Enchanted Chalice Renaissance Faire

... today at the Unitarian Universalist church-grounds, which is on beautiful Paris Mountain. I read tarot, ate fried okra, and took a parcel of pics. Enjoy! (As always, you can click all photos to enlarge!)

The last two feature our Occupy the Microphone radio show booth, co-host Double A and your humble narrator (and tarot reader).

~*~

SpringSkunk Music Fest

It was a fabulous weekend! Our proud and plucky little radio show, Occupy the Microphone, set up shop at the SpringSkunk Music Fest, which is the springtime incarnation of the Albino Skunk Music Festival; great people, great music, good times!

Gregg and Double A sold Gregg's home-baked cheesecake (from his mom's secret recipe) and I spent most of my time reading the Tarot, so I didn't get as many photos of bands as I did at last autumn's Skunkfest.




Below: Hurray for the Riff Raff (I got their CD "Look Out Mama" in exchange for reading tarot for a band member--alright!), Brushfire Stankgrass, Lake Street Dive, Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret. (you can click to enlarge)




Fire jugglers:




Assorted scenes from the festival, including cool old hippie bus, abandoned houseboat in the woods, and (of course) cute doggies.



And a splendid time was had by all!

Got links?

At left: a very colorful Page of Cups.



Lots of great reading out there, and I can barely keep up.

Here's a sampler of goodies you may have missed:

[] Arkansas Republican endorses death penalty for children (Raw Story) In case you wonder, candidate Charlie Fuqua got this straight from Deuteronomy 21:18-21.

So if you disagree, talk to God about it, okay?

[] Woo hoo, it's Conspiracy Theory time! Elections bring them out of the woodwork as little else does. AlterNet gives us 10 Conspiracy Theories Hatched by Conservative Fearmongers As Election Day Nears, which is entertaining enough that I hope to cover a couple of these on my upcoming radio show.

As a South Carolina Green Party member in good standing, my hands-down favorite is "The Green Plot to enslave the world":

Agenda 21, a little known and non-binding resolution adopted by the United Nations, is viewed by some on the right as an attempt to control the lives of people throughout the world by regulating everything they do. Amongst their paranoid fears is that Agenda 21 will cede U.S. sovereignty to the U.N. and a one-world government. The truth is that Agenda 21 is a set of principles to guide the development of practices to preserve a sustainable environment for future generations. It is entirely voluntary and was agreed to by the U.N. in 1992 and signed by President George H.W. Bush.

But to hear doomsayers like Glenn Beck put it, it will “suck all the blood out of [our communities], and we will not be able to survive.”

[] My friend JW finally had the daughter I foretold for her and her partner in their Tarot readings. Alright! Our hearty Deadhead congratulations go out to both of them, as well as lovely big sister LM (whom regular DEAD AIR readers may recall from THIS photo).

To celebrate, a look back at JW's reading, as well as a popular piece I wrote about the Tarot titled, How I learned to stop worrying and love the Tarot.

In addition, here is South Carolina Boy's post about my reading of his cards.

[] Anti-Muslim subway ads that sparked anger in New York are now popping up in D.C. (Huffington Post)

The ads, paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, are supposed to be posted in the U Street, Georgia Avenue, Takoma and Glenmont stations for one month.

The ad reads: "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad." They have been widely condemned as promoting Islamophobia.

[] Interesting piece titled Nerds and Male Privilege comes directly on the heels of Annalee Newitz's controversial The Great Geek Sexism Debate. BE INFORMED!

[] A heated exchange about disability and abortion starts with Disability, Prenatal Testing and the Case for a Moral, Compassionate Abortion, which brings an angry response from Tiger Beatdown: Lives worth living: Disability, abortion, and slipshod ethics (comments also mandatory reading). Response/Part II: Disability and Abortion, Part Two: Individual moral choices are not categorical imperatives.

Caution: Very heavy, emotionally-wrenching stuff, but it's what we all ought to be thinking about, as science marches on and genetic testing becomes increasingly commonplace and culturally accepted.

[] Historic Number of Women on Ballots Could Lead to Historic Year for Female Lawmakers (Reality Check) Thanks to my California-droog Barbara! (kiss)

Along these same lines, check out some FEMINIST HALLOWEEN COSTUMES!

[] In further election news, our embarrassing Teabagger Senator, Jim DeMint, has decided to join Rick Santorum in backing Todd Akin for Senate in Missouri. I do find it interesting that Chris Christie wants no part of Akin, and has cut him loose.

Translation: Obviously, Christie has his eye on the proverbial Big Tent (higher office), while DeMint is intent on consolidating his power and influence on the right.

[] No list of links is complete without Glenn Greenwald. I especially recommend last month's one-two punch, CNN and the business of state-sponsored TV news (subtitled: The network is seriously compromising its journalism in the Gulf states by blurring the line between advertising and editorial)... and Conservatives, Democrats and the convenience of denouncing free speech (subtitled: Westerners love to decry censorship aimed at them by Muslims while ignoring the extreme censorship they impose on them). Both from the UK Guardian, and required reading for newshounds.

[] And finally, your long-overdue dose of cute: Panda mama nurses her little baby pandas. AIYEEE! SQUEEE!!! (((dead from cuteness)))

Democrats, Republicans and links

And the 2012 Democratic Convention commences! It should be interesting. Protests are planned in 32 cities nationwide, on September 6th.





I decided to sit this protest out, even though it's in Charlotte, which is only a stone's throw away.

Whenever I asked The Fates if I should go, I kept getting this card. Yow! Three times is the charm. I got it three times in a row, and that settles it. Staying home.

Besides, I am way too old to sleep on floors, which never bothered me when I was young. (sigh) I will leave that hardy activity to the youngsters. Thanks to the marvel of Facebook and Twitter, I have a ringside seat, with great photos being provided by my many droogs. I will try to include a few here, throughout the week.

Thanks, peeps, and I LOVE YOU!

~*~

Speaking of aging, here is a good one:

Harry's Law canceled because viewers are too old:

On paper, the cancellation looked a bit surprising, because "Harry's Law" is NBC's second most-watched drama behind "Smash." "Harry's Law" averaged 8.8 million total viewers this season, compared with 9 million for "Smash," according to Nielsen. And it drew more viewers than "Law & Order: SVU" (7.6 million), which just got renewed for next fall.

The problem? Those "Harry's Law" viewers are older than Madison Avenue wants. The show ranked very low among viewers ages 18 to 49, the demographic most advertisers care about.

~*~

And speaking of arrests, the undocumented immigrant riders of the "Undocubus" are being arrested, literally as I type this.

Outside the Democratic Convention: Labor Rallies, Protests, and the "Undocubus" (Village Voice)

Not Much Evidence That Romney Got a Post-Convention Bounce—and That Should Worry Him (The New Republic)

Mitt Romney's Bain Capital Bailout: GOP Candidate's Firm Profited From Company That Required $44 Million Federal Bailout. (Huffington Post) -- Daisy's subtitle "Government spending for ME, but not for THEE!"

Mitt and Me -- Mitt Romney doll comes to life.

Occupy Greenville celebrates Labor Day in the pouring rain! -- Yes, we are still at it!

~*~

Time for Tuesday tuneage! I played this one on my radio show some months ago. (And here is the link to Saturday's fabulous show.)

It just seems fitting.

I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician - Roger McGuinn (Live) 1986

The Empire Strikes Back

Graphic courtesy of the Feminist Majority Foundation blog.

Millions of poor chickens have to die en masse, all to prove that Christians hate gay marriage. I am one of the minority of folks who worries about the innocent chickens in this whole fiasco. (waves to fellow vegetarians)



As you are undoubtedly aware, the Chick Fil-A hoopla continues, as everyone in the world continues to brawl on Facebook, Twitter, Blogdonia and beyond. (The pro-gay kiss-in protest was held today, in various areas of the country.) The gay marriage debate has now reached every corner of the USA. People are being defriended right and left.

Meanwhile, the beleaguered, hard-working Christians who head up the nation's soup kitchens and homeless shelters, wonder why they can't get even one-eightieth of these Christians to assist them, when they put out their constant pleas for help.

Maybe its the food? The soup kitchen fare is no match for fried-fowl sandwiches, apparently.

Or maybe it's easier to grandstand, pose in a fast-food line for TV cameras, then eat and run. POOF, you are a devout Christian! No caring for the poor, no mopping floors, no boring bake-sales, no ladling out soup for dirty junkies who have been sleeping out in the used-car lot. No work necessary. No need to leave your comfy suburb and associate with filthy lowlifes, publicans and sinners. In fact, you do not even need to leave your air-conditioned vehicle if you decide to go to the drive-thru. Its much easier, quicker, AND you get to be on TV! All your friends will see you! You can take a photo of yourself and put it on Facebook so your parents, preacher and other buddies can see what a good Christian you are! Mike Huckabee will sing your praises on Fox News!

Serving the poor and such, as Jesus actually advised his followers to do? The Franciscans have been doing this since forever, and as we know, nobody puts them on Facebook or TV. They are boring, poorly-attired and do not understand good PR, as Dan Cathy obviously does.

Too bad we can't get these Christians to care about the poor and homeless as much as they care about hating gays. Society might actually change for the GOOD, and we certainly can't have THAT!

More on this topic tomorrow, on my radio show. I taped it today, ranted and raved, and even shouted once. (What, me worry?) It's entertaining and lots more fun than Mike Huckabee.

Tune in tomorrow!

And speaking of Mike Huckabee, what happened to his concerns about weight, wholesome foods and health? He goes from talk of healthy eating, to exhorting us all to eat fried garbage? Huh?

He used to talk about the importance of Americans eating good food, but I guess he can't now that he has his Fox News marching orders. I mean, he's under contract, you know.

Locally, here in Bob Jones University land, we actually had a PROTESTOR! More on the show tomorrow. In the meantime, eat HERE instead of nasty Chick Fil-A. (check out the show for the reasons why)

~*~

A few other links:

[] South Carolina Boy wrote about his tarot reading... I love it when people write cool stuff about me. :)

My best wishes are with him at this time, as always.

[] Private prisons spend $45 million on lobbying, rake in $5.1 billion for immigrant detention alone.

[] And finally, Harry Reid decides to go after Romney in a big way:

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is unabashed as he makes a serious, unsubstantiated claim about Mitt Romney: that the Republican candidate for president did not pay any taxes for 10 years. That, the Nevada senator says, is why Mr. Romney will not release tax returns beyond those he has already made public, his 2010 return and an estimate for 2011.

Senator Reid, in fact, is so certain he’s doing the right thing that he repeated his charge on the floor of the Senate Thursday night, and put it out in a statement.

(giggle)

Let the games begin!

~*~

And did you all see THE DARK KNIGHT RISES yet? Did you notice the trashing of Occupy Wall Street?

I did find it very interesting that Bruce Wayne has now lost his money... do filmmakers think a rich hero is no longer sympathetic? As one of my friends also said, the tumultuous economy means we find this new plot-development totally believable, if alarming: Good Lord, even BRUCE WAYNE IS POOR NOW? Is nothing sacred?

The director, Christopher Nolan (whom I have admired ever since his wonderful movie-masterpiece MEMENTO) said in his Rolling Stone interview:

We put a lot of interesting questions in the air, but that's simply a backdrop for the story. What we're really trying to do is show the cracks of society, show the conflicts that somebody would try to wedge open. We're going to get wildly different interpretations of what the film is supporting and not supporting, but it's not doing any of those things. It's just telling a story. If you're saying, “Have you made a film that's supposed to be criticizing the Occupy Wall Street movement?” – well, obviously, that's not true.

For the record, I don't think its "obviously" not true at all... someone is trying to have his cake and eat it too.

Meanwhile, the new game Call of Duty is also taking direct aim at Occupy. And the two have something in common, it turns out. From SALON:

Reporting on the upcoming new edition of the game “Call of Duty” and the imminent release of the film “The Dark Knight Rises,” Gameranx.com reports:

The game’s main villain is Raul Menendez, described as the “idolized Messiah of the 99%” – a Julian Assange-like character who’s old, experienced, and hell bent on starting a global insurrection against the status quo…

The character, as with the rest of the story, is the creation of David S. Goyer. Goyer is the co-writer of “The Dark Knight Rises,” which also shares a similar story featuring Bane as Batman’s primary antagonist, who starts a class war aimed against the rich and privileged of Gotham City with the backing of the common man.

In 1988, a Konami executive said pop culture industries were looking to “take anything remotely in the news and make it a game.” Obviously, this move to put the headline-grabbing “99 percent” concept into video games and movies shows what that enduring strategy looks like in practice — and it doesn’t look very good.

It has also been pointed out to me that the new villain in the next James Bond movie, Skyfall, (named "Silva" and played by Javier Bardem) has whitish-blond, Julian Assange-ish hair. No kidding?

As Ryan Gilbey of the UK Guardian wrote:

One unwritten rule of the series is that 007's opponents tend to personify the perceived threats or preoccupations of the era which spawns them. We can discern from the plot titbits present in the Skyfall trailer that the security of British spies is compromised when a disc containing information about their identities is lost. So we have a potentially hazardous leak of top-secret data, presided over perhaps by this bright-haired man named Silva. As if Julian Assange hasn't got enough to worry about, he won't even be able to pop to the local multiplex in October without seeing a menacing supervillain modelled on him.

The Empire Strikes Back.

Goodbye lovely Meredith!

Today I helped still another cool person move away from the upstate. :(

I have written before of how we lose all the cool people to places like Oregon, California, even Asheville. I am hopeful that someday, progressive, forward-thinking folks might make this area a real destination, rather than a pit stop.

I helped my Occupier-friend move back to California, and in turn, she blessed me with a bunch of amazingly wonderful old stuff she could not find room to pack: a Tibetan prayer wheel, several tarot decks (including the fabulous Haindl Tarot, Day of the Dead and Goddess Tarot), various sacred and voodoo oils, candles, linens, a sweater and jacket, a clay sculpture of Ariadne, a small brass Buddha, assorted office supplies and unused photo albums, an antique teddy bear and so much more.

It's been like Christmas for hippies.

I still wish she would stay. Greenville needs more enlightened souls who will hang around awhile. I have decided that building our Occupy Greenville chapter is one way to ensure this. We had a picnic on Saturday, and I was reminded of what wonderful folks we are lucky to have, and how tight-knit our group has become as a result.

Unfortunately, evil, bigoted, homophobic laws like the one currently being voted on in North Carolina today (denying equal marriage rights to gay couples) are one reason the cool people leave, as I have complained in this space so many times. The oppressive and backward presence of Bob Jones University, is still another. We have to keep fighting the repression, fighting the people who would take us backwards and spread damaging ignorance.

In the meantime, we do have a solid collective, and that is something to celebrate.

And to my dearest Meredith: Vaya Con Dios. We shall meet again.

Terri Leigh McKee 1958-2012

The Queen of Cups, from the Art Nouveau Tarot by Matt Myers.




Advice: When people ask you to stay in touch, stay in touch. Don't tell yourself "one of these days"--because you might Google them one day and find their obituary.

She came to my grandmother's funeral, whom she had loved. I promised her I would mail her copies of photos I had recently discovered, of our childhood... one of us standing next to an old Packard, another of us trying to make Kool-Aid, and still another, in front of a gaudy, awful, silver Christmas tree.

I never remembered to send them.

We grew apart... I became a crazy radical, and she remained devout and conservative. We had little in common as adults, and it was somewhat uncomfortable. You know how that is.

I still remember us singing together, "In the Year 2525" and laughing about the lyrics. We also sang it into the telephone for crank calls, which of course, you can't make any more. (The kids have no idea what they're missing.)

I had been thinking about her all week, possibly due to the death of Davy Jones. But it suddenly became pressing and important, as if I should see if I could try to find her. (She wasn't on Facebook or any of the other social media sites.) So, I did, and found this:

McKEE Terri L. McKee, age 53, passed away Monday, March 5, 2012. She was a member of St. Cecilia Catholic Church and a graduate of Westland High School, Class of '77'. Preceded in death by great-grandparents Charles and Sarah Bentz, grandparents Frank and Thelma Bragg and Adryenne and Arnold McKee, aunt Marilyn Isaac, and cousin Robert Riley. Survived by parents, John and Julia McKee; fiancee, Michael Woolfe; sister, Vicki (Mike) Davis; nephews, Nicholas Davis and Benjamin (Sara) Davis; great-nephew, Thomas Davis; along with aunts, uncles, cousins, loving relatives, and friends. Family will receive friends Sunday from 2-5 p.m. at THE TIDD FUNERAL HOME, 5265 Norwich St., Hilliard, OH 43026. A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Monday at CONCORDIA LUTHERAN CHURCH, 225 Schoolhouse Lane, Columbus, OH 43228. Interment Sunset Cemetery.

All attempts at taking photos of photos have failed, so you will have to settle for my physical description: light light parakeet-blonde hair (100% natural) and extremely disarming pale blue eyes. Very feminine, small, thin, petite.

Aspasia offers the consoling thought that I thought of Terri because her soul was reaching out to me, to say goodbye. It is a comfort to think so.

And you folks reading: please don't forget my advice. Contact those old friends now. Don't put it off.

~*~

In the year 2525 - Zager and Evans



We got on a roller coaster once, at the Ohio State Fair, while this song was playing, full-blast. We screamed and sang along, all at once. One of those wonderful, great moments of childhood... perhaps she thought of it in her last moments, as I surely will.

Pleasant Valley Sunday - The Monkees



Mr Green, he's so serene, he's got a TV in every room... we decided we liked Mr Green and wanted TVs in every room when we grew up, too.

Goodbye, old friend.

Random Monday notes and warnings

As every single Star Wars movie has said at least once: I have a very bad feeling about this. PLEASE brothers and sisters in the Occupy movement, do not underestimate a cutthroat conservative politician who is afraid of losing their base, and what they might do to keep that base happy.

Occupiers are planning to defy Governor Haley's unconstitutional 6pm curfew at the State House in Columbia. My best Deadhead vibes are with them, as well as my warnings. My Tarot counseled me in no uncertain terms, not to go. Reshuffled, threw it again, even worse the second time. I decided that since I have no bail money, I would sit this one out. If I had a lawyer at the ready and bail money, I would be taking part.

Nikki Haley is weathering several scandals right now, and Occupy Columbia is popularly regarded as one of these. Conservatives want her to sweep the place, and "get tough" on Occupy. She finally did, and the nineteen arrests were greeted as a positive by conservatives.

Haley is currently dealing with an ethics-based lawsuit:

COLUMBIA -- A top Republican donor and critic of Gov. Nikki Haley asked a court Thursday to decide whether she broke ethics laws while she was a member of the South Carolina House. Haley discounted the lawsuit.

The lawsuit filed in circuit court in Richland County by John Rainey centers around Haley's jobs as a fundraiser for the Lexington Medical Center and with an engineering firm that has state contracts.

The lawsuit is the culmination of months of digging by Rainey, former chairman of the state Board of Economic Advisors, who first raised questions about Haley's work in 2010 during her campaign for governor.

Rainey, a longtime Republican activist, declined comment on the suit Thursday, as did his lawyer, Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian.

"There's nothing there," Haley said during a visit Thursday to the Alcoa aluminum plant in Goose Creek. "He needs to get a life," she said, referring to Rainey. "It's a silly vendetta."

The lawsuit accuses the Republican governor of working as a lobbyist for the hospital, and of soliciting lobbyists to donate to its foundation.

It also accuses her of failing to disclose information on campaign filings about her work for Wilbur Smith, and of not recusing herself from a vote benefiting the employer, as well as not explaining on another vote why she did recuse herself.

"Haley exploited her public office for personal financial gain by trading on her influence and office to benefit corporations that were paying her money," the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit accuses Haley, first elected in 2004 to represent Lexington in the House, of lobbying the state Department of Health and Environment Control on behalf of Lexington Medical, as it sought permission for a new open-heart surgery center.

In addition, fiscal conservatives have been livid over her well-publicized "jobs junket" to France and Germany.

Governor Haley has unfairly baited and trashed Occupy Columbia from the beginning. Therefore, I am worried that she will use a crackdown for political gain, and as a diversion tactic.

Please, everybody, be careful and be prepared.

~*~

Required reading: At Religious Right Forum, GOP Candidates Weep and Proselytize. Yes, it's as bad as you think it is.

What's funny is how Newt and Ron Paul can't quite get with the program. They are congenitally unable to act a fool in public:

Herman Cain lost his composure when talking about he was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer; former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, Penn., came apart a bit when berating himself for having stayed emotionally distant from his youngest daughter, who has a grave genetic disorder that has twice brought her close to death.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minn., told of how her father abandoned her family, leaving her mother to sell their wedding gifts -- "all the pretty dishes" -- at a garage sale. Apparently lacking a personal story to match theirs, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Ga., summoned the tale of a friend's gravely injured child to simultaneously choke up and rail against the health-care reform law signed by President Barack Obama.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry talked of finding Jesus. Rep. Ron Paul, Texas, gave hints of Christian Reconstructionist leanings, but proved himself inept at public soul-bearing. Asked to reveal some personal difficulty, he talked of how injury cut short his high school track career, but then said he realized it wasn't that big a deal.

Another example of why people like Ron Paul: even when he tries to be all touchy-feely and play the Dr Phil game, on some level, his sensible side just won't play along with the okey-doke. He's a doctor, remember?

Newt also tries hard, but his Ebenezer-Scrooge-personality inevitably shows itself, no matter what he does. Now he has added a moral-mea-culpa page to his website, pandering to the Religious Right that is still skeptical of his serial monogamy and general assholery.

I am not surprised Newt has surged to the front of the pack, what with sexual harassers, stoners and religious flakes embarrassing the GOP. He IS smart (like a fox) and the Republicans are long-tired of being shamed by conservative stupidity. Newt, college lecturer and shape-shifting busybody, is the flavor of the hour.

~*~

Glenn Greenwald accurately speaks my thoughts aloud, asking WHY children of rich politicians and commentators get hired by the media, as if they have a clue? Meritocracy? Say what?:

I really don’t understand what those angry, lazy losers in the Occupy movement are so upset about. America is a meritocracy; if you work hard and prove your skills, you get ahead. The winners deserve what they have because they have earned it. And when all else fails, we have a media filled with insurgent outsiders who will be relentless watchdogs over those in power because that’s what our media outlets are: true outsiders there to check the most powerful factions.

Even more encouragingly, we have a media that ensures that diverse views are heard; Chelsea Clinton previously worked at a $12 billion hedge fund and her former-Goldman-Sachs-banker husband earlier this year launched his own hedge fund with “two guys from Goldman,” so she brings a depth and diversity of perspetive that is sorely lacking in our news (true, CNN boldly features Erin Burnett — the former Goldman, Sachs employee and current fiancé of a top Citigroup executive — but nothing can compete with Chelsea Clinton’s rich, impressive journalism background).

And now, we can add Meghan McCain to that list, along with Luke Russert, Imogen Lloyd Webber and Jenna Bush.

Meritocracy? Only if you have the merit to be born to somebody important.

~*~

Have I mentioned that I don't like the fact that there is a movie called "The Kids Are Alright"--since there is also an old documentary about The Who by that name? Please be original enough to think up original names for your movies! If you can't, even if you are Lisa Cholodenko and directed one of my favorite movies of all time, I will boycott your cutesy mainstream movie.

Be advised!

Below: Check out the bemused expressions on the faces of folks floating by in the boats. Keith was adorable! Roger still hadn't morphed into a fashion plate, so you may not even recognize him.


The Kids Are Alright - The Who

Tunes for 11-11-11

At left, Daisy meets local legend Country Earl! I was thrilled beyond measure. I was introduced to him when I visited the Mauldin Open Air Market last week, to buy Joel Ann's legendary cashew brittle, as well as oodles of fabulous local produce.




I hope you are all having a good 11-11-11, which is a suitably cosmic thang.

I tried to remember to make a wish at 11:11am, and forgot. Yall don't forget at 11:11pm!

Below, some earworms and other delights.

~*~

I thought this was called "Rock and Roll Star" but it's just "Star." It's been ages since I looked at the album cover.

Its a pop/rock gem from that amazing work of art titled The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

I also love it, since he explains exactly what he is going to do, and then he went out and did it. (And how often does that happen?) For emphasis, at the end he adds, "just watch me."

I could do with the money
I'm so wiped out with things as they are
I'd send my photograph to my honey
And I'd come on like a regular superstar


Star - David Bowie



~*~

Okay, trigger warnings and all that stuff. You know what comes from poppies, and you know what happens when people get too fond of it. (Lyrics here)

My tarot reading for 11-11-11 started with the Temperance card, which made me think of this song. It always does.

Baby want more.

Poppies - Patti Smith Group



~*~

My favorite song by the late Jim Croce, which it seems few people have heard.

Hey Tomorrow - Jim Croce



~*~

And finally, this is for Veterans Day.

How many of you were aware that Jim Morrison's father was a Rear Admiral in the Navy? It really does explain a lot.

In concert, Morrison would hit the ground at the sound of the gunshot, like, splat. No slow toppling-over, but bang, flat on the ground. I think you probably have to be really high to do that. Nonetheless, it was damned impressive.

Note the cheering-crowd noise spliced with funeral-church bells at the end. Perfect.

The Unknown Soldier - The Doors



Happy Veterans Day. Bring Them Home Now.