Silver Down!

Under $9/oz! (8.94)

Which means? Cheap silver, eventually.

(And gold is under $750...hmm...)

Saturday Poetry

Hilaire Belloc

1870 - 1953

October

Look, how those steep woods on the mountain's face
Burn, burn against the sunset; now the cold
Invades our very noon: the year's grown old,
Mornings are dark, and evenings come apace.
The vines below have lost their purple grace,
And in Forreze the white wrack backward rolled,
Hangs to the hills tempestuous, fold on fold,
And moaning gusts make desolate all the place.

Mine host the month, at thy good hostelry,
Tired limbs I'll stretch and steaming beast I'll tether;
Pile on great logs with Gascon hand and free,
And pour the Gascon stuff that laughs at weather;
Swell your tough lungs, north wind, no whit care we,
Singing old songs and drinking wine together.

Saturday Poetry

William Cullen Bryant

1794 - 1878

October

Aye, thou art welcome, heaven's delicious breath!
When woods begin to wear the crimson leaf,
And sons grow meek, and the meek suns grow brief,
And the year smiles as it draws near its death.
Wind of the sunny south! oh, still delay
In the gay woods and in the golden air,
Like to a good old age released from care,
Journeying, in long serenity, away.
In such a bright, late quiet, would that I
Might wear out life like thee, 'mid bowers and brooks,
And dearer yet, the sunshine of kind looks,
And music of kind voices ever nigh;
And when my last sand twinkled in the glass,
Pass silently from men, as thou dost pass.

From http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art46821.asp

William Cullen Bryant, most noted for his poem “Thanatopsis,” a study of death, also wrote numerous sonnets on nature. Born in Cummington, Massachusetts, November 3, 1794, Bryant was an early nature lover and much of his poetry focuses on nature subjects.

Bryant’s literary career had begun in his teens. He wrote and published a satirical poem titled “The Embargo” and several other poems when he was only thirteen. He wrote his most widely read poem, “Thanatopsis,” when he was only eighteen.

He moved to New York in 1825 and with a friend founded The New York Review, where he published many of his poems. His longest stint as an editor was at The Evening Post, where he served for over fifty years until his death. In addition to his editorial and literary efforts, Bryant joined in the political discussions of the day, offering clear-headed prose to his repertoire of works.

In 1832, Bryant published his first volume of poems and in 1852 his collection The Fountain and Other Poems appeared. When he was seventy-one years old, he began his translation of the Iliad which he completed in 1869; then he finished the Odyssey in 1871. When he was eighty-two, he wrote and published The Flood of Years, which remains his strongest work.

Bryant’s dedication to his literary career as well as to his homeland could not be emphasized any better than by the poet himself when he said, "We are not without the hope that those who read what we have written, will see in the past, with all its vicissitudes, the promise of a prosperous and honorable future, of concord at home, and peace and respect abroad; and that the same cheerful piety which leads the good man to put his personal trust in a kind Providence, will prompt the good citizen to cherish an equal confidence in regard to the destiny reserved for our beloved country."

Despite the shrill voices of many of today’s poets and political pundits who denigrate their country with their undisciplined art and polemics, Bryant’s hope has well been realized.

Down Baby! (2)

Silver's dropped to under $9.50--$9.3425/oz.

Keep going! Cheap silver!

Down Baby!

Silver is well below $10/oz finally! $9.69 at Gold Is Money.info

What I Know

I've previously said that all politicians lie and if I haven't, well, they do.

From The Hunt for Red October:

I'm a politician, Dr. Ryan. Which means that when I'm not kissing babies, I'm stealing their lollipops.

I love that line!

But another thing to remember is that "journalists", "the media", the people who cry that "the public has a right to know!" have an invisible agenda that always takes precedent over any responsibilities they might have to the public:

Let's you and him fight.

Saturday Poetry

Ellis Parker Butler
December 5, 1869 - September 13, 1937

October

The forest holds high carnival to-day,
And every hill-side glows with gold and fire;
Ivy and sumac dress in colors gay,
And oak and maple mask in bright attire.

The hoarded wealth of sober autumn days
In lavish mood for motley garb is spent,
And nature for the while at folly plays,
Knowing the morrow brings a snowy Lent.

From Ellis Parker Butler.info

Author of more than 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays, Ellis Parker Butler is most famous for his short story "Pigs is Pigs" in which a bureaucratic stationmaster insists on levying the livestock rate for a shipment of two pet guinea pigs that soon start proliferating geometrically.

Working from his home in Flushing (Queens) New York, Ellis Parker Butler was -- by every measure and by many times -- the most published author of the pulp fiction era.

His career spanned more than forty years and his stories, poems and articles were published in more than 225 magazines. His work appeared along side that of his contemporaries including Mark Twain, Sax Rohmer, James B. Hendryx, Berton Braley, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Don Marquis, Will Rogers and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Despite the enormous volume of his work Ellis Parker Butler was, for most of his life, only a part-time author. He worked full-time as a banker and was very active in his local community. A founding member of both the Dutch Treat Club and the Author's League of America, Butler was an always-present force in the New York City literary scene.

"You Gotta Be Twice As Good"

The Black Informant has an interesting post up:

As long as I can remember, this has been the advice given to many bright-eyed Black kids as they looked down the street of possibilities. This advice oftentimes was given by adults who lived in an era where being “twice as good as White folks” was practically a requirement if you wanted to move ahead.

Not to be racist or anything, but why doesn't he include the rest of the advice?

Luckily, that ain't that hard.

Saturday Poetry

George Cooper
1838-1927

October's Party

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came-
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Oaks in crimson dressed;
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best;
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow,
At hide-and-seek they played,
The party closed at sundown,
And everybody stayed.
Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In jolly "hands around."

Saturday Poetry

Jerry Lee Lewis

September 29, 1935 -

from http://www.metrolyrics.com/whole-lotta-shakin-goin-on-lyrics-jerry-lee-lewis.html

Whole Lotta Shaking Going On

Come over baby
whole lot of shakin' goin' on
Yes, I said come over baby
baby you can't go wrong
We ain't fakin'
Whole lot of shakin' goin' on

Well I said come over baby
we got chicken in the barn
oooh... huh..
Come over baby
babe we got the bull by the horn-a
We ain't fakin'
Whole lot of shakin' goin' on

Chorus

Well I said shake baby shake
I said shake baby shake
I said shake it baby shake it
I said shake baby shake
Come on over
Whole lot of shakin goin' on

Ahhhhh Let's Go !

Bridge

Well I said come over baby
we got chicken in the barn
Who's barn
what barn
my barn
Come over baby well, we got the bull by the horns
We ain't fakin'
Whole lot of shakin' goin' on

Easy Now (lower)
Shake it Ahhhh... Shake it babe
Yeah.... You can shake one time for me
Well I said come over baby
Whole lot of shakin' goin' on

Now lets get real low one time now
Shake baby shake
All you gotta honey is kinda stand in one spot
wiggle around just a little bit
thats what you gotta do yeah....
Oh babe whole lotta shakin' goin' on

Now let go one time

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Lotta_Shakin%27_Goin%27_On

"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" (also rendered "Whole Lotta Shaking Going On") is a song best known in the 1957 rock and roll hit version by Jerry Lee Lewis.

Origins of the song

The origins of the song are disputed, but the writing is co-credited to Native American (Crow) / African American Kentuckian singer/songwriter Dave "Curlee" Williams, and white pianist, bandleader and songwriter James Faye "Roy" Hall (May 7, 1922 - March 2, 1984). Hall made the first recording of the song in September 1954 for Decca Records, and maintained that he had written it under the pseudonym of "Sunny David". However, a Decca sample copy of Hall's recording lists Dave Williams as the sole writer. Hall was also a Nashville club owner, who later claimed to have employed young piano player Jerry Lee Lewis at some point around 1954.

Hall's version was rapidly covered by Big Maybelle whose recording was produced by the young Quincy Jones, and by others including The Commodores (no relation to the '70s Motown group). However, none of these early recordings found much commercial success.

Jerry Lee Lewis version

Jerry Lee Lewis had been performing the song in his stage act, and recorded it at his second recording session for Sun Records, on May 27, 1957. Supervised by producer Jack Clement, Lewis radically altered the original, adding a propulsive boogie piano that was complemented by J.M. Van Eaton's energetic drumming, and also added suggestive spoken asides. Lewis later stated : "I knew it was a hit when I cut it. Sam Phillips thought it was gonna be too risqué, it couldn't make it. If that's risqué, well, I'm sorry."

In Lewis' autobiographical film, Lewis is shown spying in on Black American speak-easy type club, listening to Whole Lotta Shakin Goin' On by a Black female soloist. The next scene depicts Lewis using this song, discrediting the original artist.

Released as Sun 267, the record reached # 3 on the Billboard pop charts, # 1 on the R&B charts, # 1 on the country charts, and # 8 in the UK. Lewis became an instant sensation and, as writer Robert Gordon noted: "Jerry Lee began to show that in this new emerging genre called rock 'n' roll, not everybody was going to stand there with a guitar."

Jerry Lee Lewis's version of the song is ranked as the sixty-first greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. In 2005, it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

Happy Birthday, Killer!

National Firearms Day

Oooh! The Only Life has a great idea!

So, we propose that each year, the Saturday after the first Monday in November be proclaimed National Firearms Day. This day will be in celebration of those elected officials who support the 2nd Amendment, and in defiance of those who oppose it. We feel that this day more than any other is appropriate for its symbolism and ability to send a very loud and pointed message to our elected officials.

That's the second Saturday in November this year-November 8th!

h/t Say Uncle

The Culture of the Now

Last night, I was able to watch a little more than half of the third episode of the show "Fringe".

I was probably okay with it, even with the gross image of the mad scientist (one of the good guys!) drilling a hole into a patient's head with a little electric drill. Did I mention the total lack of anesthesia? Consent forms? A sterile environment?

Yeah. Let's just have a hole drilled in a guy's head right now, and worry about way bad infection later on. Oy.

Apparently it all took place in one 24-hour period. Hmm, the lead investigator never goes home to sleep, never changes her clothes, runs hither and yon all day long and is just fine chasing down a bad guy and pointing a gun at him.

Um. And no pesky internal affairs asking how the bad guy got away from her (he committed suicide by stepping in front of a speeding bus).

So. She's still chipper at the end of the day, after witnessing one murder and one suicide, having drawn her gun and been ready to shoot (Condition Red, I believe). She doesn't need any down time or a drink or a a couple of pills. No, she just wants the mad scientist's son to play her a little Bach on the piano. In the lab.

"Nah," he says. "Bach is too stuffy. What you need is some jazz." And he starts noodling around, playing a version of a jazz standard (Someone to Watch Over Me, maybe?).

I wanted to kick the smug son-of-a-bitch in the balls. The show's writers and almost certainly the producers just made their allegiance to the current hipster generation known.

Hipster? You know, the generation that doesn't like anything that was created before their tastes were formed, decided, jelled.

I suppose it's actually more of an attitude than a generation, but it's an attitude that dismisses history as irrelevant, favors appearance over substance, the culture of the now over civilization.

Had the investigator stopped (shot) the piano player and insisted on her Bach, I would have been thrilled! To see a character with values other than those of the culture of now and to see her maintain, defend, demand those values would have been wonderful.

As it is, "Fringe" is just another stupid show.

Thoughts Upon Having Read Jon Land's "The Seven Sins: The Tyrant Ascending"

My God, this is terrible writing. And he's a successful professional writer...

Thoughts Upon Having Read John Ross' "Unintended Consequences" For the Fourth Time

Gah. That's a big book. More minor details stood out--FN continued to develop the Browning automatic rifle, culminating in the model D (Wikipedia has an interesting article on that)...gosh, I don't know what else.

Thinking about the plot, that's big too. But we're not at that point yet, and I hope we never get there. Purposeful, self-directed, political / bureaucratic assassination is somewhat too anarchic for my taste.

The writing is terrible. But Ross finished the book, told an exciting story, created memorable characters. I still read it, so what's he got that I haven't?

Saturday Poetry

Cole Porter

1891 - 1964

From http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank+sinatra/ive+got+you+under+my+skin_20055638.html

I've Got You Under My Skin

I've got you under my skin
I've got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart, that you're really a part of me
I've got you under my skin

I've tried so not to give in
I've said to myself this affair never will go so well
But why should I try to resist, when baby I know so well
That I've got you under my skin

I'd sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of having you near
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear

Don't you know you fool, you never can win
Use your mentality, wake up to reality
But each time I do, just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin
'cause I've got you under my skin

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ve_Got_You_Under_My_Skin_(song)

Written in 1936, it was introduced in the Eleanor Powell MGM musical, Born to Dance, in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song that year.

Sinatra first sang the song on his weekly radio show in 1946, as the second part of a medley with "Easy to Love". He put his definitive stamp on the tune ten years later, in a swinging big-band version that built to successive crescendoes on the back of an arrangement by Nelson Riddle. He usually included the song in his concerts thereafter.

In 1963, Sinatra re-recorded "I've Got You Under My Skin" for the album Sinatra's Sinatra, an album of re-recordings of Sinatra's personal favorites.

In 1993, Sinatra once again recorded "I've Got You Under My Skin", this time as a duet with Bono of U2, for inclusion on Sinatra's commercially very successful Duets album. It was also released as a B-side of U2's "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" single.

Silver Up

Silver is back over $12.50, oof.

Blasted Weather

Blasted weather in Houston may have snarled up my internet connection. All is much better now.

Saturday Poetry

Gus Kahn

1886 - 1941

The Carioca

Say, have you seen a Carioca?
It's not a foxtrot or a polka
It has a little bit of new rhythm, a blue rhythm that sighs

It has a meter that is tricky
A bit of wicked wacky-wicky
But when you dance it with a new love, there's a true love in her eye

You dream of a new Carioca
Its theme is a kiss and a sigh
You dream of a new Carioca
When music and lights are gone we say goodbye

Two heads together, they say are better than one
Two heads together, that's how the dance is begun
Two arms around you and lips, that's why I'm yours and you are mine
And you are mine

Now that you've done the Carioca
You'll never care to do the Polka
And then you'll realize the blue hula and bamboola are through

Tomorrow morning you'll discover
You're just a Carioca lover
And when you dance it with each new love, there'll be true love just for you

Now you'll dream of a new Carioca
Its theme is a kiss and a sigh
You'll dream of a new Carioca
When music and lights are gone and we're saying goodbye
Goodbye

Who Am I?

Curtis Lowe has an amusing post up re political experience, and who has it or has had it.

Enjoy.

September 11, 2001

I haven't blogged about 9/11 before. I was home that day with Samantha, who was not yet 8 months old. Everything on the television was the news about the first plane flying into the World Trade Center towers.

Then the second plane hit. And the Pentagon was hit by a plane. And a fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania.

In the days and weeks and months and years that followed, I was angry that my country had been attacked, and that we were not able to strike back, directly, cleanly, at those who had initiated the attack.

I was a Democrat that day, until I saw the damage and said to myself "Thank God the grownups are in charge."

Politicians and news commentators and people with political influence muddied the waters, trying to convince us that we must have deserved, did deserve, the attack. Those of us who wanted revenge joked grimly about turning the Middle East into a sea of glass.

But the grownups were in charge and pursued a more rational response, trying diplomacy and firing warning shots. The US invaded Afghanistan and then Iraq, fighting the terrorists and those who lead them on their ground, taking the fight to them.

If there may have been further attempts of terrorism on the US, they have been foiled.

In my time, I have hated and it is a self-destructive choice. I do not hate the people and the countries who have chosen terrorism as their path to power, but I do not question their failures or their deaths. I don't care. Die already.