Author: Kim du Toit

Saturday Listening

Music

I remember the Kennedy Awards ceremony honoring Led Zeppelin, and in their introduction Jack Black made reference to the “Led Zeppelin Haj”  — listening to the entire Zep oeuvre  in chronological order of album release (which I’ve done, maybe too often).

There’s another such haj, of course, this one involving the peerless Steely Dan, which I followed earlier this week.

As longtime Readers are well aware, I am by no means a fan of jazz music, having repeated the various knocks against the genre time and time again.  (“A bunch of guys all playing at the same time”,  “Five musicians in one room, all hunting for a tune” and so on.)

But Steely Dan aren’t like that.  Their songs feature tightly-structured, complex chord structures and (to many) obscure and inexplicable lyrics about a stranger variety of topics, all delivered with remarkabe skill and, let it be said, massive doses of irony.

I was late to the Dan-train;  I’d heard a couple of their songs on the radio (Reeling In The Years, etc.), but it was only when I got The Royal Scam  as a birthday present, and played it on a long solo car trip — over and over and over — that I realized just how good these guys were.  Later on, our Army band Hogwash covered just about the entire album — and what a thrill that was.

I have the boxed CD set, although it was released in 1994, I think, thus missing their last two albums.

So if you feel like doing the Steely Dan haj  over the weekend, be my guest.  (Given the nature of YooToob, some of the links may have changed, but give it a go anyway.)

Can’t Buy a Thrill (1972)
Countdown to Ecstasy (1973)
Pretzel Logic (1974)
Katy Lied (1975)
The Royal Scam (1976)
Aja (1977)
Gaucho (1980)
Two Against Nature (2000)
Everything Must Go (2003)

Oh, and R.I.P. Walter Becker.

Recommendation

The Gun Thing

Longtime Reader And Total Gun Nut PatrickS was all butthurt that I didn’t include any of his works on my bookshelf backdrop — although, as I pointed out to him in my email replay, I didn’t even include one of my own books on the list.

That said, Patrick’s stuff has been a constant companion of mine over the past decade or so, and it requires a HUGE endorsement from this website, so get the hell over and buy a couple (ignore the first listing, that’s some other guy).

And Patrick:  if you have an old paperback copy of the 1911 book lying around somewhere… (the Son&Heir stole mine).

No Riots For This One?

Crime

I don’t think that anyone would deny that this scumbag needed killing ( to use the old Texas expression) and doesn’t deserve a riot in his honor.  From Alabama:

Thorsby police conducted a traffic stop on Montgomery Avenue for a violation around 12:30 p.m. As officers came up to the vehicle, investigators say the driver pulled out a handgun and fired on the officers without any conversation or warning.
Deputies said Jackson ran through a construction site on Montgomery Avenue and continued to fire at officers.
Two Thorsby officers returned fire. They requested help from the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office, Tactical Response and K-9.
A K-9 located Jackson in a wooded area, hiding behind a fallen tree. Jackson then shot the K-9 in the torso and fired at deputies, according to investigators.

Wait:  he shot a police dog?  That’s a hanging, right there, in at least forty-eight states.  But wait! there’s more:

Two deputies returned fire, hitting Jackson. A paramedic tried to treat him, but Jackson died at the scene. The K-9 was taken to a local veterinary clinic where he was treated and is expected to recover. No other law enforcement officers were hurt.

So… who was this choirboy?

Investigators say Jackson has an extensive criminal history involving multiple violent crimes. He had multiple felony convictions for attempted murder, robbery and possession of methamphetamine. Jackson was out on bond for various charges out of Chilton County including possession of cocaine, possession of methamphetamine, certain persons forbidden to possess a firearm, resisting arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia.

And for the kicker:

Authorities said the firearm Jackson used in the shooting was stolen in June of 2020.

So, to recap:  career criminal dead, cop dog doing okay, no cops hurt, stolen gun recovered.

Other than the inclusion of “George Soros killed in the cross-fire”, that’s pretty much a perfect outcome.

Not A Murderer

Anarchist thugs, Heroism, Media Assholes, Righteous Shootings

Seems as though the Jackals Of The Press (JOTP©) may have jumped the gun, so to speak, once the charges against Kyle Rittenhouse are examined in detail:

The story of Kyle Rittenhouse is more than a gripping piece of news, it is a telling philosophical Rorschach test.  A lone individual stood up to a mob of violent felons, abusers, and pedophiles, asserting his right to live over their lust for his blood, and won.  While the American public, generous in their deference for human life, and may have paused in horror at the shootings, the tide of public opinion is turning for Kyle as the deluge of exculpatory facts break through the dam of misinformation.  Americans should take note at which institutions were quick to back Kyle, which condemned him, and the cowards in between.
Considering the facts of the case and the state laws governing Wisconsin, it becomes clear that Kyle’s actions were not reckless — the prosecutor’s decisions were.

In fact, given the the circumstances and the nature of Rittenhouse’s attackers, we might even, and justifiably term this a Righteous Shooting.  Follow the link to the story and the links within, and you’ll see why.

Let’s hope this turns out well for the boy, although when it comes to asshole, thuggish prosecutors I have little faith in the legal system.

Background Books

Lies and Untruths, Media Assholes, Politics

With the Chinkvirus lockdown and associated Zoom-y nonsense, we’ve all become familiar with people filming themselves with bookcases in the background.  What used to be the standard backdrop for lawyers’ vanity pics (with tomes and tomes of legal texts behind them, as though they’d ever read one, the bastards), now seems to be the norm, especially with politicians.  Here are a couple of examples:  BritPM Boris Johnson:

…and some other BritGov flunky:

Now I’m quite aware that most of the displayed books were probably chosen by assorted political handlers and PR flacks [vast overlap], so their appearance can probably be discounted.

But it gives me an idea for a game entitled:  “Suppose You Were To Appear On A Zoom Live Feed, Which 12 Books Would You Want To be Displayed Behind You?”  (I know, the title may need a little work, but you get my drift.)  Assuming such things were important to you, and you wanted to Send A Message About Yourself (e.g. if you were being interviewed by some Lefty TV show host or similar), which books would you display?

The difference between the above poseurs  and yourselves, O My Readers, is that you can only nominate books that you actually possess, i.e. that are already on your bookshelves (no cheating).

My dozen, in no specific order, are:

           

(The last is:  Leo: A Tribute to Leo Burnett.  It’s handed out to all new employees at Burnett on their first day, and the agency is still run on the same principles.)

Those are mine.  Yours?  (You can select fewer than twelve, but no more.  Multi-volume compendia such as Churchill’s History Of The Second World War  count as a single selection.)