RIP, Christine McVie

Very sad news on this day.

Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac has died. She was 79.

Best known for her years with the incredibly successful Fleetwood Mac, McVie also had a very successful solo career. She was an incredibly gifted musician who brought so many countless people happiness through her music and artistry.

Below, I shared a link to a moving piece in Rolling Stone, where bandmate Stevie Nicks shares some thoughts on the passing of McVie. Personally, I found it quite moving. 

Stevie Nicks Shares Heartfelt Note to ‘Best Friend’ Christine McVie: ‘See You on the Other Side, My Love’ BY DANIEL KREPS  NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Nicks shares lyrics from Haim's "Hallelujah" as a tribute to her Fleetwood Mac bandmate in a handwritten letter

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/stevie-nicks-christine-mcvie-best-friend-fleetwood-mac-tribute-1234639085/?fbclid=IwAR0oNl1snCWg4V7nVgEV1MbBk-zkDCaj3MZjKn0VoDXzXtc9a-BCqqzmMeM

China Builds High Speed Magnetic Levitation Trains While Americans Largely Remain Indifferent to Such Prospects

A few years ago - on this day in 2019, as a matter of fact - I posted a link to this article on high speed magnetic levitation trains my Facebook, and said that this was impressive, and Americans could learn a thing or two from China in this regard.

Most people who responded seemed equally as impressed with this as I was.

However, there was one response which, while not necessarily negative, sure seemed to imply a negative reaction, and possible skepticism. It was that basically, China was trying to rebuild the Silk Roads, only now with high speed rail. It should be noted that the guy who wrote it was a Trump supporter, and he and I had a few political interactions.

It struck me that many Americans are quite skeptical of trains in general, and "wasteful" spending on high speed trains in particular. Many Americans would likely question what the point would be of building such lines here in the United States. Not saying that this was what this guy was saying, but I definitely know some people who would likely hold that viewpoint. The rest of the world seems to be going in one direction, and it often feels like Americans politically too often make a point of going in the opposite direction. That includes mag lev trains like this, or public transportation more generally. It also includes universal healthcare, and recognizing that keeping healthcare costs down should be a priority. It also includes commonsense gun legislation. And recognizing that combatting climate change would actually be a good thing. And seriously valuing education. And recognizing that maybe there should be limits on funding the military industrial complex, like Eisenhower warned about. And generally, that government can be a useful tool in protecting people against greedy corporations. Oh, and that the creeping rise of fascism within our government is generally a bad trend. 

Sigh.

In any case, I have long been fascinated by the technology involved with mag lev trains. And yes, as an American, I wish that we were not apparently so hostile to the idea of having them here more commonly, even though they are indeed in existence. The only active one in the United States right now is Amtrak's Acela, which has service from Boston to Washington, with 13 stops in between. There are plans to build one in California, although who knows when, or frankly if, those will actually, finally become a reality.

Below is the link to the article on the high speed magnetic levitation trains of China:

New Chinese magnetic levitation train ‘is faster than going by plane’ Rob Waugh Rob Waugh·Contributor 2 July 2019:

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/new-chinese-magnetic-levitation-train-is-faster-than-going-by-plane-191524377.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9sLmZhY2Vib29rLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANhL--JcflZFDLmr4PgMVMyKtYMNpw9NVRDHMDQ_8tbSHAdn8mZnH9VdgW35ajWXQpCvAarWkFCSpBYJN1g6Vq36LFxh3dMZxM4msuOw7EQG2Puzhkmczc8zdkq6LvYBTIunr_R9mAcSTVcDelxQJIOX5aMHaCyPoujsQzdqOqaX

Some Hilarious Quotes By Steven Wright

1 - I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize. 

2 - Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back. 

3 - Half the people you know are below average. 

4 - 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name. 

5 - 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot. 

6 - A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good. 

7 - A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory. 

8 - If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain. 

9 - All those who believe in psycho kinesis, raise my hand. 

10 - The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. 

11 - I almost had a psychic girlfriend, ..... But she left me before we met. 

12 - OK, so what's the speed of dark? 

13 - How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink? 

14 - If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something. 

15 - Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. 

16 - When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. 

17 - Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy. 

18 - Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now. 

19 - I intend to live forever ... So far, so good. 

20 - If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? 

21 - Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. 

22 - What happens if you get scared half to death twice? 

23 - My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder." 

24 - Why do psychics have to ask you for your name 

25 - If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried. 

26 - A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking. 

27 - Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it. 

28 - The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread. 

29 - To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research. 

30 - The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard. 

31 - The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up. 

32 - The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it. 

33 - Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don't have film. 

34 - If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you. 

35 - If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?

And here are 50 more (many probably repeat from previous list:

1. I’d kill for a Nobel Peace Prize. 

2. I went to a restaurant that serves “Breakfast at any time.” So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance. 

3. Half the people you know are below average. 

4. What’s another word for thesaurus? 

5. Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. 

6. 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name. 

7. Last night I stayed up late playing poker with tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died. 

8. A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me—I’m afraid of widths. 

9. There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot. 

10. All those who believe in psycho-kinesis, raise my hand. 

11. Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy. 

12. Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now. 

13. Borrow money from pessimists—they don’t expect it back. 

14. If you shoot at mimes, should you use a silencer? 

15. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. 

16. I almost had a psychic girlfriend … but she left me before we met. 

17. For my birthday I got a humidifier and a de-humidifier. I put them in the same room and let them fight it out. 

18. I intend to live forever. So far, so good. 

19. I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn’t park anywhere near the place. 

20. If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? 

21. Someone asked me, if I were stranded on a desert island what book would I bring? How to Build a Boat. 

22. Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines. 

23. You can’t have everything. Where would you put it? 

24. What happens if you get scared half to death twice? 

25. My mechanic told me, “I couldn’t repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.” 

26. Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories. 

27. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name? 

28. If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried. 

29. I poured spot remover on my dog. Now he’s gone. 

30. A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking. 

31. Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it. 

32. The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread. 

33. 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot. 

34. A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good. 

35. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory. 

36. If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain. 

37. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. 

38. When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane. 

39. Okay, so what’s the speed of dark? 40. How do you tell when you’re out of invisible ink? 

41. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something. 

42. I think it’s wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly. 

43. If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of payments. 

44. The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard. 

45. The sooner you fall behind, the more time you’ll have to catch up. 

46. The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it. 

47. If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work? 

48. Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don’t have film. 

49. If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you. 

50. Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.

The Quotes of Steven Wright: jswordy Senior Member of winemakingtalk:, December 1, 2021:

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/the-quotes-of-steven-wright.74846/

Fifty Quotations from Steven Wright 2 Comments / Humor / By Stephen Hicks

https://www.stephenhicks.org/2016/12/20/fifty-quotations-from-steven-wright/

The Best Beatles Songs Written By John Lennon

Earlier today, I posted something about the Thanksgiving tradition by New York's classic rock station Q104.3 of playing what they say are the 1,043 greatest rock songs of all time. I made an argument that, for me, John Lennon's "Imagine," deserves to be in the top ten (it was ranked number 16 this year). 

Well, it seemed fitting to add this link, which lists the top ten songs that Lennon wrote for the Beatles (which of course excludes his later solo career). 

See if you agree with this list, and feel free to share your thoughts on the matter:

The 10 Greatest John Lennon Songs He Wrote For The Beatles

https://iloveclassicrock.com/the-10-greatest-john-lennon-songs-he-wrote-for-the-beatles/?fbclid=IwAR1FUznDoi-OQfVsaN6w0HnlnIWtRoUpG9oyZTY8fgpMZ44zb5a0OnhrwPU

Q104.3 Continues Thanksgiving Weekend Tradition of Rating Best 1,043 Rock Songs of All-Time

Once again, local greater New York metropolitan area classic rock station Q104.3 continued their Thanksgiving tradition of listing the 1,043 greatest rock songs of all time. The big question every year is whether or not somebody, or rather some song, will finally knock off "Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin as the number one song.

Spoiler alert: it was ranked number one again, and remains undefeated on this particular list, which is determined by votes.

Still, the rest of the list is interesting, and surely, it is all material for debate. There are some songs that I was shocked to see just how highly they were rated, and other songs that, frankly, seemed almost impossibly low. For example, "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters was ranked 74th, which seemed just too low for such an incredible and unique song. And "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which had an immediate and profound impact on the direction of rock music in the nineties, was ranked number 40? 

There were some other unbelievable tunes and artists who were conspicuous by their absence in the top 100 or 150 list. For example, I see "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits ranked 85 and "Money For Nothing" by them ranked 120. However, I believe that Telegraph Road is actually that band's masterpiece, and I'm not even entirely sure that it is ranked on this list at all (admittedly, I did not go through the entire list to achieve certainty on this point). 

Yet another song that seems strange simply because of it's absence was the beautiful "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" by the Primitive Radio Gods. For that matter, where is "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails? And I still always felt that "Imagine" by John Lennon should rank higher than it always seems to. It was ranked number 16 this year, which I believe was higher than past years. But to me, that is such an iconic and beautiful song, with an actual vision for the best possibilities for the future that seemed to define the idealism of the era of Lennon and the Beatles, that it deserves to be in the top ten, as far as I'm concerned. 

In any case, lists like this are made for debate. That's what it's there for. So here is the link below, if you are interested in looking at it. And please feel free to debate the merit (or again, the possible lack there) here, if you are so inclined. 

https://q1043.iheart.com/featured/top-1043-songs-of-all-time/

Some Survival Skills Than Can Save

Ran into this link to survival skills over the weekend, and it seemed worth sharing here:

The Most Important Survival Facts Its Never Too Late To Learn By Daniel Godley - January 25, 2022:

https://magazine.lensvid.com/movies/fb/1175926716/The-most-important-survival-facts-its-never-too-late-to-learn/?uvv=750&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=z8-us-d-survivefb-23852555876750567&fbclid=IwAR3xF5D15mfywAT7PxIoNWtEMzkqDi5lBS1N5uoIB3wTkVRIuiL0C64c6KI

Buy Nothing Day Celebration

A few days ago, for Black Friday, I mentioned my own little tradition of avoiding all stores and, in fact, trying to make a point of not spending any money on that day.

Well evidently, this is a thing. There is something call "Buy Nothing Day," which I happened to hear about for the first time in my life on Facebook just days ago. 

And there I was, feeling alone, as if I was the only one rather offended by how crass so many people are, aggressively pursuing consumer items at a bargain, and actively engaging in - as well as encouraging such behavior in others by so doing - the worst aspects of greed in our society.

This is a whole movement, and it evidently is a real thing! Learn something new every day, right?

In any case, below is a link to an article that explains a little more on this holiday, or celebration, which I evidently was admittedly unknowingly a part of:

What Is Buy Nothing Day and Why You Should Care by Alec Robson, November 25, 2022:

 

https://www.mychesco.com/a/lifestyle/what-is-buy-nothing-day-and-why-you-should-care/

NFL 2022 Thanksgiving Day Games Review

   

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During my lifetime, it has been a Thanksgiving Day tradition that the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys always host a game for this particular holiday. In more recent years, a third game is added for the evening, although there are no set teams for this third game. At least not as of yet, in any case.  

This year, then, featured the Lions hosting the Bills in the early game, the Cowboys hosting their division rivals, the New York Giants in the middle game, and the Vikings hosting the Patriots in the evening game.  

Let’s take a look at how each game played out: 

Buffalo at Detroit – Both teams needed this one. The Bills had beaten Cleveland last weekend, but that followed a two-game skid, with the Bills hoping to avoid going on a serious drought just as the playoff race begins to get very serious. Meanwhile, the Lions entered this game riding the momentum of a relatively rare three streak of wins. But having fallen to a dismal 1-6 record to being the season, there is not all that much wiggle room for them, if they are to make a serious push for the playoffs. So a loss here would hurt both teams. Indeed, both teams showed just how important this game was to them. They both played well and showed strong resolve and play, in what proved to be a back-and-forth affair. But in the end, the Bills generally are considered one of he best overall teams for a reason, and they showed why here. With the game tied up at 25-25, the Bills put themselves in a position to kick a field goal with just seconds left, and the attempt split the uprights. This lifted Buffalo to a huge win on Turkey Day, and improved their overall record to 8-3 to this point, as they at least temporarily take sole possession of first place in the AFC East again. As for the Lions, this snapped their three-game winning streak, as they now fall to 4-7 on the year. My pick: Accurate

Dallas 28, NY Giants 20 – Both of these teams entered this game with identical 7-3 records, and were tied for second in the NFC East, which has been, surprisingly, the best division in the league to this point this year. Obviously, the winner of this one would take sole possession of second place, and not fall even further behind the division leading Philadelphia Eagles, who currently sport the best record in the league at 9-1. So this game was a huge divisional showdown, with serious division and playoff ramifications. And it came down to this being a tale of two very different halves. The Giants looked solid and outplayed Dallas in the first half, showing patience and controlling the tempo of the game, and taking a decent 13-7 lead into the locker rooms for halftime. But Dallas took over in the second half with three straight scoring drives ending in touchdowns, capitalizing on Giants mistakes, including turnovers, in the process. It was a 21-0 run that completely shifted the momentum in favor of the ‘Boys. The G-Men tried for a comeback, but it was far too little and too late, as Dallas preserved the victory and improved to 8-3. As for the Giants, they dropped a second game in a row and now fall to 7-4 on the year, and in third place in the NFC East, with red hot Washington suddenly hot on their tail for that third place spot, even. My pick: Accurate

Minnesota 33, New England 26 – In the third and final game on this holiday, the Vikings were looking to bounce back at home following a crushing, demoralizing 40-3 loss to Dallas. That humiliating and sobering loss came after the Vikings had just earned their biggest win of the year, on the road up in Buffalo, where they improve to 8-1 on the season, their best start in over a decade. So in order to prevent that loss turning into a slump, they needed to win this one. The Patriots, meanwhile, have been kind of up and down throughout the season. But they have been winning recently, and had improved to 6-4, tied with the Jets for third place in the highly competitive AFC East, and with a chance to try and keep pressure on the Bills and the Dolphins for the division title. In other words, this was a very important game for both teams. And sure enough, both teams showed just how important this one was for each team. They both played well and seemed to own the momentum at different points. There were times when I felt that New England controlled the tempo, and that they should go on to win, and at other times, it felt like the Vikings had the momentum, and should win. But it was Minnesota that came up with the game late enough to bury New England’s chances late, and ice the win. They bounce back from that humiliating loss to Dallas, and now improve to 9-2 on the year. As for New England, they fall to 6-5, and despite the winning record, they remain in the cellar of the AFC East. My pick: Accurate

NFL Thanksgiving Weekend Preview

  

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Traditionally, it seemed that all of the experts agreed that as a team in the NFL, you wanted to still have a shot at the playoffs  once Thanksgiving Day weekend came along.

Well, here we are now. It has been a strange year in certain respects, with very few teams having either very good records, or very bad ones. This season, for some reason, it feels like the vast majority of teams are more or less somewhere in the middle. Some have a decent chance at reaching the postseason, while others have to go on major winning runs, and perhaps even still would need a bit of help to get there.

So, let's take a look at the games to be played this weekend:

Chicago at NY Jets - The Jets still have a decent chance at the playoffs as we enter this Thanksgiving weekend, the final weekend in November. It has been a while since we were able to say that. Coming off a disappointing loss up in New England, where the offense scored merely three points, they will look to get back to their better form from earlier this season, establishing a solid running game, and having their defense come up big when necessary. Unfortunately for Gang Green's defense, Chicago quarterback Justin Fields really seems to be coming into his own lately, and may give them fits. Still, I suspect that the Jets bounce back from that loss to New England and find a way to win this one. My pick: NY Jets

Denver at Carolina - These two teams met in the Super Bowl a few years back, although they both look entirely different, in terms of their rosters, by now. Neither team has produced great things this season, although the weight of expectations was more solidly on the Broncos, who had a new star quarterback in Russell Wilson, and were expected to be a contender. They will need to start winning a whole bunch of games in a hurry if they hope to salvage this season and, frankly, that just does not seem likely. Look for the Panthers to come up big at home. My pick: Carolina

Cincinnati at Tennessee - Now this is an interesting game. Both teams have been playing well, and both have a good shot at reaching the playoffs. The Bengals have been a bit erratic, so you never know what you are going to get. By contrast, the Titans have been red hot as of late, having won seven of their lst eight games, and they would love to exact a measure of revenge against the Bengals for bouncing them out of the playoffs last season. My pick: Tennessee

Houston at Miami - The Dolphins need a win to keep up with the Bills, who at least for the time being, have taken possession of first place in the AFC East. Miami is a bit on a hot streak themselves, though. And with both home field advantage, as well as a relatively weak opponent on schedule, the Fins should be able to hold serve at home and notch an important win here. My pick: Miami 

Tampa Bay at Cleveland - Tom Brady and the Bucs appear to be getting themselves going a bit. They still seem to struggle with scoring, but at least they now have won two games in a row, against the Rams and the Seahawks. A road trip in late November to Cleveland might seem a tough task, but the Bucs appear to be playing well, while the Browns feel more vulnerable. Not an easy game, but my suspicion is that Brady and th Bucs find a way to get this thing done today. My pick: Tampa Bay

Atlanta at Washington - The Commanders have really been turning up the heat on their opponents as of late. Today, they get a home game against the up and down Falcons. Neither team is likely to light up the scoreboards, but expect Washington to pound out another tough, physical, largely ugly win for their fans at home. My pick: Washington

Baltimore at Jacksonville - This used to be a decent rivalry. Right now, however, the Ravens have to avoid a let up against a possible spoiler team. This is the kind of dangerous game that a playoff contender and division leader like the Ravens have to be leery of. But they have been red hot as of late, and I cannot predict anything but a Ravens win here. My pick: Baltimore

LA Chargers at Arizona - The Chargers suffered a disappointment, suffering a sweep at the hands of the Chiefs, who are cruising. But the Chargers clearly look like the second team in the AFC West, and they should be able to get past an up and own (but mostly down and almost out) Cardinals team that feels like it is teetering on the brink of irrelevancy. My pick: LA Chargers

Las Vegas at Seattle - What a disappointing season this has been for the Raiders. They still technically have a shot, although it feels like they have let down their fans when they needed to step up. And going on the road to face the Seahawks, in one of the toughest places for a road team to have to play, will not be easy. Look for Pete Carroll and the Seahawks to find a way to impose their will and get another win to stay very relevant in the NFC West and playoff races. My pick: Seattle 

LA Rams at Kansas City - Remember the last time that these two teams met? The Rams won an absolutely explosive game that was all about offense. The two teams combined for 109 points, with Los Angeles ultimately winning, 58-51. But these Rams, despite being defending champions, look weak and the offense appears flat and almost lifeless. And going into Arrowhead to take on the red hot Chiefs is a tall order, to say the least. My pick: Kansas City

New Orleans at San Francisco - The 49ers have won most of the big meetings between these two teams in recent seasons. The Saints are still technically in the playoff race, but they would have to produce some big wins, and get red hot, in order to realistically have a chance. And frankly, they just do not look that good. Meanwhile, the Niners appear to be getting hot. With home field advantage to boot, look for SF to come up big. My pick; San Francisco

Sunday Night Football: Green Bay at Philadelphia - The Packers have been huge disappointments this year. They may possibly be the biggest disappointment in the league, having lost six of their last seven games. With their playoff hopes seriously flickering, they need to turn it around in a hurry. They might have a chance at producing a big upset in Philly, as the Eagles have seemed to struggle in recent weeks following that impressive 8-0 start. Still, the Eagles feel like the better team, and should find a way to win. My pick: Philadelphia

Monday Night Football: Pittsburgh at Indianapolis - Neither of these two teams are where they want to be this season. The Steelers have sunk to the bottom of the division, at least tied with Cleveland. And the Colts have shown some signs of promise at times, but have been almost wildly inconsistent this season. Still, I feel that the Colts have the better overall team, plus with home field advantage, they really should be able to notch a win here to stay relevelant in the playoff pictures. My pick: Indianapolis

A Cartoon Accurately Captures the Spirit of Anti-Intellectualism in the 21st Century United States

Not long ago, I saw this cartoon, and just laughed and laughed. It is funny because, frankly, it feels like there is a bit of truth to it. Quite a bit of truth to it.

Today in the United States, it seems that people get angry when you try and think differently than they do, or from the norm. Many people seem to praise the idea, or notion, of independent thinking. But then when they are confronted with ideas that are foreign to their own, they too often outright seem to grow hostile. 

This cartoon feels like it captures that level of idiocy. This is obviously a portrayal of Rodin's 'The Thinker,' only it is surrounded not by art admirers who appreciate this masterpiece, nor by annoying tourists intent on taking pictures and selfies with it. But rather, it is surrounded by an angry mob - quite distinctly an American mob - who clearly are incensed by the very notion of thinking. 

When you see some of the nitwits, frankly, who are out there, and who moreover think themselves to be geniuses - we recently had such a one serving in the Oval Office - it can get really depressing. Indeed, it feels like the United States is slipping ever closer to a de facto Orwellian version of dystopia. And instead of doing the one thing that can prevent us from slipping even farther down this road - which is to say, thinking - far too many Americans seem to have grown outright hostile to the very idea of actual thinking. And I believe that this cartoon by Clay Bennett truly captures that spirit. 

Finalist: Clay Bennett of Chattanooga (TN) Times Free Press  

For polished, witty cartoons that effectively lampoon prominent leaders and groups in a polarized America.

https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/clay-bennett-4

4

Originally, I saw this cartoon on this Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pamelanc365/posts/pfbid0pnUr7dSSYhSufGFacahYAypLWgDUj4dPLU4oFv78XR2nPrzdUSQVT71XVG4fnYW5l

One Man Posts Youtube Video Of How His Perceptions of the US Changed After 12 years Living Abroad

It seems strange to me how Americans react about the thought of how the rest of the world views them. Many of them took pride in Trump's campaign promise to command respect, and pretended that he actually fulfilled that promise, even though he made a fool of himself on numerous occasions in front of the entire world, most memorably when he was literally laughed at before the entire United Nations - and thus, the entire world - while making a speech. Evidently, he mistook the assembled world leaders for a Trump rally crowd.

Too often, it feels like Americans get too quickly defensive when the topic of what other people in the world tend to think of them. When pressed, many Americans will either claim that the world seems to owe a debt to the United States, based on World War I, World War II, and perceived notions of heroism during the Cold War. Or, failing that, they will pretend not to care, and suggest that what they think does not matter at all.

But that sounds like a load of bull. Of course we should care what the rest of the world thinks of us. Moreover, we should be aware of their opinions for another, more obvious reason: what grounds do they feel entitled to criticize us on? When much of the world looks on in horror at all of the mass shootings that occur here, and seemingly nowhere else with anything like the degree of frequency that they occur here, maybe we should listen. 

After watching this video from this guy who has been living outside of the United States for many years now, and shares his thoughts on how his own thinking about some of the things that Americans tend to do or practice in the United States changed once he was actually outside of the United States. Suddenly, he saw that some of the things that he had seen as perfectly normal, and simply taken for granted without much thought, now seemed strange to him. 

He breaks it down into groups. And I have to say that, for the most part, I agree with what he says. Indeed, I have long felt that far too many Americans - certainly not all, but too large a presence of this mindset to be ignored - seem almost to get angry when the topic of how strange some of the customs here can look to those on the outside. But I think that this country could - and frankly, should - benefit from learning that, in fact, other countries are not necessarily backwards or worse off than Americans. That in fact, some countries seem to be just as well off and, in some cases, even better off. This is particularly true for some countries in Europe, in Far Eastern Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. And if Americans were not too often filled with pre-conceived notions of their own superiority, they might actually find that they could benefit from learning that somethings seem to be better in some other countries, and then taking an honest look at how things are done in other countries versus how they are done in the United States. Finally, it would require not only the courage to honestly assess themselves versus other countries, but to make some changes which, I feel, would be to the benefit of almost all Americans, and which would make the United States feel a bit fairer and less stand offish towards the rest of the world. 

Americans Consistently Reveal Their Worst Sides on Black Friday

Today is the day after Thanksgiving, also known popularly as "Black Friday." This day is known by some as a day when you can get great deals in stores that apparently only come on this day. In pursuit of obtaining great items at the cheapest prices possible, there are always headlines of overcrowded stores, where fights break out and/or where there are literal stampedes, and all sorts of other insane headlines that betray the greed of so many in our society. I find it disturbing, and frankly disingenuous, that the day after a holiday in which we are supposed to be mindful to be grateful for all of life's blessings has become known for the worst, pettiest aspects of our too often mindless consumerism. 

When I was younger, it seemed enticing. I remember feeling amazed that you could go to the stores at the wee hours of the morning, and find some great deals. I never actually did go on such overnight or early morning shopping escapades, but shopping on Black Friday was not abnormal for me, admittedly. But as the years went on, and the headlines grew more serious and more horrific, it was hard not to see that there was something terribly wrong with this "holiday."

Now, I stay away from stores and shopping as much as humanly possible on this day. Not sure how many "Black Fridays" that I have managed not to go shopping or spend money at all on this day, but this particular "Black Friday" was another day where I was able to avoid going to the stores, or even spending any money. It has become almost a point of pride for me to avoid going shopping on this particular day, of all days.

Some years ago, I posted a blog entry about all of this. It seemed worth sharing again here today. The specifics of the headlines may be different at the end of this day, but my guess is that they likely will be very similar to other headlines from "Black Friday" for past years. This is one set of circumstances that seems to bring out the worst, particularly among many Americans, every single year. So without further ado, here is what I wrote about this day some five years ago now already, on November 23, 2018:

It is no secret that there are many paradoxes in the United States right now.

However, one of the most glaring paradoxes happens to fall on this day each year. Because just one day after sitting down and having dinner with family, with the design being to focus on all that we have to be thankful for, tens of thousands of Americans (conservative estimate) will wake up super early, or perhaps even camp out, in order to go to stores and malls to get what are supposed to be the best deals out there for all sorts of things, although the main focus usually is on electronics, and perhaps toys. 

What we see on our television sets are images of stores that are jam-packed with people, waiting on long lines to get into stores to pick up the great deals. Often, we see people losing control, racing and even elbowing some people out of their way to get to these consumer goods at allegedly slashed down prices. What we read about in the headlines is even more horrifying, with people inevitably being injured from fights and from being trampled on by these mobs. 

And again, the most depressing aspect of all of this is that this "holiday" comes one day, literally, after the one holiday where we are all supposed to take some time to think about what we are thankful for. It hardly seems possible that these people who are lining up, camping out, and too often losing their minds to acquire cheap consumer goods, like the latest iPhone, are actually genuinely thankful for all they have been blessed with in life. After all, if that really were the case, why go out on a frigid night and leave the comforts of home in order to stand on line for hours, in the dark, in order to obtain still more stuff? 

Now, when I was growing up, Black Friday was not nearly so big of a deal, and it did not usually make the kind of news headlines that it tends to do now. It was a day when most people had off, and the stores offered what were supposedly the best deals of the entire year. So, it was a bit like Memorial Day sales or Labor Day sales, except that it fell about one month before Christmas, and was supposed to be the day when you could get the most extreme savings. Black Friday also marked the beginning of extended holiday hours for stores, and many stores continue this tradition, opening earlier than normal, and closing later.

But then, at some point, one of the big stores had the idea to open earlier than anyone else. Perhaps it was 6am, or something like that (I cannot specifically remember), and that made waves. Then, other stores started doing the same, and pushed the opening time even earlier. Before long, it was 3am. Then, it was midnight.

Now, it seems that many of these stores begin opening on Thanksgiving evening, which had formerly been one of the most sacred days on the calendar, if you will. In some cases, certain stores force their employees to work on Thanksgiving, and there was a bit of an outcry over this, for a while, although it never generated the kind of controversy that expressing "Happy Holidays" seems to have done.

Let us be clear: Thanksgiving itself has a troubled history. After all, the experience of Native Americans is, slowly but surely, becoming more familiar to Americans, and so the fact that they do not celebrate Thanksgiving, that for them, it is a reminder of a genocide that they were forced to suffer through, and that this holiday essentially honors that genocide for them, should tip everyone off that Thanksgiving is not simply this innocent holiday where we finally take a moment to truly be grateful for all that we have been blessed with in life.

But if there was any ambiguity left, if many felt that people truly were sincere about their gratitude for all of life's blessings, the recent trend of Black Friday madness and greed and excess certainly should cast all doubts aside. If Thanksgiving is supposed to be a holiday that aspires to the best that Americans have to offer, than Black Friday is a "holiday" that, instead, illustrates the worst that Americans can reveal about themselves.

Kanye West Says That He Lost $2 Billion in a Single Day After Backlash From Anti-Semitic Controversy

Think that I touched on this story a few weeks ago, when I posted about the seemingly inexplicable rise of anti-Semitism in recent years. In particular, it seems that Kanye West and Kyrie Irving seriously hurt, and possibly crippled, their careers with very public displays of anti-Semitic sentiments via tweets.

Irving was reinstated, his suspension from the NBA is done. I guess he lost some money, and surely lost much respect. Still, it feels like it was not enough. One of the teams that I generally root for are the Brooklyn Nets, but I was not be pulling for them this season, or any season that they continue to have Irving on their squad.

As for Kanye West, he apparently did lose significant amounts of money. But that hardly seems like actual suffering in his case, since he is a billionaire. 

Boo freaking hoo, right?

Yet incredibly - or perhaps it should not even be all that surprising, given the depressing level of stupidity that seems especially prevalent these days in the United States - some of his fans have begun a Go Fund Me page to try and restore West to his allegedly lost billionaire status.

Seriously? Of all the possible worthy causes in this world, some people actually believe that that this is a cause that they feel strongly enough about to take action and even use their wallets for? Because spoiled and clearly out of touch billionaire Kanye West - through his own stupidity and hubris - used his very popular and influential social media platform (at least to his fans) to spread a message of hate, and was actually called out for it by corporate sponsors, who then were quick to jump ship? 

Really, I don't know what's going on in this country anymore these days. The level of idiocy too often seems to be just off the charts. 

In any case, now Adidas is apparently now looking into allegations that Kanye West may have shown some employees porn.

What a class act. 

Much like Trump, I find myself wishing that Kanye West would simply go away already. Just disappear from the public scene, so that maybe our collective IQ might actually raise a few points as a result. Hardly seems likely, but wouldn't that be nice?

Below are the links to the articles that I used in writing this particular blog entry:

Kanye West claims he lost $2bn in one day amid backlash to antisemitic comments by Guardian staff Thu 27 Oct 2022 22.23 EDT

Rapper known as Ye confirms the impact of Adidas and other companies cutting ties over his hateful remarks about Jewish people

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/oct/28/kanye-west-claims-he-lost-2bn-in-one-day-amid-backlash-to-antisemitic-comments?fbclid=IwAR0UqTiTyAra2QlcZ7qMlH-BJzZxV5no2TnS6IGpRxH6HM4BZZQcJIG8_jk

Kanye West Fans Start GoFundMe Pages to Restore His Billionaire Status Ye fans want to “Make Kanye West a Billionaire Again”   BY CHARISMA MADARANG  NOVEMBER 1, 2022

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kanye-west-gofundme-1234622026/

Adidas to launch investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior made against Kanye West by Gayle Harrington and Robert North, CNN, November 24, 2022

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/24/business/adidas-kanye-west-investigation/index.html

Sperm Counts Appear to Be Declining Around the World

Here is an alarming news story (has there been any other kind in recent years?) which shows a trend that, despite the consistent rise of the global population - we literally das ago just reached the 8 billion people in the world mark - is evidently a global trend. Sperm counts appear to be on decline, and it is a worldwide phenomenon.

This reminds me a bit of that book by Dan Brown, where a (mad?) scientist decides to take matters into his own hands, and puts some kind of virus that does not kill the human population, as puts limits on how much it can reproduce in the future. 

In any case, it makes you wonder, does it not? I have always wondered how it is that most people do not wonder more about certain negative trends with our health. Some they do, like obesity, although that still persists. But it seems to me that some health crises have seen significant spikes, and these never seemed to be adequately explained. Why have cancer rates sot up, particularly in the United States? Why is autism much more common than it used to be? How have peanut allergies - something I admittedly do not even remember hearing about in my own childhood - become such a major problem these days? 

My own thoughts, or perhaps they should be called suspicions, make me look at almost everything that he do in our modern lives, and everything that we are surrounded by. We live in homes that look very nice at first glance. But there are all sorts of wires behind the doors, and chemicals that we might not necessarily see or smell, some of which we ourselves use to try and keep these homes looking clean and tidy. There are all sorts of chemicals in what we call fertilizers to make our lawns look green and lush and weed-free, giving them the superficial appearance of good health. We eat foods with chemicals that most of us cannot pronounce Seriously, I feel that I am a fairly smart guy, but I hardly know even how to pronounce some of those artificial chemicals in our foods, let alone what they do to the human body, either in the short term or in the long term. 

Plus there are other things. Our cars, our computers and televisions and perhaps especially our cell phones. Remember early on, when people feared that putting cell phones next to our ears might increase the risk of brain cancer? That seemed to simply go away as a news story, but did it really go away? Not far from our home in Hillsborough, there are these enormous electric towers. Are they completely safe, or is there some radiation from them that they are not telling us? And that is to say nothing of all of the massive pollution that huge corporations are responsible for, with all of the toxins released into the air, and so much illegal dumping into our waters. Remember all of the fears about Fukushima, which was outright releasing dangerous levels of radiation into the Pacific, and they did not know how to stop it, or even to minimize it? Whatever happened with that story, anyway? It just kind of went away. 

Not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist. Really, I am not. But I do suspect that there is much more that we either do not know, or that perhaps we are not being told. 

Sperm counts may be declining globally, review finds, adding to debate over male fertility By Brenda Goodman, CNN Published 6:41 PM EST, Fri November 18, 2022

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/18/health/sperm-counts-decline-debate

Happy Birthday, Pete Best!!

 

Image courtesy of Leslie Gottlieb's Flickr page - Pete Best: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lesliepear/57743685/in/photolist-66XbM-e6Z13z-bcZiaT-a7PZVQ-57vQFM-81isEG-s22Kkv-8aGNyr-bHfuwp-739oHH-8torat-27Pk1Ev-7xWZ1d-bLed9T-2761J2i-a7PSF3-aJ1oUX-5xwL1p-4yp9p6-9BG9eQ-95aN5-21uqhNq-6Kqsp9-cA1TLd-7Btcnv-8vLz1u-bd1LWn-7BtmFd-L8mfty-acnFFA-8vGM7F-bykzQx-jkvVQ-8mgJaN-7BgKVd-e6z7yn-e6BQr6-4MsrdC-TfypYF-7NAxDb-4aygXY-25uSXC-aJ1p8a-c7UtHo-6RKv9k-aJ1paa-rzP4BE-dAz3RP-bxjB7Y-kMamHD

Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Today is the birthday of Pete Best, who used to be the drummer for The Beatles, just before they really broke huge, and became basically the biggest band in music history. He was replaced by Ringo Starr just before the Beatles really exploded onto the world scene, and became international superstars, known as the "Fab Four."

But behind the glittering headlines, there was a bit of a dark story involving how they handled the Pete Best situation. As I understand it, George Martin particularly wanted to replace him. And replace him they did. But it was done in a sort of strange, and frankly unfair way. Some of the Beatles themselves suggested as much. 

Still, Pete Best survived. It was obviously more than a mere tough break. Most of the world defines him as the guy who used to be a Beatle, but was forced out just before the band became the legends that they ultimately became. A large chunk of his life seemed to be in the shadow of the Beatles success, and that shadow was dark indeed. Yet to his eternal credit, Best remained a great person, and he survived. I saw him with his band, The Pete Best Band, back in 2004, at Little Steven's Underground Garage concert at Randall's Island, and felt very privileged to have done so. I was almost always impressed with the grace with which he handled what was obviously a devastating blow in his life. And he seems to have become a better person for his travails, for what it is worth. 

Some time ago, I wrote a blog entry about Pete Best. In honor of his birthday today, I thought it would be worth sharing this story again. Here it is:

Imagine going through the difficulties, the trials and tribulations of being in a struggling band desperately trying to break out, to make good on their potential. To break it big. To deal with the bookings for long nights playing endless gigs, playing and replaying the same songs on your limited repertoire, and to go through the difficulties of being overlooked and underpaid.

Through it all, everyone in the band not only feels, but knows, that there will be a breakout. That sooner rather than later, they will reach the top, break it big. Then, all of these struggles will be worth it, and will add to the legend of the band later. It will be a good story to share, of the difficult times, when the band was getting pedestrian results, before breaking it huge.

Then imagine that you are a member of that band, right on the cusp of breaking it big, and you get called in to meet the manager. He is pacing around, clearly nervous. You find out soon enough that he is nervous about this meeting with you. He regrets to inform you that the other members of the band have decided to part ways with you. They have found your replacement, and want that other person. You have worked with these guys virtually every night, yet not one of them approaches you to tell you, or rather warn you, about what is going to happen. Not one of them tries to talk to you afterward, either.

Shortly thereafter, the band finally breaks it big. Well, big is an understatement. They actually become huge, like literally the biggest band in the world. Probably the biggest band in the history of the world, in fact.

This is not fiction, although it might well be classified as a horror story, for how horrendous and despicable it sounds. But this actually happened. 

The man's name is Pete Best, and in many respects, he was the literal "Fifth Beatle."

Indeed, Best had known the members of the band for years, back in the days when they were known as the "Quarrymen." He was asked to join them when they went to Germany, as they worked hard to break it big. By then, they were known as the "Silver Beatles." Eventually, they changed their names, shorted it to what we now know by: "The Beatles." Germany was an era in the band's history that adds to their legend, and Pete Best was there. Yet, he was kicked out of the band shortly after they returned home, and just before the band really, finally broke it big.

Just imagine what that would do to a person. Best returned home, and did not leave his house for two weeks, because he could not face the inevitable questions of what happened, of why he was no longer in the band. Epstein, unlike the members of the Beatles Lee Curtis and the All-Stars, which shortly thereafter became known as Pete Best and the All-Stars. But the band did not enjoy strong commercial success. Before long, Best left music altogether, and for twenty years, he was a civil servant.

Yet, he got little help from the Beatles themselves, although they obviously could have afforded to help him out. Best attempted suicide in the late sixties, and after the members of the Beatles seemed insistent on insulting and even slandering Best, claiming that he had used drugs and was unreliable to even show up for their gigs, which is how Starr eventually came to fill in and, eventually, to be seen as a desirable replacement. Best decided to sue them. He won, but had to settle for significantly less than the $18 million he sued them for.

Still, the insults continued. Lennon went on a tirade on Best, essentially calling him a mediocre drummer, and suggesting that, even though the band had specifically asked Best to join them for their upcoming time in Germany, they had always intended to get rid of him as soon as a better drummer came along. The other Beatles also felt that Best was almost anti-social, choosing to go off on his own instead of spending time with the other band members. Harrison admitted that getting rid of Best was his idea, and that he managed to get the other members of the band to go along with it. There were rumors that McCartney was jealous of Best, because he was considered the best looking member of the band. And Starr, for his part, felt that he did not owe Best any kind of apology, saying "I never felt sorry … I was not involved."

In fact, Starr was obviously involved, as he was the man who replaced Best. He has always maintained that he was the better drummer, which to be fair, most people tend to agree with.

Talk about adding insult to injury. And this was an injury that the members of the band themselves had inflicted on Best! It is not like they did not win out, so why seem so adamant to undermine Best and his credibility? After all, they were millionaires and respected the world over, while Best had to watch it all from the sidelines, the forgotten man. Yet, they each seemed to take a turn in almost lashing out at Best, as if they had been wronged, or clearly felt uncomfortable taking ownership for what they had done, for how poorly they had handled the situation with Best, and how that might have impacted this man's life.

Whatever the truth (and there was a lot of rumors flying around through it all), the members of the Beatles did eventually show some regret in their handling of this unfortunate situation. Here is a description of some of what the Beatles said, as taken from Pete Best's Wikepedia page (see link below):

Lennon admitted that "we were cowards when we sacked him. We made Brian do it." McCartney stated: "I do feel sorry for him, because of what he could have been on to." Harrison said: "We weren't very good at telling Pete he had to go," and "Historically it may look like we did something nasty to Pete and it may have been that we could have handled it better."

Two decades after it happened, Mark Lewisohn wrote about how the sacking of Best was the major dark blemish on the history of the early Beatles:

"Despite his alleged shortcomings, it was still shabby treatment for Pete, who had served the group unstintingly from their hapless, drummerless Silver Beatles days through three lengthy Hamburg seasons and over 200 Cavern Club performances. He had shared in the heartaches and the headaches, had controlled the Beatles' bookings before Epstein took over, and had made his home – the Casbah – their home. The Beatles had had two years in which to dismiss him but hadn't done so, and now – as they were beginning to reap the rewards for their long, hard slog, with money rolling in and an EMI contract secured – he was out. It was the most underhand, unfortunate and unforgivable chapter in the Beatles' rise to monumental power."

I love the Beatles, and generally, always thought of them as very decent guys, each one of them. Yet, they obviously showed some dark sides at times, and this particular chapter was definitely one of them. It took years for Best to open up at all, and that seems rather understandable. It took two decades to overcome his clear reluctance to play the drums again, although his wife and his younger brother finally convinced him to do so after two decades had passed.

In time, though, Best did take up music and began touring, with his Pete Best Band. I actually had the opportunity to see them in the summer of 2004, at Little Steven’s Underground Garage Festival in Randall's Island. For me, it was a thrill, and as a huge Beatles fan, it was like a rare opportunity to see a little bit of Beatles history.

However, the story does linger on, and seems like one of the relatively rare dark points in the history of the Beatles, one in which all of the members of the "Fab Four" - Lennon, Harrison, McCartney, and Starr - showed some undeniable pettiness.

Below are a series of videos which I watched last night. I just happened on one of them - the David Letterman interview - and started getting fascinated. Before long, I was going through numerous videos involving Best and what happened in 1962. It is hard not to imagine how hard it must have been for him, seeing his former friends and bandmates enjoying the limelight very shortly after getting rid of him, and seeming to have the time of their lives, enjoying both incredible fame and fortune. It got me on this topic, and so it seemed like a good idea to share these videos here.

The first video on top was the first ones that I viewed. In it, you will notice that Best seems like a quiet, unassuming guy. He does not joke much, or anything. Yet, while he is answering some of Letterman's questions, you can hear some of the audience members laughing at how Best was removed from the legendary band, which seemed a bit classless to me. Letterman had a reputation for being nasty to some of his celebrity guests back then, during the 1980's, but to his credit, Letterman remains focused, serious, and ultimately sympathetic. But this apparently is not shared by some who were in the audience on that day, who could be heard to laugh at Best's pretty clear pain and discomfort on the subject of his sacking.

The other videos include a couple where Best himself gets to talk about his time with the legendary band, and how they came to split, as well as some other clips of the members of the Beatles talking about Pete Best, and how they feel about what happened. By and large, none of them sounded especially sympathetic or guilty about anything that had transpired.

Take a look, and make up your own mind:

Wikepedia page on Pete Best, where I got the quotes used above from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Best

Here is the official link to the Pete Best Band website:

http://www.petebest.com/

A Little More About Thanksgiving

  

Photo courtesy of Photo by Mike Licht's  Flickr page - First Fun Thanksgiving, after J.L.G. Ferris: https://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/3062587135/in/photolist-5ECyst-5EzJoE-pVy3jb-7fpxz3-qeFTma-qKb5y-5EzLTh-8t2HcA-7zsVzq-4VHY6u-7zpaDD-8WafKb-du7kcg-94jgy5-7iaerA-bDGB8q-7gdJdk-5EvrxZ-duwNaQ-pm6cSN-ducUDh-aLNyAr-7ht9zD-7ht9Xa-7zpa6v-ducVrb-ducV2j-hVfhTm-5EvqUr-7htaaT-5EVqpB-atE2SX-hTNSE4-5EWeaq-b6wAht-dvD2CZ-kT8u2c-8W85un-dZVCSd-72vahj-qoZEZF-5EH4Nm-5Evw3k-dZVCCq-dkMSGo-8WmYaF-dZPVCv-dkMQxe-dkMzWc-t8GEw

Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

First of all, I am trying to steer clear of National Geographic, ever since Rupert Murdoch took it over and made it a soundboard for his neocon ideology.

Also, I do not want to be the guy who brings everybody down by continually mentioning that the true history of Thanksgiving is a lot less innocent and noble than has been traditionally, popularly believed.

That said, I am adding this one link that brings out another aspect of Thanksgiving history, although doing so with this little aside: I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with not one, but two Thanksgiving meals with friends and family today. However, I will be celebrating by trying to emphasize all of the blessings that I have been truly blessed with. Also, we cannot change history, but we can try to understand it more accurately, and come to terms with it. I am not advocating scrapping Thanksgiving altogether, but the crimes committed in the past, which this holiday essentially honors, should be addressed plainly and truthfully. So, I am doing my part (or as much as I can right now) to spread the word. It seems particularly relevant right now, when the United States is under the microscope for all of the racial tensions that are rising to the surface at this moment in history.

A Few Things You (Probably) Don’t Know About Thanksgiving by Becky Little of National Geographic, November 21, 2015:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151121-first-thanksgiving-pilgrims-native-americans-wampanoag-saints-and-strangers/?sf15916639=1

Thanksgiving's Controversial History

  

Photo courtesy of Photo by Mike Licht's  Flickr page - First Fun Thanksgiving, after J.L.G. Ferris: https://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/3062587135/in/photolist-5ECyst-5EzJoE-pVy3jb-7fpxz3-qeFTma-qKb5y-5EzLTh-8t2HcA-7zsVzq-4VHY6u-7zpaDD-8WafKb-du7kcg-94jgy5-7iaerA-bDGB8q-7gdJdk-5EvrxZ-duwNaQ-pm6cSN-ducUDh-aLNyAr-7ht9zD-7ht9Xa-7zpa6v-ducVrb-ducV2j-hVfhTm-5EvqUr-7htaaT-5EVqpB-atE2SX-hTNSE4-5EWeaq-b6wAht-dvD2CZ-kT8u2c-8W85un-dZVCSd-72vahj-qoZEZF-5EH4Nm-5Evw3k-dZVCCq-dkMSGo-8WmYaF-dZPVCv-dkMQxe-dkMzWc-t8GEw

Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Years ago, I wrote what may very well have been the best Guardian Liberty Voice article authored by me yet.

It was not read by too many people, I suspect. But that said, it was a good, solid article that explored the fascinating history of this holiday. I received compliments from the few people who I knew for sure had read the article, such as the editor. 

So, it seemed appropriate to publish it (or the link to it) yet again this year. Hope you enjoy!

I have wanted to do a history of the Thanksgiving holiday for a long time now. For whatever the reason, my assumption was that this had already been done to some extent on this blog page before but, when I checked earlier today, this was proven not to be the case.

Here is the thing about Thanksgiving: it is a great holiday, yet it also represents something terrible. That makes it a paradox, really. Let me explain.

The first time that I really came to understand the depth of the anger by Native Americans regarding the holiday was a number of years ago, after reading an article from Ward Churchill. He mentioned that celebrating Thanksgiving was essentially an insult to the native people, and that, in fact, it should be a day of mourning.

Since then, I have done further explorations, and even asked one native during a Pow Wow a couple of years or so back about it, and the answers have more or less been the same: Native Americans feel that this holiday represents an insult to their people, and a constant reminder that the holiday that we tend to think represents friendship and cooperation between Indians and Pilgrims actually represents the beginning of the end of their culture and traditional way of life.

For a little while, I was even entertaining the idea of abandoning the holiday, although this never actually came to pass.

Why?

Because it is a nice holiday, with a noble meaning, even if the holiday that it falls on is a bit tainted with history. But in researching for this article, and listening to Suzan Shown Harjo, as well as reading so0me of the arguments of those that went to Plymouth today to protest the holiday, made me realize that what needs to change is not perhaps the holiday itself, or what it is supposed to represent. Rather, what needs to change is the common misunderstanding about the origins of Thanksgiving, and why, specifically, natives find it offensive and representing something far more sinister than most popular perceptions.

If you are interested in finding out more, please start by reading my article by clicking on the link below, but also, do some of your own research. This is an important issue, and any American that feels some measure of patriotic duty should understand this history better, in order to come to terms with the darker aspects of our national past.

Also, one thing that bothers me about this holiday, or more this holiday weekend, is that it is immediately followed by Black Friday, which is perhaps the single day when, more than any other date on the calendar, represents our society's excessive greed and mindless consumerism. The fact that this comes literally the day after we are supposed to take time out to be thankful for all that we have been blessed with in life and that, furthermore, Black Friday is increasingly encroaching on the Thanksgiving holiday itself, is the height of hypocrisy. It suggests that there really is something wrong with this society, and we would do well, I think, not to simply shrug our shoulders or ignore it. We should recognize it, own up to it, and individually, refuse to participate in "Black Friday" deals and shopping, particularly with those stores that are trying to open up on Thanksgiving itself.

As I was driving past some malls earlier this evening, at an hour when the malls are usually closed and the vast parking lots normally deserted, I sighed at the sight of those parking lots almost filled to the brim. Thanksgiving was not yet officially over, and people surely were still feeling that heaviness from a huge dinner, and the fatigue from eating all of that turkey. Yet, so many people were out and about, hoping to horde as many great deals as possible, even though many retail stores jack up the prices prior to Black Friday before marking them down with significant seeming savings. It all seems so shady, such a scam, and it is more than a little disappointing to see greed win out on the part of all participants of this event.

Personally, I want absolutely no part of Black Friday, and urge any and all of you out there not to have anything to do with it, either. But ultimately, of course, that choice is yours to make.

Would have liked to get this published earlier. However, Thanksgiving is usually chaotic, between working overnight, getting a few hours of sleep, then eating a late Thanksgiving lunch with family, before going further south to meet my girlfriend, and head towards the place we have gone to the last three years. It has been a busy day, with very little time, as well as limited access, to the internet. So, I post this when I can.

Here is the link to my article, and I do hope that you take a look:

Thanksgiving Has a Controversial History

http://guardianlv.com/2014/11/thanksgiving-has-a-controversial-history/

Thanksgiving From a Native American Perspective is Nothing to Celebrate

  

Photo courtesy of Photo by Mike Licht's  Flickr page - First Fun Thanksgiving, after J.L.G. Ferris: https://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/3062587135/in/photolist-5ECyst-5EzJoE-pVy3jb-7fpxz3-qeFTma-qKb5y-5EzLTh-8t2HcA-7zsVzq-4VHY6u-7zpaDD-8WafKb-du7kcg-94jgy5-7iaerA-bDGB8q-7gdJdk-5EvrxZ-duwNaQ-pm6cSN-ducUDh-aLNyAr-7ht9zD-7ht9Xa-7zpa6v-ducVrb-ducV2j-hVfhTm-5EvqUr-7htaaT-5EVqpB-atE2SX-hTNSE4-5EWeaq-b6wAht-dvD2CZ-kT8u2c-8W85un-dZVCSd-72vahj-qoZEZF-5EH4Nm-5Evw3k-dZVCCq-dkMSGo-8WmYaF-dZPVCv-dkMQxe-dkMzWc-t8GEw

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Like with my other Thanksgiving posts, this one has been published before. In fact, republishing the same Thanksgiving posts is becoming somewhat of a holiday tradition for me in it's own right.

Yet, this year, there is something different. This year, we are watching the Dakota Access Pipeline protesters in North Dakota, many of whom are Native Americans, and the pipelines themselves run through traditional, sacred burial grounds for Native Americans.

It is really disgraceful, the methods being employed in order to test their will. Just a couple of days ago, water was sprayed on some of the peaceful protesters, in subfreezing temperatures! One woman apparently almost lost her arm, and had to be airlifted out, because the roads were closed by local police. Dogs were brought in months ago, biting and tearing into the peaceful protesters, in scenes that were reminiscent of the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's. Perhaps this is fitting, given the obvious racial tensions and issues that this election year of 2016 so highlighted, with everything from the recent police shootings and beatings that have been caught on tape, to the election win of a man who made racist statements and had no problems being the great white hope for the alt right. 

So for this Thanksgiving, as we sit at our tables and hope to avoid political conversations with in-laws who hold views that we hope to to hear for dinner, let us remember that Native Americans not only do not celebrate this holiday, but look at it as a reminder of the long line of betrayals that led to their downfall, and our modern society's takeover. It is thus quite ironic that Native American (and other) protesters are being treated so harshly trying to defend their land and protect drinking water, while we collectively will be seated inside comfortably and stuffing ourselves after giving thanks, before going out to camp out for the night so that we can grab the best deals on the latest cell phones and other electronics, or whatever else people seem to covet. Let us recognize that this world seems in far greater danger now than it did during Thanksgiving a year ago, with two huge election results that seemed to run counter to the idea of progress, and with confirmed reports that climate change is accelerating not only at a faster pace than previously experienced, but that we will be seeing the effects soon enough - all while a climate change denier is preparing to take office.

I remember first reading Ward Churchill explaining why he was not going to celebrate Thanksgiving many years ago, and it opened my eyes about this holiday. I have asked some Native Americans about it, and they made clear - crystal clear - they they never, ever celebrate on Thanksgiving. The origins that are commonly believed are mere myth, and the reality is far less flattering. Yes, I know this is depressing, but it is true history. Still, the holiday has grown into something bigger, and there are positive aspects to it. And I, for one, have always celebrated with family. Still, understanding the history and the controversy behind it is something worth keeping in mind, and we should understand and appreciate why natives not only do not celebrate, but feel that it represents a betrayal of their culture and their ancestors in a very real sense.

As I mentioned in my last couple of posts, Thanksgiving today has a certain beauty to it, a nobility of spirit with that increasingly rare purity of intentions. It seems relatively benign, although that purity is increasingly compromised by the sales of Black Friday, which has become a sort of madness that has overtaken both consumers and retailers combined. The doors opened their doors sooner and sooner, so that they went from opening at ridiculous, overnight hours, and now are opening their doors on Thanksgiving itself, right in the afternoon.

I mentioned in one of those earlier posts that one of my coworkers at my relatively new weekend job works at Walmart, and they are forcing all of their employees to come in on Thanksgiving afternoon proper. So, Black Friday is already now starting on Thursday afternoon, on Thanksgiving itself, which detracts from the very notion of being truly thankful for what we have. Personally, going out to the stores to do some shopping is the last thing that I want to do on Black Friday, and I try to avoid it like the plague. It brings the worst out in people. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a refreshing break from that, but apparently no longer.

Now, we will begin to hear horror stories of excess greed and a certain madness right on Thanksgiving itself, unfortunately. Perhaps it is fitting, since consumerism is what this society care about the most, if we are honest with ourselves. After all, one of the lesser known aspects of the history of Thanksgiving was, simply, that the tradition actually started the day after a massacre of Native Americans by the Pilgrims, when Governor of Massachusetts William Bradford wanted to honor the day by marking the date as something that should be celebrated well into the future. Thus, the tradition dates back to the massacre of the Pequots, and their essential removal from New England during the Pequot War in the 17th century. These are the words he specifically uttered in hopes of establishing a holiday of giving thanks for what he saw as a hard-won victory over natives (even while what was actually described sounds a whole lot more like a ruthless massacre):

“For the next 100 years, every Thanksgiving Day ordained by a Governor was in honor of the bloody victory, thanking God that the battle had been won.” 

Is it not completely understandable that Native Americans refuse to celebrate?

So, it seemed appropriate on this day to present a very different angle of this holiday, by the perspective of the native people themselves. Here are a few links to articles from natives about Thanksgiving, in order to gain a deeper and truer appreciation of what it truly represents to them:

Thanksgiving, Hope and the Hidden Heart of Evil  by Jacqueline Keeler 11/26/14:

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/11/26/thanksgiving-hope-and-hidden-heart-evil-158034

6 Thanksgiving Myths, Share Them With Someone You Know  Vincent Schilling 11/28/13:

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/11/28/6-thanksgiving-myths-share-them-someone-you-know-152475

The Wampanoag Side of the First Thanksgiving Story  Michelle Tirado 11/22/11:

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/11/22/wampanoag-side-first-thanksgiving-story-64076

Thoreau Quote on Perpetual Thanksgiving

  

Photo courtesy of Photo by Mike Licht's  Flickr page - First Fun Thanksgiving, after J.L.G. Ferris: https://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/3062587135/in/photolist-5ECyst-5EzJoE-pVy3jb-7fpxz3-qeFTma-qKb5y-5EzLTh-8t2HcA-7zsVzq-4VHY6u-7zpaDD-8WafKb-du7kcg-94jgy5-7iaerA-bDGB8q-7gdJdk-5EvrxZ-duwNaQ-pm6cSN-ducUDh-aLNyAr-7ht9zD-7ht9Xa-7zpa6v-ducVrb-ducV2j-hVfhTm-5EvqUr-7htaaT-5EVqpB-atE2SX-hTNSE4-5EWeaq-b6wAht-dvD2CZ-kT8u2c-8W85un-dZVCSd-72vahj-qoZEZF-5EH4Nm-5Evw3k-dZVCCq-dkMSGo-8WmYaF-dZPVCv-dkMQxe-dkMzWc-t8GEw

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Image courtesy of Art Gallery ErgsArt by ErgSap's Folickr page - vallotton_portrait_henry_david_thoreau_1896: Art Gallery ErgsArt: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ergsart/22191977360/in/photolist-zP2FHj-ePxbNv-ePvjVe-eNuALc-eNqz59-ePzz79-ePFbPU-ePJZSE-gGF3fC-ePpGva-916skD-7BKKWS-ePug6H-p2j4kH-ePpL62-ePqNLe-fv4d12-7G3mow-ePGA1s-ePcBMQ-ePCXAE-ePs136-eNeaXn-oK5RJf-ehQDHX-eNYvci-eNr9C5-ePvAfF-eaB71G-dmyhUd-ePAiuG-ePdtSu-ePBg99-5g9QqC-nPMhXu-ePo3g6-8kSBcZ-61sVh7-4Qz4Gg-eNr8iw-eNYeWa-eNhEnV-ePrmcz-bpPxXp-ePuBXZ-ePuNPT-ePvDXz-ej3DpJ-ePBsry-eiWUxR

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Well, here we are. Another Thanksgiving weekend is upon us.

While Thanksgiving has come to mean for many shared time with family (which can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, depending on the individual perspective), warmth, relaxation, football, and of course, food. Way too much food, in most cases.

However, I think that it is fair to say that it is important that we remember certain things on this holiday. First of all, we should remember that this holiday is seen in entirely different eyes by Native Americans, who feel it represents a betrayal, and the beginning of the end of their traditional lifestyle.

Still, I think that Thanksgiving has come to have a different meaning over time. A more hopeful one, where those who get together to enjoy a feast truly do take a moment to give thanks for all of life's blessings. This year, more than any other, I have been trying to share in that spirit of thankfulness, and have come to appreciate this sentiment for this particular holiday.

Of course, it sometimes makes me roll my eyes to think that this holiday, of all holidays, is immediately followed by Black Friday, when we see scenes of the worst that this culture of consumption brings out in people. Right after giving thanks for all of life's blessings, people will camp out all night and go to all lengths to visit stores and find the best deals, often getting into fights to do so. There are horror stories of violence and people getting trampled on, and these indeed show that too many people are not really taking the lessons of thanksgiving seriously.

Worse still, now Black Friday has moved earlier and earlier over the course of the years, so that it now starts right on Thanksgiving afternoon. So the worst excesses of the mindless greed of Black Friday shopping deals now fall on Thanksgiving proper. I was just talking to a Walmart employee over the weekend, and he told me that all employees will be obligated to work on Thanksgiving afternoon, forcing people to make accommodations and either eat their meals early, or not show up at all.

Indeed, this is a sign of the times.

However, we should remember the more positive and noble sentiments of Thanksgiving. And so in that spirit, here is a quote from Henry David Thoreau, in which he shares his thoughts on giving thanks not just on one day or before one meal, but being perpetually thankful for all that he has been blessed with. Admittedly, it is a different and unusual perspective, yet it should make you think. It is yet one more lesson from Thoreau that we can learn from:

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite - only a sense of existence. Well, anything for variety. I am ready to try this for the next ten thousand years, and exhaust it. How sweet to think of! my extremities well charred, and my intellectual part too, so that there is no danger of worm or rot for a long while. My breath is sweet to me. O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment.”

~ Henry David Thoreau in a letter (1856)