Jim Bunning…HOF pitcher, Hall of Shame senator
“Every man is a genius in some areas, a complete idiot in others.”: Mark Twain.
.Wild pitches from Sen. Bunning, Republicans Use Jim Bunning to Say Tough S**t to America.
When asked by Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon to stop his one man crusade against extending unemployment benefits, Sen. Bunning replied “tough shit.” When asked by ABC News to explain his position on unemployment insurance, he replied with the Cheney salute of a raised middle finger — but off camera. And of course, Sen. Bunning is delivering precisely that — a gigantic “f*ck you” to the same unemployed workers.
the ballad of jim bunning
please extend the courtesy of giving me the benefit of your doubtwhile i fuck up a whole lot of folks’ benefit extensions
i’m one angry aging white man
my own party’s asked me to vacate the saloon
before i go
i’m gonna yell down the house
fuck em all
i played my game
some i struck out
some i struck back at
kiss my ass
i don’t need your love
i’m my own bad man
i’m yelling at you about fiscal responsibility
don’t shout at me about i voted for a lot of not so fiscally responsible bills
that was then
this is now
fix your own piece of shit brokedown system
i’m virtually out of here
wanted to give all you folks something to remember me by
i got rivers to swim
mountains to cross
i’m an angry old white man
i’ll be coming your way soon
don’t ask me for any favors
i don’t give anything away
i’m just your angry old white man
and baby
it’s my day
and baby
you better fucking stay
out of my
way…
scott Facebook link
florence,oregon
Email your question to Greg- The Pop Culture Guru
QUESTION: You claim to be the Guru of Pop Culture, but you have yet to mention “Captain America” (current) issue 602! WTF?
ANSWER: Had to work overtime last week. Sat was my first chance to go to Brave New World Comics
in Newhall, CA. I called in advance and asked them to save 4 copies for me. “Red Hot! No can do.”
“Let me talk to the owner!” Portlyn Freeman…a brilliant woman…pop culture genius (no, I didn’t get a discount to say that)…I explained, “I am the Pop Culture Guru and my readers expect…”“No problem, I will reserve 4 copies.”. Gladly paid $10 each for $4 cover price. If I posted before my shopping spree I’d be SOL. Well, duhhhh.
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From a field of thousands, twelve nominees and six finalists were chosen. Brave New World Comics, in Santa Clarita, CA, then emerged as the 2008 recipient of the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award. The award, presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International: San Diego, is given to an individual retailer who has done an outstanding job of supporting the comics art medium both in their own community and within the industry at large. Each year, Comic-Con honors one extraordinary retailer, from stores around the globe with the award, named for comics pioneer Will Eisner, the visionary creator of The Spirit who is widely-regarded as the “Founding Father of the Graphic Novel”. Eisner felt it was vital to acknowledge the important role that comic book retailers play in the comics industry, as well as how they nurture the relationship between the creators and their readers.
Is your local comic book guy a Simpson Nightmare? Click on the link above for someone who understands.
Now that I’ve got mine, let’s talk.
Captain America 602…THE GREATEST COMIC BOOK EVER!
Trust me. I am the guru…big comic book fan. You don’t have a copy of Capt America 602? BooHoo. Too late…all gone, LOSER!
My daughter Alissa snagged one of mine…I still have 3. NOT FOR SALE!
As Charlton Heston said about his guns: “You will have to pry these from my cold, dead hand!”
Issue 602 of the comic features Captain America investigating a right-wing anti-government militia group called “the Watchdogs”. Hoping to infiltrate the group, Captain America and his African-American sidekick The Falcon observe an anti-tax protest from a rooftop. The Falcon mentions that “this whole ‘hate the government’ vibe isn’t limited to the Watchdogs” and notes, “I don’t exactly see a black man from Harlem fitting in with a bunch of angry white folks.” Captain America then explains that his plan entails sending The Falcon in among the group posing as an IRS agent under the thinking that a black government official will most certainly spark their anger.
Marvel Comics’ depiction of anti-tax protesters inspires anger, apology
Ah, yes, I’ve read Captain America since early childhood as he crushed the Nazis, Commies, Islamo Fascists, WMDs, Human Animal Hybrids, etc. But, in the current issue, the Cap and the Falcon (Did you notice he’s Black?) faced the GREATEST THREAT TO AMERICA ever: the Tea-Baggers/ Tea Partyers.
Captain America should have known better than flip over the rock and expose these slimy creatures. Betrayed by their hero (comic books are the only literature they read) these proud-to-be-ignorant retards (shout out to Sarah) lawyered up with money from the Great White Corporate Shark (in this case Health Insurance Giants) to force Marvel to apologize and kill Part 2 of this story.
Marvel Comics- Captain America Says Tea Parties Are Dangerous and Racist - hilarious wingnut link!
Obama could get elected because he is light-skinned and only speaks Negro when necessary -Harry Reid
BELOW: Spike Lee’s School Daze musical number (1988). Tags- Harry Reid, Spike Lee.
Sad, but true. Perhaps not politically correct to say in public but light-skin African Americans do find it easier to blend in, find a job, make more money than than their darker-skinned brothers and sisters…based only on their appearance. Yes, this does cause conflict within their community.
America has come a long way in the last 50 years but we have long way to go.
“Obama…only speaks Negro when necessary.” Harry is very old and never learned the term Ebonics - African American Vernacular English. For hundreds of years (at least ten generations) slaves were kidnapped and brought here as cheap labor. Blacks were treated like animals and denied an education.
In many cases when a slave was caught trying to learn how to read he was shot or hanged because the masters knew that educated workers are much harder to control. Thus, African Americans invented their own oral version of the English language. Blacks finally gained access to white schools in 1964…
a hundred years after they had been freed at the end of the Civil War.
Today, just 56 year later (2 generations) African Americans can’t get the best jobs unless they can speak “Proper English”. I’ve seen the Birthers and Tea Baggers on CSPAN and Lord knows they can’t speak proper English. What’s their excuse?
Is this a real problem that rational Americans should discuss?
Is it true that all the best Christmas songs were written by Jews?
ANSWER: Not all…only most:1. “White Christmas” is the best-selling single of all-time. Written by Irving Berlin (nee Israel Isidore Baline) in 1940 poolside at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona (talk about your White Christmas). Made famous by: Bing Crosby in the movie Holiday Inn.
2. “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” Written by: Johnny Marks in 1949. Based on: a poem/story penned by Marks’ brother-in-law, who invented Rudolph. Made famous by: Gene Autry, whose recording sold over 2 million copies in the first year alone.
3. “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” Written by: composer Jule Styne in 1945 with lyrics by Sammy Cahn (nee Cohen). Made Famous by: Vaughn Monroe, hitting #1 on Billboard in ’46.
4. “Silver Bells” Written by: Jay Livingston (nee Jacob Harold Levison) and Ray Evans in 1951. Introduced by: Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell in the movie The Lemon Drop Kid. Made Famous by: Bing Crosby and Carol Richards.
5. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” Written by: Albert Hague in 1966 (with words/lyrics by Dr. Seuss).
5 Famous Christmas Songs Written by Jewish Songwriters- David K. Israel
6. “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” written in 1945 by Mel Tormé and Robert “Bob” Wells. In 2000, it was third on chart, with “White Christmas” holding the #1 spot.
7. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”- co-writer Fred Coots
8. “Sleigh Ride” Composer Leroy Anderson wasn’t Jewish, but lyricist Mitchell Parish (nee Michael Hyman Pashelinsky) was.
9 & 10. Johnny Marks of “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” fame also wrote “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “Holly Jolly Christmas”.
11. “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” by George Wyle (nee Bernard Weissman)
12. “l’ll Be Home For Christmas” by Walter Kent music and Buck Ram, who co-wrote the lyrics with Kim Gannon, were Jewish. “I’ll Be Home,” like “White Christmas,” was first sung by Bing Crosby and released (1943) during World War II. Like “White Christmas,” it hit a nerve among those separated from their loved ones, and was an instant hit and holiday classic.
13. “There’s No Place Like Home For The Holidays”- lyricist Al Stillman.
14. “Santa Baby”- written by Joan Ellen Javits was first recorded by Eartha Kitt back in 1953. Madonna’s 1987 version has proven popular enough to put this tune into the top 25.
The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs By Nate Bloom
Philadelphia and NYC World Series? An evil American Flashback!
QUESTION: This World Series will suck. Yanks and the Dodgers have a great tradition…The top two teams in WS appearances have met 11 times! Phillies and Bronx Bombers? Why should I care?ANSWER: The NY YANKEES and the Philadelphia Phillies last met up in 1950. What was significant about this match-up? IT WAS THE LAST ALL-WHITE WORLD SERIES!
Ah, yes, birthers, tea-baggers, tenners, the KKK, etc will scramble for tickets.
This is sign Fox News will have no audience during these games!
.Do you see any black or brown faces on these two teams? Bad traditions…RIP
Jackie Robinson broke the color line in 1947 and other National League teams soon followed their lead…snatching up all the great players from the Negro Leagues. By the time the mighty Yankees and their American League peers realized this was more than a fad, it was too late.
1955 was the turning point. By then a few more great Black players joined JR on the Dodgers and the Yanks knew this was the beginning of the end.
NY finally signed Elston Howard…Encouragement from manager Casey Stengel (above right):
“Well, when they finally get me a nigger, I get the only one who can’t run.”
(Like most catchers Howard wasn’t a speedy runner, but the musclebound catcher could hit….348…Won the AL MVP Award in 1963.
A trillion sites on the net…Why am I the only one talking about this?
QUESTION: What’s up with Roman Polanski’s obsession with little girls?
Is it true that short people have no one to love?
Roman Polanski…some of us in Hollywood love the art, hate the artist
.ABOVE LEFT: Lewis Carroll’s sexy photo of 5-year-old Alice Liddell - the real Alice in Wonderland.
Upon his death the family destroyed journal pages covering Carroll’s 6-year relationship with this child.
Center- Charlie Chaplin always like them underage. On 23 October 1918, Chaplin, age 29, married the popular child-actress, Mildred Harris, who was 16. Chaplin at age 38 became involved with the then 16-year-old Lita Grey during preparations for The Gold Rush in which she was to star as the female lead. They married on 26 November 1924. Chaplin waited until Oona (daughter of Eugene O’Neill) turned 18 to marry. He was fifty-four. 8 kids…the last when Charlie was 73.
“Hey, Dad, wanna pass the football with me?”
RIGHT: Woody and Soon-Yi…sick,sick,sick.
Don’t even get me started about Jerry Lee Lewis and his 13-year-old cousin.
DeLay Signed to Host Dancing With the Stars Behind Bars!
Who knows prisons and dancing better than Tom?
.Left to right: Tom Delay, Phil Spector, OJ Simpson and Dick Cheney.
…DeLay also knows how to kill bugs, democracy and a bottle of Old Grand-Dad.
Hopefully Tom will find a way to incorporate these great talents into his new show.
Will Rogers- The First Great American Stand-Up Political Comedian
“Was Lenny Bruce the first political stand up?” Great question..Love Lenny, but no.Will Rogers was a Okie Cherokee-American cowboy who began his career in vaudeville with amazing rope tricks. YouTube link But soon Will began talking during his act and soon there there was more yapping (his word) than roping.
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TIMELESS WORDS from Will Rogers’ “How We Elect Our Presidents”:
On the Great Depression and the current BUSH recession:
“The working classes didn’t bring this one. It was the big boys that thought the financial drunk was going to go on forever and over bought, over merged and over capitalized (Thanks to Hoover deregulation-ed)”
On Bank Bailouts:
2/24/32: “You can’t get a room in Washington. Every hotel is jammed to the door with bankers from all over America to get their ‘Hand Out’.
I have asked prominent Americans (Henry Ford, etc.) this question: ‘What group has been most responsible for this financial mess…the farmers? Labor? Manufacturers? And every man, without a moment’s hesitation said, ‘Why, the BANKERS!’
They have the honor of being the first group to go on the ‘dole’ in America.”
On why the GOP lost the elections in 1932 and 2008:
11/26/32: “The last few years under Mr Coolidge and Mr Hoover (and Mr Bush- ed) there had grown the old original idea of the Republican Party that it was the Party of the rich. And I think that was the biggest contributing part in their defeat”.
12/22/32: “But, I don’t want to lay the blame on the Republicans for depression.
They’re not smart enough to think up all those things that happened.”
On wacky fundamentalists in government:
2/17/1929: “A Preacher just can’t save anybody nowadays. He is too busy saving the Nation.
The Church is in Politics more than Politicians. If Congress met on Sundays, why there would be no services anywhere.”
Deja Vu all over again? You Betya! Vote Palin in 2012 and relive hell thrice…or learn some history!
More quotes from Will Rogers:
“Politics is the best show in America. I love animals and I love politicians and I like to watch both of ‘em play, either back home in their native state or after they’ve been captured and sent to a zoo or Washington.”
“I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.”
“Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate; now what’s going to happen to us with both a Senate and a House?”
“Alexander Hamilton started the U.S. Treasury with nothing — and that was the closest our country has ever been to being even.”
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
“The more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that’s out always looks the best.”
“I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat.”
More Will Rogers tomorrow.
Sick of MJ media coverage 24/7? Check out Sky Saxon!
Do celebrities ALWAYS die 3-at-a-time?
Of course…that is a cosmic rule. On 06/25/09 we lost 3 Pop Culture Icons:
.Worse than The Day the Music Died when Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper went down in a plane crash. I’m tired…you know how to google. Refs tomorrow…
ABOVE LEFT- Pop Culture Golden Cow Idols spanning 3 decades:
1982 Michael Jackson’s Thriller. CENTER- Farrah Fawcett’s (1976) poster which inspired millions of Baby Boomer boys to beat it. RIGHT- 1960s Sky Saxon, who was the:
.Sky Saxon was all that he claimed to be.
LA was Rock&Roll Heaven when I moved here in 1966 with the Doors, Zappa, Buffalo Springfield, Steppenwolf, Love, etc playing nearly every weekend.
But, my favorite group was the Seeds.Sky Saxon’s songs spoke to Baby Boomer teen boys. Most of us bought electric guitars after watching girls flip out over the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964, but never learned how to play. I owned a classic 1957 Strat and sucked. The Seeds also sucked, but they put on an incredible ultra-energy, raw, teen angst show. Most of their songs used only 2 chords…and power chords at that (utilizing the top two of six strings on the guitar). Hello Garage bands, Heavy Metal and Punk. “I can do that!”
I was blown away when I saw the Seeds perform “You’re Pushing Too Hard”…A week later I formed my own garage band.
By 1969 Rock fans demanded at least 3 chords per song so Sky switched to blues…
Bad move…Blues is a 3-chord system with real MUSICIANS.Sky Saxon dropped out and joined the wacky Source Family Hollywood Hills commune led by YahoWha - who gave Saxon the name Sunlight because there were already too many kids named Rainbow, Flower, Sky and Love in his group.
nee Jim Baker…not Jim Bakker, but just as bat-shit crazy supported his cult (with at least 100 kids living in his mansion) with the LaDeDah Source Restaurant (organic vegetarian) on the Sunset Strip with regulars such as John Lennon, Julie Christie, Marlon Brando, etc. When Sky joined the commune in 1969 Baker immediately formed the worst psychedelic rock band ever- Ya Ho Wha 13.Baker sold the restaurant in 1974 and move his cut (including 13 wives) to Hawaii and a year later used a hang glider to leap off a 1300-foot cliff on the eastern shore of Oahu, although he had no previous hang-gliding experience. He crash-landed on the beach. If only Cat Stevens had been so lucky…
The cult broke up and Sky Saxon returned to R&R where he remained active until a couple of days before his death.
Official website of Sky Saxon and the Seeds
“Sky Saxon wihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Saxonkipedia”:
YaHooWTF???!!!
Yahoo: 1726- Jonathan Swift invented the word and describes Yahoos as vile and savage creatures, filthy and with unpleasant habits, resembling human beings far too closely for the liking of protagonist Gulliver. The Yahoos are primitive creatures obsessed with “pretty stones” they find by digging in mud, thus representing the distasteful materialism and ignorant elitism Swift encountered in Britain. Hence the term “Yahoo” has become synonymous with “cretin,” “dinosaur,” and/or “Neanderthal.”Are you on YaHoo! right now? Why did they choose such an evil name? Will they scrub this paragraph from the net? Do I care?
Do Celebs
QUESTION:
I loved David Carradine in Kill Bill, but when I looked up his work in Kung Fu ?!
Weirdest TV hero ever! Whata ya think?
It’s still not weird enough for me! American TV heroes are always a reflection of the times.
Today, Jack Bauer on 24 finds a good reason to torture every week…but the Cheney Fear Years are over and so is 24. Kiefer Sutherland defied everything father Donald belived in, and now the son in arrested for a DUI every other week. Is he happy for aiding and abetting the worst president ever?
But back to Kung Fu- 1972-75 (the last 3 years of our Occupation of Vietnam):
.
By the early 1970s most Americans had realized that the Vietnam “War” was lost and this epithany was reflected in our TV heroes:
One glaring deficiency in the pages of TV Guide in the Seventies was a lack of superheroes.
Little Boomer boys always intuitively surfed channels for champions to idolize and emulate…
from Captain Midnight to Davy Crockett to Superman and Batman.
But, in the early-Seventies, they found only two very strange candidates:
The Six Million Dollar Man and Kane in Kung Fu. Both reflected our defeat in Vietnam.
Steve Astin, a typical American male, too civilized and flabby to be a superior fighting machine, faced recall. His one dim hope was to use American technology to defeat the mighty Asian barbarians.
TV offered a second hero with Kane…an Asian who easily defeated large groups of inferior Caucasians, with complete focus of mind and body. Kane symbolized the anti-Tarzan. Local link- Puzzling Evidence
American TV Heroes during the Vietnem Era:
1964: Television embarked on the greatest sales campaign of all time, in an effort to sell patriotism. As usual, Boomers were the targets of the pitch. The networks pushed the “glory of war” concept with “12 O’Clock High”, “Combat”, “World War I” and “The Lieutenant”, and tried to sell “War is fun” with “Gomer Pyle, USMC”, “Broadside”, “No Time for Sergeants” and “McHale’s Navy”. 1964 Puzzling Evidence archive
1965: TV continued their stale old sales pitch of “War is Fun”, with new shows like “Hogan’s Heroes”, “The Wackiest Ship in the Army”, “Mr. Roberts” and “Mona McCluskey”. In honor of Texan, LBJ, TV presented Army fun set in the Old West on “F-Troop”. TV networks decided to pull another old trick out of the hat… the Red Scare. “Look out! There are Commie spies everywhere!” Television then offered to save us with its amazing group of counterspies: a British spy (in honor of the Beatles) on “Secret Agent”, a black spy (in honor of MLK) on “I Spy”, and, “Would you believe”, a silly spy on “Get Smart”? Again, in honor of Lyndon, the networks even claimed that spies and counterspies once roamed the Old West in “The Wild, Wild West.” PE
1966: Teens laughed at “Batman” and TV tried to slip in an old WASP favorite, “Tarzan”. But, Tarzan was cancelled right after the Tet Offensive of 1968, when those sneaky Asian Commies caught us by surprise and seriously kicked some white butts.
“The Green Hornet” was only new superhero on the tube in 1966 to realize that some non-Whites may be equal, or even superior, and thus hired Bruce Lee (as Kato) to watch his back. PE 1966
1967: Hippie/Yippie kids shut off TV.
1968: TV cancelled “Combat”, “Twelve O’Clock High”, “F-Troop”, “Rat Patrol” and “Garrison’s Gorillas” during the 1967-68 season. The fate of our nation now lay in the hands of Gomer Pyle. PE
Which brings back to Kung Fu and David Carradine…
QUESTION:
When, how and why did Instant Replay and our taste for repeated Slomo violence begin?
1964: The American public acquired a morbid fascination for violence and pain from the repeated viewings of the Kennedy and Oswald murders, and the TV networks catered to this new taste with new technology. Instant replay, in slow motion, offered audiences a chance to fully appreciate the exact point of violent contact. “Watch closely… the injury occurred right there. What a hit! I didn’t know a human body could bounce that high. Let’s look at that again.” The ratings and advertising fees shot sky high, as sports fans stayed away from stadiums to watch bone-crushing tackles, baseball beanings and flaming race car crashes in slo-mo on TV. Puzzling Evidence 1964
LATE 1963: The great personal tragedy that drastically altered Richard Kimble’s life struck on September 17, 1963. Barely two months later (on Friday, November 22nd) all of America received an even more devastating blow. As fate would have it, an emotional Walter Cronkite interrupted the soap opera, “As the World Turns”, to announce that the President had been shot.
For four painful days our world stopped turning, as regular TV programs (and commercials!) stood aside for breaking news and special reports. Most Americans hurried to a TV and camped out for the duration. We were stunned. How could this happen? Kennedy was so young and strong, so full of life. At first, Americans felt that television owed them a normal happy ending. Anything less than JFK’s full recovery just wouldn’t make sense. We waited. The usual half-hour passed, and we received no news. “Maybe this is a special, one hour pilot,” we thought. We continued to wait… but, still no news, and no happy conclusion. This scraped right across the grain of many years of careful brainwashing/ conditioning by the networks. “At least give us some damn commercials as a relief from all this tension.”
Kennedy’s funeral served as the culmination of the most tragic series of events ever covered by television, and the most unbearable for Americans to watch. We felt as if we had been locked up in a dark dungeon for four days, and then beaten, tortured and brainwashed for no apparent reason. Our captors forced us to watch the same nightmare images over and over again: amateur Super-8 footage of the assassination, blown up, slowed down, and examined frame-by-frame.
For the first and only time in its glorious career, America’s greatest salesman hadn’t made a single pitch for nearly four straight days. Finally on Monday night, a few stations returned to their regularly scheduled programs. It seemed like an eternity since escapism had been offered and America jumped at the opportunity. The intro of the first program on ABC (“Outer Limits”) assured us that “There is nothing wrong with your TV set. We are controlling transmission… we will control all that you see, and hear (and think)…” PE
QUESTION:
Why all this fuss about Phil Spector?
Young Einstein
Phil Spector wrote, arranged, played played guitar, sang and produced the best-selling record in the country by the age of 17. To Know Him is to Love Him stayed in the Billboard Hot 100 for 23 weeks, in the Top Ten for 11 of those weeks, and commanded the #1 chart position for three weeks.
By coincidence, the epitaph on his father’s (who committed suicide when Phil was 10) tombstone read, “To Know Him was to Love Him”.
From Puzzling Evidence My free e-book on American pop culture:
By 1962 the oldest Baby Boomer turned Sweet 16 and Teen Dreams became the hottest commodity in pop music. One young man had his finger on the pulse of the market. Phil Spector found the perfect mixture of Teen Dream and rebellion in songs like “He’s a Rebel”: “Just because he doesn’t do what everybody else does/ that’s no reason why we can’t share a love… He’s not a rebel to me.” Before Phil reached voting age he was a multi-millionaire and considered as one of the top geniuses in pop music.
Spector’s famous “Wall of Sound” changed the recording industry (for better or worse is another question) forever. Instead of employing the usual three or four-piece Rock & Roll combo (in the Buddy Holly mold), Phil added extra guitarists, backup singers, strings, brass, reed, percussion and keyboard players, in fact, just as many musicians as could fit into the largest recording studio available. This gave the music dramatic new dimensions at first, but after a while, the songs became the “Wall of sounds-a-lot-like-Spector’s-last-record” music. Boomers liked it anyway because they had grown accustomed to mass production mediocrity. Real R & R intimidated them at the time… the kids just wanted a few Teen Dreams.
On Feb 9, 1964 the Beatles assassinated Phil’s Wall of Sound, Phony Teen Idols, Brill Building Pop, Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, the Beach Boys Suburban Myth and Folk Music with their first of appearance (of 3) on the “Ed Sullivan Show”. Beatles- 1964- Puzzling Evidence.
And thus, we entered the Second Golden Age of Rock&Roll…
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QUESTION:
Dear LIBERAL WIMP
What does a hippie look like? I would like to whoop some hippie ass but I can’t find me none.
Long hair? Lynard Skynard got that. Dope smokers- Willie Nelson. Merle Haggard is a-singing Save America First, like he ain’t never hear tell of no War On Terror. Jo Bob, WVA
Rev Greg @ CA: Dear Jo Bob…Chill, Dude. Ain’t no such thing as unicorns, hippies, the War on Terror, the boogy man, zombies, ghosts, vampires and the Easter Bunny.
Jo Bob…Hippies are an urban legend created by Time Magazine…THEY ARE NOT REAL!
October 7, 1967 Time labeled all young men unwilling to go to Vietnam (including George W. Bush, Rove, Cheney, Limbaugh, Clinton and me) as “Hippies”.
Oh, dear…as the Guru of Pop Culture I feel compelled to point out a few inaccuracies in this Time cover from the Summer of Love. The white banner…”The Philosophy of the SUBculture“…Sub= lesser, lower, below, not worthy…ONLY Time Rag used the 1984ish term subculture. Everyone else called the youth movement the CounterCulture.
THE FEMALES: Bottom right…dressed in black. 1950’s beatnik! To her right: Mod miniskirt groupie, circa 1964…To her right Satan playing jungle music…to his right some guy playing an acoustic guitar in 1967???!!!!WTF! I was a teen in 1967…No one wore shades and every Rocker played an electric guitar!
Who is the band on this cover? I’m guessing the Byrds…Because the dumbass stuffed suits at TIME have always been a couple of years behind the times in terms of American Pop Culture.
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Above Left: The Byrds were the first Folk Rock group in 1965…and played acoustic guitars.
Right: By 1967 Roger (aka Jim) McGuinn owned an electric Rickenbacker (like John Lennon) and David Crosby (far right) strummed a Fender.
Time Mag was unaware that the Byrds were not part of the San Francisco music scene that they hoped to demonize. Jimi Hendrix (the Jackie Robinson of Rock & Roll) was King and Janis Joplin (Big Brother) and Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane) were co-Queens. America’s youth moved forward while Time Rag and Middle America sank into the quagmire.
A group of so-called hippies held a Death of Hip ceremony in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in October of 1967. They cremated a coffin containing all sorts of hippie paraphernalia and marijuana cookies, sang “God Bless America”, and chanted, “Hippies are dead.” Now, Middle America was really confused. What were these kids trying to pull?
On New Year’s Day of 1968 “YIPPIES!” were born. Mainstream media painted a negative reflection of counterculture teens for WASP America throughout the mid- Sixties. Hippies were portrayed as no-good, lazy, filthy, smelly, longhaired, sex-crazed drug addicts, etc. The underground now denied the existence of any such animal. A confused press asked, “So, what the hell is a Yippie?” Abbie Hoffman, one of the inventors, explained: A political hippie. A flower child who has been busted. A stoned-out warrior of the Aquarian Age… A Yippie is someone going to Chicago.
Baby Boomers continued their fight against the Vietnam occupation (1964-1975) and in the early 1970s they were joined with clergy of every faith, unions and the dumb-as-dirt Silent Majority. Nixon called this a “Crisis of Democracy!” as millions blocked the streets of Washington DC every week.
WE THE PEOPLE ended the Vietnamese Occupation…after we murdered 3,000,000 of them and 59,000 of our own kids. What was the point? What was the mission? I had no political connections and was drafted (unlike Dubya, Rove, Cheney, Clinton and Limbaugh) and served a year in hell as a MASH ER medic (1969-70). WTF did we win?
QUESTION:
Suzie Q: Why is American music so bland? Was there ever another Rock & Roll era this boring?
Greg: Ah, yes- click here for my archive link to the Teen Idol Era 1959 to 1964.
Whenever the American Music Industry (not Art) feels threatened by a surge of exciting new music from young rockers, the white fat suits try to jump in and seize control.
It always begins the same way:
Corporate Seeds of Pop Music Mediocracy…AKA Mouseketeers
. ABOVE LEFT: The first Mouseketeers show ran from Oct 1955 until 1959…by coincidence exactly the span of The First Golden Age of Rock & Roll with Elvis, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee, Little Richard, Buddy Holly.
By 1959 Annette developed to the point that the letters on her T-shirt read “NNTT”. Disney could have replaced the over-the-hill kids with younger ones on “The Mickey Mouse Club”, but instead cancelled the program and created Vista Records. Annette immediately morphed into the role of Teen Idolette, with eight big hits in 1959-60. Other Mouseketeers also scored minor hits on the label. This impressed Warner Brothers, who started their own label to cash in on the fad. The Bros figured that the singing ability of their network stars couldn’t be any worse than their acting.
TAGS: Connie Stevens, Edd “Kookie” Byrnes, Roger Smith (“Hawaiian Eye” and “77 Sunset Strip”), Shelly Fabares and Paul Petersen (“Donna Reed Show”), Vince Edwards (“Ben Casey”), Johnny Crawford (“The Rifleman”) and James Darren (Gidget movies), all scored hits on the new WB label.
The Day the Music Died indeed.
ABOVE RIGHT: The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989- 1995).The 6th season featured Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Who Cares from N’Lip Sync.
Every 50 years Americans become Delusional!
There are more 300,000,000 of us. Get a clue…you and I are American Idles…not Idols.Haven’t you wondered why Golden Calf Idol, now in its 8th season has not produced one big star?
They aren’t looking for talent…The search is for lowest-common-denominator idiots…willing to play the fool on National TV…so the audience can say, “I can do better than that!”
There were so many programs like American Idol in the early days of television.
Elvis failed his audition for the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour in 1955…Too new and exciting!
Pat Boone became a big star on the show.
Forgetabout the music industry, the Grammies, air guitar, karaoke, ex-mouseketeers and American Idol.
Search the net for real Rock & Roll before your mind turns to jello. QUESTION:
LEROY W: If the Beatles are so great how come they never wrote a good rap song?
GREG: Great question! Let’s flashback to the Godfathers of rap:
N.W.A- Parental Discretion is Advised
[Dr. Dre]Hey yo, let’s take it to the street (word up)/Let ‘em understand perfection
Let knowledge be the tool for suckers to stop guessing
‘Cause I don’t give a fuck about radio play/ Observed the english I display
Lyrics for the adults, children have been barred/ Pure simplicity, see it’s elementary
Try to comprise…a word to the wise/ And the guys, parental discretion is advised
[Ice Cube]
I be what is known as a bandit/ You gotta hand it to me when you truely understand it
When I start flowing like Niagra Falls/ Ice Cube is a quick to rip shit in a battle
Move like a snake when I’m mad and then my tail rattle/ I get low on a flow so let your kids know
When I bust, parental discretion is a must
[MC Ren]
Turn up the pilot as it burns/ And maybe, the muthafuckers will learn
I’m not a sub ‘cause I speak sensible/ Not consider a prince ‘cause I’m a principal
I’m engineering the shit that you’re hearing/ ‘Cause when it comes to power, I’m power steering
Silly you say, I say you silly when you’re say it/ Rushing to the eject to put my shit in and play it
It’s like Apollo but I’m not an amateur
And I’m not giving a fuck while I’m damaging ya/ So for you to step off would be wise
And say fuck it, parental discretion is advised!
The lyrics above are pure flow-of-conscience genius!…like the novels of James Joyce and Kerouac, the plays of Samuel Beckett, the poems of ee Cummings and Ferlinghetti…
and the solo songs of John Lennon:
Give Peace a Chance by John Lennon
Everybody’s talkin’ ‘bout/ Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, TagismThis-ism, that-ism, ism ism ism/ All we are saying is give peace a chance
Everybody’s talkin’ ‘bout/ Minister, Sinister, Banisters and Canisters,
Bishops, Fishops, Rabbis, and Pop Eyes, Bye bye, Bye byes
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Everybody’s talkin’ ‘bout/ Revolution, Evolution, Masturbation, Flagellation, Regulation,
Integrations, mediations, United Nations, congratulations
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Everybody’s talkin’ ‘bout/ John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary, Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper, Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer, Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna, Hare Hare Krishna
All we are saying is give peace a chance
QUESTION:
Todd S: What is the greatest SciFi film?
Star Wars, 2001, or are you going to claim another one of your lame-ass, lunatic, obscure picks?
(1956).
The story was loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, with Walter Pidegon as Morbius/ Prospero, who discovers the ancient records of the advanced Krell civilization on this brave new world. Morbius uses their technology to multiply his brainpower many times over, but in doing so, he also increases and releases the suppressed evils from his subconscious. His Id Monster takes on a huge, hideous physical form and then begins a rampage of death and destruction. Morbius fights desperately to control his id. He is a good scientist with a noble quest. The human race can benefited greatly from this method of increasing intelligence, but only if they can first come to grips with, and then conquer the basic animal instincts deep within each subconscious. The message seemed clear… to ignore and/or suppress the id can only make it grow to such gigantic proportions that it will finally explode with an uncontrolled fury.
One must remember that the oldest Boomers were only ten years old when this complex film premiered. Kids were accustomed to lightweight eye-candy with conventional monsters, the bomb and world destruction, and before the end credits they knew that the good guys would always win… or, at least Boomers thought that was true before viewing Forbidden Planet. The film raised a lot of disturbing questions that the usual sources (school, church, TV and parents) were unwilling or unable to answer. Did George Washington have evils in his id? How about Jimmy Dodd? Gene Autry? Ike? The Pope? How about us Boomers… did we have evils in our ids? After all, little girls and boys began playing doctor about this time. Some of the oldest Boomers felt strange, new urges. Talking about such feelings was absolutely taboo in 50’s society, so many kids began to think they were misfits, freaks and definitely sicko. That opinion changed when they found out that Morbius, too, had monsters in his id.
In those early days of television only two men really understood the tremendous potential for mass persuasion by the medium. Unfortunately, those two pioneers, Trickie Dickie Nixon and Tailgunner Joe McCarthy, had id monsters galore. READ MORE
Well intentioned Americans overcome by dark monsters in their Id
Counterclockwise from upper right: Robbie the Robot, Morbius, Nixon and McCarthy with commie microfilm, Elvis, POW hero John McCain, Ford, Nixon, Bush, Sr, Reagan…
George W Bush: image too small to post. Irrelevant…
FOLLOWUP from Todd: So, you admit that Forbidden Planet ripped off Shakespeare’s The Tempest!
And, Lucas Ripped off The Hidden Fortress even more for his Star War flicks.
2nd Place: Kubrick vs Lucus. Are you kidding me? George is a whore. He wants to sell you toys.
Dr Strangelove and Paths of Glory are on my Top Ten Best Flicks List.
2001: Top 5 SciFi…just below Dark Star. QUESTION:
From BOB: What are the most evil American toys?
GREG: GI Joe and Barbie:
1964…The birth of GI Joe and Vietnam
As the oldest Boomer boys (nee 1946) hit draft age. Coincidence?
1964: Bob Hope entertained happy troops in Vietnam on his Christmas Special, and Santa left an amazing new toy for younger Boomer boys under the tree… GI Joe and all his Friendly Fire Accessories. Joe (like Barbie) appeared as a realistic, grown-up doll, except for the absence of reproductive gear. But, Joe’s huge guns (a Freudian cure for feelings of inadequacy) dwarfed Wyatt Earp’s, so he, unlike Babs, found a release for his sexual frustrations.Follow-up from Bob: Did George W. Bush own a GI Joe?
Greg: Of course! When Sears published the 1st GI Joe ad in 1965 (below left) Little Dubya circled his fav in red crayon…and dreamed that one day he would become…(right)…just like Poppy!
.QUESTION:
Bob: That explains a lot, but GI Joe is ancient history.
Greg: Think so? Click here to check out a brand new (2009) straight-to-DVD “Catapult-the-propaganda” GI Joe movie: The Rise of Cobra.
Obama upsets American War Profiteers and they asked Joe to promote their 2012 candidate.
Below left is the Baroness from Cobra…Does she remined you of anyone?
.…and, speaking of airheads:
50 years ago…The birth of Barbie and credit cards!
As the oldest Baby Boomer girls (nee 1946) entered teendom. Coincidence?
.ABOVE LEFT: 1959 First Barbie, Mastercard and Visa. RIGHT: Barbie 2009
In 1959 the Toy Industry drooled as they recognized the gigantic new puberty market of Baby Boomer kids…record toy sales for the past decade, and Mattel didn’t want to lose their best customers.
Barbie was hatched that year, and Boomer females have never been satisfied with their bodies since. Babs transcended dollhood and became a lifestyle, a role model to help adolescent girls make the painful transition to adulthood. Barbie possessed everything an All-American girl could possibly desire: a perfect face, figure, hair, a fabulous wardrobe and an ideal boyfriend (Ken). Barbie was the first doll with boobs, which seemed natural, since the sale of training bras increased by 50% in 1959 as the oldest Boomer girls turned 13 and began to notice serious changes in their anatomy. How could they compete with Barbie? At full scale, Babs’ measurements would have read: 40DD- 18- 26. Her breasts defied gravity and stuck out, high and well formed (and nippleless), and her exaggerated, hourglass waist could only have been achieved in the real world by the removal of a few ribs and vital organs. Barbie’s long, slender legs must have been achieved in a month on the Gitmo torture rack, or as the result of some terrible disease (which also caused her nipples to fall off?). If a real woman owned a full-scale figure like Barbie’s, she would be the most popular photographic subject in medical journals since the Elephant Man.
Nonetheless, every little Boomer girl in America simply had to own a Barbie and as many accessories as her parents would tolerate. Mattel’s production line could barely keep up with demand. They started the Barbie Fan Club, and soon membership exceeded that of the Girl Scouts of America. Each subscriber received regular fan club letters with tips on how to become an all-American Dream Girl, and a complete shopping guide of the latest additions to Barbie’s wardrobe. Teenieboppers dropped all other dolls and concentrated on helping Barbie get ready for her next big date with Ken. In fact, Barbie’s entire schedule consisted of getting ready for dates, shopping, trying on new clothes and experimenting with new hairstyles and makeup. It is interesting to note that 1959 was also the year that Visa and Mastercharge cards were introduced.
Barbie’s life was not cluttered with any visible signs of education, marriage or career (until 1985, with Barbie’s “Home Office Center”), but no one seemed to wondered where she got all the money for her beautiful house, swimming pool, spa, horse, snazzy sports car, and more than a thousand expensive outfits. Perhaps Barbie was the mistress of a very wealthy man? What other job could she possibly qualify for that could earn her enough to maintain her luxurious lifestyle? Closer examination will dispel the mistress theory, however… Mattel neglected to provide Barbie with the physical equipment necessary to perform the duties of such an occupation. Ken has been the only guy to date Barbie during the past half century because he, too, has nothing going on below the waist or above the neck.
This vain, self-centered, materialistic, hollow-headed, sexless, cold, plastic princess served as the adult role model for little girls throughout the entire history of our generation. On her twenty-first birthday in 1980, 112 million Barbies had been sold…one for every American female.
With Barbie as a role model for little girls, and GI Joe for little boys, it’s amazing that the Baby Boomer Generation turned out as well as it did. QUESTION:
* I’m so sick of McCain and Palin with their “I’m a maverick” crap.
What is a maverick anyway?
Taking Back the Family Name
THE REAL ORIGINAL MAVERICKThe original maverick was Maury Maverick, the grandson of Samuel Maverick, from whom the name Maverick first entered the American lexicon. Because Samuel never branded his herds, unmarked cattle became known as mavericks.
While the family name is an old one, Maury was a radical politician from San Antonio, Texas, who who served two terms in Congress (1935-1939). There, he led a bloc of progressive Democrats who supported Roosevelt and the New Deal and even sought to push them to the left. In 1935 the Washington Herald labeled this posse of liberals “The Mavericks.”
Maury Maverick and his namesake, Maury Maverick Jr., champions of the common man, peace, and conservation, embodied what the word came to represent.
Michael King in the Austin Chronicle wrote, “The late Maury Maverick Jr. was a friend of mine … and, like all the Mavericks before him (especially his legendary father, who once faced down a right-wing lynch mob), was a truly independent thinker and politician who regularly defied entrenched corporate and political power, including his own Texas Democratic Party, in defense of minority rights, workers rights, anti-war activism, and the whole panoply of human rights.”
It didn’t bother us when Ford Motor Company used the Maverick family name for their new car. We didn’t care that Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun was named Maverick, and we were amused when Madonna used our name for her record label. It is part of the American vernacular. But when McCain and the media placed it in a political context, using the maverick label as the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, each and every member of this family was appalled. We continue to be. Fontaine Maverick
QUESTION:
* Has Barack Obama seen Spiderman? I think every president should heed the words of Uncle Ben (not the rice guy): With great power comes great responsibility. From Sam R
The actual Stan Lee quote first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962)…The first Spider-Man story: “WITH GREAT POWER THERE MUST ALSO COME — GREAT RESPONSIBILITY!”
.
Please note: the quote appeared in the last panel of narration…not from movie Uncle Ben.
Let’s get real…did comic guy Stan Lee or FDR create this line?
From a speech that FDR was to deliver at the Jefferson Day Dinner in 1945…the day before he died: “Today we have learned in the agony of war that great power involves great responsibility.” (From Nothing to Fear, ed. by Ben D. Zevin, p. 464 of the 1961 Popular Library paperback; the book was originally published in 1946 by the World Publishing Company.)
A similar remark is in FDR’s 1945 state of the union address: “In a democratic world, as in a democratic Nation, power must be linked with responsibility… .” (From Living Ideas in America, ed. by Henry Steele Commager, p. 703 of the 1951 Harper & Brothers hardcover.) link to News From Me
QUESTION:
Has Barack Obama seen Spiderman? Dear Lord…Barack has two young daughters: Radiance and Rosebud. Of course he has suffered through this and every piece of Disney crap during the past five years. Been there/ done that.
Who the hell is Mitch Mitchell? I’m 20…why should I care?
Jimi Hendrix is the GUITAR HERO of Rock & Roll!…The best ever! The Einstein of the electric guitar…No one today is worthy to tune Jimi’s strat.
But, in 1966, R&R was completely dominated by White Boy Rock…
No chicks, no mixed bands with off-color musicians on hippie playlists.
Jimi was the lead guitarist for black bands like Little Richard, the Isley Bros, etc, but was getting nowhere as a solo act…playing at little clubs like Cafe Whaaa in NYC for $25 a night when he was spotted by Chas Chandler (Animals bassist and record producer).
Chas scooped up this unrecognized American National Treasure, smuggled him into England and teamed Hendrix up with young white boys Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding.
The Experience conquered Europe. Clapton (Godshead), Page, Harrison, Richards and Townshend hung the heads in shame after they witnessed Hendrix magnificence.
Click “continued” below to read much more on how fellow Americans finally recognized Jimi Hendrix as the greatest guitarist in Rock history at Monterey (1967).
Mitch Mitchell helped Jimi break the color line in Rock & Roll
Just as Pee Wee Reese helped Jackie Robinson in baseball
WTF? How are Jimi and Jackie connected?Three important Pop Culture events have moved America closer to the ideal proposed by our founding fathers: ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL:
1) 2008: Barack Obama broke the color line in American politics.
2) 1967: Jimi Hendrix broke the R&R color line.
3) 1947: Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in sports.
Robinson received many death threats during his first season.
The St Louis Cardinals refused to play against a negro until NL president, Ford Frick, told them, “Good, in that case you will begin your year with 18 losses to Brooklyn.”
When Jackie ran out to his position at second base for the first time in Cincinnati the crowd booed and called Robinson every vile name possible…Until shortstop Pee Wee Reese (from Kentucky) walked over and gave Jackie a hug.
That simple gesture stunned the racist crowd and it was time to “Play Ball!”
As a climax to Monterey, America discovered Jimi Hendrix. He could do it all. Jimi played roots Rock with Little Richard, funky R&B with the Isley Brothers, and lots of Soul and Blues on the “Chitlin’ Circuit”. He dug Dylan, and if Bob had the nerve to sing with that terrible voice, then so could Jimi. Hendrix didn’t have much initial success as he fronted a group at little clubs like the Café Wha? in Greenwich Village for $25 a night. But, Chas Chandler of the Animals spotted Hendrix and convinced him to come to England, where he teamed Jimi up with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell to form the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The band burned up all of Europe. The Experience remained a rumor here in America, and hadn’t even been asked to play at Monterey until Paul McCartney recommended the group.
The Experience managed to grab the closing spot on the bill, but they would have to follow two tough acts. The Who climaxed their set with “My Generation”. Townshend leaped all over the stage and smashed his guitar to bits, as Daltrey swung his microphone over his head and then crashed it on the cymbals as smoke bombs exploded. Next up, Jerry Garcia of the Dead wasted no time in winning over the crowd: “Folding chairs are for folding up and dancing on.” The audience obeyed. Finally, the unknown Experience took the stage and the crowd sat dumbfounded through the first couple of numbers. They had never seen or heard anything like Jimi. Hendrix plowed into a heavy-duty version of Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and the audience snapped out of its trance and leaped to their feet. Jimi played his guitar with his teeth, behind his back, over his head and between his legs. He humped one of the amplifiers as he continued on with “Wild Thing”. Jimi made tender love to his Stratocaster, caressing the strings, and then gently laying it down. But, instead of climbing on top as the crowd now expected, Hendrix doused the guitar with lighter fluid and set it aflame. The screaming feedback from the Strat pierced the air with a terrible death moan. This was obviously a mercy killing of his dearest love, with thousands of witnesses in attendance. The Experience lived up to their name.
The Beatles and Dylan will probably be rated as greater influences on the Boomer generation in the final analysis, but Jimi made all the pieces fit. Monterey became a melting pot in which the many voices of the counterculture movement blended together for the first time, and Hendrix acted as the catalyst. As a fluent artist in most of the major musical languages, Jimi translated Blues, R&B, R&R, Funk, Folk, Jazz and Psychedelia into a tongue that any Boomer could understand.
Like Jackie Robinson in baseball, Hendrix broke the color barrier in Rock. Before Jimi, even superstars like Chuck Berry and Little Richard played with all-Black backup bands, restricted to R&B, Funk, Soul and, more recently Motown… the Negro League of Rock & Roll. White covers usually outsold the originals. But, with Hendrix, color became irrelevant… He was simply one of the two best guitarists (kids called Eric Clapton “Godshead”) at a time when teenagers considered that to be the noblest of skills in the most honored profession. Clapton, and perhaps Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Mike Bloomfield may have been Jimi’s equals as far as technique went, but none could match his versatility or mastery of electronic gear. In Hendrix’s large, gifted hands a guitar became the blast of a machine gun, the roar of fighter jet, the fury of hell, the flutter of angel’s wings, soft rain or cross-town traffic. Young guitarists today still try to analyze the work of the master. Hendrix brought Rock & Roll into the Space Age. Jimi made Monterey, which in turn led to Woodstock.
Published by Greg at 09:49 PM on February 27, 2010