Finally...some raves

Finally a Rave!! Kim and I have discovered two wonderful programs on Netflix this past week. They are entirely different from one another and would probably appeal to absolutely disparate ranks of followers, but somehow they both managed to appeal to us.

The first show is 'Flesh for the Beast: Tsukiko's Curse.'

FFTB is an unusual show in that it melds X-files, Supernatural and Warehouse 13 with early 90s Skinemax production values. The show is at once intriguing, almost captivating, and so low budget it makes MST3K look like a Pixar project. I'm serious. This train wreck of a show is absolutely worth watching if you're even the least bit interested in occult shows. The acting is often bad, the cinematography is lacking, the special effects are cheesy but somehow we couldn't stop watching. To put this in context, we had both just watched Twin Peaks for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. I really can't explain this shows appeal.

There is only one season. But like the best of shows, it completes the story by the end of its run. And the wrap-up is awesome. After dealing with decades of great shows killed before their time [or their story] had been finished, it was nice to see a complete package like this.

Seriously, give it a couple episodes. You might find it enjoyable.

The second show is 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.'

“They alive dammit!” This show has made me laugh harder and more frequently than an Eddie Izzard stand-up show. It is hilarious! Kimmy Schmidt left the 1990s and emerged in the 20teens - dealing with her 'time travel,' her kidnapping and her adaptation to the smartphone age is very funny. Ellie Kemper, the title character, has this engaging, puppy-like charm that makes almost every word out of her mouth a gigglefest. Sometime either late in season 1 or early season 2 [one of the problems with binge-watching] they straightened her hair and somehow the show started being less funny. Her supporting cast is awesome. Carol Kane often steals the show as her slightly crazy landlady, Lillian. Her bald, black, gay roommate Titus Andromedon, played by Titus Burgess, who breaks into show tunes from way the f*** off-broadway shows like 'Alabama!' [the black version of Oklahoma!] and the wicked title song from 'Daddy's Boy.' [Just watch the show lmao] Her boss/friend Jane Krakowski and her Psychiatrist Tina Fey round out the cast with enough power to fill every tank at Monsters Inc. with adult laughter. Run Lillian!

ok...I've raved myself out. FFTB is awful and wonderful. Kimmy Schmidt is just plain funny for the most part.

I hope you enjoy.  

Transgender Bathroom Law?

I was struggling to find something to rant about this morning because I was actually feeling all right with the world when I woke up today. Less than 10 seconds on Facebook and I had my topic. This whole transgender bathroom nonsense. So far as I can tell, we have Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, Bryan Adams, Pearl Jam and two Disney drones canceling concerts in North Carolina and Mississippi; Paypal abandoning a proposed Charlotte office; a new Hulu show relocating its filming location away from Charlotte NC. That's a pretty hefty response in terms of media coverage. In addition, there is a boycott of Target by people who think they are encouraging sexual predators by being open to transgender folks using their bathrooms.

Now, I may be wrong here, but I don't really think sexual predators actually care about laws. They are after all deviants in the true sense of the word. Keep in mind here that I am not talking about transgender, transvestite, gay or lesbian folks as deviant. I am talking about sexual predators and they come in every stripe (pardon the pun). I have read about more Catholic Priests abusing little boys and Evangelicals are the main source of cults these days, yet I don't see any movement to keep them out of bathrooms. I am a firm believer that most people want to simply be about their life with a minimum of interference. I also believe that statement applies to everyone whether his or her nether regions are what they were born with or had installed.

The main thing I want from most people is their silence, or even better, their absence. I want peace and quiet to read my books, listen to my music, and try to write my endless succession of first chapters.

Whatever your personal preference in plumbing, it is exactly that: your personal preference. I have had it with the government getting involved with personal choices. I could understand if it was actually a question of public safety, but when was the last time you heard of a young Christian boy being beaten to death by a gang of trannies? The opposite happens more frequently.

This really all boils down to white male Christians who think their tiny penises are in huge demand and are afraid of getting groped in the toilet (which they secretly want to happen anyway). Face it John Q. Public, nobody really wants to handle your junk. Get over it and move on to something that actually matters.

Nuff Said.

WTF 2016?

OK, I know death is part of life. I respect the fact that everyone will eventually die. In some cases I hope it happens quicker than others even. But the rush of celebrities to the grave in 2016 is simply appalling.
It is now the end of April and I am still reeling from the deaths of Lemmy and David Bowie. More so for Bowie because he was so important to both my wife and I. Lemmy was a far out old speed freak who lived life on his own terms. With the exception of his chemical problems, he is definitely a role model.But his appeal was limited to true believers in Rock Gods.

Bowie on the other hand was not so much an entertainer as he was a force of nature. Even his poppiest of songs gives you something to think about. He was the Man Who Fell to Earth, Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, and basically the face of British music since the early 70s.
What makes his passing easier is how well he prepared for it. He spent his 18 moths on earth preparing a farewell package for his fans. Blackstar is an amazing album and fits nicely into Bowie's conceptual continuity [to steal a concept from Zappa]. One thing I don't get is why he was never knighted. I realize he was never as big a queen as Sir Reginald, but he was a chameleon who always stayed one step ahead of the trends instead of locking himself in to one persona. Anyway, here's the list of those that I'm aware of:

Lemmy
     [2015, but I was still reeling from that when word of Bowie's passing came my way]
David Bowie
    See above
Dale Griffin [Mott the Hoople]
     Bowie wrote this 'All the Young Dudes' for this band
Glenn Frey [The Eagles]
     Yeah, yeah...not a big fan but I can still show respect for his achievements
Signe Anderson [Jefferson Airplane]
     She was female lead before they replaced her with Grace Slick. Not sure if I ever actually heard           her sing
Paul Kantner [Jefferson Airplane]
   Just found about Paul while I was checking my list. He was always my favorite member of the            band. He just looked so cool.
Maurice White [Earth, Wind & Fire]
    Always loved EWF.
Dan Hicks [Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks]
    Don't know much about him, always liked the band name.
Denise Matthews [Vanity]
    Never had much use for Vanity, Wonder how Nikki Sixx took it.
Sonny James ["Young Love"]
     One of the country artists I listened to when I was a little kid
Lennie Baker [Sha-Na-Na]
     The lead vocalist on 'Blue Moon.'
Sir George Martin
      The fifth Beatle... big frowny face
Keith Emerson [Emerson, Lake & Palmer]
    This was a heartbreaker, I never got to see ELP.
Gogi Grant ["The Wayward Wind"]
     Another song from my youth.
Frank Sinatra, Junior
     Not really familiar with Jr.
Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman
     'Something in the air' is as relevant today as it was back then.
Merle Haggard ['Okie from Muskogee"]
    I was never much of a Merle fan. My dad knew him from Bakersfield and had nothing good to say      about him.
Dennis Davis [David Bowie's drummer]
    Just sad.
Prince
    well that just sucks! He was just starting to become relevant again.

I am so tired of everyone dying. Bowie and Lemmy were prepared - both released albums near their time. Lemmy toured right up til he couldn't anymore. Bowie has 'Lazarus,' a stage production of what is apparently a sequel of 'The Man Who Fell To Earth.' Bowie's death actually made me hope their is some form of afterlife. It would be such a waste if his creative energy is just lost. I know, I know 'energy can neither be created nor destroyed only transformed.' That is not helpful when I want more Bowie songs.
Maybe it is selfish of me -- but I want more. I never got to see Motorhead or ELP and now I never will. For years I have been trying to talk musician friends into picking up where Keith Emerson left off and rock up some classical arrangements. Now maybe I can get them interested as sort of a tribute project.
oh well...enough whining for today.

Fear and Loathing in 2016

I am currently reading the collected letters of Hunter S. Thompson. Whenever I read HST I am tempted to write something about my political views. I normally ignore this feeling, hoping I will drift back into

my normal state of alternating apathy and seething rage. But Hunter himself prompted to start writing this with a single sentence in one of his letters: 'My general feeling is a loss of hope in the largest sense, a pessimistic rage, and a disorganized compulsion to enter the fray at once.'

I despise politics and politicians. I have yet to take notice of one who isn't more interested in keeping the perks of his office than doing what his constituents need him to do. The current state of American politics is shamefully ridiculous.

On the Republican side:

Donald Trump is a salesman – slick, polished [with the exception of his unruly Pomeranian head] and trying to prove P.T. Barnum's old aphorism that 'there is a sucker born every minute' by becoming President of these United States. Anyone who votes for him has partaken of far too much Republican kool-aid. From what I have seen, he approaches the Presidency as another stage of his reality show.

Ted Cruz made himself unelectable with one simple statement: “I was anointed by God to become President.” One night back in the 90s I was driving back to Birmingham from a refreshing visit to Clinton, Iowa. As I wound through the dark hills south of Nashville on I-65 I was listening to a tape I had made of my favorite Rush songs. By the end of the trip I was convinced that Neal, Alex and Geddy were telling me I needed to get it together and run for President. By Cruz's rationale, I have a better claim to the Presidency than he does because at least Rush is real (although they are Canadian so I'm not sure if their recommendation should matter to an American candidate).

On the Democratic side:

Hilary Clinton. What can be said about Hilary? Nothing good, that's for sure. Every time I hear her name I think of Vince Foster. A man who probably knew far too many of the Clinton's secrets and somehow managed to double tap himself in the back of the head and fling the gun across the room in what what is undoubtedly the single most magical gun-related death since President Kennedy. Leaving aside poor Vince Foster for the moment, this woman is a horrible liar. I don't mean “oh it's horrible that she lies so much.” I mean she is really bad at it. Has anyone ever believed a word she said? Anyone looking at her face can see traces of megalomania and the lust for power and position in her eyes. I have no problem with a female President. Hell, I would probably vote for Elizabeth Warren if she ran. She at least appears honest.

Bernie Sanders. Now here is an enigma. A man who has served in the belly of the beast for a long time. He's making admirable strides in getting the common man involved. Intellectuals who aren't already brainwashed into the Clinton mindset can't help but hold out hope for this dark horse. The fact that the Democratic power brokers are stealing every state from him in the run up to the primary while he continually rakes in a popular majority is enough to make me want to vote for him. His ideas aren't that far-fetched. If you're wondering where the money for his plans will come from...how about we slice a bit off from our bloated DOD cow. And all this ranting about Democratic Socialism is ridiculous. Bernie is no Hitler [That is Trump's role]. I for one am 100% behind full employment, socialized medicine, term limits for Senators and Congressman, wage cuts for politicians, $15 an hour minimum wage across the board [including military], pricing regulations on medications, and many other things I'm sure.

So there, Hunter. I just hope this was disorganized enough to make you proud of my compulsion.