What clever sounds like to a stupid person

See... Don't try to be clever.  Stick to what you're good at.  And appearing clever isn't it.  Unfortunately Conservatives are fairly easy to impress, as long as what they're been fed comes from a Conservative.

"Keep your Government hands off my medicare, indeed."

I've lost track of the number of times my parents, or one of my Conservative friends, have sent me one of the Right-Wing, anti-Obama, anti-Pelosi, or anti-Democrat emails that Snopes has already debunked. (Usually YEARS ago.) If you think what you're saying (or reading) is too good to be true, and no Liberal could ever possibly have an answer for it?

Keep quiet, and do some research first.

You missed something really obvious. You're wrong. And it will take someone like me about five seconds to figure that out.


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Date: 2/27/13
Morning Weight: 208.8
Pounds Down: 6
Pounds to Go: 34
Days remaining: 204
Gym: Not tonight. (DW has Akido/Iado.)

Song Dedications (Political)

The following song is dedicated to either George Zimmerman or the family of Trayvon Martin, whichever makes more sense to you. (And to the one commenter who I already know is going to tell me that it doesn't make sense either way... Hell with you, you don't get a vote.)




"Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace, and criticize all fears... Take the rag away from your face, for now ain't the time for your fears."

That was 1964, BTW. Shame how relevant it is half a century later. If there is any justice in the world, I will not one day be re-posting this, with the caption clanged to the final chorus.

------------------------------

The following is dedicated to Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Paul Ryan - particularly the last two verses, to the last two Republicans respectively:




My hero: Harry Chapin, 1975.  Apologies for the poor quality of the audio, but this is a hard one to find.  This and She Is Always Seventeen were an additional tracks on the Live Album that were only on the 8-Track and Vinyl and were never released on the CD of that Album, or any other that I am aware of.

------------------
Here's Seventeen:
(Admittedly it's a bit funky, but it's still damned GOOD.)




This might resonate more with my... *a-hem* older readers, so I guess this one's for them. (I have no memory even of the events that didn't happen before I was born, so... yeah.)

---------------------------
Finally... One more from Harry...  This is called The Shortest Story.  And though Harry meant it to be about WOLRD hunger, I'm dedicating this to Stuart Varney of Fox "News", who recently asked of the Food Stamps program: "Can we afford this? We've got a trillion dollar deficit every year as far as the eye can see. But we want to reach out and give people food." 

No, Stuart, fuck 'em: Let 'em starve, I guess. Even as hunger and poverty levels are elevated and continue to rise in this country - my country - this guy is more concerned about the deficit, and maintaining unsustainable tax breaks for the wealthy than helping poor people.  But then that's always been the Rigth Wing trope, hasn't it? If you can't profit from a problem, just deny it exsists. Sad that it's no different from the kind of denial, ingoranc eand apathy that Harry fought against for most of his career, when he's been dead since 1981!



BTW... Putting aside any feelings you may have about our domestic issues of hunger and poverty, if you don't find this song and video heart-wrenching, then you simply aren't human.

One of my Heroes: Harry Chapin

(Just 'cause I'm getting a little sick of writing about Kagan and politics.)

While some of you may already be familiar with Harry Chapin, I'm sure that many of you will not have heard him.  He was a singer-songwriter in the 1970's, most famous for what became known as his "story songs."  Sad, melancholy tales of real life, defeat, missed opportunities and regret.  (Yay!)  His biggest hit, and the one that everyone actually KNOWS him for was "Cats in the Cradle."  He had others, but that was what really put him on the map.  It was also the first song I ever learned how to sing, the only song I really sing well (hey, I've been singin' it for 35 years now!), and to date the only song I've ever sung in front of a large group of people.  (To a great deal of applause I might add. LOL) 

When my wife introduced my brother-in-law to our music collection she described Chapin as "[my] favorite artist." I'd never really though of him that way up until that point. I have far too broad a taste in music to really pick any ONE band or person as my favorite.  But if I HAD to name someone, I supposed it would be Harry.  To really describe how I really feel about him, however, I have to say a lot more than just that he's my favorite artist... He's one of my heroes.

That's an odd way to descibe a musician, but to understand it you have to understand how active Harry was in various political causes, and political activism, most prominently in fighting wolrd hunger.  He felt that poverty and hunger in THIS country were "insulting" to America and established "World Hunger Year" in 1975, a charity that remains active to this day.  In addition to this, over a large portion of career over half of his concerts were done as benefits.  He gave a away more money than anyone else at the time, and very few have even come close in the many years since.  It was his generosity, political activism, world outlook and pure artistic integrity and freedom that elevates him from merely my favorite artist to my hero.  When he died in 1981, though I was only seven years old, I was keenly aware of what the world had lost that day.  He remains one of only about two famous people that I cried at hearing of their passing, and it is only these two that I still find difficult to talk about today.  (If you're wondering, the other is Jim Henson.)  In 1987, on what would have been his 45th birthday,Hharry Chapin was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his campaigning on social issues, the single highest honor that can be bestowed on a Civilian by our government. 

I guess he was more than just MY hero.

Politically, it should be pretty obvious that he was a Liberal Democrat, and he wrote several pieces that dealt directly with the political issues of the  (racism, sexism, poverty, intoelrance, exploitation, freedom, etc...) but if there was ever a song that summed up the Liberal Philosophy (and liberal FRUSTRATION) perfectly, albeit in a completely allegorical way, it's THE ROCK. 

Here's a youtube video for it.  Think Global Warming, or just about ANY issue that Liberals have to swim upstream agaist the status quo on, and TELL ME this isn't how you feel:



Another great one, which deals in non-conformity and arguably strays into neural diversity three decades before that term even exsisted, is FLOWER ARE RED:



Finally one of the greatest inditements of sexism that I've ever come accross: WHY DID THE LITTLE GIRLS? (Remember, this was in the late 1970's.)



For a sampling of his less political stuff, his 'story songs,' here are some more links to YouTube:

A Better Place to Be
Cats in the Cradle
Mr. Tanner
Taxi
W.O.L.D.

...and what just might be my favorite SONG of all time: SNIPER. 

There are many, MANY others.  He was a musician that defied genre, broke convention, and wrote amazing stories.  What's more, he was a PERSON who accomplished more that most can even dream to and yet still died, at a tragically young age, with his life's work left largely unfinished.

Oh if a man tried

To take his time on Earth

And prove before he died

What one man's life could be worth

I wonder what would happen

to this world

~Harry Chapin (1942-1981)

Another example of Religion pissing me off.

I've made no secret about the derisive opinion I have for organized religious, particularly the 1930's barnd of Tent Revivalisst inspired cult currently calling themselves the Funny-Mentalists. (Or something like that.) I want to share with you all yet another example of why I feel sorry for the children being raised by these basket-cases...

I was on Netflix last night looking for some new titles. (I did snag both Iriku and Throne of Blood, BTW, Conchobar! LOL.) And I stumbled across one that's not out yet on DVD, but I was curious when it what coming and what people thought of it. It's called PONYO and it was this year's latest (American) release from Hayao Miyazaki, the greatest living animator in the world and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. This was also the first Miyazaki movie to get a broad release in the U.S. He's been loved in Japan for decades now, but he's still relatively new to American audiences. So, OK... obviously I'm a HUGE FAN of Miyazaki-san. That being said, let me also say the Ponyo is NOT one of his best movies. It's GOOD. Quite good. But not GREAT. It's not the worst he's even done, just somewhere in the middle. As good or better than My Neighbor Totoro, but nowhere near as good as Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle. It's a very intelligent, but VERY kid-friendly, kid-oriented movie. Disney might have done something like this back in their Golden Days. (Or, more recently, they DID, since Ponyo is really just a loose interpretation of The Little Mermaid.) I'm saying all this because I don't want anyone to think that I'm pissed about someone just dissing a movie I liked. I'm sure there are MANY hard-core Miyazaki fans (myself included) who LIKED this one, but didn't LOVE it. So you're perfectly free to NOT LIKE this movie for any reason, as far as I'm concerned, except THIS ONE:

User: Jeikobu
Review of Ponyo, 3 Stars:

Miyazaki's latest effort delivers his usual quality on a physical level - spectacular animation, a great musical score, terrific storytelling, deep and charming characters, excellent voice acting
(I speak of the Japanese language version) and nearly unparalleled imagination.

(So far so good...)

Unfortunately, on a spiritual level, it takes a heavy fall. To rate this G is insane. The film exhibits the same problems that have plagued Miyazaki's films since Princess Mononoke - sorcery and false gods. Ponyo's mother, a goddess, is heavily disturbing and offensive for a Christian like myself. Magic is used very often, and the film undermines the specialness of humans by making a fish be capable of becoming a human. (worse yet, Ponyo can transform only because she tasted human blood when she licks Sousuke's cut) Ponyo has a lot of appeal and charm, and is very heart-warming and cute in places. I really did get taken with Ponyo and Sousuke's characters, and if it weren't for the negative content, this could've been my favorite Miyazaki film. Still, the dark spirituality hurts this film immensely, and is one I could never see myself recommending to anyone, especially children.

Did you get that? It's "insane" to give this film a "G-Rating." I-N-S-A-N-E. Why? Because it has MAGIC in it! OH-MY-GOOOOD, NOOOOOO! ANYTHING but MAGIC!!! Do you want to know what I think is "insane?" Being so wrapped up in such a narrow view of your religion that you are OFFENDED by anything that falls short of outright prostilytising, and feel that any story that has magic, fairies, godesses, supernatural beings, etc... that are not of a Judeo-Christian Bibilical nature is somehow, out of hand, not suitible for children, regardless of the remainder of the content.

I guess Harry Potter would have been OK for this moron to take her kids to if only they'd ended up BURNING Harry and his friends and all the teachers AT THE STAKE at the end of the movie!

I do not understand how it is possible for ANY human being, no matter bereft of reason and sanity, to be so utterly brainwashed by their cult-leaders that they feel that everythig outside of their narrow world-view is some kind of competing cult, trying to steal to childeren away from them. I truly feel sorry for these people's kids, who will lead such a dull and colorless childhood, and even angrier when I realize that these kids will grow up to become more stupid, mindless, zombie-like adults who will in turn torture their own kids the same way.

I have news for you idiots: No one ever read Harry Potter and then went out and statered worshiping satan, or practising "withcraft," in the Judeo-Christian sense of the word, because of it. NO. ONE. Modern day Wiccan's and neo-pagans don't even practiove "witchcraft" in the Judeo-Christian sense of the word! AND neither do the characters in Harry Potter (not the GOOD GUYS anyway!) and and neither does ANYONE in Ponyo. How mentally weak must your childeren be, that the mere site of a cartoon Godess will cause them to abandon their faith and go down the wrong spiritual path? (A better question might be: How stupid is your religion that it's grip on the minds of your children is so tenuous?) I'd hate to think of what they'd say about the 1980, Rey Harryhausen classic, Clash of the Titans! ZEUS! And POSIEDON! And THETIS! OH MY! (*head explodes*)

It called FICTION folks! No one ever studied Greek Mythology and started worshiping ZUES! Not even someone stupid enough to believe in the inerrecny of the BIBLE, with all it's internal contradictions and all the nonsensical claims it makes about the physical world that have been DISPROVEN by modern science, would watch "Clash of the Titans" and start worshiping ZUES! ...Or watch/read Harry Potter and start practicing "Witchcraft" (especially since there isn't any actual witchcraft even IN those books!), or watch Ponyo and start worshiping Gran Mamare, the Goodess of Mercy and the Sea!

No, fear not... Becasue about the only thing anyone THAT stupid would do upon seeing these films is START PROTESTING THEM.

Now... I do not think someone is stupid for believing in God, or for practicing a religion. Misguided at best, delusional at worst, but whatever. I'm initially inclined to view it all with a sense of utter indifference. I have very few atheist friends as it is, so who am I to judge? But it IS stupid to hold on to a biblical view of the world that has been DISPROVEN by scientific measurement and observation. What's more... however crazy anyone might think it is to believe in God, it is a hundered times crazier to believe in MAGIC! ACTUAL Magic and Demons and Pantheist Gods from civilizations long extint... It is I-N-S-A-N-E to believe that these things are real.

It's just make believe folks! For Crist's sake, just tell your kids "It's not real. It's just a different way to tell a fun story, and teach a life lesson." and they'll probably accept that and MOVE ON with their lives, paying it very little notice. (Unless they've inherited your propensity to being brainwashed. Maybe you know them better than I do.)