The layers might get jumbled
but sand remembers everything
until the winds arrive!
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So Long Fats and Thanks for all the Music
Learning about Fats Domino’s passing yesterday morning led me to reminisce about his music and the joy I experienced playing and replaying my 45 rpm recording of him singing “Blueberry Hill” so many years before. On the heels of this I found myself feeling happy that he had managed, despite his girth, to hang around for 89 years, after which I found myself hoping his last years were ones free of debilitating health problems.
Then my thoughts went to recalling how, among the many other singers who had sprung onto the pop music scene during that era, a couple of names stood out, partly because they emerged immediately after Fats’ music started topping the charts, but mostly because of the similarity between his name and theirs. These two–Chubby Checker and Tubby Chess–both seemed to me at the time to have been imitators, inspired by the success Fats was experiencing.
Even though I was only 13 at the time, I sensed that there was something inherently wrong with others virtually copying Fat’s name, ostensibly in hopes of trying to share in his success by so doing. With that thought, I recalled another popular song of the time–“Young Love”–which had been released by Sonny James–a crossover from Country music– and had become an instant hit, only to be replicated with minor cosmetic differences by a guy named Tab Hunter and released mere days after James’ version hit the airwaves. Hunter’s ersatz version not only eclipsed the original in sales, it practically obliterated it, likely due to more sophisticated and better financed promotion. The result: Hunter, or, more likely, his promoters got most of the attention and sales revenue even though his version lacked the sparkle and shine of the original. How many of you remember Sonny James? Exactly!
It is precisely these kinds of transgressions that illustrate the central flaw in the pursuit of unrestrained capitalism. To rely on the goodness of peoples’ nature to “do the right thing” in the face of opportunity is like entrusting the family poodle to a ravenous mountain lion. It’s pure folly to believe the lion will act in the poodle’s interest, yet it’s the principal idea beyond the theory of Trickle-Down Economics–an old assertion whose verity was never proven despite decades of experience proving that isn’t how things work–that is still being proffered in the halls of congress in support of revamping the nation’s tax policies to further advantage the already privileged while claiming to benefit the working class.
At this point, it suddenly dawned on me that, without my full awareness, my tribute to Fats had morphed into a critique on the excesses of capitalism. Not one to leave things half-finished, and with apologies to Fats, I added: While many of the benefits of “free trade” are easy to see and appreciate, the fly in the ointment is the “unrestrained” part. Without restraints, people have shown since time immemorial that the temptation to succumb to greed has in many instances overridden their sense of social responsibility such that the less fortunate have suffered immense harm.
Now we find ourselves in a situation where the restraints that have been enacted to protect the public against this form of opportunism, meager as they are, are under assault like never before: Hindrances to progress, their detractors call them!
As the wheel of progress turns upon itself powered by the twisted logic of trumpist idealism, I’m reminded of another great Fats Domino song–“Ain’t That a Shame.”
Tim Konrad
Petaluma, CA
October 26, 2017
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Goblin!Woodland spirit . .Counter of tree rings.Guardian of the Forestwith a Bart Simpson hairdo.Looks like you done seen some shit!August 29, 2017Tim Konrad Photo
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All my adult life I have looked up to the office of president of the US with a mixture of awe and respect, even in those times when the office was occupied by someone I neither approved of nor cared for–think Nixon, Reagan or Bush II. That all ended suddenly with the highly questionable “election” of the man who currently holds this office. All the others who came before him, even when I found their actions despicable, performed their duties with what appeared to be a respect for the office that somehow mostly transcended whatever differences existed between us. Even when certain actions of particular Republican presidents set in motion forces whose effects still resonate today with, I would argue, extremely negative consequences for the majority of the public–largely, I would further argue, without their awareness–I was able to maintain some degree of respect for, if not them, at least the office they occupied. Prior to this past January 19, certain actions of the younger Bush strained my faith in the office nearly to the breaking point, but, even then, I was able to glimpse moments, even if they existed only in my imagination, that seemed imbued with the power and prestige of the office in a way one might correctly perceive as “presidential.”
The current occupant of that office–a man I have not, cannot and never will bring myself to address as president–has made it abundantly clear to anyone who is paying attention and hasn’t lived under a rock for thirty years that he is the very antithesis of what is required of anyone aspiring to be the president of these United States. This man has consistently proven his unworthiness to serve with every deceitful utterance that falls from his ugly, sphincter-like mouth. His very presence in the White House is an obscene reminder of the fragility of democracy and how quickly 200 plus years of democratic governance can be swayed toward totalitarianism and, because of Twitter, Fox Views, conservative Christianity and just plain general ignorance, his supporters continue to pledge their unwavering support for him.
Until recently, moral leadership was a hallmark of presidential action. This man lacks a moral compass–another of the myriad ways he is abysmally unsuited to his job. Lost in a narcissistic fog, he eschews security briefings for twice-daily updates on news items designed to assuage his monumentally fragile ego. And yes, we taxpayers are paying for his twice-daily ego boosts. He concocts fictions to shore up his ego (think the election results) in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary and then, not content with merely inhabiting these fictions, crafts actions based on them that have no relation to fact, no respect for propriety, no regard for history and no indication he has any understanding of psychology.
He, and, apparently his supporters, are living in a fantasy that bears little semblance with the reality in which the rest of us participate. Someone needs to tell him he has no clothes!
But for me, after the events that unfolded yesterday regarding the response of the leader of the Republican party in seeking to draw a moral equivalency between peaceful left-leaning demonstrators and hate-filled racists and neo-Nazis, I am left with a sense of profound disgust bordering on all-out rage toward this idiotic excuse of a human being posing as a “leader.”
So I say to you, mr. trump, you’re fired! You were never my president anyway, but whatever claim you might imagine you have on the office you pretend to occupy, you forfeited that right with your embrace of KKK and Nazi groups. Please do the right thing and stop soiling my newsfeed with your verbal and emotional effluent! You are about as American as borsht! Your concern for the common man rivals that of Putin! You are an affront to decency, motherhood and apple pie and you need to stop! Just go away, for Heaven’s sake!!! There is nothing for you here!
There. I feel better. Well, a little better anyway! How was it for you?
Tim Konrad
Petaluma, CA
August 15, 2017
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Don’t know what testimony the president’s chief lawyer was listening to today, but from his comments afterward, it’s clear he wasn’t listening to Director Comey’s testimony. And as far as the presidential apologist who stated today that trump doesn’t lie–he just earned a thousand Pinnochios. Unbelievable the lengths these people will go to to spin, obfuscate and mutilate the truth! And for what? To prop up a weak and ineffectual “leader” who will eventually drown in his own toxic imbroglio in spite of all their efforts. Oh how I wish the costs for all this idiocy could be passed on to these people when all is done!
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I love my country.
It isn’t the kind of love that is felt daily
or with any kind of regularity
But rather the kind
that brings tears to my eyes
as I view images of soldiers from the Civil War–
both Union and Confederate–
seen reuniting decades after the last shots were fired
united in the joy of being alive
and reflecting that spirit
that makes up the heart and soul
of America
It’s the kind of love
that raises up in my heart
when I see the likes of Sally Yates
placing love of country over personal concerns
as she stand up to tyranny
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It’s funny how
In the middle of nowhere
Even under-cooked French fries taste good.
Tim Konrad
Panamint Springs, CA
March 29, 2017
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A chance encounter after breakfast
with Adolfo, the Maitre’d
at the restaurant where I’d just finished a fine breakfast,
eggs over easy, cooked to perfection!
Adolfo told me he’d once asked his nineteen year-old son
“Do you ever look up at the night sky?”
And his son had replied “Why?”
He spoke of how young people
are so focused on social media
that they are absent from the present.
Adolfo said he told his son
“Life moves fast.
If you don’t slow down, you’ll miss it.”
He spoke of cell phones
He said “I told my son I wish he’d call me more.
He replied ‘text me!’”
Adolfo said “I like to hear your voice.”
He spoke of how young people seem to have a sense of entitlement . .
How they just expect everything to go their way.
Adolfo painted a portrait of his son and him
living in two different worlds–
one fast and disconnected from the real world
the other grounded, connected to the earth.
He said he had some property, down in Mexico
where he and his wife plan to move in a few years
after he retires.
Adolfo said his property is way out in the country
and his son has taken to city life;
he doubted his son would like it there.
Nevertheless, Adolfo said of his son,
“my door will always be open to him.”
Panamint Springs
March 30, 2017
Tim Konrad
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I was just watching Nikki Haley being interviewed on Meet The Press and hearing what she had to say about the recent US missile strike in Syria and it suddenly occurred to me that I was doubting the validity of everything she was saying. Upon reflection, I realized that I have come to a place where I am no longer able to give the benefit of the doubt to anything anyone from the trump administration has to say on any subject. My view is there is nothing credible about trump or his administration and, by extension, those he has chosen to help him run the country have no credibility either. In fact, I am even less forgiving of his associates because I cannot understand why anyone of even average intelligence would choose to cast their lots with the likes of such a disgustingly disingenuous person (with the possible exceptions of the generals in his cabinet, who might have accepted their positions to ensure he doesn’t do something lunatic with our armed forces) unless they saw some way they might profit personally from doing so, surely, in some cases, going against their convictions so they could participate, in which case I would have to conclude their astoundingly poor judgment could only serve to further support my skepticism toward them.
It is a sad commentary on where we’ve come as a nation when I find myself longing for the good old days of the “W” administration, Cheney and Rumsfeld notwithstanding, and even factoring in the disasters that resulted therefrom. Who needs books when real life is so much more compelling and frightening? What have we come to as a nation and a society?
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The approach of the trump organization toward the reimagining of government bears resemblance to a bacterial infection of sinister proportions aided by somnambulant supporters who might as well be victims of a real-life invasion of the body snatchers as envisaged in the 1956 film version.
What other possible explanation is there for the continued loyalty of his base than to wonder if they have had their bodies and minds co-opted by aliens? The real question then becomes, what’s in it for trump that’s persuaded him to throw in his lot with a bunch of mysterious extraterrestrials and, even more puzzling, why would men from Mars or wherever they call home choose to make their first impression on a new and unsuspecting world by associating with the likes of the tangerine twitiot? Don’t they realize that cultivating a good reputation goes a long ways toward achieving the kind of gravitas needed to effect social change? Maybe they, too, have been seduced out of their wits by the seeming success trump has achieved so far through the use of alternative facts (e.g., outright lies) and the host of other vulgar and disgusting behaviors that have defined his presidency to date. If so, then they will ultimately experience the same defeat as will his supporters in congress once the country wakes up and takes measure of the extent of the damage being done in the name of “making America great again.”
Until then, here’s hoping the Center for Disease Control comes up with an effective vaccine for the trump bacteria before he cancels their funding.
Tim Konrad
Petaluma, CA
April 5, 2017
sonora2sonoma 