Drove into town and back listening to some old songs on my thumb drive in the car. A whole bunch of memories and emotions.
Here is a sample of my playlist for today: (The video will auto-play the next song in the queue)
San Francisco - Scott McKenzie
California Dreamin' - Mamas and Papas
What A Fool Believes - The Doobie Brothers
Sounds Of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
I've Never Seen Love Like This - Orpheus
Lay Down Candles In The Rain - Melanie
Look What They've Done To My Song Ma - Melanie
Poetry Man - Phoebe Snow
Under The Boardwalk - Rickie Lee Jones
Can't Find The Time To Tell You - Orpheus
Imagine - John Lennon
So In Love - k.d. lang
A Song by gay artist Jeff Krassner that I could not find on YouTube or anywhere on the internet so I will attempt to upload my own video:
“I Hear the Angels Sing” Jeff Krassner
I can’t believe they don’t understand ‘bout the love I feel for you When you touch me baby I feel the angels sing
They tell me it’s wrong That the devil is loose They think he’s draggin’ us under But they don’t have a clue
‘cause when you touch me baby I hear the angels sing And when you give yourself to me Honestly, I hear the angels sing
What makes them think I would turn you away In this world filled with madness and sorrow I won’t sell my soul Or hide any longer I won’t love you in darkness Just to make them feel stronger
‘cause when you touch me baby I hear the angels sing And when you give yourself to me Honestly, I hear the angels sing
And you remind me that life can be sweet Though the world says we don’t belong So let them preach some old ancient rules But I know in my heart It’s the judgment of fools
‘cause when you touch me baby I hear the angels sing And when you give yourself to me Honestly, I hear the angels sing Over and over I hear the angels Over and over I hear the angels Over and over I hear the angels sing
__________________________________ A few more photos just for good measure and some lyrics from Melanie:
Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)
Song by Edwin Hawkin Singers and Melanie
Lay down, lay down, lay it all down Let your white birds smile up at the ones who stand and frown Lay down, lay down, lay it all down Let your white birds smile up at the ones who stand and frown
We were so close, there was no room We bled inside each other's wounds We all had caught the same disease And we all sang the songs of peace
Lay down, lay down, lay it all down Let your white birds smile up at the ones who stand and frown Lay down, lay down, lay it all down Let your white birds smile up at the ones who stand and frown
So raise the candles high 'Cause if you don't, we could stay black against the night Oh, raise them higher again And if you do, we could stay dry against the rain
Lay down, lay down, lay it all down Let your white birds smile up at the ones who stand and frown Lay down, lay down, lay it all down Let your white birds smile up at the ones who stand and frown
We were so close, there was no room We bled inside each other's wounds We all had caught the same disease And we all sang the songs of peace Some came to sing, some came to pray Some came to keep the dark away
So raise (raise) the candles high (up high) 'Cause if you don't we could stay black against the sky Oh, oh, raise (raise) them higher again (up high) And if you do, we could stay dry against the rain
Lay down, lay down, lay it all down Let your white birds smile up at the ones who stand and frown (You gotta) lay down, lay down, lay it all down Let your white birds smile up at the ones who stand and frown
lay down, lay down, lay it all down Let your white birds smile up at the ones who stand and frown (Oh, you gotta) lay down, lay down, lay it all down Let your white birds smile up at the ones who stand and frown
Look What They Did to My Song, Ma
Song by Melanie
Look what they've done to my song, ma
Look at what they've done to my song, ma
It was the only thing I could do half right And it's turning out all wrong, ma, look What they've done to my song
Look what they've done to my song, ma Look what they've done to my song, ma It was the only thing I could do half right Turning out all wrong, ma Look what they've done to my song
Look what they've done to my brain, ma Look at what they've done to my brain Well, they picked it like a chicken bone And I think that I'm half insane, ma Look what they've done to my song
Oh, I wish that I could find a good book to live in Oh, I wish that I could find a good book Well, if I could find a real good book I'd never have to come out and look at What they've done to my song
Ils ont changé ma chanson, ma Ils ont changé ma chanson, ma C'est la seule chose que je peux faire Et ce n'est pas bon, ma Ils ont changé ma chanson
But maybe, it'll all be all right, ma Maybe, it'll all be okay Well, if the people are buying tears Then I'm gonna be rich girl some day, ma Look what they've done to my song
Look what they've done to my song, ma-ma-ma
Look, look what they've done to my song You know, they tied it up in a plastic bag And then turned it upside down, oh ma-ma Look at what they've done Want to look at what they've done, oh ma-ma Look what they've done to my song
I am going to try real hard to take a break from the news. I know it’s going to be difficult as I am a JMG addict. And forgive me if I’m not always checking in and or commenting on your blogs.
I’m certain there will be a resistance movement of some kind. I will assess at some point what part I can play in such a movement. One of my neighbors suggested we take down our rainbow flag, which flies prominently at our front entrance. I said no NEVER.
I may be taking a break, but I am not retreating or God forbid going back in the closet.
From the Hawkeye Beacon: This post-election analysis is from Professor Christopher Robichaud, Senior Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy, Harvard: “I'll say this, and then I likely won't be saying much more on here for quite some time, to the relief of some, I'm sure. But my farewell warning is this. Everyone in the days and weeks ahead will use this loss as an opportunity to seek validation for their own hobby horse complaint. Harris lost because she campaigned with Liz Cheney. Harris lost because she didn't embrace Gaza. Harris lost because she didn't choose Shapiro. Harris lost because she wasn't progressive enough (possibly my favorite one). Take a good hard look at the map, my friends. Trump has won the popular vote. Trump ran the table. Explaining that with your hobby horse issue isn't going to cut it, tempting and consoling as it may be. The problem isn't the electoral college. The problem isn't that we didn't have a full primary. The problem isn't Harris. The problem isn't that Dems didn't have the right message. The problem isn't even inflation or the border. The problem is so much worse than any of those things. Those are all technical problems, with straightforward expertise fixes. If only it were so! No, our problem is not technical. It's very much adaptive. A party that embraced the Big Lie, supported an insurrection, and has been selling conspiracy-addled madness for years was widely and enthusiastically embraced. Voter turnout was profound! People didn't sit this out. Simply put, the problem--as some of you have rightly posted--is cultural. America, culturally, has completely abandoned a politics of decency and respect and has embraced instead a politics of resentment, revenge, false nostalgia, and bullying. And if you look at the demographics, you also won't be able to comfort yourself that it's just a white thing, or a working class thing, or an education thing. It's multi-class, multi-gender, multi-educational and multi-racial. That's what winning the popular vote means. That's what running the table amounts to. A culture that has descended to this level of debasement is not easily fixed. In fact it may not ever be fixed. The timeline for changing something like this is decades--at best--not two-to-four year election cycles. You can extend that in this case, because with the GOP likely controlling all branches of federal government and the courts, they will ensure that mechanisms are in place to keep them in power long after their popularity has waned. You can count on that. The GOP evolved into a party of rage, lies, and revenge--and it correctly diagnosed that there was and is a large appetite for that. That's what the country wants. At least, enough of the country wants it to ensure broad appeal and widespread electoral success. The old GOP will never return, and the Dems have nothing to say to American culture at the moment. Nothing. They've been speaking to a country that's gone, like dust in the wind. And that's my final thought, which my posts last night alluded to. The America I knew and loved is gone. This new America--nah, I won't even bother. I will say that cultural change is less likely to occur in politics, or in the academy. You're not going to get people to see how vulgar they've become through a clever argument or a nice campaign speech, that's for sure. This would be time for the arts, broadly understood, to step in. The arts can change hearts and minds. Too bad the arts have been systematically dismantled in education in this country, and on the other end, the tech industry's assault on the arts through AI is sure to hollow out any good-faith efforts that might emerge. And for the rest of the world, America's rightward lurch is, I'm afraid, bad news for you too. I know you know this. Because it's not isolated, is it? It's just at the moment the most prominent example of a burgeoning trend. And this will embolden others in other countries, to be sure. We need not speculate what happens when countries become mired in lies, embrace resentment, and savor bullying. We know exactly what happens. Bloody conflict and global destabilization. The first quarter of the 21st century will therefore in hindsight be viewed as the seed-planting stage for the absolute shit show that's about to unfold globally over the next two and a half decades. Count on it. Adopt whatever coping and endurance strategies you have available. You're going to need it. I think that's all I've left to say.”
I remember the four years of horror and the next four will likely be worst for so many of us: women, immigrants, gays, lesbians, transexuals, democrats, sick, elderly, children, the poor,...
His list is long and the authors of Project 2025 are salivating. Ready to destroy everything we have fought for.
As a gay man I am terrified of what could happen to us. I am still in denial, still hoping for some miracle; a "deus ex machina" like in Greek tragedies.
Leon and I fantasize about Biden resigning and letting Harris become President #47, if only for a short time. Perhaps she will have a plan and she will have "IMMUNITY" to carry it out. To save the country. I want desperately for all of us to RESIST but I don't know how to go about doing that.
Back in the day we marched and protested. I'm not sure I have the energy to do that. Or whether marching and protesting will really make any difference now. Amen.
I guess we needed this diversion to keep our minds off of other things. Leon and I just got finished shoveling our driveway and clearing off the cars so that he could get to work. And now our power is out in our town.
