Nice choice Mark. 10 years seems so very long ago now... I feel like if we don't unite and do something soon, we are all just going to continue to watch an iron curtain close on our own country. Just look at the bickering going on about RFK Jr.
Yes I wish the bickering would cease. We need to remember we’re all human and part of that means we are imperfect. Robert Kennedy isn’t perfect just like you and me. And he’s not a savior either. But he’s smart and he puts decency and honor ahead of his own glory and personal gain. I was really hoping that more people would feel the way that I do about his candidacy. When his father and uncle were killed back then, I felt so crushed and confused even though I was oblivious to the degree of darkness that existed and still does. But we have to start somewhere and having someone who can convey our concerns and fight power with truth and God’s love is a giant step forward. If you have a similar POV, stand tall and consider yourself fortunate.
I remember as a 7 yr old how devastated my mom was watching JFKs funeral. My first impression of how important “other” people are to us. Watch Trump simply destroy Kennedy over his voice. This will be a telling moment if he does this and I believe a huge mistake. There’s something pure about RFK Jr and I’m excited about the possibilities he offers.
I had just turned 13 on November 13 (Watched the Oswald hit live on TV at my Rabbi's house while practicing for my Bar Mitzvah) and like everyone else was devastated. As a kid, there was nothing quite like it that had ever happened in my young yet very impressionable life. But it was watching the funeral on Monday and weeping that was the part of the dreadful weekend that stood out the most. Before that crying was mostly a response for not getting my way or being bullied or other typical stuff - but this time it was due to a deep meaningful sense of loss and something I was unable to fully grasp. Bar/Bat Mitzvah is celebrated as the passing from childhood to the first stage of becoming an adult. What a powerful experience it was to manifest this way.
And on another red letter moment, the night I graduated from high school, RFK was gunned down. I heard it on the car radio while driving home from the afterparty. I was already drunk.
I don't remember either, but I think of those murders, and the murder of MLK, as a point of no return. Of interest, I have always been a fan of studying history. My mother attended JFK's inauguration, and I still have the button she got. I will be attending RFK Jr.'s kickoff for his presidential bid in Boston this coming Wednesday. I live in Boston so it's a no-brainer for me to go.
Beautifully said, Mark. I have faith and my spirit has been lifted BECAUSE he stepped forward and is risking his life to do this. We need to be stronger in love and hope right now than we are in righteous anger which has its place but not before we see the moves in the chess game between the anti fascists versus the eugenicists and assorted psychopaths.
I don't know if they'll let me hold up my signs, but I'll have two that I will be waving around on my way in and out of the Park Plaza Hotel. One of my signs says "coerced injection is forced injection" and the other says "where there is risk, there must be choice." If you see, me please say hello.
Beautiful and at the same time crushingly sad. I don’t know what or whom to trust anymore. But we’ll persevere and figure things out for the better. There is no other choice.
Well, I am not tearing up. I am angry. America is, and always has been, here---but it is being willfully, systematically and maliciously destroyed and those of us that know what it COULD be are aching. And dumb, NEA- and Hollywood-corrupted, young people--teamed up with goofball, self-indulgent and clueless 60- and 70-somethings, Republican and Democrat, "educated" and uneducated, male and female, religious and non-religious, as well as all the maliciously obedient and supercilious, are aiding that destruction by consenting to tyranny. What a vapid trashcan of lyrics. (B.t.w., I have their vinyls from my teen-fan days.)
With all do respect for you and your excellent work, please do not condescend to tell me to "lighten up." (I did confess that I have S&G vinyls---doesn't that get a smile?) I have had my life absolutely ruined by these monsters who are remotely running this world-train wreck like "Gomez Addams" playing with his model set in the attic. It has been ruined generally like we all are experiencing (which is enormous enough), but I have also have taken lots of it personally in a directed way. I can only salute those who have been imprisoned or murdered and who have suffered much more torture. I could care less about the performer class---yes, many of them controlled by the CIA as you aptly point out. Much of the supposed arts that we have been abused by, has lots of very subtle propaganda baked into it: manufactured self-identity angst, ethnic pride for all but one, anti-familial values, male hatred, you know the routine---'The Authoritarian Personality' mind twister. I'll admit, I do not use music on my Substack and probably I should. And you are correct, we cannot vacuum up every bit of inconsistency and "impurity." That leads to a pretty humorless life. I did use music and film clips on my old WordPress homepage and I still use it for my private, email-blast audience. Thanks. I will ponder your comment. Keep up the attack.
look into John Steppling’s Aesthetic Resistance podcast. A great group and John is among other things a dramatist of the highest order. He discusses with three others where we are headed. Also his blog is often brilliant. www.john-steppling.com
Thanks. I opened it in my tabs. And I do apologize to Prof. Miller and everyone here. I was grouchy. He has a very good site and the Suddenly-Died work is amazing. (Sorry Mark, you were trying to give us some needed emotional refreshment and I impulsively trolled your good-will attempt.)
Yep. But come on anyone with an ounce of common sense who is not in deep denial that they’ve allowed harm to themselves and their children needs to get a grip and let go of the Santa Daddy fixations. Accept responsibility. You were FOOLED. You’re forgiven. so now start screaming Enough is Enough.
Thank you MCM, but darn you’ve got me crying! And mourning our great nation. Interesting that Swedes sang that song. My parents came from Stockholm to look for America in 1949. They toured and embraced their new country before my father entered medical school in Iowa that year. Two of us were born in Iowa and two at Mayo Clinic in MN, where dad got his pathology credentials. Funny- none of the four kids were given citizenship until my parents gained citizenship. We ended up in California, where “the grass is greener”, as it was for many years. My parents are lucky to be gone, I hate to say. Thus my tears.
A song from a time when America was a place to discover, when there was possibilities and hope. Simon has another song that turned out to be more apropos, that also had "America" in the title, American Tune:
I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
Or driven to its knees
Oh, but it's all right, it's all right
For we've lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what's gone wrong
And of course also begging a listen is "Sounds of Silence", which is universally regarded as the best song ever written. Take a listen to the Disturbed's version of it, it underscores the poetry of the song very dramatically.
Ha! our comments are almost totally similar. I've never seen something like that. I'd say "Great minds think alike", but you already thought of that didn't you?
Lovely. Yes me too. So nice to hear real haunting, soaring harmonies…so much now is so loud and jarring. I still wish to save my ear drums. Yes, I treasure these songs, was it only that long ago? ~~~ A sweet delivery; on this I can close my eyes and picture myself leaning against some store windows on a sidewalk, enjoying the musician set up, an instrument case open for tossed donations. ~~~ i do wish singers would not cover their mouth with the mic though, seems rather rude.
Lovely harmony. Sometimes I go to bed ODing on the Carpenters or America, even Elton John. American music has been deliberately dumbed down by removing melody so that it appeals to lower IQ people. Who is doing this to us? I think it is clear.
It's funny how subjective music can be. Paul Simon's first solo album after splitting with Art Garfunkel featured a poignant piece called "Armistice Day". I was surprised to read in an interview that Paul considered it the weakest song on the album. I loved it - especially the killer lines:
Nice choice Mark. 10 years seems so very long ago now... I feel like if we don't unite and do something soon, we are all just going to continue to watch an iron curtain close on our own country. Just look at the bickering going on about RFK Jr.
Yes I wish the bickering would cease. We need to remember we’re all human and part of that means we are imperfect. Robert Kennedy isn’t perfect just like you and me. And he’s not a savior either. But he’s smart and he puts decency and honor ahead of his own glory and personal gain. I was really hoping that more people would feel the way that I do about his candidacy. When his father and uncle were killed back then, I felt so crushed and confused even though I was oblivious to the degree of darkness that existed and still does. But we have to start somewhere and having someone who can convey our concerns and fight power with truth and God’s love is a giant step forward. If you have a similar POV, stand tall and consider yourself fortunate.
I remember as a 7 yr old how devastated my mom was watching JFKs funeral. My first impression of how important “other” people are to us. Watch Trump simply destroy Kennedy over his voice. This will be a telling moment if he does this and I believe a huge mistake. There’s something pure about RFK Jr and I’m excited about the possibilities he offers.
I had just turned 13 on November 13 (Watched the Oswald hit live on TV at my Rabbi's house while practicing for my Bar Mitzvah) and like everyone else was devastated. As a kid, there was nothing quite like it that had ever happened in my young yet very impressionable life. But it was watching the funeral on Monday and weeping that was the part of the dreadful weekend that stood out the most. Before that crying was mostly a response for not getting my way or being bullied or other typical stuff - but this time it was due to a deep meaningful sense of loss and something I was unable to fully grasp. Bar/Bat Mitzvah is celebrated as the passing from childhood to the first stage of becoming an adult. What a powerful experience it was to manifest this way.
And on another red letter moment, the night I graduated from high school, RFK was gunned down. I heard it on the car radio while driving home from the afterparty. I was already drunk.
I don't remember either, but I think of those murders, and the murder of MLK, as a point of no return. Of interest, I have always been a fan of studying history. My mother attended JFK's inauguration, and I still have the button she got. I will be attending RFK Jr.'s kickoff for his presidential bid in Boston this coming Wednesday. I live in Boston so it's a no-brainer for me to go.
Amen!
Beautifully said, Mark. I have faith and my spirit has been lifted BECAUSE he stepped forward and is risking his life to do this. We need to be stronger in love and hope right now than we are in righteous anger which has its place but not before we see the moves in the chess game between the anti fascists versus the eugenicists and assorted psychopaths.
I’ll be coming up from New Jersey on Wednesday
🙌
I don't know if they'll let me hold up my signs, but I'll have two that I will be waving around on my way in and out of the Park Plaza Hotel. One of my signs says "coerced injection is forced injection" and the other says "where there is risk, there must be choice." If you see, me please say hello.
Beautiful and at the same time crushingly sad. I don’t know what or whom to trust anymore. But we’ll persevere and figure things out for the better. There is no other choice.
Yep. Got the tears rolling. Witnessing human genius and beauty does that to me. WTF?
Me, too, Steve. All the more reason to keep creating beauty and upping our intake of it. :-)
This is a wonderful song but there's no America to find anymore. American Tune is more like it, also Simon and Gar.
I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
Or driven to its knees
Oh, but it's all right, it's all right
For we've lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what's gone wrong
Well, I am not tearing up. I am angry. America is, and always has been, here---but it is being willfully, systematically and maliciously destroyed and those of us that know what it COULD be are aching. And dumb, NEA- and Hollywood-corrupted, young people--teamed up with goofball, self-indulgent and clueless 60- and 70-somethings, Republican and Democrat, "educated" and uneducated, male and female, religious and non-religious, as well as all the maliciously obedient and supercilious, are aiding that destruction by consenting to tyranny. What a vapid trashcan of lyrics. (B.t.w., I have their vinyls from my teen-fan days.)
You need to lighten up. Also, you're blaming the victims here. This whole thing is a military/CIA operation.
With all do respect for you and your excellent work, please do not condescend to tell me to "lighten up." (I did confess that I have S&G vinyls---doesn't that get a smile?) I have had my life absolutely ruined by these monsters who are remotely running this world-train wreck like "Gomez Addams" playing with his model set in the attic. It has been ruined generally like we all are experiencing (which is enormous enough), but I have also have taken lots of it personally in a directed way. I can only salute those who have been imprisoned or murdered and who have suffered much more torture. I could care less about the performer class---yes, many of them controlled by the CIA as you aptly point out. Much of the supposed arts that we have been abused by, has lots of very subtle propaganda baked into it: manufactured self-identity angst, ethnic pride for all but one, anti-familial values, male hatred, you know the routine---'The Authoritarian Personality' mind twister. I'll admit, I do not use music on my Substack and probably I should. And you are correct, we cannot vacuum up every bit of inconsistency and "impurity." That leads to a pretty humorless life. I did use music and film clips on my old WordPress homepage and I still use it for my private, email-blast audience. Thanks. I will ponder your comment. Keep up the attack.
look into John Steppling’s Aesthetic Resistance podcast. A great group and John is among other things a dramatist of the highest order. He discusses with three others where we are headed. Also his blog is often brilliant. www.john-steppling.com
Thanks. I opened it in my tabs. And I do apologize to Prof. Miller and everyone here. I was grouchy. He has a very good site and the Suddenly-Died work is amazing. (Sorry Mark, you were trying to give us some needed emotional refreshment and I impulsively trolled your good-will attempt.)
Yep. But come on anyone with an ounce of common sense who is not in deep denial that they’ve allowed harm to themselves and their children needs to get a grip and let go of the Santa Daddy fixations. Accept responsibility. You were FOOLED. You’re forgiven. so now start screaming Enough is Enough.
Thanks for sharing that, Mark. We are not giving up on America.
Good one Mark. Paul has a new album out...recorded at my cousin-in-law’s studio near Austin: “Seven Psalms”
Thank you MCM, but darn you’ve got me crying! And mourning our great nation. Interesting that Swedes sang that song. My parents came from Stockholm to look for America in 1949. They toured and embraced their new country before my father entered medical school in Iowa that year. Two of us were born in Iowa and two at Mayo Clinic in MN, where dad got his pathology credentials. Funny- none of the four kids were given citizenship until my parents gained citizenship. We ended up in California, where “the grass is greener”, as it was for many years. My parents are lucky to be gone, I hate to say. Thus my tears.
A song from a time when America was a place to discover, when there was possibilities and hope. Simon has another song that turned out to be more apropos, that also had "America" in the title, American Tune:
I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
Or driven to its knees
Oh, but it's all right, it's all right
For we've lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what's gone wrong
And of course also begging a listen is "Sounds of Silence", which is universally regarded as the best song ever written. Take a listen to the Disturbed's version of it, it underscores the poetry of the song very dramatically.
Lac, I had same thought and posted the same lyrics before I scrolled through the comments and saw yours. Alas, alack...
Ha! our comments are almost totally similar. I've never seen something like that. I'd say "Great minds think alike", but you already thought of that didn't you?
Yes, but I have a dear friend who always answers that with, "Fools never differ." ;-)
So to agree with "Fools never differ" would make one a fool...
;-) and you're clearly not that!
Beautiful and has me going back to look at the lyrics.
Lovely. Yes me too. So nice to hear real haunting, soaring harmonies…so much now is so loud and jarring. I still wish to save my ear drums. Yes, I treasure these songs, was it only that long ago? ~~~ A sweet delivery; on this I can close my eyes and picture myself leaning against some store windows on a sidewalk, enjoying the musician set up, an instrument case open for tossed donations. ~~~ i do wish singers would not cover their mouth with the mic though, seems rather rude.
Lovely harmony. Sometimes I go to bed ODing on the Carpenters or America, even Elton John. American music has been deliberately dumbed down by removing melody so that it appeals to lower IQ people. Who is doing this to us? I think it is clear.
Mr. Simon has written many, many beautiful songs. I've been a fan since Sounds of Silence.
But this is probably his most poignant and beautiful song, and this duo (with an orchestra!) does a superb job (11 years ago!).
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiDc4DbFQZY
Laura maybe it can be turned areiund to Psalms 7 😉
The Mark Twain of American pop music
It's funny how subjective music can be. Paul Simon's first solo album after splitting with Art Garfunkel featured a poignant piece called "Armistice Day". I was surprised to read in an interview that Paul considered it the weakest song on the album. I loved it - especially the killer lines:
"I'm weary from waiting
Down in Washington DC
I've come to see my congressman
But he's avoiding me"
As true now as it was then.
Mark, thank you for that........yes, tears.
Thanks for sharing this incredible vid. Brought tears and smiles both to me.
Beautiful! Thank you. Nicer to hear than death for a change! Tho I appreciate all you do.