Fearless Rick, writing in the first person...
This is the first post from my new digs, actually just a $700 camper I purchased recently and added to my assets at Camp Alpha (the poor man's Trump Tower, but better in many ways).
I ran an extension cord from the camper outlet to my awesome Champion generator (runs on gasoline, whoda thunk it), fired it all up and got the refrigerator working, tested most of the outlets and lights, hooked up my $6.95 second-hand-store-bought SoundDesign dual cassette tape, AM/FM radio, record player and put on some old vinyl of 1930s and 40s jazz. It was a wonderful experience.
These markets are just crazy. Another day, another split decision. It's becoming quite annoying, so I'm trying not to pay much attention to it, since, after all, it's all funny money, conjured by the magicians at the Federal Reserve out of thin air.
Not all of us are taken in by the con. No siree!
At the Close, 7/20/17:
Dow: 21,611.78, -28.97 (-0.13%)
NASDAQ: 6,390.00, +4.96 (0.08%)
S&P 500: 2,473.45, -0.38 (-0.02%)
NYSE Composite: 11,944.50, +3.16 (0.03%)
The Dow is down, the NASDAQ is up, the S&P finishes with a fractional decline. Does anybody even care?
What interests me at the moment is the potential to make ice using solar power. It is doable, but, can it be profitable. I'm about to find out. Right at this moment, the generator has been running for about three hours on about two gallons of gas. This is not cost efficient because I've made three trays of ice cubes, re-frozen some chicken drumsticks and am in the process of freezing a trio of one liter plastic bottles filled with water (they're working).
The gas cost was about $6.00, because I use the good stuff (91+), but the solar solution is probably more cost-efficient. After the cost of the panels, batteries, connectors and the fridge/freezer, the sun does the heavy lifting, so to speak. I'll have more on this in upcoming, fantastic Money Daily posts, since the financial markets are giving me headaches.
Photos, too... but, listen to this piece by Benny Goodman from 1937, called Bob White. Nice, but, I have questions. Who was Bob White and why was the King of Swing giving him such a hard time?
Anybody?
BTW: the lilting vocals by Martha Tilton were her first recorded with Benny Goodman and his Orchestra.
Enjoy...
Showing posts with label Benny Goodman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benny Goodman. Show all posts
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
No News Good News to Wall Street; Music for a Depression: Benny Goodman's Sing, Sing, Sing
Running a bit late today and writing in the first person singular, not because this is a critical day or anything like that, but because I'm just happy as a lark to see that financial stocks led today's absolutely nothing advance.
From years of personal experience (especially over the past four) any time our broken down banks lead the market, one can rest assured the move is nothing more than self-aggrandizement by the former "masters of the universe," thus completely meaningless in a macro sense.
The afternoon insider ramp job was notoriously devoid of volume, making the major event of the day nothing more momentous than the May reading on ISM services which leapt an entire 0.2, from 53.5 in April to 53.7 in May. Big whoopie, and not much of a reaction from the street, so hold off, for now, on the champagne. Europe's issues and the big fiat debt fiasco that pervades everything these days still lurks, waiting to pounce upon a suspect market.
Major events in this little corner of the world were the two rabbits frolicking in my back yard. From the looks of things, the planet may soon be blessed with a few more little cottontails soon. Ah, Spring...
There was an "urgent" conference call by leaders of the G7, bemoaning the fact that Europe's crisis might just be spinning out of control, unlike the Earth itself, which, last we checked, was still orbiting the sun and rotating smoothly without any help from the Fed, central bankers or any over-indebted sovereign nation.
When the global financial system finally falls completely apart, those of us with good minds, bodies and hearts will know what to do: Make sure our gold and/or silver is safe, our guns well oiled and our crops bathing in sunshine, pour another drink and watch the crooks being harnessed by their own hangman's noose.
It's really just that simple.
Since we're already well into the Greater Depression, I thought it appropriate to post a couple of Youtube videos - actually they're more music than anything else, in hopes that we might all come to understand better how things were during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
My father, who was born in 1924 and passed away in 2009, was a spry lad of five years old when the markets crashed in 1929. He used to tell me that they didn't know they were poor, as just about everybody was in a similar situation. It's somewhat the same today, except that the many of the truly poor and unemployed now receive all kinds of benefits such as food stamps, free rent and free health care, which makes them much better off than many of the working stiffs who grind out a living on wages that have been stagnant or declining since the year 2000.
At the end of this post there are two videos posted. The first (to which you are encouraged to stand up and dance to) is of Benny Goodman's original recording of Louis Prima's (my dad's favorite) Sing, Sing Sing.
The year was 1937, the depth of the Great Depression, but Goodman's big band orchestra really let it rip in this rendition, which helped Goodman earn the reputation as the "King of Swing." The band leader and on clarinet, Goodman was aided by Gene Krupa on drums (amazing, by any standard) and Harry James on trumpet, among others. The piece is an absolute classic, a treasure of Americana, showing that even as hard as times were for millions, the spirit of the day was one of joy, a never-say-die attitude and unbridled musical genius.
While Prima's original version carried lyrics, Goodman's arrangement was purely instrumental. With Krupa's driving beat and Goodman's flawless orchestration and leadership, the tune became an instant hit crossing generations of music fans. The title is a bit misleading; it could easily be re-named "Dance, Dance, Dance."
If you can't get up and dance to this tune, you either have no sense, no rhythm or no business being alive. All you oldies out there, be careful. Don't bust a disk or pull a muscle. This one's a mover. Enjoy.
The second video (again, it's all for the music) is of the same tune at the fabled 1938 concert by Goodman's band at Carnegie Hall in New York. The piece is longer, lasting 12 minutes, and includes some introspective solos by Goodman and notably, pianist Jess Stacy's solo work, which the Wikipedia entry calls, "exceptional, a four-chorus, chromatic impressionistic masterpiece distinct from everything that preceded it." The entire track is marvelous. Turn your speakers up for this one.
As the global depression expands and envelops more and more of the world, music like this may be the best antidote to the craven antics of thieving bankers and incompetent politicians.
Dow 12,127.95, +26.49 (0.22%)
NASDAQ 2,778.11, +18.10 (0.66%)
S&P 500 1,285.50, +7.32 (0.57%)
NYSE Composite 7,338.65, +53.10 (0.73%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,627,906,750
NYSE Volume 3,403,227,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3882-1641
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 54-117
WTI crude oil: 84.29, +0.31
Gold: 1,616.90, +3.00
Silver: 28.40, +0.40
From years of personal experience (especially over the past four) any time our broken down banks lead the market, one can rest assured the move is nothing more than self-aggrandizement by the former "masters of the universe," thus completely meaningless in a macro sense.
The afternoon insider ramp job was notoriously devoid of volume, making the major event of the day nothing more momentous than the May reading on ISM services which leapt an entire 0.2, from 53.5 in April to 53.7 in May. Big whoopie, and not much of a reaction from the street, so hold off, for now, on the champagne. Europe's issues and the big fiat debt fiasco that pervades everything these days still lurks, waiting to pounce upon a suspect market.
Major events in this little corner of the world were the two rabbits frolicking in my back yard. From the looks of things, the planet may soon be blessed with a few more little cottontails soon. Ah, Spring...
The sun is shining again-- from the soon-to-be-released Flowers in Your Garden, a love song by Fearless Rick
and birds are singing in the trees,
My heart is open wide my friends,
I've just caught a summer breeze.
There was an "urgent" conference call by leaders of the G7, bemoaning the fact that Europe's crisis might just be spinning out of control, unlike the Earth itself, which, last we checked, was still orbiting the sun and rotating smoothly without any help from the Fed, central bankers or any over-indebted sovereign nation.
When the global financial system finally falls completely apart, those of us with good minds, bodies and hearts will know what to do: Make sure our gold and/or silver is safe, our guns well oiled and our crops bathing in sunshine, pour another drink and watch the crooks being harnessed by their own hangman's noose.
It's really just that simple.
Since we're already well into the Greater Depression, I thought it appropriate to post a couple of Youtube videos - actually they're more music than anything else, in hopes that we might all come to understand better how things were during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
My father, who was born in 1924 and passed away in 2009, was a spry lad of five years old when the markets crashed in 1929. He used to tell me that they didn't know they were poor, as just about everybody was in a similar situation. It's somewhat the same today, except that the many of the truly poor and unemployed now receive all kinds of benefits such as food stamps, free rent and free health care, which makes them much better off than many of the working stiffs who grind out a living on wages that have been stagnant or declining since the year 2000.
At the end of this post there are two videos posted. The first (to which you are encouraged to stand up and dance to) is of Benny Goodman's original recording of Louis Prima's (my dad's favorite) Sing, Sing Sing.
The year was 1937, the depth of the Great Depression, but Goodman's big band orchestra really let it rip in this rendition, which helped Goodman earn the reputation as the "King of Swing." The band leader and on clarinet, Goodman was aided by Gene Krupa on drums (amazing, by any standard) and Harry James on trumpet, among others. The piece is an absolute classic, a treasure of Americana, showing that even as hard as times were for millions, the spirit of the day was one of joy, a never-say-die attitude and unbridled musical genius.
While Prima's original version carried lyrics, Goodman's arrangement was purely instrumental. With Krupa's driving beat and Goodman's flawless orchestration and leadership, the tune became an instant hit crossing generations of music fans. The title is a bit misleading; it could easily be re-named "Dance, Dance, Dance."
If you can't get up and dance to this tune, you either have no sense, no rhythm or no business being alive. All you oldies out there, be careful. Don't bust a disk or pull a muscle. This one's a mover. Enjoy.
The second video (again, it's all for the music) is of the same tune at the fabled 1938 concert by Goodman's band at Carnegie Hall in New York. The piece is longer, lasting 12 minutes, and includes some introspective solos by Goodman and notably, pianist Jess Stacy's solo work, which the Wikipedia entry calls, "exceptional, a four-chorus, chromatic impressionistic masterpiece distinct from everything that preceded it." The entire track is marvelous. Turn your speakers up for this one.
As the global depression expands and envelops more and more of the world, music like this may be the best antidote to the craven antics of thieving bankers and incompetent politicians.
Dow 12,127.95, +26.49 (0.22%)
NASDAQ 2,778.11, +18.10 (0.66%)
S&P 500 1,285.50, +7.32 (0.57%)
NYSE Composite 7,338.65, +53.10 (0.73%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,627,906,750
NYSE Volume 3,403,227,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3882-1641
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 54-117
WTI crude oil: 84.29, +0.31
Gold: 1,616.90, +3.00
Silver: 28.40, +0.40
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