A Review of Machete

I thought of spending a lazy afternoon at the movies. With a giant soft drink and a tub of butter-soaked popcorn. I remembered the cool dark escape on a Saturday afternoon at the Largo theater watching giant imaginary worlds of cowboys , space aliens, and the Bowery Boys.

Machete had the right vibe for the experience -- one man saving the world with a humongous knife. Danny Trejo was appealing as an aging Mexican Mafia converted to supercop. Robert DeNiro and Don Johnson were perfectly cast. The action was nonstop and nonsensical.

There was a political message that seemed simplistic, but has more substantial implications. President Calderon has declared war on narcoterrorists, and he seems to be losing. Government, police and military officials are routinely assassinated. Many others are bought or terrorized into complicity with the drug gangs. A larger war is being fought at the same time among the cartels to consolidate power. Calderone is vulnerable to assassination, himself. Bluntly put, the United States is one bullet away from invading Mexico.

The violent images in Machete have a safe unreality about them. Real images from Mexico require no imagination. Check out Blog del Narco for the daily report.

In addition to entertaining film making, Robert Rodriguez is also trying to raise American awareness of the crisis in Mexico. The United States has a vested interest in the stability of Mexico. If democratic government fails there, we will have the political equivalent of a BP oil spill.

So, I walked out of the movie theater into the hot, bright sunlight, just like I did 50 years ago in Largo, Florida. After sitting in the dark for two hours, I was surprised to see the sun, and the heat felt like a distant forest fire.

Dick Armey on Jon Stewart Show

Dick Armey, clearly one of the right-wing devils, makes an uncomfortably compelling argument for small government. He has a totally repulsive personality, but ideas must be separated from their context.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/

Bob Dylan's Dream

One track from the Great White Wonder.

Bob's dream about chessmen
Set in East Orange, New Jersey, 1963




Great White Wonder: Transfer from Original Vinyl - July 1969

DISC ONE: 39.49
Side A
01. Candy Man
02. Ramblin' 'round
03. Black Cross
04. Ain't Got No Home
05. Death Of Emmett Till
06. Poor Lazarus

Side B
07. New Orleans Rag
08. If You Gotta Go, Go Now
09. Only A Hobo
10. Sitting On A Barbed Wire Fence
11. Mighty Quinn
12. This Wheel's On Fire

DISC TWO: 41.04
Side C
01. Baby Please Don't Go
02. Interview with Pete Seeger
03. Dink's Song
04. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
05. East Orange, New Jersey
06. Man Of Constant Sorrow

Side D
07. I Shall Be Released
08. Open The Door, Homer
09. Too Much Of Nothing
10. Nothing Was Delivered
11. Tears Of Rage
12. Living The Blues

Masked and Anonymous

Bob Dylan & his Band
Masked Songs And the Ghosts of Electricity
Music from "Masked And Anonymous" unavailable on the official cd soundtrack.


Masked and Anonymous is a 2003 film directed by Larry Charles and co-written by Larry Charles and Bob Dylan . According to Wikipedia, " The film was widely panned by critics upon release." Needless to say, my opinion is different.

M & A is one of those few movies that I watch repeatedly and learn new subtleties on each viewing. The movie is a filmic experience in terms of design, mood, visual impact and characters. In addition, there is considerable remarkable music. Dylan performs several songs live before the camera, but most of the soundtrack are covers of Dylan songs by a wide range of musicians.

This album is a collection of audio outtakes from

Belize: Another Word for Paradise?

Most people know very little about prisons in America. However, most people also have vivid images and impressions derived primarily from the popular media. Movies have presented Cagney and Bogart participating in riots and trying to break out of 'stir'. More recently, The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption have presented more nuanced depictions.

In political debate, discussion about prison is cast as liberal versus conservative -- coddling versus harsh and swift judgment. The predominant voice in discussion of prisons calls for longer sentences, restriction of privileges, and elimination of parole and clemency. The call for an alternative approach has little political clout and is represented best by the ACLU and Amnesty International. Political office seekers (if they address the issue at all) call for austerity budgets and a 'tough on crime' approach.

Thus, prison reform is generally a back-burner political issue, apart from appeals to public fears and misinformation about crime and violence.

Can Democracy Change Itself?

The current state of the health care reform debate feels like a gut punch. A little over a year ago Barack Obama had just been elected. The people had arisen and spoken--about a number of subjects: the wars, torture, tranparency in government, as well as a fair and just health care system.

President Obama felt the health care issue most personally. His mother had battled abusive insurance companies and may have lost a part of her life because of the vicious insensitivity of corporate health care. When Barack (somehow it seems OK to call him Barack) speaks about people losing their homes because of medical catastrophe, there is a core intensity to his words. He, of course, cares about the war, and honesty in government, and other issues, but his mother's sad experience created a fire within him.

For those reasons, health care reform was the first major social change issue addressed by the Obama presidency. A few weeks ago, it seemed that the health care bill was a done deal, with only minor tweaking needed. It was supposed to be signed well before the State of the Union address. Then one day its passage was at risk, and the next day it was D.O.A. What happened?

All of the wheeling and dealing hurt public confidence. Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska blackmailed his colleagues behind closed doors for unknown political gain, and Senator Olympia Snow of Washington, after initially balking only about the idea of a public option, seems to have sold her vote to the highest bidder. Big lies and scare tactics by the Republican party worked as usual.

The election of Republican Scott Brown to the Massachusetts Senate seat previously held by Ted Kennedy came as the final blow. How could the most liberal state in the Union knowingly return veto power to the Republican majority? The behavior of the Republican party during this year has been disgraceful. For the sake of political gains in the next elections, a humane and rational change to our health care system may be lost.

This situation reminds me of the debate about term limits in the early 1990s. Public opinion was all for trying the idea of term limits. Years of corruption in public office brought about a grassroots demand to do something different. Professional politicians were seen as driven primarily by potential threats to their career. From the first day in office, the incumbent was running for the next election. Most of their day consisted of fundraising and schmoozing; very little time could be devoted to analyzing and understanding pending legislation.

As with health care, the public was informed that term limits wasn't going to happen. Our congressmen must have laughed at our naivete. Why in the world would they allow such a thing to happen? Term limits would force them to find other careers. Even though there was public support for a constitutional amendment, if needed, the grassroots movement was suppressed. Today no one talks much about term limits and the corruption and inefficiency of our government is unchanged. After hopes for change are crushed, there remains only a dull, subdued acceptance.

But, perhaps most important, the "hope" so prominent in last year's election was beaten down. Remember that just a year ago spirits were through the ceiling. Now, after a year of political obstruction and sabotage, many of us feel deflated and apathetic. It is more tolerable to be detached than to feel the pain of disappointment.

Fear of change is a common, perhaps universal human quality. We all can envision radical changes in our lives, but as the change approaches, we begin to fear the uncertainty and embrace the security of the status quo. In his campaign, President Obama fueled and inspired hope and optimism about the future. Current political reality has frightened many of us back into our caves.

Barack clearly has phenomenal motivational and leadershop skills. However, in practice, he has wandered somewhat, allowing the Washington politicos too much leeway. His political strength lies in a personal connection with the majority who elected him. Perhaps he can, through his massive mailing list, contact all of the contributors and volunteers from the campaign and ask them to become involved again.

Barack's supporters can promote public education about the cost benefits of health care reform: Wellness programs have been proven successful in reducing sick leave in a variety of work settings. Emphasizing primary care will save massive amounts of money very quickly. It is far cheaper to counsel an obese person than to treat diabetes and heart disease. Reserving expensive emergency room facilities for true emergencies is both cost effective and efficient.

Perhaps of greatest impact would be increased public exposure of the abuses committed by insurance companies. In addition to a motivation toward mediocrity that results from corporate greed, a number of politicians are in the financial pockets of insurance lobbyists. At some point campaign contributions become bribes.

As I was writing these words, my wife, Geni, told me she had just received an e-mail from David Plouffe, Barack's gifted and driven campaign manager. Maybe some of that exhilarating feeling from last year can be rekindled. Otherwise, if health care reform fails, the other dreams will likely fade away as well.

Democracy is the sum of the desires of individuals. It is important to remember that our political representatives are our employees, and not elite, privileged and powerful overseers. It is probably just as hard for democracy to change itself as it is for individual people. But it can be done.

Remembrance of Childhood

My father was a professor of philosophy, and my mother was a journalist. Since they have both retired, she interviews him all day long, and he pontificates more and more bizarrely as the years go by. My life would have been simpler if a parent had been a preacher, or even a criminal -- I could have risen above those circumstances. I could have defined my self in contrast with their warped view of life.

However, a philosopher is an intellectual con-man, one who has staked out a living and a lifestyle by proving the illogical nature of any argument or point of view. Empiricism, rationalism, extentialism all point to an internally consistent way of life. As a child and teenager, I tried out various lifestyles, only to have their underpinning eroded by the force of syllogism.

I tried religion in the form of Sunday school and all the morals and traditions of the Christian church. The philosopher at home scoffed at the obvious hypocrisy of everything I learned those Sunday mornings. Jesus was alright, even admirable, but his message was not to be found in any church building. Jesus would have overturned the tables at the recreation center potluck dinner. The exclusionism and arrogance of the congregation could only benefit from a thorough cleansing of the temples.

I tried rebellion, rejecting all external authority. Anything my parents (or teachers) said was prima facie stupid, pathetic, and mean. In the face of all scientific evidence, I smoked cigarettes. I skipped school as often as possible, and smoked pot like a Reefer Madness fiend. I rejected the societally-imposed values of materialism and social structure.

The parental reaction was more genial, but equally disdainful. All that motivated my generation's hippie mentality had already been tried, and much better, in the sixties. Even Bob Dylan, the messiah of social revolution, had given up and started advertising women's underwear.

The rebuke was more equally condescending as the response to organized religion, but somewhat more amiable. My lashing out at constrictive social rules was seen as charming and somewhat cute. The social structure, I was informed, is a product of immutable human nature. Aggression and dominance are genetically programmed in the human animal. Governments and other institutions can only hope to maintain a balance of hostilities, and the prospect for the future is bleak. Idealism and the power of love is a pleasant delusion that had been tested by the best only to a tragic failure and disappointment. That dream died with Jimi Hendrix and Altamont.

From a sheer lack of options, I adopted a personna of cynicism and bitter humor. In my school contacts I avoided and mocked the upward-striving "successful" kids, whom I saw as materialists and holy rollers. My friends displayed the same edgy sarcasm that I did.

Of course, the professor was not impressed with that lifeview either. I was told that I was making the logical fallacy of nihilism. Descartes had unimpeachably proved that simply observing and commenting on the passing social experience constituted an underlying belief system. "I think, therefore I am;" therefore the universe cannot be simply nothing. Cynicism was characterized as the product of a lazy and immature mind.

Bob Dylan - Fall Tour Compilation - 2009

Dylan has been on the "never-ending tour" since 1988. At 68-years of age, he plays more than 100 shows a year, criss-crossing the United States and many foreign countries.

During October and November 2009, Dylan performed 33 shows, stopping in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Ontario, Pensylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, and New Your. In four cities (Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and New York City, he perfomed three consecutive nights. In two (Seattle, and Berkeley) he did two consecutive shows.

This three-disk compilation presents highlights of those performances. Included in this collection, in addition to the requisite crowd-pleasers, are many rarities as well as fresh takes on his newest material. A large percentage of his audience experience bafflement (and anger) that they cannot understand what he says or even recognize famous songs, but most of those appreciate the driving, creative music of the show.

Dylan is famously unconcerned about being misunderstood, and he does little to comfort the uninformed. He rarely speaks on stage (apart from introducing the band), and he obsessively changes the tempo and mood of songs. The result of this is hearing the lyrics afresh. I have seen dozens of Dylan shows and have studied the lyrics for countless hours, but I repeatedly learn something new from those fresh takes on his songs.

Dylan's songs are directly descended from beat poetry. It is helpful to think of his performances as an extension of 1950s coffeehouse readings. Many of his songs are readable as poems, and early in his career Dylan wrote numerous Kerouacesque poems primarily as liner notes for his own and other artists' albums.

Perhaps my favorite song-as-poem is Chimes of Freedom
, a reminder of the youthful idealism of the 1960s.

A great example of a recent song that is given new meaning is Beyond The Horizon (mp3)


This, and many hundreds of other Dylan collections, are available online. The best source for Dylan and related artists is the bit torrent site Hunger City. They provide lossless files, usually compressed by flac.

A great source of MP3s is Croz. Patrick Crosley is a genuine encyclopedia of a wide range of music. Both these sites require registering, and a 20 dollar bill will get you far with Croz. Dylan's lyrics are available at Bob Dylan.com

Following is the setlist for this collection:
The names in parentheses are the tapers, God bless 'em.

1. Introduction - Seattle 4-10 (Spot)
2. Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking - Seattle 4-10 (Spot)
3. Every Grain of Sand - Chicago 30-10 (Romeo)
4. My Wife's Hometown - Berkeley 10-10 (Soomlos)
5. Lay, Lady, Lay - Portland 7-10 (RobertD)
6. Man in the Long Black Coat - Philadelphia 9-11 (Flying Gonz)
7. The Man In Me Boston - 15-11 (Walkin' Dude)
8. Chimes of Freedom - Los Angeles 15-10 (Bach)
9. Million Miles - Kitchener 7-11 (Krewe Chief)
10. It's All Good - New York 18-11 (Taperadvokat)
11. High Water - Salina 23-10 (Midrock)
12. Mama, You Been On My Mind - Berkeley 10-10 (soomlos)
13. Love Minus Zero/No Limit - Canton 5-11 (Jefft)
14. This Dream Of You - Tulsa 24-10 (Cygnus02)

1. Under the Red Sky - Rockford 27-10 (CtfshJohn)
2. I Feel A Change Comin' On - Chicago 29-10 (Roy)
3. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) - Seattle 5-10 (Spot)
4. Things Have Changed - Portland 7-10 (Robertd)
5. Love Sick Phoenix - 17-10 (Greenie44)
6. Jesus Gonna Be Here - Chicago 31-10 (Romeo)
7. San Diego Serenade - Bloomington 2-11 (Lukas Olsen)
8. Beyond Here Lies Nothin' - Las Vegas 18-10 (Bach)
9. Shooting Star - Los Angeles 13-10 (JB)
10. Working Man Blues - Boston 13-11 (Romeo)
11. Ballad of Hollis Brown - Boston 14-11 (Walkin' Dude)
12. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall - Canton 5-11 (Jefft)
13. Po' Boy - Philadelphia 9-11 (Flying Gonz)
14. Beyond The Horizon - Springfield 25-10 (Cygnus02)
15. Forgetfull Heart - Los Angeles 14-10 (Bach)

1. Cold Irons Bound - Columbus 3-11 (Jefft)
2. Tryin' To Get To Heaven - Berkeley 11-10 (Soomlos)
3. Jolene - Detroit 6-11 (Statsfax)
4. John Brown - New York 17-11 (JF)
5. Sugar Baby - Los Angeles 14-10 (Bach)
6. To Ramona - Chicago 31-10 (Romeo)
7. Not Dark Yet - Boston 15-11 ((Walkin' Dude)
8. Ballad Of A Thin Man - Berkeley 11-10 (Soomlos)
9. If You Ever Go - To Houston Fairfax 11-11 (Romeo)
10. Ain't Talkin' - Columbus 3-11 (Jefft)
11. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) - Kitchener 7-11 (Krewe Chief)
12. Band Introductions - New York 19-11 (JF)
13. All Along the Watchtower - New York 19-11 (JF)