Enihs, The Power of the Written Word

Recently at a place where I do business, a piece of graffiti art was exposed when the owners of the establishment had to tear down a concrete loading dock. It seems the railroad, or the railroads, or the man, or Uncle Sam came by and said they wanted to run bigger equipment on their track, so the loading dock had to go. It took the owners of the business three months to demolish the dock, because it was solid concrete. It had been there as long as the building, because the building originally was a warehouse for storing goods transported by the railroads. This building is historical because it probably dates back to the turn of the century. There is always an ebb and flow of interest in preserving historical real estate in our town. The “Old South’s” very flavor comes from its history. Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, and Norfolk, Virginia have roots rich in American history. All one must do is walk around their downtown areas to enjoy a taste of the past. Striking a balance between preserving the past and sparking economic redevelopment can be difficult. Nothing could be a better example of this problem than post-Katrina New Orleans. New Orleans, Louisiana is the birth place of jazz, the only true American art form. As a result it should be a priority to local and federal government to preserve the rich cultural heritage embodied in this port town. Skeptics could be Conservatives who won’t recognize the historical significance of jazz music. Jazz is closely tied to American ideals stated in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. This music by nature represents freedom and the ability of diverse cultures to assimilate and coexist peacefully in a humane and artistic environment. The concept of jazz music should be understood by all Americans, and its concept should be included in a traditional education in our public schools. The problems associated with jazz music are not that different than the problems of everyday life, because jazz music is an extension of American life. The trials of slavery, the tribulations of civil rights, and the strife of racial oppression are all expressed in the musical vehicle known as jazz. The “Blues” provide a stable “bottom” for jazz providing “Affirmation in the face of adversity.” Jazz music has never been mainstream in America, because it deals with artistic issues. Whereas certain components of jazz music can be entertaining, it is and always has been serious music. It is a blessing that serious music is not always reserved for subscription orchestras requiring expensive concert halls or academic institutions. It instead burgeoned in the clubs of 52nd Street in New York City, providing an accessible support structure for this music to develop. Jazz music began in New Orleans as a mix of African rhythms brought over by slaves, work songs, field hollers, church music (or American Spirituals), Tin Pan Alley songs (from Broadway), and Sousa marches. The Mississippi Delta Blues as conveyed by Robert Johnson is a crucial component of jazz music. New Orleans, because of its location on the mouth of the Mississippi River, was the perfect place for the development of an art form. The slave trade brought the poly-rhythms of African drumming to America that mixed with French Creole culture, descendants of European plantation owners in Trinidad and Tobago, Martinique, Saint Lucia and other Caribbean territories colonized by France. Zydeco music, although widely unmentioned in the history of jazz, must have played a crucial role in jazz's development. The Cajun ethnic group, colonies of formerly Acadian settlers transplanted from Nova Scotia, were also influential in New Orleans. Hence jazz music has rich cultural roots that traditionally cross the boundaries of race. That is why jazz music should be at the heart of American culture, rather than vying for its very existence as real estate developers try to capitalize on thousands of displaced African-Americans in the Lower 9th Ward of post-Katrina New Orleans. Like the current trend of Republican/Conservative America “cleaning up” our cities, what is left? Best Buy? Circuit City? Lowes? BP? For history to continue and the culture of America to sustain the test of time, it needs a place, a structure upon which to live. The Military Industrial Complex cannot seem appealing to millions of Americans sheltered in nuclear fall out facilities,monitored by big Brother. This is not the freedom America stands for. Freedom is the right to exercise humanity and all that is embodied in human nature. It is not the right of government to legislate morality to the American people, because the right to chose one’s own moral and ethnical policies has been the core of the philosophy of America since its inception. We are adults, and as adult we have the right to choose. That includes the right to frequent a “Speakeasy” in New Orleans and listen to a music Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, or Benito Mussolini may have considered music of the devil. Is vandalizing public and private property in the name of art an American right? Enihs, an anadrome for Shine, is an artist that has been doing this regularly for the last few years. His works of art are easily visible posted on his My Space website organized into galleries determined by date. I wondered when I viewed these for the first time how long it would take for authorities to track him down. Enihs runs a website dedicated to graphic design with only pictures of his wife and newly born children. He uses the handle “Funk and Jazz” online. The reason why Enihs rings a bell is because his graffiti is what was uncovered when they removed the concrete loading dock of which I spoke. I photographed his collage of spray paint and became intrigued by its artistic content. I scoured the railroads for other examples of Enihs’s work. It was abundant. I have yet to match any of the examples I personally have found with the ones posted on his My Space cite. It is an interesting scenario. His graffiti stretches from coast to coast, so I figure he travels a lot. He is a musician who enjoys Funk and Jazz, because that is his cyber handle. He is also a graphic artist of formidable talent. Hope this helps, since he was in the news today.

Flatulence

Inflation. Infatuation. Flatulence. The former and the latter, the farmer in the dell, Laurel and Hardy, the hurdy gurdy, Tango and Cash. Flash. Inflation, and flatulence… should go together. When we sit in 90+ heat at a traffic light that lasts over 3 minutes, contributing to the equity and retirement funds of British Petroleum employees, lets think how pumping gasoline into our cars is akin to putting money into the wallets of the oil CARTEL. Let’s think how unlike historical Europe we are. Instead of small stands in a market selling fresh produce, coffee, and ice cream, we have cars. Stinking cars. Cars for as long as the eye can see. We have car insurance. We have car inspections. We have license plates. We have driver’s license. Cars. Used cars. Used car parts. Car upkeep. Zen and the Art of Car Maintenance. If a value meal now costs $4.50, then we should change the name to un-value meal. Combo meal is more appropriate. What exactly is it we see when we look out at America like Jay Leno suggests? We see a country so misguided from the basic principles of human existence it is almost hard to comprehend. Fast food? While I like a good burger as much as the next guy, we have known for a long time fast food is bad for us. Why instead has entrepreneurial America not seen the possibilities of a healthy stable lifestyle supported by viable models from history? Do we think Americans would not patron a “fast” restaurant that had fresh vegetables, fruits, fish and rice? Has anyone even tried it? It would take logistics to make it happen. You would have to figure out where the freshest produce was then figure out how to get it to your restaurant quickly. Airplanes anyone? Anyone that has been to Charlotte Amelie, St. Thomas knows that it is difficult to find a healthy meal at a reasonable price. Why is this? A common New York city hot dog vendor, if his dogs were tasty, would rake in money in St. Thomas. Imagine four cruise ships, burning hot sun, hot sweaty people, and one hot dog cart with ice cold drinks and tasty “hot” dogs. It is a formula for success, but why is it not being done? Is it because Havensight Mall regulates vendor traffic on their private property, not allowing private entrepreneurs to exercise their constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness and economic independence? America’s “market” is not free, and it never has been. Although the idea of a free market sounds good in Capitalist philosophy, the reality is money controls. Money controls real estate, local government, distribution, transportation, and security. Imagine trying to start your own business when someone else controls all of this. You would have New York city throughout the ages, rival gangs battling for control and a “piece of the pie.” Political Correctness has all but destroyed the boundaries between what is real and what is fantasy. It used to be we knew who the MOB was, any number of semi-famous Italian immigrants who controlled gambling, prostitution, and other illicit activities. Now we are faced with corruption in our GOVERNMENT! It becomes difficult, really difficult, when evil comes disguised as good. Life is easier when you can tell the difference. Good guys, bad guys. The guys that wear the white hat or the black hat. Policeman, gangster. Cowboys, Indians. Now I am not sure who the enemy is. This can not be good for the economy. People don’t feel good about buying when they are confused about what is good and bad. This is why customer service is so vital to retail business. You must have a liaison between the manufacturer and buyer that instills the human value of the product. Internet porn is a bad idea. Certainly it is convenient, but who thinks a selfish man videotaping a teenage girl performing fellatio on him for money is a turn on? It exhibits what it is, a misguided capitalist philosophy based upon greed and immediate gratification. It can’t be good that thousands of teen-aged girls are having sex for money on the internet. What is worse, our daughters being paid to have sex on the internet, or a prostitute on the street selling her affections in the “free market?” It is about time our federal government begin studies on this, but of course they can’t handle the issue we have on the table now. Illegal immigration. The War in Iraq. Education. The Budget. Regulating the internet must seem insurmountable to them. That is because the world is changing around us. America is different now. Life is different than it was even ten years ago. Conservatives that can not see these changes and adapt to new ways of life will only be a failure to the American people in the future.
“What are we having for dinner tonight, Ethel?” “Porkchops, Fred. You know we always have porkchops on Tuesday.”

The American Value Meal

A Whopper Junior with cheese value meal used to cost $2.98. It was a good value. In places of the country that are fortunate enough to have Rally’s, they offer a good deal on the same thing. Under three dollars for a meal. A tasty burger, fries, and an ice cold drink for less than three bucks. A Big Mac value meal costs $4.50. The price of the Whopper Junior value meal now is comparable to the price of the Big Mac value meal. Why is this? Inflation. It is becoming inescapable that INFLATION is returning with a vengeance. It is inevitable, because Congress keeps funding the Iraq War with billions of dollars of money America does not even have. The banking community has always taken great pride in lending money to the federal government. It ensures they stay in business. Seeing as banks don’t really make a lot of money investing money in people’s checking accounts, the interest earned on billions of dollars of debt keeps the banks in business. It is kind of a “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” kind of thing. Ultimately the buck has to stop somewhere. You just can’t keep spending money we don’t have to fund a war meant to provide services to another country. Whereas the United States does have territories that are not states such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, should Iraq be one of these? Vying for Iraq is an anachronism more at home in the “Age of Old Imperialism” that began in the 1860’s. Then the United State’s actions could be justified, considering other Western countries were doing the same thing. The U.S.’s blatant attempt at Imperialism could be considered unconstitutional, because many of the concepts found in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were conceived to escape the tyrannical rule of Great Britain, a country historically known for this practice. Did the population of Iraq deserve to have their infrastructure destroyed by a rogue military strategy that favored conservation of American lives at the expense of the Iraqi people? How can it be considered constitutional to destroy a foreign country, sinking it into civil unrest, in the name of “Weapons of Mass Destruction” that were never found. One man, Saddam Hussein, a loud-mouth shouting from his soap box, coerced the American government into destroying a country. What authority does the United States have to dictate morality to a mostly Islam nation thousands of miles on the other side of the Atlantic ocean? Imperialism is beginning to rear its ugly head. The Commonwealth of Iraq? Whereas we may have amicable relationships with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, it seems we should let the Iraqi “people” decide what they want for the future of their country.

Don't Believe the Hype!

This is the operative advice given Hollywood celebrities. What makes a Hollywood celebrity? What is a celebrity? What skills are necessary to become a celebrity? By definition a celebrity is someone who accomplishes a task which merits celebration. I feel that is a more accurate definition rather than just being well-known or often talked about. Almost anyone could qualify as a celebrity if they did something that brought attention to themselves. Whether that person or his actions should be universally celebrated is another matter. Therefore the definition of celebrity should really have a qualification of achieving some task or goal that is noteworthy or even artistic. It used to be actors and actresses were celebrities. Oprah is a celebrity. She acted in several major films bringing her accolades for quality acting. She exhibited something beyond the ordinary, the studying and preparation of a script resulting in an artistic achievement which was, before film and television, theater. Theater. The Theater Arts, things that happen on the stage in a theater with a live audience. Theater. This is whence most actresses and actors come, and often where they end up. Hollywood, film, and television are not so forgiving. It seems the mere qualification of being “well-known” or “much talked about” is the current media definition of celebrity. Take Paris Hilton for example. Does going to jail merit celebrity? Is going to jail something that demands celebration? I think not. Likewise getting drunk and eating a sandwich in front of your kids is not something demanding of celebration. Constantly entering and leaving re-hab is not something a celebrity makes. Media instead revels in the “falling from grace” of many celebrities. Instead of focusing on the accomplishments that create celebrity, the paparazzi are busy stalking former celebrities often in their decent back to ordinary existence. Martha Stewart. Martha is the prime example of this often severe process. Who else could better represent an angel fallen from grace than than Michael Jackson? Why is it media seems to be fascinated with this imminent occurrence? Is it because we are jealous of other’s fame? Is it because we maybe are hoping they will get their act together and re-invent themselves? What is it? I guess it is the celebrity themselves and their actions that determine the wrath of the scrutiny in the decline. Britney certainly did nothing scandalous by following her heart and adolescent hormones. Marrying someone in a stream of consciousness in Vegas is not a crime. Whereas dropping your baby or carrying them on your lap in the front seat of a car is more serious, it still doesn’t constitute a Hollywood scandal. It is easy to say the person is what determines their own fate in terms of celebrity. Videotape yourself having sex and allowing that to become visible to millions of Americans. Maybe you have what is coming to you. Luckily not everyone has the Hilton hotel chain to bail them out. Seduce and try to have sex with teenage boys? Maybe you got what is coming. Luckily the trappings of fame, fortune, Hollywood, and celebritydom, (another coined word ending in D-O-M!) don’t take the place of ordinary moral and ethical values. Don’t believe the hype! Keep it real! Both of these phrases alone are enough to dismantle American Idol, a popular television entertainment that does just this. What better premise could there be than to take a complete unknown, make them a star, and then watch them get torn apart all in the arena of American television? Don’t we have more to do?

The Land of Bullshite

Man, there is some bullshit flying on eBay. Lord have mercy. Lordy, Lordy. There is some bullshite flying. People must be poor. Times must be hard when people are poor. Stealing. Thievery. It all comes in a wave, when the weather gets warm. Let’s talk some trash. Let’s ask $900.00 for a board. Let’s ask $250.00 for some “Booger Green” Roadrider inline skate wheels that you will never see again. B-O-G-U-S!!!!! Can we spell, “We are starving?” It’s fucking Memorial Day Weekend, and out trusted comrades that have given their lives for their county have to listen to a sitting U.S. President use this platform as yet another opportunity to muster support for, “Are you ready?!” The fucking war in Iraq? Fuck me and kill me now, “Ye mother fucker of the worst President in the history of the Nation.”

"Pop" Goes the Banjo

Chick Corea and Bela Fleck were on the Tavis Smiley show last night. I remember Bela when his group the Flecktones first had major exposure in the music industry. It was a little strange to hear a banjo playing jazz-oriented music, but it worked. The group did telling versions of a variety of tunes including songs by the Beatles. The music had a lot of soul, which was evidenced by Bela’s playing last night with Chick. It also raised a somewhat startling realization about an issue of which I have been raving. Suddenly the tables were turned, and the evil banjo-based rhythmic concept of “pop” music was displayed by non other than Mr. Corea himself. How funny, the perfect pairing of dueling rhythmic concepts, or so it would seem. Ironically the traditional roles of each instrument were switched. Chick, as he has done since Light as a Feather, played piano in “pop’ style, and Bela took on the role as soul-giver. His rhythmic “pocket” was fat and moving, much like original Appalachian folk and bluegrass music. One has only to hear Dolly Parton sing a tune from the hills of Appalachia to understand the depth of feeling represented here. Chick on the other hand, while playing amazinging tasty and interesting “licks,” failed to MOVE the listener. That is because his rhythmic concept is based on “pop." It must be Chick made a conscious decision years ago to exploit this particular feel. I’ll never forget the first time I heard “Spain” on Light as a Feather. I couldn’t decipher rhythmically what was going on between him and Stanley Clarke. Their playing seemed rushed and unsettled with no solid “bottom.” After years of doing cruise ship work I have discovered this is a valid rhythmic concept chosen consciously by its purveyors. Upon reading reviews of Light as a Feather it was meant to reach broader audiences than just jazz aficionados. Much like how Sergio Mendez became a “pop” sensation with the release of Brazil ’66, Chick must have been attempting to bridge the jazz/pop chasm. That attempt and therefore musical concept was exhibited clearly last night on Tavis’s show. Chick is still using this rhythmic concept, while Bela left the “ricky tick” style of banjo playing on someone’s knee in Alabama. Bela was a trendsetter, because he brought the banjo to the forefront as an expressive instrument in styles of music other than Country and Bluegrass. He improvised jazz music on the banjo much like a guitar player. Never once did he base the band's music on the stilted and commercial aspect of banjo "strumming." He effortlessly fused traditional picking with intricate jazz lines to produce a new style of jazz fusion. This must be why his playing was interesting to Chick, since Chick was a major component in the original jazz fusion movement. While Weather Report, a jazz fusion band led by keyboardist Joe Zawinul, was often cited as the original jazz fusion band, it was really Miles Davis who created this movement. Miles created three distinct styles in the evolution of jazz. Cool Jazz, Modal Jazz, and Jazz Fusion. Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way were the seminal recordings that created this genre. It is interesting that Chick chose to use “pop” rhythm in his own recordings. I liked his lines, his 20th century-based classical oriented harmony, and his tunes. His touch and sound on the piano weren't jazz oriented. I guess it is because they were not meant to be. Thirty seven years later Chick is still playing this way, and it was a starting to see this role reversal.

The American Dream

America will never be immune to the same occurrences in older countries. Our founding fathers have long been dead, and it remains to be seen if the spirit of their vision for America will continue. It is a choice, much like the choice I have exposed concerning computer usage. We can either continue on the traditional path of a humanities-based existence, or we can be absorbed into cyberdom. (I am coining a new word. Unlike thunderdome, cyberdom is akin to kingdom) We can choose to go the route of George Orwell, George Bush, or George Jetson. Traditional Humanities means an emphasis on cultural studies or the Arts. Obviously science should be included in this blanket philosophy, as colleges and universities always broadly have defined their curriculum as Arts and Sciences. Computer science is and should be a component of science, but it is quickly crossing over. George Orwell didn’t think it was a good idea to disguise the boundaries between fact and fiction. His novel l984 depicted a corrupt government using crude computer technology to create Newspeak, a propaganda that basically rewrote current news to favor the current political faction. If game-designers in California are intent upon blurring the line between fact and fiction, then doesn’t this set the trend for what is to come? This simple intent brings about the whole necessity of government regulation. It has been traditional in the United States for the government to “regulate” private business. Government was meant to be the watchdog of greedy self-interest in private business. That was a time when presumably the government was honest and cared about the American people. This process ceases to work when government itself fails to possess the wisdom necessary to regulate private business. We deregulated the airlines, and what happened? We also deregulated the railroads. Consequently deregulation can be meant to provide a variety of results. The railroads were all ready in bankruptcy, so deregulation was meant to ease governmental pressures hopefully spawning economic revitalization. The predicament is, the beauty that is the American Dream, i.e. the possibility of financial reward in the free market, does not look after the American people as a whole. If the boundaries between private business and government become blurred, no one is looking after the interests of the American people. Republicans have had the tendency to become immersed in their own private lifestyles. They have become blind to the broader American reality by the spoils and riches associated with their own economic prosperity in the private sector. BP posted record profits for gasoline at a time gas prices were at a historic high in American. This is why Capitalism is perfect for the wealthy. The popular adage, “It takes money to make money” holds true. Likewise money is what allows the wealthy to stay wealthy. How can you make money in America if you do not have the investment capital to build a factory and hire a work force? Statistics say almost 90% of small businesses fail within the first year. Traditionally the American government has been the watchdog for the people against wrong-doings in private business. It maintained an almost Socialist role providing security, goods, and services to the American people in times of need. To this day the federal government still is one of the largest employers in the United States. Unfortunately another component that controls economic and social mobility in America precariously is controlled by government. Education. Therefore if the government, which is the watchdog of the American people, becomes corrupt by the negative influences of the private sector, the American dream becomes jeapardized. If one has no money, there is only ONE way to find financial independence in America. Education. Wouldn’t it be nice to say Americans can find a good education in the ghetto? In the early years of American society it was possible to find an education “on the street.” Gangstas have carried on this tradition by immersing themselves in a trade that is suitable to them. With no opportunity for higher education and with no front money, their prospects seem pretty grim when prefaced by traditional society. “Oh Jeeves, could you bring me a mint julip?” Duke Ellington’s family, in his Washington, DC suburb, mimicked the pageantry of Victorian Era of England. What an interesting way to live, if you have money. The lower classes of people must live in a different socio/economic strata, and that the street. This is the almost more-realistic underpinning of American life. Quentin Tarantino has made a great success in film by depicting this gritty personification. Traditionally the mostly Italian MOB or mafia defined this socio-economic subculture. They saw big business and government as it was to them, and constructed their own reality defined by the working man on the street. This existence should not be swept under the rug and forgotten like the strip clubs and porno shops of New York city’s Time Square. It is real history. All the Political Correctness, White House spin, and media propaganda cannot disguise this seemingly unsavory history which really is the economic prospect of the common American without education. Cyberdom has all ready annihilated the music industry. It has threatened television like nothing before it. If we allow a corrupt government and cyberdom to disguise reality, common Americans might as well throw in the towel. “Rocky!”

Mini Bike Mike

The internet is truly useful for certain things. There are areas where it excels. One is direct, personal, exchange of enlightening information. This, contrary to what Al Gore contends, is how the internet began. In the Cold War Era the United States Department of Defense needed a way to link together databases in different locations so scientists working on the atom bomb could share information. The internet was born. I have done a great deal of research on the web, and much of the information qualifies as scholarly. Because of the incident concerning Wikipedia you must be careful what you use and cite. Wikipedia began as an extremely scholarly source of good information. The citations I read were like college level research papers complete with footnote citations and a bibliography. Unfortunately it only takes one bad apple to spoil the batch. Web surfers should be savvy enough to know a .edu site is likely to be trustworthy, since it part of a college or university network. There are others on the internet who have provided invaluable information for a variety of different uses, both fun and academic. One site was devoted to the rebuilding of the Honda CT-70 motorcycle. I have one of these. When we got it when I was a kid, it had been abused by its previous owner. I never experienced what it was like to ride a new CT-70. Thanks to this particular website I was able to rebuild it to almost new condition. A 36 year old motorcycle will never be new again, but at least I was able to restore the essential components necessary for a pleasant ride. This website detailed how to go about these tasks and where to buy most of the NOS (new old stock) parts. After some hours in the garage banging on metal, I had a bike that runs almost like new. Considering its age I don’t want to ride it “hard” because of the potential of weakening metal. After one kick it fires up and rides immeasurably better than it ever did in the past. We did have the engine rebuilt at Meridian Motorcycle, so compression was good. I just had to take care of the structural related things and the carb. Luckily a little vagabond down the street sold me a duplicate carburetor, although it was filled up with what appeared to be sawdust. I am guessing this is what ‘rotted’ gasoline looks like. I picked the best from both, cleaned them, and put it back on. Without going into details I spend a lot of time at the “Motorcycle Graveyard” in Rowland, NC digging for replacement parts. With a little diligence I was able to find what I needed, and with some elbow grease I managed to restore formerly what was pretty much a piece of junk. Never have I been so proud!

Bullies and the Human Body

When I was a teenager we lived in a tough neighborhood. There were bullies in our neighborhood, and if you didn’t watch out they would, “Kick your ass.” That was the operative phrase, when I was in junior high school. I never saw anybody get their “ass kicked”. We just heard that threat a lot. Now as an adult I know men by nature are big talkers and little doers. Most men are weak and afraid, and they use that façade of a bully as an offensive mechanism to ward off hassles in their lives. There were a variety of bullies in our neighborhood, every bit as tough as the ghetto crowd living in the alleyways of Dogtown. That is why I feel I have something in common with the Dogtown crowd. It sounds like I am sucking up, but I am not. After contemplation over the Dogtown connection, I discovered many of these skaters came from dysfunctional homes, and therefore probably didn’t have the educational opportunities some have. If you don’t go to vocational school, junior college, or college your employment opportunities as an adult are limited. Luckily the sheer heart and work ethic of the Dogtown crowd served them well. They are doing okay. Still I ask myself, “What’s the point of being interested in the Dogtown way of life and vintage skateboard paraphernalia?” The answer is there is integrity in the historical lineage of skateboard design. Whereas Jeff Ho’s compatriots, shapers, may have balked at the idea that a skateboard could be a high tech/high performance machine, a group of die hard surf-inspired skaters endured and pushed the industry to great heights in the late 70’s. Companies were making lots of dough selling skateboards to kids. Like any good business it takes a lot to sustain that activity. Many of the companies did not endure, because they didn’t know what they were doing. That is why G&S, Freeformer, Bahne, Kryptonics, and others needed professional skaters on their teams. They needed people who knew what was important in designing and manufacturing a skateboard. This could only come from experience riding the board. It stands to reason your average CEO or MBA could not hold their own on a small piece of wood and fiberglass with four wheels. It took a combination of vision, business savvy, and hands on experience in the skateboard world to be successful. Gordon and Smith has endured. So has Powell. These are companies who are the roots of the sport, men and women who embrace surfing and skating as a lifestyle. To them it is an integral part of their being providing something that seems unattainable in everyday American lifestyle. It is based upon a water/beach oriented existence first presented in the Gidget series of Hollywood motion pictures. Similarly movies like Beach Blanket Bingo presented a surreal, almost magical, and sensory-appealing escapism as an alternative to the fast-paced urban lifestyle represented in many major American cities. Manufacturers jumped on the skateboard bandwagon, but not many lasted. If you want to sell boards and a dream, then you need to have a “concept” that appeals to the skater at a deeper level. Some of the companies in the late 70’s, when skateboarding was burgeoning, did this by using of design and technology. They used manufacturing technology to advance the art of skateboard design. Kryptonics introduced the “core” to the polyurethane skateboard wheel producing a faster ride by utilizing higher tolerances in wheel engineering. “Mr.” Bennett began using aircraft-grade aluminum in his truck baseplates producing a much stronger structure upon which to torque one’s body in a semi-vertical carve. Gordon and Smith continued with their tradition of laminating fiberglass over hard rock maple to produce a board with flex, therefore power in navigating slalom cones. It is interesting history, much like the history of American hobbies we have embraced over the decades. America is different than most other countries in the world, and there had to be something that made us great. Holy war, pilgrimages, civil unrest, sectarian violence, and Communism have not contributed to the greatness of America. What has are creativity, humanity, and a quest for a more enlightened therefore happy way of life. If the “Pursuit of Happiness” was a major clause in our country’s Declaration of independence, we as a people should feel no remorse or guilt for pursuing it. The evil tenants of extreme Islam should not influence our way of life. When comparing the suggestions, “Committing suicide in order to have your way with 72 virgins,” and “Designing and engaging in sporting activity that promotes healthy living,” what seems wiser? The thought of being tortured for telling jokes, listening to music, and dancing may seem ominous, but rest assured all of these activities are not frowned upon by God. It depends upon whom in which you believe. We have a choice. Allah, Buddha, God. If we as a people begin to think these activities are sins, then we are falling prey to the propaganda-like brainwashing radical Islams have been pushing our way via the internet. They realized quickly the shock value of a medium that is so immediate. Cyber-dome operates in a theatre of greater velocity than everyday life. That can be the beauty of it. Conversely the lure of this can be the cause of great failures in business. Education, experience, and endurance cannot be replaced in the everyday lives of humans. It is detrimental for human beings to try to exist in a fantasy world, when our physical being is predicated by life in nature. Our existence as designed by God is reliant upon our senses. Jesus repeatedly suggested in the bible, “Let us eat fish and drink wine.” Revel in the senses He has given us as human being. Enjoy the things He has provided us in nature, the small thing, that are a large part of our survival. They heal us from the harshness of everyday urban life. A sunset. A cool breeze. A quiet nap. Clean drinking water. The feel of salt on our skin. These sensations are the blessings of the human being. To do without them as a result of irresponsibility to our planet via bad government is not an option. The resurgence of business related to the design, manufacturing, and selling of products related to human sensory enjoyment is important. Fast food, television, and cars are a shallow and superficial way to live. Engaging the human body and therefore the human spirit is more what God had in mind.

Old School Skating

Greetings, “Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Give me your ears!” Since I haven’t had success posting jpg files on this Blog, I am going to describe my vintage skateboard collection. It seems there is a little skate action on the East Coast, but it ain’t much. It is because there are fewer places to ride than in California. The snaking mountain hills of Santa Cruz provide the perfect terrain for many different styles of skateboarding. Downhill, slalom, ditch, and pool riding are popular in California, because they have the terrain upon which to ride. Craig Stecyk put it best when he was quoted in the opening scene of Stacy Peralta's documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys. "It took the minds of children to put the ruins of the military industrial complex to an artistic use." We on the East Coast have not had the same opportunities. There are no bowls here. There is no Los Angeles River. There are not many drainage ditches or Mt. Baldy pipelines sitting ensconced in the base of a mountain. Least of all the style of swimming pool building is different and therefore not conducive to skating. For some reason the pools built in Los Angeles were bowl shaped. They had curved bottoms with smooth transitions going up to the coping. The Dogtown Crowd were the first to see the potential of transferring surfing born maneuvers to the inside of a swimming pool. It truly was a miracle. I think God was somehow masterminding the whole process. How else could such an ironic thing have happened? A drought in L.A. Empty swimming pools shaped like bowls. Rowdy dudes looking for tasty waves. The success of Skateboarder Magazine in the late l970’s was because East Coast kids were living that vagabond-like lifestyle through the pictures in the magazine. It may have been snowing. It may have been raining. There may have been no pools or hills or beaches, but we could still live and learn through the medium of Craig Stecyk’s camera lens. Okay, this was not really meant to be a biography of Dogtown, although a plea for good skating terrain is okay. A clerk at a local skateshop remarked to me that none of the longboards hanging on his wall had ever sold. I told him, “You must have a place to be able to use the board in the proper style.” Many New School Era skateboarders don’t know what “carving” is. I was not sure I knew until I assembled my own custom-designed 70’s era vintage skateboard meant to be used for that Old School style of skating. It was easy for me, because I grew up in exactly the same decade as the Z-Boys, reading the magazines, and riding a Gordon and Smith Fibreflex with Bennett Pros and Roadrider 6’s. I was pretty good as far as freestyle goes. We didn’t have anything like the Z-boys on the East Coast, so we were stuck mimicking the same tricks those guys made fun of. Eskimo Rolls. Walk-the-Dog. Nose Wheelies. With no banks upon which to learn Stacy Peralta’s now famous “weight and unweight” style of surf skating, it sufficed for us. It was not until now I got the bug to learn and try that California-based style of surf skating. My board helped considerably, because it was designed closely after the original Zephyr Shop fiberglass board Jeff Ho and Jay Adams designed. There is more to it than meets the eye, and it took me over a year to find something that came close to it. I had to customize. That is appropriate seeing as that is what the more performance oriented shops did. They designed and hand built custom surfboards that were more than a, “Garbagy piece of junk painted powder blue” as quoted by Nathan Pratt. I had to cut down a G&S Teamrider re-issue to the shape of a G&S Warptail re-issue and find trucks and wheels that were similar to the Bennetts and RR 6’s. This was before Mr. Bennett re-issued his Vector Truks. Thinking about, designing, and making this board was what allowed me to skate that style with not much practice. I watched the documentary over and over, slowing down the movement until I understood what was happening. Then I adapted my own skateboarding style to include the Z-Boy approach. It’s all about creating a pivot in the middle of the board, while you control your carve or turn with your back foot, kicking it out in the opposite direction of where the nose of the board is going. It is identical to the carve a slalom water skiing does, but I could never do that “back in the day." I tried my best to water ski like my friend John, but he could always put up a much higher wall of spray drenching the people in his path for fun! Thanks to Dogtown and Z-Boys, now I know how. The design of the board is key to being able to skate a specific style, and the New School of skating is only one style. I haven’t even begun to study it yet, because I know I can’t Ollie. At 44 years old I am not sure I want to! Anyway, here is a list of my on going vintage board collection, astutely assembled from photos from popular skate videos, and pieced together from eBay auctions. It is sweet.

Roller Sports Blue Lexan Proline/Chicago Trucks/Roller Sports Open Ball Bearing Wheels

Kona Fibreglass/X-Caliber Trucks/Roller Sports Open Ball Bearing Wheels

Gordon and Smith Fibreflex Freestyle/Bennett Pro Trucks/World Industry Road Rider 6 Wheels/German Bearing

Z Flex Jay Adams Reissue Painted Yellow/X-Cailber Trucks/Pink X Bones Wheels

G&S Warptail Reissue/Tracker Midtracks/Sims Pure Juice Wheels

Dogtown Orange Wood/Tracker Midtracks/World Industry OJ Wheels

Powell Peralta Lance Mountain Junior/Venture Trucks/Bones DubCons Street Wheels

Powell Peralta Lance Mountain Doughboy/Tracker 6 Track Ultra-Lites/Rat Bones Wheels

Powell Soul Patrol Longboard/Bennett Vector Trucks/Sector 9 Nine Ball Wheels

Sim 3 Inch Solid Oak Wood Board/Independent 169 Trucks/Sims Red Street Wheels

G&S 38” Pintail/Tracker RT-X Trucks/Abec 11 Retro Zig Zag Wheels

Homemade Wood Longboard/Tracker Fulltracks/Turner 3D-M Cambria Wheels

G&S Teamrider Reissue Chop Job/Tracker RT-S Trucks/Abec 11 Retro Zig Zags

-and-

The newest addition to the Quiver: Powell Mike Mcgill Jet Fighter Reissue/Indy 215 Trucks/Abec 11 No Skoolz Wheels.

For any would be thieves, I keep these boards safely locked and guarded all the time. Luckily my grandfather was a dairy farmer who valued guns! Peace out, and I hope this might inspire some young skaters to get interested in the "Old School" of skating.

And Furthermore

In addition… There are many in America who believe our system of government is a façade. They believe that there is no need to vote because a vote does no good. They believe whoever the powers at be are going to do whatever they want. They believe there is huge bubble in which the American people live, and it is completely disconnected from Washington. Therefore there is no need to read the news, follow politics, or believe in our system of government. Our system of government is after all the mechanism which created the quality of life we are afforded as a people. He is correct in saying our troops do fight for the freedoms we maintain. That is common knowledge. It isn’t some magical scenario where the troops bust out of Toyland and go lay down their lives during war. Everyone that joins the military, as Jay says, does it voluntarily. They know full well going into the military means you are going to be trained as a soldier, and soldiers are men of war. Eventually there will come a time when you are called upon to defend our country. That is the gig. It is not a miracle. It is not a privilege. They sign up for the job, so that is what they get. Yes, we should be supportive of our troops, but the fundamental question is, “Are we looking out for the best interest of them by keeping them engaged in war? Are we looking out for them by sending them out in violence day after day in unsatisfactory equipment? Are we looking our for them by promising them future lives with missing limbs, faces, and dignity?” If we are truly looking out for our troops, then why are their lives less important than the lives of Iraqi citizens? This is what gets me. Why doesn’t President Bush volunteer to be the President of Iraq? It is obvious he does not care about the American people. Upon listening to any of his speeches in recent years, all he can talk about are the people of Iraq. How about the American people? Why does he care so much about Iraqis, using an opportunity to speak to our troops at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina to praise the citizens of another country!? He said nothing to them about the loss of lives of their loved ones, the very men and women standing before him. The military is designed and trained to defend our country. That is its responsibility, so let’s quit using that as an excuse not to be happy with the state of life in the U.S. I follow politics. I believe in our system of government. I believe voting matters. I believe our elected officials can and will effect change in our country. That is what makes America great. When 69% of the people in America are polled as being unhappy, it stands to reason they are unhappy with HOW we are being represented in the world by government, and HOW the country is being led. If, and only if, you are financially independent can you muster the liberty to say, “What the heck? Look around at what we have.” What do we have Jay? We used to have a country that represented integrity. We used to have a country that had a Middle Class. We used to have middle classed jobs to support those people. We used to have an effective public school system that educated our youth. We used to worship things other than the graven automobile. We used to have elected officials that enacted constitutional legislation rather than legislation supporting big business and the rich. If you choose not to read the news, then that means YOU are doing pretty well in America. Most of us are not. Look at the amount of debt we hold as Americans, as a system of loan and banking coerced millions of Americans into dependence upon credit instead of income. The list goes on and on. Yes, we can look out the window at all the fast food restaurants, the gas stations, and the Best Buys. Fast food is bad for you, gas is the most expensive it has ever been, and no one wants to buy movies made in Hollywood. Given gobs of money upon which to live, America probably does seem like a haven. For the rest of us that are yet to make our success in America, believing in our government is the only thing we have. Luckily the media it seems has begun to accept some accountability for the negative/shock reporting that has become commonplace. I agree with Jay, taking Nature vs. Nurture into account, one can find goodness in America. It’s just that much of it is now in the past.

An E-Mail from Leno?

Recently I received a forwarded E-Mail purported to be a quote of Jay Leno scolding the nation for being unappreciative of what we have in America. Yes it is true, compared to third world countries, America has lived a privileged life. The costs for those privileges is our country’s soul. Much like how God surrendered his only son to crucifixion on earth, our country has surrendered millions of lives to maintain the freedoms our founding fathers held so dear. Jay didn’t really mention this in his missive. He mentioned all the superficial things we have that are supposed to make us think we should be grateful, “Like candy for a baby.” I for one do not want to hear a word Jay Leno has to say. For the ridiculous amount of money Jay makes for doing a late night talk show, he has no right to say anything to millions of Americans who haven’t achieved the American dream. Dare tell me to, “Suck it up,” you spoiled asshole. Anyone with more money than God is going to see life in America differently than the common man. Many of the common men have no health insurance. I’m included. I need an $8000.00 cornea transplant, and I don’t see Uncle Sam, Jay Leno, or any cruise line jumping on the bandwagon to help me out. Most of the men and women in America have more to do than buy vintage vehicles. They work for a living more than a few hours a day. They don’t live in sunny California with a governor named Arnold. They don’t tell lukewarm jokes and talk about Mavis. Maybe Jay was funny at one time, but filling Johnny Carson’s shoes is no easy matter. Johnny set the standard for late night comedy. His show was a pinnacle of wit, humor, and heart. It related to mainstream America in a way Jay has failed to do. Johnny truly was interested and worked diligently at creating cutting edge comedic entertainment. Johnny had talent. Never did you hear Johnny gloat over his success. Conversely often he showed great humility on stage when things were not going his way. He kept trying. Johnny’s soul was big, just like the soul of America. It is just too bad there seems to be no one around in the entertainment industry that has a clue. A scolding we are supposed to take from a probably faked E-Mail from Jay Leno that says, “Suck it up America.” Don’t get me started.

Franz Mueller and the Razzle Dazzle

When I was working for a particular cruise line, I had the displeasure of working with a completely self-absorbed, self-promoting, self-proclaimed hipster named Franz Mueller. Mueller had the hipster beard, the horn-rimmed glasses, and the gray hair making him look like a character out of a Frappacino commercial. I can think of a specific cartoon that looks exactly like Franz, or is it the other way around? A man that looks like a cartoon? He played like a cartoon, because when he got on stage he would have what he liked to call “senior moments.” This is when your brain takes a hike in the middle of a performance. Franz was an anomaly, because there were times when he played inspired Dixieland-like clarinet. Pete Fountain would have been happy. On the other hand when he picked up the tenor sax on what was to be a dance or listening set, anxiety would set in causing him to play the most ridiculous of shite. He qualified it in his terms. “It’s not about what or how you play, it’s about how you present it to the folks.” Bullshite. Excuse me. Let me say that again. Bullshite. I don’t know from whence this ideology came, but I know no serious trained musician that would utter this phrase. “It is not about what songs we play or how well we play them, but about HOW we present it.” Let me quote a now famous Broadway show tune.

Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle,
Razzle Dazzle 'em.
Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it,
And the reaction will be passionate.
Give 'em the old hocus pocus,
Bead and feather 'em.
How can they see with sequins in their eyes?
What if your hinges all are rusting?
What if, in fact, you're just disgusting?
Razzle Dazzle 'em,
And they’ll never catch wise!

That was Franz. Imagine working for a rusty-hinged old fart. Whether the man had talent or not was inconsequential, because he wasn’t looking out for YOUR best interest. He, like many musicians, only are looking out for their OWN best interests. They haven’t learned the fundamental law of business politics, “Make the other guy happy. Help him accomplish something.” That is how you achieve in the world of business. No one cares about your goals, your dreams, or your aspirations. They are too busy assessing their own shortcomings. “It’s all about the money, Jerry!” I’m sorry, but you can’t live a fun life of playing music unless you can really play. This means training, staying in shape, perseverance, and professionalism. Finding these qualities today in a musician is difficult. Likewise finding musicians who have done any study of the historical evolution of music is like finding a needle in a haystack. It is surprising how many young musicians think that music is purely “mojo.” “Got my mojo working!” Of course as I stated in a previous post, the possibility of a “moment” happening during the normal working of vocational skills is wonderful. As a professional you eventually learn these “moments” become more far and in between the longer you work in the music business. When your “mojo” is not flowing you must rely on your skills to complete the job. You learn with the aid of kinesthetic memory how to play in a manner that can replicate an inspired performance. As musicians we can’t be inspired all the time. We like actors have a limited emotional vessel, our soul. That soul can not be the door mat of every musical act we accompany. As professional musicians we learn how to satisfy the job demands in a reasonable manner, without having a complete nervous breakdown from being expected to feel everything the “artist” must feel to be a star. I’ll never forget a young drummer from Chicago who thought his professional gig was just a little vacation to have a good time. He actually thought he was so good, that his talent allowed him to dispense with any serious thought about his gig. “Man, you don’t think about what you are playing, you just play!” Ha! I can imagine what Charlie Parker, Monk, or Dizzy would say to that. You wouldn’t want to let Miles hear you say that either. He would laugh you out of the room, because unlike many people believe jazz music is extremely well thought out. In fact it probably qualifies as THE most thought out music in America next to contemporary classical music. It isn’t magic that allows great moments to happen in jazz. It is knowledge and understanding of the possibilities in music. Miles systematically studied and applied musical devices in his band to make it evolve. Do you have the time to sit around and wait for great things to happen? Of course not. All you have to do is listen to differing versions of “My Funny Valentine.” As their playing of the tune progressed, it evolved over time in a logical fashion. It got more artistic, as Miles worked on a pared down the vehicle that is music. He found the musical devices, the concepts that allowed his group to express ideas and feelings at a sophisticated level. Then he stripped away all the excess like a successful artist does leaving only the bare beautiful essentials. Miles didn’t have to make use of the “Razzle Dazzle.” He used himself.

The Staple Singers

Mavis Staples was on David Letterman last night. I am familiar with the Staple Singers. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. She was by herself with no “family” to speak of. Interestingly enough she chose to sing a song about African-American rights. Let me rephrase that. I mean “Negro” rights. The song’s theme was racial oppression during the l950’s, when Civil Rights were just becoming known. In an era before “Political Correctness” our country used the term Negro. Is there anything derogatory about the word other than the “N” word was coined from its root? African-American. Asian-American. Mexican-American. Are these really the appropriate names for mulatto-like convergences of foreign and domestic blood? I don’t think America has evolved enough to accommodate these new races. We’re not hip, yet. In the previous decade racial dissent receded and “Multiculturalism” was widely accepted as a synonym for “providing a better life for those in need of it.” That meant immigration into the United States, but it was recognized on the “up and up.” It wasn’t an issue swept under the table, down a tunnel, or away from the Mexican border. The Asian influx was welcome, and many of these immigrants settled in the Midwest. At Ohio State University we had a nickname for the Asian pianists that frequented our piano practice rooms. We called them “MOPS” or Miscellaneous-Oriental-Pianists. That acronym doesn’t seem disparaging considering the lineage of inflammatory nicknames America has coined for her brethren. “SPIC.” “WOP.” “KIKE.” “DYKE.” “QUEEN.” “SPADE.” “CRACKER.” Television in the l970’s made light of these terms in a time when the streets were mean. Huggy Bear “pimped his ride” and sold love with a cane and fur coat. “JUNKIES” were common. So were “WINOS.” Back them America called a spade a spade, because everyone was tough enough from the reality of urban life in America they did not get their feelings hurt. “Life on the streets was tough,” the way it should be. Is life still tough? What is a good litmus test for toughness? How about a measure of drug usage in America? Prostitution? Crime in general? I would like to see some numbers documenting what really is happening with the “evolution” of our society. Mavis sang well. The only thing that bothered me, and this is becoming a recurring theme was her backup singers. They were singing “pop.” What does that mean? It means instead of understanding and conveying the message of the song they were singing, they were more enthralled with being on national television. How do I know this? The answer is because during a serious song about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and the Civil Rights Movement the singers were grinning. They were having more fun singing on television than attempting to understand and convey the message in her song. This is what “pop” music does. It dilutes the possible meaning of most music to Musica Reservata, a Medieval term defining a musical moment meant more for easy satisfaction of the masses than the integrity of the music. “Pop” music is not meant to convey meaning. It is candy, bubblegum, or pop corn. “Sugar sugar…” I think it is due time to dispense with American Idol and let songwriters and musicians get back to work doing what they have always done, being the musical soul of America.

Internet Pornography

No one can refute the influence the internet has had on the porn industry. In the beginning the internet was an underground, academic-based vehicle through which traveled electronic mail. Does anyone say that anymore? Electronic Mail. Electronic Mail. Neutron Bomb. Atomic Man. E-Mail, for short. I think it would be wise to “call a spade a spade” (pardoning my previous post) and call E-Mail what it really is. All the time. It is text generated by a machine through which a network of wire, mostly owned by universities, passes from one student to another. Wow! Was there a prequel? An internet bubble that proceeded the .com start up stock market bust? There must have been someone to see the “commercial” potential of E-Mail. It was AOL, or CIA, or FBI. It was America Online before president Bush’s wire-tapping policy was enacted. “Man, if you smell like a terrorist, we can read your E-Mail, your Electronic Mail.” In the recent past private business has lobbied and earned the right to eyeball their employees’ internet activity during work. Are they watching porn? Are they sending E-mail, Electronic Mail? Stanley Jobson in the movie Silverfish spread a virus in the government’s computer network, because they were reading people’s private E-Mail. Legend? Martyr? Hurray for Stanley. Internet use, unlike any other modern phenomena, has influenced our culture. It is too early to see if it has been for better or worse. Let me start the ball rolling. Worse. Propaganda vehicle for Extreme Islam. Better or worse? Vehicle for convenient viewing and download of pornography. In this arena I must expound a little. Pornography on the internet is rampant. There is NO denying it. When a student first starts to “surf” pornography on a university’s T-3 line, it is amazing. It is not only a discovery of often free, blatant, sexual content, but a discovery of the miracle of Website design. No one probably deserves to win the Pulitzer Prize for website design more than pornographers. Like the rest of media in the United States, it appears to be owned and operated by the same people. The similarity of website name and appearance compels one to ask themselves, “How many more clever, temping, teen-oriented websites can they come up with?” It is a matrix, an elaborate labyrinth of websites linked to one another forming an erotic-tinged being that inhabits your web browser, often disabling your surfing controls. It will unscrupulously vanish your Home, Refresh, Forward, and Back graphic icons leaving your computer vulnerable to an onslaught of opening of miscellaneous pornographic websites. Whew, that was a mouthful! That is not a good thing. I don’t think so many pornographic websites is such a good idea. One could get immersed in porn, probably like some have. Pedaphiles began meeting and often visiting underage youths through internet contact. I wonder what the statistics are? Has this behavior escalated as a result of the internet, when it used to be one had to get in a car and physically seek out porn. Adult bookstores, strip clubs, your neighborhood street corner, Times Square, take your pick. Is it better to encapsulate our pornography in cyberdome, fresh for the perusal of just about anyone, any age, or have it spread like peanut butter across America’s urban landscape? That seems more real. That used to be our history. “Get your porn at Time Square.” Then Disney came in and decided to clean it up, albeit for their own monetary gain in a restart of the Broadway musical form. The Lion King, or Debbie, Queen of the Jungle from Down Unda? Beauty and the Beast, or the Devil in Miss Jones? I can’t say modernizing an aging Broadway is a bad thing. Similarly as the advent of Rock ‘n’ Roll took over croonery, swing-based, torch singing Broadway was probably meant for an overhaul. I’m just not sure “pop” was the answer. There are many other choices in the musical palette available also. Take Reggae for example, or Afro-Cuban? How about the Blues? I guess “pop” is meant to appeal to children who were supposed to drag their parents to the “theatre” like a traditional movie. How many children live in New York? Walt Disney was a seminal part of my childhood. Seeing all those animated movies, buying the books, and assimilating those endearing characters was a large part of many peoples’ childhoods. I’m not sure turning New York city’s Times Square into Disneyland was as good an idea. America needs her sleaze to show us the ‘bottom line.” With the internet snaking in almost every home in America, I’m not sure the obscuring of the pursuit of porn has been healthy for the adolescent development of our youth. Much like many traditional youth-oriented activities that act as social catalysts, the pursuit of porn maybe should not be hidden away like some embarrassing pimple. Sexuality is the major component of puberty, and it would be a shame if this crucial development continued to take place in a lonely, individual vacuum accompanied only by one’s right hand.

Rule by the Elite

Premise: The systematic dismantling of the mechanism of the United States justice system. Example 1: The firing of United States District Attorneys. Example 2: The appointment of a Supreme Court Justice with no experience sitting on the Supreme Court bench. Example 3: The bullying of past and current Supreme Court Justices to make political rather than just decisions. Why were district attorneys fired? Plausible answer: They are the ones responsible for trying the government and private businesses for wrong doing. John Roberts currently is the youngest Supreme Court Justice. He is the third youngest to serve as the Chief Supreme Court Justice. Isn’t unusual that the Chief was not promoted from within the sitting body of the Supreme Court? His nomination by the president as one of the president’s privileges is questioned by Mr. Roberts himself. Quote. “Now, the Court has the obligation and has been recognized to assess the constitutionality of acts of Congress, and when those acts are challenged, it is the obligation of the Court to say what the law is. The determination of when deference to legislative policy judgments goes too far and becomes abdication of the judicial responsibility, and when scrutiny of those judgments goes too far on the part of the judges and becomes what I think is properly called judicial activism, that is certainly the central dilemma of having an unelected undemocratic judiciary in a democratic republic." If the Supreme Court is the ultimate judiciary body in the United States, are they immune to the same intense lobbying lawmakers receive?

Creativity, Hope for the Future

Recently in the United States there has been a flurry of articles in periodicals about Evolution vs. Creationism. Ramifications of this debate have translated into whether God actually exists or not. This is rather insulting taking into account the history of North America. Did Americans suddenly just forget their past? God in my eyes represents hope. God created man, therefore any hope humanity fosters rests in God’s hands. That means that we as a race can and should never really stop being human. No matter how appealing the lure of cyberdome is, we should not stop putting stock in the potential of the human being. The arts are a product of the human soul coupled with creativity. Is a computer creative? No one can argue the strengths of the Macintosh computer. The Apple computer has been an invaluable tool in the realm of creativity. It boasts graphics programs; it boasts Website design programs; it boasts music production programs and more. One can’t really say the Macintosh is smart enough to do it by itself. Human by nature means being accommodating and flexible. This is the way mankind has survived over the years. There is no formula, no master plan, that allows anyone to program how things are going to transpire. “(s)hit happens,” as Forrest Gump said in the movie. Things change, and as human beings we should and do have the capabilities for mass change. The government of the United States merits change, “A bridge to the 21st Century,” as ex-president Bill Clinton campaigned under. The U.S. wants to evolve, and that means change. The beautiful thing about change is, it can provide hope in desperate situations. If nothing is going very well, then change is the only thing that can improve your situation. The majority of that responsibility rests in one’s own hands but with the help of God, the acknowledgment of God’s presence in our lives. (I am beginning to sound like a preacher) My point is this. Humanity could be defined as the potential for new. Change. If we need new things in our lives, humanity could be the thing that provides it. This is the fundamental challenge of life, because we exist here on earth with millions of other human trying to accomplish the same things. It stands to reasons politics in humanity, the ability to negotiate the human psyche, is the crux of our existence. As a result we as a culture should never let a computer be out master. A computer does not have the capability for improvisation. It can not respond second by second to situations that change. It must be programmed by an engineer, and that programming will be based upon someone’s perception of reality, only a few people. Do we as a nation want to trust that? Maybe the uncertainty of the future is frightening enough to merit surrender of one’s soul and therefore future to “conservation,” doing things as they have only been done. I think is is wiser and more humane to keep our future open and alive by embracing the future with sound and open minds, brandishing our creativity and humanity, with a firm philosophy of what we want to accomplish as a race. That is the only way things will improve. This rather lengthy missive of preaching is meant as a prospectus to the art of live music. Nothing can better represent this process than the language of music. The notational system of music has long been heralded as one of the most sophisticated languages in existence. Components are in place for the express representation of the most human situations. That is why television and motion picture production has used music as its most viable tool to convey drama. No other “system” of creativity is sophisticated enough to be able to document human interaction like the craft of music. A script may be preplanned, but the acting that occurs as a result of the artistry of the performers is not. That is the craft and therefore the “art” of acting. There is an unknown, an undiscovered and possible realization of humanity within this vocation. Nothing better can represent this process than music, because in certain ways music itself could be defined as such. When I compose piano music this is exactly the process of which I am thinking. When I sit at the piano and “create,” this is when my soul and mind become truly free with the potential of new humanity. Yes, it is interesting those things can occur in what could appear to be a vacuum, a little room with only a piano and an artist. The definition of an artist is what allows this process to occur. All of the thoughts, experiences, and dreams of an artist can be realized from hope. Hope. I have always liked to believe, “Art leads.” Whereas the definition of art may possess two tenants, reflection and/or projection, I like to believe it is this remarkable capability that has the power to save. By projecting an idea of how things should be is often in God’s eyes how people achieve. Successful Republicans say, “Plan your work and work you plan.” If things at the moment are not how you see fit, then see them as they should be and live accordingly. This is how trends become, how pop culture is formed, and how humanity evolves.

Rebelliousness

Skateboarding should not be a crime. It is up to the skateboard world to dispense with the logo “Skate and Destroy” or skateboarding will remain a crime. “Skate and Destroy” only invites negative feedback from society, because it is antagonistic. How can society ignore a philosophy such as “Skate and Destroy” when it is society’s duty to look after themselves? “Skate for Life” is a much better philosophy. The New School of skating has painted the skate world with a negative image. Certainly there is nothing wrong with skating being a rebellious activity. There used to be and still are a few activities that qualify as rebelliousness. Rock ‘n’ Roll music is probably the most notable example. The youth of America need an outlet for personal expression, because one truly does not t grow without rebelliousness. Without conscious rebelliousness the mind never takes control over the instincts. If youths never rebelled they would turn out nothing more than worthless clones of their parents thinking the same things and feeling the same feelings. Janet Jackson finally rebelled. When a couple falls in love, the bond between parents and children is broken and is replaced with the relationship between spouses. All children at one time or another must go through a period of rebelliousness to figure out what it is they think and believe. This can not happen in a vacuum. That is why college is so important. It usually is the first opportunity a child has to find their own way without the unwanted supervisions of parents. Skateboarding should not be a crime. There really is nothing criminal about it, except for the possible destruction of public property from grinding. The New School of skating does make use of the “grind” as a crucial component of its style. Public benches, handrails and curbs have become easy targets for grindage, so it is appropriate city ordinances have been passed that criminalize skating. This is unfortunate because the Old School of skating was harmless. Slalom skating is a graceful ski/surf oriented activity that values style. It allows the skater to commune with nature by feeling the breeze in their hair, carving lines over gentle waves, and excising endorphins that become blocked in the human psyche. When a person’s “chi” gets blocked they often become depressed because there is some force that does not allow their body to “feel” what it needs to feel. When you are being “vibed,” someone else’s feelings are being beamed at you often not letting you feel what you need to feel. Skating allows release of this energy by carving graceful lines with emotional energy. Unfortunately the general public, as they struggle to maintain an existence in the 9 to 5 world, react negatively to skaters. Maybe it is because they believe it is a waste of time. Maybe they believe it is frivolous activity. In an era where a majority of Americans are obese, who could say the physical act of skating could be bad for you? With the proper responsibility and respect skating is and should be a viable outlet for healthy youth activity and personal expression.

Production and concept are seeming to creep back into TV. All that is left to bring television back to its former state of artistry is to resurrect LIVE MUSIC. All of the great TV shows from the past had “live” music. The computer has replaced live music. A simple computer single-handedly wiped out multiple sound stages on prominent television and motion picture studios. It also wiped out lots of jobs for working musicians. As the needs became less, so did the demand for a high quality of live performing instrumentalist. MIDI came in in a wave and wiped out the recording orchestra. At first MIDI soundtracks were primitive. It takes a connoisseur to develop and store an arsenal of expressive, musical, listenable sounds. This was the thing that drove the professional keyboard market during the l980’s. Advertisements like “For sounds that move the soul, use Kurzweil.” Moving air is more the concern. If you don’t move air with big sounds, you can’t stir the human soul. If you don’t understand rhythm, a crucial element in the fundamental definition of music, then you won’t move the soul either. Pop music does not move the soul. It does not have the sonic product to be able to accomplish this. Moving the soul requires passion and emotional energy. When a real artist sings, whether it be “Old School” or not, they should have a sostinuto sound. That means a sound produced by the controlling of air by the diaphragm. Vowel sounds are key to producing a rich resonating sound. Pop singing is the antithesis. It on the other hand abandons rhythmic feel and substitutes a steady stream of 8th notes generated by the words in a sentence. (Is that really how fine melodies are crafted?) There is no real phrasing in the melodic line. The “line” is merely a continuum of words spoken to the rhythm of the sentence. In certain ways this is similar to a device Arnold Schoenberg pioneered in the 2nd Viennese School. While pop singing is much easier than the traditional method of opera singing, it has shortcomings. Pop music will never “move” anyone, because the musical components are not in place to do so. One cannot move a listener when they are singing in an arena with a limited pallet. This somehow by consensus has become the default style of modern commercial music. My guess is because it is easy to produce. There are no styles to learn. No cultures to study. No history to understand. It is by definition devoid of all of this. It is after all “pop.” Candy. Bubble gum. Pop corn. Not meant to do anything other than paint a coating of sugar on our otherwise realistic world. That means if there was a consensus in deciding pop music would be the new genre in vogue for America, it is merely propaganda. If anyone took the time to read a newspaper or read the webpage of the BBC or Reuters, they would realize the feeing in pop music has nothing to do with the current state of reality in the world. Used as pure escapism? Well I struggled through that once. Not again. I prefer reality. I prefer my pain in full dosage altered by only my own perception and brain. I don’t want to be numbed, dulled to reality. When you are numb, it is easy to be @#$%^ed up the arse. Sneakin’ in and having their way with you. I would rather be wary. I would rather be aggressive. I would like to think life is a challenge, a struggle for existence. When you have too much someone will always come and take it away.

A Change in E-Commerce

Greetings earthlings! After a brief respite in the Caribbean I am back. It stands to reason television would eventually “come back.” After I continually ranted about the offensive ignorant “bottom line” of television it seems things have changed somewhat. No, I will say there has been a decisive change in the aesthetic of modern television. It took a while to naturally evolve, but it finally did. Are the results pleasing or not? The votes are not in yet, so it is hard to say. I do think it is an improvement. The new concept in advertising at least seems to have historical reference. That means some thought goes into the group television is seeking to attract, what their desired result is, and how they are trying to achieve their goals. That could be seminal because the empty chasm that was television three months ago has changed dramatically. I don’t necessarily mean the programs. I mean the production of advertising. It could be that when Google bought You Tube, when the predictions were You Tube was going to be sued for copyright infringement, advertisers decided to change directions. Like the first "internet bubble," the prospect of mega-dollars being earned through upstart dot.com E-businesses, which came crashing down when the businesses didn’t run themselves, losing the money of their investors, it could be the reality of E-Commerce reared its ugly head again. (That was a mouthful and a run-on sentence) With the recent wave of publicity over “ground-breaking” companies specializing in hard drive recovery, it could be America is beginning to become wary of corporate America’s push for conversion to digital in all mediums. Digital may be cheaper and more convenient, but when the product fails? I think at least we have crossed a stepping stone of vocational technology which is allowing Grunge-Era graduates to create art. This must be the generation that was, that could, that should find their places in the heart of American commerce. It is paradoxical that their aesthetic is not that different than the previous generation, the Baby Boomers. It is about time they are pushed into retirement leaving jobs for the youth of America. (As a personal sidebar: I have been waiting my whole life of 44 years for an opportunity to parade and sell my wares. At almost every turn I have been challenged rather than welcomed into America commerce. Much like a symphony orchestra or a college or university, “tenure” dictates that those in power remain in power, almost until they are dead. That means once you get the sweet college teaching gig or orchestra position, you keep it for too long a period of time to accommodate your rising students and children. This has been apparent in the American educational system for decades. As one Discovery Channel program reported, at the turn of the century it was common for young men, sons of prominent fathers, to have to move to other parts of the country to find success, because tradition and “old money” created a stagnant economic and social ladder upon which to climb. In a nutshell living in Fayetteville, North Carolina, a pinnacle of “old money,” I have always shouted under my breath, “Why can’t some of these old farts die and give us an opportunity to seek the same fortune we deserve?” Personal opinions aside, it is wise that America discovers archiving our history and current commerce on potentially failing hard drives could be a mistake. The question of whether our existence as human beings was going to shift to cyberdome needed to be exposed, contemplated, and answered. I think most people would agree living in an artificial world created by Japanese computer-game programmers in no way can replicate the beautiful “human” experiences possible with intimate contact between one another. It seems television’s new aesthetic has gone over the moral edge somewhat, but that is okay. Violent and somewhat startling reactions are normal, and in the context of what television tries to be, it is common. The pure shock tool of television will probably keep its tentacles in programming for a while longer. I think it is good that at least it is being attempted with wit, humor, and endearing heterosexuality. It was probably a monolithic decision for companies whether to continue pushing the envelope of E-Media or re-invent TV. As Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have exhibited, the foundation of virtual media is hardware. If your hardware ceases to operate, then so does cyber/entertainment world. That is a stark realization represented well by anyone who has a hard drive fail. When what appears to be your whole life's existence disappears on your hard drive, that predicates a reappraisal of one’s system. Do we really want to stock our whole existence on a computer? As some of the newly-produced television advertisements say, the guy with the largest antlers (or are they Martian ears?) is the one that deciphers the potpourri of digital entertainment to suit his own personal needs. That has been a daunting task since the evolution of technology, like many tenants of history, is not uniform. Why has there been such a drastic change in economic policy in the last decade that reversed the common philosophy that corporate mergers were detrimental to the American economy? We broke up the Baby Bells, we split Micro-soft, yet American media companies still continue to buy each other quelling healthy competition among companies. Has this been the “One World Order.” Has the attempt at globalization been an attempt by one small group of elite to control the world? When people don’t spend money, no one wins. Business, larger companies, government, and individuals. NO ONE BENEFITS in Capitalism when no one spends. People don’t spend for many reasons. They don’t spend when the “environment” in which they are expected to spend seems jive and insincere. When a feeling of desperation of a seller overwhelms the consumer, subduing his own sense of pleasure at buying a product they will enjoy, they tend not to buy. That is the selfishness of Capitalism at its worst. The humanity of Capitalism at its best is making products for people that reinforce healthy social habits building a community that supports the economy. Salesmanship is the art of having faith in a product that sincerely provides a wise or enlightened service in an age of violence and inhumanity. Television is attempting that challenge at the moment, to recover from 9/11 and reinvent American pop culture. I applaud them for that. Television has always been a teacher of our children, whether anyone wants to admit it or not. It should try to remain as such. Movies have always been a source of good education. They should try to remain as such. Reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic have always served out youth population. They should continue. The “paper trail” has always served as the backbone of our society, and it should remain as such. Luckily American business’s are beginning to see the limitations of technology in comparison to the far reaching depths of the human mind and soul. With a few more decades of human suffering media may once again reach a state of artistry.