Denial can be a useful coping mechanism, but when taken to an extreme it just gets sad.
People living in the middle east are dumbfounded at the ability of Americans to convince themselves that we actually have a moral high ground when talking about Russia's war in Ukraine.
This is a clip of the documentary Zeitgeist. This segment explains the connection of religion and the movement of the heavens.
The film's first segment, 28-minutes in duration, is unparalleled in its succinct yet potent discussion of religion, and its relation to history and current culture. Splendid narration, background music, and visuals make this segment spellbinding. But more importantly, the message is factual and nothing short of profound.
Afternoon folks!
I have a bunch of good stuff for you this weekend. There's a double-album compilation of John Mayall recordings which youtube inexplicably split the playlist in two. There's an Elmore James compilation album with some great stuff on it, a bluegrass album by Country Gazette and another album by Doc & Merle Watson, the latter of which I'll be adding one last track to late Saturday night when youtube says I can.
Enjoy!
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso
As we watch avenues for social commentary and protest opportunities become more restricted are there other possibilities if these disappear. Fiction has been used successfully in the past, often the stories end up as traditional childhood tales. Not sure if an attempt to teach future generations or to trivialize the message.
Last week we looked at The Wizard of Oz as an allegory for the financial system. Mother Goose rhymes became popular in the 17th century as alternative commentary for English government and Royalty. The 1800's was Charles Dickens writings on plight of the poor. The tipping point was in 1843 the publication of The Christmas Carol.
Watching so many variation in film has made it part of the invisible background of our culture. It become simply another version of be nice at Christmas. Never actually read the original. After watching this Townsends video on the changes in English and American society after its publication it is one the reading list. Along with American Notes for General Circulation by Dickens. The book was a little too critical of America and sales of his books plummeted after its publication.
Happy Friday everyone. As always, post any photos you like.
On Monday the bird watching group I belong to had it's monthly outing at Lake Murray. During our 2 hour walk we saw or heard 33 different species of birds. I even managed to get a few good shots.
Inflation is becoming the top political/economic issue in the country.
Like any issue that actually matters, there's more misinformation than anything else. Republicans want to blame poor people and Biden for the inflation.
Hey folks, remember the Weekly Reader? If I recall correctly it was issued every week in grade school. My recollections are from the 1960s. I tried to find an archive on the net to no avail so I'll have to rely on memory.
I don't remember much about the content but I do remember some of the predictions it made.
