise of religion. Churches were shut down.
First Amendment: Abridgement of freedom of speech. Facebook, YouTube, and even tiny Websites like NextDoor all forbade any criticism of the CDC or questioning of the existence of the virus.
First Amendment: Abridgement of freedom of the press, but don’t go there. It’s been a dead letter for ages.
First Amendment: The right of the people peaceably to assemble. Sports stadiums were shut down, along with indoor gathering spaces like concert halls and museums. Large gatherings were forbidden, along with even small family gatherings.
Ninth Amendment: Freedom to travel.
I started out reading a book called We Have Never Been Woke, by Musa Al-Gharbia, and finally, on page 50, I thought “I can’t do this.” I cannot finish the book. It is well-written by a new PhD who is also an intellectual, and I am reminded that I am neither of those things, and that I’ve never been curious about people who claim to be “woke.” I think it is all self-aggrandized posturing, large-scale virtue signaling. It’s made its way on to campuses, but then most campuses have long ceased to serve intelligent function, that is, producing critical thinkers who are hard-working and serious adult humans. Instead (most) colleges offer a new kind of dumbed down.
Worse yet, Climate Alarmists have saturated campuses and schools, so that our graduating classes at all levels don’t know shit about climate and don’t know they don’t know shit. It is large-scale Dunning-Kruger. We’re in a new dark age. It’s quite a predicament.
Earl Holliman, a name every film buff should recognize, was one of those actors who seemed to pop up everywhere—movies, television, you name it. Born on September 11 (yep, even back then, the date existed), Earl’s biological father, William A. Frost, was a farmer. Now, here’s where it gets interesting—or awkward. Earl’s mom, Mary Smith (honestly, could her name sound any more like an alias?), already had six kids under her belt when Farmer Frost strolled into the picture.
But plot twist! Mary wasn’t married, and Frost apparently thought, “You know what this struggling, impoverished woman really needs? More drama!” According to Wikipedia, Mary had no choice but to give baby Earl up for adoption because, well, poverty and solo parenting don’t exactly scream “happily ever after.”
Continue reading ““Notable Death” Watch – (Earl Holliman)”
Piece of Mindful 