I've made it to sixty years old. There are ten things that I've come to observe....particularly over the past forty-odd years:
1. There's probably five-percent of population reading, watching or listening to seventy hours per week of political drama via TV, radio, or internet. These folks can name more political and journalist figures than Bible characters, and live/breathe by the actions that occur each single day.
2. The Braves can have a payroll of 82-million and yet still not make it to the World Series.
3. You'd be better off spending six months in some Air Conditioning school, or plumber qualification course.....than attending most university degree programs (unless engineering or medical). There are people actually borrowing in the range of $80,000 for a four-degree in English literature.
4. There's at least sixty hours a day via various networks on TV.....telling you something about the President of the United States. In 1976, it might have been sixty minutes per day with the options that you had.
5. In 1973, you tended to get the best low-down on local politics either at the barbershop or general store. Today, the barber is usually some lady who wants to chat about the View, or man-problems.....with the general stores mostly all shut down.
6. County fairs are still the best place to drop off a 12-year old kid for the afternoon, but he'll need $30 instead of $6.
7. As a kid, there was one single McDonalds existing within a 25-mile radius. Today, there's close to twelve of them.
8. There's at least 300 women appearing on the various TV networks who I would deem harlot, jezebel, slut or 'loose woman'.....and no one says much about the increasing number.
9. Around 1977, out of the Huntsville Airport....you could end up on a plane with 80-percent of the seats empty. Today, most every single is filled.....course, you can still only go to Atlanta, Dallas or Chicago. And it's still curious that a can of Coke at the airport can run in the range of four dollars.
10. Probably the best burgers ever made, in the history of man, were produced at the Florence Pool Hall, on East Tennessee Street. Whatever the mystery ingredient was.....is still unknown.
Sunday, 11 November 2018
Me and Musicals
Most Alabama guys are lucky in their life to have avoided any attendance at musicals or operas.....that's my humble opinion. I've been more or less dragged off to five musicals in my life, which two were probably worth the effort, and the rest were something 'less than enjoyable'.
So this past weekend, I ended up at the another musical. The catch here, which I felt real positive about....this was 'Bat Out of Hell', which was supposed to feature a lot of Meatloaf's music (from the late 1970s). It's a memorable album, which I tend to rate as one of the ten best albums overall to listen to.
My wife and I showed up in Gelsenkirchen (2.5 hours north of the house) and had a whole weekend planned out of this.
The musical? It was basically a bastardization effort and they used maybe five or six of his tunes, then threw in some tunes for the musical to work. Their background story? Destruction of the Earth, a bunch of young punks, some romance between teens, some fighting with the authorities, and then some wrap-up.....with this Meatloaf music in the background. I know.....it's pretty weird.
If they'd just come out and done twelve to fourteen of his tunes with no theatrics or jumping around....it would have been a fine show. But they just couldn't do that.
The audience? Well....Saturday evening and only three-quarters of the seats filled. Probably at least a hundred seats empty.
Not to complain or nothing, but if you spoke up about some opera business in Alabama, it means you'd be going off to Nashville, and attending the Grand Ole Oprey, with some five-star tunes. Here? It's mostly some kind of tale over woes, marginal music, and a bunch of skipping around the stage.
So this past weekend, I ended up at the another musical. The catch here, which I felt real positive about....this was 'Bat Out of Hell', which was supposed to feature a lot of Meatloaf's music (from the late 1970s). It's a memorable album, which I tend to rate as one of the ten best albums overall to listen to.
My wife and I showed up in Gelsenkirchen (2.5 hours north of the house) and had a whole weekend planned out of this.
The musical? It was basically a bastardization effort and they used maybe five or six of his tunes, then threw in some tunes for the musical to work. Their background story? Destruction of the Earth, a bunch of young punks, some romance between teens, some fighting with the authorities, and then some wrap-up.....with this Meatloaf music in the background. I know.....it's pretty weird.
If they'd just come out and done twelve to fourteen of his tunes with no theatrics or jumping around....it would have been a fine show. But they just couldn't do that.
The audience? Well....Saturday evening and only three-quarters of the seats filled. Probably at least a hundred seats empty.
Not to complain or nothing, but if you spoke up about some opera business in Alabama, it means you'd be going off to Nashville, and attending the Grand Ole Oprey, with some five-star tunes. Here? It's mostly some kind of tale over woes, marginal music, and a bunch of skipping around the stage.
Friday, 9 November 2018
The Problem for a Antifa Dude
'Winston' (my name for a 20-year old kid in some college program somewhere)....has been sitting around classes and gotten enough chatter from Professor Wendy....that he believes he can right 'wrongs'. To be honest, he's probably not sure about the 'wrongs' thing, but Professor Wendy says by protesting and getting ACTIVE....you can make a difference.
So one day...'Winston' shows up at some rally or downtown area, and some folks get hyped up to go and protest at some guy's house. It's a right-wing guy of some type. The crowd is convinced of the great deed they are going to accomplish. Somewhere in the middle of this mess....'Winston' encounters 'Claude' the maintenance guy, who pulls out a baseball bat, and whoomps on 'Winston' and six others.
Broken bones, ribs, concussions, and in 'Winston's case....he's got some brain damage. 'Winston' probably won't be able to function as a member of society and will have the behavior of a six-year old kid for the rest of his life.
The court? After seeing enough video of threats made by the crowd, they believe 'Claude' did the right thing in protecting himself and the owner of the house.
The sad thing here is that 'Winston' and literally hundreds of others are going to face off and find that there is a real situation where massive violent reaction will occur, and lives hang in the balance.
It's a sad end for guys like this. They were hustled around by stupid college professors to believe something, and naive enough to believe anything told. They could have led productive lives, and instead.....sit in some artificial 'battle' thinking they are saving the world.
And the really sad thing is that there are literally thousands of 'Winston's' around in America....who will never lead productive lives.
So one day...'Winston' shows up at some rally or downtown area, and some folks get hyped up to go and protest at some guy's house. It's a right-wing guy of some type. The crowd is convinced of the great deed they are going to accomplish. Somewhere in the middle of this mess....'Winston' encounters 'Claude' the maintenance guy, who pulls out a baseball bat, and whoomps on 'Winston' and six others.
Broken bones, ribs, concussions, and in 'Winston's case....he's got some brain damage. 'Winston' probably won't be able to function as a member of society and will have the behavior of a six-year old kid for the rest of his life.
The court? After seeing enough video of threats made by the crowd, they believe 'Claude' did the right thing in protecting himself and the owner of the house.
The sad thing here is that 'Winston' and literally hundreds of others are going to face off and find that there is a real situation where massive violent reaction will occur, and lives hang in the balance.
It's a sad end for guys like this. They were hustled around by stupid college professors to believe something, and naive enough to believe anything told. They could have led productive lives, and instead.....sit in some artificial 'battle' thinking they are saving the world.
And the really sad thing is that there are literally thousands of 'Winston's' around in America....who will never lead productive lives.
Thursday, 8 November 2018
'Rural' Versus 'Rural'
If you ever sit down with a guy from Alabama, among the 7,000-odd topics that you might get into (depth of septic tanks, best paint for barn roofs, copperhead snakes, failed camping trips, etc).....there is this PhD-level discussion that would consume an hour over the definition of 'rural'.
Regular folks will classify a junction of two roads....where a church, a cemetery, and a gas-station lay....as being only semi-rural. Some will suggest that a junction of two roads....where one bank, a catfish restaurant, a Dollar-General store, two churches, and a cemetery....as being truly rural. So there is a thought process going on and some folks want to define real rural...as just plain rural.
I grew up near a two-road junction, with a cemetery, two churches, and a farm-related-general store....which I tended to note as just plain and absolute rural.
On the opposite direction, about another half-mile was a road that passed along a creek, and this 'town' had around four churches, a cemetery, two gas stations, a barber shop, a catfish restaurant, a post office, and a general store (Ottos). As much as one might want to define it as rural....it just never had that appeal.
Southerners get into discussions like this because some folks think they've got it 'rough', when they actually have a 'drive-up' burger enterprise, a Dollar-General, a cemetery, and three churches. Then the next guy will lay out his woes as a kid, where they had only a run-down gas station (with leaking tanks), a beer-joint, a church, and a cemetery.
This discussion appears to be getting less and less of a topic-item. Today, that junction of two roads doesn't really matter. Within a four-mile circle, there's likely two Dollar-General stores, a couple of gas stations, a honky tonk, a cellphone-satellite TV shop, and six to eight churches of various faiths. People under the age of thirty? They don't even size up rural status anymore. In another thirty years....ruralness may not even matter.
Regular folks will classify a junction of two roads....where a church, a cemetery, and a gas-station lay....as being only semi-rural. Some will suggest that a junction of two roads....where one bank, a catfish restaurant, a Dollar-General store, two churches, and a cemetery....as being truly rural. So there is a thought process going on and some folks want to define real rural...as just plain rural.
I grew up near a two-road junction, with a cemetery, two churches, and a farm-related-general store....which I tended to note as just plain and absolute rural.
On the opposite direction, about another half-mile was a road that passed along a creek, and this 'town' had around four churches, a cemetery, two gas stations, a barber shop, a catfish restaurant, a post office, and a general store (Ottos). As much as one might want to define it as rural....it just never had that appeal.
Southerners get into discussions like this because some folks think they've got it 'rough', when they actually have a 'drive-up' burger enterprise, a Dollar-General, a cemetery, and three churches. Then the next guy will lay out his woes as a kid, where they had only a run-down gas station (with leaking tanks), a beer-joint, a church, and a cemetery.
This discussion appears to be getting less and less of a topic-item. Today, that junction of two roads doesn't really matter. Within a four-mile circle, there's likely two Dollar-General stores, a couple of gas stations, a honky tonk, a cellphone-satellite TV shop, and six to eight churches of various faiths. People under the age of thirty? They don't even size up rural status anymore. In another thirty years....ruralness may not even matter.
SNL, Pete Davidson, and the Crenshaw 'Joke'
Over the past weekend, I observed the Crenshaw 'joke' from Saturday Night Live from Pete Davidson. I watched it one single time, and then had this fairly negative view of the joke, the intent, and the lack of responsibility. So, this 'joke' and the whole SNL show thing has been on my mind.
I've come to three observations:
1. In 1975, across the entire US.....there were probably a grand total of 300 true comedians (either doing stand-up, TV, or movies). There might have been more....but these were folks were making a living and you tended to recognize.
Today? There's probably over 8,000 folks attempting to do comedy....either via stand-up, TV, or movies....of which the bulk of them...probably 90-percent...don't measure up to the 300 folks from 1975. In this case, Pete Davidson just isn't a comedian, and he's attempting to make up for the lack of humor with critical punchlines that you'd expect out of some fifth-grade kid trying to insult another fifth-grade kid.
2. Once someone today (2018) has gone and truly insulted someone....they have no ability to go back and apologize for bad behavior. It's a talent or skill that they've never developed. Important?
Johnny Carson never openly insulted anyone in his entire life, and basically never had to apologize for any bad behavior. He could get away with it. Same with Buddy Hackett. Same with any of the folks from the Andy Griffith Show, or Gilligan's Island. Pete Davidson? He probably needs to develop this talent because I don't think he's done....he's got dozens of other folks to insult over his career.
3. Finally, I come to Saturday Night Live. When it started in the 1975....for probably two years, I felt they had something unusual. Every show clicked. By the mid-1980s....I felt less enthusiastic about the show. Over the past decade, there might have been a couple of sketches which worked but the bulk of it simply isn't comedy anymore....it's something 'else'.
Maybe it's time that SNL just retired itself. Bring in some Dance-Fever Show, or Soul-Train Show, or perhaps some Saturday night roller derby action, or even a celebrity crash derby show. But to continue this fifth-grader type humor, and pretend they measure up to the crew from 1975 or 1977? No.
South Africa: 2038
I've been back from this South Africa travel episode now....for ten days. It was my first, and likely last trip to the region, but it dwells heavily upon my mind.....so I sat and pondered the past couple of days. This is an essay of where I see South Africa in twenty years.
1. I don't see it surviving as one single united nation. Between the political climate, the government acquisition of farmlands likely to occur, and massive unemployment....there's very little to keep the country united. My humble guess is that five to eight states will come out of this revolutionary period, with the Western Cape likely to be the largest 'piece'.
2. There's little to nothing to hold young blacks to the region, and no hope for jobs. I think at least three to five million over this twenty-year period will simply up and leave....either for the US or Europe.
3. Drug trafficking will simply continue and escalate, with a drug-war likely to occur among gangs in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Duban. Township police protection will be demanded....and ultimately fail.
4. Bank failures or banking corruption practices will become a monthly topic, with trust dwindling for most folks in South Africa. While people need a banking vehicle to exist....it won't work if half the nation distrusts the majority of banks.
5. Drought and lack of water will remain a topic on the Western Cape for the next two decades. The amusing thing here....if you had some real leaders....real capital investment, you'd have a dozen reservoirs existing, and a massive amount of water for irrigation projects, and make half of the Cape an agricultural paradise, with fresh fruit and vegetables available for the locals and to sell.
6. Finally, social media is likely providing a vehicle which will be the downfall of the ANC (the African National Congress Party), where their shortfalls and 10,000 promises will finally be open to public scrutiny. But here's the thing....once they splinter up and dissolve, you will end up with numerous parties and agendas which will make stability impossible to attain.
1. I don't see it surviving as one single united nation. Between the political climate, the government acquisition of farmlands likely to occur, and massive unemployment....there's very little to keep the country united. My humble guess is that five to eight states will come out of this revolutionary period, with the Western Cape likely to be the largest 'piece'.
2. There's little to nothing to hold young blacks to the region, and no hope for jobs. I think at least three to five million over this twenty-year period will simply up and leave....either for the US or Europe.
3. Drug trafficking will simply continue and escalate, with a drug-war likely to occur among gangs in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Duban. Township police protection will be demanded....and ultimately fail.
4. Bank failures or banking corruption practices will become a monthly topic, with trust dwindling for most folks in South Africa. While people need a banking vehicle to exist....it won't work if half the nation distrusts the majority of banks.
5. Drought and lack of water will remain a topic on the Western Cape for the next two decades. The amusing thing here....if you had some real leaders....real capital investment, you'd have a dozen reservoirs existing, and a massive amount of water for irrigation projects, and make half of the Cape an agricultural paradise, with fresh fruit and vegetables available for the locals and to sell.
6. Finally, social media is likely providing a vehicle which will be the downfall of the ANC (the African National Congress Party), where their shortfalls and 10,000 promises will finally be open to public scrutiny. But here's the thing....once they splinter up and dissolve, you will end up with numerous parties and agendas which will make stability impossible to attain.
Acosta and Trump
I sat and watched that clip of the exchange between Jim Acosta and President Trump at least ten times.
Once the intern stepped forward to take the mic...you can observe Acosta using his hand deny her and assert that he wasn't going to let her do her job. Suspending his privilege for a month....ought to be the punishment here.
But I would go one more step....replace the mic-handling business with a Marine Gunnery Sergeant. Once Acosta would have refused the directive and then put his hand on the Sergeant....the Marine would have laid him flat on the carpet. After that, Acosta would have understood the message.
Once the intern stepped forward to take the mic...you can observe Acosta using his hand deny her and assert that he wasn't going to let her do her job. Suspending his privilege for a month....ought to be the punishment here.
But I would go one more step....replace the mic-handling business with a Marine Gunnery Sergeant. Once Acosta would have refused the directive and then put his hand on the Sergeant....the Marine would have laid him flat on the carpet. After that, Acosta would have understood the message.
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