The first time I heard Hubert Sumlin and Howlin' Wolf I almost had a heart attack. Honestly, it scared the shit out of me. I have only had music make me physically, mentally and emotionally afraid one other time and that was when my dad played me some classical music one sunny afternoon by a composer named Krzysztof Penderecki. Hubert and Wolf literally set my life on a radically different course. (Again, many thanks to you Col. Bruce Hampton.) All these years later I realize that you can't really separate Wolf's voice from Hubert's in your head. Its the sound of a world we didn't know existed for sure. We suspected it was there cause we could feel it in our dreams and we read about it in children's books like Lord of the Rings, but we couldn't really be sure until we stepped into that world for real. As soon as you hear Hubert on "I'll Be Around" you'll realize that all the stuff of legend and lore has its roots in the truth. That's why it lives on so long. Magic is real.
Living proof. That's what Hubert was and is to me.
He was also a true gentle man. Loving kindness personified. If you knew him personally its hard to match his personality with the lightning, fire, swords and destruction that came out of his guitar. Only it wasn't actually destruction that was taking place. It was cleansing. Intense heat to burn away the dross and leave the purest metal.
I guess that makes him a true Alchemist.
Thanks to you Mr.'s Richards and Jagger for paying for his funeral. You can say what you want to about those two but I'll always be on their side for that.
Do yourself a favor......... experience some real live magic.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Can you guess what illness these "meds" are supposed to cure?
I was watching a prerecorded program on my DVR and I heard this commercial for a new pill. Fortunately I was able to rewind and pause so I could copy all this down. I'll give you the "possible" side effects, then see if you can guess what its supposed to treat.
This is 100% literal as transcribed from the commercial.
Side effects may include:
High fever
Stiff muscles
Dizziness
Trouble swallowing
Confusion
Thoughts of suicide
Seizures
Decrease in white blood cells
Permanent uncontrollable muscle movements
Impaired judgement and motor skills
Extremely high blood sugar leading to coma or death.
You guessed it folks! This medicine is supposed to treat depression!
This is 100% literal as transcribed from the commercial.
Side effects may include:
High fever
Stiff muscles
Dizziness
Trouble swallowing
Confusion
Thoughts of suicide
Seizures
Decrease in white blood cells
Permanent uncontrollable muscle movements
Impaired judgement and motor skills
Extremely high blood sugar leading to coma or death.
You guessed it folks! This medicine is supposed to treat depression!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
A look at the bigger picture of what my wife Jess is doing in Africa.
This is really worth 20 minutes of your life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8n23eVlfLY&feature=youtu.be
I knew that Jess was an adventurer and that she follows her heart. Well her heart and courage landed her in what I consider to be an epic spot. The story told in this video I have a feeling will be made into a movie. The story of the man who is telling this story, Emmanuel De Merode is also amazing. I'm quite sure you will want to learn more about him too after you see this.
The point is that I knew Jess had an amazing opportunity to work with her biggest heroes on this planet, that she was extremely passionate about apes, (she reads those books like I read theology), and that she was going to get HER FILL of adventure in Africa. As much as she tried to explain it to me, what I didn't really get was this bigger picture. What she and all these people are doing over there is not nearly just about the gorillas. Its about the people, the land itself, the politics, war...... They cannot be separated and when you see this video you will understand just how interconnected they are.
Emmanuel is such a gentle human. But his bravery and the bravery of the African men who gave him the courage and inspiration to do what he did brought me to tears. These people are as heroic as they come. And so is my wife! One of the trackers in the Congo was worried that Jess (being a mzungu or 'white person') couldn't handle this particular route they had to take. They asked Urbain (the Congolese man Jess was traveling with) if she could take it. He told them, "“Ah oui, Elle est tres forte. Elle est une femme bush vraiment.” It means Yes, she's very strong. She is a true bush woman. It is a severe understatement to say that it made Jess' day when he said that.
If you watch this video two things are gonna happen. 1. Your day/life is gonna be changed for the better. And 2. You're gonna understand what an extremely high compliment was paid to my wife by some of the most courageous, tenacious, and transformational people on the planet.
As tempted as I am to divulge snippets of information that I know would suck you in, I will refrain because these things can't be comprehended in sound bytes. That was the scope of my understanding before I saw this so I don't want to rob you of the impact of the "whole movie" with exciting "trailers".
But boy could I.
This is my wife flying over the Congo with Emmanuel. She doesn't look happy and fulfilled at all does she? If only you knew what she knows.........
This is really worth 20 minutes of your life folks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8n23eVlfLY&feature=youtu.be
PS. Seconds before I was about to post this, Jess called from Rwanda and I told her I watched De Merode's TED talk... she said that Shamavu, the baby gorilla pictured at the end of his talk, is sitting right behind her in that plane!!!
You might wanna check out HER blog........
http://www.jshousephotojournalism.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8n23eVlfLY&feature=youtu.be
I knew that Jess was an adventurer and that she follows her heart. Well her heart and courage landed her in what I consider to be an epic spot. The story told in this video I have a feeling will be made into a movie. The story of the man who is telling this story, Emmanuel De Merode is also amazing. I'm quite sure you will want to learn more about him too after you see this.
The point is that I knew Jess had an amazing opportunity to work with her biggest heroes on this planet, that she was extremely passionate about apes, (she reads those books like I read theology), and that she was going to get HER FILL of adventure in Africa. As much as she tried to explain it to me, what I didn't really get was this bigger picture. What she and all these people are doing over there is not nearly just about the gorillas. Its about the people, the land itself, the politics, war...... They cannot be separated and when you see this video you will understand just how interconnected they are.
Emmanuel is such a gentle human. But his bravery and the bravery of the African men who gave him the courage and inspiration to do what he did brought me to tears. These people are as heroic as they come. And so is my wife! One of the trackers in the Congo was worried that Jess (being a mzungu or 'white person') couldn't handle this particular route they had to take. They asked Urbain (the Congolese man Jess was traveling with) if she could take it. He told them, "“Ah oui, Elle est tres forte. Elle est une femme bush vraiment.” It means Yes, she's very strong. She is a true bush woman. It is a severe understatement to say that it made Jess' day when he said that.
If you watch this video two things are gonna happen. 1. Your day/life is gonna be changed for the better. And 2. You're gonna understand what an extremely high compliment was paid to my wife by some of the most courageous, tenacious, and transformational people on the planet.
As tempted as I am to divulge snippets of information that I know would suck you in, I will refrain because these things can't be comprehended in sound bytes. That was the scope of my understanding before I saw this so I don't want to rob you of the impact of the "whole movie" with exciting "trailers".
But boy could I.
This is my wife flying over the Congo with Emmanuel. She doesn't look happy and fulfilled at all does she? If only you knew what she knows.........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8n23eVlfLY&feature=youtu.be
PS. Seconds before I was about to post this, Jess called from Rwanda and I told her I watched De Merode's TED talk... she said that Shamavu, the baby gorilla pictured at the end of his talk, is sitting right behind her in that plane!!!
You might wanna check out HER blog........
http://www.jshousephotojournalism.blogspot.com/
OWS and Tea Party
According to the Washington Post:
"President Obama has called people who work on Wall St. 'fat-cat bankers,' and his reelection campaign has sought to harness public frustration with Wall St.. Financial executives retort that the President's pursuit of financial regulations is 'holding us back.' But both sides face an inconvenient fact: During Obama's tenure, Wall St. has roared back, even as the broader economy has struggled Wall St. firms - independant and the securities-trading arms of banks - are doing even better. The earned more in the first 2 1/2 years of the Obama administration than they did during the eight years of the George W. Bush administration, industry data show."
I hope that somewhere between the OWS and the Tea Party we can agree that Wall St. can't be to blame without the help of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of our government. Both sides need to occupy Congress, the Federal Reserves and the White House.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-streets-resurgent-prosperity-frustrates-its-claims-and-obamas/2011/10/25/gIQAKPIosM_story.html
"President Obama has called people who work on Wall St. 'fat-cat bankers,' and his reelection campaign has sought to harness public frustration with Wall St.. Financial executives retort that the President's pursuit of financial regulations is 'holding us back.' But both sides face an inconvenient fact: During Obama's tenure, Wall St. has roared back, even as the broader economy has struggled Wall St. firms - independant and the securities-trading arms of banks - are doing even better. The earned more in the first 2 1/2 years of the Obama administration than they did during the eight years of the George W. Bush administration, industry data show."
I hope that somewhere between the OWS and the Tea Party we can agree that Wall St. can't be to blame without the help of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of our government. Both sides need to occupy Congress, the Federal Reserves and the White House.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-streets-resurgent-prosperity-frustrates-its-claims-and-obamas/2011/10/25/gIQAKPIosM_story.html
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
My wife's African Adventures.......
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
News International whistleblower's death 'non-suspicious,' police say....
Oooooooookay ................
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Joe Perman Bass Guitars
Ladies and gentlemen,
introducing the first Joe Perman Custom Fretless six String Bass. Joe has been making me basses at Modulus Guitars for almost 20 years. Here's the next stage in his evolution! I really want to help spread the word about his amazing artistry. I'll be using it on my new record too so you'll get to hear it soon too! Believe me, he sounds as good as he looks. He's so pretty in fact that I named him
"Pretty Boy Floyd"
Much love to you Joe!
ob
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