When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state, And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon myself, and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featur’d like him, like him with friends possess’d, Desiring this man’s art and that man’s …
Continue reading ‘Sonnet 29’ »
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012 “The Secret Meeting that Changed Rap Music and Destroyed a Generation” Hello, After more than 20 years, I’ve finally decided to tell the world what I witnessed in 1991, which I believe was one of the biggest turning point in popular music, and ultimately American society. I have struggled for a …
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The following letter was written by Andrew Gutmann, a father who was fed up with the obsessive focus on race by the elite Manhattan prep school his daughter attended. He accused the school of trying to “brainwash” the kids with ‘woke’ philosophies instead of simply teaching them how to think for themselves. He will not …
Continue reading ‘The Brearley School Letter’ »
The following is from the movie The Two Jakes. It was the sequel to Chinatown (1974), and was released in 1990. Actor/director Jack Nicholson reprises his role as J.J. “Jake” Gittes, a private investigator in post-war (late 40’s) Los Angeles. In the following ‘scene’ he is on his way out to see a client in …
Continue reading ‘You Can’t Forget the Past’ »
Invictus Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath …
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How calmly does the olive branch Observe the sky begin to blanch Without a cry, without a prayer With no betrayal of despair Some time while light obscures the tree The zenith of its life will be Gone past forever And from thence A second history will commence A chronicle no longer gold A bargaining …
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“We choose truth over facts.” — Joe Biden We might assume that this was just another Biden gaffe, and it probably was, but it speaks also perhaps to a larger problem, that of myriad “truths.” “Your truth, my truth, their truth.” This was always and ever sophistry, and I assumed that this was self-evident to …
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Today’s food for thought… I have friends and family members who look forward to becoming digitized zombies in the New World Order, and that’s great. “The world will always need ditch-diggers,” a friend of mine’s father once said, not necessarily as advice. Society will always need order-followers, those who do not spend too much time …
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Courtesy of Richard Gunderman – 9 July 2015 “The most interesting man in the world.” “Reach out and touch someone.” “Finger-lickin’ good.” Such advertising slogans have become fixtures of American culture, and each year millions now tune into the Super Bowl as much for the ads as for the football. While no single person can …
Continue reading ‘Manipulation of the American Mind: E. Bernays’ »
15:19 – Felix Rex (Black Pigeon Speaks) Black Pigeon has done previous installments on this same topic. I decided to post this one here to the main blog, along with some notes that were scratched out while I listened. This has all seemed so self-evident to me as I have watched it happen. I have …
Continue reading ‘Godless America Builds a New Religion’ »
An impromptu post to spacebook last week, copied here. Not particularly deep, just food for thought… There was a saying years ago that if you were not important enough to miss a phone call then you were really not very important. I have thought of this every time the last twenty years that I have …
Continue reading ‘Civil Society – Following the Amenities’ »
Jerry Seinfeld once asked his friend George why he kept books that he had already read. George’s reply: “Because they’re my BOOKS!” Book lovers all over the world were vindicated with that simple explanation. Being one of those people myself, a friend sent me this last evening. A reminder to get away from your computer. …
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I make chili pretty often. I use beans in my recipe, and onions, garlic, garden tomatoes, peppers, et cetera. Sometimes I add other stuff like the half can of corn that’s in the fridge, or the last quarter cup of oat groats in the cupboard that I just want to get used up. Before you …
Continue reading ‘KS-19 – Includes Everything but the Kitchen Sink’ »
I have always loved language and languages. “He who does not know another language does not know his own,” said Goethe, and it is so true. Nothing else expands our minds the same way. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis claims in fact that the language we use to speak (and think) actually affects the way we perceive …
Continue reading ‘The Most Important Sentence’ »
Someone pointed out to me recently that the Presidential Oath of Office includes the words “to the best of my ability.” That seems harmless enough. We can hardly expect anyone to give more than their best. The joker in me says that perhaps we should let this set the precedent for wedding vows as well. …
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Beauty… what is it really? I came across a YouTube where a young woman sent an unaltered picture of herself to Photoshop experts around the world with the instructions, “Make me beautiful.” The results were interesting. The video is 2 minutes. Naturally, people will have their own preferences, and we should be thankful for that. …
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1973 — I was thinking of the age in which this song was written. It was a time before every emotion was ran through an amplifier and turned into a parody. A time more organic, before even compassion itself was manufactured. You couldn’t yet patent lifeforms. That realm still belonged to God, whether you believed …
Continue reading ‘John Denver: Annie’s Song’ »
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and …
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This was originally posted for a small group of friends on Facebook, and I was unsure I would post it here. I do so now after some deliberation. I believe this is something that should be thought about on a broader scale, asking why we glorify ‘thugness’ – whether it was James Cagney during the …
Continue reading ‘The Power of Words – Gone Awry’ »
I am copying here a number of Spacebook postings from the last couple of weeks. Here is one from a couple days ago… I posed a thought experiment: “Does anyone know what they used to use typewriters for in Hollywood?” I didn’t receive many responses. I finally replied: Well, neither the question nor the answer …
Continue reading ‘Hollywood Scripts – Corona’ »
Hermann Wilhelm Göring [also rendered as Goering] was a German politician, military leader, and leading member of the Nazi party. He was founder of the Gestapo, and Head of the Luftwaffe. He notes that it makes no difference what form of government you have, you can always get the people to do what you want. The following is from an interview with …
Continue reading ‘Goering on the Use of Propaganda’ »
I just saw a headline stating that Bernie Sanders’ real obstacle is not Trump, but the Democratic establishment. Indeed, but I would say that this whole country’s problem is not Trump, but the larger Establishment (the Dark Lords, the Puppet-Masters, the Man (or Men) behind the Curtain). Trump is just a symptom of an Oligarchy …
Continue reading ‘Stop Playing the Game’ »
I paused to do some research recently on Gematria. It was mentioned in a video I had watched. I have a couple of books on Numerology that I bought years ago, and have still never got to them. Gematria is similar to numerology, if not the exact same thing. This, according to Wikipedia… Gematria is …
Continue reading ‘Hebrew Aleph-Bet’ »