Stay Positive: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Last summer when we were in Ohio for my daughter's national dance competition in Sandusky, Ohio, we took a trip to Cleveland and had the pleasure of touring the Rock and Roll Hall of Hame. 

It was a fun experience. In fact, if I'm ever in the area again, I'd like to tour that place again. What follows are some photos/highlights from the trip. 

The front entry when we were there featured recent inductees, of which was Pearl Jam, one of my favorite bands. 

Next is Vedder's notebook, which shows a draft of "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town," aka "Small Town," from Vs.

And here's Vedder's vintage typewriter. 

The museum also had a feature exhibit on Mellencamp. Here's a draft of one of my favorite songs of his, "Longest Days."

Of course, they also like to feature the famous attire of the stars. Below of two of Hendrix's fly outfits. 

And what we have here is a draft of the famous "Purple Haze." 

Of course, guitars are going to be featured. It is the rock and roll hall of fame after all. 

Here is the late Chris Cornell's Les Paul. 

That one above and the one below, Cobain's,was in the case featuring Grunge. 

 

Here's one of Marvin Gaye's smooth-ass jackets.

And of course, the Beatles were featured prominently later in the museum. Here's McCartney's jacket from the early days of the band and Lennon's famous t-shirt. 

It was also awesome to see Muddy Waters's guitar and Bootsy Collins's bad-ass bass. 

Ringo's drum kit was one of the few kits featured when we were there. 

At the very end the Hall of Fame featured bands from the Midwest, which there were a lot. One of the highlights of that display for me was the demo tape from The Replacements. Lay it down, Clowns. 

Random Notes from a Crank

As a Washington Post columns lays out, Elizabeth Warren is trying to do something about the widespread corruption in D.C.: "Elizabeth Warren Has Bold Ideas about How to Drain the Swamp." 

To me, the ideas aren't that bold. Rather, they are sensible and fair. First, "Warren’s bill would strike directly at the heart of this problem. It 'padlocks the revolving door' between jobs in government and in lobbying. It bans top elected or appointed federal officials from becoming lobbyists after they leave office — for the rest of their lives. It bans any corporate lobbyist, or any executive of a company found guilty of breaking the law from taking a job in the federal government for six years."

In addition, "Warren calls for banning Americans from getting paid to lobby for foreign governments — period. It would prohibit lobbyists from writing campaign checks or giving personal gifts to anyone running for or holding federal office. She would slap a tax on corporations that gear up lobby campaigns that cost more than $500,000. This would be complemented by her separate bill, the Accountable Capitalism Act , which would require the largest corporations to take all stakeholders into account, empower workers to elect 40 percent of corporate boards, and gain approval of three-fourths of the board before the corporation can use money for political purposes." 

Will it go anywhere? We'll see. With the current makeup of the Senate, I doubt it. But it does take aim at the Confederacy of Whores that is our U.S. Congress (and of course, Agent Orange/Moscow Don and his minions). 

If you're paying attention, Moscow Don is trucking in "narcissistic injury" and "narcissistic rage" as is explained by neuroscientist Bobby Azarian: "Trump's Downfall: A Neuroscientist Explains What Happens When a Narcissist Starts to Lose Power." 

Random Notes from a Crank

A few weeks ago we got a new dog, one of the breeds that I always wanted. He's an eight-year-old Brittany named Sampson. And the name is apropos because he's the tallest Brittany I've ever seen. Breed standard is 25-40 pounds, and he weighs in at 60some pounds. And he's not fat. 

He's just tall, really tall for that breed, so that maybe why his name is Sampson (after Ralph Sampson?). 

Our other dog, a twelve-year-old beagle-lab mutt hated him for weeks, but now I think she's gotten used to him. Knock on wood. She's a grouchy, territorial, old broad. 

The excellent deal about the new dog is that I'm walking him almost every day, so both of use are getting exercise. I think I might have lost some weight already or at least something off my waistline. 

If you ever want to get frustrated, try coaching certain fifth graders to play football. As parents know, there is a difference between hearing and listening. 

Listening and following directions will get you places no matter what your age. 

In good news, Spokane, WA had made news by committing to going 100% renewable energy. In what I hope are prophetic words, the state Chair of the Sierra Club said, “Cities across the country are demanding clean energy not just because it’s the right thing to do for the environment and public health, but because it’s cheaper in the long run than fossil fuels. Spokane’s leadership on this measure will help kickstart clean energy development in the Pacific Northwest and speed the transition to a cleaner, cheaper future.”

In bad news, Grist reports about Moscow Don's propping up of a dying and polluting industry is just going to hurt communities: "When Trump Tries to Bring Back Coal, These Communities Pay the Price." 

And as is related, "The EPA's Coal Plan is a Ripoff for Americans, According to the EPA." So the US is now looking forward to "more hospital visits, more sick days away from work and school, and the early deaths of up to 1,400 people each year, by 2030."

The change is going to cost a shitload of money for Americans: "EPA’s press officers aren’t exactly highlighting the findings that the proposal would leave Americans worse off. In a fact sheet, for example, the EPA trumpets its finding that ACE could save power-plants up to $6.4 billion in compliance costs. But wade into the details to look up that scenario (check out table 18 on page 165), and you see that the EPA weighs that $6.4 billion against health costs that run between $16.6 billion and $75 billion."

Music Friday: "Life to Fix"

Here's a tight little rock power trio that you should check out. 

And here's the band's makeshift video of its opening song on their new album, All Of This Life. It's some serious DIY. 

[Belated] Music Friday: "Afternoon Delight"

I'm way late with this. But I just got done watching Good Will Hunting, so I'm featuring this song for shits and giggles. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The report broke this week about the widespread abuse allegations by Catholic leaders in the state of Pennsylvania: "Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report on Child Sex Abuse Lists Hundreds of Accused Priests." As the report relates, "'We subpoenaed and reviewed, half a million pages of internal documents. They contained credible allegations against over three hundred predator priest. Over one thousand child victims were identifiable, from the church's own records. We believe that the real number -- of children whose records were lost, or who were afraid ever to come forward -- is in the thousands." 

It's disgusting but not surprising. 

I try to stay away from drinking out of anything plastic for some good reasons: "Obesity and Diabetes: Two Reasons Why We Should Be Worried about the Plastics that Surround Us." 

Is anyone actually buying this bullshit about "Space Force" besides the sycophants of the right wing and FoxNews? 

Is Mexico going to fund it? 

I like what Bernie Sanders and his ilk say on the campaign trail for a number of reasons, but the fiscal conservative in me keeps asking me this question: "How are you going to pay for all of this?"

Since it's the start of the school year for many, I though I'd share this data from August's Harper's Index: 

• Percentage of US public-school teachers who spend their own money on school supplies: 94
• Average amount a teacher spends each school year: $479
• Percentage change since 2008 in the average US public-school teachers salary: -4

Music Friday: "Good Kisser"

Why haven't any of you hipsters informed me about the wonderful music of Lake Street Dive? 

Nevertheless, here's "Good Kisser." 

Random Notes from a Crank

Here's something to look forward to. 

I"m reading ahead of the season in the comic books, so I'm interested in how they adapt the show to the plot lines of the Whisperer War. 

In not a surprising fashion, Moscow Don is back to his racist bullshit: "...You're Straight-Up Racist." 

Music Friday: "A Boy Named Sue"

Today I"m featuring a classic from Johnny Cash. 

Enjoy it.