02/13 - Happy World Radio Day

02/13 - Happy World Radio Day

'Radio Telefunken’, 1935.

~~ Radio Telefunken

Radio, a five letter word for a ton of things. Radio is, among other things, a chunk of the electromagnetic spectrum Not light, nor microwave radiation nor gamma rays, but related to them all. In fact, application of the Heisenberg wave equation can give the electron a place on the electromagnetic spectrum even though the acceleration of electric charges radiate radio, and changes of motion of electrons in a conductor is the manner by which we normally create radio waves. Heinrich Hertz proved they exist in 1886. Guglielmo Marconi developed and demonstrated the first device for using Radio for communication over distance in 1895 and sent the first known transatlantic signal in 1901. The first commercial broadcast, however, wasn't until 1920.

THAT, in essence, is what radio is and is for, the communication of information over distances without the need for wires or physical contact. While seeking illustrations for this I found tons of pictures and portrayals of military persons and equipment and, of course, such communication is of great importance to the conduct of warfare, which, let's face it, is what the US is mostly all about, but that is a topic for another time. It is also of important in the realms or communication with ships and aircraft, and, in this day and age, quarterback and such as well.

Radio, the word, can also designate equipment for sending and receiving said communications, and much more. There was am, fm, amateur (ham), shortwave, multiband and more.The communications themselves were radio and radio was both the medium and the message and, in its heyday, significantly shaped a culture and was in turn shaped by it.

/Geezer mode on:
Nobody could confuse news with entertainment there was Amos and Andy, Our Miss Brooks, The Breakfast Club and such, and then there was the news. Newscasters, unless working for straight up propaganda outlets such as Radio Marti, Voice of America, and the like, made a serious effort to get the facts right, though they might also spin it a bit. Sportscasters did not work to create controversy, but gave the warm up statistical overview, narrated the play by play, and then gave a factual and statistical wrap. Vin Scully and Jerry Dogget did not solicit or even accept calls. Sportstalk radio, like political talk shows did not exist.

And then, there was music, and it was Radio Music and for many, that was mostly what radio was about:

So what was this radio music of which I spoke. Any kind or genre, classical, jazz, western swing, blues, honky tonk, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, mariachi, whatever, the genre didn't matter. What it was was a product of the medium. I, to this day, still prefer Radio music over the rest of the stuff out there. I mentioned this in an open thread years back generating this, truncated and edited exchange with a reader who goes by the name Shahryar:

Moi:
To me, a major test of a song, performer or genre is
"Is it radio music?". Would you listen to it over and over and over if there were no visuals, no costumes, routines, choreography, bootie shaking, etc.? A lot of modern stuff fails. [Edit: - I forgot to mention true-tone]

Shahryar:
recently we listened to whatever they call "top 40" radio these days. After about 20 minutes I still hadn't heard a song. Your comment woke me up! Today's young listeners must all see the videos so when they hear a song on the radio they're picturing the dance steps, the cameo appearances, all of that...which I'm unaware of. So when I hear the songs I'm hearing them differently from those who listen regularly.

Moi:
how else to explain the popularity of some of this stuff. Some of it is definitely "no lyrics + no melody + can't sing anyway + hot chick/dude cavorting in sexy outfit".

Radio Music, on the Radio, or on Vinyl, had credits for writers, composers, band members, and vocalists, but never for choreographers, costume designers, make-up artists and all that. It was just music, the beat, melody, bass line, hooks, lyrics, vocals, or harmonies grabbed and entertained you without any visual input needed. It's still, far and away, my music of choice, no specific genre, just radio music.
/Geezer mode off:

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On this day in history:

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1322 -- In the night of the 12th-13th, Ely Cathedral's central tower fell. Good Luck? Bad Luck? Karma? God's Will?
1633 -- Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome to be tried persecuted by the Inquisition
1867 -- Brussels's began burying the River Senne
1880 -- Edison observed the Edison effect.
1881 -- Hubertine Auclert first published The feminist newspaper La Citoyenne
1914 -- ASCAP was founded
1945 -- US & UK bombers began bombing the living shit out of Dresden, eliminating Germany's strategic fine china
1960 -- France became the 4th nuclear power.
1960 -- Black college students staged the first Nashville sit-in
1967 -- Researchers "discovered" da Vinci's Madrid Codices in the Spanish National Library
1979 -- A windstorm sunk a half-mile of the Hood Canal Bridge in Washington
1990 -- A plan to reunify Germany was agreed upon
1991 -- Two "smart bombs" destroyed the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad, slaughtering over 400 Iraqi civilians. Shock & Awe! So Smart!
2004 -- Scientists announced the discovery of "Lucy", a star composed of diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093.
2011 – For the first time in more than 100 years the Umatilla, an American Indian tribe, are able to hunt and harvest a bison just outside Yellowstone National Park, restoring a centuries-old tradition guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1855.
2012 – The European Space Agency (ESA) conducted the first launch of the European Vega rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
2021 – Former U.S. President Donald Trump is acquitted in his second impeachment trial.[13]
2021 – A major winter storm causes blackouts and kills at least 82 people in Texas and northern Mexico

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Lucy, clever

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Some people who were born on this day:

The histories of mankind are histories only of the higher classes.

~~ Thomas Malthus

1728 – John Hunter, surgeon and anatomist, advocate of scientific method
1766 -- Thomas Robert Malthus, economist
1805 -- Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, mathematician
1870 -- Leopold Godowsky, Polish-American pianist and composer
1884 -- Alfred Carlton Gilbert, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company
1891 -- Grant Wood, painter
1901 – Paul Lazarsfeld, sociologist and academic
1907 -- Katy de la Cruz, singer and actress, "The Queen of Filipino Jazz"
1910 -- William Shockley, physicist,
1916 – Dorothy Bliss, invertebrate zoologist
1919 -- Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor
1920 – Eileen Farrell, soprano and educator
1923 – Chuck Yeager, pilot; first test pilot to break the sound barrier
1926 – Fay Ajzenberg-Selove, nuclear physicist
1942 -- Peter Tork, Monkee
1944 -- Rebop Kwaku Baah, drummer
1945 – Marian Dawkins, biologist and academic
1945 -- King Floyd, singer & songwriter
1947 – Kevin Bloody Wilson, comedian, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1949 -- Judy Dyble, singer, songwriter and pianist
1950 -- Peter Gabriel, singer, songwriter and producer
1956 -- Peter Hook, singer and bass player
1958 – Øivind Elgenes, vocalist, guitarist, and composer
1965 -- Ole Mathisen, saxophonist and composer
1968 -- Niamh Kavanagh, singer & Eurovision Song Contest winner

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Some people who died on this day:

Remember the dignity of your womanhood. Do not appeal, do not beg, do not grovel. Take courage, join hands, stand besides us, fight with us.

~~ Christabel Pankhurst

1571 -- Benvenuto Cellini, painter and sculptor
1728 -- Cotton Mather, puritan minister and author, Salem witch hunt supporter.
1883 -- Richard Wagner, composer
1956 – Jan Łukasiewicz, mathematician and philosopher, created polish notation
1958 -- Christabel Pankhurst, activist, co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union
1958 -- Georges Rouault, painter and illustrator
1976 -- Lily Pons, soprano and actress
2002 -- Waylon Jennings, singer, songwriter and guitarist
2010 – Lucille Clifton, poet and academic
2010 -- Dale Hawkins, singer, songwriter and guitarist
2013 – Andrée Malebranche, artist
2015 – Faith Bandler, activist and author
2016 -- Antonin Scalia, reactionary activist judge
2017 – Aileen Hernandez, union organizer and activist

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Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

World Radio Day.

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Today's Tunes

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Lucy Redux

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Leopold Godowsky

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Katy de la Cruz

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Tennessee Ernie Ford

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Peter Tork

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Rebop Kwaku Baah

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King Floyd

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Kevin Bloody Wilson (includes profanity Wink )

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Judy Dyble

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Peter Gabriel

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Peter Hook

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Øivind Elgenes

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Ole Mathisen

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Niamh Kavanagh

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Richard Wagner

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Lily Pons

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Waylon Jennings

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Dale Hawkins

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OK, what's on your minds?

Bonus: Rebop and friends

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In Re Richard Wagner:
Part 1

Part 2

Part 2

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mimi's picture

It is the NDR (radio for nothern Germany and Hamburg).
Norddeutscher Rundfunk

Telefunken; That reminds me of my younger years. You know all this place in Berlin?

Berlin Victory Column
The Victory Column is a monument in Berlin, Germany. Designed by Heinrich Strack after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Second Schleswig War, by the time it was inaugurated on 2 September 1873, Prussia had also defeated Austria and its German allies in the Austro-Prussian War and France in the Franco-Prussian War, giving the statue a new purpose. Different from the original plans, these later victories in the unification wars inspired the addition of the bronze sculpture of Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory, 8.3 metres high, designed by Friedrich Drake. Berliners have given the statue the nickname Goldelse, meaning something like "Golden Lizzy". The Victory Column is a major tourist attraction in the city of Berlin. Its viewing platform, for which a ticket is required, offers a view over

All your wise kids like Obama wanted to have their talk at this place. this was in 2008.

When I was a student in Berlin at the Technical University in Berlin, this place was a 2 minute walk awaqy from the Technical University of Berlin. And at that time (1968 to 1975) there was a highrise building called the "Telefunken Hochhaus" on that place. For several years I workded in that Telefunken Hochhaus as an assistant teacher in the field of 'Physical Chemistry'. I worked in that highrise (9 th floor,it was, I think) and my great professor was kind enough to house me in the dark room with my baby son. And though the room was very dark, I wrote an enlightened thesis in there, which I still have, but don't understand a word or number anymore about it. Which just proves that you don't need to understand the bullshit you write in any given time.- Smile

Thanks el for the memories your wonderful essay made come to light again.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@mimi

matter radio or record player all of my own was an old cabinet unit I scored at a thrift shop for 5 bucks and repaired so that it worked, RCA am-fm radio and a Telefunken record player. They were definitely a presence back in the day.

Have never made it to Berlin or seen the column, sad to say.

It is very likely that you understood your thesis perfectly when you wrote it, but the passage of time has blurred it a bit. The more complex the subject, the easier it is to lose track of all of the ins-and-outs.

Thanks for reading

be well and have a good one.

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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 --

Ah radio and the memories. Grew up in a house without a television so we listened to Gunsmoke, Mystery theatre and many other programs. When was still very young and just learning to read, there was a radio station out of Beaumont, Texas that would read the Sunday comics for us. Of course we were reading the same newspaper, the Beaumont Enterprise! I still listen to the radio today. Great memories. Thanks for the OT today!

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

enhydra lutris's picture

@jakkalbessie

for reading. We were sans TV for quite some time too. on another topic, hearkening back to the days in question, shouldn't you claim to be a geezette?

be well and have a good one

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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 --

enhydra lutris's picture

Open the following link in a new tab and then click any dot on the map. It will begin playing that radio station. I'm listening to KRHV - The Rock Of The Sierras - out of Big Pine, strange mix of rock and country. http://radio.garden/visit/big-pine-ca/RdRk6KHF
Thanks to Side Pocket from the GOS.

be well and have a good one

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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 --

QMS's picture

@enhydra lutris

it's all over the world!

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truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS

or two and then head down africa way.

be well and have a good one

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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 --

QMS's picture

@enhydra lutris

visiting old haunts - Buffalo, Flagstaff, Portugal, Brazil, Lafayette, Detroit, Singapore,
Boston, even Mexico and Montreal. FM is 'effing magic!

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truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS

area radio stations?

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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 --

QMS's picture

@enhydra lutris

Sorta ages me to search for old favorites and find they have gone by the wayside.
But there is so much there! A zillion stations in every genre imaginable.
And it is free for now.

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truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

@enhydra lutris Thank you 1000x. As kid I listened to the radio looking for far off stations at night, travelling the US on the radio waves. Now, I can get a steady diet of rw propaganda, business news and religion. Fm doesn't propagate as well. Boy, I remember Jean Shepard live from the Limelight an Saturday night like yesterday.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@humphrey

Thanks
be well and have a good one

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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 --

QMS's picture

Learned an obscure fact about the radio antenna on an old car yesterday.
On a 1938 Packard Ladaulet, the hood ornament was a Cormorant. As
an option, you could order the radio antenna as a splay of wires trailing
the Cormorant wings with little finials at the ends.

190_ma2_web_RM.jpg

This one has that option.

rare-packard-cormorant-doubles-as-radio-antenna-533x400.jpg

edited to add second image

thanks for posting!

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truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS

be well and have a good one

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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

in elementary school and or kincergarden "chez le French occupying forces in Berlin around 1976-1977.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@mimi

be well and have a good one

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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 --

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enhydra lutris's picture

@humphrey

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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 --

dystopian's picture

Hi all, Hey EL! They have radio in Big Pine now!?!?! Amazing. Progress is getting everywhere I guess. Smile

Love Rebop and Low Spark... Dale Hawkins knew a good guitarist when he saw one... James Burton and I think Scotty Moore too played with him. Pretty sure Roy Buchanan's first recording was on My Babe in 1958 by Dale Hawkins.

Radio on SNL - the 1977 performance that got Elvis banned from the show for a few decades. He starts to play the agreed upon song, his newly released single. He stops the band after a few lines. And they play what he wanted to play, Radio, Radio. Which was a great song. It's a sound salvation. Lorne Michaels allegedly stood flipping him off the whole song from side stage, and he was not asked back for decades. How could you be pissed for having this perfomed?

My wife and I both grew up in houses that put the fun in dysfunction. So radio was a lifeline of sanity in the 60's and 70's for all that wonderful amazing creative music made then. It was the voice of a reason, and culture. For kids in the 60's first the transistor radio was a revolution. For 3.95 at K-mart a kid could be listening to KRLA hearing everything from Slim Harpo to Beatles, Stones, Cream, Buffalo Springfield, Jefferson Airplane, girl bands, Motown, etc. on AM! Then came FM and stereo! OMFG! Not to mention car radios became stereos with amazing sound, 8-track tapes notwithstanding. The music was magic that first decade and change, around the time when drugs hit electricity. Delivered by your radio. It was a sound salvation. Lots of what was pop music in the 60's, 45 singles, has stood the test of time more than quite well. It was the real deal music. No pitch correctors or other artificial gizmos, just pure talent and skill.

Now we have the devil's radio as George Harrison aptly observed.

Jeff Lynne on bass and backing vocals, Elton John on piano, Eric Clapton on guitar and Ringo on drums.

Gotta get back to work! Have a good one all!

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

enhydra lutris's picture

@dystopian

backstage noodling around with "16 tons" and Sullivan demanded that he play that, so he acquiesed, then went on stage and did "Bo Diddley" anyway, after Ed, expecting "16 tons" introduced him as a country singer or some such. Never invited back.

Pre-transistor radio was pretty far out too - no separate top ## stations for country, rock, blues, etc, just one big top ##, jump from jazz to rock to country to latin - crazy stuff, but 50s-60s ws golden in SoCal, including having Johnny Otis show on radio, competing with Wolfman Jack and all the normal stations and early fm full of jazz.

Thanks for the clips.

be well and have a good one

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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 --

@enhydra lutris @enhydra lutris
In the summer of 1975 I discovered FM radio while waiting to go off to college. The format was super cool, while AM was just solidifying its transformation to programmed crap. DJs would sound like they were playing from their record collection for you - and you'd get stuff like Springsteen's "The Wild, The Innocent, And Thee E Street Shuffle" (which was at about that time "the album before 'Born To Run'") I went to college, proudly mentioned my discovery, and some wise ass (from Asbury Park) said, "Oh yeah, I used to play (bass) with him at parties." and one of my teachers went to high school with him (he was a year older and they never met) Oh well, never a cool kid.

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On to Biden since 1973

enhydra lutris's picture

@doh1304

Sometimes I wonder why they didn't stay with the band/performer and get rich.

be well and have a good one

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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 --

@enhydra lutris
He wasted a year going to a terrible college instead. (I can talk, I wasted three) Dropped out to become a novelist, became a taxi driver.

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On to Biden since 1973

A link to the full advisory which is quite dramatic.

Worth a read to see the full picture.

https://ru.usembassy.gov/travel-advisory-russia-do-not-travel-february-1...

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enhydra lutris's picture

@humphrey

around a new one and possibly prepare the stage for the eventual return of US mercs and spooks as part of some future prisoner swap.

be well and have a good one

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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 --

Shahryar's picture

whatever you wanted to refer to, go ahead! I'm curious, too.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@Shahryar @Shahryar

figured that you'd say ok. I really dug that you said that you were obviously listening to different music since you lacked the visual priming.

be well and have a good one

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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 --

Shahryar's picture

@enhydra lutris

We might have known what Little Richard looked like, what Fats Domino looked like, what the Beatles looked like, but Frankie Ford? We heard Sea Cruise and liked it or didn't, based on the sound. I love that older pop music because of the concept of grabbing the listener in the first 30 seconds or less. I also love the short songs that I want to hear again, more than modern ones that last twice as long and that's enough, thank you.

I could go on and on, like some old geezer. Music, songs...that's an abstract art (or should be) where the listener's imagination is an important part of the work.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@Shahryar

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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 --