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mago
The Hopi prophecies just crossed my mind leading to thoughts about another prophecy made by an early 20th century Tibetan lama that spoke to contemporary times, from now until 2030 or thereabouts. Forgive me for speaking from memory, although I have the text somewhere and will try to dig it out.
It speaks of lethal weapons and diseases previously unknown to the world with a power of unlimited destruction. Worse is a ruling class of hateful, shortsighted and spiteful warmongers convinced of their own superiority and disregard for humanity.
Well golly gee whilikers. And where are we now?
This prophecy also suggests antidotes such as building sacred structures on the earth’s power points, along with other specific instructions that would seem too woo woo to the conventional mindset, so I’ll leave it at that.
Just wanted to share some of my Saturday evening mental ramblings.
Ramble on. That’s a song.
mago
Feathers on the wind tossed around by the breeze lost and confused that’s all we are, feathers on the wind.
It’s a song or something.
I don’t know.
I’m wasted and I can’t find my way home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJJnA6zEcGk
bruce wilder
I find myself puzzling over the sheer scale of “data centers” being built as infrastructure for AI.
Whether considered in terms of square footage, power consumption or dollars of capital invested, the aggregate size of the construction boggles the mind.
Consider that most applications of AI models can be accomplished with “local” computing power — download a model to your laptop to work for you privately — or to drive your Tesla. What do they need a gigantic warehouse for? What are they warehousing?
All my experiences of computing in my lifetime have involved shrinking scale. This is a reversal of trend.
It might have something to do with the centralization that has been enforced by the advent of “the cloud” but “the cloud” has been with us for several years and everybody’s digital stuff and life traces are already stored. This is NEW and vastly additional capacity.
???
mago
Haters gotta hate and lovers gonna love and the twain may never meet but somewhere down that lost and lonely river there’s a port a resting place in general where there’s a reckoning and maybe reconciliation around a shared humanity and common suffering in this desire realm and yep by god by golly we’ve got it wrong but here’s hoping we can get it write some fine day.
The only reason this composition happened is in the hope that this Open Thread will open up. Sheesh already.
No hopes or expectations, by the way. Fine by me if these words never see the light of day.
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Speaking of post-modernism, or not, I submit to you the greatest satire ever — Little Murders. It never disappoints and I’ve watched it at least ten times in my life. It’s priceless.
There are so many great scenes from this movie, but the relevant one that stands out to me considering the recent pretentious discussion about post-modernism is the scene where Alfred, superbly played by Elliot Gould, visits his parents for the first time since he left home at age seventeen. Alfred’s new wife, Patsy, sent him on the mission to query his parents about when and how he became so emotionally detached and stunted. Almost immediately during Alfred’s visit we see why. The parents are eccentric intellectuals so lost in their intellectual world, it’s as though Alfred never existed even when he lived with them. They are incredibly well-read and cultured. They have a litany of intellectual friends. Their apartment is filled to the brim with books and the only way they relate to the world is through this prism. It’s clear they have never had an original, creative thought of their own and for them, no one else except those they have read has either. Every time Alfred asks a question about his childhood, they make reference to a scholar or expert of philosopher as their answer. There is no them, and therefore there is no Alfred. No Alfred yet, at least, but the movie is at least partly about, in my interpretation, Alfred finally becoming Alfred and what the universe does when you endeavor to become.
https://www.facebook.com/larry.karaszewski/posts/an-extraordinary-night-with-elliott-gould-showing-little-murders-for-bleak-week-/10237153744007756/
This excellent movie, it was a play by Jules Feiffer before Alan Arkin transformed it to the silver screen, is hard to find so here it is on YouTube. Enjoy, if you care to open your mind and try not to be like Alfred’s parents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNwQi4_XzH8
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Speaking of Country music, it’s not all bad. Most of it is, maybe, but there are exceptions as there are with all things. And, I might add, this is appropriate since it’s Sunday. These lyrics, they say it all. They’re pre-modern, modern and post-modern all wrapped up in a fine loaf of good cornbread. Sorry, no miso. Maybe next time.
This great Country tune came to mind because we’re havin’ some good cornbread today and every time we do, this song comes to mind. I can’t wait. My mouth is watering as I type this. To the lord let praised be! It’s time for dinner now, let’s go eat!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZI0zO2TS1Y
I went to church last sunday
So I could sing and pray
But something quite unusual
Happened on that day
Now church it started right on time
Just like it does without a doubt
And everything was all just fine
Except when it came time to let us out
You know the preacher he kept preaching
He told us I have one more thing to say
Children before you think of leaving
You better think about the judgment day
Now everyone got nervous
Because everyone was hungry too
And everyone was wondering
What was the next thing he would do
And the preacher he kept preaching
He said now I’ll remind you if I may
You all better pay attention
Or I might decide to preach all day
And now everyone was getting so hungry
That the old ones started feeling ill
And the weak ones started passing out
And the young ones they could not sit still
And the preacher’s voice rose higher
So I snuck up on the balcony
And I crept into the choir
And I begged them brothers, sisters, help me please
I said when I give you a signal
I said when I raise up my hand
Won’t you please join with me together
And praise the lord I have a plan
And the preacher he kept preaching
Long is the struggle, hard the fight
And I prayed, father please forgive me
And then I stood up and with all my might
I sang
To the lord let praises be
It’s time for dinner now let’s go eat
We’ve got some beans and some good cornbread
And I listened to what the preacher said
Now it’s to the lord let praised be
It’s time for dinner now let’s go eat
Yes and I did give a signal
Yes and I raised up my hands
And then joined with me the choir
Yes every woman, child, and man
They sang
To the lord let praised be
It’s time for dinner now let’s go eat
We’ve got some beans and some good cornbread
And I’ve listened to what the preacher said
Now it’s to the lord let praised be
It’s time for dinner now let’s go eat
And the preacher he stopped preaching
And a hush the church did fill
And then a great white dove from up above
Landed on the window sill
And the dove flew down beside him
And a fork appeared right in his hand
And with everybody watching
The preacher ate that bird right there and then
And now everyone got really nervous
And the preacher he did start to glow
And as we watched in disbelief
These were the words he spoke
He said now mama’s in the kitchen
And she’s been there all day
And I know she’s cooking something good
So let’s bow our heads and pray
And he sang
To the lord let praises be
It’s time for dinner now let’s go eat
We’ve got some beans and some good cornbread
Now listen to what the preacher said
He said to the lord let praised be
It’s time for dinner now let’s go eat
And the moral of this story
Children it is plain but true
God knows if a preacher preaches long enough
Even he’ll get hungry too
And he’ll sing
To the lord let praises be
It’s time for dinner now let’s go eat
We’ve got some beans and some good cornbread
Now listen to what the preacher said
He said to the lord let praised be
It’s time for dinner now let’s go eat
DMC
I think the huge resources going into data centers is the industry’s attempt to “brute force” AI into improvement rather than making it more efficient, as the Chinese seem to be doing. If you can’t make it better, make it bigger.
Mark Level
Thank you to mago for the share of the Hopi Wisdom. I have some awareness of this particular Luminary of Mysticism and symbolism (not the poetic school with Rimbaud and others), due to past interest in The Warburg Institute when it was in Texas. Aby Warburg was one of 2 brothers in Germany, they inherited major business interests from their successful Jewish parents. See a link here: https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/about-us
They agreed to split up the legacy, as Aby a “historian” (really much more than that) and his brother practical and materialist, got the business side. Aby was a Maestro of understanding comparative symbolism, he would take different eidolon (images) and group them in stunning arrays, basically an adaptive artist, also collected Manuscripts of various types, including esoteric. When I was an OTO Member in the Bay Area, 1989- expelled 2002 as it got taken over by criminals, & I stopped paying dues around 1999. 1 bank-robber and speedfreak, went to jail after some rivals tied him up and shaved all his hair off. He had successfully robbed banks twice when he had plentiful head and facial hair, he’d do this when short of drugs at the months’ end, no welfare check to shoot up. Post being shorn, he was caught hours after his 3rd attempt.
My favorite book about Occultist circles, very much nails it, is Charles Portis’ Masters of Atlantis. He covers 3 generations of a certain secret order, some genius members, some actors, some wackos and losers. Oakland OTO was that way but there was an elite, meritocratic group that actually studied intensively, taught and practiced Ceremonial Magick under Thelema (Will) & Agape (Love) and Law. Agape & Thelema both sum up in gematria as 93, a significant # shortened to a greeting.
So back to Warburg and the Warburg Institute. At some time after Aby had died and the Nazi movement was looming, his successors wisely picked up and moved everything to Texas, of all places. Currently it is evidently in London. Aby was a genuine gnostic, probably friends with Jung, sometime around the age of 30 or so he traveled to the US to directly observe the Hopi Culture, then shared his take on its greatness, on a religious level. I think this was before WWI, early in the war he had a schizophrenic breakdown (as some great mystics do), since “we’re all gonna die,” he threatened to kill all his family members and friends, an act of mercy to his broken brain. Institutionalized, for at least 2 years, non-verbal at first, finally recovered.
So the OTO connection. Solar-Phallicism is taught even in much of boring, pedantic “Ancient & Accepted” mainstream mysticism. OTO was Co-Masonic, radical and weird, originated in Salzburg, Germany by 3 successful occult aspirants, a wealthy industrialist (owned Salt Mines), a distinguished Hermetic scholar, and a cabaret singer and part-time spy when he was on the road, Theodor Reuss.
Reuss was reading Crowley, a man a generation younger, thought he had shown he understood the highest level of Tantrism (Asian and Buddhist sourced, retention of semen emphasized) after reading Chapter 69 of Uncle Al’s Book of Lies Falsely So-Called. He reached out to AC and they met, Reuss awarded him a degree in OTO. AC was wildly ambitious, always wanted to head an occult order after he had been a Golden Dawn member in his 20s; he helped to break up that group when the Grand Master was getting out of control, was sued by Mr. Mathers for publishing much of their inner teachings and practices, but Crowley won, for whatever reasons, and built a Pyramid atop that rock over succeeding decades. He had loony, failed attempts to take over the TS, Theosophical Society, and whatever Manley P. Hall (also genius) was running at the time.
When Reuss died he succeeded him as X degree OHO (Outer Head of the Order.) There was a political battle, a successful businessman Karl Germer, importer of both Dutch & Brit. machinery and machine tools to Germany advocated for him and succeeded him at death, 1947. During WW II, Germer was thrown into 2 different Concentration Camps but survived. He had a lot in common with Hitler, during WW I he served with distinction in the German Army, had the medal (did Hitler? I dunno). Conventionally patriotic, but a high-grade Mason. Masonry generally very Philo-Semitic, the OTO’s core Locus is the Hebrew Tree of Life, based on the Sepher Yetzirah (c. 100 c.e.?), though a Gentile, the great Athanasius Kircher first drew the shape and paths of the 10 Sephiroth (Spheres) and 22 Paths (the 22 Hebrew letters) that was accepted, “a German Jesuit polymath and scholar” per Wikipedia in multiple areas, sometime in the mid-18th Century.
That was unsavory to the Reich, but the real reason Germer was jailed was that like Crowley (who spied against the Germans over decades for the UK), Crowley pal Ian Fleming, and many other high-ranking Masons was suspected of spying. The official charge against him was relationship with the High Grade Mason Aleister Crowley.
So back to the Warburg Institute. They had in their collection the hard-to-obtain Tantric teachings of the 7th thru 9th degree of the OTO, and people could go there and hand-copy them, including the illustrations. (Tenth degree is political leadership. 11th degree is imaginary, I assert, based on gay penetration, buggery.)
Someone in our group had these, we shared around lots of MSs of Porphyrus, the Neo-Platonists, the Dhammapada, you name it. I won’t spill all the beans here, though I have taken no oath not to do so.
7th degree is based on “Chastity”, which doesn’t mean what a monk or nun would do, it means whenever you have sex you form a spiritual ambition in your mind and focus intensely on it, see if the loci then manifests. It works sometimes, sometimes not. Most importantly for men, you learn to raise and then drop your lust, if you can’t learn in time to last over an hour in the sack at least before yielding and falling into le petite mort your aspirations will never reach fruition. Crowley famously wrote that in this practice if you focus on X at the moment of orgasm, you might get it, or x, or square root of x, or x squared, etc. unpredictable. Intention the whole point.
8th degree is Goddess Worship, Heterosexual for males, I suppose women could do so in a mirrored, reverse way or internally? Or change it to a kind of narcissistic internal self realization? Or aim it to men. But in the tantric doctrine here, men are solar-phallic, women are lunar-kteis (a Greek word for pussy or cunt) operating, there is a certain reverse-magnetic interchange happening, women’s abilities and men’s entirely different. “For he is ever a Sun, and she a Moon.” Crowley highly androgynous, liked to cross-dress at times, and proudly bisexual, gay, usually took the passive role, the opposite of his daily social behavior. Crowley designated his formal Holy Book teachings by letters, A for the best, B, C, D & E. His Class D work, Liber 185 Astarte vel Liber Beryli. I know what the Latin means, look it up yourself if not bored by this.
It is instruction on the complete worship over time of any Deity one chooses, until possibly some representative of that Deity manifests in your life. You can choose gentle and beautiful ones or horrible ones, think of some of the Tibetan Demons, or Kali. There are instructions how to build up the aspiration over time and how not to do anything insane if you follow a violent or dangerous God-form. It can be found online on a site called The Hermetic Archive in near-complete form, they stupidly drop an X on the frontspiece art, Roman numeral 10 making the numeration of the Liber 175. We all make mistakes!!
9th degree is heterosexual sex based. both partners may develop a common aspiration and think about it, particularly when a mutual peak is reached it may be more effective. May.
When males learn to last long, they are naturally more popular with either sex, nobody’s into a 2 Pump Chump. I’ve had mixed results with Tantric sex over the years, it’s not really casual or lazy, I will say that. You don’t want a spontaneous Grinder hookup, that is debased and gross. It can be performed solo as well, of course, but there is a secret there which I will withhold.
A mainstream appreciator of Aby Warburg is the New Yorker writer, Adam Gopnik. I read a fantastic piece on Warburg and his biography by Gopnick sometime around 2012 in the New Yorker. Around 2017 he came to UC Berkeley School of Journalism to speak, not on Warburg per se, but I went after work anyway and it was an excellent event. And I got something called a “siddhi” by attending. Now siddhi is an Indian word, when one is doing really serious meditation one sometimes gets a siddhi, an amazing (usually temporary) magickal power. The orthodox enjoin aspirants NOT to take the Siddhi, you’ll go off on a side road and lose the main highway up toward the 3 Supernal Sephiroth and Kether. In 1993 I got a very fine Siddhi, I have resisted bragging due to a certain hater in the recent past, but– I got incredible “Power of Attraction” with women. There were multiple ones in the OTO milieu or even in the grocery store coming on to me. I could not partake of everything, one thing I only tried once is polyamory, that is too messy, I trust myself to be adult about sharing, but in my very limited experience nobody else can handle that, it’s like a Car Crash waiting to happen. The popularity lasted a couple of months, wore off.
So I got another Siddhi at the Gopnik event, there was a Journalism School magazine there called “Brink.” It was pretty good but I didn’t read it til after I’d retired and moved, in 2022. It pointed me directly to another Locus of Desire which I have enjoyed in the years since, but have to give up soon. So sex magick does lead to future sex!! QED in my experience anyway.
You just never know!!
Mark Level
To LAS, the GOAT of Country songs was written by Chicago’s Steve Goodman, he gave it to the great David Allen Coe to sing, but Coe pointed out it was NOT the greatest, it neglected to mention the essential Country fetish items, Pick-up Trucks, Trains, Gettin’ drunk, Mama, the rain, etc. Goodman added all the essential ingredients, and Coe sang it beautifully, “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.”
Coe had the real Country style, the rougher side, he did some years in prison for killiing a man. I was fortunate to see him once live in N’Awlins. Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZbso7sNqv0&list=RDLZbso7sNqv0&start_radio=1
I didn’t talk to him, but it was a great show, he played YNECMBMN as the encore of course.
I did meet Kathy Harr (whose easily Goggled, 2018 Oregon event she ran) the same nite I had beers after the show with Love and Rockets, David Jay in particular, and I co-wrote 2 books with “Robert Fitzgerald”, well not wrote exactly but co-produced.
There’s one I am ashamed of, we did a series of John Dee Enochian style evocations of certain Genie based on a Grimoire of them by Crowley called Liber 231. The results were sometimes spectacular, never boring. By the time he published the book, he’d had some kind of spiritual breakdown caused by pride. He credited me as the one who’d directly taught him Invocations and Evocations and the Enochian system with thanks. When he gave me the book, I only read the 1st 5 pages, he made a huge mistake on Gemmatria, which meant his very first comment on the “Spirit’s” communication was idiotic. I ended my friendship with “Fitzgerald” in 2022, he was rude and an asshole to me, also stole from me. He had BPD, once when his wife dumped him I set him up with a colleague from work for a bedroom, coincidentally they shared the BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Loren (a dude) was onto him in days, kicked him out in just over 4 months. I’m not even giving the title of the other book, his sick ego told him he was at least a Magus and it had major flaws, most obvious. Initiation (often self-initiation) is progressive, you start from Earth and climb the (Hebrew Letter) paths gradually to higher states, Lunar, then Mercurial, Venusian, Solar, etc. bit by bit. He started at the Top, in Kether, and worked down!!! Cart overturned before the horse is shot and eaten. It was something that is called the “Ape of Thoth,” babble, Thoth the great Scribe of Truth, Spiritual Truth, Egyptian, there is debate whether his head is of a baboon or an ibis. I personally think Ibis is more consistent . . . He had an ape who followed him around and copied him, everything in the “transmissions” was Arrogant “I’m Coeval with God Almighty” posturing. To be fair, there was one brilliant thing about the book, the Art. In the original Liber 231 there are alphabetic representations of the Genie Crowley claimed to have seen, 231 is 21 squared, the entities here seen are Qliphoth, which is to say “Shells” in Hebrew, you do not want Qliphoth around, they are nasty little shit demons. We tried to evoke higher entities but did evoke some Q’s during the work, and mostly Robert (but sometimes I contributed) scryed in the Crystal Ball and saw the Queen’s Scale beings of Crowley’s Hebrew letters, he had a brilliant artist friend in Australia who produced this for the Book, Barry William Hale, those symbols were sublime. In the Golden Dawn elaborate system, there are 4 scales of every Hebrew Letter, King/Queen/Prince/Princess, also the 4 letters of sacred words like YHVH (actually a raging Genocidal god, as no less than Mark Twain observed) or AHIH or AGLA.
The other book I coproduced with Robert, well actually it was not a book, in 1993 I had some small Spanish books of the Mystical German adept, Arnoldo-Krumm Heller, & Robert asked me about them and said what about a translation? I said sure, we chose the longer of the 2 Spanish books by him I owned, “Logos, Mantra, Magic.” I’d get the translator credit and he could get the editing cred. Computers not too advanced in ’93, but we worked in his wife’s office at UC Berkeley on her days off, she had state of the art stuff. K-H was nowhere as near a great a mystic or writer as Crowley, BUT he had a fascinating career in Latin America as a spy working for Mexican anti-Royalist and Constitutionalist forces, per Wikipedia he was the private doctor for future Mexican President Francisco Madera in 1911, spoke fluent Spanish (& wrote in it), see the link here to all his other contacts on the Left, Germany & Mexico in alliance against the Anglophone Imperial interests pre-WWI.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Krumm-Heller
He saw way more action than I did in Nicaragua, where I only fired and AK-47 once to prove to mis hermanos I was no coward, and sat out one false alarm that the Contras were about to attack in a trench one night. Secret Agent for Venustiano Carranza, arrested by the reactionary Victoriano Huerta for associating with “Socialists and Anarchists.” Exactly the opposite of Crowley’s politics, he hated Socialists, born rich, believe in the Class/Caste system . . . He did gain Mexican citizenship and to skip way ahead, unlike poor Karl Germer in 2 Camps he took refuge in Mexico during WW II, started some OTO/ TS style spiritual groups for men there. When the Allies won, he went back to Germany and had a high post in the Red Cross, I think 2nd ranking in Berlin, could be mistaken.
Anyway, Robert and I completed our MS transcription and copied and shared it among the actual Scholars in the OTO (there were plenty sprinkled around differen lodges, worldwide.) Arnoldo’s surviving son Parzival some years later c. 1998 saw it and worked with others to rewrite minor areas, then published a small-press book version thereof, in which we both received credit, they produced an English version that was my first (& only) professional publishing credit for initial draft.
Also, Hebrew Mysticism teaches that there are three elements on the Middle Pillar of the human body, Nephesch, is the bottom, means essentially “Animal Soul”, is water, it’s found in the area of your genitals, makes sense. Reproduction, lower functions. In the middle is Ruach, centered around your heart and lungs, it means Air and also literally Spirit, the equivalent of Pnuema in Greek, pnuematic power . . . at the top in your brain is something called Neshamah, translated as the Higher Soul or self. In gemmatria, it adds to the same # as MShiCh, the Messiah, significant.
The Greek version (system’s completely the same between both) is Mens, not a direct cognate of Mind but means “Measurement” (the ability to measure, square and compass in Masonry, being on the Mark or Level . . .) The top level is elemental Fire.
Along the spine (Chakras are also real but so many, harder to work) your body rarifies from swampy wetness, to deep breaths, to a powerful fire of inspiration and thought . . . Viz Chakras, this model was originated by Hindus, fell thence to the Greeks and actual (Palestine-Caanan) Jews. One more interesting bit about the top, fire Neshamah. The Hebrew letter ShiN, meaning a Tooth, penultimate of the 22 letters, adds to 360, close to Babylonian numeration of the Solar year, later adjusted.
I am celebrating my Gentile Sabbath, Sun is the only Lord of this Universe, with some Hermetic thought sharing. The Profani will not bother with it, nor get it if they try.
spud
i should have said in my statement on country western music, that prior to the 1960’s, produced some really good music, marty robbins comes to mind. and many like him produced music that crossed lines, this started to peter out by the early 1960’s. died by about the 1970’s.
instead merle haggerd, loretta lynn, type of music replaced old style music like cool water.
The CIA used cultural propaganda, including country music, during the Cold War to influence public perception and promote American values. This involved covertly funding artists and music to counteract communist ideologies.
spyscape.com Medium
During the Cold War, the CIA engaged in cultural propaganda to promote American values and counteract communist ideologies. This included covertly funding various forms of art, including country music, to influence public perception both domestically and internationally.
Funding Artists: The CIA provided financial support to artists who aligned with its goals, helping to spread messages that emphasized individualism and freedom.
Promoting American Ideals: By backing country music, the CIA aimed to showcase American culture as a positive alternative to communism, appealing to audiences in both the U.S. and abroad.
The use of country music as a tool for propaganda helped to shape the image of the United States during a time when it was crucial to win the hearts and minds of people around the world. This strategy was part of a broader effort to establish a cultural presence that would counteract Soviet influence.
In summary, the CIA’s manipulation of country music was a strategic move to promote American values and combat communist ideologies during the Cold War.
Medium spyscape.com
Cultural propaganda, including country music, significantly shaped American public opinion during the Cold War by fostering a sense of patriotism and support for military efforts. This relationship was highlighted in Joseph M. Thompson’s work, which details how Nashville’s Music Row collaborated with the Pentagon to create a soundtrack that resonated with American values and sentiments.
cdispatch.com WNYC Studios
———-
country western music and football were the one two whammies that got americans to no longer care about others, even themselves. and set up a culture of selfishness, lack of critical thinking, invoking the myth of rugged individualism coupled with sex and violence. just as the romans had their games.
The military has significantly influenced American football, particularly through partnerships with the NFL and military-themed ceremonies at games. This connection has helped shape public perceptions of the military and foster a sense of patriotism associated with the sport.
brownpoliticalreview.org thevolterra.com
Military Influence on American Football
The military has played a crucial role in shaping American football, particularly through its partnerships with the NFL and the promotion of military-themed events during games. This relationship has fostered a strong sense of patriotism and public support for the military.
Pregame Ceremonies: NFL games often feature military ceremonies, including moments of silence for fallen soldiers and flyovers by military aircraft. These events are designed to evoke patriotic feelings among fans.
Salute to Service Initiative: The NFL’s year-round program aims to honor and connect with service members and veterans, reinforcing the military’s presence in the sport.
Financial Ties: Historically, the NFL has received funding from the Department of Defense for various military-themed events, although this practice has evolved over time. The league continues to promote military values and themes without direct financial incentives.
The integration of military elements into football has significantly influenced how the public views the military. This connection has created a culture where football is seen as synonymous with American values and patriotism, effectively promoting a favorable image of the military among fans.
Aspect Description
Pregame Ceremonies Military honors and patriotic displays at games
Salute to Service Initiative Year-round efforts to honor service members and veterans
Financial Ties Historical funding from the Department of Defense for military-themed events
The military’s influence on football has not only popularized the sport but also reinforced a narrative of patriotism that resonates deeply with American culture.
brownpoliticalreview.org thevolterra.com
———————
rock and roll had to go, because most of the music does not promote the above, but in actuality, to me, rock and roll was a response to the above.
the man who killed rock and roll, bill clinton and the telecommunications act.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, aimed to promote competition and reduce regulation in the telecommunications sector. However, its implementation led to significant changes in the music industry, particularly affecting rock music.
Key Consequences
Consequence Description
Consolidation of Ownership The Act allowed large corporations to buy out many local radio stations, leading to fewer independent voices.
Homogenization of Music With fewer owners controlling more stations, playlists became uniform, resulting in a lack of diversity in music played.
Decline of Local Programming Local stations, which previously showcased regional talent, were replaced by corporate programming, diminishing local influence.
Impact on Rock Music The changes contributed to the decline of rock music, as fewer unique sounds and styles were promoted on the airwaves.
Summary of Effects
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 fundamentally altered the landscape of American radio and music. By enabling corporate consolidation, it stifled the diversity and creativity that characterized rock music, leading to a more homogenized sound across radio stations. This shift has been widely criticized for its negative impact on the music industry and the cultural landscape.
35000watts.com
Corporate ownership of radio stations significantly reduced music diversity after 1996, as the Telecommunications Act allowed a few large companies to dominate the market, leading to homogenized playlists and less local programming. This consolidation made it harder for diverse musical styles and local artists to gain airplay, resulting in a more uniform sound across radio stations.
scholars.indianastate.edu Literary Hub
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reesdiAbvk4
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… died by about the 1970’s.
Declined, for sure, but died, no. The heart still beats, even if just barely. Lyle was one example and here’s another. Willie Nelson. This tune is from his Stardust album. Every tune on that album is first rate, especially this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ZSZUSrXc8
StewartM
I mentioned the Youtube channel “Klaize” previously, a young Chinese living in Australia:
https://www.youtube.com/@klaize_
Recommended videos so far:
The Chinese Credit System; what it is and what it is not:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXrx9ryVaes
Generational Differences in China: Boomers, X, Millenials, and Z:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jbP4mrxYWM
His rating of Chinese leaders from Mao onwards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6ke9cqeV3g
Why China keeps changing its mind on LGBT Rights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMLURXHfFtw
Good stuff.
Oh and one of my frustrations on “revolution from below”:
What happened to all the concubines after imperial China fell?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69J7oBGyywU
The reason why I mentioned the problems with ‘revolution from below” is that these survivors often faced humiliation and persecution in Maoist China during the Cultural Revolution. One of the concumbines who was sent to the Forbidden City as a teenager had rebuilt her life, had married and was living a fairly normal life, but her past was enough for her to be paraded in front of crowds as an example. Even worse, a eunuch boy was was castrated by his father WHEN HE WAS NINE YEARS OLD only to see his “job” disappear even before he started to work in the Forbidden City was likewise humiliated and forced to wear a dunce cap and they threw away his severed male genitalia (stored in a jar, this was done so it could be buried with the eunuch so that they could be whole again in the afterlife). Criminy, any fool could see that such people weren’t the active agents of the bad “old thinking” the student Red Guards were railing against, they were ITS VICTIMS and deserved compassion and respect.
The eunuch managed still to survive the Cultural Revolution, and even visited the Forbidden City again from a wheelchair in his 90s.
mago
Wow! Mark Level’s depth and breadth of esoteric knowledge is impressive. Go mano go.
Hey, L&S, while living in Spain oh so many years ago, I wrote a quasi cookbook and social commentary called Cornbread in America. And as concerns the CW stuff, I suffered through that shit while growing up. Lost my job, my dog died and my wife left me. Actually, all that happened to me and more. My truck died, too. My dog is too old/too old to cut the muster anymore. You’d benefit by including miso into your diet. Cheetos don’t make with anyone anymore.
Yeah, spud. Spot on commentary as usual.
All right everyone let’s move on into the light and chase those crazy bald heads out of town, not to mention Old Man Tucker. If you know what I mean.
mago
Back in the day I catered for a few bands along the way both B list and A list, doesn’t matter who or where and when.
But somehow today Taj Mahal popped into my mind while remembering his wife’s friend who crossed my path in Seattle when she briefly worked with me at a Pike Street Market espresso joint.
The Rasta owner of said shop and I catered a meal for Taj in his hotel room. One of the stranger gigs of many strange gigs I’ve executed only because I staged it from the closet in his room while my dreadlocked friend served.
This comes to mind after just watching a Taj Mahal video recorded last night. I’d share the link if I could figure it out, but I’m wasted and I can’t find my way home.
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Hey, L&S, while living in Spain oh so many years ago, I wrote a quasi cookbook and social commentary called Cornbread in America.
As fate would have it, similarly, while I was living in America oh so many years ago, I wrote a quasi cookbook and social commentary called Borscht in Russia. Andropov’s wife, fyi, made the best Borscht, hands down, and although outwardly at least Andropov appeared to be an uptight honkie of no particular caste, he could and did let his hair down on occasion and threw some wild parties that would put any imperialist capitalist to shame.
bruce wilder
Postscript on the massiveness of the AI datacenter buildout –
Consider this substack anthem to the liberating power of AI:
Could anyone be more divorced from reality than to believe in the “promise” of such an ideology? One that “hides” an humongous accumulation of private capital in plain sight? The “lease terms” on the use of AI are not worrying this fool?
People who make sunk-cost investments anticipating the post-investment power to dominate subsequent bargaining have historically realized mixed results. Big sunk-cost investments run big risks of being surprised and not being able to recover invested capital. The other side of the bargain — the counterparty dragged along for the ride — will also be surprised and be a lot less prepared.
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Here’s the thing, Bruce. Are they big risks? How risky is it really if the gubmint bails you out and makes you whole as the Gubmint did in the aftermath of 2008? I have no doubt the gubmint will do it again with the popping of the AI bubble. Once again, the little people will be forced to pay for the sins of their feudal overlords. Don’t say it won’t and can’t happen again. They can make it happen. They don’t lack creativity when it comes to eliminating their risk via gubmint intervention. Who will play the part of Hank Paulson this time?
bruce wilder
L&S —
The financial downside will be visited on the little guy for sure. The things I am noticing increasingly are the ways that the whole AI project is designed to be unremittingly and multifariously hostile to ordinary people.
It is designed to make us all poorer and stupider.
Jorge
L&S- you are correct, sir, Little Murders is a great flick. I inflicted it on my Covid Zoom movie club one night. We still do a movie every couple of months.
The first movie of this club was “Hammersmith Is Out”, a Faust farce starring Liz and Dick, directed by Peter Ustinov. This was in the early 70s when L&D could do whatever they wanted, and they starred in a bunch of very odd choices indeed.
mago
L&S, I think it would be appropriate and not ad hominem to label you an asshole, although our gracious host may choose to disagree.
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Hey Jorge,
“Inflicted”. Love it! I get what you mean by that. It’s not for everyone. There are not an insubstantial number of people to whom I have referred this movie who can’t stand it for whatever reason. It has a small cult following and we are among the few, apparently.
Thanks for the Hammersmith is Out suggestion. I will watch it this week. I’ve seen a lot of movies over the years, but not that/this one.
Another one I think you will like but chances are you have already seen it is, The Parallax View starring Warren Beatty. I’m not a big Beatty fan but he works well in this role. It’s a Pakula film. If you recollect, he also directed Klute starring Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda which is another excellent film from this golden era of cinema.
mago
I’ll give respect to L&S for his cinematic sensibilities, but beyond that. . .
Hey, Mark Level if you’re checking in, a while back you recommended Voltaire’s Candide, and by some auspicious coincidence it fell into my hands today. Thought you might like to know.
Mark Level
I had to go back a few threads to share this, to “Open.” A young confederate of mine covers one of my absolute favorite books and movies, The Sarrragosa Manuscript, derived from the book by Jan Potocki, an “Orientalist” who was an Occidentalist for us Spaniards, & Sardinians. I’m only a few minutes in and he’s focused on the Movie at 1st as it is more accessible. The Book takes work.
Did Borges read the book or not? I don’t know any more than he does. However Borges’ thought was infected with the same multivalent, freakish & Mediterranen ontology as this young man. Kudos!! Enter the Labyrinth that isThe Saragossa MS if you will, or steer away from it if it’s some Carnivalesqe Liminal Space that scares you. For the brave, los Hijos de Goya & Potocki, see here–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRvC7X_r5fw