Guy Fawkes Day!! Fireworks Day!!

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Remember!! Remember!! The 5th of November!!

When I were a lad we didn’t have any of these American practices, like Halloween – no Trick or Treat or dressing up. The first time I heard of Trick or Treat was when I was fourteen years old in a Chuck Berry song on Chuck Berry On Stage. I didn’t know what he was singing about. ‘Trick or Treat Baby and that means a kiss. Trick or Treat on a night like this.’

How things change. What happens in America comes right over here – good or bad! It seems we are a proxy State.

No, back when I was a boy we had Guy Fawkes Day and firework night!

We used to get some old clothes, stuff them with paper, Draw a face on paper and sellotape it round a ball of paper and make it into a head. Put a hat on it. Make some hair out of unravelled string. Tie it together with string. Put it in a pushchair and take it down the town centre where we’d hassle people for ‘Penny for the Guy, mister/mrs’. With our ill-gotten gains we’d buy penny bangers to mess about with.

There was no dressing up. It cost us precisely nothing.

All the kids from the area would scavenge the whole vicinity for anything that would burn. They’d gather all the old waste wood (and sometimes wood that wasn’t quite waste – some people would later find bits of fence missing) and create a massive bonfire. In the weeks up to November the 5th these bonfires grew massive.

On November 5th, in the evening, we’d put our guy on top, douse it all with petrol and set fire to it. We’d all stand round the blaze chucking bangers at each other, chasing the girls, letting off rockets and having a great time.

In the late evening, when it had died down, we’d put potatoes in the embers and cook them. Nothing ever tasted as good.

It was all in celebration of the gunpowder plot where Guy Fawkes, and a group of Catholic revolutionaries, planned to blow up Parliament with the King in it. They included Thomas Percy, who was an old boy of my school! He was supposedly the brains behind the operation!

The plot failed.

They were all tortured and killed as traitors.

I was never absolutely sure whether we were celebrating the fact that the plot had been subverted or the fact that at least someone had tried!!

In this day and age, under health and safety, we are not allowed those riotous unsupervised bonfires or to even throw bangers at each other! What a shame!! I mean what’s wrong with losing the odd hand or eye, or two? Or burning the odd house down?

They’ve taken all the fun out of it!!

But at least we are still burning effigies!! This year it seems that Boris Johnson (blamed for sending us into the madness of Brexit) and Donald Trump (just deemed an obnoxious hate figure) are the most popular effigies.

They’ll go up in flames this November 5th!! Good riddance!! We’ll dance round while they burn!!!

Sadly it seems that Guy Fawkes day has been displaced by Halloween with all its commercialism. There’s more money to be made out of Halloween and nobody gets blow up!!

What a shame!! I don’t like this commercial, sanitised age!! Give me the danger and fun!! The madness and mayhem!!

Should Women Accusers be Believed?

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Obviously women accusers should not be believed – they should be listened to with respect and treated seriously and their complaints investigated thoroughly.

Something that hasn’t happened in the past.

Unfortunately some women do lie and make things up but the statistics show that most are genuine.

Yes I believe in innocent until proven guilty. Men should not be dragged through the courts or public eye without clear evidence.

Historic sex abuse is very difficult to prove but you cannot have men hounded and their lives destroyed without evidence that would stand up in court.

On the other hand many women were abused and should receive justice.

It is very difficult to deal with because these things tend to happen in private and there is rarely much evidence.

If there is no evidence then there cannot be a case.

Hopefully we are in a new age where predatory men do not have the same power to abuse with impunity. Where women are empowered to report abuse and have it dealt with, and where these things do not fester for decades.

Days of Decision – Phil Ochs

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It is uncanny how Phil Ochs songs resonate with today. This was a song written in the early sixties about the civil rights movement. It was about the murder of the three young civil rights activists –  Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner, also known as the Freedom Summer murders.

Back then the Klan and other White Supremacist fascists were marching on the streets.

Decisions had to be made concerning which side you were on. Were you with the racist scum or were you going to be part of a civilised nation?

Well the fascists are marching again. The nation has to decide which side to support.

As the FBI investigates Kavanaugh – a decision has to be made.

As we tackle global warming and the right-wing deniers there are decisions to be made.

As the inequality soars and the 1% global elite get away with murder there are decisions to be made.

As the Me Too sets about addressing patriarchal society there are decisions to be made.

As the midterm elections loom there are decisions to be made.

As the chaos of Brexit looms there are decisions to be made.

These are the days of decision.

Oh, the shadows of doubt are in many a mind,
Lookin’ for an answer they’re never gonna find,
But they’d better decide ’cause they’re runnin’ out of time,
For these are the days of decision.

Oh, the games of stalling you cannot afford,
Dark is the danger that’s knocking on the door,
And the far-reaching rockets say you can’t wait anymore,
For these are the days of decision.

In the face of the people who know they’re gonna win,
There’s a strength that’s greater than the power od the wind,
And you can’t stand around when the ice is growing thin,
For these are the days of decision.

I’ve seen your heads hinding ‘neath the blankets of fear,
When the paths they are plain and the choices are clear,
But with each passing day, boys, the cost is more dear
For these are the days of decision.

There’s many a cross that burns in the night,
And the fingers of the fire are pointing as they bite,
Oh you can’t let the smoke keep on blinding all your sight,
For these are the days of decision.

Now the mobs of anger are roamin’ the street,
From the rooftops they are aimin’ at the police on the beat,
And in city after city you know they will repeat,
For these are the days of decision.

There’s been warnin’s of fire, warnin’s of flood,
Now there’s the warnin’ of the bullet and the blood,
From the three bodies buried in the mississippi mud,
Sayin’ these are the days of decision.

There’s a change in the wind, and a split in the road,
You can do what’s right or you can do what you are told,
And the prize of the victory will belong to the bold,
Yes, these are the days of decision.

Crosby, Stills & Nash – A Long Time Coming

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Just listen to those harmonies. There’s nothing quite like it.

And listen to those lyrics – so pertinent to today – Speak out – Speak out against the madness!! That dawn looks a long way off but it’s coming!!

“Long Time Gone”

[Intro. (Electric Guitar)]

It’s been a long time comin’
It’s goin’ to be a long time gone

And it appears to be a long
Appears to be a long
Appears to be a long time
Yes, a long, long, long, long time before the dawn

Turn turn any corner
Hear you must hear what the people say
You know there’s something that’s goin’ on around here
The surely, surely, surely won’t stand the light of day, no

And it appears to be a long
Appears to be a long, mmm
Appears to be a long time
Such a long, long time before the dawn

[Instrumental (Electric Guitar)]

Speak out you got to speak out against the madness
You got to speak your mind if you dare
But don’t, no don’t, no, try to get yourself elected
If you do you had better cut your hair, mmm

And it appears to be a long
Appears to be a long, mmm
Appears to be a long time
Such a long, long, long, long time before the dawn

It’s been a long time comin’ (Long time comin’)
It’s goin’ to be a long time gone (Long time gone)

But you know
The darkest hour
Is always, always just before the dawn

And it appears to be a long
Appears to be a long
Appears to be a long time
Such a long, long, long, long time before the dawn

[Ending (Electric Guitar)]

 

Aretha Franklin – Thanks For the Music!! Thanks For the Attitude!!

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Back in the sixties I was greatly into the wonders of Soul Music with its power and attitude. It seemed to capture the spirit of Black Culture. These were the heady days of civil rights. Blacks were only now fighting for equality and Soul Music had that power and joy in it.

I particularly loved Booker T & the MGS, Wilson Pickett, Lee Dorsey, Eddie Floyd, Sam and Dave, James Brown, Albert King and Percy Sledge.

I loved the sounds coming out of that Stax Studio in Memphis with its racially mixed musicians that seemed to sum up the times for me. I visited it a few years back. There was magic.

For me the King of Soul was undoubtedly Otis Redding. He was unassailable. But the Queen of Soul was Aretha Franklin.

Aretha was a feisty little lady full of power who belted out her songs with a voice that could blow down walls.

The two stand out tracks for me were Think and Respect.

You better think (think)
Think about what you’re trying to do to me
Yeah, think (think, think)
Let your mind go, let yourself be free
Oh, freedom (freedom), freedom (freedom)
Oh, freedom, yeah, freedom
Freedom (freedom), freedom (freedom)
Freedom, oh freedom
Hey, think about it, think about it
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care, TCB
Both songs seemed to me to not just be about the emancipation of Black culture but also the equality of Women. It seemed to me that Aretha was fighting for both with all her heart and soul!
Good on you Aretha. We’ll miss you!
Dig the power!!!

 

Desert Island Discs – Or At Least Music, Film, Book and Luxury Item.

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Desert Islands Discs

 

Well the concept of being stuck on a desert island with only my four selected items hopefully will never happen. No matter what I choose I’m on a loser. There is not a book, film, or piece of music that will cease to be boring after a period of time. That always seems to be one of the flaws of heaven/paradise/Valhalla – everything becomes jaded after a while – even ecstasy and euphoria could start to get on your nerves after a few billion years.

 

Never the less I’ll give my best shot.

 

A Book

My favourite book is John Fowles – The Magus. It tells the story of an Englishman on a Greek Island who gets drawn into a charade with a rich denizen of the island. I love the way it draws you into the intrigue so that you no longer know what the truth is. It plays with reality. I am sure that it would lose its impact when you know the outcome. Part of the magic of the book is trying to work out what is going on. However, Fowles is an expert writer and I could at least start analysing the plotting, structure and quality of the writing. That would be worthwhile. But I won’t take that with me I’ll take Desolation Angels by Jack Kerouac. I think the idea of meditating on the nature of the universe and achieving Zen satori might be more suited to being on my own on a desert island.

 

A Piece of Music

Music is even harder. Limiting it to ten is hard enough but one piece? That’s impossible. I managed to reduce it down to three – Roy Harper’s The Lord’s Prayer, Bob Dylan’s It’s Alright Ma I’m Only Bleeding and Captain Beefheart’s Big Eyed Beans From Venus. If pushed I would settle for Roy Harper’s The Lord’s Prayer as it is such an incredible poem and piece of music that I could spend considerable time thinking and enjoying all the nuance and many meanings of the words and how they were melded to the music. I would enjoy teasing out all the polarities of those words and at least it is long enough for me to get my teeth into it. It has such enormous scope from man’s time as hunter gathers right up to the present time.

 

 

A Favourite Film

I suppose the film would have to be 2001 A Space Odyssey. I’ve seen it eleven times and always enjoy the detail and scope. It’s never been bettered. I like the beginning with the way the primitive ape-men were endowed with intelligence and I like the idea of how we can become so transcendental and become benevolent gods. I also think the whole business of AI was tackled so intelligently and so long ago. What is intelligence? Could a machine have real sentience? Would a highly intelligent machine think that mankind would merely be in the way and try to get rid of us?

 

A Luxury

The luxury is obvious. Either I would want a spaceship that could get me away from the whole craziness of mankind and its violent, destructive human ways, or a book producing machine with a computer input that would enable me to write, design and produce books to my heart’s content.

BTW – I’m assuming the island has a great ecosystem so there would be lots of animals for me to get to know. That would be fun.

A Fight Worth Fighting For!!

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While there is still poverty, racism and violence, while the planet is being raped and animals are subjected to cruelty, until women are treated equally and there is an end to war – there is something to fight and something worth fighting for.

Wherever little children are hungry and cry
Wherever people ain’t free
Wherever men are fightin’ for their rights
That’s where I’m a-gonna be, Ma
That’s where I’m a-gonna be”

Tom Joad – Woody Guthrie

A Present-day Black American Story – the narrative to buy into.  

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The narrative is based on being resolute and full of stoic pride in the face of slavery, prejudice and racism.

 

The community puts its faith in religion where the Baptist preaches of equality before God and rewards waiting in heaven for those who suffer on earth. It is a religion that gives vent to their culture and flamboyance.

 

Black Americans take pride in their hard work, their Sunday best clothes, their music, sense of fashion, ability to dance, sing and enjoy themselves despite their deprivation.

 

They might not have freedom now but will achieve it in heaven. Until then they though they have to make the best of a bad deal, to put up with the deprivation and let their hair down when they can.

 

One day they will be vindicated.

 

It’s a myth that keeps youthful anger under control and prevents rebellion that always results in bloodshed. One day they will be vindicated.

The Present Day American Story – The power of myth.  

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Americans are part of a democratic Protestant society. The Pope is not infallible – in fact he is the Devil incarnate. But America is a society that values free-will and individuality and those values are worth protecting. They stem from a shared history, a shared culture, shared values and a shared religion. These are the values that are constantly under threat from non-democratic communist/socialist ideologies, the different racial and cultural values of Latinos and Blacks, and religious infiltration from the like of Catholics, Jews and Muslims.

 

Americans, as a nation, must stand strong against these heinous ideologies and reassert our belief in the greatness of our nation, its wondrous superior heritage, the legacy of our forebears paid for in blood and our religion. Full of patriotic fervour, in knowledge of our righteousness, Americans must do all in their power to support the might of our nation in war against the aggressors to reassert our beliefs.

 

Even though our nation is manifestly unequal and full of racist attitudes we know that we alone are chosen, superior and have the correct ethos. Every one of us is capable, with God’s help, of becoming President or achieving the status of a millionaire.

 

We demonstrate our support of this narrative through the clothes we wear, the churches we attend, the saluting of flags, pledges of allegiance and singing of anthems.

 

This is what joins us in one nation (an artificial subjective idea) under one god (another artificial subjective idea).

The Medieval Crusader’s Story – A myth for the present day.

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The young Lord is brought up in the castle where the flags, tapestries and arms displayed on the walls tell of the past glories of his family. The crosses and stain-glass tell of the reality of God. The scripture readings and parables told by the priest in the lavish chapel tell of the infallibility of the Pope with promises of heaven for the faithful.

 

Buying into this shared narrative, reinforced by all who surround him, by the prayers, scriptures, hymns and rituals, he is led to believe that he is deserving of his privilege that he possesses and that Roman Catholic Christianity is the one and only true faith.

 

He is told that the heathen have taken the Holy Land and God, via the Pope, wants the faithful to drive the heathen out of the holy places.

 

Full of zealous fury he raises an army and sets of to embark on a holy mission with the full approval of his family, friends and clergy, and with admiring looks from the young ladies, safe in the knowledge that he is doing God’s will and should he succumb and perish on the battle-field he will be rewarded in heaven.

 

He joins like-minded people under the flag of the all-knowing Pope, and sets off to martyr himself in a foreign land for an idea created by men.

 

In that land he does battle with men just like himself who have bought into a different myth created by men, who wear a different costume, perform different rituals, have a different flag, a different holy leader, different gospels and support a different god. They also believe that if they die in the cause they will be rewarded in paradise.

 

The power of a narrative myth on human beings has been fundamental in creating joint actions for subjective myths brought into being from the minds of people. Religions, nations and money are all creations of the imagination yet we unify and give them substance. These myths have shaped human history. They are powerful.