Literally speaking. . .

. . . The execution squads would have to work overtime to keep up with the number of texts from the Bible that call for the death penalty. Violating the Sabbath (Exod. 35:2), cursing (Lev. 24:13-14) and blaspheming (Lev. 24:16) are among them. Such judgments would fall most heavily on athletic locker rooms used in preparation for Saturday or Sunday football games! But of course no one should be playing football anyway, for Leviticus also prohibits touching anything made of pigskin (Lev. 11:7-8)! Perhaps this great American fall sport should be played with rubber gloves! Even stubborn and rebellious children are at risk of capital punishment, according to the Bible. If children do not obey their parents, if they overseat or drink too much, they are to be stoned at the gates of the city (Deut. 21:18-21). That is a bit stricter than even right-wing biblical moralists and ideologues care to go. Yet if one wishes to search the scriptures sufficiently, this rather bizarre list of texts can be expanded almost endlessly. . . "

(from The Sins of the Scripture, by John Shelby Spong
©2005 John Shelby Spong)





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Just watched. . .

. . . WAIT UNTIL DARK. You know, the suspense/thriller with Audrey Hepburn, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Jack Weston, Richard Crenna (remember Dr. Kildaire? What do you get when you combine Kildaire and Ben Casey? A Pair-a-docs! [Alan Sherman]) and the great Alan Arkin.

Wonderful film. Very suspenseful. Efrem Zimbalist's and Audrey Hepburn's characters are a couple, she who has recently become blind and he, a photographer who is going to great pains to help her adjust to her new, much darker (visually) world. In his efforts (which resemble those of parents attempting to lure their youngsters from moaning, pointing and shaking heads to speaking as a form of communication) to teach her to be independent by not jumping to assist, fetch or otherwise cater to her newly acquired handicap, he sounds as if he is training a dog. "You can do it. Over there. To your left. You can find it."

It's all well and good during the expositional sequences of the film. But after poor Audrey's character suffers the deceitful antics of the 'bad guys' pouring on the the insinuations of infidelity and dishonesty on the part of her dear (dog-trainer) Zimbalist, Arkin has a final, intense scene where he is out-done by the heroine. She ends up, upon the arrival of her heretofore, otherwise engaged-in-business husband, crouched, sniveling behind the open refrigerator door while her antagonist lay bleeding on the floor after her stabbing him after his final, desperate attempt to kill her. And when her 'dearest' arrives and at first thinks she has either fled the scene or is lying dead somewhere, unseen within the apartment, she emerges, ex-refrigerator, and he in his blessed relief and undying gratitude for her unexpected and miraculous safety, says something to the effect of, ". . . over here. You can do it. I'm over here. C'mon over here. I know you can." [paraphrasing, of course]

Somehow, the conclusion of this edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller was rendered comic to me as a result of Efrem Zimbalist's character being so narrowly dogged-cum-insensitive to what must have transpired during his absence, in his single-minded insistence to 'train' Audrey to cope with the world in her still-uncomfortable blindness instead of simply running to her IMMEDIATELY to comfort her and express his happiness for her deliverance from this horrible situation.

I laughed for half an hour! [My wife said, "I'm going to bed."]




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Monkey see . . .

. . . and monkey do
The little monkey looks an awful lot like you

Everybody's seen
The little monkeys in the zoo
And we've all been
In situations where we
Do what we know isn't right
So we follow
And try to do it their way
Can't risk our reputation
And in our heads
We hear our Mothers say

Monkey see and monkey do
The little monkey looks an awful lot like you

Every monkey knows
that what the other monkeys think
Matters the most
If we're not thirsty
We'll still drink
If they would tell us to
Run in circles
And jump through hoops of fire
We couldn't jump much higher
And there's a voice that's ringing
In our ears

Monkey see and monkey do
The little monkey looks an awful lot like you

Monkey is a social animal
Not a predator or cannibal
Wondrous thing is sociability
Life is so much more
Than just one great big cocktail party

Monkeys know the game
Just one good double-dare
Can redirect the blame
For anything that they may do
I can't just turn away
Something pulls me
In closer to the fire
I can't explain about it
They'd think there's
Something wrong if I would say

Monkey see and monkey do
The little monkey looks an awful lot like you

MONKEY SEE
©1996 Raymond M. Jozwiak


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Here we go. . .

. . . again.

Is this the same ole same ole OR WHAT???!!!!

(from MSNBC)
. . . Perry said, "Mitt, while you were the governor of Massachusetts ... you were 47th in the nation in job creation," Perry said in a challenge to Romney's economic credentials. "What we need is somebody who can draw a bright line between themselves and President Obama, and let me tell you one thing: I will draw that bright contrast."

Romney responded by dredging up Perry's work as a young Texas politician in support of Al Gore's 1988 presidential campaign.

"With regard to track record and the past, governor, you were the chairman of Al Gore's campaign. And there was a fellow Texan named George Bush running," Romney said. "So if we're looking at the past, I think we know where you were."

(The non-partisan Politifact determined that Perry was not Gore's campaign chairman, but rather, simply a single supporter.)

The showdown between Romney and Perry was, in some respects, the one that political observers had hoped for since Perry entered the race in mid-August. The Texas governor overtook Romney, the campaign's putative frontrunner, in the polls, but has seen his numbers decline since then. . .




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That takes a lot of brass. . .

. . . and ALSO in October (11th, 1941), Joe's brother Lester was born in the historic village of Bartonsville in Frederick, Maryland, Bowie grew up in St Louis, Missouri. At the age of five he started studying the trumpet with his father, a professional musician. He played with blues musicians such as Little Milton and Albert King, and rhythm and blues stars such as Solomon Burke, Joe Tex, and Rufus Thomas. In 1965, he became Fontella Bass's musical director and husband. He was a co-founder of Black Artists Group (BAG) in St Louis.

In 1966, he moved to Chicago, where he worked as a studio musician, and met Muhal Richard Abrams and Roscoe Mitchell and became a member of the AACM. In 1968, he founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago with Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, and Malachi Favors. He remained a member of this group for the rest of his life, and was also a member of Jack DeJohnette's New Directions quartet. He lived and worked in Jamaica and Africa, and played and recorded with Fela Kuti. Bowie's onstage appearance, in a white lab coat, with his goatee waxed into two points, was an important part of the Art Ensemble's stage show.

In 1984, he formed Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy, a brass nonet in which Bowie demonstrated jazz's links to other forms of popular music, a decidedly more populist approach than that of the Art Ensemble. With this group he recorded songs made popular by Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Manson, and the Spice Girls, along with more "serious" material. His New York Organ Ensemble featured James Carter and Amina Claudine Myers. (from Wikipedia.com)




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Leaves also fall in October. . .

. . . but musically speaking, Joseph Bowie, the youngest member of the Bowie musician family, began is career in St. Louis, Missouri where he was born October 17, 1953 and raised by his father William Lester Bowie, Sr. & mother Earxie L. Bowie. Joseph’s father was a music teacher and he was greatly influenced by his older brothers Byron (saxophonist & arranger) and older brother Lester, internationally acclaimed jazz trumpeter.

Joe made his first international tour with B.A.G, in 1971 with Oliver Lake, Baikida Carroll, Bobo Shaw, Floyd Leflore & Julius Hemphill moved to Paris to begin his his first major tour with a jazz ensemble. During this time in Paris, Joe worked with other jazz notables; Alan Silva, Frank Wright, Bobby Few and others. He also worked with Dr. John in Montreaux in 1973.

In 1973, Joseph with drummer Charles Bobo Shaw moved to New York City and with the help of Ellen Stuart of La Mama Experimental Theater Group extablished the La Mama children’s theater on the lower east side of NYC. During this period 1973-76 Joe collaborated and performed with Cecil Taylor, Human Arts Ensemble,Leroy Jenkins, Stanley Cowell, Sam Rivers, Ornette Coleman & many more jazz personalities in New York at that time. Joseph became a notable member of the new jazz community in NY. In 1976 he moved briefly to Chicago where he became a Rhythm & Blues specialist, leading bands for Tyrone Davis and other R& B artists. Returning to NYC in 1978 Joseph began working with Punk/funk artist James Chance and soon became a fixture on the new wave scene in NY. Defunkt was born during that time. During the next 25 years, Defunkt has recorded 15 CD’s and Joseph has become a funk officianado throughout the world collaborating with funk entities such as Dave Doran, Sigi finkel, Wolf Wolf, Jean -Paul Bourelly. (from http://www.allaboutjazz.com)




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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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