Wednesday, December 30, 2009

GIVE ME BACK MY WIG!


As the decade now known as the "Noughties" draws to a close, I realize that 40 years later, this is still my favorite all time song.
Give me back my wig! Momma let you head go bald!
That's Hound Dog Taylor and The House Rockers
endlessly skronkin into the sunset and they gonna keep it up all night...
right until the break of dawn

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Thank You Santa


Dear Santa,
I know you are a busy man. Lots of kids ask you for all kinds of things and don't appreciate what they get. I know I asked you for a full scale terrorist attack on America to shake the complacent idiots up. I thought you were going to ignore me, but when I woke up on Christmas and found out that you had sent me a Nigerian with exploding underwear in Detroit, you made me the happiest little  neo conservative in the world. Thank you, Santa!

Love,
Little Dickie Cheney

Monday, December 28, 2009

Meanwhile, In Tehran, Reality Unfolds...



Meanwhile, a revolution unfolds in Iran
Anderw Sullivan said "The cries of freedom. They bring tears to my eyes and hope to my soul. The sound: it makes every human stop in their tracks and demand that this vicious oppression end."

The chanting has drawn bigger crowds every night for the last 3 months. The demographic of the protest is changing. Now it includes the middle and working class, once the stalwart backbone of the Ahmadinejad supporters. This is a video of last nights gathering after police shot at protesters yesterday, killing at least 12, including the nephew of a prominent opposition leader. A number of opposition leaders have been arrested, and the treatment of leaders under arrest has been horrific. This is the holiday of Ashura, a sacred observance in the Muslim calendar which honors the martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. This is the most important date in the Shiite calendar as it marks the birth of the schism which has split Suuni and Shiite for centuries. The Ahmadinejad government has created a new pantheon of martyrs to inspire the growing opposition.

I was watching reportage and analysis of this on France3 news today. The government is now more and more in the role of oppressor and the repression is being seen as a religious crime against the people. Iran lost a generation in the war with Iraq in the early 80's, now the country is beginning to realize that another generation is being destroyed. Faced with the choice of fighting and dying or fleeing....?
This could be the beginning of Irans' Berlin Wall Moment.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Strange Language


Singer/songwriter Vic Chestnutt died on Christmas. He was 45 and died of a self administered overdose of muscle relaxants. This is not a story of a hedonistic artist drinking and drugging themselves to death. This is a tragedy that played itself out to the slow cadence of his dehumanizing struggle with the American Health Care System.

Vic was paralyzed in a car accident at the age of 18 in 1983, yet went on to become an influential and important song writer who influenced many country and rock artists in America. He won critical acclaim and was admired by artists such as Michael Stipe of REM who admired his darkly humorous songs.

He had limited use of his arms and was confined to a wheel chair, yet was able to record and tour. he had been plagued by many health problems related to his condition and was overwhelmed by the financial problems his status as an independant artist who wasn't a major star brought on...And how many Americans are caught in the same tragedy? Too seemingly succesful for welfare and too poor in reality to afford to pay for a catastrophic medical crisis...Don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, that is the story of my family and how it was destroyed by an out of control health and medical system and this was in the 1960's, before thigs got to be really expensive...My family had insurance, and after my mother died of multiple sclerosis, my father was impoverished and died in debt.
There was no social net for middle class children...people looked the other way...

Chesnutt tackled death and mortality head-on in his lyrics, as in "It Is What It Is," from his new album "At the Cut."

"I don't worship anything, not gods that don't exist / I love my ancestors, but not ritually / I don't need stone altars to hedge my bet against the looming blackness / that is what it is."

In recent interviews he contemplated the challenges he faced as a wheelchair-using paraplegic with inadequate health insurance and mounting medical bills.

"I'm not too eloquent talking about these things," Chesnutt told The Times earlier this month. "I was making payments, but I can't anymore and I really have no idea what I'm going to do. It seems absurd they can charge this much. When I think about all this, it gets me so furious. I could die tomorrow because of other operations I need that I can't afford."

HELLO BENNY


On December 19, 2009, the Vatican announced that it was awarding itself a "unique copyright" on the Pope's name, image, coat of arms or any other symbol related to the holy father.
"The use of anything referring directly to the person or office of the Supreme Pontiff...and/or the use of the title "Pontifical", must recieve previous and express authorization by the Holy See", reads a statement from Vatican released last Saturday morning.
Of course this ridiculous edict does not cover pre existing uses, such as Pope Secondary School, Pope Burgers or the ever popular, Pope Soap.
The Vatican seems to realize the value of logo recognition and taking a cue from Mike (Keeping It Real) Steele and the NEW REPUBLICAN PARTY, they are reaching out in an attempt to increase awareness with the Hip Hop Generation.

There is a rumor of an impending deal with NIKE, a tie-in brand of shoes and sports wear under the newly created PAPI logo...
Then the icing on the cake as the new Hello Benny line of products hits the market. The Hello Kitty corporate embrace of the Catholic Church will create a market that will trickle down to the third world in no time...with second hand Hello Benny watches, t shirts, purses, cell phones and designer underwear flooding thrift stores all over the world.
Nobody does BLING like HELLO BENNY!
Look out Tommy Hillfiger and Dolce & Gabana!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

l'Etranger


My village, Badefols d'Ans after dark. Actually this was taken about 6 pm this evening.
I'm wandering about in front of the post office in the afterglow of the seasonal folly.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Open Your Eyes


This is the 1st Chapter of Unweaving the Rainbow by Richard Dawkins...
Dawkins has helped me understand and comprehend what I already innately know.
A great read...

More Seasonal Planetary Goodwill!


We will not be denied cheap, clean and accessible energy!
This is a satellite image of the world at night.Clusters of bright lights mark industrial centers and thin white lines trace connecting passage ways like the trans Siberian Railroad and the US Interstate Highway system. In between huge swaths lie in shadow as well as most of the Southern Hemisphere.
This is the inspiration for K.R. Sridhar, the CEO of Bloom Energy. "This is my motivation for everything" he says, "to imporve the lives of the more than 2 billion people in those dark areas."
He is on the cutting edge of technology that is ready to deliver reliable, affordable, environmentally clean energy.
Impossible? Sridhar has been working for NASA and it is his research that will keep astronauts alive on Mars with water and oxygen generators. This research has led to the development of his current venture: Highly Efficient Fuel Cells that run on everything from plant waste to natural gas  while emitting relatively little carbon dioxide
The affordable units which will be marketed in the next year are being tested at the University of Tennessee. They are totally independant and the units he is testing are about the size of a coffee table and should be able to provide all the power an average American household would need.
This system would enable all of us to "live off of the grid". An independant energy system that would not be susceptible to attack or natural disaster.
When asked If the utility companies should be worried...Sridhar says "Possibly. The companies who saw their business in selling mainframe computers are gone."
Of course, IBM was one of those companies and it learned to adapt. As Sridhar says,"The human ability to innovate out of a jam is profound. That's whay Darwin will always be right and Malthus will always be wrong."

Thursday, December 24, 2009

la tradition #2


A picture of this years Buche de Noel...this was an experimental model and the votes from tonights Christmas Eve dinner say this was a qualified success.
It was a Buche Glacee. I made a jellyroll type cake, smeared the cake with our homemade raspberry jam, then filled it with a batch of my wifes homemade vanilla ice cream....
I stuck it in the freezer over night, then coated it with dark chocolate ganache....I had trimmed an end off to make the "branch". I textured the chocolate with a fork to make the bark. Back in the freezer until dessert...then I decorated it with the holly leaves, some powdered sugar and the little elf with the axe.
It was beautiful, but the frozen cake wasn't very flavorful and the dark chocolate ganache had to warm up a bit before it could be tasted...
Actually, the second slice was much better.......
I am my own worst critic.
 Do you want the recipe?

39dollarglasses


First, I want to let you know that this is a totally unsolicited, deserving rave about a company in the USA that gave me ace #1 service!
I am extremely nearsighted and I have never really been able to wear contact lenses. My present insurance situation is kind of shaky and glasses are not covered.
A few years ago, I had my eyes examined and bought a new pair of glasses here in France and the price was astronomical. I was very unhappy with the glasses, the lenses were not superthin and the UV coating began to come off in a few months. I paid over 400 Euros for them.

When I was in the USA, I began to price glasses as I really wanted a new pair and I needed reading glasses....
That's when I learned about this company, 39dollarglasses in Ronkokoma, NY. I saw a review on the blog, boingboing. So, I made a few email inquiries and decided to get my eyes checked here in France. I paide 20 Euros for an eye exam and with the prescription, I  followed the simple directions on the webs site. I ordered a frame style that I saw at the optician in Brive la Gaillarde...I had gotten a devise for my prescription with the frames for over 400 Euros! (almost $600.00)

The price from 39dollarglasses was only 68 dollars...for the most expensive new style with the thinnest lenses. I ordered reading glasses and felt so good aboiut the money I was saving, that I took advantage of their sunglass offer and got 20 dollars off!
With shipping to Europe, the total was around $180 USD! I conservatively estimated that I saved well over $1100 USD for the three pairs of glasses.
The glasses arrived in one week and I have to admit, I am totally satisfied with them.
If you need glasses and have a current presciption...check out 39dollarglasses.
Mention me and maybe they'll give me free shipping on my next order!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

la Tradition


"Cette matière, ... mais, mais, c'est de la ...Merde!"
Mon coup de coeur film de Noël! Le Pere Noel Est Une Ordure ...
Ce soir, je vais voir la version thĂ©Ă¢trale originale de la vidĂ©o enregistrĂ© en 1980.
C'est la scène oĂ¹ le Père NoĂ«l vient d'Ăªtre empĂªchĂ© de tuer sa femme enceinte et est blessĂ©. Ils l'amènent dans une pharmacie, tout comme elle se ferme.
La veste pharmaciens est gravement coloré comme le Père Noël commence à prendre tous les comprimés et les surdoses.
La tache sur la jaquette n'est pas vraiment la merde, c'est de la Kloug ......

Monday, December 21, 2009

Finale and Fireworks!


Here we are back at the beginning. Today is Frank Zappa's Birthday which is the fitting end of the Zappadelic Zappadalian Festival of Zappadan. The video is the Strickly Genteel Finale from 200 Motels with Theodore Bikel bestowing his blessing on us all.
I would like to republish an excerpt from my first Zappadan post which was about how it all started for me:

"It all started in 1965, in a school social hall, in the basement of the grade school across the street from where I lived in Detroit. There was an attempt at creating a teen club. I went with some of my neer-do-well friends, 15 year olds who thought we were some how "different". We liked rock music, thought the Yardbirds were the greatest thing on earth and had the delusion that we were going to start a band and become really cool!

I walked in and a few kids were hanging around and some cheesy music was playing on the cheap tinny PA system. Then a moment of silence and a strange huge sound came slithering out of the air.

I tried to grasp it, it was too big, too strange and too distorted by the cheap tinny sound system for me to comprehend what was happening. It sounded like two giant balloons being rubbed together with a great beat! When the nuns began to run to the back to stop the hideous din, I knew that I had been a witness to something awesome!

As my friend George was being ejected from the hall, I left with him and asked him what he had put on the sound system. He grinned and showed me a copy of FREAK OUT by Frank Zappa and the Mother of Invention!"

....the original post goes on and on...but that excerpt defines a life changing moment, the day I stopped being just different and realized I was a 
FUCKING FREAK! 
 THANK YOU, FRANK ZAPPA! 
And Thanks to all my fellow Zappatistas
who made this very special Zappadan
extra greasy!

Bianco Natale


The video is of a demonstration this last 28th of November in Coccaglio, Italy.
3,000 people took to the streets to protest the proposed action by the Northern Union Fascist Party to have a "Bianco Natale". Their White Christmas operation that proposed to round up the suspected illegal residents of Coccaglio and hold them in a camp until their status cold be decided.  The target, of course, was the Northern Africa and Arab population which makes up the urban majority of the population of Coccaglio.

They are now engaged in this very action, making door to door searches of the city and notifying all inhabitants that might be behind in their residency requirements that they might be rounded up. Read the article in yesterday's Guardian for the full story.

The city of 8,000 is located near Brescia, between Milan and Venice. The new detention camp for suspected illegals is located in Brescia and was visited by Silvio Berlusconi's Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni, who is a leader of the Northern League. This is a government approved operation spurred by a fascist political movement. All the Catholic Church could muster was a statement saying that they were "depressed".


No wonder, the bulwark of the remaining Italian Catholic faithful is made up of right wing extremists. Many priests in Northern Italy are members of the party and the cross and the swastika are displayed openly together in their demonstrations. The Northern League members display baseball bats wrapped with Italian flags in their marches.

Italy is violently split now. Berlusconi is seen as the only alternative to a weak ineffectual left which he has systematically destroyed over the last 10 years. The Italian State is becoming a one party state which controls the media and the economy.
Hmm...sounds like the Republican Party Strategy platform?

This explains why the incident with the plaster model of the Duomo meeting Berlusconi's cosmetic surgically enhanced kisser was such an act of desparation. Maybe the use of souvenir statues could be exported...the strategic placement of a 24 cm chrome plated Eiffel Tower in France, or say...is that a model of the Washington Monument in your pocket...or are you just happy to see me?


More Tupelo Chain Sex



Here is another piece from the same gig in London, Ontario.  These guys were incredible.
Now I find out that the baritone sax player is the artist known as Stumak aka Bill Nugent, who appeared in the Uncle Meat Movie as "Elderly Bill Debris" and was actually a member of the Mothers when Frank released the Joe's Garage album!
Stumak recorded with The James Cotton Blues Band and most recently with Lester Chambers. That's Lester Chambers of the Chambers Brothers...still going strong with new songs, a great band and a new cd!
As Stu pointed out in the comments on the last post, Tupelo Chain Sex gives you 2 ex-Mothers for the price of one!
The piece is entitles Dr.Night Call and I believe Sugarcane Harris is referrring to himself here.....

Sunday, December 20, 2009

TUPELO CHAIN SEX


So in 1969, Zappa recorded his classic solo record, Hot Rats with the piece, Willie The Pimp featuring Don Van Vliet on vocals, and the violin of Don "Sugarcane" Harris. Don went on to play with the Mothers and recorded the Weasels Ripped My Flesh record with them. Weasels has the track with Dons vocals and violin, the Richard Penniman (Little Richard) tune, Directly From My Heart To You. He is also on Burnt Weeny Sandwich and there is a cut called Lil Clanton Shuffle on The Lost Episodes....
Don was a pyrotechnic musician, a soloist whose ability mixed classical technique with the blues and the acute intelligence of jazz. He straddled the line between Little Richard and Bela Bartok....

Don had started out in pop music in the early 60's as part of the duo, Don and Dewey and had some hit 45's. There are rumored to be recordings of him playing with Little Richard when Jimi Hendrix was getting his road experience with the Upsetters. Frank said that he was an admirer of Dons work and tried to find him. The producer Johnny Otis told Frank that Don was in jail on a drug charge and Frank helped him get out and started to record with him. Don had a very troubled life and was plagued with addictions. This led to his departure from Zappa's touring lineup...Frank was a notoriously strict band leader.

Don recorded some classic forgotten solo jazz and blues records. One record I would love to have has Robert Wyatt on drums before his accident which left him paraplegic and one of my absolute all time favorite guitarists, the Norwegian (thanks, Svenn), Terje Rypdal.
I've only heard a few pieces from it.

Dons turbulent life found him in the late 70's and 80's playing with an incredble live band which hasn't much recorded legacy. They were a punk horn band with incredible energy and the secret weapon...Sugarcane Harris!
This is a live video from London, Ontario around 1984 of a piece called The revolution Will Be Televised.......He died in 1999 at the age of 61.

The Senators New Clothes


Back in September, godfather of global warming deniers Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) announced that he would be going to the U.N.’s climate change summit in Copenhagen this week to present “another view.” “I think somebody has to be there — a one-man truth squad,” he said.

Inhofe traveled to Copenhagen however — with a single staffer and  his imaginary friends for an an “impromptu” press conference and spent a grand total of two hours in the Danish capital. But even during the press conference, few reporters showed up and the Oklahoma senator wasn’t very well received by the ones who did:
A reporter asked: “If there’s a hoax, then who’s putting on this hoax, and what’s the motive?”
“It started in the United Nations,” Inhofe said, “and the ones in the United States who really grab ahold of this is the Hollywood elite.”
One reporter asked Inhofe if he was referring to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Another reporter — this one from Der Spiegel — told the senator: “You’re ridiculous.”
        The Senator then said that he was "freezing his ass off" and left in a huff......

Saturday, December 19, 2009

CENTERVILLE


Trudging across the tundra in my mucklucks, saving baby seals from furtrappers that are strictly commercial and while tryin to watch out where the huskies  go and' not to get blinded by the dreaded yellow snow, I see a dim light glowing in the distance...
Why, look, it's Centerville! I hope there's a rancid boutique still open this late!

Weekend Weather Update....


Well, I said I'd give you an update on the weather here...It's Saturday afternoon and you are looking in a northerly direction to La Sechere. It snowed all night and now we are enjoying the biggest snowfall in this region in at least 30 years! Normally, when it snows, a few measly centimeters, the temperature comes up during the day and it is all gone in a few short hours, but the temperature never rose above -3 Celsius and now, we are looking at another snow storm due to hit tonight!

The picture is from the tractor trail at the beginning of the forest. The house and barn in the foreground is my house, the last house in La Sechere. The only vehicle we heard or saw today was Monsieur Boudy's tractor coming down with a hail bale for his cows.
It's very dark and grey with a haze obscuring the distance across the valleys. Silence reigns supreme. In the house is a nice big fire in the fireplace. I think this is the only thing I really like about winter.

I grew up having to get up in the freezing cold. Wet your hair and comb it and go outside and it freezes into place. Walk to the bus at 7 am in the dark with the freezing air burning your lungs. Streets closed in by the wall of snow left by the snowplows and then the salty slush...

You can keep it... But, I like the silent peace of a newly fallen snow storm, being isolated and self sufficient. Yes, I even like long hikes in the snow with the dog. The dog loves the snow, but he's an idiot who would cavort mindlessly caked with ice, terrorizing and chasing the cows up one side of the hill and then down into the valley. I throw snowballs at him and he tries to catch them in mid air and eat them....
I'd rather be bike riding in shorts....

(click on the pictures to enlarge them and feel the freeze!)

Friday, December 18, 2009

Hey Rod....


This is dedicated to Rod Parsely...Hey, Rod, Smile! Jesus really does think you're a jerk! I cannot believe there are only 3 more fun filled days of Zappadan! How much cheese can we pack into each fun filled moment? I ask you.....

And While We're On The Subject....


In the last post, Frank Zappa used the term Fascist Theology to try to define the tactics that religious groups try to usurp the line between church and state. The moral impertinence of those who wish to impose their own personal repressive mnorality on all of us.

One Fascist Theologian who has really crossed that line as an activist is Pastor Rod Parsley. Parsley has manipulated and used religion to build a little empire in Ohio with his Pentacostal World Harvest Mega Church and broadcasting empire. He has been taking advantage of the marshmallow brained believers for years through his tele evangelist hucksterism.

He has used his teleministry to influence elections. McCain called Parsley his "spiritual guide" and begged for his endorsement until Parsley came under intense scrutiny for his extreme hate speech against Islam. Parsley had stated that "America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this False Religion (Muslim) destroyed."

Religion is big business in America and it takes a lot of money to keep up his 5,200 seat church and college and 132 acre grounds. You can't have the flash if you ain't got the cash.
Rod owns a private jet and 2 mansions and a fleet of personal cars.
The ministry has been having tax problems since 2006 and now Pastor Parsely claims that donations are way down because of the recession. In the video, you can see the huckster at work, the paraniac manipulation referring to the nameless "adversary" who it turns out is Satan who is really at the root of his financial problems.

He seems to need about 3 million dollars to tide him over til' next Tuesday...
Funny, that's about the amount his ministry had to pay out recently to the Faletta family for the abuse to their 2 year old son in The World Harvest Ministry Daycare Center.
The two year old was covered with cuts and abrasions after a punishment session...

Yeah, the devil made them abuse that child. You know, Rod could sell one of the two private mansions on his personal 21 acre private compound, or sell his private jet and fly coach instead.
Maybe if you opened up your closed books to your congregation. which you have refused to do, maye some of the more financially creative memers could find a way to trim lots of fat off the budget.....

It's All Relative #2 (define fascism, define theocracy)


On Crossfire, with Tom Braden, Bob Novak, and some guy named John Lofton, Frank Zappa coins a new term. Just the right mixture of cynicism, intelligence and disdain to smack down any outraged conservative in his python skinned boots!

It's All Relative


It's all relative. I woke up this morning to this idyllic wintry landscape. Being of hardy Michigander stock, I went out for a morning hike with the dog, who loves snow though he's seen it only a few times in his 4 years.

This was a mere inch or so, yet, on the news today, France was paralyzed! People in shelters, truckers forced off the road outside of Limoges...let's see they got a historic 10 cm (That's about 4 death defying inches) of snow....The pathetically sad thing is that it will probabaly be slush by 2 pm this afternoon.....

It's all relative...I remember a morning in New York in the early 90's when we were hit by a 26 inch blizzard overnight, okay, the city shut down for a few hours and I walked to work in a path cleared by a snow plow down the middle of 14th Street.
Then there was the great blizzard in the mid 70's in Ohio, when I was stuck at my job as a raliroad drawbridge operator on the Maumee River for 30 hours...

That was grand, the storm his just after dawn, a wall of super cold wind roared down the river pushing a veritable wall of steam and snow in front of it. When the wind hit the bridge, the screen door of the bridgehouse blew off and the propane tanks flew into the river....Unfortunate, because the toilet was a "propane" powered facility...

The trains were halted for a few hours, but the river traffic kept right on through the storm...I did shut down the bridge once after informing the Coast Guard that I was walking to the mainland to get breakfast at the Mickey D on Superior Street...they never closed!
I just heard that there might be more snow this afternoon...I'll keep you updated on this disaster...it's almost as important as Johnny Halliday cancelling his Route 66 Tour!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

ENUFFZNUFF!




Support Moveon's campaign to recall Joe Lieberman. Enough is enough, do I have to list his backstabbing self serving history of masquerading as a real politician?
He collects a salary to serve the people of his state. He enjoys free health care and he is getting paid off by the pharmecutical companies and insurance to screw you!
Michael Moore thinks we should hold the entire State of Connecticut responsible for re electing the weasel. You can click here to donate to Moveon's campaign to demand his recall. Why reward his unethical two faced hypocrisy any longer?
ENUFFZNUFF!

Another Word From The Sponsors....


Did you know that Pfizer onced owned Ludens Cough Drops...invented in the late 1880's in Reading, PA? I guitilly confess that I was addicted to the Wild Cherry flavor for years. The mentholated flavor...mmmmmmmmmm......
So Pfizer sold the company to Johnson & Johnson who still market the basic unchanged recipe.
In 1967, Ludens commissioned an ad agency to do a hip commercial and the animator hired a relatively unknown avant garde composer to compose a sound track.
Frank Zappa did the Clio Award winning soundtrack using nasal snorkss emmitted by his Road Manager, Dick Barber.
The film maker, Ed Seeman, entered into a long term working relationship with Frank that culminated in the Movie, 200 MOTELS.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

And Now A Word From His Sponsor.....


Hello, I'm Joe Lieberman, here for Pfizer, the makers of Viagra. Now, if you would all bend over, I'd be happy to give a little demonstration.

Feelin Gettin Stronger!


A picture snapped just a few hours ago on the way back from gettting the dog vaccinated in the neighboring village of Cherveix-Cubas on the 704...I pass this house all the time and the fellow who lives there has a constantly changing assemblage of stuff artfully arranged in some kind of ritualistic fashion....
But Christmas always brings out the best in him. I stopped and started to snap pics and he came out, introduced himself and I asked if he would pose. He went in the house and got on his 1969 white leather fringed vest...
There is a really funky side to the rural Dordogne where I live. Lots of real unique individuals. The house was spotless inside and he invited me in to find a tiny piece of paper to write his address on.
Really nice little guy who rebuilds bicycles.  I promised I would send him some prints....

Random Association #655732113.4


Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Oh No I Don't Believe It




Oh No I Don't Believe It is already the 11th day of The Zappadelic Zappanalian Festivities of Zappadan and I haven't Ritually Invoked A Young Pumpkin! I haven't Called Any Vegetables by name!
Please forgive me, for starters, you should check out ZENCOMIX where you can find real hand drawn comix fresh daily!
Then there is the earthy Toledoesque musings of Sepp at UNCOMMON SQUALOR...
Then the person who initiated me into the mysteries of the wonders of Zappadan, Mark Hoback at FRIED GREEN AL-QAEDAS where reality is healthily transformed into USDA approved servings chock full of the surreal vitamins and minerals children need to get ever so slightly bent everyday!
MIKEB32000 creating nervous disorders among the gunowners of America...he had a great interview of Zappa with a Pennsyvania State Cop?????
Then there is DARKBLACK the guy who makes me want to throw my photoshop program in the trash.....Trouble Comin' Everyday....
And then there is the guy, Mr. Brady Bonk at KETCHUP IS A VEGETABLE who has been kind of coordinating the linkage of the festivities...and is responsible for the Nifty
Zappa Radio Widget which I was able, even in my technically demented reality, able to  install on this page!
(The video is a live 1974 appearance on Soundstage)
Cue the Applause Sign!


Catchin' The Spirit!


Dang! Now I feels all Christmassy!
It took a little while, but somehow this picture touched me in a place
where I have never been "touched" before!
OUCH!

Monday, December 14, 2009

IL DUCO GETS PUNKED


Dang, all that expensive cosmetic surgery down the tubes!
It's not like those were his real teeth, anyway....
If you really wanted to punk the little guy, you could super glue the cap on his Vaigra Bottle or you could steal the little wheels on the little walker he uses for his weiner........
Perhaps they will build a statue of the statue that hit him....

Oh, perhaps I'm being too nasty to the little fascist pederastic dictator, you know sometimes rotten things happen even to the rottenest of people...maybe I could suggest a good doctor?
Like Dr. Stephane Delajoux, surgeon of the stars?

Sunday, December 13, 2009

DENTAL HYGIENE DILEMMA


Why, why, why is always the ninth night of Zappadan on which the dreaded DENTAL HYGIENE DILEMMA rears its ugly head? Why? We might well never comprehend the unfathomable mysteries of Zappadan and one might as well take the wheat with the chaff. I'M STEALING THE ROOM!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Meilleurs Voeux de Notre Président



Ce soir, le président de Groland diffuser son message annuel de Noel à une nation soulagée. Il n'avait pas été vu ces dernières semaines et son apparence dissipé les rumeurs qui avaient causé tout de Groland à spéculer ....
La nation entière de Groland repose tranquille ce soir!

Friday, December 11, 2009

LORD MONKTONS FLYING CIRCUS


The part of the Grand Lord High Inquisitor was played by Lord Monkton.
Calling the young people from SustainUS who attended the Copenhagen Talks, Hitler Youth as a way to sell your argument is a sure sign things are.... well...going quite Twanky on the Climate Change Denial Front. In his recurring role as Grand High Inquisitor, in 1987, Lord Monkton issued this proclamation calling for the internement of HIV+ Europeans in special camps.



(click on document to read)

Crossing Borders


I have crossed a lot of borders in my life. I visit European Countries and usually go through Germany, England or Spain, depending on what kind of deal I can get twice a year to fly to the USA. I have evolved a mind set that I lapse into when ever I am dealing with custom officials, border security and immigration personnel, passport control, etc...I am always polite, butmost important, I have found that for me, I just go "away". I am literally "not there". It's hard to explain, but I have a well stamped passport and I have never had a problem.

When I was younger, I lived in Detroit and had many Canadian friends and relatives. Crossing the border was routine though my father used to make a big deal out of "smuggling" cartons of American cigarettes to my Uncle in Windsor.

Many times I walked across the border with a backpack and virtually no money.

That is why the story of the arrest and beating of Dr Peter Watts, the Canadian Science Fiction author and Hugo Award Nominee, this last Wednesday is so disturbing. Watts is a mild mannered writer who was in the United States to help a friend with a move. He tried to cross back to Canada in Port Huron at the Bluewater Bridge Crossing. He claims that he was beaten and arrested without any apparent reason and held for 24 hours.
He was released without his car and had to walk to Canada over the bridge in a freezing snowstorm. If you have ever crossed at Port Huron, you will understand what that entailed.
Needless to say, he faces a trial, a possible jail sentence and a lifetime ban on entry into the USA as he is charged with assaulting American border guards.
To read his entire story and learn how to donate to his defense fund check out the link, HERE.

The video is of the Ensemble Modern performing "Welcome To The United States" written, arranged and conducted by Frank Zappa during the Yellow Shark Concert Series in Frankfurt, Germany in 1992.

The Pressure Pays Off!

Here is a bit of good news! In my earlier post last week, How Not To Celebrate World AIDS Day, I wrote about the proposed legislation in Uganda that would enforce the death penalty on homosexuals who were HIV+.
This has generated a lot of outrage and put some very intense focus on the American Christian fundamentalist lobbyists, politicians and theologans who have been involved in the internal affairs of Uganda. This pressure paid off today.

Rick Warren has officially come out against the proposed laws in Uganda that would make homosexuality a crime, punishable by death in some cases. In an open letter to the pastors of Uganda (with whom Warren has a great deal of influence from his missionary work) the American mega-pastor says,
As an American pastor, it is not my role to interfere with the politics of other nations, but it IS my role to speak out on moral issues ... the potential law is unjust, extreme and un-Christian toward homosexuals, requiring the death penalty in some cases. If I am reading the proposed bill correctly, this law would also imprison anyone convicted of homosexual practice ... I urge you, the pastors of Uganda, to speak out against the proposed law.
Obviously, Warren holds (and reiterates in the letter) beliefs about sex and about queer men and women with which I thoroughly disagree. But I want to thank him for doing the right thing here, for putting his influence and power to use to save the lives of innocent people. Hopefully, Warren's letter will make a difference.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

SLIMEDAY


Ain't that the way it always is...the fabled evening of the 6th day of Zappadan...Slimenacht...be careful where you step. The fastidious keep a pocketful of tissues for any unforseen catastrophes. Of course in this age of hightened concern for hygiene in general and the attention one pays to any dental hygiene dilemmas, it would only be prudent to buy stock in the Swiffer Line of fine personal cleanliness products...
You can't be too careful...Slimenacht always is followed by the dawn, a sleazy sunrise greets the joyous 11th Day of Zappadan...SLIMEDAY!
TAKE IT AWAY, DON PARDO!

First Black President


A few weeks ago, I posted a video of Richard Pryor from 1964 doing stand up on the kraft Music Hall. At the time, I said that I regretted not being able to post the video of his sketch from his very controversial, so controversial that it only ran 3 episodes on NBC, The Richard Pryor Show from 1977. It was on YouTube, but the embedding was disabled...well, here's a version that isn't disabled....
In honor of Barack Obamas Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo today, here it is, Richard Pryor as the First Black President of the United States.
For the record, I think Obama gave a very good speech that proved he has the most difficult job in the world...perhaps.........

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

War Is Over

Forty years ago, John Lennon and Yoko Ono rented billboards all over the world to post the message,
WAR IS OVER IF YOU WANT IT!
People mocked it, people loved it, people were heartbroken, people ignored it and some people took it to heart.....
It was a grand piece of art no matter how you look at it. It was a gesture that echoed through our life times.
Today, December 9 is the 29th anniversary of John Lennons assasination and the Lennon Peace Project has a flicker page with posters you can print in many languages of the message.
They ask that if you don't find a langiage you know on the page, please give them a translation and they put it up for access.............

Le Grand Debat Sur Identitie National



Pardon us in France while we have a little discussion regarding National Identity. This could get a little ugly, but pardon us, after all we are French. It's not as if we were Germans, Heaven Forbid, having this discussion...I mean it's not like we were in Africa and we were Tutsis and Hutus or anything like that After all we are French!....By the way, could I see your papers?

Chorus
Quand Sarkozy dit qu'on est de race des seigneurs
Nous heil heil droite en face der Sarko
Ne pas aimer Der Sarko est une grande honte
Nous avons donc droit heil heil dans Sarkozy's Face

Lorsque M. Besson affirme que nous possédons dans le monde et dans l'espace
Nous heil heil droite en face Besson
Quand Hortefeux dit qu'ils ne pourront jamais bombe dis place
Nous heil heil droite en face Herr Hortefeux
N'est-on pas qu'il surhommes aryens pur surhommes
Oui nous sommes les surhommes (des surhommes super duper)
Est-ce si bon terres Nutsy
Souhaitez-vous en sortir si vous pouviez
Ja Nutsy cette terre est bonne
Nous aimerions laisser si nous pouvions
Nous apportons le monde Ă  l'ordre
Monde Heil Sarko Ă  l'ordre
Toute personne de race étrangère
L'amour Sarkozy's Face

The Consequences Of Global Warming — From A To Z

This was posted on ThinkProgress, today Dec. 9, 2009..........


Global temperature anomaly, 2006
As the nations of the world gather in Copenhagen, the Wonk Room has prepared this alphabetical journey of the impacts of climate change around the globe.
A
East Antarctica, long stable, is now losing ice.
B
Bolivia needs $1 billion over the next seven years to build reservoirs, as the glaciers that hold the nation’s water supply are shrinking rapidly.
C
Leatherback sea turtles that spawn on the beaches of Costa Rica are threatened with extinction by warmer temperatures and rising seas.
D
Denmark joined United States, Norway, Canada, and Russia in identifying climate change as “the most important long-term threat” to future existence of polar bears.
E
The rapidly warming highlands of Ethiopia are becoming too hot for its elite athletes, such as local-born Haile Gebrselassie, to train there.
F
Noting the unprecedented floods this year in Fiji, Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama recently warned that rising sea levels affect not just the islands’ economies, but put into doubt the very existence of his nation.
G
Greece suffered through another storm of extreme wildfires this summer as heat waves and drier conditions increase.
H
Global warming-fueled hurricanes, intense poverty, and widespread deforestation combine to form a gathering storm of disasters for Haiti.
I
The deforested peatlands of Indonesia are drying, disintegrating, and burning.
J
The increasingly early arrival of cherry blossoms in Japan reflects rising global temperatures.
K
The more frequent and severe droughts that are killing off the elephants will likely trigger more conflicts in the arid lands of northeast Kenya.
L
The incidence of wildfires in the cedar forests of Lebanon has increased tremendously over recent years.
M
“If things go business-as-usual, we will not live, we will die,” Maldives President Mohammad Nasheed told the UN General Assembly. “Our country will not exist.”
N
The ministers of Nepal have held the world’s highest cabinet meeting on Mount Everest, as rapidly rising temperatures have reduced snowfall over the mountains and caused glaciers to melt.
O
More than 50 per cent of the population of Oman lives on coastlines vulnerable to rising seas, but its supplies of peridotite may help sequester carbon dioxide emissions.
P
The massive floods that killed hundreds in the Philippines this summer are becoming the norm.
Q
Petroleum-soaked Qatar emits 60 tons of carbon dioxide per person, the most of any nation on earth.
R
Increased floods and malaria outbreaks from global warming, deforestation, and unsanitary conditions have hit Rwanda hard in the past decade.
S
The inhabitants of the Alpine villages of Fieschertal and Fiesch in Switzerland have asked for the Pope to bless their prayers for the restoration of their nation’s glaciers, which shrank by 12 percent over the past decade.
T
Newly discovered, exotic species like the fanged frog of Thailand are especially vulnerable as climate change will further shrink their already restricted habitats.
U
Agriculture in the United States has been ravaged this year by catastrophic droughts in Texas and California, heat waves in Louisiana and Nebraska, storms across the High Plains and the Midwest, floods in North Dakota and Minnesota, and torrential rains in Illinois and Georgia.
V
Speaking from Vatican City on the eve of the Copenhagen conference, Pope Benedict XVI counseled “all people of good will to respect the laws laid down by God in nature and to rediscover the moral dimension of human life.”
W
Warming oceans and sea level rise threaten the coral reefs of the remote Polynesian islands of Wallis and Futuna.
X
The nomadic descendents of Kublai Khan in Inner Mongolia, where Xanadu once stood, are being driven from the grasslands as the Chinese government attempts to fight the region’s desertification.
Y
Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, may be the first capital city in the world to run out of water, as drought and overuse diminish its supply.
Z
On the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, the flow of Victoria Falls is far below average, as drought and high temperatures reduce the Zambezi.
Cross-posted on The Wonk Room and Thinkprogress.....

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Dawn Of the Black Napkins


I am posting this particular version of The Black Napkins because I was in the audience at this 1981 Performance at The Palladium in New York City.....
What a powerhouse band...Stevie Vai and Frank on guitar!
Steve Vai origianally approached Frank Zappa as a fan and aspiring musician
and impressed Frank with his ability to transcribe his guitar solos.
He had in fact transcribed many of Franks recorded solo work.
When Frank heard Steve play, he hired him immediately and Vai was billed as
The Stund Guitarist during his stint in the band.
Steve Vai went on to become one of the most technically influential instrumentalists
of the 80's and 90's recording many solo records.

$200,000 REWARD!


This is real.....$200,000 can be yours if you can furnish information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Tom Donahue, CEO of the United States Chamber of Commerce.
The Velvet Revolution


This isn't. Do the math.

I Don't Believe In Global Warming, Come And Sing with Me, Oooooo!


I don't believe in Global Warming, come and sing with me, Oooooo!

Yesterday, EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson announced the revised position on Greenhouse emission gasses. They are now declared as a health hazard, harmful to humans. This gives the Obama Administration the authority to declare CO2 emission levels without the interaction of Congress. This is a historic step and timed to coincide with the Copenhagen Conference.

On the same day, the latest CNN Poll showed that for the first time in 2 years, Americans who do believe in Global arming are in the minority.
This shift comes after weeks of hyped erroneous reportage of the so called "Climate Gate" theft of emails from East Anglica University by the Russian Secret Service.
As far as Western countries go, America is in the minority as far as the polling goes.

Yesterday, we saw the Email issue touted by the Saudi Arabians as a reason to doubt the veracity of Climate Change Research. they made a big noise claiming that there had to be an International Commission to Investigate, but not The UN, because the UN is too compromised by Global Warming Researchers....They think someone unbiased like Exxon-Mobil should take charge of the investigation.

On a day that should have been devoted to factual reportage of this problem, CNN spent most of their airtime on this subject hyping the controversy of the Emails.
The manipulators know that the American public has a very limited attention span and is attracted by big noises and flashy lights...as P.T. Barnum said "There's a sucker born every minute!"

Monday, December 07, 2009

UH, UH, UHHHH...DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL!


What? Here it is the fabled Third Night of Zappadan...The night of the Little Black Napkins and you thought I was going to let you get away with out a Zappa Post?
Here we are back in 1969, live from the 23rd of May 1969 at The Lawrence University Chapel, Appleton, Winsconsin USA. This is the basic original line up of the Mothers of Invention performing the piece. Help, I'm A Rock, which niftliy segues into Hungry Freaks Daddy....
Which just goes to show, even 16 years after his death, Franks Creativity still has the power to hurt us! HELP! I'M A ROCK!

NO BERLUSCONI DAY EVERY DAY!

Publish Post

Here's more news you probably didn't see insids the American information bubble.
Latest estimates are of 2.5 million protestors in Rome this last Saturday, December 5, 2009. A very heavily promoted World No Berlusconi Day took place in European capitals such as Brussels and Amsterdam. The event was promoted on the internet with some great music recorded by Italian artists.

The video in this post was posted only hours ago (5:30 pm Central European Time) It is one of hundreds that are being posted as I write on YouTube by Italians who participated in this event. This was a grand protest, the art, the expression, the emotion in full display as only the Italians are capable of!

You aren't going to see Berlusconi in Copenhagen much. He is on trial, the first of many trials pn criminal charges that he will face in the next year. Last month an Italian law was ruled unconstitional that had shielded him for years.
The first trial already has burst open the wall that he has hidden behind to obscure his mafia connections. He was linked to a very notorious murder of an Italian anti mob prosecuting judge.

Berlusconi at Copenhagen would be an insult in any event. His governments collusion with criminal and industrial interests that have run rampant polluting Italy, the Mediterrenean and the Somali Coast is being exposed.
Italy can and must be forced by the rest of the world to do better than Silvio Berlusconi.
NO BERLUSCONI DAY EVERY DAY!

uhhh...Climate Gate...Yeah, Sure...That's The Ticket!


The book cover on the left is of A fascinating essay about how big business, working alongside Hill & Knowlton, among others, manufactured fake doubt about the link between tobacco and cancer, the danger of CFCs to the ozone lawyer, and now climate change. It's long, comprehensive, and very good.
In the days and months leading up to the Copenhagen Climate Conferece, the incidents of break ins and attempted infiltrations occurring in the offices and facilities of leading Climate Change Researchers reached a fever pitch.

You can read about the reported incidents in Canada, here. In recent days, it has beciome apparent that the Canadians are hedging on their commitment to firm action on Climate Issues. Canada has a lot invested in the production of oil from their great Middle Western eserve of Oil Sands, unfortunately, this prioduction technique is one of the most polluting and ecologicall destructive ways to obtain oil. The alliance of the Canadian Government and the Oil Companies involved have a lot to lose if they are not allowed to contine to exploit this resource.

Climate Gate? Let's look at where those "leaked" emails were disseminated from. First, the very statement that they were leaked is patently false. They were stolen, high jacked private email conversations between researchers. The material was then combed through for any statement that could be reinterpreteted out of context to appear as if the Climate Change researchers were fudging and hyping data.
Today in The UK Independant comes the story that the emails were highjacked by the Russian Secret Service and the hackers who stole them were located in the once closed city of Tomsk, in Siberia.

Why would the Russians hack the emails and release them? The same reason the Canadian Climate Change researchers facilities are being compromised. The Petro chemical industry stands to lose billions if the status quo regarding the use of oil and gas are questioned at this time. The links between this activity and Exxon -Mobil are becoming more and more documented as the action heats up.
Call it Climate Gate? Yeah...sure...Climate Gate...that's the ticket.......

Sunday, December 06, 2009

The Perfect Sponsor



Here's Mr. Glenn Beck shamelessly huckstering his latest marketing scheme which is guaranteed to make a few bucks by exploiting the voyeuristic fascination that America is addicted to with reality television and having their publicly guarded emotions shamelessl manipulated in ahhh, err, "private".
Yes, indeed, Mr. Beck is hawking his latest product, something greasy, something queasy called The Christmas Sweater....but after watching a few trailers for the fim and his own pandering performance, I am beginning to realize that the "Sweater" in question is not an article of apparel, but Mr. Glenn, himself. Have you ever seen a human rely on sweat so much, shed so many tears and who knows what other bodily fluids to pull at your tender little heartstrings? I won't mention the incremetal amount of the afore mentioned "bodily fluids" now being excreted by Mr. Beck after the reviews from Wednesdays gala muti city premier started to "Pour In".
Well, thanks to reader Steve, from Toledo, Ohio, I have found the perfect marketing match.
A product pairing made in heaven or something like that...Pittsburgh? Findlay...Des Moines?  The promo for Handerpants is real and you should consider buying a pair or two today!

Saturday, December 05, 2009

You Say Awreetus And I Say Awrightus....


Scholars are pondering the meaning of this bas-relief panel found in the recently discovered tomb of the Emperor Cleetus Awreetus-Awrightus. The tomb also contained a massive megaphone like device which might actually be the legendary Grand Wazoo...