I read this on the "Adbusters" website. It's pretty eye-opening. Check it out:
http://www.adbusters.org/home/
Disclaimer:
This doesn't mean I don't still subscribe to Lucky magazine, or occasionally like to go to the mall...but at least I know I should know better. Haha....
************************
THE BIG EMPTY
BY NORMAN MAILER
Corporations are stifling our lives. Not only economically, where they can claim, arguably, that they bring prosperity (and, frankly, I’m certainly not schooled enough in economics to argue that point pro or con), but aesthetically speaking, culturally speaking, spiritually speaking. They flatten everything. They are the Big Empty. One of the virtues of Fahrenheit 9/11 is that you could see all the faces of the Bush administration, those empty faces, those handmaidens and bodyguards of the Big Empty. And then Moore contrasted them to all the faces of American soldiers over there: innocent, strong, idealistic or ugly, but real faces, real people. Plus all those suffering Iraqis. Obviously, people in such torment are always dramatic and eloquent on film. Still, most of those Iraqis had different kinds of faces. That shade of alienation from natural existence had not yet gotten into their skin. They might be hard to live with but they were alive.
The war against the corporations is profound. They are deadening human existence. That, I think, is the buried core of the outrage people feel most generally. There is, after all, a profound difference between corporations and capitalism itself, at least so long as capitalism remains small business. The small businessman is always taking his chances. He leads an existential life. He’s gambling that his wit, his energy, and his ideas of what will work in the marketplace will be successful. He can be a sonofabitch, but at least he’s out there in the middle of life. He could be creating something that’s awful, but at least, he’s taking chances.
The corporation is the reverse, and turns capitalism inside out. The majority no longer give their first concern to the quality of their product. Since they have the funds to advertise on a large scale, it diminishes their need for a good product. Marketing can take over by way of language and image. Over the years this has produced a general deterioration of the real value of products for the same real money.
To win this war will take, at least, 50 years and a profound revolution in America. We’ll have to get away from manipulation. What we’ve got now is a species of economic, political, and spiritual brainwashing, vastly superior to the old Soviets, who were endlessly crude in their attempts. Our governmental and corporate leaders are much more subtle. I remember years ago when my son was around 15, he wore a shirt that said Stussy on it. And I said, “Not only do you spend money to buy the shirt, but you also advertise the company that sold it to you.” And he said, “Dad, you just don’t get it.” All right, he was right, I didn’t get it.
What we do have is the confidence that we breathe a cleaner spiritual air than the greedbags who run our country and so it is not impossible that, over decades to come, much that we believe in will yet come to be. But I do not wish to end on so sweet and positive a note. It is better to remind ourselves that wisdom is ready to reach us from the most unexpected quarters. Here, I quote from a man who became wise a little too late in life:
“Naturally, the common people don’t want war, but after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist government, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.”
That was Hermann Goering speaking at the Nuremberg trials after World War II. It is one thing to be forewarned. Will we ever be forearmed?
**********************
Norman Mailer has, amongst other things, written 39 books, plays, poems, essays and movies, and co-founded The Village Voice. This essay is adapted from the transcript of an interview he gave New York magazine.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Opinion: Marketing, media, obesity
Today's New York Times ran an article about how the U.S. Diet Guide put more emphasis on weight loss for this year's edition. I am so happy about this!
Every time I'm at the grocery store I experience strong emotion when I see some of the 'average' American shoppers. What I REALLY hate to see is a family with three or four overweight kids, pulling a cart full to the brim with the following:
Brightly packaged puddings in neon colors, Lunchables (are those even real food?) and other fake lunches in blue-yellow-and-red boxes, family packs of chips, canned 'juices' like Hawaiian punch, soda, 'fruit snacks' full of preservatives and sugar, 'fruit juices' with no real juice (or a meager 10œ frozen pizzas, sugared cereals, Easy Mac, Popsicles, hot dogs, white buns, frozen ground beef in the long round cylindrical packages, and so on. It makes me sick to see nary a vegetable among these. I get irrationally angry at the ignorance of people who are taking years off their life by heeding the media's call.
It's good to pay close attention when you watch television and see advertisements for fast food, too. If you eat real food, you will notice that the food may have vegetables in it (let's say, a Taco Bell fajita commercial), but somehow it oozes numerous sauces and the veggies look like they have been frozen for about 7 years. These marketing geniuses have us fooled into thinking this looks appetizing? And when you finally TASTE such food, it's pretty much the same way. Oozy sauce filled with salt, MSG, and powdered spices; bite-sized diced vegetables that seem like they've never been fresh, and white-floured grain product that is sugary and almost oily in its consistency.
Why, oh WHY do people fall for all of this? I do know many people don't cook. This is the crux of the situation for these 'convenient' times. How can we teach these young moms and dads that for every Lunchable they give their kid, they're adding grease, salt and sugar to the kid's physical makeup? How can we teach them that advertisements are going to make them unhealthily fat?
What we are now getting is a nation of young, inactive children who watch 3-5 hours of TV average daily. They see ads for fun, 'special' food, hyped by their favorite TV, cartoon, and kids' show characters. The marketing folks know these kids will see the ads about 7 times in 3 days, and next time at the grocery store, you can see it in action! The kids then pull out all their wily ways, schemes, and scenes in order to get that product home with them and in front of the TV.
So, repeat this scenario for another 8 years. The teenager is now obese with all the complications that go along with it; not just the health problems, but also abject self-loathing and major self-esteem issues. In particular, this is the case for girls. So then they decide to combat this problem with any number of solutions. For just as the media provided us with unhealthy yet 'easy' food, they also provide us with unhealthy yet 'easy' methods of weight loss. Good lord! When will it end?
I just wish all parents could teach their kids a few key pointers at a VERY young age. Less TV is better. Don't listen to people who just want to take our money and make our tummies hurt. If you eat this now, you will gain wieght, feel bad about yourself, and have to work extra hard to lose it later. Also, take heed: lifestyles can be addictive. The more fat, salt, and sugar we take and the more TV or movies we watch, the more we crave. Break the cycle!
Does anyone know of a way to combat or circumvent this vicious cycle of corporate greed and marketing brainwashing? Do I need to start teaching educational nutrition classes to the people in line behind me at the grocery store? Because that's about the point that I'm at.
Yay, I'm listening to a related story on NPR right now!
***On a side note, I'm not a super-activist sort of person, but there ARE a few things that I feel very strongly about. Unnecessary animal cruelty (in the name of testing say a razor, a shampoo, or a lip balm) is another thing I get all bent out of shape about. For this, I am grateful for Avon.
Every time I'm at the grocery store I experience strong emotion when I see some of the 'average' American shoppers. What I REALLY hate to see is a family with three or four overweight kids, pulling a cart full to the brim with the following:
Brightly packaged puddings in neon colors, Lunchables (are those even real food?) and other fake lunches in blue-yellow-and-red boxes, family packs of chips, canned 'juices' like Hawaiian punch, soda, 'fruit snacks' full of preservatives and sugar, 'fruit juices' with no real juice (or a meager 10œ frozen pizzas, sugared cereals, Easy Mac, Popsicles, hot dogs, white buns, frozen ground beef in the long round cylindrical packages, and so on. It makes me sick to see nary a vegetable among these. I get irrationally angry at the ignorance of people who are taking years off their life by heeding the media's call.
It's good to pay close attention when you watch television and see advertisements for fast food, too. If you eat real food, you will notice that the food may have vegetables in it (let's say, a Taco Bell fajita commercial), but somehow it oozes numerous sauces and the veggies look like they have been frozen for about 7 years. These marketing geniuses have us fooled into thinking this looks appetizing? And when you finally TASTE such food, it's pretty much the same way. Oozy sauce filled with salt, MSG, and powdered spices; bite-sized diced vegetables that seem like they've never been fresh, and white-floured grain product that is sugary and almost oily in its consistency.
Why, oh WHY do people fall for all of this? I do know many people don't cook. This is the crux of the situation for these 'convenient' times. How can we teach these young moms and dads that for every Lunchable they give their kid, they're adding grease, salt and sugar to the kid's physical makeup? How can we teach them that advertisements are going to make them unhealthily fat?
What we are now getting is a nation of young, inactive children who watch 3-5 hours of TV average daily. They see ads for fun, 'special' food, hyped by their favorite TV, cartoon, and kids' show characters. The marketing folks know these kids will see the ads about 7 times in 3 days, and next time at the grocery store, you can see it in action! The kids then pull out all their wily ways, schemes, and scenes in order to get that product home with them and in front of the TV.
So, repeat this scenario for another 8 years. The teenager is now obese with all the complications that go along with it; not just the health problems, but also abject self-loathing and major self-esteem issues. In particular, this is the case for girls. So then they decide to combat this problem with any number of solutions. For just as the media provided us with unhealthy yet 'easy' food, they also provide us with unhealthy yet 'easy' methods of weight loss. Good lord! When will it end?
I just wish all parents could teach their kids a few key pointers at a VERY young age. Less TV is better. Don't listen to people who just want to take our money and make our tummies hurt. If you eat this now, you will gain wieght, feel bad about yourself, and have to work extra hard to lose it later. Also, take heed: lifestyles can be addictive. The more fat, salt, and sugar we take and the more TV or movies we watch, the more we crave. Break the cycle!
Does anyone know of a way to combat or circumvent this vicious cycle of corporate greed and marketing brainwashing? Do I need to start teaching educational nutrition classes to the people in line behind me at the grocery store? Because that's about the point that I'm at.
Yay, I'm listening to a related story on NPR right now!
***On a side note, I'm not a super-activist sort of person, but there ARE a few things that I feel very strongly about. Unnecessary animal cruelty (in the name of testing say a razor, a shampoo, or a lip balm) is another thing I get all bent out of shape about. For this, I am grateful for Avon.
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Unearthing Jo-Ann Campbell
So yesterday on my way into work, I grabbed "Jo-Ann Campbell: The Complete Gone & Roulette Recordings". Sitting listening to it at my desk, there arose within me an urge to find out just what the hell this lady's been doing lately. She's still alive as of two years ago is all I really know. That PBS documentary I was in actually had gotten in touch with her for the film. Funny thing is, she's nowhere in the movie. This makes me wonder if they cut it because she's not currently performing anymore, or if she requested it.
So what my snooping uncovered is that apparently she lives in Nashville and is an advocate against wearing fur for the Humane Association. I went on their site trying to find her but didn't have any luck. I guess I'l need to check with Beth Harrington, the director of "Welcome to the Club", in order to get more info. She's been pretty helpful to me thus far. Maybe she'll put me in touch with Jo-Ann.
One thing I also found out on my online search was a wee bit of a shocker, though! I didn't know she had a big old relationship with Bobby Darin prior to the whole Sandra Dee thing. I just saw "Beyond the Sea" a couple of days ago...and while not totally factual, there was no mention of Jo-Ann and I wish there had been!
I'm sure they don't care though, since no one really knows who she is in the mainstream. So there's all these articles from the time period with Jo-Ann Campbell, entitled "Why I Left Bobby Darin" and all that. Maybe he was rebounding from Jo-Ann? And maybe those articles will tell us about him a bit more...like who he really is? I've heard over the years that he was a racist, a wife-beater, a raging alcoholic, and all had manner of sordid personality traits. Of course, if Kevin Spacey's doing an artistic piece he's not going to exactly focus on that, is he? Huh.
Anyway, this is my obsession of the day! I must find Jo-Ann Campbell and see if she will do an interview with me so I can do a feature on her. I'm so eager to hear what her life was and has been like. I also need to check my resources and find out if anything has been written about her recently.
**************************************
Word of the Day for Tuesday January 4, 2005
distrait \dis-TRAY\, adjective:
Divided or withdrawn in attention, especially because of
anxiety.
Yet when she stopped for a cup of coffee, finding herself
too distrait to begin work, the picture was in the course
of being removed from the window.
--Anita Brookner, [1]Falling Slowly
*******************************
I have found the daily dictionary emails to be more foretelling than horoscopes. Maybe I read too much into words. Hah.
So what my snooping uncovered is that apparently she lives in Nashville and is an advocate against wearing fur for the Humane Association. I went on their site trying to find her but didn't have any luck. I guess I'l need to check with Beth Harrington, the director of "Welcome to the Club", in order to get more info. She's been pretty helpful to me thus far. Maybe she'll put me in touch with Jo-Ann.
One thing I also found out on my online search was a wee bit of a shocker, though! I didn't know she had a big old relationship with Bobby Darin prior to the whole Sandra Dee thing. I just saw "Beyond the Sea" a couple of days ago...and while not totally factual, there was no mention of Jo-Ann and I wish there had been!
I'm sure they don't care though, since no one really knows who she is in the mainstream. So there's all these articles from the time period with Jo-Ann Campbell, entitled "Why I Left Bobby Darin" and all that. Maybe he was rebounding from Jo-Ann? And maybe those articles will tell us about him a bit more...like who he really is? I've heard over the years that he was a racist, a wife-beater, a raging alcoholic, and all had manner of sordid personality traits. Of course, if Kevin Spacey's doing an artistic piece he's not going to exactly focus on that, is he? Huh.
Anyway, this is my obsession of the day! I must find Jo-Ann Campbell and see if she will do an interview with me so I can do a feature on her. I'm so eager to hear what her life was and has been like. I also need to check my resources and find out if anything has been written about her recently.
**************************************
Word of the Day for Tuesday January 4, 2005
distrait \dis-TRAY\, adjective:
Divided or withdrawn in attention, especially because of
anxiety.
Yet when she stopped for a cup of coffee, finding herself
too distrait to begin work, the picture was in the course
of being removed from the window.
--Anita Brookner, [1]Falling Slowly
*******************************
I have found the daily dictionary emails to be more foretelling than horoscopes. Maybe I read too much into words. Hah.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Childhood Stories, Vol. 2
Subject: "Feel Like Makin' Love" by Bad Company.
This abhorrence could be trauma-related from an encounter I once had in someone's rec room when I was 16 with a 24-year-old ex-con. Literally, he pulled me close to slow dance, and started doing this huge rhythmic sway (kind of like Stevie Wonder) while rubbing my back...cheesy grin on his face trying to gaze into my eyes, humming the song softly with Parliament-breath, getting his goods closer and closer while both of us got stiffer. For me, NOT in a good way. Ewwwwww.
My best friend was upstairs making out with his buddy and had totally ditched me with this guy. Oh, god. I...*shudder.*>>
This abhorrence could be trauma-related from an encounter I once had in someone's rec room when I was 16 with a 24-year-old ex-con. Literally, he pulled me close to slow dance, and started doing this huge rhythmic sway (kind of like Stevie Wonder) while rubbing my back...cheesy grin on his face trying to gaze into my eyes, humming the song softly with Parliament-breath, getting his goods closer and closer while both of us got stiffer. For me, NOT in a good way. Ewwwwww.
My best friend was upstairs making out with his buddy and had totally ditched me with this guy. Oh, god. I...*shudder.*>>
Friday, October 22, 2004
My great expectations
Okay, a little bit of honest journal entry. I'll probably remove this later, falling victim to the "acting like you don't care" routine.
I've gone my whole life trying not to expect too many things from people. However, I've learned that try though I might, I have expectations, and they are high ones. I try and give to people as much as I can. Anyone who knows me knows that..
Why can't people treat you the way you treat them? I don't want to be bitter, but it's a feeling I experience more and more. Sure, I could pull back on my openness; sure, I could pull back on my communicative tendencies. I could play games like 'Hard-to-get' or ' I don't care about you' or 'You don't know what I'm feeling.' I've resolved to do that many a time; hell, probably even succeeded.
To those of you who worry if you've let me down, you probably have. To those of you who worry if you might've hurt me, you probably have. To those of you who think I give too much, I probably do. If you are wondering if I'm meaning something about you personally, I might be. But keep in mind that this journal entry is the result of a build-up of many issues; many friendships and relationships, and many disappointments. So don't let it eat you up too much.
Just give the bullshit a rest and take a chance on others. They aren't all going to be bastards. And as for me...treat me better from now on, OK?
I don't want to (and am probably unable to) change who I am and become a bitter, untrusting person. I want to protect myself, but in the end if I gave less than I am capable of giving; pulled back, I would only cause hurt feelings in others who are honest of heart. These are the people I love, so I don't. Being bitter and untrusting wastes the gift of life.
I've gone my whole life trying not to expect too many things from people. However, I've learned that try though I might, I have expectations, and they are high ones. I try and give to people as much as I can. Anyone who knows me knows that..
Why can't people treat you the way you treat them? I don't want to be bitter, but it's a feeling I experience more and more. Sure, I could pull back on my openness; sure, I could pull back on my communicative tendencies. I could play games like 'Hard-to-get' or ' I don't care about you' or 'You don't know what I'm feeling.' I've resolved to do that many a time; hell, probably even succeeded.
To those of you who worry if you've let me down, you probably have. To those of you who worry if you might've hurt me, you probably have. To those of you who think I give too much, I probably do. If you are wondering if I'm meaning something about you personally, I might be. But keep in mind that this journal entry is the result of a build-up of many issues; many friendships and relationships, and many disappointments. So don't let it eat you up too much.
Just give the bullshit a rest and take a chance on others. They aren't all going to be bastards. And as for me...treat me better from now on, OK?
I don't want to (and am probably unable to) change who I am and become a bitter, untrusting person. I want to protect myself, but in the end if I gave less than I am capable of giving; pulled back, I would only cause hurt feelings in others who are honest of heart. These are the people I love, so I don't. Being bitter and untrusting wastes the gift of life.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
My lunchtime high-speed car chase....
LOOK FOR ME ON 'COPS'....
I just got busted trying to evade a police officer! But I'm back from lunch. I ate a sandwich and some yoghurt.
Many of you know I've been looking for a taillight for my '64 Valiant for a long time, and so the inspection isn't current, because until last week, I hadn't been able to find one for my car. Anyway.
So I'm driving the few blocks from my work to my house to take my lunch break, and I see a cop driving towards me. This means in my world, "Caroline hide from cop!" So I drove really close behind the car in front of me hoping he wouldn't notice my inspection sticker that says "02/03", but what does he do? Turn around in the middle of the street to come back around for me. Arrgh! So I speed up to the stop sign, come to a complete stop (so just in case I do get busted he can't get me for that), squeal my tires, burn rubber, and race the last block to my driveway. I totally pull in at break-neck speed and hop out, but I'd see him in my mirror and knew he had me. So I'm in my yard running towards the door when he pulls up behind me. I screamed, "DAMN you people! I'm trying to get away from you, and you're not helping me!" I think I shook my fists in frustration, too.
So, the cop gets out and gets his first look at me...braids, MC5
T-shirt, jeans, groceries in the car which is half on the lawn due to my COPS-style pull up...and he actually LAUGHED at me.
He walks up to my car, and I'm standing there talking to myself, going, "Dammit, I just found my taillight on eBay and now you get me! See that taillight? It won't pass inspection, this is a 1964 car, what am I going to do? I finally got one though (I think I clapped my hands with glee here)."
He looks at my (current) registration sticker, and says, "Well, I understand that, so if you have insurance, then I won't do anything." I show him my (current) insurance and then I relax and said in a small voice, "I'm sorry I tried to run away from you, I just don't wanna get busted."
He says, 'You should have seen yourself tear around the corner and behind the bushes! I thought you were going on the run, and I was going to have to chase you down!" Then he looked at me and laughed again. I had a sneaking suspicion that I was going to be the topic of conversation in a parking lot with another cop pretty soon.
I said, "Well, I actually live here. Can I go make a sandwich now?" to which he replied, "Make sure you put some lettuce on it." And drove away.
High-speed chases are FUN!!!!
I just got busted trying to evade a police officer! But I'm back from lunch. I ate a sandwich and some yoghurt.
Many of you know I've been looking for a taillight for my '64 Valiant for a long time, and so the inspection isn't current, because until last week, I hadn't been able to find one for my car. Anyway.
So I'm driving the few blocks from my work to my house to take my lunch break, and I see a cop driving towards me. This means in my world, "Caroline hide from cop!" So I drove really close behind the car in front of me hoping he wouldn't notice my inspection sticker that says "02/03", but what does he do? Turn around in the middle of the street to come back around for me. Arrgh! So I speed up to the stop sign, come to a complete stop (so just in case I do get busted he can't get me for that), squeal my tires, burn rubber, and race the last block to my driveway. I totally pull in at break-neck speed and hop out, but I'd see him in my mirror and knew he had me. So I'm in my yard running towards the door when he pulls up behind me. I screamed, "DAMN you people! I'm trying to get away from you, and you're not helping me!" I think I shook my fists in frustration, too.
So, the cop gets out and gets his first look at me...braids, MC5
T-shirt, jeans, groceries in the car which is half on the lawn due to my COPS-style pull up...and he actually LAUGHED at me.
He walks up to my car, and I'm standing there talking to myself, going, "Dammit, I just found my taillight on eBay and now you get me! See that taillight? It won't pass inspection, this is a 1964 car, what am I going to do? I finally got one though (I think I clapped my hands with glee here)."
He looks at my (current) registration sticker, and says, "Well, I understand that, so if you have insurance, then I won't do anything." I show him my (current) insurance and then I relax and said in a small voice, "I'm sorry I tried to run away from you, I just don't wanna get busted."
He says, 'You should have seen yourself tear around the corner and behind the bushes! I thought you were going on the run, and I was going to have to chase you down!" Then he looked at me and laughed again. I had a sneaking suspicion that I was going to be the topic of conversation in a parking lot with another cop pretty soon.
I said, "Well, I actually live here. Can I go make a sandwich now?" to which he replied, "Make sure you put some lettuce on it." And drove away.
High-speed chases are FUN!!!!
Friday, October 15, 2004
Childhood stories, vol. 1
My best friend and I were in my room ( I was about 9) and I'd swiped a lipstick from somewhere. I proceeded to attempt to get a rise out of my friend's usually calm demeanor. I concentrated on my image in the mirror. I started with my lips, and then I don't know what happened. She stood there, open-mouthed and ashen-faced, as I dragged that lipstick all across my face. In designs, no less...happy faces, swirls, stripes, self-portraits...pure hot-pink hullabaloo. The game was over when the lipstick was a sticky nub and my entire face was covered in cakey, oily, little-old-lady, shocking pink lipstick.
The sad thing is that this lipstick was the old-school kind, almost flourescent and possibly made with lead. No matter how hard I scrubbed, and how often, it didn't come out for about a week.
But even sadder than that, it was the week we had our school pictures taken.
The sad thing is that this lipstick was the old-school kind, almost flourescent and possibly made with lead. No matter how hard I scrubbed, and how often, it didn't come out for about a week.
But even sadder than that, it was the week we had our school pictures taken.
Monday, September 6, 2004
My amazing family, Part 3: Reefer Madness
This is something pretty cool I only recently found out. My dad used to tell me that his uncle Warren was an actor. He never did tell me what he was in, and as it turns out, I own the movie. Come ON! Reefer Madness?!? That's just too cool to be true. BY the way, the acting is totally laughable. But he's family, you know?
http://www.reefer-madness-movie.com/history.html
And his IMDB at:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0566153/
This is something pretty cool I only recently found out. My dad used to tell me that his uncle Warren was an actor. He never did tell me what he was in, and as it turns out, I own the movie. Come ON! Reefer Madness?!? That's just too cool to be true. BY the way, the acting is totally laughable. But he's family, you know?
http://www.reefer-madness-movie.com/history.html
And his IMDB at:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0566153/
My amazing family, Part 2: Sam Hinton, folk-music legend and biologist.
Sam Hinton is my grandmother's brother, and he and I share one piece of discographical history. We both have songs released from Bear Family Records, out of Germany. Isn't that wild?
My uncle Sam has had a long, rewarding musical career that began in Texas and worked its way up to legendary status through the decades. He's still alive and living out on La Jolla, too. I remember I went to visit them once and he pointed out his neighbor's house. It was the home of Jonas Salk, the man who invented the polio vaccine. Of course, this was when Salk was still alive. And I went to see the Go Gos with Katrina & the Waves while I was out there, too. And I went to Mexico for lunch. It was a good trip.
I found out my uncle had a band with my aunts Nell and Ann in the 1930s, and they played on the radio all over the place. They were called "The Texas Trio". I also find that pretty bizarre since my friend Shaun Young has had a band of the same name. Cool.
I was floored a few years ago when Bear Family Records released an entire collection of my uncle's music. They were recordings he had done back in 1947 for the Library of Congress Musical Archives. They're pretty damned interesting too, although I myself prefer the more colorful pieces he did on his kids' albums in the '50s and '60s.
A lot of you may not know this about me either, but I have a thing for biology and, specifically, snakes. I took care of snakes every summer for about 5 years when I was in junior high and high school. I know how snakes poop and how to tell the difference between the sexes. I'l tell you if you want; all you have to do is ask. If you want to know what that has to do with anything, read on.
Here's my uncle Sam's awesome story:
http://www.samhinton.org/bio.html
Sam Hinton is my grandmother's brother, and he and I share one piece of discographical history. We both have songs released from Bear Family Records, out of Germany. Isn't that wild?
My uncle Sam has had a long, rewarding musical career that began in Texas and worked its way up to legendary status through the decades. He's still alive and living out on La Jolla, too. I remember I went to visit them once and he pointed out his neighbor's house. It was the home of Jonas Salk, the man who invented the polio vaccine. Of course, this was when Salk was still alive. And I went to see the Go Gos with Katrina & the Waves while I was out there, too. And I went to Mexico for lunch. It was a good trip.
I found out my uncle had a band with my aunts Nell and Ann in the 1930s, and they played on the radio all over the place. They were called "The Texas Trio". I also find that pretty bizarre since my friend Shaun Young has had a band of the same name. Cool.
I was floored a few years ago when Bear Family Records released an entire collection of my uncle's music. They were recordings he had done back in 1947 for the Library of Congress Musical Archives. They're pretty damned interesting too, although I myself prefer the more colorful pieces he did on his kids' albums in the '50s and '60s.
A lot of you may not know this about me either, but I have a thing for biology and, specifically, snakes. I took care of snakes every summer for about 5 years when I was in junior high and high school. I know how snakes poop and how to tell the difference between the sexes. I'l tell you if you want; all you have to do is ask. If you want to know what that has to do with anything, read on.
Here's my uncle Sam's awesome story:
http://www.samhinton.org/bio.html
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