.
Lot of Dylan influence in Baez, especially in that first one.
.

I've just been listening to a bunch of Joan Baez at the office. Although I don't necessarily agree with all that hippy-age politics, I absolutely love the idealism, the dream the the world can be better, that it doesn't have to stay stuck in the cycle of shit because of human stupidity. I watched "Hair" the other week or so on TV. What a powerful (and goofy at times) film. How ludicrous that young people take (or have to take) their finest years and go kill each other. And the powerful idealism of that film said that if only the young American boys would just tune in and drop out, the world would be a peaceful place. And me, the cranky, realistic conservative kept thinking while watching that, "Umm, gee...maybe y'all need to do your 'prance through the flowers' act in front of the North Vietnamese and Chinese and see if they blow flower petals back at you or blow your head off instead. Maybe it's not our American boys who need to be sprinkled with the flower power ideology."

But it's still fun seeing that idealism on display, even if misplaced and potentially quite destructive.

.
I saw the original Broadway production of "Hair" back in my student days. It was terrific. Years later I saw that movie. It was awful. If the movie was your only exposure to "Hair," you don't know how good it is.
.

If the movie was your only exposure to "Hair," you don't know how good it is.

No, I probably don't know how good it is. Treat Williams is not such a treat in that movie. That was the goofie part, for sure. But I love the music. I pretty much grew up on the Cowsill's version of "Hair." And I think I remember listening to the soundtrack album in the 60's.

Regarding the Cowsills:

quote:

They starred in their own television special, called A Family Thing, in November of 1968, which guest starred Buddy Ebsen. By 1969 Screen Gems approached the family to portray themselves in their own TV sitcom, but when they were told that their mother was to be replaced by actress Shirley Jones the deal fell through. Screen Gems later hired David Cassidy to join the cast and the show went on to be called The Partridge Family, and went on to a four year run on ABC Television.

Gore Speaks

My fellow brothers and sisters in Gaia,

It is cold outside and the police informs me
That some of you are complaining about
“Freezing your asses off in bloody June.” Dear
Friends, do not make the shallow and dangerous
Mistake of extrapolating from a cool ass.
That way lies madness and climate crime.
Global Warming is all too grimly real.

Gaia, our Earth Mother, is running a fever.
The culprit is Carbon Dioxide. Carbon Dioxide
--MY Carbon Dioxide, YOUR Carbon Dioxide,
The Carbon Dioxide that we exhale--well, to
Gaia this Carbon Dioxide is so much red-hot
Poison. Every single time we exhale CO2,
To Gaia it feels as if we--in laymen's terms--
Push a burning cigar up her cunt.

My friends, we are ALL guilty. All of us.
And when I say all, I mean of course
Especially the Yanks. In the Sign of
Kyoto the United Nations and the brave
Warriors of the European Union lead
The fight for World Peace, for clean air,
And for Cosmic Harmony. The Yanks
However, have better things to do, such
As pissing off the entire Islamic world.
I am ashamed of my president.

Dear brothers and sisters, open your
Hearts, and you shall hear Gaia speak
To you through me. And I tell you that
Gaia LOVES YOU! Gaia loves all of us.
Including the Yanks, o yes. Therefore
It follows that we must love Gaia in
Return. Or else. A woman scorned,
And all that. For what was Katrina
If not a reminder that Gaia needs us
To love her and to cherish her? What
Was Katrina if not a cry for help?
I have spoken. Go in peace.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: yabor,

That way lies madness and climate crime.

Climate crime. I love that. A game we often play here at the office is, if we could go anywhere in time, or sit down and talk to anyone (living or dead), where would we go, who would we talk to? Some want to go see Jesus. Me, I want to see the dinosaurs. But who to sit down and talk to? That's a tough one. There are so many. Feynman, for sure. Einstein. Caesar. Socrates (I'd like to be side-by-side with thalo on that one. I think we could both probably get his goat). But I'd also like to sit down and talk with George Orwell. And, particularly, I'd like him to jump ahead to our time and see the doublespeak going on now. He would not be surprised. Arguably, he knew this stuff better than anyone. He might comment on the incredibly indecency of spending so much time and money on phantoms when ever dollar could be spent keeping real pollutants out of the air and water. CO2 is harmless. But, quite incredibly, this gas that is absolutely vital to our lives and to life is now considered a pollutant.

And George would understand. But still, I'd like to hear it out of his mouth. I can do but a weak imitation of him.

Ya know, it had completely escaped my mind that the absolutely terrific 60's song, "The Rain, The Park & Other Things," was by The Cowsills. They also do a killer version of "Walk Away Renee," "Good Morning Starshine," and "Red Rubber Ball." Granted, if you listen to all these in a row you could cause elevated glucose levels and go into diabetic shock, but I think it's a risk worth taking. But I do not suggest you go so far as to listen to "We Can Fly." No. I wouldn't go that far at all.

quote:

CO2 is harmless. But, quite incredibly, this gas that is absolutely vital to our lives and to life is now considered a pollutant.

Try sitting in a sealed chamber with a heavy concentration of CO2, and see how harmless it is.

Have you been rewriting scientific reports for the Bush administration?
.

Try sitting in a sealed chamber with a heavy concentration of CO2, and see how harmless it is.

Have you been rewriting scientific reports for the Bush administration?

You'll also die in a room full of pure oxygen. But many people really are convinced that this harmless gas (harmless like salt unless you eat many many tablespoons of it, in which case it will kill you) is a pollutant. But CO2 helps to make the grass green and the flowers grow. Its role in climate change is negligible, at best. The current temperature changes we are undergoing are completely the result of solar cycles and sun spots. And water is another completely harmless thing unless you try to breath underwater. I think you can get a paper cut nasty enough to probably sever the carotid artery as well, although paper is also generally considered benign and harmless.

As for Bush's scientific advisors, it is wholly unscientific to try to slur the science because of whether George Bush appointed someone to some post or committee. Global Warming via anthropogenic CO2 admission is not false because Al Gore is a putz. It's false because the data does not support it. It is a Gore-like irrational and unscientific thing to try to taint any view of science merely because of the source. That's what we've been getting so far in this global warming fiasco. Science has taken a back seat while personalities, hysteria, coincidences, false positives, and superstition takes the front seat. It's the kind of irrational practice wherein those who bring up evidence contrary to global warming advocates are labeled as being in the pockets of the oil companies or some other Orwellian smeer like that. (Or who actually believe that research funded by whatever company or interest is automatically and completely tainted, regardless of the facts and published data and methodology.) And you seem to be playing the same game, Markle, when you suggest that being a scientific advisor appointed by Bush (or listened to by Bush) is inherently unscientific from the get-go. That's the kind of thinking, and the kind of nonsense, that is completely unscientific and leads to the crazes and bouts of hysteria that we now find ourselves in.

Oh, and trees are good and harmless and actually good for the planet because they produce oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. But if one should fall on you, it could kill you.

The EU Constitution (summary)

We acknowledge that Allah knows best
And that the noble Koran ain’t a turd;
We urge every woman to modestly dress
In a bloody big tent not a mini skirt.

We join The Sheikh in his utter disdain
For ourselves, for Jews, and free speech.
If Americans ever invade France again
We shall behead them on the beach.

We further acknowledge that Gaia is hot
And getting hotter all the damn time;
CO2 will be hunted down and shot
In the name of Al Gore the Sublime.

quote:

We acknowledge that Allah knows best
And that the noble Koran ain’t a turd;
We urge every woman to modestly dress
In a bloody big tent not a mini skirt.

Are you allowed to even think that in the EU? That's brilliant poetry. It could get you beheaded by the "Religion of Peace," but it's brilliant nonetheless.

quote:

We further acknowledge that Gaia is hot
And getting hotter all the damn time;
CO2 will be hunted down and shot
In the name of Al Gore the Sublime.

Yesterday, Michael Medved (conservative talk show host based in Seattle and a staunch McCain advocate) interviewed Lawrence Solomon, author of The Deniers: The World Renowned Scientists Who Stood Up Against Global Warming Hysteria, Political Persecution, and Fraud. One of the theories regarding global warming is that the cycles of the sun (and sun spots) are drivers of the warming/cooling trends on earth, including the slight warming trend that we're undergoing now. Basically cosmic rays from outer space hit earth's atmosphere and release free electrons which then act as catalysts for the building blocks of cloud condensation nuclei on which water vapor condenses into clouds. When the solar wind increases (which happens when there are lots of sun spots), it "blows away" or shields the earth from some of these cosmic rays thus causing less high cloud formation. High clouds generally reflect sunlight while lower clouds tend to retain surface energy.

Well, long story short, astronomers of old noticed a huge decrease in sunspot activity in the late 17th century, which is called the Maunder Minimum. The exact cause-and-effect relationship is still being worked out in finer detail (new theories could be born, old theories could be overturned), but what soon followed is called the Little Ice Age beginning about 1650. And astronomers are now noticing a marked decrease in sunspot activity and if this all works as it appears it works, we might experience a slight cooling trend starting in 2014 and possibly extending to about 2040.

Don't consider that gospel. Scientific evidence must always trump word of mouth, rumors, personalities, wishes, or hysteria. Climatology still seems to be a science in it's infancy. It could actually turn out that man-made CO2 emissions effect the atmosphere (perhaps cooling it) in ways not known and outside of Gore's out-of-date charts and graphs and his science based on anecdotes, not hard data. It's just food for thought at this point. But the distinct possibility exists that *if* anthropogenic CO2 emissions were really warming the earth (and they probably are not), we perhaps ought to be urging people to increase CO2 emissions so as to ameliorate the coming mini ice age.

New York used to be buried under several hundred feet of ice. Better prepare.

"Allah knows best" is "Allah weet het beter" in Dutch, which is the title of a book (of collected columns) by Theo van Gogh. That's Theo in the picture, without his customary cigarette.

You've just given me the motivation to learn to read Dutch.

CNN

We’re in the grip of climate rage,
And waiting for the poles to boil.
Why does Bush drop all them bombs?
Does he murder folks for oil?
Between us and a Golden Age
Stand rednecks, singing psalms.

We daily grieve for thousands killed
In New Orleans by Bush and Rove.
Right-wing hordes piss at the Light--
OBAMA teaches PEACE and LOVE.
La Palin’s mouth, in snarling skilled,
Spouts unseemly shite.

This much is clear: OBAMA’s brain
Rivals that of dear Karl Marx.
OBAMA knows: the Bush Doctrine
Means throwing blacks at fat white sharks.
The all but dead old jerk McCain
Smells of stale urine.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: yabor,

quote:

We daily weep for thousands killed
In New Orleans by Bush and Rove.
Right-wing hordes piss at the Light--
OBAMA teaches PEACE and LOVE.

That actually caused spittle to erupt from my mouth along with the laughter. You know, you are pretty good at that. I can put together a line or two but I have to work pretty hard. Let's see if I can do something a bit off the wall, a bit Dutch:

Obama momma womma
Hope and change never looked so goosed
Obama momma womma
Pastor Wright's chicken home to roost

Oh you white stupid people
You're just not ready for black
You racist, Neanderthal people
Jesus, one of the kid's names is Track

Obama momma womma
Hope and change never looked so thin
Obama momma womma
What's Hillary's phone number again?

CO2

Now smash every light bulb lest
The very last polar bear drowns;
To Earth Mother, we are a pest
What with our cars and towns.

La Gaia, quoth Gore, has a fever.
Are Her poles melting? You bet!
Albert confirms: Gaia’s beaver
Has never felt this wet.

Earth Mother, we feel your pain--
What can we do at this stage?
We must jump on Albert’s train
En route to New Stone Age.

That is ten times better than the pap that the typical socially conscious "avant-garde" poets spout. That puts those lightweight noodle-brains all to shame. I contend, and I could be wrong about this, that the best art reflects truth. That doesn't mean art can never break the bounds of truth. Quite the contrary. Imagination and art is the very quest of playing what-if. But even then, when seen in a larger context, the "what-if" is useful and interesting primarily because it's comparing one what-if conception with another. We're all living in a sort of "what if" world at any one time. Sometimes artists, quite apart from painting pretty pictures for their own sake of being aesthetically beautiful, "what if" us into some new "what ifs." They challenge our current conception of things and sometimes offer new ones. Does that therefore mean there is no ultimate reality or truth and that it's all what-if malleable? Yes, if one sees this in the context of the human mind and its propensity for constructing myths, superstitions, and cultural conceptions that are often pleasing or useful, but not always strongly connected to reality. I see the "what if" of art being the equivalent of giving one of those snow globes a good shake and seeing how things settle down again in some new form or order. The flakes (pun intended) aren't arbitrary, nor is the globe or the medium of the water, but the landscape always gets covered just a bit differently.

Anyway, bravo. I about laughed up a lung at the "Has never felt this wet" line. Brilliant.

Mein Brad

Bradley! Bradley! Custer lite,
Always looking for a fight,
With no Indians left to kill,
Do reds and Arabs fit the bill?

While decent people sleep, you type
Cruel and callous right-wing tripe.
One wonders where you find the TIME?
Your so-called poems don’t even rhyme.

While The People starve like pigs,
You stuff your face with low-cal figs.
Europe’s weak? Don’t bet the farm:
Terror is best fought with charm.

Just like Islam, and like the Pope,
OBAMA stands for PEACE and HOPE;
OBAMA stands for HOPE and PEACE
And much-needed Thought Police.

In Holland, old McCain the POW
Would have been euthanized by now.
As for Palin, what dread grasp
Dare her beastly burgers clasp?

When Rove fucked Gaia in the ass,
Causing floods and pricey gas,
Did you shrug and sip your tea?
Have you no Sensitivity???

Bradley! Bradley! Custer lite,
Always looking for a fight,
With no Indians left to kill,
Do blacks and Arabs fit the bill?

(Blake)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: yabor,

BAMA's stuff is SOLID GOLD!
BAMA gives me HPE!!!
That other guy looks way too old:
He'd better run for Pope.

Europe’s weak? Don’t bet the farm:
Terror is best fought with charm.

I think that's my favorite couple of lines, but there were many good ones.

And the happy faces making up the Obama name gave me chills. FU, for that. Very funny, but FU all the same. I don't need to see that.

I have no rhymes left in me
I gave at the office
I gave at the mall
I gave at the ministry

Don't ask for witty or terse
I gave my pint of blood
I gave to Gore my CO2
I have nothing left for verse

You Dutch smart-ass bastards
Born with the gift of phrases
No, I'm not going to do it
I'm not going to do it
No rhymes for you
Not today from my macrophages

So screw the Dutch
They took all my rhyme and rhythm
No, I'm not going to do it
Because I can't do it
I will not do it
Anyway, going diction-less is a given
For rhythm, and such, compared to the
(expletive deleted) Dutch.