"What's the Rush" Radio

Well, Rush Limbaugh is moving from WPTF Radio and a country FM is going conservative talk. Just yesterday, I heard a senior gentleman say "they've ruined that station" referring to WPTF. The station is changing from "News/Talk WPTF" to "NewsRadio WPTF."
"Vee shall see," as far as how successful that will be.
News outlets tend to be slanted toward the left and if WPTF relies on them and their alliance in having two News and Observer employees running the news department, it is doubtful that it will be anything resembling fair or balanced, but will be more liberal pablum that I call the dinosaur media and Limbaugh refers to as "State-run" or "Drive by" media.
WRDU 106.1 will have Glen Beck from nine to noon, Limbaugh from noon the three and Sean Hannity from three until six.
No doubt, the new format will be beneficial to WRDU. Whether WPTF can attract the NPR, liberal listener remains to be seen. NPR is known for its anti-American, BBC, socialist programming. That's quite a tilt to the left compared to the last thirty years.
Of course, WPTF's new programming will probably have the blessing of the trinity of OPR, (Obama, Pelosi and Reid.)
Amazing I couldn't find a characature-ization of them similar to the one above of Beck, Hannity and Limbaugh. As Gomer would say, "Sur-PRIZE, sur-PRIZE, sur-PRIZE!?

Want to HEar/DON'T Want to EVER Hear Again

Been putting together my dream CD of Christmas music. The base would be Mannheim Steamroller for fill, but the top ten would be the #1 Christmas song of all time, which recently outsold Bing Crosby's recording of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," Elvis' "BLUE Christmas."
The next eight are kind of tied in my mind for number two: "Same Ole Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg, "Please Come Home for Christmas" by the Eagles (too many poor covers of this. Leave it alone, especially hick versions)"Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul McCartney, "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" by John Lennon, "Jingle Bells" by the singing Dogs, Elvis' version of "White Christmas" ala Clyde McPhatter, "Santa Claus is Back in Town" by Elvis, "Santa Claus and His Old Lady" by Cheech and Chong (not a song, I know) and "If Every Day was Like Christmas" which hit #2 for the entire year of 1966 on Billboard's Christmas chart and has appeared evry year since.
Hovering below the top ten are, "Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me" by Elvis, and the rest of Elvis' first Christmas album for that matter, and "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" from his second. I don't really care for the rest of his second Christmas album.
There's "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey, and Amy Grant's "Tennessee Christmas." The Trans Syberians have some nice stuff I like to hear. And I LOVE the California Raisins' version of "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer"
What I DON'T want to hear are Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" or any more Bing stuff. Sorry, it's worn the flip out! And besides, they're going to air the movie two dozen times every year, anyway. I don't want to hear "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" by Burl Ives until someone finds the original hit mix. What everyone plays is a re-mix that stinks!
Don't want to hear Gene Autry's "Rudolf" or any Andy Williams mess.
Why don't writers write some good new stuff? Everyone has to cover everyone else's crap and it's exactly that...crapola!
The last really GOOD piece I heard that's probably ten years old was "Mary, Did You Know?" and that's only because the song was great. Kenny Rogers was excellent, but he teamed up with that Judd woman.
Anyway, that's just me. Christmas music seems to be like beer...you either hate it or LOVE it/
So Merry Christmas to all and let's try to remember Jesus in all this, okay?

Goodbye, Popping Fresh

The following is NOT original with me, but I think it's cute:







SAD PASSING

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community.
The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma
complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71. Doughboy was
buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay
their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California
Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The
grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man
who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show
business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not
considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked
schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old
man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John
Dough,Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is
also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 350 for about 20 minutes. If this made you smile
for even a brief second, please rise to the occasion and take time to pass
it on and share that smile with someone else who may be having a crumby day
and kneads a lift.

My tell all book about my realtionwhip with Popping Fresh will come out soon ;-)

Can I Call You Elvis?

Over the years, various people have called me "Elvis." It's no secret that I think he was and will always be the quintessential artist of all time. My friend, Steve, had trouble remembering my name and always called me by the King's first name. The other day, I received an email and noticed that his moniker for me was "Elvis."
My first name is so common, there are always at least three John's in any given room. I've never particularly liked to be called "Big John." When I first started going to karaoke the first guy who turned a song in for me, put that for the name and it stuck on me for a good while.
There are several "Big Johns" who are very unsavory characters including one associated with Beach Music. When it comes to that genre, with the exception of some that crossed over into mainstream charts by the Drifters and such, I need to write my own answer to "I Love Beach Music," which would be "I HATE Beach Music."
Since about 2004, I have begun going by my last name. I am comfortable being ROEBUCK. I AM Roebuck.
So, the other night, a huge Elvis fan came up to me and asked my name. I told her, "Roebuck." She mispronounced it a few times and we went through the Sears explanation and she finally said, "Can I call you Elvis?"
My response was, that I am not close to worthy of having that name, but if that's what she wanted, I already look around if someone calls his name out.
I guess while emulation is a strong form of flattery, being called the name of one of your heroes is right up there with it.
So now, I'm off to have a banana sandwich. "Uh, Mama, don't forget to put extra mayonnaise on it, okay?"

The Cause

Soon after Elvis died, Dick Clark Productions' made-for-TV film "Elvis, the Movie" aired on ABC network Television. Kurt Russell starred in the title role and his father, veteran actor, Bing Russell played Vernon, Elvis' father.
This makes for a neat game of six degrees of separation. First of all the producer of the film was John Carpenter. When Elvis would stay in hotels, he would often register under the pseudonym, Dr John Carpenter. Elvis was somewhat of a fan of western movies and when he met Bing Russell asked the actor if he'd mind if when Elvis made a western, he'd wear his hat the unique way Big did. This was when a young Kurt starred with Elvis in "It Happened at the World's Fair."
You may recall the scene of Elvis' character hiring a young boy to kick him in the chin. That was Kurt.
Mille Perkins, who played Elvis' love interest in "Wild in the Country" played Elvis' mother, Glady's Love Presley in the film.
The work as been released on VHS, but there is a campaign now to bring it to DVD. I am asking all my friends to sign the petition to bring this about:
http://www.petitiononline.com/ElvisDVD/petition.html

Sorry, We're CLOSED! Get it?

Go to Highwoods, where Curtis Media Group has multiple radio stations operating and you have to go up an elevator and into a secure area where codes are needed to enter there in. If you're a guest of a show, you're shown a different way.
When I worked there, I don't recall a single soul banging on the glass, demanding that someone answer the door. Not ONCE!
Until recently, there were two Curtis outlets in a house in Louisburg, North Carolina. Very scenic, with a couple of ponds and geese. (The ducks, that came up from Mexico, were murdered by a driver on highway 561) It's forty-nine miles from my driveway out there to the edge of the world.
When I first began working there, I was told I should lock the door after five. "Fine" I thought. Once, early on, a local yokel shouted, "Hey" outside the window during my call in trade or sell shoe, called the Country Exchange. Anything you hear in the headphones is unsettling.
Recently, the AM outlet was sold and that's being finalized. That's another whole story. These folks don't like the geese, so they spread moth balls outside to run them off. Personally, I'd rather wipe goose poo off my shoe and interact with the little creatures than to have to small moth balls! When I open the window to get fresh air, I get that same, unpleasant odor.
Often times, people who leave for the day fail to lock the door on the way out. There's nothing more unnerving than to have the headphones on and realize someone has climbed the stairs and come into what at any OTHER radio station is a sanctuary. The only similar experience, would be someone opening the stall door in a restroom!
There's a "employees only" sign on the door that leads to the AM studios, but there's no signage...not even an "on air" light to ward off hayseeds who strike a notion to come up. What's worse, is there is no sign outside that could simply explain our office hours to the masses. What would be wrong with that? But NO! We can't have that!
There's a thing called the "public file" that management is paranoid about being accused of blocking access to.
At five-thirty, I am, to be quite honest, busier than a one-armed paper hanger. So NOW, I have to remember to go lock the door, before the real nitty gritty begins.
At five-fifty, I'm doing a talk into news thing and twice this week, while doing this I've heard some hick banging on the door downstairs. The "logic" being, "They wuz a car in da drive-way, so how come sumwun didn't ainser the door?"
Look, Gomer, try doing that at a restaurant after hours, while they're in there trying to clean up and get home. THEY have regular hours, why won't you let US (in radio) have them? Why can you not respect that?
It's just more of the same mind set of the crowd who drives ten miles UNDER posted and yet will pull out in front of you on highways 96 and 401.
This is my only outlet for letting my feelings known. So I've done just that. Don't get me started on the lack of compensation for services rendered.

Hitler Had His Book Burning...

More than a generation ago, Germany's Adolf Hitler, burned books as part of his totalitarian attempt to crush dissent. History repeats itself.
Today, Barack Obama has targeted FoxNews Channel as part of his enemies list, much like Richard Nixon did with the New York Times and Washington Post. The DIFFERENCE is, that when Nixon behaved in that fashion, he was called "paranoid." A "bunker mentality" was the way the then main stream press described the President. Like the naked emperor of old, Obama does these things with nary a whimper from a press enthralled with the Golden Boy.
The other arm of Obama's Stalinist tactics is an attempt to silence the truth that comes out only from the Internet.
Obama promised the "most transparent" administration but it's not something that has happened by design, but only because there are those of us who can see right through this Marxist!

Family: Define That for Me

If you have a close knit family, cherish it, by all means. My parents' generation did a lot better job than mine of staying in touch. I used to fuss because we traveled from my home in Northern Virginia to North Carolina every two weeks or so. I had virtually no social life until I was old enough to drive.

Well, Saturday, one of my cousins passed away. We've not been in touch a lot in recent years. But I have memories of childhood, first of his trying to run away from me, and then of fun times, like when we shared a trombone on the porch of my uncle's parsonage making a racket and some time later, when he came up for a visit and we clowned around with my old reel to reel tape recorder. We laughed until we cried.

I knew him as Richard. His new friends knew him as Tom. He knew me as one name early on, then as John. But my friends now know me simply as ROEBUCK.

But my generation, and the generation of my children don't hold family as close to the heart as we did. Sadly, many just don't seem to care any more. This is what I mourn for.

The BRIGHT side of all this, is that I have discovered within myself a capacity to love, I thought had died with my broken heart at the rejection of the woman I describe as the love of my life. But each year it seems, I meet new friends whom I love like family. I'll take that.

I Will Always Love You

The REST of the Story:

A generation thinks of it as a Whitney Houston song, because of its use in the motion picture "The Body Guard." They'd never heard of the song that went to number one on the Country Music charts twice for singer/songwriter, Dolly Parton.
Dolly wrote the song as a "good-bye" to Porter Wagoner as she set out for a solo career and eventually surpassed her former protege. Dolly and her management "pitched" the song to Elvis and really wanted him to record the song, but it never happened because an agreement couldn't be made with regard to publishing rights.
The song is the familiar standard progression of early rock and roll called the "relative minor." In the key of C, it would be C A-minor F G, in D, D, B-minor G A and in G, G E-minor C D. and every song from "Who Put the Bomp" to "Why Must I Be a Teenager in Love" has used the formula. The slight difference is that it is slowed down.
The ironic twist here, is that now the song is known to be the song of the niece of one of Elvis' back up singers and members of the Sweet Inspirations, Telma Houston.
The world may never know what it would have sounded like had Elvis recorded it. And for MY money, the world was cheated!
So occasionally, I do the song using Dolly's arrangement at karaoke in an "Elvis" style.

Six Degrees...

My dad was in Los Angeles during World War II recooperating from a gunshot wound ti the leg he suffered on the Island of Saipan. He did quite a bit of sightseeing while there, in fact there are photos of him at Hollywood and Vine Streets. Today, they'd call it "clubbing," although dad never was much into the alcohol part of the deal.
Somewhere, in one of these clubs he ran into future game show host Garry Moore of To Tell the Truth and other TV shows. He said, "Hello, Garrison Moorefit!"
and Mr Moore's reply was, "How the hell did YOU know?"
My grandmother, Marsha had taught him piano and dad remembered him. Mr Moore's full name was Thomas Garrison Moorefit, III.
Dad also got a kick out of seeing Bing Crosby without his toupee.
I guess that's my six degrees of separation with that particular famous person.
In the motion picture, "The Graduate" there was "Mrs Robinson" whom Simon and Garfunkel sang of in the title song and top ten hit. Well MISTER Robinson was played by Murray Hamilton, born and buried in Washington, North Carolina and, you guessed it, another student of my grandmother. Hamilton also had a role in the "Jaws" film.
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Somewhat Open Letter to a "Progressive" Friend

I truly do NOT know how it happens. I take extra measures to NOT send you the political stuff I forward to like-minded thinkers. But I keep getting responses back from you.
I just don't waste my time trying to convince those who will not be convinced. On the previous email that voiced my feelings on the matter, I even said so.
You have a right to believe what you choose to, to think that socialism is "just another approach" to finance, or call it "progressive" or whatever you like. I just think it's sad that you got indoctrinated into that kind of thinking.
The Marxists approached my Dad and were willing to PAY him to read their nonsense as far back as when he was in the Marine Corps....(WWII) recent evidence proves they were embedded even then in our military when you hear the rhetoric of some so called "former" Marines. Sadly, even Marines go bad.

In April, there was an article in the NY Times that reluctantly boasted about Adolf Hitler's boosting of the German economy and how it worked. Hitler is labeled by many a "right winger" but he was a SOCIALIST, a LEFTIST who hated Jews, and gave Germany a intrusive government making all the decision.
What Obama is doing is totally unAmerican. And I know you disagree. A Czar for this, a Czar for that who answers only to Obama and was never confirmed by the House or Senate?
This so called "Earnings Czar" who will decide how much leaders of Industry can earn and put a cap on it. By who's authority? NOT the American people...they've had no voice in it. Where does it stop? Checks an ballances, out the window for Obama's power grab!

What about ball players? I think they are paid obscene amounts of money to play sports and the same for Nascar drivers riding around in circles. Elvis made millions and only sang, but he fulfilled the American dream. A sports freak would say, "Well, Roger Staubach, (or whoever) brought a lot of pleasure to those who watched the game" I understand that. Dad used to say every time I bought an Elvis record that I was "subsidising" Elvis. I was, and I'm glad I had the freedom to do so.
What these Marxist/Socialists/Statists are pulling has nothing whatsoever to do with health care and things being better for the American people. It's about POWER, pure and simple. They DO NOT have the best interest of the common man in mind. You know what? Maybe the free enterprise people don't either, but their system has worked, where socialism has failed in EVERY SINGLE instance. Name one that works. You can't. Our own "Social Security" is bankrupt as is Medicaid and Medicare.
You don't fix something by letting the pencil pushing bureaucrats take it over, I know that for sure. (Funny how they don't want to use their erasers!)

I saw these lazy blamed people in DC. Sitting back, feet propped up on their chair reading the paper and drinking coffee enjoying the plumb of a job they got for being a "good Democrat" (or Republican.)
While we're limiting pay, let's limit how much trial lawyers like hot pants John Edwards earn and the amount they can sue for, so doctor's don't have to take unnecessary tests on patients to cover their rumps. No, we have to have McDonald's sued for millions because an idiot doesn't realize coffee is supposed to be hot and if you're stupid enough to spill it, guess what? You get BURNED!

My cousin discovered a blade manufactured for a certain purpose and another blade that was way expensive and an unnecessary cost, and used his brain and repackaged the first, marked it up a bit and made a handsome profit. That's the true, American, entrepreneurial spirit. That's my America and I don't want it given away to a big government.

What's being proposed now is classic bait and switch, plain and simple!
I can't believe you buy into to Statists agenda. Usually, those who follow this are mindless, dumbed down people...not well educated ones. And if they ARE educated, they're usually some pseudo-intellectual jerk looking down their nose at anyone "without letters."
If you are one of those, no need to read further. I don't waste my time on you.

Simply put, these people, in the name of "compassion" and using a FALSE sense of EMERGENCY are planning a power grab that will destroy the greatest country on earth and the last best hope for freedom. Why, oh why are people flocking to the US for health care from countries with so called "Universal Health Care?" Why? Because ours may be expensive, but it's superior to all others. Not perfect, by any means, but we're the ones with incentives to create better techniques for saving lives and improving the human condition. We have the encentive and Socialized medicine REMOVES that incentive! The only way to "save" in that system is ultimately RATIONING!

It's difficult to not talk about these things because I believe feel passionately what I'm saying. One thing that gets me about the Democrats is this. When I first moved down here (to North Carolina) and was still pretty malleable as far as politics is concerned, I ran into a white Democrat who hated blacks and Republicans. Spoke of the Republicans putting black people in office illegitimately after the "War of Northern Aggression" and that he just couldn't trust them. Shortly thereafter, amazingly, I heard a BLACK Democrat, who said the Dems were for the "common man" the "little man" and looking out for them, while the Republicans were just about making the rich, richer. I was astonished.

When my former wife, began to take her position the State of North Carolina, she was taken in a back room and told, "I HOPE you're registered as a Democrat. Things will go much better for you if you are. And that goes for your husband, too." She came home and pleaded with me to change my registration from no party to Democrat. Reluctantly, I did so, I am ashamed to say.

Just before Jim Martin was elected Governor of NC, I quite accidentally walked up to him at the State Fair Grounds and asked if I could speak to him. I relayed what I just relayed to you and identified it as what it is...TYRANNY and an abuse of power. Mr Martin assured me that if he got in office that sort of thing would END! It did not!

By the way, when the eternal taxman, father of the "temporary" NC sales tax that outlived even him, Terry Sanford (whom I met in Chapel Hill at Dad's Class of '41 Reunion) was being sworn in as a US Senator, that hour and that day, I was in the Public Library changing my registration in protest of his taking office changing my registration. It was not until then that I was ever registered as a "Republican." I am registered that way now, but I do not consider myself a Republican. I am, proudly a CONSERVATIVE. I am for FREEDOM, for any government getting off the backs of its citizenry. I DO believe in the philosophy of the Founding Fathers of this great Nation. Government has no right to stick its nose in the freedoms GOD gave us.

Most people don't know, but my Dad was a dyed in the wool, DEMOCRAT. At one point in college he was complaining about the treatment of the "little man" and a fellow student called him a Bolshevik! Gradually, Dad reasoned and weighed all the information available to him and by the time Goldwater came around, his thinking was transformed. Dad would tell you like Misters Reagan and Helms would, that "I didn't leave my Party. My Party left ME!"

Ray Steven's has re-vamped a song he recorded in the eighties that the title is self-explanatory: "If 10%'s Enough for Jesus..."

Okay, what people are guilty of is believing that someone who disagrees with them just hasn't thought things out. That somehow they arrive at their opinions irrationally or on the spur of the moment. That's TRUE of some people, but not always.
PREJUDICE: IF someone says one bad word about a black they're called "prejudice"
Prejudice is PRE-judging. "Daddy hated n*ggers, Mama hated n*ggers, so I hate n*ggers!"
But what if someone is speaking from EXPERIENCE? "Well I've never had a black person who didn't try to mess me up." This person doesn't need to expect ALL black people to do so, but he DOES, if he has a working brain have to use the principal of "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me TWICE, shame on ME!"

The Uphill Climb for Elvis to Get His "Props"

Elvis (Presley's) career while he was alive, was really from 1956 to 1977...two years longer, if you count the Sun Records years, so that's a scant twenty-three years at most. Tomorrow marks the thirty-second anniversary of EP's passing.
In Jerry Hopkin's unofficial biography of Elvis, he made reference to a group of people he called "the hipper than thou!" These are the people who deny the real beginnings of rock music and act as if it all started with the "British Invasion." Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and most importantly, Elvis have traditionally been "dissed" in favor of the Brits who recycled their rock in the sixties.
This invasion came at a time when rock had finally gone "corporate." Machines had begun to spoon out pseudo-rock pablum, which became the birth pangs of bubble gum music.
Teens tired of the likes of Fabian, Bobby Darin, and Bobby Rydell and had begun to listen to what was labeled as "folk" music. The Kingston Trio, became popular, if you'll recall with genuine folk songs, but a young Bob Dylan began writing socially conscious songs that a growing underground was listening to mainly in Greenwich Village, New York. Dylan's style was raw and rough and not yet palatable to the masses.
Two network television shows, "Shindig" and "Hullabaloo" featured this music and I recall seeing a young Dylan appear on the show. Peter, Paul and Mary began recording songs written by him.
Meanwhile in England, groups like the Beatles were recycling Rockabilly and early rock 'n' roll and putting their own spin on the genre.After the "Fab Four" came to the US and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, suddenly rock was beginning to be looked upon by the snobs, pseudo-intellectuals and other elitists as an "art form."
You would hear people who were trying to be "with it" utter the words, "The King is Dead...(meaning Elvis) Long Live the Beatles!" If you happened to be a pre-teen at that time you were told that you had to no longer dress like a "greaser" ala Fonzie, and begin dressing "collegiate" (now called "preppy" and in my sister's day, "prep")
This was the beginnings of the people Hopkins referred to as the "hipper than thou."
By the time of Elvis' passing in 1977, some comedians with this attitude had taken up positions in such programs as Saturday Night Live and before that, Laugh-In.
Elvis, who stayed in trouble in his youth for speaking up for black people and was Southern, but never a redneck, hick and certainly not a bigot, was characterized that way. His bloating, proven later to be caused by incorrect prescriptions he was allergic to, was characterized as being "fat."
Elvis had struggled with weight his entire life, but Saturday Night Live portrayed him as something he never was. They truly deserved one of Elvis' karate chops!
There has been cause for both rejoicing and mourning in the three-decade-plus after his leaving this insane planet.
Just a few years back, I was surprised to see a three-year-old look at a jukebox in a diner and say, "LOOK, Mommy! It's ELVIS!" My own Grandaughter loves him. There were the remixes of "A Little Less Conversation" and "Rubberneckin' " that both went straight to number one on the charts. Re-releases, unretouched of some of Elvis' classics have gone to the number one position in Great Britain in recent years.
But the folks who brought us "American Idol" have taken over management of the Elvis Estate BUSINESS-wise and have prostituted his legacy, by having the likes of Celine Dion do a faux duet with Elvis on the show and have had their wannabe contestants visit Graceland as though they are somehow the torch carriers of what he started. This is sad, indeed.
People who remark that Elvis is the "easiest person to do" have heard one too many wannabe "Elvi" and too many stupid commercials where the only thing they know about him is that he'd say, "Thank ye, verr much." For Heaven's sake, they don't even get the DIALECT right! Often what you hear now, is a characterization, of an impression of a mockery of Elvis at best.
Today there is an Elvis channel on satellite radio. This is the ONLY source I know of, other than the Elvis recording library where you can hear, Rock, Country, Blues, Ballads, Crooning, Gospel and more, sounding as if it's sung by as many artists and yet, it's the work of one single man! Elvis remains, unmatched, irreplaceable, and INCREDIBLE! We miss you, EP!

Association

Now days you see celebrities hanging out together like they're madly in love with each other. Country "stars" with rockers and movie stars and hip hop "artists" including rappers. On rare occasion, I get a behind the scenes look at that world. Trust me, just because people play together doesn't mean they necessarily have any degree of respect for one another as "artists."
I really love it when I suspect that a given person in the public eye is the creep I think they are. There's one, I will refrain from giving any further publicity who goes by a stage name rather than his given one who turned out to be just as I suspected.
There are other things I've learned about certain artists that, while I've never particularly thought of them as way above average, I have gained respect knowing about his character. I won't name him, either, but a very athletic rocker has a knee replacement. Yeah. He referred to the other as a, well, shall we say, south bound end of a north bound mule!
Dead giveaways to these creeps are things like writing songs about themselves and how great they think they are. Another one of my pet peeves is the artist who yells, "Come on!" continuously to the audience like some sort of worship leader at a Charismaniac "church." Clyde, if you have to do that, you're not doing a good job with the song. If the performance is good enough, you don't have to resort to that cheap trick!
Were I recording in this environment (or any other for that matter) I would not be out clubbing and being seen with the people necessary to promote my career. (Maybe that's one of the reasons I don't have one)
Musicians, with few exceptions, are egotistical, misogynistic poor excuses for humanity. That's not a hard and fast rule. I actually have some friends who are quite talented and also have a personality.
One thing I have learned from the country singers is their innate sense of appreciating their "fan base" and showing it. In my little small world of people who seem to appreciate my vocalizing and singing, I try to always take time to show my appreciation if someone takes their time to compliment me. When my Mom used to compliment me, I took it with a grain of salt, because I figured that's kind of what her job was, and I pay a lot of attention to people who make positive comments. Granted, sometimes, later behavior indicates that they're tone deaf, when I see them compliment someone who has zero talent, and then I have to gain a lot of perspective from that.
I hope I NEVER get like a few people I know who will never be as good as they THINK they are.
Any more, I totally understand Elvis and his close circle of friends. The Beatles came to visit Elvis and they hung out at his Bellare home. They invited him to come visit them and one of his closest friends asked him if he'd reciprocate and he just said, "Nah."
I don't think that it was that he was trying to be cool (he couldn't HELP that) It was just that he'd been around swollen egos before. They're really very boring!

Yannone: Pastor Manning forecasts the Mack Daddy Revolution

Yannone: Pastor Manning forecasts the Mack Daddy Revolution

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Oh!

So there I was, ready to believe some pretty bad things about Michael Jackson, when that PILLAR of the COMMUNITY, Rev Al Sharpton vouched for him. Now I'm convinced he was a swell guy!

The Difference is...

We learned of Elvis' passing on 16 August 1977. The difference between us and the majority of those on this current hype bandwagon is, on 15 August 1977 we loved Elvis and had not forgotten him.
Since there is not an entertainer, living or dead who deserves to have his/her name in the same universe with Elvis, let alone the same article, no name will be mentioned by this writer. It would only serve to legitimize the grossly illegitimate! Elvis, unlike the others, was not a self-proclaimed anything and when a woman attempted to put a crown on his head, exclaiming, "You're the King,"
Elvis' response was "No, Honey, I'm not the King. CHRIST is King! I'm Elvis!"
'Nuff said!

GULLIBLE

You've no doubt seen the shysters on TV who call themselves "men of God" and their "testimonies" of how their lives were changed significantly when they started "planting seeds" in the "Kingdom of God." (Jeepers, I had to put a lot of stuff in quotes. The reason is there is a real and a very very counterfeit) The whole concept is giving supposedly to God (at some third party's address) with the intent of using God as a slot machine fixed to continuously pay off. If you COULD be assured that you gave some money for God's purpose (and that's more and more questionable daily) you could never outgive God because, guess what...HE GIVES US EVERYTHING WE HAVE!) It doesn't take a genius to figure out that on so many networks that claim to be spreading the Gospel they're actually spreading something that would grow great tomato plants, namely false doctrine. They call it "the Prosperity Gospel."
But before you shake your head and think, "those poor clueless people," go look in the mirror. Politicians are doing the exact same thing, only their "source" namely a big government beaurocracy, is not a source at all. It's SUPPOSED to be government, of the people by the people and FOR the people, but it's a far cry from that.
I'm honestly expecting there to be ads on TV with some guy testifying something like this:
"I was poor and couldn't pay my rent. Then one day, I started paying higher taxes and ever since, I've had more of the things I want in life than I've ever had before!"
Same sham, same kind of gullible dummies, same stupidity!
The old Motown song, "Ball of Confusion" said it plainly:
"Politicians say mo' taxes will solve ev'va thang...
and the band played on!"

DISTRESS!

Veterans have called for US Flags to be flown upside down! Never has the Constitution of the United States and the Principles of our forefathers been under attack as they are today. Freedom is inching away for Fascism!

It is Time!

I learned very early on, that North Carolina was not the land flowing with milk and honey my mother had described. Obviously at some point between when I was conceived and Dad retired from the Federal Government something changed.
But even then, about 1975, truck drivers were courteous and farmers were right up there with them in that.
It used to be that hwy 42 was the only way to get from Garner to Wilson, my only image of North Carolina. From time to time a farmer would be hauling his tobacco on that road, but the difference is, back then, they'd pull over from time to time to let traffic go by.
It's not that way today. Hwy 50 from Garner to Benson, and hwy 96 from Zebulon to 401 and 401 from that point into Louisburg has rude, HICK drivers who travel fifteen to twenty miles below the posted limit. They NEVER pull over to let traffic go on. Much of the road has a double solid line, so one is faced with a choice; be late for where they're heading, or break the double solid line and pass anyway. It is said that two wrongs do not make a right, but I can tell you. If I can get around these stupid hicks, I will do so.
It is time for law enforcement to enforce minimum speed requirements.
I've been a professional truck driver and I know about tying down loads, etc. The other day, one of these clowns had mobile home underpinning in the back of his broken down Plymouth Arrow pick up. He was probably unable to go above thirty-five without the sheets of aluminum flying out of the bed. He SHOULD have tied it down, but hes' rude like so many are today. He COULD have pulled over from time to time to let traffic get by, but he's an ignorant stupid HICK!
If I were driving a flatbed with an unsecured load like that, I'd be ticketed or at the very least pulled over by DMV.
Going fifteen to twenty miles per hour below posted is a hazard and an indication of idiocy.
There's even a stupid "country" song called International Harvester that brags about being an ignorant hick blocking traffic. They may as well carry a sign saying, "I'm ignorant! Aren't you proud of me!?"

Gale Storm: Dead at Age 87

Star of The Gale Storm Show and My Little Margie, dies at age 87. The ironic thing is that Saturday night I met a very out-going older biker woman in Benson who was a blond-haired (ala Clairol) dead ringer for the late star. The subtitle of the Gale Storm Show was "Oh Suzanna!" and I recall Cedric, a ships's steward and Gale Storm playing an entertainment director on a cruise ship and Zazoo Pitts co-starring with her, mostly from re-runs.

"Weetah Seex Yoo Geetah Egg Loll!"

There HAS to be a reason why suddenly Americans are so gullible as to accept the premise that the Government ANY government can run ANYTHING better than the private sector. There has been the systematic, read that "public" school dumming down of the population. This has included the indoctrination by the soviet style school system of the "students" into seeing nationalism as somehow an evil thing and the attitude that all must be "world citizens."
This Nation was founded by fallen men, but many, in fact MOST were redeemed by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is a concept that is foreign to the population just described that has also been taught that "religion" is somehow evil. Once it was taught that George Washington was the Father of Our Country. You don't hear that much anymore and to tell the truth, many do not carry on his proud heritage and are, in effect, illegitimate sons (and daughters.) But it was George who said that our Nation was not started by religionists, but by CHRISTIANS specifically.
Very flawed me formed this Nation with the help of the Word (the Bible) of the very PERFECT God! Those guys foresaw all this mess that's being spoon-fed to the population, this hope and change rhetoric that is so quickly bringing hopeLESSness and tearing this country down, some think intentionally, into third world status.
One theory I thought was quite possible is this. Consider that the regime in China is Communist, although its leaders have learned that once disdained capitalistic practices work for their totalitarian system. Consider, too, how, if you go from town to town in the country, how many little Chinese food kiosks you see around and how many Chinese buffets. My theory is that in that food is the key as to why there's such mass insanity. People obviously aren't thinking straight and all we need to remember is Mr Reagan's words that it's the same FAILED |tax and spend policies of the Democrats only now it's on steroids and makes Marxism look like a Boy Scout Troop. Obama is carrying us into true Fascism! So there must be something in all that Chinese food that goes to the brain a brings about a population of Manchurian VOTERS!
Otherwise, it's just a case of people who are just stupid, gullible and are blinded by their hatred for "Dubyuh!"

The Geeze

Last night, in his honor, I wore his Swiss Army watch and sang "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin. My Dad, the Geeze continues to live in my heart but is with Jesus and Mom in Heaven (and with my Grandfather)
Dad used to speak with love of riding with Grandaddy (I never met him) on his insurance debit, singing "Happy on the Way." Dad regretted, "provoking him so badly, he bit the stem off his pipe!"
Dad wouldn't waste money on beer while attending UNC Chapel Hill because in his eyes it would be disrespectful of HIS Dad working long hours standing on his feet at Roebuck's Fruit Market in "Little Washington" North Carolina.
Sometimes the Geeze would tune up and cry because he so missed my Grandfather.
May people wrote my Dad off, but he was a man who, like me, finds the FACTS before making an opinion. Many people set an agenda and then seek proof that their foredrawn conclusions are true. I learned not to do that from Dad.
The Geeze...I miss him today, but soon, the Lord will bless me with another visit with him in a vivid dream and the day after will be great because it will be just as though we had a chance to hang out. I love you, Pop!

A Very Regional, Even LOCAL Concern:

This concerns the Clubhouse on Hwys 40/42 in Garner, NC:

Earlier this month, a huge banner read: "Karaoke Every Saturday Night at Nine!"
A week later, a communication from them to me said that for the summer, they were going to one night of karaoke per month. Last night was the first.
The previous time there, a clueless host played and repeated "dance song" after dance song twenty to one as opposed to actual karaoke songs with at least seven participants waiting to sing and vocally complaining. No one was dancing.
Most karaoke hosts turn making money playing music, which can be done with a jukebox, into PAYING money for it. The only difference is, SOME of the hosts who fancy themselves as "deejays" do wise crack, Howard Stern-style banter between songs. It would be interesting to see how they'd fare on the old Gong Show, at Charlie Goodnights or even at the Fox Theatre. The education would serve them well. Before you read any hate into this, I know some guys who use this approach, and as people, I LOVE them and they know I disagree with their approach and I don't do so disagreably!
So, once again, last night, singers waited to sing, one to three compared to so called "dance songs." Sorry, that's not karaoke. The pity is, there were good singers there, some even from out of town. Two girls were excellent and, while I did enjoy their dancing, I would have loved to have heard more than one song from them.
Everyone's an expert and one guy who claimed to have worked on air and always runs his mouth when it's his turn to sing, commented to me, that the formula that works is three karaoke songs and a dance tune. Even that, though I disagree with it, would be an improvement over the status quo at The Clubhouse.
As is my custom, I bought my meal there last night, which was mediocre at best. The Clubhouse is marked OFF my list (Onto my POO list) so that's income they apparently don't need, and less tip-age for the wait staff!
The Clubhouse, out of a possible five stars, doesn't even get half a star!

From the SOURCE!

I recently had a conversation with someone who knows. Someone who has direct contact with our fighting women and men in far off places, so this is, not from ABC. Not from CBS, CNBC, MSNBC, or CNN. And no, not from FOX News Channel, no. Straight from Afghanistan.But just like prior to World War II, like some Europeans and Americans, there will be those who refuse to believe the truth. (They're too busy swallowing the myth of some polar bear running out of ice and sadly, show more concern for them)
No doubt, and I hope you didn't believe your ears any more than I did when it was announced that terrorists, caught at war will be given rights, just as though they were US citizens. After denying it and referring to it as being absurd, yet another bait and switch lie from the Obama Administration. Terrorists, non-citizens will be "Marandized." I am certain, from cop shows you are familiar with the "You have the right to remain silent..." Speech, carried on a card by officers and now memorized after decades of use on CITIZENS. Enemy combatants are not citizens and should not be treated as such.
The result, straight from our forces in Afghanistan is, our forces will no longer take prisoners. That's right, take no prisoners. When lunatic politicians want to set these terrorist punks loose on US streets, it's the only solution.
Second thing. Straight from the field. US aide was given, in the form of medicine, immunizations and nutritious vegetarian FOOD to women and children in Afghanistan. The reaction by the Tahliban? All the little Afghan girls who received these life- supporting immunizations were publicly CRUCIFIED. You heard me right. CRUCIFIED...for those of you who don't understand that, that means they were hung to die on crosses! The rationale? The little girls were "defiled" by "Christian" medicine!
There is a growing resistence to the Ayatollah system in Iran, but Mr Obama cannot find it in his heart to speak one word of support for the freedom fighters. The only thing necesary for evil to flourish, is for good men to do nothing. But you know, I doubt more and more if you could by any stretch of the imagination describe Barack Obama as a "good" man.

Hey, Crosby Stills and Nash:

Where's the protest song, huh? Oh, I get it. You don't care that protesters in Iran are being murdered, including an innocent 13 year old by Ayatollah thugs. You don't care that your "messiah" Barack Obama does absolutely nothing to support the freedom fighters in this Jew-hating, Christian-hating regime. You HYPOCRITES!

This is Going to Hurt...BAD!

I once enjoyed excellent health care. When I was a child, my Dad, who was a Federal employee, back in the era of actual Civil Servants, and he opted for the option of joining a brand new concept in health care that was a type of co-op called Group Health Association. I may not be accurate, but I seem to recall Dad paying ten bucks a month for family coverage...no co-pays.
Time moved on and when I worked for the State of North Carolina, a second option was offered as an alternative to the entrenched Blue Cross and Blue Shield monopoly. Most long time state employees were indoctrinated into the BC/BS system and didn't really want to give Kaiser Permanente a chance and set to run them out of the state. Well, eventually, the good ole boy network of smoke-filled rooms and dirty politics ran them out, but I can tell you, Kaiser was the best health care I've ever had.
One has only to ask those who have moved here from Socialist regimes how health care was in "the old country" to get a real heads up on what Obama and his crowd want to do to us.
It's plain and simple. Obama LIES! Why should we be surprised that a Marxist, which he is would lie to achieve his socialist goals? Thank God for alternatives to the dinosaur media exposing this. This week, Obama denied goals for a "one tier" system, but thank GOD that other speeches he's made to his other socialist friends expose that indeed a one tier system is the goal!
Options? There simply will BE no options. Prices come down with competition...not from a Soviet style system built on INcompetence!
People are bending over and grabbing their ankles, but it's not a doctor headed toward them with a rubber glove on his hand, it's Obama and the other Socialists, and trust me, this is going to HURT!

The Mocha Mussolini

Once again, the Dems are trying to cause widespread panic and reform health care in the image of the US Postal Service. If you've forgotten, they're the ones who originated "snail mail!" In fact, they have to use FedEx in order to have any semblance of living up to the "neither snow nor sleet" motto they USED to follow.
My educators used to say, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." In this age of MTV, State-run education and other wacky notions of the 21st Sentence...er uh Century.
It's all being sold as something that is "for your own good," when, in reality, Obama and his crowd have no interest whatsoever in the betterment of their fellow man and only want to build the huge bureaucracy. Their motto should be "better things for better living through huge government."
But they'd have to use it very tongue in cheek.
Now, some of you will read the title and think, "Uh huh, racist sucker." NO, I was for the real black man who opposed Obama back when he was ushered into the Senate by the crooked Chicago machine, Dr Alan Keyes.

What Do I Press for English

Yesterday, just for laughs, I turned the analogue TV at the radio station on and started surfing what USED to be the channels. Much to my surprise, an image appeared. It was channel 3. What was airing? SPANISH, apparently explaining the change from analogue to digital. Can't have the illegals not understanding what's going on, now can we.
This country has gone insane!

"Sh-Huh It Happens"

Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time will no that this writer is know prude when it comes to word usage (I would have said verbiage, but I dumbed it down to an eighth grade level as they told us to do when I began writing commercial radio copy)
Recently a friend of mine commented that the "f" bomb has been rendered inefficient due to its constant use. In a bygone era, namely Woodstock (the ORIGINAL one) motion picture producers, in an attempt to be avant garde, did what would be known now as closed captioning of the film every time someone on stage uttered the "f" word, just in case the stoners viewing the film failed to pick up on that.
Earlier, while touring Europe, specifically in France, a young Jim Morrison began his Doors hit "Light My Fire" with a barrage of "f-bombs" to the syncopated rhythm that characterizes the end of the song. That was about the most outrageous thing one could do at the time, but not really, when you consider much of the audience didn't speak English.
Fast forward to the twenty-FIRST century and a group booked on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno as "The Doors" (but only had Manzareck and Krieger as members) performed the song in the same manner with the same "f-bombs" on live NBC television. One would think that this many decades later, even the potty mouthed Jim, had he lived would have matured at least a little, but Ray Manzarek still has the sixties mindset. "Far out, Man!"
It seems that everyone, or at least a lot of people think they are Howard Stern (very fitting last name, when you consider he behaves like a rear end!)
Country Music, always last to catch on to trends has gotten into the cheap attention-getter frenzy. The song, "Shift Work" has the line, "A big ole pile of sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeft work!" In it, and I'm sure the audience initially hearing this thought the lyrics were different than what they turned out to be.
The latest cheap trick is from Sugarland, the Country Band with the wannabe Janis Joplin blonde (with a mouth that looks like Lyndon Johnson's) exclaiming, "Sh-HUH it happens." (Oh, I get it!) I guess I'm the only one who is wishing we could mature beyond pre-teeny bopper little boy mentality.
Guess it's just another example of the dumbing down of America.

Rawhyde

In such a very short time
My hero, you became,
The world knew you as Rawhyde,
Peter Batton was your name.

You brought us all such happiness,
Our fifteen minutes of fame,
Love you gave with the click of the lens,
Caught in every frame.

I still expect to see your face,
Whenever there's a flash,
I look around to see my friend,
They say you're scattered ash.

But me, I know much better,
Alaska resting place?
I feel your spirit every day,
I almost see your face.

I know we'll meet again, my friend,
You've spoken of your faith,
Until that day you're in my heart,
And cheering on my race!

copyright 2009 John H Roebuck

I Got Buzzed!

The other evening at work I was buzzed. I do afternoon drive at Country 102.5 WKXU in Louisburg (another proud Curtis Media Group Station.) I kept hearing what I perceived to be a boom box, but it wouldn't make sense that the people who gather to fish the two ponds in front of the station would be playing loud music. I checked a couple of times and could not figure out the mystery. Then when I finished my shift and headed out, just as I was sticking my head out the front door, I thought a plane was going to crash into the building and land in pieces in the pond. It didn't of course, and after I checked my underwear, I proceeded home. I forgot that private aircraft prefer to guide on radio towers. It was quite an experience.

Howards

Wrote this today:


Howard

The word spreads like a brush fire,
From the sandhills to the beach,
There's coming a revival,
"Brother Howard's gonna preach!"

Thirsty souls from miles around,
Come hear the Howards sing,
Boots, he doesn't lend his voice,
But they're lifting up the King.

Annie Belle's piano stool,
Vibrates with the rhythm,
Poppa, Aaron, Odell, too,
Share every song that's in 'em!

Joyous echoes winding down,
Sawdust on the ground,
Majestic voice begins to share,
The key to gain life's crown.

Conviction and authority,
Come from JA's lips,
Silence of convicted hearts,
Trembling fingertips.

At last the invitation comes,
Stubborn hearts are reached,
Later, Lonnie gets the word,
(That) Odell's been called to preach.

These are giants of the Faith,
Living God's Own Word,
Yes, they're blood runs through my veins,
Thank GOD, one day I heard.

Our God, He has no grand kids,
Each one of us alone,
Must trust by faith in Jesus' blood,
To cleanse and take us Home.

One day, I'll see them all again,
And some, I've never met,
Rejoicing as the ages roll,
Not knowing one regret!

It Ain't English Anymore

Sometimes I feel like graduating from one of the top schools in the country may have been a waste of my time and my parent's money. Poor grammar and the butchering of the English language abounds, from mis-pronunciations and made up words, to the confusion of terms.
Seems like it was pounded into our little pliable heads that the "f" in often is silent, and you used to only hear it pronounced by hicks or hillbillies (rednecks). But now, supposed professional broadcasters mispronounce the word. It drives me NUTS!
You've all heard the Enablex commercial where the woman says, "...and that means less interruptions!" NO, my dear, that means FEWER interruptions. My ears just HEAR the violation, but there are hard and fast rules for where the two are used. Basically, if you can count it, you use less. If you can't, it's few.
Yes, Raleigh has the "Irregardless Cafe" but we should know that there IS no such word. It's simply regardless. Another is "preventative" as in maintenance. The word is "PREVENTIVE," yet you hear the extra unnecessary syllable.
My generation had the expression "where it's at" and I recall my parents going through the overhead about it and my thinking so what? So, I guess it's just a function of getting older.
It's not just an American thing. The British are even picking up our slang, and come up with some of their own. Like, "That's really mank!" Mank meaning unfit for human or even animal consumption.
I'd love to start a fad of saying things like "splendid." When was the last time you heard that one? Nothing conveys disgust better than sarcastically saying, "That's really SWELL!" Remember Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry?

Couldn't Say it Better

Donna Tallman has a Memorial Day prayer for our nation:

http://www.christianpost.com/blogs/faith/2009/05/memorial-day-a-prayer-for-my-country-19/index.html

AMEN!

Dear Israel

What a blessing it must be to have a leader like Benjamin Netanyahu! He's too smart to give away the Golan Heights and leave the State of Israel as a sitting duck for it's Arab enemies.
You MAY be our only hope. Netty would look out for our best interests and those of Israel at the same time, because he knows that if the US abandons Israel we're doomed,
Now, if Obama was to be the leader of Israel, he would probably jeopardize Israel as badly as he has imperiled the United States. Maybe even more.
Your nation is a nation of God's chosen people, so even with Obama running things, the Lord will not tolerate stupidity because He's promised to bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you, so Obama's folly would be rendered helpless.
So, PLEASE, Israel, trade with us. You take Obama and give us Netty!

Difficult to Digest

The vernacular is "How do we impact one another"" (Grammar aside) How do our lives have an impact on the lives of others? (The way we speak these days drives me NUTS!)
Elvis lived out his life only realizing a sample of the people he made an impression on.I can guarantee, he had no clue there was a kid in Falls Church, Virginia who daydreamed at any given time and thought, "Wonder what Elvis is doing?"
People attain a degree of celebrity and before long, get up where the air is thin and it affects their thinking, judgement and general way of life. I think many times they forget what it was like before. Many of them spend so much time in fear that they'll return that they truly never learn how to properly enjoy their success.
I've never been any more than a pebble on the wheel of fame, if that. When someone expresses appreciation for my singing or whatever, I try to learn from the Country artists, who know the whole thing's a sham, anyway and at least APPEAR to deeply appreciate it and try to show some sense of humility.
I am blown away and some times embarrassed by people who give me compliments. When your Mom does that, you figure it's her job to do so, but when someone you don't know from Adam does, well then, at least until you hear them rave about some tone-deaf, talent-free, joker, you pause and consider, maybe, just MAYBE I'm getting descent at this stuff.
Last night I learned that a fellow thought I was pretty cool in a couple of ways. I had no idea to what degree he felt that way, but do recall his compliments. Then I learned that he ended his life a couple of weeks ago.
I must confess that this has had quite an impact on me ever since I heard it. My immediate reaction was one of fighting back tears (I'm the original old softy) My SECOND reaction was one of compassion for this fellow's girlfriend who was given no indication that this was about to happen. As it turned out, it was a case of not taking meds properly and mixing them with inadvisable substances like alcohol.
I wish I had known this lad better and could have been there for him. Now, all I can do is try to be of some comfort to his lady.
Some things in life are difficult to digest, to say the least.

I LOVE it!

Miss You Much, Mom

She was the mother I didn't deserve, but the one God in his infinite wisdom and mercy gave me. She represented Him well from the day I was born, to the day He called her Home. Hope to see you soon, Mom!

Unbiased Review

Coming from the DC suburbs, I've seen more bands in a weekend than most people get to see in a lifetime. The main reason is P Street Beach, basically a huge field in the District with dozens of baseball diamonds. The planners of our Nation's Capitol were ingenius, in that while, even when I lived there there was insane growth, some semblance of sanity prevailed in preserving these places. On the weekends, especially during the summer, various bands would play there at about two hundred foot intervals, on anything from flatbed trucks to full blown stages. Blues, Rock, and somewhere tucked over in the corner, a budding bluegrass band would always be playing.
They weren't chopped liver.
I sang with three different bands over the years managed by Domestic Sound Productions.
There are some venues here that have the same, bands play the same sets month after month after month. First of all, it's a mistake to book a band any more frequent than every SIX WEEKS, because there really isn't enough time to add songs and change song sets.
I'd heard The Switch, way before I met and became friends with Artie and there is no way, they could have lived up to the hype I heard about them. I DID wonder for a long time, why they had such a following week after week after week. Okay, I know about the groupie thing and the "THIS time that guitar guy will notice me!"
But this was more than that.
Well last night I heard the Switch for the first time since their doing the grand opening for Pastimes. To be honest, a lot of the reason for my reaction back then was I was still stinging from Vic Bunn's passing and I didn't wish to see Vic's Bar change as it inevitably HAD to. (BTW, last night at Locked & Loaded a girl came up to me and said, "You used to sing at VIC'S! ....It's just not the same place, is it?")
Anyone would have trouble keeping up with these guys. One minute they're singing out in the audience...the next, lined up on the bar. It's just crazy. Early on, the press would ask a young Elvis Presley, "Couldn't you sing it without some of the wiggle?"
EP's response, "Well sir, yes I COULD come out there and just stand and sing, but people come to see a show and if I did that, they'd say, 'Well, my goodness, I can hear that by just listening to his RECORDS!' "
Artie plays keyboards, guitar and sings and changes hats like Cher changed outfits on the old Sonny & Cher Show. If he doesn't rub his scalp raw from doing that, he may start finding a lot of follecal material on the shower floor.
The Switch's drummer demonstrated how boring it must be to play drums to a honky tonk, country song, by playing catch with a stick with other members of the band. It's a whole lot more fun with a whole lot more possibilities with the wireless technology there is today.
The point is, the Switch was good, REAL good and know exactly where to drop out on the vocals for the audience to fill in a word or phrase.
I'm just wondering...what do you call a person who follows the Switch around from gig to gig...a Switch HITTER? (Gotta work on that)
Oh, did I mention that this bald guy was called up from the audience to sing "Jailhouse Rock?" He was okay, but he certainly was no Andy Williams.

The Hundred Day Mentality

I've a friend who wants to not receive any political emails regarding Barrack Obama until Thursday. That's Obama's one hundred and first day in office. I agree with him that there was way too much bickering politically during 2008. In fact, it was this spirit that put the likes of the pig in a poke Obama in office. Obama's only a pig in a poke to the ignorant ones who were foolish enough to vote for this obvious Marxist. But let's examine my friend's hundred day attitude.
Suppose the public works folks said, "We're going to clean up your water in one hundred days, but for now, there's a little boy who is going to take a leak in your water daily until then, but don't worry, at that time we'll look at the situation and see what we can do if anything."
Suppose a person was morbidly obese and his doctor advised him to begin to lose weight and that he may die otherwise. That person wouldn't say, "Thanks Doc. I'm going to pig out on all the stuff that's not healthy and overeat it for a hundred days, and THEN I'll change my diet." You would say that was absurd.
Suppose a person had a sexual addiction that was affecting his marriage and his wife basically told him to get his act together, perhaps get some treatment or a divorce was immanent. Everyone would think it was insane for that person to attend strip clubs, and obtain pornography for a hundred days, before addressing his failing marriage.
It is this kind of attitude and the foolishness of those who bought into the "messiah" image of Barack Obama that has allowed Obama to socialize General Motors and pal around with his despot friends, Daniel Noriega and the Castro brothers.
No, my friend, you have lost your right to complain about America's demise because you abdicated it!

Intelligent Lady:

This came to me as an email:


Anne Wortham is Associate Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University and continuing Visiting Scholar at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and the American Philosophical Association. She has been a John M. Olin Foundation Faculty Fellow, and honored as a Distinguished Alumni of the Year by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.

In fall 1988 she was one of a select group of intellectuals who were featured in Bill Moyer's television series, "A World of Ideas." The transcript of her conversation with Moyers has been published in his book, A World of Ideas. Dr. Wortham is author of The Other Side of Racism: A Philosophical Study of Black Race Consciousness which analyzes how race consciousness is transformed into political strategies and policy issues.

She has published numerous articles on the implications of individual rights for civil rights policy, and is currently writing a book on theories of social and cultural marginality. Recently, she has published articles on the significance of multiculturalism and Afrocentricism in education, the politics of victimization and the social and political impact of political correctness. Shortly after an interview in 2004 she was awarded tenure.

This article by her is something else. No He Can't! — by Anne Wortham Fellow Americans,

Please know: I am black; I grew up in the segregated South. I did not vote for Barack Obama; I wrote in Ron Paul's name as my choice for president. Most importantly, I am not race conscious. I do not require a black president to know that I am a person of worth, and that life is worth living. I do not require a black president to love the ideal of America…

I cannot join you in your celebration. I feel no elation. There is no smile on my face. I am not jumping with joy. There are no tears of triumph in my eyes. For such emotions and behavior to come from me, I would have to deny all that I know about the requirements of human flourishing and survival – all that I know about the history of the United States of America, all that I know about American race relations, and all that I know about Barack Obama as a politician.

I would have to deny the nature of the "change" that Obama asserts has come to America. Most importantly, I would have to abnegate my certain understanding that you have chosen to sprint down the road to serfdom that we have been on for over a century.

I would have to pretend that individual liberty has no value for the success of a human life. I would have to evade your rejection of the slender reed of capitalism on which your success and mine depend. I would have to think it somehow rational that 94 percent of the 12 million blacks in this country voted for a man because he looks like them (that blacks are permitted to play the race card), and that they were joined by self-declared "progressive" whites who voted for him because he doesn't look like them.

I would have to wipe my mind clean of all that I know about the kind of people who have advised and taught Barack Obama and will fill posts in his administration–political intellectuals like my former colleagues at the Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

I would have to believe that "fairness" is the equivalent of justice. I would have to believe that man who asks me to "go forward in a new spirit of service, in a new service of sacrifice" is speaking in my interest. I would have to accept the premise of a man that economic prosperity comes from the "bottom up," and who arrogantly believes that he can will it into existence by the use of government force. I would have to admire a man who thinks the standard of living of the masses can be improved by destroying the most productive and the generators of wealth.

Finally, Americans, I would have to erase from my consciousness the scene of 125,000 screaming, crying, cheering people in Grant Park, Chicago irrationally chanting "Yes We Can!" Finally, I would have to wipe all memory of all the times I have heard politicians, pundits, journalists, editorialists, bloggers and intellectuals declare that capitalism is dead – and no one, including especially Alan Greenspan, objected to their assumption that the particular version of the anti-capitalistic mentality that they want to replace with their own version of anti-capitalism is anything remotely equivalent to capitalism.

So you have made history, Americans. You and your children have elected a black man to the office of the president of the United States, the wounded giant of the world. The battle between John Wayne and Jane Fonda is over – and that Fonda won. Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern must be very happy men. Jimmie Carter, too. And the Kennedys have at last gotten their Kennedy look-a-like.

The self-righteous welfare statists in the suburbs can feel warm moments of satisfaction for having elected a black person. So, toast yourselves: 60s countercultural radicals, 80s yuppies and 90s bourgeois bohemians. Toast yourselves, Black America. Shout your glee Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Duke, Stanford, and Berkeley. You have elected not an individual who is qualified to be president, but a black man who, like the pragmatist Franklin Roosevelt, promises to – Do Something! You now have someone who has picked up the baton of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society.

But you have also foolishly traded your freedom and mine – what little there is left – for the chance to feel good. There is nothing in me that can share your happy obliviousness.

If you don’t want to forward this for fear of offending someone, You Are Part Of The Problem!

This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htmNo He Can't - Interesting and Scary

This is very interesting; please take time to read it. This is one smart lady!

A very interesting look at a Black woman's view

Anne Wortham is Associate Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University and continuing Visiting Scholar at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and the American Philosophical Association. She has been a John M. Olin Foundation Faculty Fellow, and honored as a Distinguished Alumni of the Year by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.

In fall 1988 she was one of a select group of intellectuals who were featured in Bill Moyer's television series, "A World of Ideas." The transcript of her conversation with Moyers has been published in his book, A World of Ideas. Dr. Wortham is author of The Other Side of Racism: A Philosophical Study of Black Race Consciousness which analyzes how race consciousness is transformed into political strategies and policy issues.

She has published numerous articles on the implications of individual rights for civil rights policy, and is currently writing a book on theories of social and cultural marginality. Recently, she has published articles on the significance of multiculturalism and Afrocentricism in education, the politics of victimization and the social and political impact of political correctness. Shortly after an interview in 2004 she was awarded tenure.

This article by her is something else. No He Can't! — by Anne Wortham Fellow Americans,

Please know: I am black; I grew up in the segregated South. I did not vote for Barack Obama; I wrote in Ron Paul's name as my choice for president. Most importantly, I am not race conscious. I do not require a black president to know that I am a person of worth, and that life is worth living. I do not require a black president to love the ideal of America…

I cannot join you in your celebration. I feel no elation. There is no smile on my face. I am not jumping with joy. There are no tears of triumph in my eyes. For such emotions and behavior to come from me, I would have to deny all that I know about the requirements of human flourishing and survival – all that I know about the history of the United States of America, all that I know about American race relations, and all that I know about Barack Obama as a politician.

I would have to deny the nature of the "change" that Obama asserts has come to America. Most importantly, I would have to abnegate my certain understanding that you have chosen to sprint down the road to serfdom that we have been on for over a century.

I would have to pretend that individual liberty has no value for the success of a human life. I would have to evade your rejection of the slender reed of capitalism on which your success and mine depend. I would have to think it somehow rational that 94 percent of the 12 million blacks in this country voted for a man because he looks like them (that blacks are permitted to play the race card), and that they were joined by self-declared "progressive" whites who voted for him because he doesn't look like them.

I would have to wipe my mind clean of all that I know about the kind of people who have advised and taught Barack Obama and will fill posts in his administration–political intellectuals like my former colleagues at the Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

I would have to believe that "fairness" is the equivalent of justice. I would have to believe that man who asks me to "go forward in a new spirit of service, in a new service of sacrifice" is speaking in my interest. I would have to accept the premise of a man that economic prosperity comes from the "bottom up," and who arrogantly believes that he can will it into existence by the use of government force. I would have to admire a man who thinks the standard of living of the masses can be improved by destroying the most productive and the generators of wealth.

Finally, Americans, I would have to erase from my consciousness the scene of 125,000 screaming, crying, cheering people in Grant Park, Chicago irrationally chanting "Yes We Can!" Finally, I would have to wipe all memory of all the times I have heard politicians, pundits, journalists, editorialists, bloggers and intellectuals declare that capitalism is dead – and no one, including especially Alan Greenspan, objected to their assumption that the particular version of the anti-capitalistic mentality that they want to replace with their own version of anti-capitalism is anything remotely equivalent to capitalism.

So you have made history, Americans. You and your children have elected a black man to the office of the president of the United States, the wounded giant of the world. The battle between John Wayne and Jane Fonda is over – and that Fonda won. Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern must be very happy men. Jimmie Carter, too. And the Kennedys have at last gotten their Kennedy look-a-like.

The self-righteous welfare statists in the suburbs can feel warm moments of satisfaction for having elected a black person. So, toast yourselves: 60s countercultural radicals, 80s yuppies and 90s bourgeois bohemians. Toast yourselves, Black America. Shout your glee Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Duke, Stanford, and Berkeley. You have elected not an individual who is qualified to be president, but a black man who, like the pragmatist Franklin Roosevelt, promises to – Do Something! You now have someone who has picked up the baton of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society.

But you have also foolishly traded your freedom and mine – what little there is left – for the chance to feel good. There is nothing in me that can share your happy obliviousness.