Rants, Muses, Books & Music (and Some Cooking Too).

It's good to see you. Come on in, leave your shoes in the hallway, we've got fire on the stove preparing lunch for later. In the meantime, browse the bookshelves and plunk down on the sofa with one, or pick out some tunes from the music library or come in to the kitchen to help with the cooking. Our special blend of tea is steeping and will be right up.

Make yourself at home...

On Sunday morning there was a knock at our apartment door. I looked through the peep hole and there was a bearded guy with his hair pulled back, a younger guy kind of hipster/hippie-ish looking. I opened the door. Standing off to his right and slightly down on the steps leading up to our door was a smiling black guy with a purple campaign shirt on. They were obviously canvassing. I like these kinds of solicitations.

"We're here on behalf of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's campaign for Congress. She's running against Joe Crowley in your district. Are you familiar with him?" Said I: "Yeah, he's a carpetbagger Democrat who really lives in Virginia." Smiles all around.

They said they were part of Brand New Democrats and Justice Democrats. And were there to register people to in 2018 primary, in which they said you must be registered as a Democrat by October 2017 ( a full 13 months before!) in order to be eligible to vote. That opened up the conversation even more so. I began to point to various fraudulent aspects of such a prohibitive, non-inclusive system, starting with this obvious farce, and reminding them of the debacle in which the Dems used this canard of such early deadlines, to keep voters who had become enthusiastic about Bernie just months prior to the election from participating (on top of which they also purged and suppressed voters, and finally altered the vote counts to foist their highly disliked and not-trusted establishment candidate on the voting public). I said after Bernie was cheated I have no faith in electoral politics. They nodded along. One said he voted for Jill Stein. I told them I did too, and that I also did the #DemExit.

They talked about their candidate, who I have not heard of, as having a very progressive platform. It included Universal healthcare, fixing the criminal justice system, and 100% renewable energy system within 10 years. It all sounded encouraging to me and a sure antidote to the current Neoliberal carpetbagger, and I said they could have my email to keep in touch.

I found it impressive that these two canvassers, each having answered the call to two different tactical movements that arose from the embers of the 2016 Primary, were out canvassing together, in my area, and, so far out from the election. When we were leaving the house a half hour later or so we ran into them again in front of our place, but this time they were joined by another woman canvasser. Then, on our way down the block in the car we saw that some more folks in purple campaign shirts had set up a table just inside one of the corner entrances to the park. Pretty cool that these folks are going for it, I thought. As if that wasn't enough, one block later we were turning the corner and I saw another guy canvassing, headed up to knock on yet another door! It was almost surreal.

I've got to admit: I found myself feeling impressed with just how well they blanketed my neighborhood. It reminded me of canvassing for Bernie in March/April last year. There were so many of us out in the neighborhoods, that I remember canvassing one side of a street while another guy was across the street coming from the other end, only to turn the corner and catch a glance of another canvasser. In the end, the DNC either couldn't or didn't feel that had to fudge the numbers for our electoral district, and the tally here went for Bernie, one of a very few to go into his column in NYC (don't even get me started).

Guess I can't help it. Having been in those shoes enough times, I'm partial to these encounters with canvassers. Any time one can have a respectful, informed and impassioned exchange, as I had with these canvassers, it leaves all involved with a sense of hope. I know what it's like to drag yourself out, with other strangers but who are like-minded, to an unfamiliar place on a hot day to knock on people's doors who probably don't want anything to do with you. It takes commitment and fortitude.

The jury is still out for me on Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress (Our Revolution, at least from what I saw of it locally, was a joke to me). I may no longer believe in change through the current electoral system as it stands today, but it was good to see folks out doing something.

Was reading the comments on Lee Camp's masterful and thorough takedown of NY Times author who wrote a pathetic hit-piece on him at Naked Capitalism. As usual on a good site (or even on YouTube these days if it's a progressive topic and it hasn't gotten a lot of eyes yet), there is plenty of good information to be mined.

Such was the case when coming upon a comment there that included this eye-opening article written by a Swedish journalist named Johannes Wahlström, called "Obituary for the New York Times" . He's also a filmmaker who directed "Mediastan," a 2013 documentary film about the 2010 United States diplomatic cables leak, which was also co-produced by Julian Assange.

He describes being given entry to the 50th floor, which he explained was the "company headquarters, instead of newspaper, because this part of the building was accessible only through a separate elevator-system and was strictly off-limits for the regular New York Times reporters."

...as I would soon realize, the upper levels of the New York Times building was a place where a variety of important political decisions were negotiated and taken. A space, ironically, very far from scrutiny of the public eye.

The walls of the meeting-room were I sat down with Bill Keller and Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. were adorned by signed portraits of important people that had visited this off-limits place. The editor at the company proudly explained that this was the “Hall of Fame”, and that The New York Times was like an embassy for important people from across the world.

If that sounds innocuous enough, that Heads of State and such would come to speak with the heads of the Times, well, get ready for this:

At that point in time The New York Times was still considered perhaps the most important publication in the world, and what it wrote was thought to have a direct impact on the life and death of nations. Because of this, many powerful people would put a lot of effort and money into gaining preferable coverage from The New York Times. These floors, Bill Keller told me, was where the proprietor and the editors of the newspaper would meet with and negotiate deals with powerful visitors.

Here's the doozy:

Bill Keller spoke of how he successfully negotiated to freeze the NSA warrantless wiretapping-story uncovered by Eric Lichtblau for two years until after the re-election of George W Bush. This top-floor was also where the Iraq WMD evidence was concocted with the help of the Pentagon and handed to reporter Judith Miller to pen, later letting her hang when the wind changed. This, Keller also told me, was where the CIA and State Department officials were invited to take part in daily editorial meetings when State Department Cables were published by WikiLeaks. I would personally witness how this was the place where Sulzberger himself oversaw the re-election coverage of president Obama. And this was much later where the main tax-evaders of the US would make their cases so that the Panama Papers on their tax records would never reach the public eye (which at the time of writing, they have yet to be).

As a Swedish journalist, educated in large part on Anglo-Saxon literature, I had together with many of my peers seen The New York Times as a guiding star in standards of journalism. Its feat in publishing the Pentagon Papers- the proof that the United States had fabricated the reasons for going to war with Vietnam- was something that we read about in school, and it inspired me to want to work in the profession and uncover the dirty deals of my own government. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the very same paper had these special floors, off-limits to journalists, where the dodgiest deals with the dodgiest figures were being brokered, and that the heads of this newspaper were not even embarrassed about it. Rather, quite the contrary, they seemed to gloat.

After meeting with Keller and Sulzberger at The New York Times, I felt a heavy sense of sadness about what I had witnessed. I felt sad for the staff of the newspaper, many of whom had gone through great risks for their profession and their audience. I felt sad for my generation of journalists who had been robbed of a role-model in journalism. And I felt sad for the American readers, many of whom still had no idea of what was happening on the top floors of The New York Times Building on 8th Avenue.

Holy. Shit.

Straight-up influence peddlers, Kingmakers, and brazen about. All happening on this clandestine 5Oth floor, at "company headquarters," where most of the newspaper "company" employees are never admitted. Eyes Wide Shut stuff.

MediaPropaganda.jpg

As the stomach turns, has anybody else noticed that Bumble Bee "White Tuna" has been lately increasingly less white meat and much more minced? I'm back to eating tuna fish every now and then, primarily because I feel in love with this Indian mango pickled relish, which absolutely transforms such a mundane thing like a tuna fish sandwich into a rich, robust delight of flavor.

I don't know anything about tuna fish manufacturing or what standards they set or what constitutes certain designations, such as white and light. Bu there's a major difference to me there, with the latter being too close for comfort to cat food, to me. I seem to remember "Chunk White" as just that - chunky flakes of white tuna. When I've the last few cans of Bumble Bee tuna, that's not what I've been getting.

Is this just another in a thousand different ways in which unbridled capitalism rears its ugly head into every aspect of our lives? Are the tuna companies cutting costs too, and pawning off on us a cheaper meat that doesn't comply with what's being advertised and on the label?

Was at an old friend's bday bbq on Sunday where the cooking was good, and busted out this record to have a little fun with. "Busted it out," on my 160gig "classic" iPod (I'm told by the kiddies at the club I work at), which houses a large part of my music library, is a term I feel that can still be used. We looked up the cover online, where we also viewed the track listing and noted the British record label had done other cool compilation records, which is about as close as we can get these days to handling a record in this digital era of mp3's. These were all pretty big music fans, so when none of them said they had heard of it, I thought to bring to the attention of folks here because it is so good.

BlackAmericaSingsTheBeatles.jpeg

Come Together: Black America Sings Lennon & McCartney is a real treat of a compilation. We found it a couple of years ago while visiting good friends in Northern Italy at a pretty decent record store we were lucky to find. There's been tons of Beatles covers done over the years, and some decent compilations. One of my favorite is a pretty unique, a lap/pedal steel guitar tribute by a guy named Joe Goldmark, called "Steelin' The Beatles". I love his version of "I'm Only Sleeping":

But these rare soul versions of Beatles songs really hit the spot for some old friends sitting in the shade of a backyard in Brooklyn drinking beer on a nice sunny day. I think it'll hit the spot for anyone feeling blue too, or just needing a little hip-swaying, booty-shaking funked-up soul to brighten your day.

Get down with this, Fats Domino laying some Nawlins funk on, of all things, John Lennon's manic, hard-driving "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey":

Or, Gene Chandler transforming the dark, elegiac string quartet of Eleanor Rigby into a hip-shaking, soul workout:

And, Roy Redmond taking the upbeat, jauntiness of Good Day Sunshine and downshifting it into a hot saunter:

Back in the kitchen we're listening to:

Paul McCartney "Ram"

(It was Sir Paul's birthday this weekend. If I'd have to pinpoint my deep love affair with music I'd say it was very early on as a boy and connecting with his songs. His amazing voice, incredible sense of melody and stunning ability and imagination to write sheer masterpieces hit me hard and have never left me since. He feels like home to me.)

Reading/Browsing List:
Henry Miller "Tropic of Capricorn"
Hunter S. Thompson "Hey Rube"
Glen Greenwald "With Liberty And Justice For Some"

Greek Baked Salmon
Squeeze a little lemon on the fillet. Cover in olive oil. Sprinkle oregano and a little black pepper over.
Bake on 375.
Salt after cooked.

Lemongrass Chai Blend

heaping scoop of dried Thai lemongrass
shards of cinnamon bark
a few cardamom pods
a few black peppercorns
A few cloves
fresh chopped ginger

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Raggedy Ann's picture

The millennials give me hope, but they've got to come to the realization that the dem party is not our friend; is not here for the 99%. Trying to work through the corruption will further destroy us. Give them a couple of election cycles - perhaps that's what it will take to get a new party/system going.

I was in 6th grade when the Beatles happened on the scene. Their first hit here, that I recall, was "I Want To Hold Your Hand." A young fellow in my classroom told me he wanted to hold MY hand and that sent me over the moon. I've been a Beatles fan ever since. Great music selections in the OT, today.

Have a beautiful day, folks! Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

CS in AZ's picture

@Raggedy Ann

There was a time, not even too long ago, when I would have found it inspiring and hopeful. But as MfQ points out, why does the dem party have closed primaries with registration deadlines that are consciously designed to suppress participation? This can't just be brushed off.

They are getting people registered as Dems to get them on a list to hit up for donations, and add them to the party membership numbers to bolster their image and keep the party afloat. But they are growing a corrupt organization. It's like Amway! A cult-like pyramid scheme that depends on constantly sucking in new recruits, to keep the money flowing to the wealthy few at the top. But for the foot soldiers, all that enthusiasm and footwork gets them very little or nothing in the end.

It's just sad and so frustrating. I'd tell such canvassers to tell their candidate to run as an independent and they could potentially earn my support, if they're good candidates. But I'm not going to join or donate to democrats. (Or republicans, that should go without saying but just to be clear.) I'll possibly consider supporting independent candidates, only. I guess I'm not entirely given up on politics yet (getting there), but the two-party charade is not going to fly anymore. Break the spell.

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Mark from Queens's picture

@CS in AZ
It's almost like missionaries. Their true mission is to make converts out of the populations they "serve." But if they help stave off hunger and poverty for the oppressed that in and of itself can't be a bad thing. It's the strings attached that are problematic. In this case, membership into a corrupt and venal party, in a corrupt and venal system.

Suppose ideally the best kind of canvassing would be to go around and build coalitions based upon stated and shared grievances alone, i.e. is your rent going up beyond your paycheck, is your healthcare insurance cost-prohibitive, what kind of social programs would be out helpful to your life, do you think it's fair that the CEO to worker salary ratio is in etc hundreds to one, should all sectors that the public relies upon, such as water/energy/internet/healthcare be privately or publicly owned? Let's start there.

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

Mark from Queens's picture

@Raggedy Ann

A worldwide phenomenon like the Beatles will never come again, so I never tire hearing how they impacted the lives of people who experienced it firsthand.

People engaged is always good. It's the first step. We were all there once, working inside the parties to change them within. Things today are at a point in which the deprivations and degradations of a dysfunctional system are so advanced that it probably isn't far off for those engaged with electoral politics to be joining our dissident approach much faster, in realizing it's the whole system that needs to be changed, not just the Dem Party.

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

Mark from Queens's picture

Weather the past couple of days in the morning has been downright delightful, in the 60's. So I'm going to take the Boy to the park for a couple of hours, with only an occasional peek in here.

Hope to be back in the late morning to check in with you all.

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

orlbucfan's picture

I could relate to your words on canvassing. I did it for the Bernster before the Floridumb Primary. We campaigned for him until the National Democratic Party Convention. We were loud and proud: the East Central FL Sanders' Krewe. We also had front row seats to the DNC cheating and corruption at the state level. That came as no surprise to any one who's lived here for years. Sad The volunteers who were in their twenties & thirties were an optimistic shot in the arm. They know the grim reality they face. They are also living proof that the long predicted "Melting Pot" came true. Smile

I heard a song by Level 42 a few days ago. Own several of their LPs and always loved their stuff. One of the founding members died too young of cancer. That ended the band. That was a real shame IMEFO. Thought this tune would be appropriate.

https://youtu.be/vQZvST2xUPc

Hope this finds you and the family krewe staying cool and taking care. Rec'd!!

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

Mark from Queens's picture

@orlbucfan
is probably one of the most hopeful things today. I think we are much more racially and culturally integrated today than when that term entered the vernacular long ago to describe America's diversity. For most of that time I don't think we really got rid of the self-described identity and the poisonous politics therein. Feels like we're approaching that now.

For instance, lots of polling showing millennials not adverse to Socialism, gay rights, different cultures etc. Many more kids being born of mixed race; I see that in a big way here and every day. That will help build a coalition of the 99%.

Liked a few tunes from Level 42 back then, though the 80's really don't hold up well for me overall. Remember the bass player being really great.

One Love

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

orlbucfan's picture

That's how much music freaks like me respected this truly great world artist. I hear/agree with you about the nineteen eighties and great popular music, too. Sad @Mark from Queens

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

mimi's picture

EU antitrust regulators hit Google with record 2.42 billion euro fine

The action came after a seven-year long investigation prompted by scores of complaints from rivals such as U.S. consumer review website Yelp, TripAdvisor, UK price comparison site Foundem, News Corp and lobbying group FairSearch.

This is the biggest fine for a single company in an EU antitrust case, exceeding a 1.06-billion-euro sanction handed down to U.S. chipmaker Intel in 2009.

You think wwwIII will start over this?

So, Mark realized the tuna is not white anymore? I realized that all the potatoes I buy in Germany taste too sweet. Everything taste somewhat sweet and it is all the same kind of sweetness, especially any kind of tinned tomato sauce. So, I make my own tomato sauce, but the tomatoes here are not really ripe like the tomatoes I grew in my US garden.

Are you hopeful that this awful sweetness will go away? Sweet lies, sweet tomato sauce everything so disgustingly sweet these days. I take some fresh really hot peppers any day over sweet tinned tomato sauce.

Have a good day all.

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Mark from Queens's picture

@mimi

Look at Bezos now. Amazon, WaPo, Whole Foods, etc. It's insane. Endless corporate mergers and acquisitions.

The relentless on-bended-knee subservience to the "free market" and deregulation has wrought a serious corporate dystopia of Inverted Totalitarianism.

Not surprised to hear about "sweet" German potatoes. The penchant for sweetening everything is problematic, evidenced in advanced diabetes and heart disease raging.

When I walk past most food stores today, from the packaged junk food hovels of the bodegas in NYC to the corporate fast food franchises, I see one big vat of High Fructose Corn Syrup in the back, pumping out various versions of the same poisonous rot, in colorfully packaged wrapping. One company making everything.

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

mhagle's picture

@mimi

I wonder how they do that? Some weird GMO thing?

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

enhydra lutris's picture

Column came up but not you tubes. Some other big sites offline. Hmmm.

EDIT: Corrected "Mar" to "Mark"

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

mimi's picture

Trump breaking torture taboo, global laws threatened: U.N. rights boss.

You got goose bumps?
Mir stehen die Haare zu berge.

Zeid said he was worried by Trump's "persistent flirtation" with a return to torture. There was little immediate danger of the United States using torture in interrogations, but that could change if there was an attack on U.S. soil, he said.

"Mindful of how the American public has, over the last 10 years, become far more accepting of torture, the balance could be tipped in favor of its practice."

After Islamist deadly militant attacks on London and Manchester, May told the Sun newspaper that if human rights laws "get in the way" of measures to tackle Islamist militancy, "we will change those laws to make sure we can do them".

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Meteor Man's picture

Aprapos the article about the article about the arrogance of Keller and Sulzberger Jr. at the NY Times, who have their eyes wide shut, The Atlantic has an article subtitled, How leaders lose mental capacities—most notably for reading other people—that were essential to their rise

Power actually makes people stupid:

Subjects under the influence of power, he found in studies spanning two decades, acted as if they had suffered a traumatic brain injury—becoming more impulsive, less risk-aware, and, crucially, less adept at seeing things from other people’s point of view.

There is an actual clinical diagnosis by a psychology professor from UC Berkeley:

Hubris syndrome,” as he and a co-author, Jonathan Davidson, defined it in a 2009 article published in Brain, “is a disorder of the possession of power, particularly power which has been associated with overwhelming success, held for a period of years and with minimal constraint on the leader.” Its 14 clinical features include: manifest contempt for others, loss of contact with reality, restless or reckless actions, and displays of incompetence.

Here's the rest of the story:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/07/power-causes-brain-... "Power Causes Brain Damage"

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

That article by Johannes Wahlstrom sounds interesting. I'll have to make time to read that later today. Thanks for that.

Glad you're heat wave broke. Same here today in south TX, we are getting a bit of rain and some cooler temps for the time being.

Since our election system has repeatedly been shown to be a farce, it makes no sense to vote. However, I do think that 'campaigning' for certain ideas and people has some value.

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mimi's picture

I think I should advise my son to go to Spartanburg. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?
Groesstes-BMW-Werk-feiert-25-jaehriges-Bestehen = (Largest BMW-plant celebrates its 25th Birthday)

Relax, if you don't understand German, it's all good stuff and those who don't understand are just dummies./s/ducking. Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. Exports. Exports. Exports. Yummy. Feels so good, doesn't it?

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lotlizard's picture

@mimi  
enough that each of them can afford a nice Beemer, maybe that would be a good idea.

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mimi's picture

@lotlizard
Spartanburg plant, but I believe to remember having read that BMV tried to offer the US workers the same sort of representation for their employees via a German-style "Arbeitnehmervertretungen" im "Betriebsrat", which I would have assumed to be a stronger represenatation of employee's rights than whatever the US companies offer via their unions. But the employees of the Spartanburg plants or their representative unions have rejected that. I have no time to search for that right now and I am not that sure I understood back then what it really meant. I thought it was another case of voting against their own interests.

It's not only the salaries that count, it's job security and rights of the employees that count, imo.

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I really regret it, but the color purple has been ruined for me forever by Clinton Soros purple revolution thingy. Unfortunate coincidence I hope, is this just CT or what, definite slant to this report but I don't know it's not the truth:

The Clintons and Soros Launch America’s Purple Revolution

Defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is not about to «go quietly into that good night». On the morning after her surprising and unanticipated defeat at the hands of Republican Party upstart Donald Trump, Mrs. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, entered the ball room of the art-deco New Yorker hotel in midtown Manhattan and were both adorned in purple attire. The press immediately noticed the color and asked what it represented. Clinton spokespeople claimed it was to represent the coming together of Democratic «Blue America» and Republican «Red America» into a united purple blend. This statement was a complete ruse as is known by citizens of countries targeted in the past by the vile political operations of international hedge fund tycoon George Soros.
...

Clearly that site does not like the Clintons and Soros, but that doesn't cancel the fact Soros is funding a billionaire fight and not much else. That guy is a killer with no conscience, hope the door knockers are not funded by his bloody dark money. They should pick a different color, like cyan, which is a combo of blue and green if I recall correctly. Smile

peace

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orlbucfan's picture

monarchs and aristocrats. That's sad cos it's one of my favorite colors. @eyo

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

@orlbucfan I love purple, look at this gorgeous outfit:
queen-elizabeth.jpg

I also remember being inspired by this poem, it spoke to my identity. lol Goes around comes around.
The Story Behind “When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple” by Jenny Joseph

In fact I might have been a member of a group called The Purple Berets for a few minutes waay back in the day. Probably still on a list. heh

peace

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lotlizard's picture

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skipjack_tuna

When I was a kid in Honolulu, the fleet of chumming, rod-and-reel fishing boats manned by local crews would pull into Kewalo Basin with their catch of aku, most of which was delivered to a canning plant (Coral brand?) close by.

As the years went by, tuna boat skippers figured out their catch was much more valuable as restaurant and fishmarket raw material for sashimi, sushi, and seared aku steaks. I don’t think any tuna canning has been done in Honolulu for half a century.

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Mark from Queens's picture

Catch up some more later.

(Edited from "good run" to "gotta run." This spell check is funny sometimes, and I should probably check it more)

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

mhagle's picture

...and the comments. Thanks!

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo