Month: April 2016

The sinking of Titanic during the time of patriarchy.

Social commentary / April 27, 2016

So much has already been written about the Titanic disaster.  What could I possibly add that would be of passing interest to anyone. All I can do is try.

Society today has gone stark raving mad.  Apparently the worse thing a person can be today is a white heterosexual male.  We seem to be held responsible for all the ills of the  earth. Yet practically  no credit is acknowledge for the our positive accomplishments. “The evil men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones”. Shakespeare knew what he was talking about.

In 1912 women did not have the vote, many professions were still closed to them. On the Titanic There were smoking rooms for 1st and 2nd class men…only. There were reading and writing rooms for the ladies…only.

Men were men, women were women and the vast majority seemed very happy with this arrangement.  Of course if men ruled it came with great responsibility. Men were expected to die so that women and children might live. To be labeled a coward especially by a woman would for a normal man be a fate worse then death.

Out of 1,316 passengers 511 were women and children.  There were 711 survivors total,  of which 353 were women and children, 146 were male passengers.  212 out of 913 crew of which 23 were women also survived. Class also had a big impact as to who survived and who didn’t.

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that Captain Smith totally botched the situation.  Hindsight being 20-20 perhaps I’m being to harsh. Capt. Smith career he had never experience anything close to what had happened. Of course many factors led up to the disaster, but I’ll confine myself to after the iceberg was struck.

Titanic was state of the art for its day but it lacked one vital component. A public address system to enable the captain to address the entire ship. As soon as Capt. Smith learned that the ship was doomed he should have issued explicit orders that all lifeboats needed to be filled to capacity with women and children only and class should not be any consideration. Appeal to the men their duty as men to save their wives and children. Issue firearms to his officers to prevent panic. Everyone of them could have been saved.  Of course it didn’t happen that way. But I don’t think women were bitching about male oppression at the time.

April 26th 2016

Climate Change / April 26, 2016

Somewhere in Central Vt. Does anyone recognize it?

610

The ground is white with snow.  An hour after this picture was taken the roads were much worse. A lot of people have already changed over to summer tires. As did I.  Followed a 4WD pickup up a step hill, he couldn’t make it and had to turn around.  I made it fine with my car even with summer tires. Now I know why I see hundreds of these vehicles in the area.

I fully expect that NASA and NOAA will declare that this past April the “warmest” on record.

But there still seems to be some ice at the north pole.  Wasn’t it supposed to be Ice free by now?

 

Rock Concerts

personal history / March 2, 2019

Driving South down I-89 Sunday A peculiar  thought occur to me. How many rock concerts have I attended in my lifetime? I won’t include all the excellent bar bands, with one exception. Lets see.

When I was in high school my friends and I saw at the field house in Dartmouth…The Association…Spanky and our Gang…Sly and the Family Stone.

When I was stationed in Hawaii I saw Lydia Pence and Cold Blood. We almost saw Brownsville station play. In fact they were in the Hotel room across the hall from us at he Holiday Inn on Waikiki Beach. There’s a long story about this trip to tell.

My youngest brother say we went to a Frank Zappa concert at Dartmouth. I’ll take his word for it. I know that I saw the group Boston.

Got to see the Pousette- Dart band at a Bar in Killington in 1977.

The Wife and I saw The Moody Blues one July night in the 1990’s in Stowe. It was so cold it was spitting snow.

I remember going to the Montreal Forum to a concert but for the life of me I can’t remember who I saw. Oh well…

 

 

 

Happy 146th Birthday Vladimir

Climate Change / April 22, 2016

Lenin is pleased to share his birthday with Earth day. Because Green is the new Red.

Lenin

Photo from Moscow times

Even though we don’t execute enemies of the people climate deniers (yet) at least 15 progressive state attorney generals and the U.S. attorney general have actively discussed prosecuting enemies of the people climate deniers. Freedom of speech is slowly but surely coming under proper government  control with many large corporations seeing the light and getting on board. The Constitution is living and evolving, those pesky “negative liberties” are headed for the dustbin of history, and the government will finally have a free hand in doing what is best for the workers and peasants American people.

In the meantime government bureaucracy is doing its part.

Happy birthday indeed.

And time marches on

Uncategorized / April 19, 2016

One thing I can say about my high school years, it was certainly not the high point of my life, and that’s a good thing. For some people I knew it was, and it was all downhill for them from there. After graduation you take off in different directions and all be a few close friends disappear from your life’s radar.  My best friend passed away a few years ago. Other classmates you run into by accident , so you stop and reminisce a few minuets then move on. Occasionally you notice an obituary, then another. Except for my tenth I never went to reunions or alumni parades for personal reasons.

But high school is a big influence (one of many) on your life’s direction. As I’ve mentioned before my teacher’s were a mixture of old and new school. The indoctrination had begun but it hadn’t put down firm roots…yet.

I had this notion like a lot of us that after high school college would follow. What I was going to major in I hadn’t decided. Several factors were going against me though. One, my parents (who were great) were not that well off financially. They simply could not afford to send me to college, (I have to note that I had three younger siblings at the time).  Second, I was NOT an athlete, so and athletic scholarship was out. Third, I was a very average student. In four years I never made the honor role once. Back then only the top 20% of your class made the honor role. Unlike today when it seems like half the class makes it. Of which I suspect grade inflation and a dumbed down curriculum.

So when the day finally came during my senior year for the consultation with the guidance councilor (old school) about my future direction,  I was told in no uncertain terms that college would be a waste of my time, a waste of my parents money (which they didn’t have) and a waste of the college instructors time. It was a different age then.

Socially high school kind of sucked . A couple of things seemed to be required then for an active social life if you were a guy. After earning your drivers license a car and some disposable income was essential if you wanted to ask a girl for a date. Two ways to obtain a car, your parents give you one for your 16th birthday (was not going to happen), or get a part time job and earn the money for a car yourself. But like the chicken and the egg how do you get to a job when you don’t have a car.  Sitting in a classroom seeing girls with skirts nearly up to there hips,  yet seemingly unobtainable. The prophylactic in my wallet would forever go unused. Perhaps it was for the best.  My best friend “Charles” had a car,  a girlfriend, pregnancy, marriage, (or was it the other way around) a second pregnancy, followed by divorce. It all had a relatively happy ending for him. Two wonderful girls that he got custody of, and a new wife.

When talking about girls skirts it’s ironic when I read this story.

The only other out of the ordinary thing that happened was of course May 4th 1970. As we remember the Kent state massacre  took place on April 30th which came after Nixon announced a new bombing campaign in Cambodia. There were mass protests at colleges and high schools all over the country and my school was no exception. Probably about a third of the school walked out and the Student council president led a rally and “discussion” on the lawn of the school. I must confess I wasn’t one of them.

Graduation was coming.  I had turned 18. There would be no college deferment for me. What would my lottery number be? I had no desire to go to Nam’  or Canada. So I made a decision,  and it turned out to be the most fun adventure of my life .

A trip to Washington D.C. Part 2

Uncategorized / April 15, 2016

My freshmen trip to our nations capital was fun and educational. After the standard tour of the Capital and other landmarks we were allowed to do something that groups of 14 y/o’s could probably not do today.  We were given a city bus map and turned loose for the rest of the afternoon. Without chaperons.

Myself and two friends waited for a bus to take us to the Smithsonian Museum. The first thing we noticed when we boarded was that all the passengers were black people. And they seemed quite surprised when 3 white boys got on. The bus was full except for…the seats in the back of the bus… which we of course took, smiling and saying hello to the people as we walked to the rear.

We spent most of our time at the museum (a week would not be enough). Later we went to the Washington Monument, and climbed the steps all the way to the top (whew).

That night we were all back at the hotel, going home the next day. Now of course some of the boys (rowdy rough boys,14 and 15 y/o’s who have to shave everyday) decided to make the night memorable. They were able to procure some adult beverages (from the bellhops..I think) and …cigars. Things got rambunctious and I recall a mattress caught on fire but it was extinguished due to the quick thinking and full bladders of people in the room.

We all got back alive and the school got a bill from the Hotel for about $700 in damages. Or maybe closer to $3000 in todays money. Needless to say these two young teachers who promoted this trip were not back the next year.

And time marches on.

The road to tyranny is still open

Politics / March 12, 2019

History has always been a passion of mine. Studying the past can gives one perspective on where we are today and where were headed. In my humble opinion not many people study history today. Or if they do it’s a revisionist version meant to justify their political persuasions.

The Late John Lennon once admitted that his song “Imagine” was the “Communist Manifesto” set to music. “nothing to kill or die for”… “the brotherhood of man”… “and no religion too”. Yes John you were a dreamer. It’s the dream of many elites who wish a country could be run like a farm. The “benevolent” farmers (them) take care of the farm animals (us). We’re given our feed. The vet is called for us if needed, and in return we give back with eggs we lay, wool when we’re sheared and milk when we’re “milked”. Of course some animals have to put in a little work to pull the plow and wagons. “From each according to his/her ability, to each according to his/her needs.”

This is all wonderful in theory. Sometimes though the herd needs to be culled because some have gotten sick. Some need to be gelded to keep them nice and mellow. They certainly don’t expect or want the animals to speak out with any objections to the lifestyle they’re required to live.
Of course human beings are not animals, and there is this little thing called human nature and the Constitution that keeps getting in the way of the Socialist utopia that they dream of.

Nikolia Bukharin was a Communist revolutionary allied with Lenin. He wrote many treatise’s on world revolution. On the subject of “Free speech” he was always an advocate of it…until the proletariat managed to obtain complete dictatorship.
Then it’s “freedom of speech for me but not for thee.” Of course later on he received his nine grams after a show trial.

Now we have the President of “The National Organization of Women” Using her right of “free speech” to advocate the repeal of the 1st Amendment. Of course this means the 2nd Amendment will have to go also.

She also stated that minorities are too stupid less capable in obtaining voter I.D.’s  so this amounts to voter suppression.  Is this true? Remember minorities, this is what the Democrat party thinks of you.  Do you agree?

Remember the “free speech movement” at Berkley back in the sixties. Well all those young radicals then are the tenured professors now. College campuses  or nothing but little islands of fascism were our “snowflakes” have to have “safe areas” to protect them from any opinions that run counter to what there taught by their leftist professors. And things like “due process” for white males does not exist.  The best part is that parents and taxpayers get to pay for it all.

Is America really screwed? We’ll know on Nov 7th.

 

Driving in my car

Uncategorized / April 9, 2016

When your alone driving in your car do you sometimes have the stereo sound system cranked when a favorite song comes on? Sometimes my wife can hear me coming from 300ft away.  Why do you play it so loud, she asks? Because I’m alone and I can, I reply.

High tech tunes are standard in todays cars. It wasn’t that long ago when an AM radio and one piss-ant speaker was what you got.  Now your car can be one big boom box.

Oh I can remember those under dash mounted 8-track or cassette players. Dolby was a must to stop the tape hiss. Two speakers mounted in the back window. A little later came in dash models. Remove the P.O.S. radio and replace it with am AM-FM cassette with power boost.  Which made the units a little harder to steal. On night in the late seventies in the city of Burlington coming back from a blind date to a parking garage on a cold winter night I saw the drivers side window of my  Rabbit GTI smashed in, broken glass all over the seat, my stereo ripped out of the dash, about half dozen cassette tapes taken from the glove compartment along with a miscellaneous item. Calling the cops, they making a report, too bad, tsk, tsk.  Then driving back Worcester during a raging snowstorm. Fun.

Another time I lost a bunch of tapes went I forgot to lock the car, It was less then 10 minuets.

Then those cassettes would always jam up in the machine. Cassettes tossed out the window was a common sight along the highway, their tapes sparkling in the sun.

A/C is of course standard now. I once own an RX-7 that didn’t have A/C . I have story to tell about that some day.  It also had standard shift, which is an option now because automatic is now standard.

Oh, those were the days.