Who cares about R2D2 when you’ve got a Water Warrior Drone Scout? Is there anything cooler? Yeah, well Dakota Access Pipeline Layers and the Morton County Sheriff’s forces are not too fond of them. I do not understand why they keep shooting at drones. Actually I do and so will you after seeing what drones can show and tell. Still, what does a helicopter have to fear from a drone? I don’t know, but apparently they’re capable of “stalking” with ill intent. A malicious drone? Huh. Maybe they’re afraid they’ll do that bird flying into the blades or engine or something. Yep. Instead of getting into all that, here’s a few Digital Smoke Signals from Myron Dewey’s drones. If you click through to YouTube you can see more and subscribe. Take a load off and enjoy the views that you have NOT seen on mainstream news.
Drone Day Shift-ing.
Drone-ing at night.
After being asked nicely by the feds to stop construction ETP/DAPL did their usual thing–work.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The First Amendment is not respected in North Dakota. Or maybe it got lost in the Second Amendment Shuffle. The right to bear arms is definitely allowed–well, as long as you’re a police officer or a member of a private security force or oil company executives. Can’t say for sure about oil company executives because they don’t show their faces in public and they’re definitely not heading out any time soon to lay any pipe themselves. Personally, I’d really like to see that dirty work in the field happen but that’s an entirely different issue. Oh, wait, there’s also some serious history of law authorities not being too fond of the Lakota/Sioux having weapons of any sort close at hand–so I suspect the Second Amendment is off-limits to them in North Dakota.
When in North Dakota:
Journalists Shall Not Report what is going on at Standing Rock or elsewhere regarding the defense of water and land under threat by a big oil pipeline. They will arrest you for this:
Citizens Shall Not Live-stream the actions of Police, the National Guard and Private Security Firms. They will arrest you for this.
Thou Shall Not Take Photographs which document Police, National Guard, and Private Security Firms which contradict their stated version of events involving peaceful Protectors.They will arrest you for this.
Thou Shall Not Reveal How the Police in North Dakota are doing the bidding of Energy Transfer Partners. They will arrest you for this.
If you think I’m joking just ask Deia Schlosberg, Unicorn Riot , Shailene Woodley, Madison WI City Alderman Rebecca Kemble and the Standing Rock Protectors who’ve been jailed for documenting what’s happened with North Dakota Police, ETP’s private security, and the National Guard.
If you do record and share such information you are an enemy of the state of North Dakota and its good buddies, Energy Transfer Partners and the big banks which are funding the Dakota Access Pipeline. (If you think ‘enemy’ is too strong a word then feel free to suggest other word choices. I’m open to suggestions.)
Wondering why I’m rambling on about the Freedom of the Press?
Things are going to get a tad interesting regarding the Freedom of the Press in North Dakota on Monday morning when Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman intends to turn herself in to authorities to deal with the charges made against her for doing her job.
I’m wondering if any mainstream media operations will cover this action. Will CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, NPR show up for this confrontation regarding First Amendment festivities? How about Al Jazeera? CNN maybe? At the moment I’m betting they’ll all be no-shows, though they do like using Democracy Now!’s news footage from time to time. Those pesky independent journalists get to go to all the ‘fun’ hot spots television news anchors might not be able to find on a travel guide map. (Is that too harsh? I don’t think so, but one never knows.) By the way, if you don’t know who Amy Goodman is and you’ve never watched Democracy Now!’s Independent Global News well then it’s about time you considered expanding your news horizons. Be forewarned, there will be no hot blondes in tight dresses breathlessly spewing out sound bites in an effort to give you an anxiety attack about local events. The headlines are often delivered at a fast and furious speed in an effort to make the most of the time. The in-depth coverage might take you places and introduce you to people you never knew existed–and probably would never meet via mainstream news.
You might get angry. You might be offended. You might start wondering why mainstream media treats people like blithering idiots. Some of those interviewed such as Henry A. Giroux will share their thoughts on that last notion from time to time. If you have children in school you might want to pay close attention. (Damn all the teaching to the tests.)
So, if you’re a serious reader you might discover some new books. Said books may depress you with their reality checks. But so be it.
And then there are the discussions of films ET wouldn’t dare spotlight:
If you’ve read and watched so far you now have some idea of the nature of independent journalism as practiced by Amy Goodman and the rest of Democracy Now! It’s probably clear why Energy Transfer Partners and the authorities in North Dakota are none too keen on making Goodman or any other kind of journalist welcome to venture out to Standing Rock and other oil pipeline sites. Even from New York City, Democracy Now! has provided all kinds of ongoing intriguing issue raising coverage of #NoDAPL. Most of which puts the likes of PBS to shame for its depth and breadth.
Hence, come October 17, 2016 I wonder which journalists will be covering the story of Goodman turning herself in Mandan, North Dakota. There’s a chance there might only be the Democracy Now! crew and Standing Rock Protectors as witnesses. Let’s hope not. Let’s hope mainstream media can find its way to Mandan, Standing Rock and the Dakota Access Pipeline no one needs. Like Climate Change, which mainstream media has done a damn fine job of ignoring, the First Amendment impacts all of us. Ignorance is not bliss. You really do need to know what the hell is going on. That’s the purpose of having an independent news media.
Some times when you’re catching up on your list of films to view you discover the most unexpected things.
In the case of Cake the surprise is that Jennifer Aniston can truly act. As with Adam Sandler I find Aniston far more interesting in a drama than in simple minded comedy. Actually she’s more than interesting, she’s downright captivatingly great as a woman suffering physically, emotionally and mentally. If you’re in the mood to get a respite from the reality show otherwise known as election year politics and drama laced with biting comic overtones is a penchant then grab Cake wherever your film meals are served.
Oh, and Adriana Barraza is equally wonderful as Silvana, the only person capable of dealing with Aniston’s antics for the long haul.
Written and Performed by Raye Zaragoza
Recorded by Justin Hergett at The Forest Studios
Filmed by Roman Zaragoza
Images taken from online news publication & Los Angeles protest (taken by ThomasMichaelPhotography.com)
It’s Friday and everyone is itching to chill out so I’ll get right to the heart of this post: Treat yourself and read The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. This is a true story of HEART–true character, “boys” who were men whom current athletes can not match on any level. Yes, I have seen the 2016 Olympics and found them sorely wanting. In a time when ego and individual effort is all the rage it’s impossible to even imagine that a group of nine “boys” could swing like none other. I knew nothing about rowing until I read this book. I knew more than I wanted about the Nazis. I knew about the Depression and the Dust Bowl. I knew about Jesse Owens. But I knew nothing about this incredible rowing crew. Swing is now more than a style of Jazz and dancing for me. It’s not often that I re-read a book but I’ve read the race scenes several times because they’re so damn exciting. Nothing I’ve seen –ever– in the Olympics can compare.
For the romantics there’s even a love story. Actually there’s a lot of love in this story.
Yes, I have been seriously MIA yet again from this blogcasa. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been on my mind. There’s been a great deal of mayhem and chaos and downright insanity going on around the world. I’d rather not discuss the specifics as you’ve all probably had quite a stomach full enough of it all to vomit. Yes, it has been awful outdoors here–bad enough for moi to be forced to spend much of summer indoors in order to breath properly and avoid heat illness. This is royally pissing me off because I so look forward to having the windows and doors open during the summer. That has been impossible for months at this point. Gardening and walking has been restricted to the wee hours of the mornings and far and few between low humidity and heat days. Anyone who has not noticed the local change in temperature has not been paying any attention for their lifespan. You would think the increase in their electric bills from running their air conditioners all the time would raise a red flag. But not so for climate change deniers and the those who are just plain clueless. Anyway it’s been a shit summer for me because I physically can not endure the heat index. Please share your summer time weather experience at will. So instead of enjoying the great outdoors this summer I’ve been reading and watching far too many films and series. And thinking about a few things. For example: Do men ever worry about their reproductive rights? Seriously, does the male of the human species EVER have to fight anyone about his sperm and the consequences of sharing it with the female of the species? Hmm? Yeah, it’s been on my mind. Oh and every time I check on my blogcasa I find things have changed at WP–usually to make things easier for blogging. But it’s a bit like coming home and finding the place totally redecorated and having to figure out what’s what every time. Ah the least of my concerns. At any rate, it’s taken a while for me to decide to do a little sharing of the sort that ought not land me in the pokey for defamation of character. Here’s a list of books, films and music I think are worth sharing. Please, oh god, please, share back because this is the first of August and I am running out of quality entertainment while under heat arrest.
I’ve occupied my non-writing time with the likes of:
Show Me A Hero— book by Lisa Belkin, HBO mini-series.
IF anyone really wants to have a serious discussion about race issues in America this NON-fiction book and series offers a means for doing so. It also offers some how-to for dealing with community issues. And the trailer hardly gives a sense of the women whose true stories are worth the price of your viewing time. It might look like it’s all about Nick and the white guys, but it’s NOT.
The HBO series Treme goes to post Katrina New Orleans and strives to portray the cultural, social-economic, racial, justice issues via the personal lives of compelling individuals. It is not a pretty picture of state, local or federal government. If you love the many faces of Jazz you’ve got it made. The issues should make your blood boil. The food will make you hungry. The music will have you dancing and singing. The satire will satisfy a need for intellectual substance. And you just might cry more than you expect. Absolutely Addictive!
Another series worth spending some caged air conditioning time with is House of Cards—IF you can stomach any more political evil doing. Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright and an all around incredible cast dive into the cesspool otherwise known as the American political scene where there are NO rules at all. If you watch this then you’ll have no trouble thinking the worst of the republican and democratic parties–or any other political party. The pursuit of power by any and all means. Everyone is expendable and all collateral damage is acceptable. Evil is real. Oh yeah.
Ah more about human nature in glorious black and white—The Fifth Horseman is Fear. Jewish doctor, Nazis, Czechoslovakia and an injured political fugitive = great drama. What’s your risk factor? There’s a lot to contemplate in this study of human nature, identity and oppression. The image of the pianos haunts me with its beauty, sadness and tragedy. Keep your eye on the boy in the film. What does he make of everything he sees and hears–oh I do wonder.
Damn, I haven’t even gotten to books and music yet.
Okay I’m going to wrap this post up on an incredibly beautiful note with a link to a blog that those of you interested in film might find interesting. The Case For Global Film has a fine entry for the Hungarian film Love. Love stories are not just couples finding each other for sex and corny feel good times. What does love motivate people to do for each other? What does it mean in the grand scheme of all things? Is it the best thing about our species? Maybe. Is it the most powerful –and under-utilized weapon we have to deal with the self destructive chaos that our species creates in the world?
Love is yet another visually gorgeous film in black and white from 1972. If anyone finds a video for this film please drop a link as I’m not having any luck with my searches–yet. Hence the link which offers a host of other films all too often ignored in America.
For now–hello to all. Keep cool if you can. Sing, dance, eat well. Love. And fight the mayhem by refusing to let it overwhelm you.
I suspect I’ve been OVER thinking Johnny’s theme choice.
Go figure.
Okay, here’s how my warm-up music theme flows. Perhaps what’s significant to moi will resonate with some of you. If you have other music notions, please share them at will.
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New Direction from Cloud Atlas
The words and selection song for themselves.
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Heavenly Light from LP
Lights, action!
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Boogie Woogie ~ Luca Sestak
No fuss, no frills, just a man making a piano dance and sing.
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I’m Still Here ~ Polly Bergen
Can you relate? Hmm?
~
Yeah, I’m still working out the new wp tweaks and whittles. <–.
The Journey is such a deceptive phrase because it implies a beginning, middle and end when there really is none. One thing leads to another and then to another so there’s always an ongoing journey — an infinite plot-line, if you will, that never reaches any conclusion. If it did then entropy would set in, and that would be the end of, well, everything as we know it. On the other hand, that might not be such a bad thing for cleaning slates and starting over from scratch.
*
Roads and travelers come in all shapes and sizes–literally and figuratively.
Keiko Matsui ~ The Road album title track.
*
Into the Wild ~ LP – Live, of course. Whistle with her, if you can. I dare you. 🙂 So says moi, who can NOT whistle at all.
Rust and Bone soundtrack I Follow Rivers~ Lykke Li ~ Who’s up for a hard-core, edgy and no punches pulled journey into love?
*
Blank Maps ~ Cold Specks. If someone has found the kiosk with the life maps, please announce it on the intercom for everyone’s benefit. Thank you.
*
Into the Wild –Eddie Vedder ~ There are a number of videos with this music connected to the film by the same name. I decided to stick with the focus on Vedder’s voice and lyrics.
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Why Across the Universe?
Because of all the concrete and abstract journeys it contains: a young man’s journey from home to find his biological father; journeys of the heart and mind; journeys into and out of the war machine; journeys of friendship; creative journeys and spiritual journeys. The film is pretty much jam packed with a lot more than great Beatles’ music, though that alone is reason enough to give it some of your precious time–if you’re a Beatles fan, of course.
Across the Universe ~ I Want You
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A great survival story is a great survival story—that’s my response to those folks who have issues with the source material for this film. Frankly, I just don’t give a damn. Considering the way serious political history is constantly abused, misused, spun, and misrepresented by some film industries, I can’t get worked up about whether or not everything in this film is factual or not.
The Way Back ~ Tibet by Burkhard Dallwitz
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I’ve served The Thin Red Line on other occasions–sigh. Listen closely and let Private Witt speak for himself.
The Thin Red Line ~ The Swing Scene
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~~~
Where have Bear and the others gone? Let’s find out.
~~~ Like Johnny said, there are 7 billion life maps out there and none of them are the same. In other words, all our journeys are unique with this musical theme.
~
ps. This is subject to massive revision without notice. 🙂 Don’t forget your meal tickets.
After a little kibitzing with The Bear about who wants to do what and when, I’ve selected The Journey as the Music Theme for next Thursday, October 16, 2014. Yeah, we’re slip-sliding the order of things from one line-up to another simply because we can. So without further explanation or ado:
We experience many kinds of journeys in our lifetimes. Some are outward ones that anyone paying attention can observe and others are inward and invisible to others.
For some inspiration I’ve turned to the film Sin Nombre for a music selection because there are both outward and inward journeys undertaken by its characters.
Click KKFI logo to catch all it offers streaming online.
Nahko Bear
Amazon Watch
Peace Shanti Om
Click on the photo above to visit Amazon Watch.
Alice in Wonderland
pantry
Pavane
Breakfast Special(s)
For the very first post enter "Breakfast Special, #1" and/or scroll through older entries; second helping = Railroad Crossing; third helping, Close Shave; fourth helping, People? Really Now; fifth helping, Pussy No More; sixth helping, 'book ends'; seventh helping, Odds? What Odds?; eighth helping, Do You Dig Pink Flamingoes Dancing in the Snow and Blue Lights?; ninth helping, Old Reliable Jack; tenth helping, Snowing Deep Sleep; eleventh helping, Connecting; twelth helping, Equations; #13, The Most Important Meal of the Day; from then on enter into search box Breakfast Special and a number such as: #14, #15, #16 and so on.
For Kili 90.1 fm, Pine Ridge, SD, click the image below for The Voice of the Lakota Nation.
Native America Calling ~ Native Voice
Native America Calling on Native Voice
Copyright notice ~
Violating copyright births bad karma---imagine a mad hacker you'll never see coming--nor catch going. Respect = my work is my work and your work is your work.
Everything posted here is my work, copyrighted, unless otherwise noted. Comments aside. Om
Climate Denial Crock of the Week
Tree hugging on a practical level and more. All sorts of great tidbits from Mushroom homes to…well solar panels. Do not delay. Visit today.
Connie Dover
folk ballad singer of “Last Night by the River”
Coto 2
News Site–eg arrests of Mountaintop Removal Protestors
om mani padme hum jewel in the lotus wahupa qi prana universal life energy
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