summer patriot, winter soldier

a trenchant critique of jazz guitarists ..... and, other gratuitous observations .....

i quote directly from the liner notes of "two for the road," featuring herbie ellis and joe pass, pablo records, 1974 and republished at fantasy, inc., 1992.

"actually outside of joe (pass), barney kessel, and jim hall, there aren't too many more guitarists that i would consider teaming up with, the main reason being that we might not have enough common musical ground to make it work right."

"...  you will notice that my style is more directly slanted toward charlie christian and lester young [saxophonist]; and joe more charlie parker-ish [saxophonist] or, for want of a better word, the bop era."

herbie ellis, 1974.

ellis, being a guitar great, is fully qualified to name other guitar greats, and kessel, pass, hall and ellis fit the bill.   as for me, being a confirmed guitar duffer, i would add at first after thought, the likes of wes montgomery and charlie byrd.  and, since great horn players go along with great guitarists, i would also toss in stan getz into the discussion.  and, dave brubeck and thelonious monk play music which i find very easy to enjoy, as i love what they do with time signatures, and tone.

you might do better.  you might do far worse.

john jay @  04.07.2023

p.s.  ray brown on the upright bass.  always "just right."  always a steady presence, always essential, and never demanding attention.  a rock.

update, 04.09.2023.   great musicians, and great players, and great improvisors.--   and, yes, dickie betts and the allman brothers and those players.  those guys can play.  "jessica," "i was born a ramblin' man,"  .....  exceptional music.  the best of all time, the greatest improvisors, you would have to toss in benny goodman on the clarinet, and miles davis on the trumpet.  superb musicians.   and, i suppose that ravi shankar on the sitar deserves a few accolades along the way.   the simple truth is, genius is where you find it.  sometimes under a rock, sometimes on a stage*** .....  it generally will out.   end update.

*** not so far in my living room in milton freewater, when i am playing.  -- sigh --  such is life.

life under biden/democrats in n.e. oregon ....

a first class postage stamp costs $.63.  63 pennies.  it won't be long before pennies cost a dime.

most of the oregon counties east of the willamette river valley have voted to secede from oregon, and join idaho.   it is not so much that idaho is perfect, but, that oregon is fast becoming unlivable for all but druggies, the homeless and abject idiots.   oregon has gone absolutely to hell.  in the proverbial hand basket.

john jay @ 05.30.2023

i am listening to stan getz on the tenor sax ..... which means listening to his musical contemplation ..... and, his profound respect for the people with whom he made music .....

stan getz played the tenor saxophone, perhaps as no other before or since.  when getz plays, there is no attempt to bury his sidemen in a wall of sound, no attempt to "dominate the stage."   he plays his piece, and when others play he comps them softly and without interference, and he listens.   such attention as he commands is by his artistry, and not by volume or hogging the music.

it is truly an art of cooperation, and group contribution.

and, it is wonderful music to listen to.  simple as that.   well, the "ears" say enough of this, and it is to return to listening.  a joyful experience to listen to a joyful experience.

john jay @ 05.29.2023

p.s.  i have no doubt but that he took his music very seriously.   but, he was subordinate to it, i am sure, and subordinate to the performance of his band.  it must have been an absolute pleasure playing with him.   very very very refreshing.

post script.  again.   ah, what the hell, how can you possibly lead your day w/out another note from me, is a mystery to me, at least.--

but, i am a 75 year old duffer learning guitar.   if i ever get rich playing the guitar, it will be owing to "jules guitar," a series of very lucid instructional videos from england.  i am "learning" a little bit of music, blues guitar to be exact, and it ain't easy for my "tiny ears."   and, lack of rhythm.  but, if i do, it will be because of "jules guitar."   google it.   i recommend it.  jjj.

postscript to "digitized money" ..... and, how will disputes over valuation, payment of monies due, and the initial allocation and distribution of "digits?"

how?  well, by the time honored methods of influence peddling, and outright bribery.

those who "decide" such matters will be easily enough reached, (e.g., they all reside in washington d.c. and maryland and virginia), and the currency of bribery will be as it has always been.   it will be sex, drugs and the promise of power & prestige.   and, money.   but, since paper will be worthless, it will be as noted, and jewels, gold and art work, will rule the day.

and, assassination.   much as in russia, and much as is becoming more apparent in this country.

john jay @ 05.29.2023

what will happen when the feds digitize the currency? ..... paper money may seem to "go away," but other "currency" will rise up like spring weeds.***

the immediate result, in my estimation, is that it will become very quickly, quite worthless.   and, the paper money that people will have squirreled in gun safes, in mattresses, and in car trunks and the like, will rise very very quickly in value.

as will other items of tangible personal property, such as guns, tools, automobiles, musical instruments and quality furniture, ... , in short, anything that can be used for barter or for skilled craftsmanship, will absolutely skyrocket in value.

and, if you think foodstuffs have gotten expensive, i think we have not even begun to experience how valuable such things are, and how expensive things will be, when the federal government destroys something that civilization after civilization in our history has depended upon  .....  a dependable, agreed upon value of money, as determined by traditional markets, and the marketplace.

if you think that people are gonna recognize the arbitrary determinations of a bunch of idiot shit-assed bureaucrats as to market place "exchange rates," you got another think coming.   money, and only money, has performed that function, and a bunch of bureaucrats are gonna find themselves immediately in deep, dark waters when try to do this.

the task will be too complicated, too monumental to carry off, and no one will follow the governments "lead" in these futile attempts.

in short, black markets, and markets not subject to the tax collector's efforts to tax everything from breathing to fucking, simply will be replaced by illegal transactions  .....   just as all illegal transactions, such as illicit sex to illicit drugs to illegal trading in valuable artifacts and works of art have always been traded.

everything will go underground.   period.   and, the tax collectors will flounder, no matter how strenuously the bushes get beaten.

organized crime, prostitution, counterfeiting ...  all will flourish.

and, if you think gold, silver, copper, and other precious commodities (anything that lasts, ... , ivory, animal tusks, valuable stone and minerals) are valuable now, wait until the idiots in the government get done trying to take digital control of the markets.

and, finally, ... , we get to guns, and ammunition.  brass cases, primers, gun powder for reloading, reloading equipment, and yes, loaded ammunition, is simply going to skyrocket in value, and as this idiot's/fools/leftist paradise approaches, you are gonna see a lot of things simply "disappear," and the values increase with a perceived scarcity.

the more things change, the more they stay the same.  and, oh, yeah, the biden's will find a way to profit from this, and will be market leaders in illegality.  what do you wanna bet that jill biden's jewelry collection, goold chains, diamonds and the like, get "disappeared?"   anyone what to take that bet?

john jay @ 05.29.2023

***  and the "price" of fresh baked bread goes through the roof, with a bang and a zoom!!

***  and, there will somehow be lots and lots of paper money, perhaps even some printed by the various states of the union.  money, my friends, is essential for flexible, durable and lasting markets.   thus it has ever been, and thus, it will be!!!

blunders of the ukraine war .....

the russians blundered the invasion of ukraine.   you would have to work at it to commit as many blunders as the russians did in their initial foray into the ukraine.   the planning was idiotic, the execution of it inept, and such niceties as logistical foresight and strategic considerations almost nonexistent.    from the "40 mile parking lot" to the failure to take kiev, russian ineptness was on display for the world to see.

but, the biggest blunder of all was the russian failure to anticipate the vigor and courage with which the ukraine conducted the defense of its country.  in short, the russians failed grossly to anticipate the valor of the ukraine.

and utterly failed to prepare for war, with an opponent which very quickly rose to the fight.   a major blunder.

the blunder, in my opinion, committed by the ukraine.  this omission on the part of the ukraine is hard to see, because it happened right at the end of the ukraine's brilliant attacks to retake kherson, and the conquest of the russian invaders in and around karkiv.  (blunder is hard to see when mixed with success, and following on its heals.)  and, this was the failure as fall started to turn to winter, being the failure of the ukraine to vigorously attack down the eastern bank of the dnieper/dnipro towards nova kakhovka, while also attacking towards nova kakhovka from the areas liberated in and around kherson.

the ukraine should have executed these attacks no matter the costs, and loss of soldiers.  this was a chance for outright victory, now gone by.   in my opinion, had they secured these areas as 2022 ended, they would have come very close to expelling the russians from the ukraine entirely, and to taking the crimea outright.   in stead, the ukraine went into a rather passive mode, and gave the russians a chance to regroup and solidify their defenses in the southeast of ukraine, and in the donbas.

the ukraine may make up for this in their much anticipated counter attack, and it may not.   we shall see.

but, in my opinion, the ukraine could have completely ejected  russia from ukraine had they, in essence, encircled the russian forces in the kherson region.   alas, for whatever the reason, it was not to be.  maybe it will be yet to come.

slava ukraine!!  kill russians!!   and, now, the object is to gain ground.

john jay @ 05.23.2023

who recovers from their blunders?  prognostication is a difficult science, to be sure.  so, let us jump right to it.--

i do not think that the russians have the wherewithal to recover from their stupidities, partially because they remain endemic, and partially while putin/the russians were at them, they have managed to just about wipe out the ability of the conventional russian forces.   they have decimated the army, they have destroyed the ability of their attack helicopters, and their infantry is in a shambles.

yet, they still fight, though not very effectively at this point.

the ukraine has been content to adopt a "rope-a-dope" defense for some time now, but, i think that they can once again fight an openly aggressive campaign, and take the chances to deal major reversals upon the russian infantry positions.  they retain good personnel, and they have gained the upper hand with western battle tanks, while retaining a much more efficient soldiery mounting their armor.  that can coordinate their efforts, and now they gain the ability to press their advantages of leadership and elan on the attack.

the question is, will they bear the burden of the tasks before them.  will they press the attack, whatever the costs?

we shall see.  but, i favor the ukraine to fight a better fight.

 

mentally incompetent u.s. senators ..... democrats .....

john fetterman, dem. pennsylvania and diane feinstein, dem. california are both grossly mentally incompetent, and both dramaticzlly physically impaired, feinstein horribly so.  yet,  they "vote" in congress.  (to "vote" implies being possessed of the capacity to intellectually make decisions, and to weigh values and implications of the voting process  .....  both fetterman and feinstein are devoid of these abilities.  it is a travesty.)

how can that be?   why the republicans do not challenge their legal & mental capacity to cast a vote in congress is beyond me.  they are derelict in their responsibilities to the republic, for letting these issues slide.  both fetterman and feinstein need to be replaced.  period.   end of discussion.

have the republicans mental vegetables of their own to protect?   that is, indeed, a scary conjecture.

john jay @ 05.22.2023

the russians are mad at the world, yet again ..... who gives a shit?

the u.s. has told the rest of the world that we will not get mad at them if they happen to supply the ukraine with the f-16 fighter jet.  nope, we haven't said we are gonna.   we have just said, that if others want to, we will not do any arm twisting to prevent it.  (and, i suspect whoever sells, gives or loans the ukraine any such planes will likely find a ready market for replacements from the u.s  .....  we have about 800 of them "in stock," as i understand the matter.)

well, the f-16 is a very competent fighter plane.  and, ukrainian pilots who have given them a fling like 'em, and have demonstrated an affinity to them, and are proving quite capable in them.  no, i don't know the details as to how this has become established, but, it is apparently so.

predictably, this has made the russians mad.  putin has thrown a hissy-fit over the matter.  and, made threats

who cares?   what hasn't he had a fit over, and threatened nuclear armageddon over?  it's become an old, tired shtick. 

teddy roosevelt is said to have said, "speak softly, and carry a big stick."  apparently putin has either never heard this, or been very much impressed by the wisdom of the observation.

i really cannot wait for the obnoxious bastard to do the world a favor, and just die.  the sooner, the better.  (and, i hope it hurts, a lot.)

john jay @ 05.20.2023

schecter solo-ii custom guitar ..... (looks quite a bit like a gibson les paul, oddly enough) .....

most persons become guitar players early, but, i have waited until my mid-70's to start gaining some proficiency with the instrument.

yeah, it's kind of an odd "sequence" to become a guitar nut.  "for sures," the kid in me says.

my latest acquisition is a schecter solo-ii custom.   if not an outright copy of the les paul, it will do until one comes along.   it is a nice guitar, has some nice features, and sounds pretty good.   and, it is a playable instrument.   and, it is a very well made & finished guitar, and quite handsome in a matt black with a cream-ish/yellowish binding.   what's not to like?

it lists at retail for $699, which to my mind, is a real bargain.

made, at least according to the head stock, in south korea.  there are, apparently, all kinds of guitar factories all over the pacific rim, churning out guitars, some of which are a bit cheap, and some of which are of very good quality.  my little toy gives every evidence of being a very well made guitar, from fit and finish, to its solid feeling and nice tone.

i'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good guitar at a very reasonable price.  schecter has "done good," as we say these parts.

john jay @ 05.20.2023

"what would the world be like without russia?"

a rhetorical observation offered up for consideration by putin.

i suggest that we find out.  just a thought.  more than fleeting, pretty close to being well considered.

john jay @ 05.18.2023

 

p.s.  get rid of moscow, entirely, keep st. petersburg?  something along those lines, perhaps.

strategic value of bahkmut, ukraine .....

bahkmut is connected by road to melitopol, and slices right through those territories held by russia in the ukraine.  the road goes just north of mariupol.  all the way to kherson, and has access to nova kakhovka.  it is below russian entrenchment.  it provides access to the black sea.  and, to the crimea.

so, i am somewhat confused by those who say bahkmut is of no strategic importance.  the ukrainians are pretty good strategic thinkers, and they think it important enough to fight over.   the russians are not complete idiots, and they think it important enough to spill copious amounts of blood to hold it.

you figure it out.  but, to my mind, it is of tremendous strategic import.  just the ticket for armored assault.

john jay @ 05.17.2023