Month: November 2018

Music Moves Me
Posted on by Dick Posted in Dick Jacobsen, Uncategorized, Writing
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Music Moves Me

 

Someone asked me the other day if I liked music. “I love music”, I answered. Why do you love music? “Because it moves me”, I said. The answer just came out of the blue, but for some reason, I knew my answer was true, but even I needed to know why. When I got home I went to my Youtube List, and started to listen to the music that I love.

So what moves me here. 1) The audience’s clammor for the three striking singers as they walked in. 2) Almost from the first chord my eyes started to tear up, and my mouth formed a smile. 3) The audience kissing and hugging eachother, smiling, crying, one person openly sobbing. 4) The spontaneous participation of the audience ranging from 5 years to 80+ years. 5) Rieu’s stimulating violin. 6) The presentation of the notes by the young women, filling their lungs and pressing the notes to higher and higher harmoneous perfection. 7) The lyrics.

And why does this move me? 1.) The adulation of a crowd who revere these two men as much as I do, numbering enough to fill Shea Stadium in New York. 2) I dare anyone to listen to this and not move their body and grin til it hurts. 3) the deafening roar of appreciation from the crowd.

OK. Turn your volume up to listen to this marvelous aria.

There is a purity to this voice that is very hard to describe, but each time I hear “Nessun Dorma” from Turandot I sob like a baby. I have since my mother introduced me to it as a boy, along with “Oh Mimi” from La Boheme, “The Flower Duet”, from Lakmé and many more.

Music Moves Me.

Cowboys and Indians
Posted on by Dick Posted in Dick Jacobsen, Make America Great Again, Writing
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Cowboys and Indians

Growing up I was very aware of Cowboys and Indians. My pals and I would play for hours and hours in the fields next door, or in the backyard, or in our livingroom makeshift tepees. I was infatuated with Tom Mix, Hoppy, Roy and Gene. Mom dropped me off at the theater on Saturday, gave me two-bits, with which I saw two full length shoot-em-ups, ten cartoons and had enough left over for popcorn and a coke. For me, the history of America started there.
In High School I remember learning about the Aztecs, the Incas and the Mayas, but I always thought of them as foreigners, not American’s. For me the Native History of America started with the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock. I remember, during Thanksgiving Holiday, seeing Indians pictured at the Pilgrims Table, but I never really wondered where they came from.
Stumbling through life I recall hearing stories of early Indians like the Iroquois Tribes (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawks). I was born a New Yorker so “Far above Cayuga’s Waters”, Oneida Watches, and the “Last of the Mohicans” had meaning to me. I faintly remember the Seminoles, because they were billed as the good guys from Florida. The famous Apache Chieftan Cochise (Jeff Chandler) was chased by every oater leading man of the 40s, but I just figured he arrived about the same time Hoppy did. Well silly me.
Not until two weeks ago; at age 80 (blissfully ignorant but inquisitive), when NPR aired “Native Americans”, did the real story begin to unravel. Up jumps Cahokia and it;s collection of tribes, who appeared in the Mississippi area around AD 700. Three hundred years later Cahokia was at its Golden Age (pictured above) and by 1600 it faded away. I don’t remember any of this being taught in gradeschool. For these folks to have amassed in the region in AD 700, they had to have come from somewhere. Scientists and Anthropologists seem to think that the Bering Straits were finally habitable enough for Human migration from Siberia around 12,600 years ago, some postulate that humans came to North America 125,000 years ago.
The Facts seem to allow that the Indians were definitely here before Hoppy. They flourished at Cahokia with staggering scientific knowledge of the Sun, Moon and Stars, taught settlers the meaning of democracy, developed Maise (Corn) as a staple, and built ceremonial mounds 10 stories (100 Feet) high. There were one heck of a lot of Native Americans here before Custer went on his killing sprees.
I have no idea how I, or anyone else, could have graduated from High School without knowing something about our Native American Ancestors.
I am going to dig deeper into this. I really dislike being stupid.

Kindness
Posted on by Dick Posted in #ItsTimeForAction, Dick Jacobsen, Writing
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Kindness

Kindness

Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Friendly is defined as being pleasant. Generous is defined as showing a readiness to give more of something, as money or time, than is strictly necessary or expected. Considerate is defined as being careful not to cause inconvenience or hurt to others.
When you look at the photograph above, the young man is certainly exibiting kindness; he is definitely giving more of himself than expected; and he is being careful not to inconvenience or harm the handicapped lady yet he is certainly being being inconvenienced and experiencing unpleasantness by getting wet or possibly ill.
So do we have a dilema? Is the definition of kindness above a complete one?
If we look harder at the picture we might see that the young man has a smile and a look of satisfaction on his face, the onlookers are thinking what a nice young man he is, and the lady has a thankful look. Maybe minutes later a shop owner runs out with a towel for the young man, or a barista brings him a cup of warm coffee, or several others come out and open the car door and assist the lady into her car, or a policeman pulls up and stops traffic.
I have been afforded kindness, and each time the experience has etched itself into my memory and stitched itself into the fabric of my human experience.
I think a better definition of kindness might be; “the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate; to your own inconvenience and possible harm; knowing the action has made you, the person to whom you have extended the kindness, and the world in general, become better for your efforts.”
Extend kindness. If you have recieved kindness, cherish it.
Posted on by Dick Posted in Dick Jacobsen, Rants and Opinions, Weekend fare, Writing
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Elections and Money

The Media, Democrats, fringe left podcasters, and all nutjobs in general accuse the Republicans of being the Fat Cats, the Wealthy and the Greedy Businessmen. Take a look at this.

The top diagram shows the sources of wealth in the United States, and the diagram on the bottom shows the Blue locations that voted for Clinton in the 2016 Election. ANY QUESTIONS? Please wake up America and check your facts.

Posted on by Dick Posted in #ItsTimeForAction, Dick Jacobsen, Rants and Opinions, Writing
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Rule The Roost POTUS

All  of the News Media (except FOX ) treat our President; rudely, disrespectfully and deceiptfully, and in return they expect to run rampant in White House news conferences. They treat Sarah Huckabee appallingly and demean the purpose of a news conference. They all think that this is their personal venue and they can perform as they please. This is disgraceful, and is robbing the American people of a clear source of information delivered by our President. At one point President Trump was so exasperated, he left the dais pacing and seething and I thought he was going to deck the CNN jerk, but he took deep breaths and returned to his task. This is the reaction of a frustrated man, not the tyrant the media paints him to be. I watched the entire episode yesterday, wishing I could see more, but fully understanding why he is reluctant to participate. It was crystal clear to me that the prime time media was there to derail the President, not to hear his news. Mr. President, I have the answer for you.

Rules and Regulations for POTUS News Conferences.

Rule 1: Not a sound may be uttered by the press without being recognized by the President, i.e., no talking with your neighbors, no handraising and yelling “Mr. President” like unruley school children having to go #2, and no unsolicited interruptions.
Rule 2: When you are recognized by the President; you will stand; receive the microphone; ask one, one part, question, without diatribe; return the microphone and sit down; remaining quiet until your question is answered. He may ask you to clarify. You will stand and answer his request and sit down again, remaining quiet.
The President will answer your question, and move on to the next person he decides to recognize.
Rule 3: If you break Rule 1 or 2, you will be told to leave the conference. If you stubbornly fail to leave you will be forcefully removed, and your press conference permits revoked….forever.

Mr.President, please get control of these idiots calling themselves journalists, they don’t report what you say anyway. I want to hear what you have to say from your mouth, in your words. I see how the media twists your words and misrepresents you intentions so blatently, and I am tired of it. They are using their freedom of speech to deny yours.

 

A Genuinely Good Guy
Posted on by Dick Posted in Dick Jacobsen, Writing
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A Genuinely Good Guy

Kris Kristofferson

A genuinely good guy came to Redding a week or so back. He had called someone in Redding to ask, “If I pay for my own transportation, and my own Hotel and Food, and perform for free, could I come to Redding and do a concert, with all the proceeds going to the victims of the Carr Fire?” Apparently this phonecall was made on the 27th of July, 2018, the day after the Carr Fire hit Redding and devowered 230,000 Acres, destroyed over 1,000 homes and took the lives of 8 people. Some great people including Ben Haggard (Merle Haggard’s talented son) and The Strangers (Merle’s Band), got behind Kris’s offer and turned out for a night of nostalgia and good music.

I’m not a concert kind of guy, but I had to go, given my connections to Kris. Kris and I went to the same High School, San Mateo High. Kris was Class of ’53 and I was Class of ’56. I don’t remember Kris from High School. Kris’s sister, Karen Kristofferson, on the other hand, was in my class and I knew her well, in fact I was madly in love with her  (She had no idea), as were 75% of the males in San Mateo High School Class of ’56.

Karen Kristofferson(Middle Row, Far Right)

As I sat and listened to “Me And Bobby McGee”, “Lovin Her Was Easier”, “Help Me Make It Through The Night”, “Sunday Mornin Comin Down”, “Darby’s Castle”. “For The Good Times”, and many more; I thought about High School, Karen, my buddies, the ups and downs. Kris is a mornful sort of singer who sings mornful songs, but for some reason the whole epiode was cathartic, leaving me pleased with my past. I’m glad I went.

 

 

 

Genetic Genealogy – Its a Good Thing
Posted on by Dick Posted in Dick Jacobsen, Learning, Writing
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Genetic Genealogy – Its a Good Thing

“Most Likely Family Tree”

Genetic genealogy is the use of DNA testing in combination with traditional genealogical methods to infer relationships between individuals and find ancestors. Genetic genealogy involves the use of genealogical DNA testing to determine the level and type of the genetic relationship between individuals.

Rapekit DNA Provider

The Golden State Killer is a serial killer, rapist, and burglar who committed at least 13 murders, more than 50 rapes, and over 100 burglaries in California from 1974 to 1986. This dirtbag terrorized California, namely the Bay Area, for ten years and then slipped off under a rock for 32 years leaving 50 women, at least 13 families, and 100 households hanging without justice. The Cops had his DNA, but the creeps DNA wasn’t in the data banks. Why? Because he was a Cop and knew how to avoid detection.

OJ offs his wife and the term DNA enters our lives. Then Ancestry.com, 23andMe, etal, show up and everyone gets itnerested in their DNA history. I spat into the tube for 23andMe and lo and behold I learned, much of which I already knew or suspected, that I was descendant from the Neanderthals, and their descendants The Vikings, and their descendants The Danish and the Irish. A pretty murky bunch of ancestors, I will admit, but we all can’t descend from Kings, can we Kanut. I have friends who have gone further with Ancestry.com who have found family dating back for centuries.

One of the people that got really into this stuff figured out a way to use Genetics (23andMe) and Genealogy (Ancestry.com) to figure out who the “most likely person” may be from a DNA sample that is not in the various databases. What that means is she searched for folks with similar DNA as the dirtbag’s, then tracked those folks DNA data by building a “Most Likely Family Tree”, and then studying that family tree to find the “most likely dirtbag”.

“Most Likely Dirtbag”

She then gave the information to the Cops, and they then got a new, sample of the “most likely dirtbag’s DNA”, and ‘Voila’ his DNA matched the original rapekit sample DNA to one in a gazillion. GOTCHA DIRTBAG!!!!! Sadly the story doesn’t end here, however. Enter the ACLU.

OMG, cries the ACLU, you have not only invaded the dirtbag’s privacy, but the privacy of the rest of is entire freeking family tree. It is of no importance that you caught a dirtbag of the worst and slimiest ilk, you have invaded his privacy. Let’s see now. The Genetic Genealogist started with rapekit DNA, utilized various databases, willing provided by millions of law abiding people. Then she bonehard studied all the data to come up with the “most likely dirtbag”, and then used his (the dirtbags) newly attained DNA to catch him. ACLU, if that is an invasion of privacy, sign me up. I’m ready to be invaded. This is no more an invasion of privacy than wandering through an old cemetery looking for names.

Google invades my privacy. Genetic Genealogy makes my life better and safer. ACLU, do something useful, go after Google.