If I Could Only Exist On 25 Songs and 25 Albums

 

Let's Say That The First Digital Music Storage Type Device Had Just Been Invented and That It Only Had Room For 25 Songs And 25 Albums. That's The Music I Would Be Limited To Have On A Portable Basis.
What Would I Put In There? Here's My Lists:

SONGS
I Feel Fine -- Beatles
Daydream Believer -- Monkees
Good Vibrations -- Beach Boys
End of The World -- Skeeter Davis
Reach Out I'll Be There -- Four Tops
California Dreaming -- Mamas and Papas
Bus Stop -- Hollies
Pretty Woman -- Roy Orbison
Downtown -- Petula Clark
Can't Help Falling In Love -- Elvis Presley
Cherish -- Association
Never My Love -- Association
Yesterday -- Beatles
Happy Together -- Turtles
Satisfaction -- Rolling Stones
Ruby Tuesday -- Rolling Stones
Can't Get Used To Losing You -- Andy Williams
Classical Gas -- Mason Williams
I'd Like to Get To Know You -- Spanky and Our Gang
Pretty Ballerina -- Left Banke
Someday We'll Be Together -- Diana Ross And Supremes
Your Song -- Elton John
Summer Song -- Chad and Jeremy
You Lost That Lovin' Feeling -- Righteous Bros.
I'm A Believer -- Monkees


ALBUMS
Rubber Soul -- The Beatles
Beatles '65 (U.S. Capitol Release) -- The Beatles
Revolver -- The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper -- The Beatles
Beatles Second Album (U.S. Capitol Release) -- The Beatles
The Early Beatles (U.S. Capitol Release) -- The Beatles
Hard Day's Night -- The Beatles
Help! -- The Beatles
White Album -- The Beatles
Abbey Road -- The Beatles
Pet Sounds -- The Beach Boys
Aja -- Steely Dan
Days of Future Passed -- Moody Blues
Nashville Skyline -- Bob Dylan
Greatest Hits -- Beach Boys
Greatest Hits -- Petula Clark
Greatest Hits -- Simon & Garfunkel
Greatest Hits -- Rolling Stones
Greatest Hits -- Nat King Cole
Greatest Hits -- The Monkees
Greatest Hits -- Elton John
Greatest Hits -- Neil Diamond
Greatest Hits -- Sam Cooke
Greatest Hits -- Elvis Presley
Tchaikovsky -- Nutcracker Suite
West Side Story -- Motion Picture Soundtrack

 

I LOVE PINBALL

I grew up in Chicago.

All the pinball machines created for the U.S. and the world were made in Chicago.


As a boy, they were everywhere. By the time I was 7 or 8, I loved throwing in a dime to play a game of pinball. 1950's and 1960's machines had incredible works of art on the playfields and backglasses. They are a much under-appreciated American art form. But other than that, the ball moved very slowly and it easily left the playfield. Other than a few bumpers, there was really nothing exciting to do and the sound was a bunch of chimes.

In the late 70's the ball started moving faster, digital scores displays and electronic sounds were introduced (it was really freaky hearing it the first time) and there were some additional things to do besides just bumpers. And the cost per game became 25 cents.

In the 80's, pinball had to compete with video games and this required a major change. The ball was now going extremely fast and there was numerous toys, contraptions and other things to do on the playfield. And lots of movie themes.

In the 80's and 90's, most of the companies went out of business as video games and home video consoles took over completely. The remaining few pinball companies made some incredible games but they were getting harder to find in public places. Few of each title were being made and most were being sold to private individuals for home use.

Few new pinball machines are made today.
I have usually had a machine to play at home. At one time I had 5 machines. I have estimated that I have spent at least 10,000 hours in my lifetime playing pinball.

Any old pinball machine has become very valuable and are restored by companies and individuals.

One of the biggest problems of owning a machine is a flipper goes out, a display stops working, the logic of the game stops working, the ball won't eject...numerous problems that are expensive for the few experts in each city to come and fix. Also, pinball machines are quite large and heavy. And you are limited to playing one game over and over.

One of the most sought after machines is the 1978 KISS rock group pinball. The few times it shows up for sale, it instantly gets between $4-6 THOUSAND dollars!

However, something quite wonderful has been developing over the last decade--by hobbyists. 

I now have KISS, 

 Visual Pinball Version







Twilight Zone, Funhouse, Taxi, Playboy, The Addams Family, Simpsons, Fireball, Eightball Deluxe, Captain Fantastic and 99 of the most sought after machines all in one regular pinball size unit! It's called VISUAL PINBALL (sometimes Virtual Pinball) and it is total 3-D electronic versions of popular pinball games all in one machine. Mostly an East Coast and Midwest phenomenon, I found a man in Los Angeles who had built himself the ultimate VP pinball and he needed the space, so I am the new owner of this marvelous digital wonder.

I can play games I played as a kid, in high school, in college, second childhood and so on--all on one machine.

And there are no mechanical parts to fix.

The playfields look authentic, the ball moves and interacts like a real pinball would respond (the physics are amazing), and all the original machine's sounds, music, effects, graphics are all present as well. And all of this is being done by hobbyists who digitize the original playfields and then make them respond exactly like the original physical machines. and they all share the games with each other and anybody is welcome to make improvements if they wish in a new version.

This is affecting my sleep so I have to make some specific timeslots to follow. There are a few of these up for sale on Ebay, but they are mostly from back East. 

I had heard about this going on but until I actually played it and it was just like a real pinball machine--I can see these are going to become very popular among pinball aficionados.

GAME OVER

 

12 Years A Slave - An Important Film

I disconnected TV about 3 years ago.

So I did not even see the Academy Awards.

I waited for about 3 hours to check on the Internet to see if
"12 Years A Slave" won Best Picture and it did.

This is a very important historical film. And here's why:

Probably for the first time in a film about slavery, it really lets you
experience:

The degrading selection process of slaves on the auction block;

How having your family broken up and parted out to
different plantation families actually felt;

The brutal treatment of slaves on the cotton plantations;

The manipulation of slaves who were allowed one minute to
hold dances amongst themselves, or given cookies as a special treat, or allowed to attend a church gathering and then thrown back into the horror of extreme working conditions with severe punishments (abusive psychological techniques of back and forth to make them think they were actually very lucky);

The fact that there were white people who stood up and protested this "peculiar institution" and treated blacks and slaves as human beings

This is going to become the ultimate film for students to see to put them in the time and place and develop an understanding of what really happened.

Shirley Temple

There will never be another Shirley Temple.


The talent and the time and place which elevated her to the biggest box office
star worldwide is a rarity.

During the Great Depression she brought a ray of hope to millions of people
worldwide whose lives had been devastated by the times. At least for 2 hours
at a time.

What you have to understand -- it was not children going to a Saturday matinee which
made her the biggest movie star in the world for 5 years.

It was the adults. Men would pick up their dates with a surprise--
"we're going to see the new Shirley Temple movie!"

In the late 1950's, a whole new audience of baby boomers watching children's television
discovered this talented munchkin.

The films are not all super sweet. They are filled with divorce, battling adults,
highly emotional situations, treacherous characters, action sequences and more.
That's why adults showed up worldwide.

Her unique status and charm will live on forever in film.

BEATLES 50 YEARS AGO THIS EVENING

50 Years Ago This Evening...Sunday, February 9, 1964

Every young person in America and their curious parents were tuned to "The Ed Sullivan Show" on CBS.

Beatlemania had already begun on radio and now the group would perform live for the very first time in America.

The enthusiasm has never stopped. What happened back then?

1. A group from England at that time was the exotic equivalent of a band from Venus.

2. The country needed a lift 2 months after JFK.

3. The sound was unlike anything young people at the time had ever heard.

4. Their vivacious personalities and humor was overwhelming.

In six years, they constantly evolved. From Pop/Rock "Meet the Beatles"
to Folk Rock "Rubber Soul" to Experimental Pop "Revolver" to
Psychedelic "Sgt. Pepper" to Eclectic "White Album" to
R&B "Abbey Road."

And every one of their songs was commercial, hummable and unforgettable.

Can you imagine a world without The Beatles?

Quality of life in the 20th Century (and beyond) was greatly heightened
because of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

From The Same People Who Brought You Slavery and the Civil War...

From The Same People Who Brought You Slavery and the Civil War...

The people who started this country had a great idea.

They saw how religious persecution, terror and destruction destroyed countries
with each religion deciding that they only had the right answer and everybody
else within their reach needed to convert or die.

So they came up with a simple plan.
Government would stay out of Religion.
Religion would stay out of Government.

It's worked really well since 1789 and has even gotten stronger setting
an example for the rest of the world.

But the folks down in the Bible Belt have decided that only they have the
true religion, the true God, the true way of life and everybody else is wrong.

If a PRIVATE Christian religious school wants to:
Have students make personal confessions of belief and faith during the middle of math class;
Have teachers disparage other religions;
Tell students that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, Evolution is impossible,
Everything in the Bible is True (which must include the approval of slavery);
Have teachers ridicule a Buddhist student in front of the class;
Make all students pray before class and attend religious assemblies;
Place pictures, displays, bulletin boards filled with Jesus and Biblical Messages
all over the school...

they have the right to do this as a PRIVATE religious school not funded by
the taxpayers.

When these things happen at a PUBLIC school which is funded by the taxpayers,
this is a serious violation of civil rights.

The parents of a public school student in Louisiana are suing the school district for
everything noted above and more.

When these things were brought to the attention of the public school district's
superintendent, the parents were told that:
"this is the Bible Belt"
"can't the student change his faith?"
"there is another school 25 miles away for Asians"

We fortunately don't have the same religious problems that exist in other countries.
The United States government has never interfered with a  church, synagogue,
mosque, temple or other place of worship.

Public schools are for all Americans. A public school cannot endorse or favor
one religion over another or require that anybody even have a religious belief
to begin with.

Please support these organizations that work for the benefit of all Americans
by keeping church and state separate:

ACLU    www.aclu.org
Americans United For Separation of Church and State  www.au.org
Freedom From Religion Foundation   www.ffrf.org


 https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/complaint_-_final_0.pdf
READ LAWSUIT AGAINST PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

EVERLY BROS.

The sound was infectious!

From the first time you heard it--the unique sound of the Everly Brothers with  harmonies that were so close in frequency--created an experience that affected a generation of new musicians that included John and Paul, Paul and Art and others who tried to imitate it.

With the passing of Phil Everly, who with his brother Don, gave the world some timeless songs that has been heard by every generation -- "Bye Bye Love," "Cathy's Clown," "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I Have to Do Is Dream," "Crying In The Rain," "Walk Right Back," "Devoted to You" -- and the amazing thing is they never again charted after 1957-1963.

Yet, these songs have lived on in movies, television shows, oldies stations and get the immediate attention of anybody hearing them for the first time.

Brothers and sisters singing together have always had an unexplainable sound which is captivating.
The Everly Brothers went beyond that. Their huge hit songs were stories which you could envision and relate to the "narrator" who was telling it and going through a roller coaster of emotions.

Two acoustic guitars, one electric guitar, an electric bass, a piano and drums--that's it. And the boys singing. A simple formula that puts today's elaborate productions to waste.

We are almost at the 60th anniversary of "Bye, Bye, Love" (1957) and the song sounds as fresh, vibrant and rockin' as it did when it first dominated American airwaves.


 

HOW DO YOU VISUALIZE A YEAR AS IT GOES BY?

HOW DO YOU VISUALIZE A YEAR AS IT GOES BY?

NOBODY HAS EVER ASKED YOU THAT BEFORE.

YET, YOU HAVE CREATED AN ABSTRACT CONCEPT IN YOUR MIND WHICH
YOU FOLLOW ON A YEARLY BASIS.

WHICH OF THESE IS YOURS?

DO YOU SEE A YEAR AS A CONTINUING CIRCLE WHICH COMES BACK
AROUND TO TOUCH ITSELF IN TIME AND SPACE?

ARE THE MONTHS MERELY EACH A NECESSARY PART OF A GRANDER DESIGN?

 DO THE MONTHS POP-UP ONE AT A TIME?

 DO THE DAYS AND MONTHS INTERACT IN AN UNPREDICTABLE PATTERN?

 ARE THE MONTHS NEAT LITTLE BOXES WHICH FORM AN EQUAL PATTERN?

 DO YOU SEE A YEAR AS ONE TOTAL AND COMPLETE EXPERIENCE?

DO YOU FOLLOW THE PATH OF A YEAR AS A STRAIGHT LINE,

YET YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO LOOK FORWARD AND BACKWARDS?

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2014

One Of The Saddest Things I Ever Saw In My Life -- A Sad Clown Painting Comes To Life

Around 1979, I saw one of the saddest things I had ever seen in my life. I have never said anything about it to anybody, but I'm always reminded of it this time of year.
 
I always watch "White Christmas" every year at this time, one of the greatest Hollywood musicals with songs by Irving Berlin and starring Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby. 

The post-WW2 story is clever, patriotic, romantic and charming.

Danny Kaye, one of the world's greatest clowns and song/dance men will always be a legend.
My parent's generation knew him from the movies and us baby boomers were introduced to him when he became a TV star for adults and children's programming.

His volunteer humanitarian work on behalf of UNICEF was unprecedented for a Hollywood star of his status trying to help underprivileged children worldwide.

Sometime in 1979, TV/film comedian Harvey Korman was having a birthday party at his house. At that time, I had a business providing some unique entertainment services and had to drop by for a minute to deliver something. I remember in the dining room, Harvey was being hysterical as ususal with all his friends going crazy. 

On my way out of the house, I remember a smaller living room area. It was very dark, but just enough light for me to see a man alone by himself in the corner. His hands were on his face as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and clearly wanted to be alone. Why was he out here in a clearly miserable scenario when the laughter from the next room was so infectious?

"Oh My God," I said to myself, "That's Danny Kaye."

Here was "the" man who had brought roaring laughter, fantasy and a vibrancy to my life and millions throughout the rest of the world -- and I felt like I was watching a movie -- as he for the first time I would ever see in this private moment -- playing the role of a sad clown who was clearly troubled by something that had led him to such despair.

Should I go up to him and say "Mr. Kaye--thank you for making this a happier world for millions of people"???  I knew it was the wrong time and place.

The only time I had the privilege of being near a comedy legend like Danny Kaye and I had to see him like this. It disturbs me to this day. He would have been about 68 at the time.

Americans - Keep Loving Your TV While You Lose All Your Rights

In 1967, an episode of "The Monkees" called “Mijacogeo”
(a.k.a. “The Frodis Caper”)
was totally insane even by that show's writing standards.

In the story, everybody had become hypnotized and taken over
by their TV sets which were only displaying this test pattern:
 


It was up to the Monkees to find out who was behind it and
stop it.

The amazing thing is that this very thing has happened in America.

While America turns into a police state, the government is spying on every American, your Constitution and your civil rights are being infringed upon and eliminated daily, all of your jobs are being shipped overseas, you cannot say anything anymore
unless it is approved by fascist organizations--you have been hypnotized by your TV set.

Your TV programs are the most important things in your life.

Yahoo!'s front page stories also continually highlight the most
valuable aspect of life in America:
*What new TV shows are coming on
*What changes are being made in current TV shows
*The best deal you can get on cable TV
*The best deal you can get on a new and bigger TV set
*Who was kicked-off of "Dancing With The Stars"

 When you wake up some morning and find out that America has totally become the new Nazi Germany and you are no
longer allowed to even speak or express yourself, enjoy your favorite TV programs!
 

TAMMY

The first "adult" song I ever heard as a child and fell in love with is called "Tammy."
It was 1957, I was 4 years old, and my mom had it playing on the radio all the time.
(The number 1 song was so popular it played non-stop for a year)
It is the song which made me love more sophisticated music.
The song is one of the most beautiful tunes ever written.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdlakYIfuOo

"Tammy" is the main theme from the movie "Tammy And The Bachelor" starring
Debbie Reynolds. I never saw the movie until tonight.

The story about a girl who lives on the backwoods river of Louisiana with her
 grandfather and falls in love with a sophisticated man is representative of
what Hollywood used to be in another place and time.
A timeless romantic comedy-drama.

Debbie Reynolds always will be young. Walter Brennan always will be old.
A whole generation of moviegoers only know an old Leslie Nielsen from
his 80's and 90's comedy spoofs, but would be surprised to see him as
a young leading man.

I did not know that the DVD version had been completely restored to its
Cinemascope and Technicolor origins. On a giant modern TV, it was like
seeing it at the theater for the first time.

The film from Universal has one incredible situation.
The "town plaza" set which was used first in a 1985 version
and then a reworked 1955 version for "Back to the Future"
is in a scene in this film.

However, because this film is set in 1957, you get to see the
"town plaza" as it actually looked back then with corresponding
shops, cars, people and clothing.

The song "Tammy" continues to enchant after all these years.

Jay Livingston and his partner Ray Evans were also responsible
for a number of other film song classics including
''Que Será, Será," "Mona Lisa," "Silver Bells" and oddly enough--the theme somg
for "Mr Ed."

JFK - The Day That Changed America

JFK - It Was 50 Years Ago Today. Here's How I Found Out.

I remember everything in detail.

It was a wonderful Friday in innocent "Leave it to Beaver" America.


What you have to understand is that the early years of the 1960's were nothing
but an extension of the 1950's. "The 60's" don't start until 1966.

I was living in the most northern part of Chicago, Illinois and attending
Joyce Kilmer Elementary School in Rogers Park.

The K-8 school was made up of kids who now in 6th grade, had known
each other since Kindergarden.

Back then, all kids from first to eighth grade could walk home for lunch.
These were very safe times.

I specifically remember not being hungry that day and stayed outside
running around for the lunch hour. At 12:55, same as Dallas time,
we went upstairs to sit down.

Something was not right.

I must first explain that teachers until "The 60's" happened were all the
same throughout America. They never smiled. They never laughed.
They were never sad. They all had poker faces not revealing any
emotions. This is how they presented themselves.

The teacher, a woman in her 50's or 60's, Mrs. Wall, just sat
at her desk--and she was clearly bothered about something.

This was not normal. Teachers never showed emotions.

When the bell rang at 1:00, it got even more bizarre.

She just sat there staring at her desk and did nothing.
This woman always started class exactly on time.

A minute later, a teacher who we would have in 7th grade,
opened the classroom door and tears were streaming down her face.
This was shocking. We had never even seen a teacher sad before.

This teacher nodded her head up and down--sending a cryptic
message to our teacher, closed the door and left.

At this time, the girls in the class, sensing something was very
wrong--began to cry. Within a minute, every girl in class was
crying without knowing why.
The boys just looked around in confusion and puzzlement.

This school was poor. They didn't even have an intercom system.

A minute later, a student brought a note to our teacher.

She said, "The principal wants you to all come to the auditorium
immediately and 'bring your things'."

"Bring Your Things?"

This meant we were going home. We just came back from
lunch and we were going home. Something was very wrong.

As all the students 1st through 8th grade filled the auditorium,
the principal, Mrs. Caird, a stern, cranky woman in her 60's, looked at all of us
in a serious manner and said:

"President Kennedy has been killed. I want you to go all home
right now."

In "Leave It To Beaver" America, elementary students who
were not expected home at that time had no concerns.

Dad would be at work. But mom, June Cleaver, would be at home
preparing dinner or taking care of younger children. At the most
she would be at the supermarket and would be right back.

Could you imagine the lawsuits today if an entire elementary school
of children were sent home today without notice?

When we got home, the story was the same for all kids.

Moms were in tears as they were tuned in to Walter Cronkite on CBS.

That night, for the first time ever, a giant cartoon took up the entire
page of the major Chicago newspaper. And it was quite shocking.
The famous Bill Mauldin cartoon was of Abraham Lincoln bent over
and crying.


We didn't quite understand the significance of all this at 10 years old.
We just knew that there was no TV for three days except for
coverage of the events in Washington.

America was changed forever.

The country would be very sad for months.

It would take something just in the right place and the right time
to turn that around and fill-in that void.

This would happen on February 9, 1964 on a Sunday night on CBS.

Take A Walk On The Wild Side

Lou Reed pulled off something that few people could ever do.

Every pop radio station was playing his song "Walk On The Wild Side" at the end of 1972 and
nobody knew what it was really about.

There were some rumors that it was about a transvestite but this was dismissed.
After all, commercial Top 40 radio stations would never play such a song.

RCA knew. Because they edited the song for the single release.
It originally contained clear X-rated references.

It was many years later when we were out of the Carpenters-influenced musical innocence
phase that it became apparent:

Yes, the song was about transvestites, prostitution and drug abuse.

And thousands of radio stations had not know that.

Lou Reed, who already had created a very unique artistic vision with Velvet Underground
had gone solo. And David Bowie produced the song.

A fusion of Blues-Jazz--Rap (even before there was such a thing) created a sound
unlike anything else on Top 40 radio.

Lou Reed went on to influence many diverse artists that wanted to present
something other than Top 40 mush.

Top 40 needs a Lou Reed badly right now.

Christopher Columbus Would Be On Trial Today As A Mass Murderer

Today is Columbus Day--a Federal Holiday celebrating the man who allegedly
discovered America.

This is no different than having a Federal Holiday to honor Hitler.

 I remember our grade school activities in the late 50's and early 60's.
We would make paper ships, learn songs, write tributes to this "great" man.

All over America, millions of children would do the same.

The teachers forgot to tell us something important.
That's because they didn't know about it either.
And the textbooks were devoid of any such information.

Christopher Columbus and his men were mass murderers,
torturers, sadists, rapists, slave holders/traders and the purveyors of
every despicable thing you could do to other human beings--
Indians already living in the Caribbean--who they decided were
not human beings at all.

 

The list of atrocities is quite stunning:
Mass slaughter of Indians that protested being slaves;
Enslavement of Indians to gather gold daily from the mines;
Cutting off noses, ears and arms of Indians that did not retrieve enough gold daily;
Forcing women into prostitution for the crew;
Forcing 10-year-old girls into personal sex slaves;
Killing babies for dog food;
Unleashing vicious dogs on uncooperative Indians;
Burning alive uncooperative Indians;
Hunting Indians for sport/games;
Splitting up families to take as slaves for sale in Europe

 
I don't remember reading about any of this in my MacMillan history book.

The word started getting out in the last 30 years and if you decide to attend
a Columbus Day Parade--you are giving your approval to Genocide.

This holiday needs to be revoked.

 

Thomasina -- Cute Disney Cat Film -- Not Quite

"The Three Live of Thomasina," is a Disney film which I saw at age 11 in 1964.

I saw a VHS copy for $1.00 and thought "I haven't seen this film in almost 50 years. I don't remember anything about it at all. And look at that cover. This has got to be beyond cute!"

I am glad I made this decision--but did not at all see what I thought it was going to be.

"The Three Live of Thomasina" is a very, very dark drama.

It is the kind of movie that happens to have a child as star, and would have normally been made by Warner Bros. or Universal.



Filled entirely with adult concepts--death of the mom, a bitter isolated father, death of the cat, mistrust, prejudice and ultimate redemption--it is from a novel and apparently was kept close to it.

The film has an intense scene which is still too strong for children.
The little girl, who is angry with her father, is asked about him.
She responds "My Daddy's dead. I killed him" which is delivered
in a quite incredible emotional manner.

This is not a Disney "My daddy's dead." It is not a comedy Flubber line.

It is absolutely breathtaking and stirring.

There are other moments like this which you may not remember or don't know
because you would never buy a movie with a cute cat cover like this.

There is the ultimate one animated scene--Cat Heaven.
Magical and mystifying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOFRhBp1CNI

Teen Angel

I live across from a large apartment building in Burbank.
People come and go, have their parties, and I just mind my own business.
For the last few years, a very nice man always says hello to me and I say
hello back. I figured he is either Armenian or Middle Eastern. I saw him
once having trouble with his car and I asked him if he needed a jumpstart,
but that's been the extent of any conversation.

After I pulled in yesterday and was getting some groceries, he walked over
and asked me if I heard about the tragic accident. I was totally unaware
of anything and told him I didn't.

"5 young people died in a fiery crash just 5 minutes from here," he calmly said.

"I didn't know about that. What happened?"

"They were coming down Scott road at too fast a speed and at the curve
the car smashed into a wall, exploded in flames and they all died. They were all
18 and 19. It's all over the local news."

"I don't watch the local news, only the national things going on.
That's very terrible. I didn't know anything about it."

"My daughter was in there."

"WHAT???"

"My daughter was in the car."

I didn't know what to say. I was speechless.

I suddenly realized that I had a number of times seen a girl about 19
who would be joyfully picked up by friends with their stereo blasting
and everybody laughing and carrying on.

As I listened he told me that she went to college and worked at Best Buy.

She was 5 minutes from being dropped off.

I realized then that the "party" I had heard going on for the last two nights
(I saw dozens of young people coming and going to the building) was
a traditional Mid-Eastern wake.

5 young people just starting their lives. A tragedy of untold proportions.

That's all I have thought about for the last two days.
What this man, other family and her friends are going through.

I've had almost 61 years of some incredible experiences filled with
joys and sorrows. A full life. Hers was just starting.

I continue to ask a higher power how this could happen.

"Wake Me Up" by Avicii Really--You're Going To Like It

This is the Number One song worldwide:

"Wake Me Up" by Avicii

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcrbM1l_BoI





The very unique thing about this song being played on
dance floors all over the earth--

is that it is a combination of Neil Young and Abba.

It is a folk-rock song combined with 80's style dance music
and has elements of country, bluegrass and ballads as well.

So many musical genres in one song has attracted diverse audiences to it.

The artist is a Swedish DJ.

How often do I recommend a current pop song?

Yahoo! Runs Another Major Front Page Story Trying To Get Baby Boomers Not To Collect Their Social Security

Yahoo! Has Run Another Major Front Page Story Trying To Get Baby Boomers Not To Collect Their Social Security.

 I talked about this recently and told you that this is clearly Yahoo! doing this on behalf of
the U.S. Government that does not want all the Baby Boomers collecting what is owed
to them. Because millions of Baby Boomers will see this article and might be persuaded
by the arguments presented, Yahoo! will be paid back the next time they need
government approval for a merger or acquisition.

However, now many people are starting to notice this clear propaganda:

"Good grief yahoo this is the same story you have written 6 times in as many months.
We know already!"

"Well, it's been about a week since we've seen another article from this administration's propaganda machine, I mean, the media about waiting to retire until you are 70. The only reason the government wants you to wait to retire is so that they can keep your money longer."

"Get this propaganda outta here"

"This article was written to try and get people to retire later knowing that SS will not be there for them when they get ready to retire if we all start collecting at 62. Take the money now and screw the govt. They took and misspent a lot of our money."

"All of America better wake up, the media and "the so call US GOV" is wanting you to wait..., because hoping you will not live to the age... you better get what is available right NOW, due to the US GOV is spending the Social Security (SS) FUNDS; it is going to turn ugly when the People has paid in to SS all their life... and the US GOV states there is NO SS --- elderly, and all expecting the SS will be worst than any war against the US, the war will be between the People and the US GOV; the US GOV owes the People what the People has paid into, every last penny!"

"Take your Social Security the moment you can! No one is guaranteed another day, month or year! Regardless of how long Yahoo! or the Government say you are "Expected" to live."

First Act Of Real Evil As Perceived By My Generation Happened 50 Years Ago Today

It rang out on The Nightly News, it was on the front page of the newspapers my dad had brought home.

Four little girls died when their church was bombed in Alabama.

I was 10 and had just started 6th grade.

Discussions of what was going on in the South were simply not welcome at school,
home, church/synagogue or basically at any time, anywhere.

That was for the Nightly News and the newspapers to worry about.

Although we didn't really understand it, we had a basic idea of what was happening.

There were people in the south trying to stop the colored man from voting,
using the same public stores and facilities and from going to certain schools.

I knew many kids that went to church and that went to synagogue.

They did not have to worry about their safety in the house of God.

That's what made this hit home.

How could somebody do this to four little girls?

What did these children do to deserve this?

As our lives were centered on pop music, TV, movies, comic books, Disney, playing and having a good time in classic post-war America (with no mention ever of World War II)--this was the
first real Face Of Evil that most baby boomers would be very aware of.

And just the beginning. Our Disney-sheltered lives were about to come undone.

DISCOVERING AN INCREDIBLE MUSICAL "STANDARD" FOR THE FIRST TIME

A "standard" is a song that has achieved a perennial existence and has been performed by dozens of artists in different styles, tones, moods.

Some "standards" you have heard in many different interpretations are songs like:
"Yesterday"
"I've Got You Under My Skin"
"Tonight"

Many of them originally come from the decades of the 20's through the 60's.

I was watching a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "Road" picture for the first time
called "Road To Rio."

I was suddenly enchanted by a very wonderful song performed by Bing called
"But Beautiful."

I have an extensive musical background and although familiar with thousands of songs,
I had never heard this before.

The song written in 1948 by the team of Jimmy Van Huesen and Johnny Burke
who gave you the classics "Swinging On A Star" and "It Could Happen To You"
apparently lost its momentum by the late 50's because I simply never heard it before.

It is like discovering a diamond in a long closed mine.

I will let you discover the elegance and bewitching qualities of this song by
listening to it yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brQw6uAErwA


Have you ever heard it before? What a treasure to find 65 years later.

Walt Disney Is Turning Over In His Grave

In 1963, Disney "Mouseketeer" Star Annette Funicello decided that she wanted to disassociate herself
from her innocent image and donned a daring bathing suit for a series of Beach Party movies.

In 2013, Disney "Hannah Montana" Star Miley Cyrus decided that she wanted to disassociate herself
from her innocent image and donned a stripper's outfit for a lewd, disgusting and obscene exhibition on the MTV Video Music Awards worldwide.

HER FATHER AND MOTHER, BILLY RAY CYRUS AND TISH CYRUS HAVE PUBLICLY SAID THEY ARE VERY PROUD OF HER PERFORMANCE--CONTINUING THEIR LONG HISTORY OF HYPOCRITICAL BEHAVIOR.

Changing Your Mind About Martin Luther King

Everybody is entitled to change their mind.
It is part of personal growth.
Even for Roy Masters.

Roy's current viewpoint on Martin Luther King clearly matches that of millions of Americans as we commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the "I Have A Dream" speech and the March on Washington.

And that viewpoint is that Dr. King was responsible for taking the strong stand that all Americans should be entitled to the same right, privileges and opportunities and we owe him our respect and admiration.

Such was not the case 22 years ago. After I did a talk radio show paying tribute to Martin Luther King and his work on behalf of equal civil rights for all Americans on a radio station owned by Roy Masters--Roy and a group of his right-winged pig-heads made it very clear to me where they stood on what I did:

"Martin Luther King was a Communist"
"Martin Luther King's organization was filled with Communists"
"There should not be a Federal holiday devoted to Martin Luther King"

 I have had the opportunity to spend time with men who were thrown into jail in the South after they peacefully marched with Martin Luther King. Of course, Roy once thought they were all Communists as well.

Roy--I am glad that you have changed your mind on this--and it appears quite genuine.

People need to know your past on this issue.