This is why . . .

. . . I think the media fails us. . .


Originating with (who else?) the Wall Street Journal
and relayed courtesy of (who else?) MSNBC

"Wages have dropped and won't catch up until 2021
How's this for the New Normal?

Our income has fallen since the new millennium began and it isn't expected to catch up until 2021, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of economists' forecasts.

And in bad news for students, not even a college degree is going to help much, some of the 50 economists surveyed believe. Only people with advanced degrees will see any meaningful increase in their standard of living.

The current generation of college graduates will only see a higher standard of living if "they get graduate degrees and are willing to give up a lot of free time," Diane Swonk of Mesirow Financial told the Wall Street Journal. . . "

Sure. They attempted to portray a 'brighter side' at the end, some drivel about the next generation being wealthier than their parents. But I was already bummed once I finished the first part. Who gives a FF about this survey of these economists. (and back to the media) Our dear WSJ and MSNBC friends have already planted the seed irrespective of the lack of weight this one survey and these few economists wield.

Then, fueled by our fascination with the wealthy, beautiful, shallow glitterati (which was born of and is suckled by (guess who!) the MEDIA. . .

Courtesy again of MSNBC (of what would I bitch if not for them?!)
". . . The highest paid “bankster” is Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, who comes in 12th at $42 million, while Larry Fink of BlackRock is 16th at $39.9 million. Goldman Sachs‘ Lloyd Blankfein is way down at $21.7 million.

Many other bank chiefs are also below the S&P 500 CEO average — which for 2010 was $12 million, down 20 percent from 2007 levels. Bank of America‘s Brian Moynihan and Citigroup‘s Vikram Pandit are barely worth agitating against at $2.3 million and $1.3 million, respectively.

ObamaCare could end up helping three of the top-10 improve their lot in years to come. The top spot goes to John Hammergren of McKesson, the largest distributor of both pharmaceuticals and health care I.T. systems. It’s thought to be in a good position to benefit from President Obama’s health care overhaul. With compensation of $131 million this year (most of it from exercising stock options), Hammergren won’t have to worry about waiting in line to see a doctor. Same goes for George Paz (fifth place at $51.5 million), who runs prescription drug distributor ExpressScripts as well as Stephen Hemsley (eighth place at $48.8) of UnitedHealth Group. . ."

I say, "Have at 'em, Occupy Wallstreeters!" Hopefully they (and we who care) will accomplish something. Just give me a call if I can help.

(Pardon me. I must be off to therapy now.)





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Ah, back when we were. . .

. . . all young and relatively carefree, and more frequently than was wise, a gig would turn into a party. . . for the band. Jay remarked more than thirty years later that the band consisted entirely of alcoholics, with the exception of me. In truth I had my moments, but never drank beyond reason during a paying gig, at least that's MY story. One such gig ended badly and practically in fisticuffs. A four-hour was broken-down into time increments as follows. We performed for about one hour, took a twenty-minute break, performed forty minutes repeating the last scheme for the remaining two hours. During this particular job we somehow, and I'm not sure if it began with the first break or later, we simply extended the breaks so that they exceeded, or practically exceeded the actual performance time. At the end, the gentleman with whom we contracted (our contracting was exclusively verbal) did not let our lapse of professionalism go unnoticed. In fact, he wanted to withhold our payment in its entirety. A first, and fortunately for us and future paying customers, a last. We somehow escaped the situation unharmed and if I'm not mistaken, still compensated. Another engagement involved continuous bickering between Greg (sax/vocals) and Jeff (drums) and numerous threats to resign from the organization, all due to excessive imbibing.

NIGHT TRAIN (written by Jimmy Forrest/performed by Ful Treatment circa 1976)



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Talk about 'Gonzo'. . .

. . . sixty four years ago this month a little-known eccentric, introverted pianist walked into the young Blue Note record label's New York studios to make his first solo recordings.

Thelonious Monk may not have been officially or popularly described as 'Gonzo', but what better descriptive to convey the esoteric, cerebral, attractive and (some say) sexy music that he conceived and performed. Monk and Duke Ellington hold the distinction of being the 'most recorded' of jazz composers. Ellington's compositions numbered about 1,000. Monk wrote 70 tunes. Truly an original, even the beret and sunglasses of the beboppers' wardrobe were originated by Monk.

From Wikipedia. . . "At the time of his signing to Riverside, Monk was highly regarded by his peers and by some critics, but his records did not sell in significant numbers, and his music was still regarded as too "difficult" for mass-market acceptance. Indeed, with Monk's consent, Riverside had managed to buy out his previous Prestige contract for a mere $108.24. He willingly recorded two albums of jazz standards as a means of increasing his profile. The first of these, Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington, featuring bass innovator Oscar Pettiford and drummer Kenny Clarke, included Ellington pieces "Caravan" and "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)".

On the 1956 LP Brilliant Corners, Monk recorded his own music. The complex title track, which featured tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, was so difficult to play that the final version had to be edited together from multiple takes. The album, however, was largely regarded as the first success for Monk; according to Orrin Keepnews, "It was the first that made a real splash.""

Monk was one of my original portals into bebop and jazz. The reason, I now think after many years of additional perspective, that his music compelled me so, was what I perceived to be its similarity to much of the progressive, 'art' rock in which I was so interested at the time, with it's unusual angles, unique accents, unbounded energy, incessant rhythm and sheer magnetism. Truly great music.




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Or would you rather be. . .

. . . a giraffe?

(from mentalfloss.com)
"The male giraffe determines a female's fertility by tasting her urine. If it passes the taste test, the courtship continues."

Or would you rather be a mule?
A mule is an animal with long, funny ears
He kicks up at anything he hears
His back is brawny and his brain is weak
He's just plain stupid with a stubborn streak
And, by the way, if you hate to go to school
You may grow up to be a mule

Or would you like to swing on a star?
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
And be better off than you are?
Or would you rather be a pig?

A pig is an animal with dirt on his face
His shoes are a terrible disgrace
He's got no manners when he eats his food
He's fat and lazy and extremely rude
But if you don't care a feather or a fig
You may grow up to be a pig

Or would you rather be a fish?
A fish won't do anything but swim in a brook
He can't write his name or read a book
To fool all the people is his only thought
Though he's slippery, he still gets caught
But then if that sort of life is what you wish
You may grow up to be a fish

And all the monkeys aren't in a zoo
Every day you meet quite a few
So you see, it's all up to you
You can be better than you are

You could be swingin' on a star

[by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen,
controlled by Music Sales Group
and the Bourne company]

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_the_song_Swinging_on_a_Star_copyright_free#ixzz1ad7tQi5c





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In your neighborhood right now. . .

. . . failed jobs bill; political posturing, hunger in Somalia, assassination plots, inaction in Congress, youth protesting Wall Street and the astronomically rich, debating dittoheads, domestic violence, bombings in Baghdad, hurricanes in Mexico, computer hacking, former European PMs going to jail, radical tax plan from a Republican, Tigers beating Texas. . .

How about a song?



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Rockin' circa 1975 . . .

Charisma must have run in Jeff and Jay's family, as Jay possessed possibly even more of it than his younger, drummer brother. Jay somehow was more in control of the charisma with a certain maturity added to it, along with additional self-confidence that may have been attributable to his age or possibly to a more balanced chemical composition. Similar as they would appear to be from my description here, they were actually quite different from each other in reality. But the musical combination radically changed the performances of Ful Treatment much for the better. Jay rocked. [And still does, by the way.] And following his lead, Ful Treatment rocked as well, at least on some of our repertoire, which at the time included 'You Really Got Me', 'Wild Thing', 'Needles and Pins' 'Twist and Shout', 'Hello It's Me' and 'Heat Wave'




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Now's the time. . .

. . . for a smart and savvy politician to step up and say, "These Wall Street protesters are correct" - Simply because THEY ARE. I don't think many people would argue that the housing bubble-burst and the financial meltdown were the result of excessive GREED on the part of those in a position to exhibit increasingly large amounts of GREED - OOOORRRR - show some RESTRAINT with regards to their POCKETBOOKS and simply accept a SMALLER PROFIT (or at least remain satisfied to cover costs) IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE NATION!!

from WBAL-TV, Baltimore...
"President Barack Obama discussed the growing movement, saying demonstrators "are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works."

Speaking at a White House news conference, Obama also defended the country's financial sector, which has taken the brunt of protesters' criticism, focusing on Wall Street and its regulators' purported role in expanding economic disparities.

"We have to have a strong, effective financial sector in order for us to grow," the president said.

Still, Obama discussed a need to pursue action aimed at improving government oversight and blamed Republican lawmakers for obstructing financial reforms.

Friday marked the 21st day of the grass-roots Wall Street protests.

Demonstrations have erupted in more than a dozen cities throughout the week, ranging from thousands who marched in lower Manhattan Wednesday after receiving support from local unions, to the dozens of college students who staged walkouts at various college campuses.

The movement started in New York and some of the protests there have been marred by scuffles with police.

New York authorities set up at least one vehicle checkpoint as police appeared in larger numbers throughout the financial district Thursday and established a perimeter around Zuccotti Park, which is considered a rallying point for the largely leaderless movement in that city.

"We hope that our message continues to resonate with everyone who has felt disenfranchised by the current state of our country," said Tyler Combelic, a spokesman for the Occupy Wall Street group."




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