June 30, 2024

 Howdy folks. Well, what'd you think? I realize the debate is old news by now, and there isn't much I can add to what's been said, but my first reaction - when it ended - was that I was shocked, not by Biden's performance but by the attitudes of all the TV pundits. Everyone on MSNBC was freaking out and I thought, "what's the big deal"? Everybody knew Joe has some degree of dementia (and many know he's had a lifelong stutter), and having been a dementia caregiver, I thought his delivery was about what was to be expected.

Beyond that, I didn't think it was all that bad. I saw these people on TV absolutely losing it, and I thought "what a bunch of whiners". If they had actually listened to what Joe said (or in some cases, tried to say), I thought he basically had Trump on the defensive all night. Trump was always coming from a negative position, having to defend the accusations Biden made, and while I won't pretend Biden had a great night, Trump's was just as bad, showing once again that he is the biggest A-Hole in America.

I am not generally a Gavin Newsom fan, nor a fan of VP Harris, but I thought both did a great job of backing Joe against pricks like Anderson Cooper, who were calling for Biden's head in post-debate interviews. Newson and Harris (surprise, surprise) showed true Marine Corp semper fi spirit, with fiery rebuttals to left-wing whining, and that's what Democrats have always needed: faithfulness and toughness.

Don't get me started on the subject of dementia. I was caregiver for 20 years and dealt with dementia in many stages in different people, and it grinds me down big time when people who likely know little to nothing about the disease start pontificating. Dementia is, in most cases, a long, slow process, and at no point does it interfere with a person's intelligence. One of my two upcoming books will deal with that subject, of how the human spirit (excuse me) trumps dementia every single time. And if you saw Joe Biden's speech the following day, at a campaign rally, he was fiery and competent. That is dementia also. There are many, many good days. I would say he can do the job for four more years, no problem. I would also say that his handlers over-coached him for the debate, which made his stutter prominent as he struggled to remember all their prompts and instructions. As Ben Meidas said (on The Meidas Touch, Youtube) "they should've let Joe be Joe", the same "c'mon, man!" Corvette driving, aviator shade wearing, ice cream cone slurping Uncle Joe that we all know and love.

And keep in mind that this is The Rightest Wing Man in America who is telling you all of this. Me, the guy who championed Biden in 2020, then denounced his administration after it went Woke and inflation soared. But I'll take Joe in a heartbeat over Donald Trump. I'll take Joe, dementia and all. He'll have good days and bad, mostly good for a long time, because a person with dementia is not always under the pressure of a debate stage. As Ben Meidas put it, "the Presidency isn't a series of two-minutes answers." In the Oval Office or the situation room, where Biden is comfortable, he can take as long as he likes (or needs) to mull over decisions, and again - and this is crucial to know about dementia - it does not affect a person's intelligence. So, to the pundits and whiners, I say "get off Joe's case". I thought he did okay in the debate. Not great, but Trump was just as bad, and all Trump did was lie and talk BS. So get off Joe's case, because no one can take his place at this late stage anyway, except Hillary, and she won't do it. Well anyhow...

 Having finished Stephen King's "You Like It Darker", I am now reading a fascinating book called "The New Science of Heaven" by Robert Temple, which deals with the little-known study of plasma physics. Among the researchers who work in that field, the concensus is that plasma, an ultra-fine and invisible form of matter made up of ions (in this case, incomplete atoms missing an electron) makes up 99% of all the matter in the Universe. This is in direct opposition to the conclusions of most 20th century physicists, who collectively stated that outer space is empty. As an aside, in reading the evidence, it seems to me that what they are now calling plasma (a coined word) was what was once called the aether (or ether). The aether (I prefer the esoteric spelling) is often associated with the spirit world, especially as the medium for the manifestation of spirits, and in the book, Robert Temple attributes the entire phenomenon to plasma, suggesting that the plasma world may constitute God and The Other Side all in an ionised state of matter. I, of course, would not accept such a generalised view (feeling it "too New Age") but Temple, being an astronomer, gets more specific. He begins by telling the reader about the Kordylewski clouds that lie on either side of the space between the Earth and Moon. Temple speculates that these plasma clouds have intelligence (don't scoff, just read the book), and to back up his assertion, he goes on to describe what is called "dusty plasma", how it generates atomic matter out of "nothing", how it spontaneously assembles into "clumps" which eventually become ultra-fine clouds in space, and how space contains "compartments" or cavities much like the human body has cavities for all its major organs. And the clouds (and any "dusty plasma" formations) have multi-faceted, non-linear (non-linked and independent), inner electrical systems consisting of filaments that act as wiring, much like the human brain has synapses that allow thought processes.

To me, all of this is intuitive, because I see the whole world as one big Spirit Volume. Temple talks about plasma because it is a new scientific discovery, but anyone with strong intuition can feel the spiritual world all around us, and as he shows, it is in fact The Larger World. Our material (or "atomic") world only accounts for 1% of the Universe. So the spirit world is all around us. All you have to do is feel it. 

Like anyone, I have experienced terrible grief when a loved one has crossed over to the other side, but that grief has always been ameleorated, after the passage of time, by the knowledge that the loved one in question has not left me in the slightest, but in fact is still here. Usually, that reassurance comes from the person themself. Our loved ones haven't "died", they've just gone invisible, into the Plasma State. And, they haven't gone inaudible! If you pay attention you can sometimes hear them subaurally. But you have to Want To, and it is important that you give your love for them free reign, for that is what was always wanted and hoped for, by God especially. 

Robert Temple goes on to talk about the phenomenon of ball lightning. I'm up to page 50, and this is where the book becomes a personal mindblower, because ball lightning, as a plasma, very closely resembles something I witnessed at the Wilbur Wash during that infamous incident in September 1989. I won't say too much, but Temple talks about the phenomenon of spontaneous-combustion, or self-combustion (i.e. people burning up while their clothes and even their skin remain intact). I've seen that happen, have personally witnessed it, and it was horrible - like the person got microwaved. But in this case, the plasma came from a weapon. It wasn't ball lightning. Temple theorizes that ball lightning may be a form of drone, like an "inspection device" for the Intelligent Clouds. Think of the countless "foo fighters" reported by airmen during World War 2, and keep in mind that I am condensing what Temple says for brevity. I heard about his book from Dr. Joe Farrell, who quoted Temple in his own mindblowing book, last year's "The Demon in the Ekur". Give both books a look if you want to get Way Out There, and don't forget The Way-Outs on The Flintstones...

In music news, I discovered a new band this week: Kraan, one of the few groups that slipped through the cracks at College Records, simply because the clerks didn't play 'em. Kraan is one of those German prog-rock bands like Can and Amon Duul who later became collectively known as Krautrock. They all got lumped into a pile, maybe because most of the bands had a jammy feel to their music as if they were still in the experimental stage or stuck in the '60s. It is true that Germany did not produce bands of the English caliber like Genesis, King Crimson and ELP, nor, in general, were they a match for the best of Italian prog: PFM, Le Orme, Banco, Locanda Delle Fate. But a couple groups rose above the German prog pack: Magma, and, as I have just discovered, Kraan.

For some reason, their name popped into my head when I was looking for something to listen to while reading. I've been on a Progressive Rock quest as you know, venturing into the far reaches. I've even tried to listen to Henry Cow for the nineteenth time (still a no-go), but this time my brain said "Kraan", and I said "what the hey" and I Youtubed them and found an album cover I remembered from College. It shows a pretty girl painted on a blue backround with the Kraan logo in red. Stamped over the girl's forehead is the wacky German album title: "Andy Nogger". Now, I don't know why anyone would name an album "Andy Nogger", but I clicked play, and within a minute I knew I had a winner. Man, these guys are good. The bass player is outstanding. They're labled as jazz rock, but that's not accurate, nor is Krautrock, though they do have both elements. But while they are groove-driven, the melodic, progressive factor is so strong that I'd put them closer to Soft Machine than Can, and more infectious than Soft Machine, who were not song oriented. I liked "Andy Nogger" so much that I put on "Wintrup" next, then after my walk I listened to Kraan's first album. Three great ones! A new discovery! And the thing is, I can see the cover of "Andy Nogger" sitting right there on the College Records wall. Why the fellas didn't play it, I don't know. They didn't play any of the German bands. Not polished enough, I guess. Well anyhow, I have to add all three albums to my Must Buy list, which is gonna take awhile because many of these recents CDs I've mentioned (like FM, Camel, et al) are rare and thus expensive (minimum 20 bucks ) and I have to be judicious with my spending. But boy, if you have some extra change and you are a progressive rock fan, check out Kraan. They aren't just another shroomed-out German jam band, but top-level musicians...

More music: This week, I got the new Alcest album delivered from Amazon: "Les Chants de l'Aurore" ("The Songs of Dawn"). I am always excited for a new album from Neige and Winterhalter, so I put it on immediately, and wow! I was transported back to 2012, when "Les Voyages de l'ame" was released. The music is reminiscent of that lighter period in the band's history, after the more recent and absolutely skull-crushing metal of "Kodama"(2016) and "Spiritual Instinct"(2019). When Alcest started out, they made records that focused mostly on their melodic side and "heavenly" vocals from Neige, sung in French. These dreamy melodies were laced with harder elements like black-metal riffing and drumming, and Neige's patented "harsh vocals", which are the screamed equivalent to Mikael Akerfeldt's death vocals in Opeth. In 2014, Alcest made a full-on "shoegaze" album called "Shelter" (the only one with an English title), which eschewed the harsh sound that made them famous. It was a good album but sounded forced to me, like an homage to Neige's heroes, the band Slowdive. When "Shelter" did not do as well as expected, he went in the other direction and delivered "Kodama" and "Spiritual" four years apart, two of the blackest black metal albums on record. On this new record, they've returned to their early sound, of lighter, layered chord voicings in the treble register, with Winterhalter pummelling in the background, and Neige's choral voice atop. But there are also moments you've never heard from Alcest before, like a piano ballad that made me think of Elizabeth. I'm fibbing a bit on that one, or underplaying it, because I always think of Elizabeth when I listen to Alcest, and it was she who covered "Autre Temps" on piano, and it was she who became a great artist in her own right, and now here is Neige doing his own piano ballad, but Elizabeth was first. She has no doubt long-since stopped reading this blog, but on the off chance, I say, as always, "you rule, Elizabeth!"

Last night I watched a Montgomery Clift classic: "The Heiress"(1949), for which Olivia DeHavilland won the Best Actress Oscar in the title role. She plays the spinster daughter of a wealthy physician in Washington Square, New York. The movie looks shot on location, but if not, the sets are fantastic. It looks like 1840s New York. The great Ralph Richardson plays Olivia's father, who sees his daughter as dull-witted and charmless, a Plain Jane by nature. At best, he patronizes her, but never compliments her even on her one talent, crocheting. On the other hand, her lively and kind Aunt Livinia, who lives with them, is always encouraging her to attend the social gatherings at which she (Livinia) is a butterfly. Olivia does her best to avoid the parties because she's shy and quite happy being that way, but her father reluctantly wants her to marry and Aunt Lavinia is happy to help.

At one of these outdoor dances, Olivia is introduced to "Morris Townsend" (Monty), an impossibly handsome young man who has just returned from Europe. He is well-spoken, outgoing, and fills up Olivia's empty dance card that night. She is flummoxed by the attention from such a good-looking beau, and Monty comes to the house to visit her the next day. Director William Wyler cuts to the chase at this point, and Monty is soon proposing to Olivia, who at first finds it hard to believe he really loves her. In an ingenious performance move, De Havilland physically leans backward, away from Clift, every time he gets close. She is very uncomfortable with romance and wonders why he likes her, especially because her dad has done everything he can to quell any expectations. He has kept her in her place for her entire life, promising her his wealth to inherit, as long as she doesn't cross him. Dad is the real villian here.

As for Monty, because of Wyler's camera angles, and the way he cuts Monty's scenes, we have a feeling Monty is a cad, but it's not 100% clear. Olivia's father takes an instant disliking to him, all because Monty tells a story of blowing his own savings in Europe and never having a real job. Dad thus considers him an "idler" and a "mercenary" towards his daughter, but it's not her feelings he really cares about, it's the affront of a slick suitor trying to get at her inheritance money, which is really his money. Dad sees Monty as trying to rip him off through his daughter, who he sees as a loser. And Monty may well be a cad, but it's for the individual viewer to decide. One of the great performances in the film is from Miriam Hopkins as Aunt Livinia. Hopkins went from a being a peer and competitor to Bette Davis to playing character roles, but she was a fine actress, and here she conspires with Monty not only to win over her neice Olivia but Olivia's father also. However, the latter is a cynic and not to be swayed. Toward the end of the movie, he loses his cool and tells his daughter what he really thinks of her: "No man would want you! You're dull and have no talent. So why has this handsome gent chosen you? For your money and only for that reason! He doesn't love you, no one could because youre unloveable!" It's a cruel assessment, and it hardens Olivia, who tells Aunt Lavinia that she shall never speak to her father again. She will marry Monty, and to hell with her inheritance. But when Monty hears about this, that there is no longer any money involved with the romance, he ditches Olivia and goes to California.

The movie turns here, and I won't reveal anymore, except to say that Monty has a rationale for his departure and ultimately tries to explain himself to Olivia. The final scene is one of the greatest in all of cinema. Go to the IMDB comments and see how many 10/10 ratings this movie has. It's a must-see, and one of the greatest acting movies of the Golden Age. I first saw it about 20 years ago (once again at my Mom's behest) and I have never forgotten the final shot and the final scene. This is one of my favorite Montgomery Clift performances because he treads the boderline between sincerity and phoniness. And, as always he's paired with an all star cast.  

That's all I have for the moment. In our next blog, if I am lucky I may have a "book report" for you. I've been tracking the delivery of my proof copy and it's now supposed to arrive by July 3rd. Fingers crossed! Thanks for reading and Happy 4th of July coming up.