"A green plastic watering can...for a fake Chinese rubber plant...."

The Global Musings of an Educated Man........vol.113
 
 
I will begin this entry from the days of the summer of 1994. It is off the beaten path and having little to do if anything at all with Father's Day, but I am overwhelmed with nostalgia and music and the fact that I have had these notes for some time now and it has been rather elongated in the terms of linear space and time since I posted anything new . What I am trying to get at, to quote former Eagle, Don Henley is "the heart of the matter", the times of days of old and the soundtrack that went along with it when we were young and naive and had never heard of anything like 9/11 or Columbine of I-Pods. I return again to  particularly the sonic sound burst of music from Radiohead.
Pablo Honey- beginning with the opening track, there is no hint at what's to come for this band from Oxford. No one would think that in 3 to 4 short years a band that was putting out the song "You", would create the seminal works of The Bends, Ok Computer and Kid A. But that thought is quickly discarded along with the notion that Oasis is the better band, I know, coming from me, back then would have been blasphemy, but get a grip, people change, sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better, after getting to their second track on the album, "Creep". A song any boy in his late teens and early twenties can relate to. Unless of course you've never kissed a girl or dumped your would be girlfriend on the curb outside of Barnes and Noble in Blaine and caught her completely off guard. I apologise for that Kim.
There were hints by the end of Pablo Honey of what was to come, but nothing of the sort of what I firmly believe may be the best album of the 90's, The Bends. The memories of the 1st Avenue concert in the early summer of 1995 or was it 96'? It's difficult to remember, being the haze and all.  Passing the one hitter back and forth and round and round inside Hambone's little red Civic between Fernando, Jeff, Hambone and myself, as we cruised down 94East to the parking lot that straddled 394 and provided many pre game moments, while we followed Minn and Hoium in Wang's little blue Ford Ranger, fresh from works bomb spills on the dashboard. By the way, does anyone know where the tape is? Trailer people. Ha ha ha.
Running across the highway to the concert as fast as young male inebriated individuals can run. Good times. The image of Hambone throwing up into a garbage can inside 1st Avenue, as it being I believe, the first time that he participated in, to coin a phrase from TT boy the "hippie lettuce". Then again it's better than doing it in line while outside of 1st Avenue.  You know who you are.
It is watching Jeff Olson, now a father of three, wow, that blows my mind, play the air guitar to the Statue of Liberty riff on the "The bends", or myself, discussing the hidden meaning of the breast implant theory to "Fake Plastic Trees" with Fernando and Karla, sitting in my blue Plymouth Sundance outside the fenced in tennis court off of University Avenue in Fridley on an ordinary afternoon sometime in the mid 90's. Ahhh, to be young again. To be continued.............. 
 
 
Happy Father's Day.
 
 

 

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"When you think that you've lost everything.....you find, you could always lose a little more." Dylan

The Global Musings of an Educated Man.........vol.112
 
Man oh man, even the panic created by the media who are trying to save their precious newspapers and their Swine Flu cannot stop the rally on Wall Street. But then again, when has logic and common sense ever been hand in hand with Wall Street? With the speed of everything "quickening", will the pace of the upswing be as fast as the collapse of October 08'? Will it rebound off the wall like a billiard ball off the green felt and will more and more people being seeing green by the end of the year instead of red? Only time will tell. Oh, and will Brett Favre be a Viking? And wouldn't it be ironic, that the only way the Vikings win a Super-Bowl would be with an ex-Green Bay Packer quarterback. Or, will Bud Grant think he's a moose and shoot him?
 
Was the global economic collapse coordinated with the intent of starting over with a clean slate in place throughout the world, to impose the rules of the Chicago School of Economics main theory of "laissez-faire" fostered by Nobel Prize winner economist Milton Friedman?
"that Chile under Chicago School rule was offering a glimpse of the future of the global economy, a pattern that would repeat again and again, from Russia to South Africa to Argentina: an urban bubble of frenetic speculation and dubious accounting fueling super profits and frantic consumerism, ringed by the ghostly factories and rotting infrastructure of a development past; roughly half the population excluded from the economy altogether; out-of-control corruption and cronyism; decimation of nationally owned small and medium-sized businesses; a huge transfer of wealth from public to private hands, followed by a huge transfer of private debts into public hands." Naomi Klein The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2007)
 
Can we say "Bail-out"?? Eerily clairvoyant.

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"My policy is to have no policy"....................founder of the Republican Party, Abraham Lincoln, (take that Rush Limbaugh)

The Global Musings of an Educated Man.........vol.111
 
The spring rain is greeting my backyard window pane with the pitter patter of falling feet touching the glass from God's outstretched toes that seem to need their nails clipped,  and touching down on the deck and stucco that bounces to the ever greening grass below. Puddles form along the side streets and the brick brack courtyards church bells ring to the drive way behind the house and beyond. And yet I still sit wondering, will I get the Swine Flu? Is this the pestilence that was warned about thousands of years ago by a distant relative on the island of Patmos? Are we hearing wars and rumors of more wars amongst the people picketing against the higher taxes and ever expanding reach of bigger brother's federal government as we slowly slide to a global centralized bank in the hands of a waiting dictator who will have all the power in the world to do whatever he or she may want? Or am I on too many medications like the rest of America and the quickly growing population of the world to notice or to be trusted with knowing the difference? Or is it all going to end on the 21st of December in 2012? I know that I always have many questions to ask and may from the fringe think too far "out there" for some people to truly accept, but I must digress and ask questions that interest me, like did Dan Zamlen get abducted by the Smiley Face Killers or did he just drink too much and fall into the river in the early morning hours of Sunday April the 5th outside of St. Thomas University on the corner of St. Clair and Mississippi Blvd,  like apparently so many young college aged men appeared to have done in the last twelve years, not to mention the 8, yes 8 that have met their tragic fate in the small college town of Lacrosse Wisconsin, or do men really like to go swimming when they're drunk? And if so, why oh why is marijuana still illegal? I will never stop believing that it should be emancipated like the slaves of old by father Abraham, although knowing that there are some things people just cannot handle. Like Gay marriage being legal in that state of cornfields we call Iowa, but not in the liberal elite land of California???? Oh, is it safe to eat ham or bacon with my classic eggs favorite from Perkins? Peanuts aren't going to kill us anymore are they mother? I can have peanut butter and honey sandwiches and live right? Please just let me watch my baseball on a rainy Sunday afternoon on channel 29, cause I don't even have cable, and continue to naively believe that hopefully the people in power know what they're doing and that they will one day get it right.
 
Until next time, open arms and open minds. Just please, cover your mouth will ya.

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"How they blackmailed the sergeant-at-arms into leaving his post......" Dylan

The Global Musings of an Educated Man........vol.110
 
The revolution will not be televised.
 
On Saturday April 4th, I partook in the democratic process at the ground level, for I was a seated delegate in what was the Ward 1 DFL Convention for City Council. We were electing the person who would receive the DFL's endorsement for Ward 1's City Council Member spot, vacated by outgoing member Paul Ostrow. The convention in and of itself was an eye opening experience once again, and this time knowing full well the excruciating minutia that would be glossed over was needed and the caffeine to withstand the assault against common sense and reason would go hand in hand, I spent my Saturday morning and afternoon watching and waiting and finally voting and shaking the hand of our city's proud Mayor and maybe future candidate for Governor, R.T. Rybak as I sat in the front row, for leg room, in the Edison High School Auditorium. The Convention was a lesson in coordinated chaos. I was all the while searching for the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson as he would have lived through such an event, being there no shortage of bars in Northeast, but I never did find the cigarette holding man anywhere and his white tennis shoes. But what I did find was a strongly reinforced belief that what we have in America may not be the best model for living proof of man's ideal state of freedom, but it is the best that we mankind at this present moment have to offer and so I'll gladly take it, because it also affords me these finer luxuries in life. Take that China and you're paranoia against freedom of information and North Korea's Kim Jong Il....appropriate any other terrorist persona here. The version of freedom that is displayed at a convention is properly aligning yourself with the candidate and their steam powered engine instructing you what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Some people may have had a better time watching Canadian Parliament, as we voted for Chairman of the convention, Co-Chairman, Head Teller and Time Keeper. There were those who were instructed observers and sergeant-at-arms at the doors to lock those out who had left their seat during the time of the casting of the ballots for there are strict rules during a convention, when all time and space are suspended for party benefit, because without rules there is only chaos. I was continually asking myself, "They still shoot horses, don't they?" or at least the film of the same name came to mind throughout the day. Sometimes, you need to just put it out of it's misery. Some may say the same about some of my musings too and Jack Kevorkian would agree whole heartedly.  Among the field of candidates of Jose Velez, Doron Clark, our man Kevin Reich, and Susan Howitz Hanna, we cast our lot. After the first round of votes, where 60% is needed to earn the endorsement of the DFL and anyone less than 10% is dropped from the next ballot, Jose Velez had 15.2%, Doron Clark 24%, Susan Hanna 3% and our man Kevin Reich, 56.9%. It was clear our ground force of yellow t-shirts had prevailed. After casting our 2nd round of votes, Doron Clark and Jose Velez conceded and unanimously elected Kevin Reich as Ward 1 winner of the DFL endorsement for City Council for the city of Minneapolis. We were triumphant. He will now be running against the Republican party's candidate, who is to be determined, this coming November. All of this for a City Council member spot. The keys to power hang in the balance. In conclusion, grassroots organizing and spending my free-time on a Saturday morning and afternoon was not wasted, physically, it only felt that way.
 
"Freedom's just another word, for nothing left to lose.." Kris Kristofferson

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"And now, the end is near...." Old Blue Eyes

The Global Musings of an Educated Man..........vol.109
 
 
If I were the Clash, at one time, the most important band in the world, I would be singing my own song, "London Calling". But, I'm not, and only the world's elite will be doing that come tomorrow as they jangle the keys to the asylum in front of our very eyes. The day after April Fools' is only appropriate timing for the people that think of anything other than coincidence, because we've all been fooled again by the masters' that hold the strings, and we dangle, bouncy bouncy bounce for their enjoyment to run like rats in our cubicle cages nibbling for that ever just out of reach piece of cheese that sits atop open hands well manicured and their laughing eyes from their house arrest confinements because they stole and keep stealing billions away from ordinary tax payers. Oh, to be young again. Maybe the G20 meeting in London is a good thing. A plan will be developed for a worldwide recovery from the mess that they put us in. The same people in charge of supplying the solution are the same as those that have given us the problems. Oh, to be young again. There may be violence and there will be outrage and there should be outrage. I was outraged once, and sometimes I was even taken seriously. Oh, to be young again. I am guessing that Mr. Barack Obama will be emerging from his whirlwind world tour as the undoubted king of swing. The golden calf in carmel colored skin with a million dollar smile. He's been on the cover of every magazine for the past year and a half and you have to admit that his inauguration was something almost biblical. The answer man. The man with the plan. At least that's how the major media darlings will portray him. Then again, I voted for him. And then again, look what he was left with. But I digress. And then he will go on to meet with the leaders of the Czech Republic and Turkey and offer them the United States unwavoring support for anything against the still from the viewpoint of the western world, the much despised USSR, China and their threatening quasi-capitalism and Iran and their beautiful yet shrouded women and their unrealistic and unfortunately uneducated clergy, in what may be the first steps towards World War III. Should we be checking his scalp for three little sixes?
Oh, to be young again.   
 
 
 

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Ron Paul for President and common sense

Legalize it, and please, Stephen Baldwin is the voice against it??? Are you kidding me?
 
 
http://www.prisonplanet.com/ron-paul-debates-stephen-baldwin-on-legalizing-marijuana-on-cnn-larry-king-03132009.html

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"We are Stardust leaving a comet trail of our own." Jack Scharber

The Global Musings of an Educated Man.....vol.108
 
Good morning. Right from the get go,let's turn this mother out.
 
3.6 Trillion dollar budget. 3.6 trillion!! Nothing big, just 3.6 trillion, "it's no big deal" (Ricky from Trailer Park Boys). That's not ridiculous, but legalizing marijuana is??? When have you seen a stoned & disorderly running rampant in the streets? Maybe legalizing it would definitely help out the poor police chiefs down in Tijuana and Nuevo Laredo from getting their heads chopped off after being on the job for only a week, or from getting gunned down on their way to work or for just stepping out their front door. Maybe there would be a lot less kidnappings going on down there? It's just a thought. We need tax dollars from any place we can get it.
 
The United States is searching for a moderate in Iran to work with, or how about just a moderate in Congress?
 
There is nothing that is impossible; it just hasn't been done yet.
 
When will we see the bottom of the stock market? Or did we this past week? Are we now beginning to look up again at where it is going and how long it will be until it get's there? There are numerous buying opportunities out there. We need to stop shoveling the fear down our throats that they seem to be always handing out to us on the nightly news and focus on the positives, and realize that this may be the best opportunity for growth and expansion and educational development in our lifetimes'. My generation has the ability to now become what we've dreamed. Self sustaining with integrity because anything is possible. Democrats are cutting spending on K-12 and Republicans are against it?? Have we just gone through a wormhole into some kind of parallel universe? 
 
A couple of weeks ago, I attended a caucus for Ward 1 in the city of Minneapolis to become a delegate for the upcoming convention in April, to vote for a City Council Member and I can tell you, the system needs fixing. I have never in my life been more frustrated and annoyed by a proces, and I love Democracy!!! But man oh man, the system is very un-user friendly. We got to our destination to caucus at 7pm on that Tuesday evening, and we didn't start voting as to who would be a delegate until 8:30pm!!! And there was 73 of us in a class room in Northeast Minneapolis. From one precinct for Ward 1. There were 10 other precincts that were caucusing at the same time. All this to just become a freaking delegate!! So that you could vote for a City Council Member!!! Not the President, not a member of Congress or the Senate!!! A City Council Member!! The government makes it very easy for you to pay your taxes on line and for you to get your refund if you get one, in a matter of weeks. What I've come to realize is, they want your money and your information, but not your opinion. Well, I feel better after that. Thank you. So, you are now listening to a alternate delegate from Ward 1 to vote on April 4th at the convention for nominating City Council Member Kevin Reich to the board for Minneapolis. Power to the people is great, but damn they could make it a helluva lot easier. Just look at the Coleman-Franken debacle. Maybe having a dictator wouldn't be all that bad??? He or she would get stuff done that's for sure. Anyway, NBC is prepping the American public for it with their new show "Kings" on Sunday evening, and I do like Swearingen (those of you know what who I'm talking about). I'll tune in. Can we say, King Obama???
 
Call me crazy. I've been called a lot worse.
 
Until then, open arms and open minds.

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