McCain should have selected Tina Turner

Tina Turner turns 69 today.

Here is a description of a moment during her Washington, DC concert of a couple nights ago:

"Tina Turner was hovering over the Verizon Center crowd, singing her fiery 1973 song "Nutbush City Limits" from a cherry picker during a Sunday-night encore, when she decided to go hot-stepping across the hydraulic lifting arm that connected the aerial platform to the stage.

"It was a breathtakingly fearless display of athleticism, for Turner was nearly two stories above the arena floor - wearing towering spike heels, no less - while her famous, fabulous legs pumped like pistons on the narrow, catwalk-like surface of the lifting arm.

"So much for shuffling cautiously and quietly into her golden years!"

(thanks for the nice review, WaPo)

Yes, Tina Turner is a marvel. Harness that woman's energy and supply a day's power for Manhatten. Of course, she is also a national treasure. Turner was honored a couple of years ago at the Kennedy Center. As a tribute, Beyonce performed a medley of Tina hits. It was being prepared for television; after she had finished the high-energy set, a gassed Beyonce asked the producers for another take. As they prepared to shoot again, she called up to the honoree's booth. "How do you do it??!!".

Here she is with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue on Playboy After Dark in 1969. It's all hilarious, as a pipe-smoking Hef plays hep to the bunny wannabes while Tina does her thing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1xmvt0WPKA

Jimminy, that's Wanna Take You Higher, Come Together and Proud Mary. What a great band, too!! Ike was a complete pud, but he knew how to pick his musicians.

And the Quote of the Day is:

"In the USA there is no female equivalent to god." -- Tina Turner

History as an Alternative

It's crazy times we're living in, there can be no doubt. But could it be stranger still? Let's speculate some. Could there be civilizations living undetected deep beneath the earth's crust? Is our planet being monitored and managed by alien races? Does the possible existence of quantum physic's String Theory suggest the simultaneous-ness of many Realities co-existing in the same space at different "vibrational" levels?

There is plenty of room in our reason-bound world to include the fecund realms of our imagination. Here in Virginia is an off-road monument to the power of twisted vision, in this case when one mixes the Civil War with the Age of the Dinosaurs:

Roadside Attraction: The Alternate History Theme Park Where Dinosaurs Fought in the Civil War

It's no wonder the rest of the world is frightened of us. But it is fun to contemplate General Phil Sheridan's army going up against a division of Allosaurses. In the real world, of course, the dinosaurs are dead, except in Detroit (thus far). We march along predictable patterns of human behavior, with familiar results. Our friends at the Onion share this news feature on one man's epiphany:

History Doomed To Repeat Itself, Reports Man Who Just Dropped Food On Pants The Onion - America's Finest News Source

One thing about history, it may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme (thanks, Mark Twain). Here is a pretty cool mapping exercise that takes some history, adds a dash of current events, and, well, here it is:

330 - From Pickin’ Cotton to Pickin’ Presidents « Strange Maps

Very interesting how the cotton producing areas of Antebellum South produced the most Obama votes in 2008. It suggests that despite the Great Northern Migration of the mid-Twentieth Century, most slave descendants live quite close to their ancestral homes.

Taking the long view is a magnificent view of the world at night, as seen by a miles-high orbiter. What a way to observe our energy-producing civilizations! Now imagine pre-history, and post-history.

http://www.warwickhughes.com/climate/liteglob.gif

Finally, we have Art as Alternative to History. Here is the famous 3000 Years of Art in Three Minutes video, originally broadcast on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968. It's still way cool:

YouTube - Classical Gas Video Smothers Brothers 1968

And here is the Quote of the Day:

"Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.”
-- Herodotus

Death of the Dinosaurs

Is it possible that the Big 3 CEOs are trying to take us for a ride? Why not, you say? After all, the bankers did the same. They've already received $350 billion and what have they done with it? Lots of dividends, bonuses and acquisitions. Not so much lending. Bankers Bernanke and Paulsen are getting embarrassed.

So here come the Detroit brass to plead their case to a skeptical Congress. Please, give us $25 measly billion, because we're really excited about our new cars. The cars no one wants, even if they could afford them.

But what is truly remarkable about their appearance is how the CEOs got there. By private jets. Yes, the three CEOs traveled from Detroit to DC on their three private company jets. Please give us $25 billion!

Is it much wonder that American Auto Industry is going the way of the Dodo?

Here is a fun article that should take you all along a quick memory ride. It does feature some stinky vehicles:

10 Cars That Sank Detroit - FlowChart (usnews.com)

And while we are contemplating the life force of Detroit, let's dip back into US News for a slightly different take:

6 Myths About GM, Ford, and Chrysler - FlowChart (usnews.com)

All this discussion about automobiles makes one recall the imagery of cars in various rock songs. Here is one of the very first, and best by one of the kings, Chuck Berry:

YouTube - Chuck Berry - Maybellene

What's truly hilarious about that clip is how he's surrounded by a couple of hundred white-starched white kids who are regarding him much the same as a medical school auditorium full of students contemplate the actions of a surgeon professor. Blank stares. Not even a toe tap. Where was this recorded, Belgium? Even Berry's pickup band is a bunch of old white guys. Weird.

Speaking of weird, we leave you with this pre-Thanksgiving piece by the redoubtable Sarah Palin - there's a blast from the past. She's giving an interview in Alaska. But what's fascinating are the turkeys being beheaded directly behind her. (No, no comments about Republicans here.) Morbidly funny stuff.

YouTube - KTUU 2008 Sarah Palin turkey interview

And here's the Quote of the Day:

"A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business."

-- Henry Ford

Message For The Mess Age

Congress debates the morbid future of the American auto industry. Obama confers with McCain. Economic ministers from the G-20 meeting try to translate conflicting theories. The Packers slaughter the Bears.

Oh, what a world of misery and mystery. But isn't it interesting? So much to review and analyze, towards better understanding of the past and present to prepare for future changes.

And the times they are a ch-ch-ch-changing. Who would have thought just a month ago that conservative Corgi dog George Will would be upbraided on national television by a NY Times columnist? OK, the columnist just won the Nobel Prize in Economics. But it's still fun to watch Will drum his fingers:

YouTube - Krugman schools Will

It's good to get one's facts straight if one is to progress. Towards this end, I can heartily recommend The Washington Note for regular reading. It's a blog hosted by foreign policy wonk Steve Clemons, a former staffer for Republican apostate Senator Chuck Hagel (that must make him center-center). You can depend on terrific reviews, opinions, interviews, and videoconferences. In the latest piece, Steve includes an abridged interview by Bill Moyers with the great Andrew Bacevich.

Bacevich is a thinker's thinker and more than a bit of an iconoclast:

Andrew Bacevich - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He's bipartisan in his denunciations of foreign policy mishaps, military bloat and our culture's spectacle. His glum view of Bush's Iraq War preceded the death of his son there. The coming Great Transformation will take a lot of understanding and getting used to; having Bacevich help interpret it all is somewhat comforting. Take a few minutes to soak in his thoughts:


Andrew Bacevich Comments on Self-Damaging Wars, the Absence of Strategy, and Dangerous Leadership - The Washington Note

Well, we need to clear our heads a bit after that slough of sobering sophistry. So here's Billy Eckstine and his band, performing his 1946 hit, Lonesome Lover Blues. Eckstine was notable for his mellow baritone voice, his use of the valve trombone and leading a crack band of outstanding musicians, including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Frank Wess, Fats Navarro and more. Two minutes of sublimity:

YouTube - Billy Eckstine Sings Lonesome Lover Blues

Wow.

And now for our Quote of the Day:

“Unsustainable situations usually go on longer than most economists think possible. But they always end, and when they do, it's often painful.” -- Professor Paul Krugman

Time of the Season

California is burning, the Great Plains have blizzards, the Midwest is sleeting and Virginia has cold, heavy rains. We must be in mid-November; it's time to get ready for the winter ahead.

Here is a recently received useful summary of Seasonal Differences in the regions of the USA:

60 above - Floridians wear coats, gloves, and wooly hats. Chicago people sunbathe.

50 above - New Yorkers try to turn on the heat. Chicago people plant gardens.

40 above - Italian cars won't start. Chicago people drive with the windows down.

32 above - Distilled water freezes. Lake Michigan's water gets thicker.

20 above - Californians shiver uncontrollably. Chicago people have the last cookout before it gets cold.

15 above - New York landlords finally turn up the heat. Chicago people throw on a sweatshirt.

0 degrees - Californians fly away to Mexico. Chicago people lick the flagpole and throw on a light jacket over the sweatshirt

20 below - People in Miami cease to exist. Chicago people get out their winter coats.

40 below - Hollywood disintegrates. Chicago's Girl Scouts begin selling cookies door to door.

50 below - Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Chicago people get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg.

60 below - Microbial life survives on dairy products. Illinois cows complain of farmers with cold hands.

460 below - ALL atomic motion stops. Chicago people start saying. ."Cold 'nuff for ya??"

500 below - Hell freezes over. The Chicago Cubs win the World Series.

Whilst contemplating one's mortality in the face of unyielding change of seasons, one can determine one's IQ by gazing upon the ever-twirling silhouetted nubile nude lady here:

StumbleUpon WebToolbar - Which Way is She turning? - [IQTest] &8212; ReadnRock.com

What, you aren't a 'genius'? You can't make the gal spin and turn directions on a dime? Hmmm... you must be concentrating on the wrong part of her anatomy.

Speaking of anatomy, check out the original video for The Zombies' great single from August, 1967. It's a TERRIFIC snapshot into the world of the swinging Sixties, aggressive Carnaby Street fashion and gender branding. Nostalgia for some, nausea for others... but it's all compelling stuff:

YouTube - The Zombies - Time Of The Season

And now for the Quote of the Day:

“We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing.” -- R.D. Laing

The Ever-Changing Mystery of Change

Although we live in a society where there is only one president at a time, today the president-elect has far more influence now than our current fixture. And though the world (including, it seems, our own country) would love to have Obama represent himself at the G-20 meetings this weekend, and publicly espouse future policy, it is not going to happen.

Obama is following the FDR - Hoover transition template. FDR was entreated by Hoover constantly to publicly enjoin him with statements of support and alliance. FDR demurred. He felt, rightly, that the country's economy was owned by Hoover and should remain so until his own Inauguration Day. Whatever happens between now and January 20, for better or worse, will be on W's watch. He owns it.

In the meantime, Obama has launched his Transparency in Government website. It's designed to open the door for those curious to research how the new administration is shaping up. If it works, expect to see this website serve as an alternate communication tool for Obamatists and the public at large, possibly bypassing more traditional forms of media. The Audacity of Change:

Change.gov

One thing that happened this week remains murky. After meeting with Bush at the White House, Obama headed to the airport for a Chicago-bound flight. Then a curious thing happened: an unscheduled event. His motorcade drove off to the airport's Fire Station #301, where Obama met with an unnamed person for an hour. This has the makings of High Paranoia, or at least a cool parlour game. Who was this person?? And why meet in such an odd place?

Who Did Obama Meet With? -- Political Wire


My bet is he met with Kobe Bryant and played a game of HORSE. And speaking of horse, here's Obama's future Press Secretary appearing with the world's biggest horse's rear-end, Sean Hannity, the prince of the puds. Lil' Sean is in full blowhard mode, practically flecking foam while invoking the name Bill Ayers. I think Robert Gibbs is going to be fine:

YouTube - Robert Gibbs Confronts Hannity Over Anti-Semite Guest

For a "calmer, more reasoned" approach to things, let's give a look and listen to the late, world-class loon/genius Glenn Gould as he ponders, plays and sings through a piece by Bach in his home, accompanied by a skeptical looking collie. He even has a Thelonious Monk moment when he reaches some sort of interior conflict and rises from the piano bench, mid-piece, and wanders to the window, looking out and still singing the music as he would be playing it:

YouTube - Glenn Gould plays Bach

And now for the Quote of the Day:

"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward." -- Soren Kierkegaard

George Carlin Is Still Dead

Last night it was George Carlin Night at the Mark Twain Prize for Humor ceremony, held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

It took Carlin a full week to absorb the impact of being named this year's recipient. The prestigious honor was too much for him, and he died last June. But the scheduled night went on! PBS recorded the proceedings, so watch for it to be broadcast in April.

Carlin, Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor will be remembered as having successfully pushed the limits on what had been considered to be obscene in stand-up comedy. Every comic who has followed in their wake owes a part of their careers to this groundbreaking triad.

Here is an older Carlin at his scatological best, with nary a curse word within the rapid-fire 5000-or-so other words used as he describes himself:

YouTube - George Carlin - I'm A Modern Man

Speaking of comedians, you can't beat the hijinks this weekend at the 9:30 Club in DC. There was an extremely inebriated Democrat in the audience for the Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra. He chose to express his appreciation in a most distasteful fashion:

Wonkette : Jersey City Dem Pees All Over D.C. Nightclubbers

The question is, will he appear before a jury of his pee-ers? Oh my, the Wonkette snark comments are still the best.

Following the thread of strange but timely humor, here is a new website constructed by the RNC. It is soliciting suggestions on how to reconstruct the pulverized Republican party. Some are good, some are wacky. I like the Truck Nutz for All suggestion (83 votes!) Note the preponderance of Libertarian responses:

Customer Feedback for Rebuild the Party

Given the amount of finger-pointing and muttered oaths and backstabbing and unattributed quotes going on within the Republican Party leadership, we could be witnessing soon a political version of this:

BBC NEWS World Middle East Monks brawl at Jerusalem shrine

Carlin would have loved that. And now for the Quote of the Day. In honor of George Carlin, we have two:

"I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."

"Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck."

Inconceivable!!

One of the more curious aspects of the doomed McCain/Palin campaign occurred during its Election Night Celebration. Early on, as the Obama electoral vote count piled up, a programming change took place: the Jumbotron TV screens lining the rear of the hall switched from televised election news reports to instead play a loop of McCain campaign commercials.

Republican revelers were kept in the dark while the rest of the nation watched as a whole new era rolled from the east coast towards the west. Unless they were keeping tabs via cell phones or blackberries, partyers didn't have a clue until the lights went up and everyone was told to head out to the hotel lawn where McCain wanted to say a few words...

It all speaks to the strangeness of the McCain effort. If during the campaign we had the 2000 edition McCain, or the Election Concession Speech McCain, he might very well have carried the day. But he seemed so odd and conflicted through much of his appearances: grimacing, lurching about, teeth clenching and grinding, eyes rolling, just weird! It was like there were two people in his skin, trying to dominate each other. Now we know why:

Right Turn in July Put McCain on Unfamiliar Path - washingtonpost.com

And all's well that ends well,at least for now. Nothing good seems to be emerging from the backstory of Governor Sarah "One Heartbeat Away" Palin. Watch this stirring conversation between Fox News Blowhard Bill O'Reilly and Fox News Correspondent Carl Cameron, who had been following the Palin camp:

Breaking News Latest News Current News - FOXNews.com

Inconceivable! Africa is a country? Didn't know NAFTA partners? Didn't know the countries in North America? Didn't know "American Exceptionalism"? And still had the Hubris to wave off prep handlers before the Couric interview? Geez... If McCain had won, our nation would have been lighting daily candles praying for his continued good health.

So if Palin was crazy and McCain was conflicted, how did they manage to accrue 46% of the popular vote? Well, who knows? The Palin Doofus wing probably accounts for half of that amount. The other half seem to be a patchwork of educated, dedicated Republicans (whatever that means), skeptical Independents, a scattered number of PUMAs, and a bunch of Old White People. Here is how The Onion sees it:

Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress The Onion - America's Finest News Source

It's hard to argue with that. The Onion gets the last word.

There's A New Sheriff In Town

"Good Guys Wear Black" is the Chicago White Sox slogan. In addition to the fine hat above, check out following link for the headgear on noted White Sox fan President-Elect Barack Obama:

BARACK OBAMA: Barack Obama starts new life -- chicagotribune.com

And here is a nice election-night story about the friendship between Obama and White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams:

On Election Night, It’s Not About the Pitching for Obama’s Friend Kenny Williams - NYTimes.com

And now the Quote of the Day from the late, great Chicago community activist Saul Alinsky, the author of "Rules For Radicals", the man who provided the template for the Obama ground organization:

"We must believe that it is the darkest before the dawn of a beautiful new world. We will see it when we believe it."

Project Democracy In Action

Yes! The election is nearly here! OK, it doesn't provide the same thrill in the gut as when you were a kid and it was Christmas Eve... but it will be simply grand to be done with it.

Looking back over the nearly two years of this spectacle, I can confidently report my favorite moment, one that happened to me personally!

A couple of weeks ago, Barack Obama visited Leesburg, Virginia, not far from here. I had taken my daughter to the doctor's office and after it was over, she wanted to go see Obama. Well, alright. So off we went to brave the teeming crowds and find a distant parking place.

By the time we arrived at the entrance of the outdoor event, we were nearly late, but there were still plenty of people streaming in. Traffic was blocked off and the main road was cleared for pedestrians. To get there, we had to pass by a phalanx of McCain/Palin supporters.

They were in good form. Lots of signs suggesting we were baby-killers, treasonous traitors and socialists. Only in America.

As my daughter and I crossed their area with other Obama-bound folk, we heard their cries of opposition. One well-dressed, leather-lunged gentleman held up a yellow sign equating Obama with Socialism. As he waved it defiantly, he let out a loud, long penetrating bray:


"Stalin Obama!! Staaaaahhhlllin Oooooobhaaaammhaaaaa!!!!"


This is quite a statement to absorb, no matter where one may be on the political map, or the middle of the road (quite literally). I looked at my daughter and the other people walking with us into the entranceway. Everyone was agog. We had one of those wonderful moments of shared looks of astonishment.

And then my daughter let out a guffaw. I followed with a snort and a sharp laugh. Immediately everyone around us pitched in with their own great laughs. It was too surreal and preposterous - the humor of the moment swept us all up. Instead of being angry, we all entered the rally laughing and feeling very good.

The Quote of the Day:
"No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear." -- Edmund Burke

One of the Greatest Americans

It was not such a Happy Halloween for the many fans of the great Studs Turkel. He finally "checked out" at the age of 96.

It is no exaggeration to state that Studs was one of the great genius-spirits of our age. He put the secular humanist in Secular Humanism.

Studs Turkel invented what is now called Oral History. In the mid-1950's, Turkel began a 45-year career as a syndicated radio talk show host. His interviews from these programs, and his later books, constitute a virtual syllabus of the 20th Century. From ruling leaders, writers and artists to the Joe Sixpacks of the world, Studs' sense of empathy elicited amazingly candid and illuminating dialogues and epiphanies.

To understand our nation, from the Roaring Twenties through this day, one need only read Studs Turkel's works and hear his voice. And follow along the life he lived. Born to immigrants; child of the streets; scholar and lawyer; writer and performer; blacklisted by McCarthyism; pioneer of radio and television; creator of a new form of History; honored by Presidents and The People. The phrase 'force of nature' is overused, but it applies so well to Studs. We will never see the likes of him again. Here are some appreciations:

STUDS TERKEL: Studs Terkel dead -- chicagotribune.com

The Tribune link has a good number of video clips and ancillary stories about the great man. Another tribute is delivered by a fellow Pulitzer-winner, Roger Ebert:

Roger Ebert: To Studs: With Love and Memories

And for those who have a little bit of time to devote towards understanding the amazing memory and depth of detail that he possessed to his final day, here is an expansive interview he delivered at the U. of California a couple of years ago. Throughout, be prepared for amazement and a greater appreciation of what America was, is and can be again:

YouTube - Conversations with History: Studs Terkel

And now for the Quote of the Day:

"I'd like to be remembered as a guy who made trouble when trouble was needed." -- Studs Turkel