Tag: Mercy

Original v. Cover — #23 in a Series

joe zawinul Pictures, Images and Photos

The featured song this week was written by one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, an Austrian jazz keyboardist and composer. This standard has since become a staple in the repertoire of almost every jazz musician.  

While this week’s selection does not include a detailed back story or highlight a relevant political message, the lives and careers of those who performed and produced it were nothing short of fascinating.

The life and career of at least one of the performers (whose cover version will be presented later), was marked by meteoric success, followed by an equally rapid, tragic descent into oblivion, truly a tragedy of a Shakespearean proportions. A book describing this flamboyant musician’s life has since become the subject of ongoing debate and controversy.

This humble writer is now convinced that the career of a rock historian must be one of the most intriguing avocations in existence.  Anyone know of any openings?

Original v. Cover — #6 of a Series

Earth and Moon from space Pictures, Images and PhotosThe featured song last week addressed the matter of U. S. involvement in near continual warfare, which defined almost the entirety of the decade beginning on January 1, 2000.  As we look forward to the next ten years, extending to January 1, 2020, U. S. military action in Iraq persists and significant escalation is planned in Afghanistan.  Future military intervention in other countries looms as a disturbing possibility.  If continued long enough, the United States may well follow the fateful trajectory of the Soviet Union, plummeting into the same abyss, having failed to learn from their predecessor’s untoward experience.  Continued U. S. military action and/or the eventual demise of this country to at least Second World, if not Third World status, will exert varying degrees of impact upon the rest of the world.  Despite this, many nations will likely survive mostly, if not fully intact.  

As we consider the decade ahead, perhaps the most critical matter of all is that of climate change.  As our mother earth’s ability to sustain human life deteriorates, adverse impacts will first be noted in other areas of the world, gradually spreading like a terminal malignancy throughout the remainder of the planet.  We can only imagine the accuracy with which our mainstream news media will disclose these developments to the general public, if this occurs at all.  More and more people will, of necessity, be crowding into continually shrinking areas of land, thereby reducing the amount of the earth’s surface available to produce that which is necessary to perpetuate life.  Those newly encroached upon by incoming refugees may not always welcome their new neighbors with open arms and may not be willing to share their meager food and water supplies with their recently arrived guests.  We can imagine the results, however much we may wish not to engage in such an uncomfortable exercise.

Let us Temper Anger with Mercy 20090624

I am not a fan of Governor Sanford.  His politics are pretty much antithetic to me, and to most of us in this community.  I also think that he would be a horrible President, but that is my own thought.

The developments today are extremely sad on many levels.  We have seen a person with a career completely destroyed, although of his own making.  But I can not condemn a man for love.