The article highlights all the frustrations and complaints many of us feel. I blame the media for not informing the public what is being done to us. Berney
IMO mainstream media is public enemy #1. If we had an honest, productive media, folks would know about all the BS and through strength in numbers would’ve put a quick halt to it.
yes, saw that…Trump’s FAKE NEWS label from the early days has woken many to the 24-hr ‘news’ cycle, the woven narratives that shape the collective consciousness & moved the herd…but, the state-run Corporate Media is on its last legs, can no longer fool the majority, or much of the minority…
At the same time it is chilling to see what is happening because a "handbook" states this is the outcome.
When the outcomes fail after 20 some years isn't it time to tell the authors of fiction it is time to get out of the state OR change your vote.... (now there is something that will create a few ulcers... *laugh*)
Scott, I agree. Two things about Prop 50. I see the Democrats walking right into one of Trump's traps he sets time after time, just as I see the White House rally they're having on November 5th going that way, too. Trump has shown in the last week that the art of the deal wasn't just a catchy title. My problem with Republicans is that, unlike Trump, they don't think ahead to “how do we turn what the Democrats are going to do against them.” Yesterday's SB Current piece was about how everyone needs to vote. Yes, but we've heard that. How about what do we do after Prop 50? And in the midst of this, just as Trump never loses his humor, I think we shouldn't either. The Left has tried to censor satire but has only turned its own loyal humorists into flat jokes themselves — Colbert, SNL … they ain't funny anymore and they're losing their audience.
Bravo! What a fabulous summation article to start off our week the day before ‘The Election’ that will catapult our horrible CA Govenor into position to destroy America. A big shout out of thanks for reminding everyone that we native Californians, along with transplants, passed Prop 187 in 1984, for our subsequent Democrat Gov Gray Davis to refuse to appeal the radical judiciary that cancelled out the wishes of ‘We The Citizens of California’. 1965 forever changed America with entitlement benefits for the middle class, not just the poor. 1984 forever changed California. Is there cause for any hope? I have none as I read Americans seek to elect foreigners, newcomers, to be our leaders whether Mamdani or Steve Hilton. Fools! Yep— our country is in the process of self destruction.
Let’s see, a lot to unpack, Griswold. Are you subbing for Eringer? I’ll start with “celebrities” role playing as political pundits.
I took in the show last year at the SB Bowl featuring Neil Young (pushing 80) and figured why not, it might be great hearing some old songs, “Heart of Gold,” “Old Man,” etc. Clearly, what emerged is that Young, playing a solo show, is weird, strange and introverted to say the least. It turned out to be a monumental waste of time and money, listening to Young blabber about whatever, seemed more like a self help, psychoanalysis session than a concert. He obviously feels he’s more important than the fans. At one point, he went off on someone in the crowd for merely requesting a song.
Needless to say, I have no further interest in listening to Young’s views on anything, especially his wacko, lefty, political views.
What amazes me is how the rich and famous actually believe their views matter to anyone. Bruce Springsteen, is a classic example of reading your own press and pretending like people care.
The parity and narcissism of thinking because you can dance, sing, play a Banjo or put a basketball in a hoop makes you suddenly an expert in geopolitical studies is very tiresome.
Elvis Presley had the best response when asked by a pesky reporter about the war in Vietnam. Presley deflected perfectly, and replied (paraphrasing) that “he’s just an entertainer and would rather keep his views to himself.”
Well, hopefully you were at the Neil show in, I think, 2000 at the Bowl. With Donald "DucK" on bass and his wife singing. One of my top three shows at the Bowl.
Thanks Al. Imma go step in front of a bus now. LOL!
I keep thinking that Newsom and minions are engaged in a larger plan for a Ca secession. There is just too much cash MIA, when one looks into some of the fund(s) diversions that have gone on during his reign.
Who knew this Getty affiliate would be able to wreak so much havoc? Oh wait. That is right. Even Gov Brown warned Californians.
Thanks David. I think a bus might bounce off you! To anyone not sipping the dark DNC brew, it seems obvious that there is an obfuscated agenda at play. Unpatriotic for sure. Passage of Prop 50 worsens things. They only overturn the initiatives that actually would help CA.
I'm with you Azel on your observations with regards to the popular, so-called bleeding-heart characters that float by me from time to time on the screen. I just accept them for who they are and figure nobody is going to change their point of view and listen/watch them without thinking about their liberal minds. More troubling is all the corruption surrounding us by jawboning politicians located in city/county, state and federal government. Evil surrounds us and that's the most disturbing.
Outnumbered! We await confirmation tomorrow. Wouldn’t you like to know who is who in your neighborhood, workplace, church or club? I really really really want the updated comprehensive list of registered voters — the who’s who to be made public! CAGOP, SBRCC and candidates have these lists. Any of us can buy from Political Data in Redondo Beach but the cost is out of my reach. Such a list is helpful to enable us to text, mail, call other registered voters. We will continue to lose elections until such info is made available.
In Florida, I can quickly upload such a list. In Miami when I enter a high rise building where I know no one, I have a quick reference.
When I meet a resident in the lobby coffee shop or poolside, I ask what unit is yours? They reply. I unobtrusively pull up their profile on my phone: citizen or non; democrat, republican, no party preference, or whatever; high or low primary or general election propensity voter of each person in household. Great conversations follow! I learn much.
How can we influence NPPs or even Republicans when we don’t know who’s who?
Speaking about who is what, I found it interesting here in Dalton, Ga it took me a while to figure out what Party affiliation our current mayor belonged to! In Santa Barbara, it was an easy task and well publicized, but here in Dalton apparently some politicians avoid talking about any party affiliation! I even sent the "to be" mayor for this info, and I had no response. I was able to eventually discover she was a Republican. Regardless, I found it fascinating a public official avoided mentioning her party. Her name is Annalee Sams, Dalton's first female mayor.
I grew up in the 60's, 70's and 80's and none of the slick pretty boys and girls performance art today can even come close to a Beatles, Hendrix, Queen, Stones, Zeppelin, Tom Petty, Skynard...the list is long.
This is objective truth. It's obvious and undeniable. Why would you say differently?
Don't believe me? Go anywhere public and listen to what is playing.
I'll wait....
The worst part is that it's not just the music, it's art, architecture, movies, sculpture, dance, science, political discourse...everything.
It's like some demonic force took over around 2000 and sucked all the truly creative people out of the world and are trying to get us to lie about it.
I agree with you that much of our cultural entertainment has gone down the crapper.
I absolutely dig the music from the artists you mention. However, there is so much stellar new music being made that It might be a question of access. When I left CA, stations such as KTYD and KLOS were pretty much playing older classic rock. I would listen to 88.5 KCSN and KROQ to discover new artists I like and add their music to my iTunes library. There is a wide variety of quality new music out there that is likely not getting the attention it deserves. There is a good alt rock station here, WTSQ, which plays an amazing assortment of new artists. The app “Simple Radio” lets a listener tune in to pretty much any station on the phone. I can look up the artists with whom I am not familiar.
I understand what you are saying but not so sure. Is not access bigger and cheaper today than ever in history? Maybe that's the problem these days. Too much access, not enough curation and gate keeping
I think "back in the day" there were gatekeepers, like the group Boston referred to in its 1978 hit "Rock & Roll Band":
Playin' for a week in Rhode Island
A man came to the stage one night
He smoked a big cigar
Drove a Cadillac car
And said "Boys, I think this band's outta sight"
Sign a record company contract
You know I've got great expectations
When I hear you on the car radio
You're goin' to be a sensation!"
The irony is that this never actually happened to the “band” Boston:
Tom Scholz was a Classical trained music child prodigy, who wrote this song in his own basement, on a four track he had built himself. In fact, this is how he wrote and recorded, largely solo, the entire demo tape that got him signed to a record contract as the band “Boston”.
It was classically trained, pure creative talent on one side, and hard nosed gatekeepers who recognized talent on the other side.
Back then, there was a clear separation between the gatekeepers and the content creators.
Nowadays they are more likely to be one in the same. The gatekeepers (producers) nowadays all think they are talented content creators themselves, and the content creators all fancy themselves as business savy producers 🤷♂️
You make a solid argument. Perhaps people are so awash in the vast array of new music - admittedly plenty of shlock out there - that they prefer to stick with timeless classics that passed the high standards of gatekeepers. Boston rocks forever!
But there is great new stuff out there. I wish some of the classic rock stations would dig into newer artists more and turn listeners onto their music.
Personally I don’t listen to nearly the amount of radio I once did.
Thanks, interesting topic (and yes, Boston rocks forever!! As does AC/DC, Grand Funk Railroad, Bachman Turner Overdrive...the list is endless )
Maybe it was the gatekeepers, the curators who stayed in their lanes that made all the difference... 🤷♂️
I can't help but be reminded of this famous quote attributed to the great Hunter S. Thompson on the music industry back in the day:
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
Point taken. Look at Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. They had some great hits about love, peace and understanding. Songs like “Love the One Your With,” “Teach Your Children Well”, “Suite Judy Blue Eyes,” and many more.
Where they went radical and off the rails (I would argue) is more controversial songs like “Ohio,” “Chicago,” and “Almost Cut. Hair,” where former SB resident, David Crosby chants; “Letting my freak flag fly!”
Today, songs and lyrics have less to do about “boy meets girl and falls in love” and more to do about “shooting my landlord!”
CSN&Y sang some pretty anti-establishment stuff but was there any doubt in anyone’s mind that they sang what they meant and meant what they sang??
I don’t even mind if the music and lyrics are vulgar or about “shooting my landlord”…but it has to be “real”. It has to come from the heart. And it also has to be good.
It has to have soul. None of the shit now does. Its all performance art with slick pretty boys and girls singing soulless tunes and lyrics designed to appeal to the masses and flying over the crowd who pay over $1000 a ticket and take selfies to brag to their “friends” on the internet that they were there. It’s crap, and if you grew up in the 60’s-80’s… then you know it’s crap. It’s just art by Ai focus group committee to make as much money as possible from gullible kids who don’t know any better.
I know I sound like an old man who is just ragging on the next generation but I am really not. I liked and agreed with most of what this author, Azel Griswold, had to say. The music thing just triggered me. I feel like whenever someone says something like that I must be living in the Twilight Zone or Bizzarro World or something.
True story, A good friend of mine lives in Russia and sent me a recording of one of his friends live performance of music he had composed, played, sang and starred in. It was all Marxist/Communist shit that my friend knew I was against in every cell of my body. But the music, the music coming out of this guy was glorious! It was a thousand times better than anything I have heard from a Tay-Tay or other contemporary American celebrity musician. It was raw and full of soul and creativity…I was blown away.
To get a sense of it think what it would be like if the only music you have been hearing for years is Taylor Swift and copycats of Taylor Swift and then someone sends you a tape of Eric Clapton performing "Layla"
LT & Eric, I can relate to so much here. Let me introduce you to a band I found a few months ago on You Tube. The Graystones, based in San Jose. They are twelve year olds. This group of kids give me hope for the future.
Fun piece, Mr. Griz. Your novel sounds enjoyable, too. btw, one of my favorite books about Appalachia is Salt Rising Bread by Genevieve Bardwell and Susan Brown. Bardwell owned Rising Creek Bakery in Mount Morris, PA. Hope to read more from you here.
Aw, thank you. May I ask what part of Appalachia you live in? During the decades I was an ex pat Californian living in NYC my husband and I really enjoyed driving south and exploring Appalachia and the South.
SNAP is a large program. Nearly 12 percent of the population receive food assistance benefits.
The poverty rate in the United States is either 10.6 or 12.9 percent, depending on which measure you use, so the scale of food assistance shouldn’t be surprising. And the demographics of SNAP are similar to other American anti-poverty programs: the biggest groups of enrollees are children, the elderly, and the disabled, and the program skews significantly toward single mothers and their kids rather than two-parent households.
It is easy to underrate the fact that the United States is a very rich country — not just in the sense of billionaires or the top 1 percent, but that our median living standards are much higher than in Europe or Asia — and also that it’s a really hard place to be poor.
If you look at living standards in the poorest 10 percent of the population, the bottom decile of Americans is doing worse than the bottom decile of Canadians or Australians or residents of northern Europe.
Its a conundrum that I do not know the answers too.
I am in agreement wit you. With the slight larger emphasis on how is it such a prosperous country can have such issues on this scale? Simplistically the more prosperous the less poverty? Alms for the poor is an ancient tradition. Is the state doing it a step forward when compared to past landed gentry alms? Certainly creating a long term dependancy on state handouts is not the direction to go. Yet helping those in need is what a kind, caring, loving and inclusive society does. It is a fine line as you say. May be I am out of time, but I struggle to see glorifcation in a ballroom being built when the poorest and most needy are being treated so abysmally. (Please, this is not a comment on the need for a new building, just the timing).
Regarding your first paragraph & celebrity opinions. I voted for Reagan in 1980, and his career as an actor didn't influence me. Even though the greats such as "Bedtime for Bonzo" which might have been the peak of his fame. . . until he got into Film politics and then State politics.
But in the late 1970's we had to drive 55 on the freeways. I didn't care about his celebrity, I wanted to drive faster than 55!
‘Some Bones To Pick’ — good work, fun things to gnaw on…The Old English Dictionary includes citations going back to 1561, including “something to occupy one as a bone does a dog; a difficulty to solve; a 'nut to crack'".
A lot of us have been gnawing on bones for quite some time...myself, most of my lifetime. I always knew something was wrong with The World. Great thing is, Trump came along, with proper backing, and now holds all the cards. I've been a skeptic and a "conspiracy theorist" for much of my adult life. The most difficult thing to grasp, the fact that it's 10 times worse than I ever imagined. But, Patriots are in control…Some of my favorite Qs:
How do you capture a very dangerous animal?
Do you attack it from the front?
Do you walk through the front door?
Do you signal ahead of time you will be attacking?
How do you distinguish between good and bad?
Who do you trust to keep secrets?
How do you prevent leaks?
Who do you trust to complete the mission?
What advantages might exist when you know the other sides playbook?
PS, yes, we will see the "Epstein Files", but not until Trump has completely exhausted their use to make the criminals do things they never thought they'd have to do in 100 years (it is now common thought that the Biden Regime dirtied up the files before they scurried out the door).
Why you ask? FEAR! The majority of the minority (GOP, NPPs) lack courage and/or know the consequences of being outed, boycotted, unliked or even hated. Silence is their safety for now until all systems collapse.
The article highlights all the frustrations and complaints many of us feel. I blame the media for not informing the public what is being done to us. Berney
IMO mainstream media is public enemy #1. If we had an honest, productive media, folks would know about all the BS and through strength in numbers would’ve put a quick halt to it.
Exactly right…hard to believe that Team Trump hasn’t exposed the Clowns running the Corporate Media (but it’s a monster pillar when removed)
yes, saw that…Trump’s FAKE NEWS label from the early days has woken many to the 24-hr ‘news’ cycle, the woven narratives that shape the collective consciousness & moved the herd…but, the state-run Corporate Media is on its last legs, can no longer fool the majority, or much of the minority…
https://x.com/rogue_outlaw17/status/1975894867860656206?s=61
Meanwhile, love it when a plan comes together…drip, drip, drip —> Flood!
https://x.com/realslokhova/status/1985499111752417740?s=61
Yep fun piece as Polly states.
At the same time it is chilling to see what is happening because a "handbook" states this is the outcome.
When the outcomes fail after 20 some years isn't it time to tell the authors of fiction it is time to get out of the state OR change your vote.... (now there is something that will create a few ulcers... *laugh*)
Scott, I agree. Two things about Prop 50. I see the Democrats walking right into one of Trump's traps he sets time after time, just as I see the White House rally they're having on November 5th going that way, too. Trump has shown in the last week that the art of the deal wasn't just a catchy title. My problem with Republicans is that, unlike Trump, they don't think ahead to “how do we turn what the Democrats are going to do against them.” Yesterday's SB Current piece was about how everyone needs to vote. Yes, but we've heard that. How about what do we do after Prop 50? And in the midst of this, just as Trump never loses his humor, I think we shouldn't either. The Left has tried to censor satire but has only turned its own loyal humorists into flat jokes themselves — Colbert, SNL … they ain't funny anymore and they're losing their audience.
Bravo! What a fabulous summation article to start off our week the day before ‘The Election’ that will catapult our horrible CA Govenor into position to destroy America. A big shout out of thanks for reminding everyone that we native Californians, along with transplants, passed Prop 187 in 1984, for our subsequent Democrat Gov Gray Davis to refuse to appeal the radical judiciary that cancelled out the wishes of ‘We The Citizens of California’. 1965 forever changed America with entitlement benefits for the middle class, not just the poor. 1984 forever changed California. Is there cause for any hope? I have none as I read Americans seek to elect foreigners, newcomers, to be our leaders whether Mamdani or Steve Hilton. Fools! Yep— our country is in the process of self destruction.
Excellent elce.
Let’s see, a lot to unpack, Griswold. Are you subbing for Eringer? I’ll start with “celebrities” role playing as political pundits.
I took in the show last year at the SB Bowl featuring Neil Young (pushing 80) and figured why not, it might be great hearing some old songs, “Heart of Gold,” “Old Man,” etc. Clearly, what emerged is that Young, playing a solo show, is weird, strange and introverted to say the least. It turned out to be a monumental waste of time and money, listening to Young blabber about whatever, seemed more like a self help, psychoanalysis session than a concert. He obviously feels he’s more important than the fans. At one point, he went off on someone in the crowd for merely requesting a song.
Needless to say, I have no further interest in listening to Young’s views on anything, especially his wacko, lefty, political views.
What amazes me is how the rich and famous actually believe their views matter to anyone. Bruce Springsteen, is a classic example of reading your own press and pretending like people care.
The parity and narcissism of thinking because you can dance, sing, play a Banjo or put a basketball in a hoop makes you suddenly an expert in geopolitical studies is very tiresome.
Elvis Presley had the best response when asked by a pesky reporter about the war in Vietnam. Presley deflected perfectly, and replied (paraphrasing) that “he’s just an entertainer and would rather keep his views to himself.”
https://www.tiktok.com/@tisumso/video/7286547604870090027
Well, hopefully you were at the Neil show in, I think, 2000 at the Bowl. With Donald "DucK" on bass and his wife singing. One of my top three shows at the Bowl.
No Dano, I saw him during his solo, self loathing, narcissism tour.
Thanks Al. Imma go step in front of a bus now. LOL!
I keep thinking that Newsom and minions are engaged in a larger plan for a Ca secession. There is just too much cash MIA, when one looks into some of the fund(s) diversions that have gone on during his reign.
Who knew this Getty affiliate would be able to wreak so much havoc? Oh wait. That is right. Even Gov Brown warned Californians.
Thanks David. I think a bus might bounce off you! To anyone not sipping the dark DNC brew, it seems obvious that there is an obfuscated agenda at play. Unpatriotic for sure. Passage of Prop 50 worsens things. They only overturn the initiatives that actually would help CA.
I'm with you Azel on your observations with regards to the popular, so-called bleeding-heart characters that float by me from time to time on the screen. I just accept them for who they are and figure nobody is going to change their point of view and listen/watch them without thinking about their liberal minds. More troubling is all the corruption surrounding us by jawboning politicians located in city/county, state and federal government. Evil surrounds us and that's the most disturbing.
Outnumbered! We await confirmation tomorrow. Wouldn’t you like to know who is who in your neighborhood, workplace, church or club? I really really really want the updated comprehensive list of registered voters — the who’s who to be made public! CAGOP, SBRCC and candidates have these lists. Any of us can buy from Political Data in Redondo Beach but the cost is out of my reach. Such a list is helpful to enable us to text, mail, call other registered voters. We will continue to lose elections until such info is made available.
In Florida, I can quickly upload such a list. In Miami when I enter a high rise building where I know no one, I have a quick reference.
When I meet a resident in the lobby coffee shop or poolside, I ask what unit is yours? They reply. I unobtrusively pull up their profile on my phone: citizen or non; democrat, republican, no party preference, or whatever; high or low primary or general election propensity voter of each person in household. Great conversations follow! I learn much.
How can we influence NPPs or even Republicans when we don’t know who’s who?
Speaking about who is what, I found it interesting here in Dalton, Ga it took me a while to figure out what Party affiliation our current mayor belonged to! In Santa Barbara, it was an easy task and well publicized, but here in Dalton apparently some politicians avoid talking about any party affiliation! I even sent the "to be" mayor for this info, and I had no response. I was able to eventually discover she was a Republican. Regardless, I found it fascinating a public official avoided mentioning her party. Her name is Annalee Sams, Dalton's first female mayor.
Sorry, can't lie, music today sucks.
I grew up in the 60's, 70's and 80's and none of the slick pretty boys and girls performance art today can even come close to a Beatles, Hendrix, Queen, Stones, Zeppelin, Tom Petty, Skynard...the list is long.
This is objective truth. It's obvious and undeniable. Why would you say differently?
Don't believe me? Go anywhere public and listen to what is playing.
I'll wait....
The worst part is that it's not just the music, it's art, architecture, movies, sculpture, dance, science, political discourse...everything.
It's like some demonic force took over around 2000 and sucked all the truly creative people out of the world and are trying to get us to lie about it.
I agree with you that much of our cultural entertainment has gone down the crapper.
I absolutely dig the music from the artists you mention. However, there is so much stellar new music being made that It might be a question of access. When I left CA, stations such as KTYD and KLOS were pretty much playing older classic rock. I would listen to 88.5 KCSN and KROQ to discover new artists I like and add their music to my iTunes library. There is a wide variety of quality new music out there that is likely not getting the attention it deserves. There is a good alt rock station here, WTSQ, which plays an amazing assortment of new artists. The app “Simple Radio” lets a listener tune in to pretty much any station on the phone. I can look up the artists with whom I am not familiar.
I understand what you are saying but not so sure. Is not access bigger and cheaper today than ever in history? Maybe that's the problem these days. Too much access, not enough curation and gate keeping
I think "back in the day" there were gatekeepers, like the group Boston referred to in its 1978 hit "Rock & Roll Band":
Playin' for a week in Rhode Island
A man came to the stage one night
He smoked a big cigar
Drove a Cadillac car
And said "Boys, I think this band's outta sight"
Sign a record company contract
You know I've got great expectations
When I hear you on the car radio
You're goin' to be a sensation!"
The irony is that this never actually happened to the “band” Boston:
Tom Scholz was a Classical trained music child prodigy, who wrote this song in his own basement, on a four track he had built himself. In fact, this is how he wrote and recorded, largely solo, the entire demo tape that got him signed to a record contract as the band “Boston”.
It was classically trained, pure creative talent on one side, and hard nosed gatekeepers who recognized talent on the other side.
Back then, there was a clear separation between the gatekeepers and the content creators.
Nowadays they are more likely to be one in the same. The gatekeepers (producers) nowadays all think they are talented content creators themselves, and the content creators all fancy themselves as business savy producers 🤷♂️
You make a solid argument. Perhaps people are so awash in the vast array of new music - admittedly plenty of shlock out there - that they prefer to stick with timeless classics that passed the high standards of gatekeepers. Boston rocks forever!
But there is great new stuff out there. I wish some of the classic rock stations would dig into newer artists more and turn listeners onto their music.
Personally I don’t listen to nearly the amount of radio I once did.
Thanks, interesting topic (and yes, Boston rocks forever!! As does AC/DC, Grand Funk Railroad, Bachman Turner Overdrive...the list is endless )
Maybe it was the gatekeepers, the curators who stayed in their lanes that made all the difference... 🤷♂️
I can't help but be reminded of this famous quote attributed to the great Hunter S. Thompson on the music industry back in the day:
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
~Hunter S. Thompson
🤣🤷♂️
Point taken. Look at Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. They had some great hits about love, peace and understanding. Songs like “Love the One Your With,” “Teach Your Children Well”, “Suite Judy Blue Eyes,” and many more.
Where they went radical and off the rails (I would argue) is more controversial songs like “Ohio,” “Chicago,” and “Almost Cut. Hair,” where former SB resident, David Crosby chants; “Letting my freak flag fly!”
Today, songs and lyrics have less to do about “boy meets girl and falls in love” and more to do about “shooting my landlord!”
It’s so sad…
CSN&Y sang some pretty anti-establishment stuff but was there any doubt in anyone’s mind that they sang what they meant and meant what they sang??
I don’t even mind if the music and lyrics are vulgar or about “shooting my landlord”…but it has to be “real”. It has to come from the heart. And it also has to be good.
It has to have soul. None of the shit now does. Its all performance art with slick pretty boys and girls singing soulless tunes and lyrics designed to appeal to the masses and flying over the crowd who pay over $1000 a ticket and take selfies to brag to their “friends” on the internet that they were there. It’s crap, and if you grew up in the 60’s-80’s… then you know it’s crap. It’s just art by Ai focus group committee to make as much money as possible from gullible kids who don’t know any better.
I know I sound like an old man who is just ragging on the next generation but I am really not. I liked and agreed with most of what this author, Azel Griswold, had to say. The music thing just triggered me. I feel like whenever someone says something like that I must be living in the Twilight Zone or Bizzarro World or something.
True story, A good friend of mine lives in Russia and sent me a recording of one of his friends live performance of music he had composed, played, sang and starred in. It was all Marxist/Communist shit that my friend knew I was against in every cell of my body. But the music, the music coming out of this guy was glorious! It was a thousand times better than anything I have heard from a Tay-Tay or other contemporary American celebrity musician. It was raw and full of soul and creativity…I was blown away.
To get a sense of it think what it would be like if the only music you have been hearing for years is Taylor Swift and copycats of Taylor Swift and then someone sends you a tape of Eric Clapton performing "Layla"
LT & Eric, I can relate to so much here. Let me introduce you to a band I found a few months ago on You Tube. The Graystones, based in San Jose. They are twelve year olds. This group of kids give me hope for the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGWTKRRjKNA
Fun piece, Mr. Griz. Your novel sounds enjoyable, too. btw, one of my favorite books about Appalachia is Salt Rising Bread by Genevieve Bardwell and Susan Brown. Bardwell owned Rising Creek Bakery in Mount Morris, PA. Hope to read more from you here.
Thanks Polly. That’s high praise coming from you!
Aw, thank you. May I ask what part of Appalachia you live in? During the decades I was an ex pat Californian living in NYC my husband and I really enjoyed driving south and exploring Appalachia and the South.
Hear, hear!
SNAP is a large program. Nearly 12 percent of the population receive food assistance benefits.
The poverty rate in the United States is either 10.6 or 12.9 percent, depending on which measure you use, so the scale of food assistance shouldn’t be surprising. And the demographics of SNAP are similar to other American anti-poverty programs: the biggest groups of enrollees are children, the elderly, and the disabled, and the program skews significantly toward single mothers and their kids rather than two-parent households.
It is easy to underrate the fact that the United States is a very rich country — not just in the sense of billionaires or the top 1 percent, but that our median living standards are much higher than in Europe or Asia — and also that it’s a really hard place to be poor.
If you look at living standards in the poorest 10 percent of the population, the bottom decile of Americans is doing worse than the bottom decile of Canadians or Australians or residents of northern Europe.
Its a conundrum that I do not know the answers too.
Elce
I am in agreement wit you. With the slight larger emphasis on how is it such a prosperous country can have such issues on this scale? Simplistically the more prosperous the less poverty? Alms for the poor is an ancient tradition. Is the state doing it a step forward when compared to past landed gentry alms? Certainly creating a long term dependancy on state handouts is not the direction to go. Yet helping those in need is what a kind, caring, loving and inclusive society does. It is a fine line as you say. May be I am out of time, but I struggle to see glorifcation in a ballroom being built when the poorest and most needy are being treated so abysmally. (Please, this is not a comment on the need for a new building, just the timing).
Sharing the obvious. Keep talking because some folks haven’t heard this stuff before.
Who the hell is Greta Van Fleet?
Regarding your first paragraph & celebrity opinions. I voted for Reagan in 1980, and his career as an actor didn't influence me. Even though the greats such as "Bedtime for Bonzo" which might have been the peak of his fame. . . until he got into Film politics and then State politics.
But in the late 1970's we had to drive 55 on the freeways. I didn't care about his celebrity, I wanted to drive faster than 55!
Voting based on celebrity doesn't surprise me.
‘Some Bones To Pick’ — good work, fun things to gnaw on…The Old English Dictionary includes citations going back to 1561, including “something to occupy one as a bone does a dog; a difficulty to solve; a 'nut to crack'".
A lot of us have been gnawing on bones for quite some time...myself, most of my lifetime. I always knew something was wrong with The World. Great thing is, Trump came along, with proper backing, and now holds all the cards. I've been a skeptic and a "conspiracy theorist" for much of my adult life. The most difficult thing to grasp, the fact that it's 10 times worse than I ever imagined. But, Patriots are in control…Some of my favorite Qs:
How do you capture a very dangerous animal?
Do you attack it from the front?
Do you walk through the front door?
Do you signal ahead of time you will be attacking?
How do you distinguish between good and bad?
Who do you trust to keep secrets?
How do you prevent leaks?
Who do you trust to complete the mission?
What advantages might exist when you know the other sides playbook?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trap
PS, yes, we will see the "Epstein Files", but not until Trump has completely exhausted their use to make the criminals do things they never thought they'd have to do in 100 years (it is now common thought that the Biden Regime dirtied up the files before they scurried out the door).
What a time to be alive!
Well those are a lot of bones to read about from a big chicken. Scheff!
Why you ask? FEAR! The majority of the minority (GOP, NPPs) lack courage and/or know the consequences of being outed, boycotted, unliked or even hated. Silence is their safety for now until all systems collapse.