Random Thoughts- November 2011

The ''Occupy Wall Street'' protest movement seems to be going strong after two months. I am on the fence with this cause. On the one hand, the greed that corporate America has shown, with the bankrupting of peoples lives, needs to have a strong spotlight shown on it. These vipors, who hide behind the slimmest of laws, have to be reined in. And, the genuine frustration and anger of the protesters is very valid. The other side of the protests, however, is disquieting. As with any legitimate issue, there is another set of vipors who rear their ugly heads. These are the exploiters of an issue. They make money on the protests. If you watch some of the protesters, they are wearing ''Occupy America'' shirts. Where is the money from the sale of these shirts going? The protesters do not seem to understand that they are now feeding into the hands of the very people they are protesting. They court the media, another limb on the arm of Big Business. The lunatic fringe starts problems with fighting and destruction of property and stopping hard working Americans from going to work. This happened with the Civil Rights and Vietnam marches in the sixties. The right moral side  of an issue mixed with the chaos of exploiters. My small advice to these mostly well intentioned people is to now focus in on the politicians who are wrapped in Big Business and peacefully become a part of their lives. No harm or violence should be involved. But, become a thorn in their sides. You might make a little more headway there... I heard The Beatles ''Across The Universe'' the other day again. This song, my favorite Beatles song, once again shows why they continue to be the most important musical force in history. The song was written in 1968. John Lennon tells of how the song literally drove him out of bed one night. He couldn't sleep until he put it down on paper. The words ''Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy'' kept going through his head. John sat down at the piano and it all came spilling out. This was one example where John always said that he didn't write these songs so much as '' be the channel'' for them to come into this world. The recording of the song, however, was another story for John. He always claimed he didn't sing it well enough and hated how it sounded. This seems like a remarkably harsh statement on Lennon's part. John was notorious for not liking the sound of his voice anyway, which is why there is a lot of echo on Lennon songs. I think he sounds perfect on the record. He was the Beatles strongest singer anyway-- taking nothing away from Paul. The chant '' Jai Guru Deve Om'' in the chorus comes from the Beatles infatuation with the Maharishi and Eastern mysticisim. It all works in this work of art from these masters of song. And, check out the great movie ''Across The Universe'' from a few years ago.... On the other side of genius and taste sits Adam Sandler. How this guy continues to work and be popular has to be among life's great mysteries. His current movie has been trashed by the critics-- no surprise there-- but, surprisingly, also by his fans. It will make money, but, not as much as his other movies have. Perhaps, his audience is wising up. But, Al Pacino in it? Why, Al? Nicholson sunk to Sandler's level in the horrible ''Anger Management''. Didn't that give you pause, Al? I have never found anything about Adam Sandler the least funny, but, one issue must be addressed: the voice he uses in his movies. He must think of it as his ''funny voice''. It is not. Instead, it sounds like he is making fun of mentally retarded people. Critics of him [ and, there are legions of them] have pointed this out when reviewing his work. Maybe, this is the secret of him appealing to the twelve year old boys crowd that is the core of his audience. At that age, boys think the sound of a grown man sounding like someone who is mentally challenged is funny. I do not.... And, finally, standing in the checkout line at the store the other day, I heard ''Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer'' again. I haven't really listened to it since I was a child. And, I was appalled at all that Rudolph went throught!!! He was a clear victim of bullying!!!! The other reindeers shunned him. Santa Claus looked the other way [ Santa must have worked at Penn State] and, finally, when there is foggy Christmas Eve and Santa and his minions needed Rudolph, only THEN could he become one of them. Rudolph saved the day and all the other reindeer loved him, but, if I was Rudolph, I would have told them all to go fuck themselves and fly the sled themselves. And, then while they were out, I would have nailed Mrs. Claus...