As they do every Good Friday, Phillipine religious zealots were nailed to crosses on Good Friday in the San Pedro Cutud village. The bloody re-enactment draws thousands of tourists and the faithful. The ritual is very much frowned upon by religious leaders in the Philippines. It has nonetheless persisted to become one of the country's most-awaited events.
The devotees' palms and feet are attached to wooden crosses with 4-inch nails soaked in alcohol. But first they walk a mile to the mound, carrying a wooden cross on their backs. Ruben Enaje, a 46-year-old commercial sign maker,was today nailed to the cross for the 21st time. It's like a scene from a Mel Gibson movie.
Yeah, the early polls showed him seriously lagging behind Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. And you had to wonder. . .if he couldn't make inroads on those two knuckleheads, maybe he really didn't have the mojo after all. But on Monday, Mitt Romney burst into full bloom with his announcement that his campaign had netted a stunning $23 million that rivaled the $26 million previously announced by Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, and now, today, the $25 million raised by Barack Hussein Obama. And he did it with name recognition far below his two Republican rivals. It's getting interesting on both sides!
I remember that night. I had just arrived home from a Boy Scout swim party at the Aqua Barn. Walter Cronkite was on the Philco black and white TV telling us that Martin Lutler King had just been killed,standing on the balcony outside his second-story room at the Motel Lorraine in Memphis, Tennessee. King was in Memphis to support a sanitation workers' strike. He was DOA at a Memphis hospital. He was 39 years old.
It was only a couple of months later that Bobby Kennedy was also assassinated. I was only 14 years old, and even I knew how bad this really was. Bobby Kennedy that night was about to hold a rally for his 1968 Presidential run. Just after he arrived in Indianapolis, RFK was told of King's death. The police asked him to not show up at this campaign stop because they felt it was in a dangerous ghetto. Kennedy insisted on going, however, and he made this moving and heartfelt speech. The historyplace.com has a clip of that speech and you can listen to it here.
Ladies and Gentlemen - I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening. Because...
I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.
For those of you who are black - considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.
We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.
For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.
But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times.
My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.
(Interrupted by applause)
So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, yeah that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love - a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.
But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.
(Interrupted by applause)
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.
Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Thank you very much. (Applause)
Some folks created a video based on a reading of Neal Cassady's famous "Great Sex Letter" to Jack Kerouac. This is classic Cassady. Kerouac often said the letters from Neal were what transmogrified his writing, from his earlier Wolfe-esque work to the spontaneous prose for which he became famous. The letter, as many of Cassady's were, is a hoot. . . ---o0o---
This is not the best performance of the song, but it may be the most manic one. The backup band: The Band, all except Levon Helm, who quit for a while, because he couldn't take all the booing and catcalls on the tour. The folkie purists were still pissed off as late as this 1966 video because Dylan had gone electric. In the end, of course, Bob prevailed. The Band went on for ten more years creating a singular, indigenous, eclectic, body of music. 31 years after The Band's Last Waltz, Dylan continues his almost never-ending tour on the road. He's released some good music in the last ten years. The last song of Dylan's that truly knocked me out was probably Not Dark Yet.
Not Dark Yet By Bob Dylan
Shadows are falling and I've been here all day It's too hot to sleep time is running away Feel like my soul has turned into steel I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal There's not even room enough to be anywhere It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
Well my sense of humanity has gone down the drain Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind She put down in writing what was in her mind I just don't see why I should even care It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
Well, I've been to London and I've been to gay Paree I've followed the river and I got to the sea I've been down on the bottom of a world full of lies I ain't looking for nothing in anyone's eyes Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
I was born here and I'll die here against my will I know it looks like I'm moving, but I'm standing still Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer It's not dark yet, but it's getting there.
Once upon a time you dressed so fine You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you? People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall" You thought they were all kiddin' you You used to laugh about Everybody that was hangin' out Now you don't talk so loud Now you don't seem so proud About having to be scrounging for your next meal.
How does it feel How does it feel To be without a home Like a complete unknown Like a rolling stone?
You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely But you know you only used to get juiced in it And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it You said you'd never compromise With the mystery tramp, but now you realize He's not selling any alibis As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes And ask him do you want to make a deal?
How does it feel How does it feel To be on your own With no direction home Like a complete unknown Like a rolling stone?
You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns When they all come down and did tricks for you You never understood that it ain't no good You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat Ain't it hard when you discover that He really wasn't where it's at After he took from you everything he could steal.
How does it feel How does it feel To be on your own With no direction home Like a complete unknown Like a rolling stone?
Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe You used to be so amused At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.
How does it feel How does it feel To be on your own With no direction home Like a complete unknown Like a rolling stone? ---o0o---
Fast indeed. In an earlier article on All This Is That, I called him the drive-by President. He was an empty suit, and it was probably best for the republic his term was as short as it was. There are a more than a few of us that regret the current President didn't try to tackle his record. Harrison lived for exactly one month after being inaugurated. The Whigs rolled out the voters in this election with free balloon rides, live music, and free whiskey.
Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer of The Posies have been members, now, of Big Star for over a decade. Here is a video of one of Alex Chilton's greatest songs from Stockholm on a recent tour. On drums, Jody Stephens, of course.
September Gurls
September gurls do so much I was your butch and you were touched I loved you well never mind I've been crying all the time December boys got it bad. September gurls I don't know why how can I deny what's inside even thought I keep away maybe we'll love all our days. When I get to bed late at night that's the time she makes things right ooh when she makes luv to me. ---o0o---
I don't know who did this illustration, but I like it. It may be from a t-shirt. Various people were claiming credit for the work. If you did it, let me know, and we'll give you credit, a link to your t-shirt, or take it down...
ed. note: Tony Ravo has informed me "the artist that did this is Alex Ross. His work is extremely well known in the comics world, as he's been called the "Norman Rockwell of Comics. "You can check his stuff out at http://alexrossart.com
I think this is what catapulting the propaganda can lead to! ---o0o---
Sometimes I wonder what it has meant, raising three children in the reign of George Bush? In their hearts what do they think of The President? And The Presidency? Have they been scarred for life?
When I was a kid people kind of liked the President (even if he was from the "other" party. Did that kind of fizzle out around about 1969, not long after President Nixon took office? Or maybe it was LBJ that killed it. I just don't remember people so actively disliking, say, Ike, or JFK, or even Ronald Reagan. As much as we disagreed with Reagan, at least you thought he believed in what he was doing. We just don't get that vibe from President Bush. ---o0o---
A sculpture depicting Senator Barack Obama as Jesus Christ is on display at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Unfortunately, the only link I found to the story was here, at Fox News. ---o0o---
As they do every Good Friday, Phillipine religious zealots were nailed to crosses on Good Friday in the San Pedro Cutud village. The bloody re-enactment draws thousands of tourists and the faithful. The ritual is very much frowned upon by religious leaders in the Philippines. It has nonetheless persisted to become one of the country's most-awaited events.
