Trumps DOJ

 What I hope comes out of the DOJ once it's burned down and rebuilt is the list of all the people who went to Epstein Island and Sean P Diddy Puffy Combs's Phreak Out Parties and S3Xcapades.  I think we will see the ugly underbelly of the cultural and political elite class.  They're a bunch of perverts doing unspeakable things to men and women, girls and boys.  It will be repulsive and everyone will be shocked.  

I for one will not be shocked.  Sean Combs is satan incarnate.  He has the goods on everyone.  He kept them to blackmail them when the time was right.  We'll see Leonardo DiCaprio is a 50 something pedophile who has never been with a woman.  He spends his time with teenagers and sorority girls.  LeBron James has probably stuck his wiener in unthinkable places.  People like Jennifer Lopez have been raped numerous times while in an altered state.  Matt Gaetz.  Bill Clinton.  Donald Trump.  Barack Obama, Jack Welch.  It doesn't matter who it is.  They're all a bunch of sexual deviants.  What they did to Justin Bieber is probably unspeakable.

All of it is unspeakable.  That's why it's the worst kept secret in Hollywood and politics.  Everyone is in on it and no one talks about it.  It the cost of admission to get into the upper echelon of power in our culture.  It's not some shmuck that got their big break.  The got their big break by being abused or doing the abuse.  I consider it hazing for Hollywood, professional athletics and Washington.  

Hazing is any activity that is expected of someone to join or maintain membership in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers themselves or others.  Hazing can occur in many type of groups, including social, professional, political and athletic organizations.  One doesn't not become a member of the club unless they participate in these rituals.  

Hazing can include: intimidating or harassing someone, Causing discomfort, embarrassment or humiliation, Willfully destroying ore removing public or private property.  I would also include doing this to yourself and others that you know is wrong, compromising your values and making getting into the club more important than any other thing in your life.  Hazing can have long-lasting, negative pathological effects on victims and participants including depression, suicide and withdrawal from activities.  Epstein island and Phreak Out parties are what one does to become mighty, powerful and popular.  

I bet every single person listed in the Diddy and Epstein files has been sexually violated or sexually violated someone else while in an altered states.  At one point they are all predators and victims.  It is toxic to a level only known by demons.  And Diddy is the demon's demon because he orchestrated and recorded these "parties" or hazing events.  This is what's expected to have a number one record, a career as a high profile actor, politician or business mogul.

I really want to see the connection Oprah Winfrey has to all of this.  I believe she is a handler.  There is a picture floating around with a young woman sitting next to Oprah Winfrey.  Harvey Weinstein has his eyes and hands on her.  Oprah is trying to comfort her.  The picture looks absolutely disgusting.  Why is Oprah Winfrey friends with Sean Combs, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein?

When the facts come out, everyone will know once and for all that Hollywood, professional athletes and politicians are all rats running around in the same sewer.  They manufacture their own hype and the rest of us are expected to worship them.  Not me.

Did you see

 Did you see Kamala's most recent video released a few days ago?  Either she is clueless or her staff hates her and is working to make her to look even more pathetic now than she did when she was a candidate for POTUS.  She looked tattered and torn fresh off a bender of alcohol and cocaine.  Stay in the fight and remember you have the power or something like that.  It's like this is the first time she didn't get what she wanted.  Hey lady - welcome to the real world.

A 30 Thousand Dollar Stereo

 I had a great time listening to music with my new friend, Girish.  I got to hear the top of the line Paradigm speakers and they were so bright.  It is the beryllium tweeter that makes them way too bright for the kind of music I prefer.  While they were nice and did something differently than my own, I am completely happy with my rig.  I put together a fantastic system at a great price and hearing the next step was nice but it wasn't Earth shattering.

What was Earth shattering was hearing a fifteen thousand dollar set of speakers.  OMG.  I didn't know a stereo could do that.  Here's how to describe the experience.  A great system reproduces sound.  A top tier system reproduces the space.  What the sound does in space is amazing.  We were listening to the Hook album.  I've heard it hundreds, if not thousands of times.  Top tier was amazing.  A horn line came through that I have never heard before.  It gracefully came up from nowhere and it was amazing.  Another part where an oboe plays.  Guess what?  It's not an oboe.  It's two oboes.  My mind was blown.  There was a separation in the instruments that was unlike anything I've heard before.  Easily identifiable within the sound as individual instruments.  Individual strings.  Just so interesting.

After Hook ran its course, Girish played a chamber piece with string instruments.  OMG - you could hear the musicians breathe.  You could hear the resonance in an instrument that you only hear/feel as a musician when playing the instrument.  Then we move to a piano piece.  Again, you could hear the artist breathe.  It was like the grand piano was in the room - all nine feet of it.  I've never heard a piano sound like that on a cd.  Then he played some jazz piece with vocals.  I'm not a vocal guy but it was interesting.  What I found absolutely stunning about the jazz piece was the striking of a woodblock.  You could hear the initial strike and how it faded into silence as it travelled the space.  Next level.  

Girish then took me on a tour of his home and showed up other speakers and gear he had.  Amazing.  Not all of it was hooked up because he had a listening session over the weekend with a group of guys and I enjoyed the result with the paradigms and the other speakers.  Apparently there's a group of guys with high end systems and they visit each other and do listening sessions.  Girish said he was going to invite me to the next one.  I made a friend.

Audio is like corvette.  The fun in both hobbies is sharing them with other people.  Girish had this killer setup and didn't hide it.  He was more than willing to share it with other people that share the love of music.  We hit it off and were able to share and discuss the nuances in the sound being reproduced, etc.  We are both educated listeners and connoisseurs of music.  

When you get into the high end game of sound reproduction, it's a lot like wine tasting.  There are certain flavors with overtones and undertones or hints of flavors, bold flavors in wine.  There's good wine and bad wine.  And there's exceptional wine.  And it all depends on what your taste is or what you want out of the wine.  The same is true of stereo equipment.  What Girish is passionate about is finding the 50 dollar bottle of wine that's as good as thousand dollar wine.  Finding the gems that exist in wine also exist in stereo gear.

400 or so entries

 Every so often I go back and re-read what I've written over the last couple months.  Ten observations:

1 - Opinionated

2 - Commanding

3 - Open

4 - Authentic

5 - Blunt

6 - Intimate

7 - Rushed with few misspellings and left out words or parts of words

8 - Humorous

9 - Unafraid

10 - On the edge

I rarely mince words. 

I say what I mean and mean what I say.

As I read some of my work, I'm surprised I am able to convey some of the thoughts and emotions in dealing with with my parents health issues as they age.  

I enjoy expressing my opinions with a flame thrower.  I plant an intellectual stake in the ground.  I end some of the entries with a zinger.  Standing tall like a lion.  Waiting for the dust to settle. Giving a cathartic roar.  I pick up the wounded prey in my mouth and proudly drag it back to my cave to feast.  

I re-visit certain topics often. With each visit my thoughts and ideas expand and become more solidified. Not again...  Here we goooooooo....

Paradigm Signatures for sale

 Part of being in the audiophile club is seeing the classified list as equipment is bought, sold and traded among members sharing the same interest.  All on the same journey of reaching audio nirvana.  There's this guy that is always moving gear - I don't know if he gets it in estate sales, just likes to experiment and tinker if he's a major collector.  Most of his gear is high end.  Way beyond anything I would ever purchase for my wants and needs.  Does anyone really need a stereo?  I think that' could be debated.

I was browsing the ads and this guy is selling a pair of Paradigm Signature S8s.  At one time this was top of the line for the paradigm corporation.  My speakers are Paradigm Studio 100s.  The Signature cabinets are made of genuine walnut wood and each speaker probably weights 100 lbs.  My cabinets are made of cheap MDF type wood - like reinforced ply wood or something.  Mine weigh 83 lbs each.

I commented under his ad that I would love to hear the signatures because I have the studios.  He invited me to come listen to them before they get sold.  I am real curious what top of the line sounds like.  I'm curious if I can tell the difference....  I am listening to my 100s today through the 200 watts per channel amp listening to the expanded edition of Jurassic Park.  I really don't know what would sound "better" than the speakers I have.  But  I am so curious... 

My wife is adamantly opposed to the idea of going to a listening session and this dudes house because she thinks I'll but the signatures.  I can't afford the signatures.  I spent 1100 dollars on my speakers used.  The gentlemen with the signatures is asking 3500 and that's a steal.  THat's a considerable difference in spend.  I could sell my speakers for at least what I paid for them and pump in an additional 2400 bucks.  Not gonna happen.

Like I said - I'm just curious what next level sounds like.  Everything I've heard that is higher on the ladder than my system didn't do anything for me.  If there were sonic improvements, I couldn't tell.  At the same time, audio is kind of a habit and one gets used to the way their system sounds and another might be better but it's different and unfamiliar.  I am anxious to hear this guy's system...  his offer is very generous - he is well liked by the group.  I'll report back.

My Hobby

 My hobby is music.  Specifically music on cd and to a lesser degree, the equipment I use to listen to my cds.  I've railed on streaming before and I don't like streaming unless it is the only option available such as when traveling or at work.  

I've been collecting cds for 40 years.  40 YEARS!  Literally a lifetime curating musical art.  As I look at the discs on the shelves, it becomes evident to me that 40 years is a very long time.  Not in the number of discs - I have roughly 700 cds which averages out to 16 acquisitions per year.  There were dry years and very productive years adding to the collection.  The covid years saw a resurgence into thoughtfully building out my collection.   

Today, I was looking at the spines in some of the cases and realize just how long 40 years is.  The whites on the spines printed on the paper in the jewel box are starting to yellow a little and they're starting to look aged.  As in looking at your grandparents photo albums they had prior to and when your parents were born.  Everything is still legible - but some of them are looking less than fresh; a little tired and worn.  And I'm saddened by the thought of how hold these relics are.  It makes me realize I'm not young, fresh and new anymore.  I'm old just like those cds are becoming.  

I enjoy each of them just as much as the day I first heard them.  This music is the soundtrack to my life across many genres.  Many soundtracks to movies I've seen and many never seen and have no interest in seeing.  Pour Some Sugar on Me.  Fight for your right to party.  All my excess live in Texas.  Oh how I wish Dallas was in Tennessee.  Friends in Low Places.  Thank god I'm a country boy.  Some kind of friend.  Like a virgin.  Justify my love.  Girls just want to have fun.  My angel is a centerfold.  Every rose hasn't it's thorn.  Let's hear it for the boy.  Two ships that pass in the night.  So much music I've played, or want to play in band.  Devil went down to Georgia.  Roll On 18 wheeler.  You get the idea.  My entire life pressed on aluminum discs encased in plastic.

In June I bought a Pioneer receiver made in 1974.  It was the same model my Dad had when I was growing up.  One of the channels went out and it was in repair for four months having returned to me late last month.  I have an equalizer made in the 80s.  CD players made in the 80s.  A 'modern' receiver from the early 2000s and an amp from the same era.  My speakers are from the early 2000s too.  At the moment I've enjoying the old pioneer with a cd player more than the more modern gear.  It has a certain charm and character to it.  The blue glow of vintage pioneer.  NOTHING made today is as cool as the old stuff.  I guess people call it vintage. 

I prefer nostalgic because it reminds of me my youth.  A lifetime of memories.  And as these material items start showing there age it's a reminder to me that I'm not young anymore but I can enjoy the memories of yesterday today without any degradation in quality because the cd is the ultimate medium I used to preserve my life.

I know my hobby doesn't mean anything to anyone else but me.  I hope when I am really old that it still works and my children and grandchildren will be able to listen to the music and get an idea of who I was, what I enjoyed and maybe even come to understand the qualities in the music that resonate with me.  I know this is wishful thinking.  And when I'm old and decrepit, my kids will through away my most cherished possessions the same way I disposed of their most cherished possessions because they won't have the same connection to my stuff as I did; the same way I didn't have the same connection to my parents stuff as they did.  No one will enjoy it the same way I do.  And by the time I'm steps away from death, this technology will be complete obsolete and it will end up in a landfill just like I will.  

WTH?

Nightmare

 Last week the brain children at the company decided to push an update to Microsoft teams.  This update moved all the teams I'm part of into the chat.  I had to call three people to figure out where the teams went.  Frustrated beyond measure with an updating being sent with no information on what changed.

Last night I had a nightmare that there was an important teams meeting and they forced another teams update without notification.  Everything looked like a comic book in the app.  I couldn't find the calendar to attend a mandatory and important virtual meeting.  I was furiously clicking around like a retard in a panic - having a meltdown of epic proportions.  All these animated cartoon images kept popping up like the stupid paperclip app they had in word in the late 90s.  All over the screen.  I got up and went outside.  One of the higher ups called me and asked why I wasn't on the call.  I told her I couldn't find the link to join.  She said she will send it to me.  I went back inside and continued clicking around like a moron not able to find the link in my email, chats, calendar or messages.  Sitting next to me was another leader watching me Magoo through teams.  She looked at me and said I don't know what your problem is - I joined without a problem.  She continued watching me navigate teams like a retard and was laughing at me.

I hate technology.  There are too many channels people can use to reach out.  What ever happened to just email and phone?  All these advanced options are way to complicated for a simpleton like me.  Maybe I should change my nane to Special Ed.

Orchestras

I enjoy the work of quite a few orchestras.  Boston Pops, Chicago Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and the Cincinnati Pops.  I enjoy them all for very different reasons.  The Chicago Symphony has a wonderful brass section.  The Montreal Symphony has a wonderful ensemble sound with plenty of depth.  Vienna and Berlin play very well.  Boston Pops for obvious reasons; they are everything John Williams.  

If I had to choose a favorite, it would be the Cincinnati Pops with Erich Kunzel at the helm.  There were almost exclusively recorded by Telarc back in the day and their recordings are exquisite and natural.  They didn't do a lot of process with their recordings.  They are pure.  Here's the thing with Cincinnati Pops - they enjoyed playing the music they recorded.  I can feel their enjoyment through the reproduction of their sound.  Kunzel had an exquisite command of tempo.  Quick, fast, slow, accelerandos and retards.  He led the orchestra with a bold musical ideas.  His ideas combined with their sound is amazing.  Every one of there cds are great regardless of the genre.  The pops could be extremely athletic while being controlled and refined.  A joy to listen.

I guess that brings up the topic of conductors.  I've have one recording of the Rochester Pops under the direction of Erich Kunzel.  It is another exquisite recording on par with his work at Telarc.

When I first started enjoying classical music, I thought the Chicago Symphony under the direction of George Solti was amazing.  Later in life, I think of his work as being good but not great.  If you want great Solti, listen to the work he did with the Vienna orcherstra.  Athletic and commanding performances.  As his career went on, his performance were text book good.  Nothing about them was amazing.  Nothing tickled the ear or the soul.  Just solid readings of the score lacking imagination always played safe.  Boring.

Charles Dutoit at Montreal is a perennial favorite of mine.  Lots of heft and power to his work.  The ensemble sound; the balance of the orchestra with just enough of everything to appreciate the wonderful playing and exciting interpretations.  Always tipped just a hair to the bass voices of the orchestra.  His interpretation of the Planets is one of the best I've heard.

Not discussion of conductors is complete without mention of the great Herbert von Karajan.  If you ask me he was one of the best.  Interpretations second to none.  Why?  Because he reinvents familiar works that have been heard many times and puts his own spin on the phrasing.  There is something different about his interpretations that breathe new life into works I've heard numerous times.  Take Dvorak's symphony 9 the new world symphony.  George Solti is one of the gold standards.  Listen to Karajan and he plusses the work and takes it to another level.  Invigorates it with new life.  Same with the Beethoven symphonies.  He saw music differently than all of his contemporaries.  I don't quite know how to express what he does different with the same notes on the page that everyone reads - but this guy's secret sauce was in his interpretation and phraseology taking notes on the page and invigorating how they fit together and how one ideas or phrase flows to the next.  Karajan was a giant in the conductor world.  Always was and always will be.

There are lots of videos on the web with Gustav Dudamel.  I don't particularly enjoy anything he does.  His rehearsal are interesting to watch because he sings and grunts and uses his voice (not his words) to illustrate what he expects the orchestra to do.  And he rehearses the same phrases over and over.  Yet the work he puts into rehearsal doesn't translate into enjoyment for me.  What do I think of when I hear Dudamel?  Overdone and working too hard with little show for it in listener appreciation.

John Williams.  I am a lifelong fan of all his work.  I enjoy his recordings of other peoples work.  They're exquisitely textbook in my opinion.  What he brings is the addition of some heft to the bottom end.  Different that that of Dutoit.  Both enjoyable but in different ways.

I could go into all the Beethoven's I have with different conductors - but don't feel that is a productive conversation as they are all different.  And with Beethoven I don't listen with a specific conductor in mind.  I'm listening for something different.  Whether that be in tempo, lyricism it is more about Beethoven's ideas and how they are interpreted.  Not in the interpretation of all works recorded by those particular ensembles or conductors - but in what they do with Beethoven's work in particular.  

With the conductors and orchestras above it about what they do with everyone's work as a perspective to how they approach music.  I couldn't care less about how those who recorded Beethoven record anything else - unless they do something mind blowing with Beethoven's work.

Triggered

 I never understood being triggered by a stimulus until today.  I was driving home in the car listening to news radio.  They reported that our president is making moves to forgive nearly 5 billion dollars of "loans" given to Ukraine.  I completely lost my shit like a crazy man in a rage for nearly an hour after hearing this information.

Vladamir zelenski is a global panhandler.  A human cockroach.  A leach.  I wish someone would finally kill him and get it over with.  The amount of money he has taken from the United States is absolutely obscene.

Anyone who supports this clown deserves a similar fate.  Soneone should kill all of them.

I was even more infuriated thinking about our taxes dollars being used to fund this war against Russia.  And all the other bullshit our tax dollars get spent on that we have no say whatsoever.  The ruling class in Washington does whatever the fuck they want once they're in office.  Anyone who isn't completed offended by at least of the governspent spending isn't paying attention.

People don't think for themselves anymore.  They rely on being told information by other people.  No one knows how to think.  As a society we are a bunch of zombies led by talking heads.  It's appalling.  

I'm also pissed off because dipshit Biden gave the seal of approval for fucking zelinsky to use longer range weapons to strike the interior of Russia.  That mother fucker waits until he's got two month remaining in office and green lights the starting of world war 3.  Biden is a piece of garbage.

Donald Trump should have immediately got on the phone with zelinsky and urged him to exercise restraint.  This conflict was instantly escalated by Biden's decision and that stupid son of a bitch won't be in office to deal with the consequences of his idiotic decision.  What a piece shit.

I haven't been this spooled up in at least 7 years.  I wish I had medication I could take to literally shut down my brain for a good 8 hours - like the good old days of mania.  Like radio silent.  Flatlined brain waives.  To wake up in a fog and slowly get the neurotransmitters flowing again - taking about a day and a half after waking up to return to some sort of pre-episodic baseline.

I can't wait until that stupid son of a bitch is put to pasture.  Joe Biden can rot in hell.

It’s a problem

 When the government mandates a restriction on the amount of water your shower head can use.  I’m paying for it. Leave me alone.  If they’re worried about water consumption maybe they should restrict the population growth in the area. Leave me alone.

Do we really need a black market for shower heads?  Nah. Just mod them yourself with a drill.  

Quote

Outdated technology - aka junk

 The last three vintage electronic items purchased ended up being duds. A cd changer didn’t work. One channel worked on a receiver and a minidisc player wouldn’t work. Maybe I’m asking too much from 30-50 year old technology to still be working. It’s depressing to me  

Vintage technology was cool.  It’s nostalgic for me. Today most people are streaming content of all types over the internet. I don’t believe in that.  The only streaming that should be done is over the air. Like listening to the radio and watching tv. 

Same with cars  I don’t want any of this new fangled technology.  I prefer simpler machines without all these electronics.  Again, other people’s junk.

When it matters

 There’s never a problem with hundreds of millions of people watching an event on tv when the signal is broadcast over the air. But…. Every single event I’ve wanted to watch via a streaming service has been a rotten experience from frequent buffering, pixelization and sound compression to reduce bandwidth. 

I purchased an evening of marching band streaming from bands of America for the San Antonio super regional. It was okay for a while. When it mattered, the buffering monster reared its ugly head and I was not able to see one of the most competitive bands. Obviously it doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things because I don’t even remember whose performance got hosed. The service picked up again after their performance.  Thanks for nothing Box 5. 

A few years ago I purchased the grand national weekend from flo marching. I spent the entire finals performance fuming because all I saw was pixelated performances that either look like a vhs tape that was 30 years old or the frame was frozen while the wheel of death spun because their servers couldn’t handle the traffic. You’re fired. 

Last nights big fight was another futile exercise exhibiting why live streaming doesn’t work. The fight was either completed pixelated like a 1983 atari game or again the spinning wheel of the death. 

When it matters streaming doesn’t work. It’s a futile exercise in trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.  The DVR was a superior solution of being able to record a live performance and watch it later. 

I understand there are many events that don’t warrant a national broadcast. The fact of the matter is there are many niche markets. For me, grand nationals is like watching the Super Bowl. Imagine if Netflix streamed the Super Bowl and the time was spent watching some candlewaxed distortion of a competition that didn’t work 80% of the time. People would be furious. 

People need to stop using technology to solve problems that don’t exist.  All these production companies are doing is angering and disappointing their fan base. 

The big fight

 Tyson vs Paul was more than a fight between two boxers. It was a fight between Gen X and Gen Z. The after fight reports say Paul won and that he took it easy on Tyson by not humiliating him. Let me get through the fight without embarrassing him. Like does Jake Paul have some kind of grace?  From what I saw iron Mike was up past his bedtime and Jake Paul could have destroyed him. But he exercised restraint. Probably because he respected Tyson or didn’t want to destroy his image beating up an old man.  

This fight was about aging. As a gen xer I believe I am still young. I still got it. I am the man. Most of us do. But we aren’t. Time has taken its toll on us just as it has every generation before us. We don’t realize it. We think the younger generation is arrogant and too big for their britches. Just like the boomers probably thought about us at one time and the greatest generation probably thought about the boomers. 

If anything gen x should be humbled my what happened last night. Realizing we are aging and our bodies and minds can’t keep up with the younger ones - especially after 10 pm.  Even though we think otherwise. Perhaps realizing there should be grace both in winning and in losing. 

Mike Tyson losing is the reality check to my generation. We’re not the strongest, fastest or smartest anymore. What we do have is wisdom that comes from experience. That wisdom failed iron Mike because he actually the thought he could beat Jake Paul.  Or maybe he knew he would loose and wanted to make 20 million dollars with his swan song of a fight regardless of winning or losing.  

Who will Mike Tyson fight next?  George Foreman with his grill or Evander Holifield minus an ear. 

Or is Jake Paul going to fight Joe Biden or jimmy carter?

From the archives - Katy Perry's Intervention with Lindsay Lohan

Dear Believers - Katy and I went on a quick overnight to focus on each other.  Think of it as a mini-retreat. But, the strangest thing happened.  Instead of focusing on each other something magical happened. 

I was sharing my concerns for Lohan when Katy said she's thought the same thing about Lohan ever since she fell from grace.  See - I told you Katy and I were meant for each other.  We are on the same page on so many different things.  It's almost like we're two volumes of the same book.  Cut from the same tree. 

Less I digress...

While sharing our feelings, we put our heads together and came up with a plan.  Katy has befriended Lohan and after a night of partying we do an intervention.  You see, the image Katy portrays on the outside is a bit out there for most believers - a little too reckless and unreserved.  Let me assure you, at her core she is clean and pure.  A beautiful soul and a good looker to boot.

At first we're gonna have to cover up Katy's tattoo with makeup so it isn't too obvious we're up to something.  They hang out together, run around being all crazy, hitting the hollywood party scene.  This is a quick way to build trust - by sharing common interests. 

We let Lohan get out of control to the point she hits rock bottom.  While she's at the bottom, we  swoop in and run an intervention. Dear Katy brings Lohan to an undisclosed location, very close to heaven.  They enter my secret chamber.  I'm hiding behind a curtain careful not to make a peep or movement.  Kinda like playing hide and seek.

Katy executes our standard intervention and starts out with how she has this amazing friend that accepts her for who she is, see's the good in everything and provides never ending support.  In a way, Katy is witnessing and ministering to dear Lohan.  It fills my heart to the point I start tearing up. 

Just as Katy says the part about never ending support, I lower the lights and turn on the fan.  A gentle breeze blows in the chamber.  I get on my microphone and say, "Dearest Lindsay....  It's me, Jesus."  She freaks out like she always does and starts crying.  "Fear not child, for I love you.  I always have and always will.  Accept me as your lord and savior, ask for forgiveness and I'll make you shiny and new.  I'll take your sins as far away as the east is from the west." 

Katy takes Lindsay by the hand and they turn towards each other.  Katy starts up with how amazing I am and how our relationship just rocks.  It's healthy and pure.  Two souls finding their ideal mates...  Yadayadayada.

Then, I slowly move from behind the curtain and sneak up right behind Lohan.  Katy  says something about feeling my strength during difficult times.  I  gently place my hands on Lindsay's shoulders.  She  turns and looks.  I slide my way between Katy and Lindsay and we share a group hug.

Tears are flowing, hugs are strong and passionate.  We're crying at the same time.  I gently turn and Katy  turns Lohan to me.  "Dear Lindsay, are you finally ready to be healed.  Are you finally ready to have a relationship with me?"  Lindsay is still teared up.  She's a little nervous and her hands are shaking.  I take her hands as we stand face to face.  She looks at me tears running down her face as she's crying and stuttering"y-y-y-yes."  She moves into an all out cryfest yelling "Yes.  Yes. YES...  I am ready.  Calgon take me away." 

Not quite the response I was looking for - but I'll take what I can get. 

Then, we all hug again and take her to the prayer room and visit for a while to tell her all about the great things she just won.  Katy starts the water in our immersion tank, adds some magic bubble bath and we take a group bath.

And now, I have two goddesses. 

Love, Jesus! aka, Mr. Adonis. 

The big fight

Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul tonight. Tyson is an animal. Paul is a little bitch from the Disney channel/youtube era trying to be gangster as a grown up. During a media event Tyson slapped Paul across the face for being a punk. I hope Mike Tyson destroys Jake Paul. As in annihilates him. These stupid kids have no business poking the bear. I hope wanna be tough guy baby Jake gets his ass handed to him.

Superman Immortal

 I'm listening to John Williams' score from the original Superman movie.  It is another fine work by John Williams.  Is there any work that isn't?  Well, maybe Sleepers; but that's for another time.

Why does Superman have me writing about John Williams again?  One - it's wonderful!  Two, it is a work full of notes...  One can barely comprehend the amount of notes John William has written to make these film scores magnificent...  Easily 50 years of work with multiple large scale projects every year.  

I watched "Music By John Williams" documentary celebrating John Williams.  John writes his music with a pencil.  ALL OF IT.  He's written every note.  Every. Single. Note.  Just think about that for a minute.  No computers.  No AI.  Full orchestral film scoring.  This man has a complete understanding of each instrument, its range, where it sounds best.  How to use the colors.  A Jedi Knight in compositional music theory and human emotion.  And all originating from his soul, processed by his brain.  Recorded by his hand sitting at a piano; realized in the music we hear in some of the greatest motion pictures ever produced.  Perhaps John Williams is the musical combination of William Shakespere, Robert Frost, Mark Twain, Roald Dahl and Franz Kafka.

Next time you're listening to a John Williams piece, really listen to it.  Listen through the layers of sound and you'll be blown away by how complex his writing is. It takes over a hundred voices to make the one voice of John Williams come to life through musical goodness of rhythm and energy supporting the melody with lots of notes, lots of colors, or both.  The man is a genius!  

John Williams enriches our collective soul. Steven Spielberg said something interesting in the documentary.  When a work is presented to John Williams to score, John watches the movie through Steve's eyes.  When the music is laid alongside the images, Steven Spielberg watches the move through John's.  The synergy of both minds elevates the work of both men exponentially.   

I may not have been alive when Beethoven roamed the Earth, but I am indeed blessed to be alive while the immortal John Williams walks among us mortals.  

Leo Tolstoy says

Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.

That explains all the evil in the world.

Pizza Oven

 It’s hard not to see yourself as a financial failure when Costco sells a $400.00 plug in pizza oven and people are buying it.  Like WTF?!?  400 bucks for a counter top pizza oven?  Get out of here. 

A middle-class party: The GOP's new path to the American dream

GUY SHEPHERD

NOVEMBER 09, 2024

Embracing an America First stance, the Republican Party brings a confident presence on the world stage, promoting prosperity at home and stability abroad through strong leadership.

The Republican Party reveals itself as a national middle-class party. A party that is friendly to earned success and those in need looking for a hand up. A party where the middle, bottom, and top are not divided and play a zero-sum game but are instead united in the pursuit and possession of the ever-optimistic American dream.

A patriotic party. A party that loves America — warts and all. A party with America First self-confidence and swagger on a global stage. Not chauvinism, but swagger. Which just happens to be good for everyone.

Pax Americana is not a global occupier or welfare state, but a beacon of freedom and hope to the nations.

A party for men and women alike — from Elon and Tulsi to the forgotten women and men across our great nation. A party of equals who know what a woman is, know what a man is, and celebrate the complementary difference. A love, marriage, baby carriages, "worried about the cost of living and growing prosperity" party.

A party that takes care of its own and defends its sovereignty. That takes full advantage of the natural resources to underwrite American prosperity at home and global peace and stability abroad.

A party that does not withdraw from the world but leads it through good example and willingness to defend and enforce its clearly stated prerogatives. A party willing to make long-term win-win deals. A party willing to use carrots and sticks to defend and pursue its interests.

A party that is dedicated to prudently guiding, funding, and restraining a military that is without equal.

A nation that fights wars to win and not occupy. When we win, we do so decisively and our former foes become prosperous friends. Pax Americana is not a global occupier or welfare state, but a beacon of freedom and hope to the nations

Magic Monday - Graffiti for the interwebs!

Proud to be an America again! I have a few friends that are either completely angry or embarrassed by the election of Donald Trump.  I understand we have differences in our value systems and priorities for America and role the USA plays globally. 

I've never been prouder to live in the United States of America.

MAGA, baby!!

I’ll tell you a secret

 One of the sounds I secretly delight in hearing is the sound cars make when they crash. There a satisfying crunch that comes from metal absorbing energy deforming the original shape when it bends, wrinkles and dents. The bigger the crash the more satisfying the crunch.  Kinda like crushing aluminum cans for recycling. I don’t like the screech of the skid before the crash though as you know their is impending loss and something unfortunate is about to happen. 

Regret

 The more mechanic videos I watch, I realize that's what I should have done for a career.  Back in the day the redneck hicks and stupid people were the ones in Future Farmers of America and auto shop class.  My generation was sold a bill of goods on this college thing.  I didn't want to go.  I didn't like.  I didn't do well.  

I'm fascinated by the amount of problem solving and thinking that goes into accurately diagnosing an automotive malfunction.  I like the tools and the metal.  The lubricant and hydraulic fluids.  The coolant.  The tools.  The sockets.  The ratchets.  The wrenches.  The pliers.  The screw drivers.  The diagnostic equipment.  The lifts.  I like taking this apart and fixing them.  I like how parts fit together.  I like how engines work and how someone figure out how time the components of an engine to make it work.  Why wasn't it okay to like and indulge in this stuff in the late 80s?  

The most accomplished feelings I've had are when I've fixed something that was broken.  

I've realized that the higher up I go in an organization the less happiness I feel in my life.  Now it's problem after problem.  Metric after metric.  It seems like every week they are finding something new to measure and something new to hold us accountable to.  I don't understand how they constantly find new shit to measure.  Every email greeted with an eye roll or the slamming of my laptop.  It's exhausting.

I should have just stayed in Florida.  Figured out a way to make my financial situation to work in this shitty economy that doesn't help those that help themselves.  Rather gives to the poor in the name of equity and social justice.  Go fuck yourself.  At least I'd be happy nearly every time I stepped foot outside and looked up at the sky thanking God for the majesty and beauty of the sky.  It was also so interesting.  Sometimes eerie and unsettling as a hurricane approached.  Sometimes absolutely breathtaking.  Always interesting.

Being able to walk on the beach barefoot for free any time I wanted.  When other people pay a ton of money to do the same thing.  I got bored professionally.  I should have realized how happy I was and been thankful.  Idiot.  In state passes and hotel discounts for world class vacation destinations.  That was a win.  

Why did I think being bored and easy work was a bad thing?  I should have just STFU and been thankful for living life in the sweet spot.  

I see myself as changed over the last year.  I think differently about the problems I deal with at work.  Did you know you can get 3-11 minutes of additional ground time if you operate in a gate closer to the arrival runway than the departure runway?  Did you know the airport has changed traffic flow movement area to be West to East?  My chances of getting a departure out on time operating on the West side give me an advantage setting the brake faster compared to waiting for the plane to taxi from one side of the airport to the other? Who cares.  This is the rot that occupies my mind.  I think about minutes a bag spends in the screening matrix and how far the bag must travel from the screen area to the make up carousel.  I think about how I can give my crew members hours while reducing the number of unproductive hours in the schedule while also providing a buffer to absorb overtime.  

It was so much happier to come out of the office, look in the sky and feel happy nearly every single day for a year.

Coming back to Austin was a mistake.  I hated this city, the people and the airport when I left.  I don't know why I thought it'd be better when I returned.  The only thing I've done is taken a dysfunctional station and improved it.  I've worked hard this year and fixed problems the station has had for nearly a decade.  But who cares?  It's not what you did it's what are you gonna do.  And by the way - here's a new metric we can use to torment your life.  I guess we need maximum productivity out of the expensive "data scientists" and "analysts."  We keep adding to their ranks while pulling back on the front line.  

INterstesting read on linked in..

Luddite

 a person opposed to new technology or ways of working.

I wear the term like a badge of honor. 

Lester's Last Scene American Beauty

Crybabies

Better call the waaambulance for all these people that are literally shedding tears over trump's win and kamela's loss.

Ivy League schools canceling classes so their students can 'process trumps shocking win.'

Blaming racism and misogyny among white voters for her loss.

How can this have possibly happened? Trump is a deranged fascist that will strip you of your rights. Really? Tell me more.

I'll tell you how this happened. Simply put more than half the country is opposed to the agenda and policies that have been implemented over the last three years. The money printed and infused into the economy is a prime driver of inflation and the high cost of good. Regulation has made it cost prohibitive to build houses and produce energy. Regular people are fed up with illegal immigration. All these imported people not integrating into our culture acting like they're still part of the mafia in a third world shit hole.

If you ask me the average person is worse off than they were four years ago. Unless you're a member of the alphabet community or an illegal alien.

I doubt Trump will be able to put the toothpaste back in the tube to reduce inflation. He can easily secure our border by enforcing the laws currently on the books.

Americans are fed up with the soft on crime defund the police movement. Americans don't want to pay off student loans that aren't their own or their kids.

It's amazing to think nearly a billion dollars was spent on her campaign. A billion dollars wasted. She was a hollow shell manufactured by the media. She was incapable of answering questions about policy positions or what she would do differently than Joe Biden. Joe said she was the last one in the room and played a key role in policy decisions. Like what the hell? They destroyed America. People believed a vote for her would be status quo in continuing the path we've been in for the last four years.

Donald Trump ran a different campaign compared to the last two. He said what he wanted to achieve what he didn't like and didn't shy away from the press. What you see is what you get. He out maneuvered the left on many fronts with the Mcdonalds stunt and the garbage truck stunt. Blue collar workers and other garbage like me eat that shit up. Why? Because it feels genuine.

He campaigned on energy production as a means to inflation reduction, deregulation, illegal immigration, securing the border, ending these winless wars that we have no business participating in, pro law enforcement. No tax on tips. Floated no tax on overtime and tax credits for caregivers. How much of that did she literally copy from him?

If our country can survive the last four years we can survive the next four years. Elections have consequences. In sticking with what I've said in the past, we get leadership we deserve.

I will be much happier living under a trump presidency than continuing four years of the insanity we've been through. 

Another thing - Trump has a worthy VP possibly setting up an 8 year republican reign. Kamela hired a rodeo clown to be her running mate.  Her shortsighted judgement in selecting him speaks volumes about her ability to identify talent. She would have done better with Shapiro from PA. He at least has a brain and is relatively poised and articulate.   Tim can go back to installing tampon machines in boys bathrooms - that’s the kind of shit America as a whole is fed up with.  Put the freaks back in the asylums where they belong.   

The current administration was nothing more than a four year experiment in entitlement demonstrating why DEI hiring and policy making doesn't work.

Election 2024

Unburdened by what has been.

The presidency. The senate. And likely the house.

Grand slam home run.

Boom goes the dyn-O-mite!!!

Automaker Woes

 Ford.  Stelantis - maker of Chrysler's garbage.  Mercedes.  Volkswagen.  All of their businesses are being impacted by less than stellar EV demand.  This is fantastic news.  Nobody wanted an electric car.  The WEF forum and green new deal advocates wanted them.  Regular people don't want them.  They're not a superior solution to the internal combustion engine.  They're what the eviroterrorists want.  

I'm glad they ruined their business building shit the government wanted them to build instead of what customers wanted them to build.  Take your electric car and shove it up your ass.

Variation on Haiku

A life of 

unrealized potential.

Spent buying other people's junk.

Never truly happy.

 

Music By John Williams

A documentary available on Disney+. I stayed up until midnight halloween night because it was released on November 1.  It wasn't available to watch until sometime early on November 1.  There were parts of the show that gave me goosebumps and a lot of it is rehashing the same stories from the many collaborations with Steven Spielberg.   

The parts I found most interesting were when John Williams would play little bits and pieces of his work on the piano.  I think this would make a wonderful CD - just John and his piano.  It'll probably never come to fruition, but it would be a real treat.

In a way my Dad raised me to be a John Williams fan.  Whether he knew it or not.  Star Wars.  Going to see band concerts.  Listening to pipe organ music.  My first cassette tape was Peter and the Wolf.  Every musical experience I had as a kid pointed in me in the direction of John Williams.  John Williams had his coming of age in the late 70s with Star Wars.  Hence, the timing of my existence on this planet when I was being exposed to what he was doing and some of the foundations to which his work is based.  Kinda interesting.  

The documentary would be nice for someone not as familiar with John Williams work - but for the true super fan, there is little to be gleaned from the feature length work.  A nice tribute to a remarkable musician.