Recently I saw a classical musician's reaction to Neil Young's Cortez the Killer. Water filled my eyes. The song has always been one of my all time favorites. Young broke it out on his 1975 album Zuma. It is about Cortez, Moetezuma II, war and peace. In the 16th Century! Seems relevant given the state of … Continue reading Cortez the Killer: smash or pass
Category: human nature
Fall Frenzy: Update
It's Thanksgiving week; and also the week I turn seventy-four. Wasn't that a song? Oh wait, that song is When I'm 64 Sixty-Four. However it was released in 1967, so ... . Anyway, I'm not losing my hair. In fact I'm still pretty spry. Furthermore, John Lennon is dead. Gunned down in front of his apartment … Continue reading Fall Frenzy: Update
Human Nature: Reboot
This is a repost from May 0f 2001, or 30 months ago. Because I think it's relevant now considering how war has busted out all over. Many people are shocked and can't believe humans could be so violent and cruel. Or I should say, other humans, because they themselves insist they never could behave in such a manner. … Continue reading Human Nature: Reboot
Mark Jabbour’s 3 favorite reads in 2023
My 3 favorite reads of the past year can be found at the link below. They're all nonfiction and very relevant to what's happening in these trying times we're all living through. Mark is an author, Independent, Curious, Straight-forward, Educated, and Strong. — Read on shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/mark-jabbour
Fall Frenzy: 2023 version
Fall Frenzy 2023 has gone crazy compared to 2022. Let's get into it. I've taken to visual aids. Old school. No computer or AI generated images for yours truly. Below is a "map" of this year's version of Fall Frenzy. Dominating all else is the Israel / Hamas war. These people are out of their … Continue reading Fall Frenzy: 2023 version
The Hatred of Donald Trump
The hatred of Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, can be explained by the ego defense mechanism Reaction Formation. Let's get into it. Reaction Formation is simply the hatred of that which you fear you need, or want. It is a Freudian, psycho-analytic concept. It combines repression of unmet desire with projection. … Continue reading The Hatred of Donald Trump
BOSCH: Season 3
I, last night, finished watching BOSCH season 3 for the third time. This show is gripping. But don't just take my word. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a viewer rating of 97%! Season 3 is based on Michael Connelly's novels The Black Echo and A Darkness More than Night. I had to make a visual character map … Continue reading BOSCH: Season 3
Silicon Snake Oil: The Road to Hell
This ain't no technological breakdown, oh no, this is the road to hell. This ain't no upwardly mobile freeway, oh no, this is the road to hell. Chris Rea (1999). So it is. As Astronomer Clifford Stoll foresaw in his 1995 book, Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the Information Highway, about computers and civilization, … Continue reading Silicon Snake Oil: The Road to Hell
You Are What You Watch
or, what you watch depends on who you are? That's a kind of nature / nurture question. Or a "what came first?" trope. Isn't it? Were you born a sociopath, a psychopath, or did events beyond your control make you into one? Is there such a thing as "bad seed"? I came to this question … Continue reading You Are What You Watch
CHIMP EMPIRE: Who Are We?
is the way James Reed's Netflix documentary (April 2023) begins, and ends. Does the four-hour series answer the question? That depends on who and what you believe. For me it does a very good job. We are the The Naked Ape (1967); or as Jared Diamond wrote, The Third Chimpanzee (1992). Robert Wright called us The Moral … Continue reading CHIMP EMPIRE: Who Are We?