That Thing The Other Day

November 11, 2016

Donald J. Trump got elected, and, I’ll admit it, weak-minded fool that I am, I went out and bought a pack of cigarettes. Marlboro Menthols! One or two packs ought to do it, before the fear of cigarettes returns.

At some point I’ll have to say something about President Donald J. Trump. It would be all exclamation points if I tried it now.

This has been very hard for the entire country. Me too, certainly; all presidential elections since 1980 have been very stressful for me. This election was a virtual civil war on social media for more than a year, with long-time friends taunting one another and demanding to be unfriended. Even worse were the friends of friends who would chime in with particular venom.

Now, three days after the election, it appears that an actual civil war may break out. One of my friends commented that it’s like 1968 all over again. I resisted the logic, but then I recognized the similarities. The emotions are strong; the two sides are widely separated; the facts are just horrible; violence has broken out; and the potential for ill is limited only by one’s imagination.

Quitting cigarettes is always a good idea, but now it might be a good idea to quit Facebook as well. Or at least leave it alone for a while. I saw a post on the ‘Book that sums up the danger: “Thank God for President Donald J. Trump! He’s going to save the inner cities and improve education! He’ll clean up Washington and make America great again!” If I see one more post like that I’m afraid that I’ll start screaming and not be able to stop. 

Monique & Les Tridents - Stalactite

Honestly, I forget why I even know the name of this band. I'm not a big fan of French music in general.

I probably found them on somebody's list on the O.G. Napster. That was a great place to find "new" music.

The Sky Crawlers Opening Scene

Read and listen to the below post first.

Here! I'll prove it to you!

Kenji Kawai - The Sky Crawlers FULL

Theme for the movie Sky Crawlers, by Ryuichi Sakamoto of Yellow Magic Orchestra fame. Generally I find this kind of music overly saccharine and a bit cloying, but there are those who can make it work.

The movie? Nothing saccharine about that!

P-51 Mustang - Flames on Start Up Rolls-Royce Merlin - Flyover

I love this plane in general, and I love the sound of this plane in particular.

I lived in Los Angeles for thirty years, and I often played golf at my neighborhood golf course, Penmar. We were right on the take off run below Santa Monica Airport, and we often had Mustangs taking off over us. That big Merlin engine, a 1750 horse power V-12, has a very particular sound. It's like a big internal combustion engine with overtones of something very strong ripping something very heavy.

It's a beautiful airplane, too. That was a great neighborhood to observe vintage aircraft, and I really miss it. Mustangs; Corsairs; current aircraft like Ospreys; a B-17! a Ford Tri-motor! It was a great show, and I really enjoyed it.

Shouting in a bucket blues (Kevin Ayers, Nico, Brian Eno and John Cale, ...

It's not June 1st, but this album is always a good listen.

That's Ollie Halsal playing the hell out of a guitar on this cut. (Spelling approximate.)

India vs Iran Kabaddi final match at World Cup 2016 / Full Highlights

Kabaddi is the only sport that I know of to require the holding of one's breathe. The rules are simple: one player approaches the other team, holding his breathe and continuously speaking the word, "kabaddi." When he runs out of breathe he must return to his end. He may score by first touching an opposing player and then escaping to his end before being touched in return. That's touching and escaping before running out of breathe.

Kabaddi is popular in India, Pakistan and Iran, and who knows where all else. It's a game that requires very little space, and zero equipment of any kind. Any number of children could organize a game with only a small area of hard packed dirt and a stick to draw the lines. Shoes? Optional.

That angle is important. Equipment intensive games cannot catch on in poor countries. Baseball, for instance, is far beyond the means of children in most countries. All of those gloves, and bats, and mitts! And the balls don't last very long either, even if you buy the good ones. It's all terribly expensive. Soccer is a little easier on the budget. Kabaddi is free.

Free, and fascinating.