|
Up to the minute notes on the current state of free thinking and free living: Kentucky moonshine - original analysis and reporting from MoreThings, and all round pop culture museum of sight and sound - photo galleries, mp3 and video downloads.
Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
Live free or die!
----
|
August 31, 2002
Listen to the lion roar!
 Mama hatched Van Morrison August 31, 1945. Happy 57th birthday!!!
Perfectly good, respectable music fans know him for hits such as "Brown Eyed Girl," "Domino," "Moondance," and "Jackie Wilson Said." You can't argue with those picks.
Really cool people, though, know that the litmus test for a REAL Van fan is their response to "Listen to the Lion" from the St. Dominic's Preview album. Over some ten minutes plus, you can hear Van working himself into a trance and making some approximation of speaking in tongues as he seeks direct communion with his muse, the holy spirit. As a Frank Zappa fan, I might typically be skeptical of the cosmik debris, but in 1972 Van was hot enough to TOTALLY make this work.
If you don't have any Van Morrison, The Best of Van Morrison is a good starting place. You'll also certainly want Astral Weeks, St. Dominic's Preview, and Moondance. That should get you started.
THE MYSTIC ROAR OF VAN MORRISON
posted by Al at 8/31/2002 03:22:00 AM
Randy Weaver anniversary
We won't forget
Ten years ago today, 8-31-92, Randy Weaver came peacefully out of his Idaho cabin and surrendered to the federal authorities who had murdered his wife and son.
Perhaps if the FBI weren't spending it's time entrapping peacable citizens into petty weapons violations, then gunning down their families, maybe they would have the energy and attention to devote to catching actual bad people who want to kill us.
posted by Al at 8/31/2002 02:51:00 AM
August 30, 2002
Jackie Mason's illegal occupation
Apparently Jackie Mason should now be considered a racist pig. He's on the bad end of a racial incident. Seems that maybe -at worst- he or more likely his manager expressed some passing qualms about a possible Palestenian-American opening act they'd never seen. Maybe not even that. This resulted in one Ray Hanania not getting to open for Jackie Mason in Chicago at Zanie's Comedy Club.
It also resulted in Jackie Mason being attacked as a "racist." Fox News chose to cover this, as if perhaps there was something amiss. This comes even from some supposed "libertarians" who would physically tolerate Mr. Mason's supposed ill-behavior, but feel the need to speak out against his "bigotry."
Then, of course, come the usual suspects. Al Alarabi, president of the United Arab American League, said, "I'm outraged. It is an act of hate and racism against Palestenians." They will no doubt have to send out a couple of suicide bombers now. Hey, the Jew pushed them into it by illegally occupying the stage at Zanie's.
The extraordinary gaping double-triple-quadruple standards of expected racial sensitivity continually flabbergast me. Arabs/Muslims/Palestenians have more than filled their minimum expectations of reason and civility if they are not absolutely personally killing random Jews. Merely advocating it, or defending those who do it falls well within the parameters of acceptable social behavior.
Yet Arab and Muslim sensitivity meters are set at not even "11" on the 1 to 10 scale, but are somewhere around "1200." If a Jew or an American looks at a Muslim crossways, then he's an evil oppressor sonofabitch. Mr. Mason being both Jewish and American, he might as well just paint a stupid Hitler moustache on himself and start goose stepping, cause he will certainly be rebuked as a Nazi.
These people need to be slapped. Jackie Mason marched with MLK. He marched for civil rights down south back when it wasn't a nice photo op for your publicist; he was there before that, back when it was a good way to get your ass kicked and/or get on some list of J Edgar Hoover's.
Perhaps a Jew might not rate censure if they were somewhat less than eager to pal up with Muslims, especially Palestenians. You don't want to go around beating up poor innocent Arabs [as if], but might a Hebrew gentleman rate a small bit of understanding if he was just the least wee bit standoffish? As you can see from this story, getting anywhere near Muslims/Arabs will likely cause you great headache. Would a Jew be outside the realm of civil society if they just maybe have, uh, some issues with Arabs?
For someone who comes on so meek and innocent for the press, Mr. Hanania certainly jumped on the chance to make a racial publicity stunt out of a common act of losing a booking. The general manager of Zanie's said that the cancellation was because he was an unknown, not race. He has been a comedian less than a year apparently, with less than two dozen performances ever. Heck, I've got more experience than that just yucking it up at my family reunions.
Yet this nobody has climbed on Jackie Mason's back, his years of hard work, and consciously manufactured unwarranted resentment against the Jew to generate publicity for his would-be career. Hey, he's not actually physically assaulting him, so we can't demand any higher standard.
Wait, now let me get this straight, it's Jackie Mason who is a racist?Labels: ray_hanania
posted by Al at 8/30/2002 04:09:00 AM
August 28, 2002
UNC's PC indoctrination
Dennis Prager gets the exact right analysis of the University of North Carolina's pro-Islam book assignment.
"So, the intent of the University of North Carolina assigned summer reading is not at all what it purports to be. It was not chosen to help students understand 9-11; it was chosen to help students not to understand 9-11 by deflecting their attention from the contemporary Arab Islamic reality and onto selected ancient Islamic texts that bear no connection to that reality."
To add a bit to Mr. Prager's thought, I wouldn't object to making schoolkids read about Islam. Fine. You go to school to learn new things. It would be an outstanding idea to require students to read a straight English translation of the Koran. That would be learning something about who we're dealing with. Once they have read the Koran, students could start making more informed judgements as young citizens and voters about the religious traditions of these folk.
But it's worse than not learning at all to have them teaching out and out lies, which is what they do with their conveniently expurgated alternate version Islam at UNC.
posted by Al at 8/28/2002 02:38:00 AM
Where can I get me a bag of them magic modems?
You may find it difficult to imagine, but based on the primary debate Tuesday night, the Democrats in Florida have found a candidate aggressively stupid enough to make the mass murderess at the other end of the table almost look good. Now, Bill McBride was merely boring. His main message was that incumbent Republican Jeb Bush doesn't care about the people of Florida. He especially doesn't care about The Children. Yeah, yeah.
State senator Daryl Jones, however, was in what he must have thought was a slick (very) used car salesman mode. Yet his sales pitch seemed so ill that the third man aka Satan's Little Helper aka Janet Reno almost seemed reasonable (if you could just forget about the dozens of children and adults she had murdered at Waco. Sorry, had to get that reminder in.)
For starters, in his opening statement Mr. Jones positively bragged on how the government has "invested" $30 million dollars in him through his college and military training and whatnot. What? Your opening statement consists of bragging in detail of sucking up more funds from the public trough than several dozen ordinary citizens will earn in a lifetime? Oh yeah, I'll vote for more of THAT.
Then he proposed doing away with the FCAT program of student testing. Then the $100 million plus could be distributed as bonuses to school teachers. Are voters not supposed to notice pure, unadulterated and certainly unmerited sucking off of the teacher's unions? Don't give standardized tests to the students so that voters can have some objective measure of just how bad the schools are failing. No, just give the money straight over to the teachers. Not the schools, or building funds, or better libraries. Just hand it over. By rights, this does not constitute Jones saying something stupid per se. It is more a question of him suggesting that the voters are really, really stupid enough to buy this. Or to buy one of those silly hardhats that he put on during his closing statement.
The real howlingly funny thing to me, though, involved his plans to invest in magic modems. Florida has had some ongoing really bad national publicity over their apparently awful state child welfare agencies, which seem to have absolutely lost track of where hundreds of kids in their custody even are. Senator Jones' big suggestion was to invest in new laptop computers with wireless modems that will let caseworkers know if abuse is going on.
Dang, is the senator on some of those magic modems? And where can I get me some?
posted by Al at 8/28/2002 01:02:00 AM
Ayn Rand's greatest lesson
C-Span has been running a series of shows on "American Writers." Certainly no one was a more American writer than Ayn Rand. As the all-time greatest apologist for capitalism and individualism, she wrote perhaps the most important book of the 20th century, Atlas Shrugged. You may want to check the C-Span schedule for more Ayn.
One theme of hers jumped out in this review of her work as particularly crucial: emotions are not tools of cognition. These words may look like a flat, uninteresting statement, but they relay a profoundly important truth. Humans properly understand the world through rational analysis of the empirical input of our senses. Simply feeling that something is right does not make it so. Your hatred of rich folks does not make them immoral. Your desire for someone to watch out for you doesn't constitute proof of god's existence. Your visceral anger does not constitute a legitimate justification for a US war against Iraq, nor a rational argument for an attack- nor does your squishy desire to make nice constitute a legitimate argument against military action. Emotions are important, but if you let them run your life, then the tail is wagging the dog.
She made one particular statement from that basic idea that went absolutely against the grain of common wisdom, and which may be the greatest one practical rule of life in my experience. The common wisdom of the popular culture is that you should follow your heart [ie emotions], even if it goes against your logical judgement. NO! That is precisely wrong. As Ayn said, if there is a conflict between your head and your heart, go with your head every time.
Friends, those are words to live by.
posted by Al at 8/28/2002 12:22:00 AM
August 27, 2002
What is... a big load of commie bull?
The CounterRevolutionary makes like Johnny Carson's Great Carnac by filing this report over a week early detailing the final findings of the UN World Summit now underway. The Onion couldn't have said it better.
posted by Al at 8/27/2002 09:26:00 PM
CNN becoming fair and balanced?
Tonight marks the third time in a couple of months that CNN has had Steve Dasbach from the Libertarian Party on Crossfire.
This marks a noteworthy effort at having actual divergent points of view, with some idea being represented other than what should the government do to fix the supposed problem du jour. Tonight, for example, they were debating the USDA's officially recommended food pyramid. Rather than an argument over what the government should be telling us to eat, the libertarian was there to question what business it is of the government to be telling us what to eat in the first place.
Kudos, by the way, to my old buddy Dasbach. He represented us well yet again. He's turned into a better spokesman for the libertarian position than presidential candidate Harry Browne. Dasbach held his own nicely sitting opposite James Carville. Cheesy Democrat partisan though he may be, the Ragin' Cajun is bar none the best public representative going for their side. It may be performance much more than substance, but Carville is quite effective on television.
Meantime, if they keep bringing libertarians in, I'm liable to start thinking CNN is actually making some attempt at being fair and balanced.
posted by Al at 8/27/2002 06:47:00 PM
Happy Birthday Pee Wee
Paul Reubens was born August 27, 1952. Happy 50th birthday!
His best known character, of course, has been Pee Wee Herman. No doubt Pee Wee's Playhouse was one of the most unique concoctions in the history of children's television.
However, don't forget his very different and critical supporting role as Howie, the Hamburger Dude in one of the most underappreciated movie comedies ever, Cheech and Chong's Nice Dreams. His performance as a coked up escapee from the Casa del Whacko nut house was priceless. No one else could have done it like Mr. Reubens.
Noteworthy screen moment: Howie [Reubens] leans over to Chong and whispers conspiratorially, "The future of rock and roll. Bruce Springsteen... He's f*&%ing it all up!"
posted by Al at 8/27/2002 05:38:00 PM
August 26, 2002
Help bring the McAfrika to the US
Found me a picture of the evil McAfrika burger. 
I was drooling like Homer Simpson.
Naturally, I went to the McDonald's website to request an American release. Click here to do likewise.
"Dear Ronald,
This new McAfrika burger everybody's talking about looks scrumptious. I want one of them bad boys. You should put them out here in the US.
Besides, why should the Norwegians get exclusive dibs on this cool stuff? They're wussies.
I look forward to digging into a McAfrika burger soon."
posted by Al at 8/26/2002 01:54:00 PM
Was this really a good idea?
The 19th amendment to the US constitution passed on August 26, 1920, granting women suffrage. Was this really a good idea?
posted by Al at 8/26/2002 01:58:00 AM
August 25, 2002
McCommies need to get lives
McDonald's has put out a limited time promotional sandwich in Norway called the McAfrika, some kind of pita concoction supposedly based on an African recipe.
Naturally, decent people are OUTRAGED. There are people starving in Africa. This is so insensitive. "It's inappropriate and distasteful to launch a hamburger called McAfrika when large portions of southern Africa are on the verge of starvation," Linn Aas-Hansen of Norwegian Church Aid told the newspaper Aftenposten.
Protesters from Norwegian Church Aid have been handing out "catastrophe crackers" - aid-package subsistence biscuits, to customers coming into McDonald's restaraunts in Oslo.
Yet if you looked up some of these self-appointed Norweigan guardians of "sensitivity" and slapped the taste out of their mouths, YOU would be the bad guy. Apparently it is now somehow off limits to eat any form of African cuisine, because... well, because they say so. What logic is there to this other than that McDonald's customers should feel guilty because they aren't starving too?
What good does this do for starving Africans? McDonald's naturally offered some hush/protection/donation money, but they were having none of it. A few bucks might actually feed some starving people. But no, these Norwegian commies would rather have an issue to embarass McDonalds.
It appears that simply spiting rich folks and parading your supposed moral superiority is more important than anything to do with actually ameliorating the suffering of Africans. To whatever extent that the "Norwegian Church Aid" organization represents Christianity, this only re-inforces Nietzche's theory that resentment is the core value of Christianity. In fairness, though, you really can't hold this particular foolishness against, say, Pat Robertson.
posted by Al at 8/25/2002 01:00:00 AM
All hail the king!
On August 25, 1954 the future king of rock and roll was born as Declan Patrick McManus. Happy birthday, Elvis Costello!!!
posted by Al at 8/25/2002 12:29:00 AM
Link Soup
morethings master
photo gallery index
MP3
new album
releases
lyrics
sammy davis
little richard photos
buddy holly pictures
fats domino images
chuck berry pictures 01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
la
24
lucille ball images james
blunt photos
clint eastwood pictures lena
horne images team
america pictures
robert mitchum photos
bruce springsteen pictures
mariah carey pictures
ann coulter photos
george clooney images
loretta lynn pictures
beatles pictures
white stripes pictures
andy griffith pictures
kill bill pictures
beverly hillbillies pictures
robin williams
frank zappa pictures
jerry lee lewis pictures
richard pryor photos
june carter johnny cash pictures
vic mackey shield pictures u2 photos
four seasons images
james cagney images
elvis presley pictures
country music
blog
dolly parton pictures
olsen twins photos
tom petty photos
tori amos pictures
joaquin phoenix images David
Bowie photos
Quills movie images
reese witherspoon pictures rolling
stones photos
fiona apple images kim
novak images ray charles photos marx
brothers pictures
prince rogers nelson pictures blazing
saddles images
sinead o'connor images
eddie murphy photos aretha
franklin photos
south park pictures homer
simpson images
bob dylan pictures elizabeth
taylor photos madonna
images
saturday night live pictures willie
nelson images hee
haw pictures james
brown images pete
townshend photos
tina turner pictures
dixie chicks photos
margaret thatcher photos
guns
n roses pictures
paula abdul pictures
jodie foster photos
amy winehouse
eminem
frank sinatra photos
van
halen images
satan
blondie photos
joni
mitchell pictures
merle haggard
images
rocky horror pictures
monty
python
|
|
