Congratulations to Jorge Drexler on winning the Academy Award for best song in a motion picture!!!!!!!!!
Monday, February 28, 2005
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Oscar Scandal!
rant to follow.. why is jorge drexler not allowed to sing his oscar nominated song? he wrote it and sang it for the "motorcycle diaries" movie! why do we have to hear santana and antonio banderas doing his song in a nonsennsical "smooth" style??? this is truly a joke..
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Ella Fitzgerald resource!
here is a link with a chronology and discography for Ella Fitzgerald.. the chronology informs us, among other things, on the recording date and original 78rpm release for each title...Ella's first LP release, "Souvenir Album" was made up of the following early sides:
"Baby Won't You Please Come Home"-Decca 3186- February 15, 1940
"Cabin in the Sky"- Decca 3490- November 8, 1940
"Lonesomest Gal"- Decca 3666- November 8, 1940
"The One I Love"- Decca 3608- January 8, 1941
"I Must Have That Man"- Decca 18530- July 31, 1941
"I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me"- Decca 18421- July 31, 1941
"I Got It Bad"- Decca 3968- July 31, 1941
"I Can't Help Loving That Man"- Decca 18421- July 31, 1941
Ella Fitzgerald: America's First Lady of Song
The first thing that jumps out at me when I look at Ella's first LP (Decca DL 5084) from 1949 is that this is one of few pictures I have seen of Ella where she looks relatively young (and keep in mind I'm no Ella expert/fanatic). Now my personal taste has always been more for Billie Holiday- then again I believe Billie to be the greatest American singer ever- but I give Ella big props and I'm willing to be big about it and admit that Ella makes for much better listening around the holidays! Actually I'm willing to admit much more...
I would classify this record as being early Ella. Her first sides with the Chick Webb Orchestra in the late 1930s were immediately followed by these Decca recordings as a solo artist. Decca, for this "Souvenir Album", selected some very early Ella sides from 1940-1941 originally released as 78 rpm discs. Billie Holiday had recorded two of these only two-three years prior to Ella: "Can't help loving dat man" (1937), and "Can't Believe that You're in love with me" (1938). The repertoire on this Ella LP is pretty conventional but then again we are talking 1940!
The liner notes inform us that Ella was born in Newport News, Virginia and her parents were extremely poor. Ella was sent to a New York orphanage which she left at 16. The great swing band leader Chick Webb saw her singing shortly after, took her in and together with his wife adopted her, and taught her how to sing and the ropes of the business. For two years Ella toured with the Chick Webb Orchestra and did not sing one note in public. Eventually however Chick Webb felt she'd learned and she began to sing with the band and record and even write songs. The rest is history.
When I think of Ella I think of her ability to transmit joy. This may relate to the fact that I can hear/visualize her happiness in singing. Also, I think of her incredible scat-laced improvised live version of "Mack the Knife" on the classic LP "Ella in Berlin." Basically she forgets the words to the song and improvises on the spot without losing a beat. Here are the lyrics to this unique performance that never fails to make me smile:
{spoken} thank you. we’d like to do something for you now.
We haven’t heard a girl sing it. and since it’s so popular,
We’d like to try and do it for you.
We hope we remember all the words.{}
Oh, the shark has pearly teeth, dear
And he shows them, pearly white
Just a jack knife has macheath, dear
And he keeps it out of sight
Oh, the shark bites with his teeth, dear
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves though, wears macheath dear
So there’s not, not a trace of red
On a sunday, sunday morning
Lies a body, oozin’ life
Someone’s sneaking ’round the corner
Tell me could it be, could it be, could it be
Mack the knife?
Oh, what’s the next chorus?
To this song, now
This is the one, now
I don’t know
But it was a swinging tune
And it’s a hit tune
So we tried to do mack the knife
Ah, louis miller
Oh, something about cash
Yeah, miller, he was spending that trash
And macheath dear, he spends like a sailor
Tell me, tell me, tell me
Could that boy do, something rash
Oh bobby darin, and louis armstrong
They made a record, oh but they did
And now ella, ella, and her fellas
We’re making a wreck, what a wreck
Of mack the knife
{louis armstrong imitation}
Oh snookie taudry, bah bah bah nop do bo de do
Bah bah bah nop do bo de do
Just a jack knife has macheath, dear
And do bo bo bah bah bah nop do bo de do {}
So, you’ve heard it
Yes, we’ve swung it
And we tried to
Yes, we sung it
You won’t recognize it
It’s a surprise hit
This tune, called mack the knife
And so we leave you, in berlin town
Yes, we’ve swung old mack
We’ve swung old mack in town
For the darin fans,
And for the louis armstrong fans, too
We told you look out, look out, look out
Old macheath’s back in town
After her Decca period in the 40s/early 50s she would move to Norman Granz's record labels (Clef/Verve) and he would fashion her into a singer of songbooks by the great American tin pan alley tunesmiths (Arlen, Gerswin, Cole Porter, Ellington, etc.)
One thing I particularly enjoy about having an original LP when it is from 1949-1950 is picturing the artists pleasure in seeing their own first LP. I know Billie Holiday is said to have taken great pride when her first LPs came out. If one compares the sound quality difference between a 78 and an LP I think its safe to say the difference in fidelity is greater than that between an LP and a CD.
Although I prefer Billie Holiday's material part of me thinks that it is Ella who is a more representative first lady for american song. To me Ella is all business and no nonesense; a consummate professional. There is no baggage of bad men, drugs, booze, jail.. its just her delight in performing the wonderful canon of american song... there is no early fade out.. no terrible sad stories..no lurid diana ross movie... in fact most people know little about her other than her great performances and that ain't so bad in my book!
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Allan Songer on Original Blue Notes
Its little secret I got it bad for original Blue Note records... Interestingly I found this post today at the Vinyl Asylum bulletin board (see links on side bar) by an Allan Songer.. it really sheds some light on the whole issue of what is an original pressing of a blue note...therefore i'm reproducing this for posterity as i have yet to see such a detailed and well-explained analysis...and believe me i've looked:
First--you can't tell the vintage of the pressing by the label alone or even if it has "deep-grooves."
First-- ALL "original" (not FIRST, but original pre-Liberty) pressings have the little "ear" mark in the dead wax. It looks like a cursive "P" becuase that is what it is! It's "P" for Plastylite, the pressing plant that pressed ALL original Blue Notes.
The deep groove is present on first pressings of every Blue Note LP fom the beginning through Blue Note 4058. Starting with Blue Note 4059, Plastylite BOUGHT NEW EQUIPMENT that did NOT press in the deep grooves! 4059 (Kenny Drew, "Undercurrent") is an anomoly because EVERY KNOWN COPY has the deep groove on one side only--that means Plastylite used the newer equipment for one side only! This is also a VERY rare title that most likely went through only ONE pressing!
Starting with 4060 ALL "first" pressings have NO deep groove! If you find a copy of any number AFTER 4059 that has a deep groove in one or both sides, it's a SECOND pressing--the new equpiment was ALWAYS used for the first run! This has NO EFFECT on value however!
If you find a title EARLIER than 4059 with only one or NO deep groove, but still has the "ear," this is a later pressing!
The "Lexington" labels were used up through BN 1543, Kenny Burrell vol. 2--even LATE pressings of many of these titles still used the left over Lexington lables--you have to look for the deep-grooves AND the edge of the record itself! ALL OF THE LEXINGTON TITLES HAVE FLAT EDGES IF THEY ARE TRULY FIRST PRESSINGS!
Starting with 1544 Blue Note introduced the "47 W. 63rd New York 23" label which was used on MOST titles from 1544 through 1577--some titles have this on ONE side only (like 1568 and 1577). Because Blue Note DID NOT release their titles in the order they were cataloged, MANY titles prior to 1577 have the LATER "47 W. 63rd NYC" labels (BN 1560 for example).
The "47 W. 63rd NYC" was used up through Blue Note 4017 (Horace Silver "Finger Poppin'"). Starting with 4018, an "INC" was added and a "R" resigesterd trademark at the bottom. That means, if you find any record with a number from 4017 on back that HAS the "Inc" and the "R" it is a SECOND PRESSING even if it is Deep-Groove on both sides!
The last title with the "47 W. 63rd" labels was BN4080, Hank Mobley's "Workout" and this one has these lables only on ONE SIDE! Again, there are titles with numbers EARLIER than 4080 that have the later "New York, USA" labels because they were released out of order.
Starting with 4081, every single original Blue Note has the "New York, USA labels" right up to the FINAL original release, Don Cherry's "Complete Communion" (BN 4226). The label was sold to Liberty and EVERY SINGLE RECORD WITH A CATALOG NUMBER HIGHER THAN 4226 is a "Liberty" pressing! Again, there are EARLIER titles that were released AFTER the sale to Liberty as well (Andrew Hill's "Andrew!" being a good example-- BN 4203).
Liberty contiuned to use the left-over "New York, USA" labels for a few months--that's why you see the "New York" labels on titles as high as "The Jody Grind" from Horace Silver!
If you find ANY record with an early catalog number WITHOUT the little "ear" it is a LIBERTY pressing no matter WHAT the label or jacket says! I have seen LIBERTY pressings that had "New York 23" and even "Lexington" labels! Liberty USED UP OLD STOCK including jacket slicks and labels!!!
There is a HUGE difference in both value and sonics between an ORIGNAL pressing of a record like Jackie McLean's "Swing Swang Swingin'" and a Liberty with the original labels! An original will fetch about $700 in NM condition while the "Liberty" vesion might only bring $150 in the same condition!
Hope this ramble helps a bit.
First--you can't tell the vintage of the pressing by the label alone or even if it has "deep-grooves."
First-- ALL "original" (not FIRST, but original pre-Liberty) pressings have the little "ear" mark in the dead wax. It looks like a cursive "P" becuase that is what it is! It's "P" for Plastylite, the pressing plant that pressed ALL original Blue Notes.
The deep groove is present on first pressings of every Blue Note LP fom the beginning through Blue Note 4058. Starting with Blue Note 4059, Plastylite BOUGHT NEW EQUIPMENT that did NOT press in the deep grooves! 4059 (Kenny Drew, "Undercurrent") is an anomoly because EVERY KNOWN COPY has the deep groove on one side only--that means Plastylite used the newer equipment for one side only! This is also a VERY rare title that most likely went through only ONE pressing!
Starting with 4060 ALL "first" pressings have NO deep groove! If you find a copy of any number AFTER 4059 that has a deep groove in one or both sides, it's a SECOND pressing--the new equpiment was ALWAYS used for the first run! This has NO EFFECT on value however!
If you find a title EARLIER than 4059 with only one or NO deep groove, but still has the "ear," this is a later pressing!
The "Lexington" labels were used up through BN 1543, Kenny Burrell vol. 2--even LATE pressings of many of these titles still used the left over Lexington lables--you have to look for the deep-grooves AND the edge of the record itself! ALL OF THE LEXINGTON TITLES HAVE FLAT EDGES IF THEY ARE TRULY FIRST PRESSINGS!
Starting with 1544 Blue Note introduced the "47 W. 63rd New York 23" label which was used on MOST titles from 1544 through 1577--some titles have this on ONE side only (like 1568 and 1577). Because Blue Note DID NOT release their titles in the order they were cataloged, MANY titles prior to 1577 have the LATER "47 W. 63rd NYC" labels (BN 1560 for example).
The "47 W. 63rd NYC" was used up through Blue Note 4017 (Horace Silver "Finger Poppin'"). Starting with 4018, an "INC" was added and a "R" resigesterd trademark at the bottom. That means, if you find any record with a number from 4017 on back that HAS the "Inc" and the "R" it is a SECOND PRESSING even if it is Deep-Groove on both sides!
The last title with the "47 W. 63rd" labels was BN4080, Hank Mobley's "Workout" and this one has these lables only on ONE SIDE! Again, there are titles with numbers EARLIER than 4080 that have the later "New York, USA" labels because they were released out of order.
Starting with 4081, every single original Blue Note has the "New York, USA labels" right up to the FINAL original release, Don Cherry's "Complete Communion" (BN 4226). The label was sold to Liberty and EVERY SINGLE RECORD WITH A CATALOG NUMBER HIGHER THAN 4226 is a "Liberty" pressing! Again, there are EARLIER titles that were released AFTER the sale to Liberty as well (Andrew Hill's "Andrew!" being a good example-- BN 4203).
Liberty contiuned to use the left-over "New York, USA" labels for a few months--that's why you see the "New York" labels on titles as high as "The Jody Grind" from Horace Silver!
If you find ANY record with an early catalog number WITHOUT the little "ear" it is a LIBERTY pressing no matter WHAT the label or jacket says! I have seen LIBERTY pressings that had "New York 23" and even "Lexington" labels! Liberty USED UP OLD STOCK including jacket slicks and labels!!!
There is a HUGE difference in both value and sonics between an ORIGNAL pressing of a record like Jackie McLean's "Swing Swang Swingin'" and a Liberty with the original labels! An original will fetch about $700 in NM condition while the "Liberty" vesion might only bring $150 in the same condition!
Hope this ramble helps a bit.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Super Bowl London Style link
here is a link to a story that was just published on popmatters which sorta summarizes my feelings about this past super bowl.. my own story is in the archives (day after super bowl)
http://www.popmatters.com/sports/features/050221-superbowluk.shtml
http://www.popmatters.com/sports/features/050221-superbowluk.shtml
"Shotgun Golf With Bill Murray"
and here is the link for Hunter S. Thompson's actual last story...published on espn.com on february 16.. its a somewhat amusing story about a phone conversation with bill murray over some loony idea involving golf and shotguns!..
Hunter S Thompson's post 9-11 ESPN Column
a lot of people don't realize that hunter s thompson had a regular column on espn.com these past few years.. here is the link for his september 18, 2001 column...
Monday, February 21, 2005
Contributing blogger Howard Park: A Day with Hunter S. Thompson
A Day With Hunter S. Thompson
In early April of 1984 I was the coolest guy in Madison, Wisconsin for a day. I was the designated driver for the legendary Hunter S. Thompson. Cool was cool, but not quite as cool as I had imagined.
Thompson came to Madison to be around for a visit by his old buddy from the McGovern Campaign, Colorado Senator Gary Hart who was locked in a fierce battle for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. I met Thompson at Madison's compact airport along with his Friend, another McGovern Campaign veteran, then State Banking Commissioner Bill Dixon, a six pack of cold beer and Dixon's convertible.
This was a reward. I had been working tirelessly for Hart all over the country. My credit card was beyond maxed out. I was a Gonzo campaigner. Thompson was a legend to me and everyone I knew -- virtually every early twentysomething University of Wisconsin male student seemed to idolize Thompson. He epitomized sex, drugs and rock n' roll. He was also a damm good writer. Hell's Angels, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail - 1972 are still scattered in dorm rooms and fraternity houses everywhere. I had religiously read all of his books and his now infrequent Rolling Stone columns.
In the flesh Thompson was a minor letdown. I never saw him without a dorky looking floppy hat, like that worn by Bob Denver on the Gilligan's Island TV show. Perhaps he was vain about his balding head. The hat also let him move about without being recognized very often. He chain smoked cigarettes and drank like a sailor on leave. The Hunter S. Thompson of myth supposedly did LSD, pot, cocaine, uppers and downers like a kid eating Halloween candy. Maybe, but not with me. I never saw him take anything stronger than sprain. He was outfitted with more stuff than a more regular person would take on an African safari. He had what seemed like a ton of baggage, including a heavy, bulky word processor that I lugged all over town during the next day. He never touched it. I've never, ever seen anyone who brought as much stuff for a one day visit.
Most disappointing for me was the fact that he was sort of hard to talk with. He just did not converse like most people. Thompson might totally ignore something I said while responding nonsensically to something else. Occasionally he seemed to twitch oddly. Hunter also never spoke in anything that resembled a sentence. He was friendly enough and we got along fine as I drove him around Madison over that evening and the next day. We shared our views about Richard Nixon. Thompson's hated of Nixon was one of the coolest parts of his persona. I had the impression that if I had said something nice about Nixon the he would have gotten out of the car on a random Madison street corner. Fortunately, my disdain for Nixon was well developed. I had been warned not to bring up the Doonesbury comic strip, then the most popular comic strip in the country and the genesis of much of the Thompson legend. He hated the comic strip.
The purpose of the visit was for Thompson to cover a big Gary Hart rally at Wisconsin's majestic state capitol a few days before our state's presidential primary (Hart won). My job was to get Hunter where he needed to go without distracting the national media or the crowd from the candidate. I failed, although it seemed a lot worse that it really was at the time.
I was driving Thompson about midway in a Hart motorcade of eight vehicles. Behind me was most of the national press corps who were covering Hart. In any campaign, the media are the VIP's. The advance man who had choreographed the event had emphatically instructed me to stick with the motorcade at all times until we reached a designated parking lot. It was vitally important that the media be in a certain exact location at a certain time.
As we approached the Capitol Building, with little or no warning, Hunter S. Thompson screamed at me "GET OVER THERE, THEY ARE COMING TO GET US, TURN NOW!!" and he grabbed the wheel from me. I had no idea what he was talking about or what was happening, but I turned as he was imploring me, and he said something like "GOOD BOY, I HOPE WE ARE SAFE NOW" as he bounded out the door to cover the rally. Everyone was confused including the 50 or so reporters on various vehicles behind me. We were now parked in the wrong space, perhaps that reserved for TV transmission trucks. It was a logistical mess in the midst of a huge crowd of over 10,000.
The only person who was not confused was the advance man who screamed "I"M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU HAVE RUNIED EVERYTHING" as he raised his hand with only his middle finger showing into my face. Fearing for my safety from yet another lunatic I quickly scurried over to Hunter, perhaps my one last friend on the scene. The rally was great. After it was over I drove Thompson and his six huge duffel bags back to the airport and helped load the cargo on to the campaign press plane. For weeks after I eagerly awaited the arrival of each new issue of Rolling Stone hoping that he would write something about Hart and that smart, very cool campaign worker who schlepped him around that historic (in my dreams) day in Madison. No dice. To my eternal disappointment he never wrote a thing about that day or much at all about the Hart Campaign, despite the fact that I had carried around his word processor like a Sherpa in Nepal.
Years later, at a book signing in Washington, DC, where he appeared as always smoking a cigarette with a huge tumbler of iced, single malt scotch. During my allotted 15 seconds with him in the long line I asked Hunter what had caused him to divert the motorcade that day. I explained the context. I'm not sure he remembered anything and he responded with some sort of nonsense like, "Oh yes, we had to get away from them"...whatever.
I'll miss Hunter S. Thompson, the campaign trail will never be the same.
Howard Park
In early April of 1984 I was the coolest guy in Madison, Wisconsin for a day. I was the designated driver for the legendary Hunter S. Thompson. Cool was cool, but not quite as cool as I had imagined.
Thompson came to Madison to be around for a visit by his old buddy from the McGovern Campaign, Colorado Senator Gary Hart who was locked in a fierce battle for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. I met Thompson at Madison's compact airport along with his Friend, another McGovern Campaign veteran, then State Banking Commissioner Bill Dixon, a six pack of cold beer and Dixon's convertible.
This was a reward. I had been working tirelessly for Hart all over the country. My credit card was beyond maxed out. I was a Gonzo campaigner. Thompson was a legend to me and everyone I knew -- virtually every early twentysomething University of Wisconsin male student seemed to idolize Thompson. He epitomized sex, drugs and rock n' roll. He was also a damm good writer. Hell's Angels, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail - 1972 are still scattered in dorm rooms and fraternity houses everywhere. I had religiously read all of his books and his now infrequent Rolling Stone columns.
In the flesh Thompson was a minor letdown. I never saw him without a dorky looking floppy hat, like that worn by Bob Denver on the Gilligan's Island TV show. Perhaps he was vain about his balding head. The hat also let him move about without being recognized very often. He chain smoked cigarettes and drank like a sailor on leave. The Hunter S. Thompson of myth supposedly did LSD, pot, cocaine, uppers and downers like a kid eating Halloween candy. Maybe, but not with me. I never saw him take anything stronger than sprain. He was outfitted with more stuff than a more regular person would take on an African safari. He had what seemed like a ton of baggage, including a heavy, bulky word processor that I lugged all over town during the next day. He never touched it. I've never, ever seen anyone who brought as much stuff for a one day visit.
Most disappointing for me was the fact that he was sort of hard to talk with. He just did not converse like most people. Thompson might totally ignore something I said while responding nonsensically to something else. Occasionally he seemed to twitch oddly. Hunter also never spoke in anything that resembled a sentence. He was friendly enough and we got along fine as I drove him around Madison over that evening and the next day. We shared our views about Richard Nixon. Thompson's hated of Nixon was one of the coolest parts of his persona. I had the impression that if I had said something nice about Nixon the he would have gotten out of the car on a random Madison street corner. Fortunately, my disdain for Nixon was well developed. I had been warned not to bring up the Doonesbury comic strip, then the most popular comic strip in the country and the genesis of much of the Thompson legend. He hated the comic strip.
The purpose of the visit was for Thompson to cover a big Gary Hart rally at Wisconsin's majestic state capitol a few days before our state's presidential primary (Hart won). My job was to get Hunter where he needed to go without distracting the national media or the crowd from the candidate. I failed, although it seemed a lot worse that it really was at the time.
I was driving Thompson about midway in a Hart motorcade of eight vehicles. Behind me was most of the national press corps who were covering Hart. In any campaign, the media are the VIP's. The advance man who had choreographed the event had emphatically instructed me to stick with the motorcade at all times until we reached a designated parking lot. It was vitally important that the media be in a certain exact location at a certain time.
As we approached the Capitol Building, with little or no warning, Hunter S. Thompson screamed at me "GET OVER THERE, THEY ARE COMING TO GET US, TURN NOW!!" and he grabbed the wheel from me. I had no idea what he was talking about or what was happening, but I turned as he was imploring me, and he said something like "GOOD BOY, I HOPE WE ARE SAFE NOW" as he bounded out the door to cover the rally. Everyone was confused including the 50 or so reporters on various vehicles behind me. We were now parked in the wrong space, perhaps that reserved for TV transmission trucks. It was a logistical mess in the midst of a huge crowd of over 10,000.
The only person who was not confused was the advance man who screamed "I"M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU HAVE RUNIED EVERYTHING" as he raised his hand with only his middle finger showing into my face. Fearing for my safety from yet another lunatic I quickly scurried over to Hunter, perhaps my one last friend on the scene. The rally was great. After it was over I drove Thompson and his six huge duffel bags back to the airport and helped load the cargo on to the campaign press plane. For weeks after I eagerly awaited the arrival of each new issue of Rolling Stone hoping that he would write something about Hart and that smart, very cool campaign worker who schlepped him around that historic (in my dreams) day in Madison. No dice. To my eternal disappointment he never wrote a thing about that day or much at all about the Hart Campaign, despite the fact that I had carried around his word processor like a Sherpa in Nepal.
Years later, at a book signing in Washington, DC, where he appeared as always smoking a cigarette with a huge tumbler of iced, single malt scotch. During my allotted 15 seconds with him in the long line I asked Hunter what had caused him to divert the motorcade that day. I explained the context. I'm not sure he remembered anything and he responded with some sort of nonsense like, "Oh yes, we had to get away from them"...whatever.
I'll miss Hunter S. Thompson, the campaign trail will never be the same.
Howard Park
some great hunter s thompson quotes from his last story!
"Presidential politics is a vicious business, even for rich white men, and anybody who gets into it should be prepared to grapple with the meanest of the mean. The White House has never been seized by timid warriors. There are no rules, and the roadside is littered with wreckage. That is why they call it the passing lane. Just ask any candidate who ever ran against George Bush -- Al Gore, Ann Richards, John McCain -- all of them ambushed and vanquished by lies and dirty tricks. And all of them still whining about it."
"Which has always been the case. Every GOP administration since 1952 has let the Military-Industrial Complex loot the Treasury and plunge the nation into debt on the excuse of a wartime economic emergency. Richard Nixon comes quickly to mind, along with Ronald Reagan and his ridiculous 'trickle-down' theory of U.S. economic policy. If the Rich get Richer, the theory goes, before long their pots will overflow and somehow 'trickle down' to the poor, who would rather eat scraps off the Bush family plates than eat nothing at all. Republicans have never approved of democracy, and they never will. It goes back to preindustrial America, when only white male property owners could vote."
"The genetically vicious nature of presidential campaigns in America is too obvious to argue with, but some people call it fun, and I am one of them. Election Day -- especially a presidential election -- is always a wild and terrifying time for politics junkies, and I am one of those, too. We look forward to major election days like sex addicts look forward to orgies. We are slaves to it."
"George Bush certainly does. In four short years he has turned our country from a prosperous nation at peace into a desperately indebted nation at war. But so what? He is the President of the United States, and you're not. Love it or leave it."
"Richard Nixon looks like a flaming liberal today, compared to a golem like George Bush. Indeed. Where is Richard Nixon now that we finally need him?
If Nixon were running for president today, he would be seen as a 'liberal' candidate, and he would probably win. He was a crook and a bungler, but what the hell? Nixon was a barrel of laughs compared to this gang of thugs from the Halliburton petroleum organization who are running the White House today -- and who will be running it this time next year, if we (the once-proud, once-loved and widely respected 'American people') don't rise up like wounded warriors and whack those lying petroleum pimps out of the White House on November 2nd.
Nixon hated running for president during football season, but he did it anyway. Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for -- but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him.
You bet. Richard Nixon would be my Man. He was a crook and a creep and a gin-sot, but on some nights, when he would get hammered and wander around in the streets, he was fun to hang out with. He would wear a silk sweat suit and pull a stocking down over his face so nobody could recognize him. Then we would get in a cab and cruise down to the Watergate Hotel, just for laughs."
"I watch three or four frantic network-news bulletins about Iraq every day, and it is all just fraudulent Pentagon propaganda, the absolute opposite of what it says: u.s. transfers sovereignty to iraqi interim "government." Hot damn! Iraq is finally Free, and just in time for the election! It is a deliberate cowardly lie. We are no more giving power back to the Iraqi people than we are about to stop killing them.
Your neighbor's grandchildren will be fighting this stupid, greed-crazed Bush-family "war" against the whole Islamic world for the rest of their lives, if John Kerry is not elected to be the new President of the United States in November.
The question this year is not whether President Bush is acting more and more like the head of a fascist government but if the American people want it that way. That is what this election is all about. We are down to nut-cutting time, and millions of people are angry. They want a Regime Change."
"Which has always been the case. Every GOP administration since 1952 has let the Military-Industrial Complex loot the Treasury and plunge the nation into debt on the excuse of a wartime economic emergency. Richard Nixon comes quickly to mind, along with Ronald Reagan and his ridiculous 'trickle-down' theory of U.S. economic policy. If the Rich get Richer, the theory goes, before long their pots will overflow and somehow 'trickle down' to the poor, who would rather eat scraps off the Bush family plates than eat nothing at all. Republicans have never approved of democracy, and they never will. It goes back to preindustrial America, when only white male property owners could vote."
"The genetically vicious nature of presidential campaigns in America is too obvious to argue with, but some people call it fun, and I am one of them. Election Day -- especially a presidential election -- is always a wild and terrifying time for politics junkies, and I am one of those, too. We look forward to major election days like sex addicts look forward to orgies. We are slaves to it."
"George Bush certainly does. In four short years he has turned our country from a prosperous nation at peace into a desperately indebted nation at war. But so what? He is the President of the United States, and you're not. Love it or leave it."
"Richard Nixon looks like a flaming liberal today, compared to a golem like George Bush. Indeed. Where is Richard Nixon now that we finally need him?
If Nixon were running for president today, he would be seen as a 'liberal' candidate, and he would probably win. He was a crook and a bungler, but what the hell? Nixon was a barrel of laughs compared to this gang of thugs from the Halliburton petroleum organization who are running the White House today -- and who will be running it this time next year, if we (the once-proud, once-loved and widely respected 'American people') don't rise up like wounded warriors and whack those lying petroleum pimps out of the White House on November 2nd.
Nixon hated running for president during football season, but he did it anyway. Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for -- but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him.
You bet. Richard Nixon would be my Man. He was a crook and a creep and a gin-sot, but on some nights, when he would get hammered and wander around in the streets, he was fun to hang out with. He would wear a silk sweat suit and pull a stocking down over his face so nobody could recognize him. Then we would get in a cab and cruise down to the Watergate Hotel, just for laughs."
"I watch three or four frantic network-news bulletins about Iraq every day, and it is all just fraudulent Pentagon propaganda, the absolute opposite of what it says: u.s. transfers sovereignty to iraqi interim "government." Hot damn! Iraq is finally Free, and just in time for the election! It is a deliberate cowardly lie. We are no more giving power back to the Iraqi people than we are about to stop killing them.
Your neighbor's grandchildren will be fighting this stupid, greed-crazed Bush-family "war" against the whole Islamic world for the rest of their lives, if John Kerry is not elected to be the new President of the United States in November.
The question this year is not whether President Bush is acting more and more like the head of a fascist government but if the American people want it that way. That is what this election is all about. We are down to nut-cutting time, and millions of people are angry. They want a Regime Change."
His last published story
Hunter S. Thompson's final story was in the October 20, 2004 Rolling Stone..check it here..
he was off base, like many of us, on the election outcome.. but his thoughts on american politics always struck a chord with me..
Friday, February 18, 2005
A sign posted on a fence erected to protect La Casa Rosada (see in the background), Argentina's White House, the day after riots led to the end of the De La Rua presidency. It sums up the general disgust with the Argentine Government: "Goodbye Supreme Court Justices, Goodbye (International) Monetary Fund, Goodbye Pensions of Privilege."
The economic recession of Argentina eventually led to a popular revolt that brought down the President. Pictured here are the headlines of Argentina's major dailies the day after the riots leading to the resignation of President De La Rua at the end of 2001: "The Worse end: De La Rua is gone but he left 26 dead..", "De La Rua Resigned", and "De La Rua left but the riots don't stop." Argentina is now getting back on its feet.....but careful before jumping to conclusions.
Argentina's Inexorable Habit of Dissapointing
Argentina's economy has grown at nearly 9% for the past two years with additional growth forecast for this year... Meanwhile, the Government's "canje" or trade forced upon bond holders (holders of argentine govt debt) with the rather unseemly ultimatum "we've defaulted and if you want anything back accept getting a lot less" has largely met with reluctant acceptance on the part of bondholders...Argentina-watchers are tempted to declare a victory for the Government in its armwrestling with creditors.. even the Wall Street Journal which has made a habit these past few years of berating Argentina is turning a gentler eye on argentina as of late.
however the inescapable fact remains: argentina a country that in the 1920s was one of the ten largest economies in the world barely scrapes the top 100... poverty pervades argentina...although declining with respect to its peak in 2001-2002 i estimate half of argentina's population is poor... analyzing argentina's economic "development" we observe it is nothing but underdevelopment since the end of World War I.. there are peaks and troughs but overall argentina's economy has been on a fairly consistent downward spiral for about 85 years!.. a little economic growth now and then offsets large contractions much as the current growh compensates for some of the huge contraction the economy experienced during the 2001 devaluation (where in dollar terms the economy shrunk something insane like 200%).. but the triumphalism both by some argentine officials and in the foreign media is irresponsible..
the foreign media in particular fails to comprehend argentina and is largely made up of the same "journalists" that during the Menem administration's heyday in the 1990s applauded a by all accounts corrupt government that indebted the country heedlessly with IMF/United States and international financial sector complicity; in essence the same governtment that failed to take the necessary steps to preserve the wellbeing of its people.. the foreign press at the time,led by the usual free-capitalist loving stalwarts the Economist and Wall Street Journal, raved and gushed about Argentina until it was far too late.. they failed to raise timely warning bells about the country's huge indebtedness and unemployment which soared from 10% to nearly 20%!.. when Argentina inevitably collapsed the foreign press was quick to point fingers anywhere but inwards... my point, and i'm sad to make it, is be very cautious and don't believe the hype...
none of this is to imply that Argentina cannot get its house in order and build a more solid economy for the benefit of all its people... the potential for solid economic gains exists.. however, given the lack of acumen displayed by most of its political class and the entrenched corruption permeating the society one must be extremely cautious....certain attitudes and practices, cultural and social, anathemic to the development of capitalism are now engrained within argentine society... furthermore, the weakness and lack of autonomy inherent in its democratic institutions (for example the judiciary) act as drags on progress...even the harsh events of 2001-2002, unbelievably, have not shaken society's ill foundations.. these foundations, in existence for about 100 years, must be changed before stable progress can become a reality for Argentina..
Thursday, February 17, 2005
The return of Andres "el salmon" Calamaro
A feature on Andres Calamaro will follow...for now its great to know he's healthy and back performing in Argentina..
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