Not Dead Yet

 This was my very first convo with Ten this morning.

I hear tell some putrescent old pedophile in fluorescent orange makeup gave a grandstanding, self-congratulatory speech last night. It was, supposed to be a State of the Union presentation BUT, given that everything out of his mouth is a complete fabrication, a fairy tale, a flaming house-on-fire lie, an outright con, or a wank…no, it was light years away from that.

My understanding is that last night was just another one of his campaign rallies. It was chock full of his usual ridiculous, over-the-top lies, rabid squirrel-brained racist and jingoistic rants, adolescent level bullying, topped off with extra added deceitful, bullshit baiting embellishments.

The more Trump talked, the less he said. He had gone into the address with an approval rating of 39% positive and 60% negative, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, lower than any past president delivering his first State of the Union address. Over an hour and 47 minutes, he offered little to change that equation. The longest State of the Union speech in history was also one of the most inconsequential. (source) 

Ho hum, nothing new here. According to Silver Bulletin presidential approval ratings Prez Pedo's headed into Toilet Town.

The share of Americans who strongly approve of Trump has dropped from 34 percent when he was inaugurated to just 24 percent today, while the share who strongly disapprove has risen from 31 percent to 45 percent.

I don’t think his Adderall fueled performance last night is going to improve his numbers. Call it a hunch.

Now that the distraction of last night's hoopla is over, we can get back to the horrific evils that he and his crew of barbarous billionaire fucks are wreaking. Like the chain of concentration camps. Pedo, Vance and Stephen Miller are trying to create McDonald's style concentration camps. That is, one in nearly every town.

I only mention it but, in World War II, not all of the Nazi's concentration camps were specifically extermination camps, like Auschwitz or Treblinka. There was a vast network of forced labor camps where prisoners were simply worked to death – exhaustion, starvation, and outrageously unsanitary conditions got them, not Zyklon B. Anne Frank didn't die in a gas chamber. She contracted typhus, spread by lice, in the Bergen-Belsen forced labor camp.

Prez Pedo's team won't ever call their prisons what they really are. That'd be bad PR, bad for the brand and shit.

Meanwhile, here in Valhalla, it’s snowing. Yes…again. Of course it is. It’s February and this is New England. The good news is that I don’t have any doc or physical therapy appointments for another two weeks (!!!) so I can be a happy dry, if housebound slug. I miss staring at the waves up close but I’m definitely fine and dandy with warm dry feet, thenkyewveddymuch.

Blue Butterfly

Blue Butterfly – what does that mean/signify?

There was a memoir – Blue Butterfly: Inside the Diary of an Epstein Survivor, whose publication has been pulled due to threats. 

Virginia Giuffre, the Australian/American Epstein Island survivor who heroically sued Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (and won), sued Ghislaine Maxwell for defamation (settling for an undisclosed sum), accused Alan Dershowitz of sexually abusing her – was an absolute warrior. In December 2014, she set up her organization Victims Refuse Silence (which became Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR)). Its symbol is a blue butterfly.

NOW, it’s come out that ICE is holding teenage girls at the Dilley concentration camp in Southwest Texas. They're held in areas where they can’t be accessed. These areas are titled, by ICE, Blue Butterfly Zones. More than a tiny bit skeevy and sus, don'cha think?

What does this tell you? What it’s telling yurs truly is that ICE is feeding the Trump/GOP (Guardians of Pedophiles) abuse pipeline. I'm not at all surprised.

An NPR investigation found that the Justice Department removed or withheld Epstein files related to President Trump. Shocking? Given Perjury Pam’s lying-ass, junior high bully behavior, no. Not at all.

The Justice Department has withheld some Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor, an NPR investigation finds. It also removed some documents from the public database where accusations against Jeffrey Epstein also mention Trump.

Some files have not been made public despite a law mandating their release. These include what appears to be more than 50 pages of FBI interviews, and notes from conversations with a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse decades ago when she was a minor. 
~~~
When asked for comment about the missing pages and the accusations against the president, a White House spokeswoman told NPR that Trump "has done more for Epstein's victims than anyone before him.” (source) 

Pardon me while I throw my head back and laugh uproariously. Do these desperate dimwits think that anyone, aside from their rapidly shrinking idiot redhatted base, actually buys this obvious load of moldy, neon weasel excrement?

In other news, the U.S. ambassador to France, convicted felon, ex-con, Charles Kushner has been banned from meeting with French government officials. Goodness, wouldn’t ya think that’d make doing your ambassador job kind of difficult? What did old Chuckles do to rate this level of censure? 

Apparently the old felon was summoned to explain a comment he posted on not-Twitter about a far-right activist’s death following clashes on the sidelines of a demonstration in Lyon. Chucky pulled a summons no-show. A total Gym Jordon move.

One of the Chucky's comments? 

“Violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque’s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety”

His office also called Deranque’s death “France’s Charlie Kirk moment.” They’re conveniently omitting the fact that Kirk’s killer was a Mormon from a deeply Republican family. Kirk’s murder was Right on Right violence.  

And, I only mention it but Chucky’s job as ambassador includes:

Salon des Ambassadeurs, Élysée Palace
Chuckles won’t be in here for awhile. Sucks to be him, eh?

• Acting as the primary channel of communication between the U.S. and French governments.
• Working to expand trade and investment by helping American companies grow in France and facilitating French investment in the U.S..
• Representing U.S. defense interests, including military modernization, counterterrorism, and cyber security collaboration within the NATO alliance.
• Communicating and explaining U.S. foreign policy to the French public and government following clashes on the sidelines of a demonstration in Lyon.

Nowhere in the ambassador’s list of responsibilities does it say that Kush, a man convicted of tax evasion, lying to the Federal Election Commission, making illegal campaign contributions, and witness tampering, should be going full metal MAGAt on the people of France.

That witness tampering business? One example:
He hired a prostitute to seduce his own damn brother-in-law, William Schulder, who was cooperating with federal authorities against him. Chucky then sent a video of the encounter to his sister, Esther. Swell brother, eh?

No wonder Trump likes the guy – he’s  a total sleazeball too.

Unlike the U.S. government, the French don’t tolerate this Republican entitled, petulant ignoring of summons and the defiance of lawful subpoenas bullshit.

One last thing: 

Sociologist Isabelle Sommier stressed that of the 57 deaths linked to violence between political groups recorded between 1986 and 2017, the radical right had been responsible for all but five. (source)

I only mention it.

Blizzard Update

From the before blizzard times

Don’t know when the blizzard finally started but it was definitely late, late, late. We were originally told he’d arrive at teatime. Ya know, 4PM but NOOOOOOO! Dude didn't even have the decency to call to let us know he was held up in traffic or whatev.

Around 6PM the wind picked up a bit but it was nothing that those of you who aren’t severely balanced-challenged would think twice about. YES I’m jealous and resentful. What of it!

Fiber artist Emily Engel-Young posted a premature storm update on Threads at 5PM to feed all the disaster junkies. You know, the Catastrophe Connies and Cataclysm Clydes who seem to get an orgasmic thrill or the equivalent of a sustained coke buzz from proximity to calamitous events…as long as said events have little to no real impact on their lives.

Also from the before blizzard times

OR she’s just cheerily mocking how all of us have jumped on this natural, seasonal distraction from the viciously barbarous, manmade debacles that rain down on us every day. Hello Pedophile Administration, I'm talking about YOU!

Yup, I bet that’s it. Anyway...

STORM UPDATE: Flurries have commenced and by 6 PM (midnight or so, in Boston), the living will envy the dead. Accumulations may exceed 40 ft with drifts up to 100 ft. Most buildings will collapse under the crushing weight of the snow. Temps will approach -50° with a wind chill of -10,000° and this is just the beginning. By 9 PM, no trace of human endeavor will remain visible above and what was once the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will now resemble the wind and ice blasted surface of Europa, Jupiter's largest moon.

All of civilization will have collapsed and even the tons of salt poured out upon the roads will be meaningless before the onslaught. By midnight, a small group of survivors, huddled around a dying gas lamp at the weather observatory atop the Berkshire East Ski Area, will peer out through a drift and glimpse a Hellish snowscape from which there is no hope of escape.

Then the wolves will find them.

A few people replied:

Soooo. It’s too late to get eggs, milk, and toilet paper is what you’re saying.

Soooo I might have no work on Tuesday, too?!

Soooo, what you’re telling me is, it's still up in the air?

Here in Valhalla, just three measly miles south of town, we’re holding up just fine. We still have heat, lights, Wi-Fi, and water. We have snacks, whiskey, cats, and clean laundry. None of us are going outside, not even to take blizzard pictures. Fuck that shit!

Blizzard

We’re supposed to get a blizzard late this afternoon. It’s supposed to last through Monday afternoon at some point. 

A blizzard, by the by, is different than your basic snowstorm. What makes a blizzard? Winds greater than 35 mph and visibility of less than 1/4 mile/white out conditions for extended periods of time (at least 3 hours).

Up to two feet of heavy versus fluffy snow, big strong winds (with tears in their eyes?), and coastal flooding is expected. Valhalla, in case you’ve forgotten, is on the coast. Am I worried? Not particularly. I think most of the big, old trees closest to our houses have already come down. I’m just hoping the power doesn’t go out.

Ten and Jen made a big run to the grocery and Trader Joe’s yesterday so we have snacks to go along with our books and movies. At worst we may lose power later and be forced to read by the light of our camping lanterns. Yes, I’m fully aware that I’d wear heels and makeup before I’d go camping (and none of that’s gonna happen in this lifetime) BUT I’m smart enough to have some of the useful outdoorsy type gear hanging about.

Last night Jen, Oni, Kevin, Walter, and I rewatched Big Night (actually, I think it’s the first time Walter’s seen it). I don’t know why it’s billed as a comedy. It’s a warm, very bittersweet story. A comedy? Nope.

Primo and Secundo’s restaurant is not succeeding despite the fact that Primo (Tony Shalhoub) is an absolutely brilliant chef. Secundo (Stanley Tucci) asks for help from Pascal (Ian Holm), the slimy owner of the significantly more successful (but decidedly inferior) Italian restaurant across the street. 

Pascal says he knows Louis Prima and can get him to stop by for a meal, a party. This will create a HUGE buzz, attracting loads of new customers thus saving the business. Primo and Secundo go all out to make this happen.

Apart from this, I’d forgotten so much. Isabella Rossellini is in this. Oddio, I pity the actors who had to appear alongside her. She is absolutely incandescent. Unmatched.

I did remember that the evening’s big guest of honor, Louis Pima, never shows, but I forgot why. Pascal never made the call. He set them up to fail. He wanted Primo and Secundo’s restaurant to go under. Why? He wanted to force Primo to come and work for him in his third rate, chain restaurant-esque spaghetti house.

The party, despite the celeb no-show, was brilliant. The food scenes were positively orgasmic (except for the thankfully brief dead boar scene which was just a bit gross). The conversation between tired and tipsy Gabriella (Rossellini) and Phyllis (Minnie Driver) is interesting.  It’s not about the words. Maybe none of the movie is. Maybe it’s all a metaphor.

Gabriella clues Secundo in on what Pascal has done – the cheat, the betrayal, the dirty trick. Primo wants to go back to Rome – he and Secundo can work for an uncle there. Secundo is adamant about staying in the U.S. They fight. Secundo then confronts Pascal, basically telling him to fuck all the way off. They’ll never, ever work for him.

Primo and Secundo come back together in the kitchen of their restaurant. It’s morning. Secundo makes scrambled eggs for them and it’s like watching Baryshnikov perform simple turns – it looks so casual, so effortless. Beautiful.

I want a sequel. I want to know what the brothers did next. Did they stay together in the U.S. – find work in another restaurant (NOT Pascal’s!)? Did they both move back to Rome? Did Gabriella leave that scumbag? Did Primo ever see his crush, the neighborhood florist (Allison Janney) again? 

One more thing – the actor Tony Shalhoub is my absolute favorite in everything he’s in.

Men in Black  √
Big Night  √
Galaxy Quest  √
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel  √

Okay, he’s been in a ton more movie and teevee shows than just these but…you get my point. Right?

Nouveau White Trash

When you think of white trash the people you may think of are generally poor, lazy, high school drop outs. They're prone to violence, careless and sloppy as all hell. They’re cheats (in every way possible), racist, misogynistic, mullet wearers , and they listen to and actually enjoy Kid Rock and Ted Nugent. Their drink of choice is Mountain Dew and bottom-shelf tequila (or something equally heinous) and if they’re not a tweaker, they’ve got at least one in their immediate family. Trailer parks versus fine homes are envisioned.  

Proud ignorance, thugishness, lack of attention to hygiene and household cleanliness as well as a complete absence of moral and financial discipline are all qualities that come to mind.

Amirite?

I’d like to propose that the U.S., specifically our very own burnt orange Prez Pedo, has brought about a new, more egalitarian age of white trash-dom. Trump and his complete vacuum of class and dignity, has ushered in the age of nouveau riche white trash.

To start with – his very own distinctly dull-witted, druggy, grifting, boobish spawn absolutely clown themselves every time they manage to capture a camera's focus. None of them seem to have a clue as to how imbecilic they look and sound.

Then there’s the scary Mar-a-Lago crowd. Mein gott, you’ve all seen the party pics with the freakish plastic women with chests which could easily serve as flotation devices in case anyone falls into the pool. Unfortunately the eight gallons of makeup each of them wear, would run creating a biohazard. This might cause a delay in service at the omelet bar which could unduly upset the geriatric investment bankers who bankroll all the fake gazongas. This could get ugly. *uglier*

Now we land in Pedo’s junk drawer of losers (AKA the Cabinet). All of them – rich, fluorescent skanks, doltish douches, and melodramatic, hamfaced morons.

Killer Kristi, moldy radish brained Kegseth, coke snorting, lying Rubio, the Education Secretary whose main “qualification” for office was being involved in professional “wrestling,” the imbecilic Treasury Secretary, RFK Jr. FFS!!! And let’s not forget Concentration/Death Camp Miller. This is certainly not a complete list of the intelligence and morally exempt refuse! These people are the absolute pinnacle of white trash-dom.

We have an complete motherfucking White Trash Administration.

Have you heard about Pedo’s Labor Secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer ? 

1) Her husband, Shawn DeRemer sexually assaulted not one but TWO women while visiting the Department. 

2) She’s apparently running a Nazi Labor Department.

The Labor Department’s account on X in January posted a video that featured a slideshow of artworks depicting glorified scenes of American history.

The caption above that video said, “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage. Remember who you are, American.”

Social media users noted similarities between the Labor Department’s post and a Nazi Party slogan.
The slogan “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer,” which the U.S. Holocaust Museum notes was used by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party, translates to “One People, One Country, One Leader. (source) 

3) Lori had an affair with one of her staff – one of her security detail. Is this why hubby’s getting handsy with Lori’s employees or is he just a big douche of his own accord? 

4) She was into travel fraud. That is, she had her office set up “professional events” as an excuse for personal travel. 

Farther down the GOP trash line…

An Ohio Republican mayor has been charged with voyeurism after he was caught on camera sniffing teen girl’s underwear.

According to investigators, the teen had hidden a small camera in a bedroom in the home. On 13 January, she reportedly received multiple motion alerts indicating recordings had been captured. Deputies say the footage showed Dingus smelling at least four pairs of her underwear “for several seconds” and also “touching his groin area over his clothes”.

Richland county children’s services passed the report along to law enforcement the same day the alleged incident occurred, and a deputy later interviewed the girl at her school. (source) 

His name is Wesley Dingus. No, fer reals. His name is Dingus! I would have changed that the minute I hit 18 if I was him but //shrugs// Maybe, when you’re a panty sniffing pedo, having a self-identifying last name is good?  

Dingus
    noun
a dim-witted, silly, or foolish person

The Butler, Ohio mayor is also facing numerous charges for running over a man wanted for violating parole in July 2025. Swell, emotionally balanced guy, eh?

Remember Dylann Roof? He’s the white supremacist, neo-nazi mass murderer who gunned down nine people at a bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina on July 17, 2015.

The judge for his Roof’s bond hearing – the one who called Roof's family "victims" in the church shooting, while in the presence of the actual victims' families – is a big fan child sex abuse material. I was so shocked...NOT.

There ya have it folks, the GOP – white trash from top to bottom. 

What's In A Name?

A group of pedophiles should henceforth be known as a ‘trump” – a trump of pedophiles. You know, like a murder of crows only WAY less cool and FAR more skeevy and dangerous.

Quick Martha, dial up Terminator Exterminators™. I hear there’s a trump of pedos headed this way.

Did you know?

According to a report just out by the Bureau of Justice Statistics: 
In 2023 U.S. citizens accounted for 96% of the people in the U.S. who were been charged with federal human trafficking offenses.
92% of those fuckers were men.
63% were white men.
17% were Black men. 
16% were Hispanic men.

Extra added tidbit – 1.7% of those charged were non-citizens who were in the U.S. legally.
Only 2.3% of the 1,160 scumbags charged in 2023 were undocumented immigrants.

So much for Prez Pedo, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Tom Homan, Pam Bondi, and all the other hate mongers blaming immigrants for the crimes committed primarily by wealthy white men.

Projection 
     noun
the process by which one attributes one’s own individual characteristics, affects, and impulses to another person or group. This is often a defense mechanism in which unpleasant or unacceptable impulses, stressors, ideas, affects, or responsibilities are attributed to others. 

Such defensive patterns are often used to justify prejudice or evade responsibility; in more severe cases, they may develop into paranoid delusions in which, for example, an individual who blames others for their problems may come to believe that those others are plotting against them. 

In classical psychoanalytic theory, projection permits the individual to avoid seeing their own faults.

Also

Gaslighting Psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.

Examples of Gaslighting 
Denying Reality: "That never happened," "You’re imagining things," "You're remembering it wrong.”
Minimizing Feelings: "You're too sensitive," "It was just a joke," “You're overreacting.”
Countering Memory: "You have a terrible memory," "That's not how it happened.”
Blame Shifting: "I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't...", "It's your fault I got angry.”
Isolation Tactics: "Everyone agrees with me, you're the only one who thinks that.”

Gloria Allred, the high-profile attorney representing several of the Trumpstein survivors has said, regarding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest:

“The state has acted quickly to make this arrest but there still has not been any action on the part of the police on allegations that Andrew has committed crimes against women.

Apparently allegations concerning the state trade secrets and/or allegations of financial crimes are given priority and quick action while allegations of rape and child sexual abuse and sex trafficking take many years to investigate and do not result in arrests and accountability for victims who are women and girls.” (source) 

Yup, our bullshit patriarchal planet thinks the theft of, fer instance, the formula for Colonel Sanders' blend of 11 herbs and spices or Big Mac’s special sauce, is a greater crime than the rape of 11-year-old children.

Still, at least old Randy Andy’s been busted for something. His reputation’s irredeemable trash now. That’s more than what’s been done to any of the wealthy U.S. child rapists. 

How 'bout we take billionaire Les Wexner down a few pegs or maybe a billion? He’s the owner of LBrands, which created Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works and Abercrombie & Fitch. Anyone up for a boycott? Anyone?

If our on-the-take Department of Injustice won’t do anything (and they won't), it’s up to us to make them feel some financial pain.

One more added bit – apparently Andy’s faithful domestic partner/former wife Sarah Ferguson was extra special tight with Epstein as well.  She’s now couch surfing with friends (fellow sleazebags?) in France and the Middle East and delusionally thinking that, at 66 years of age, she’ll just hire a PR team and make a dramatic comeback.

Ya know, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life but at least I’ve never gotten involved with a trump of vile, barbarous, greedheaded, pedophile monsters.

Rotting Oranges and Other Disintegrating Fools

I saw rumors all over the interwebz late last night.

Israel threatening to release Epstein deets/videos of Prez Pedo if he won’t bomb Iran.

Iran threatening to release Epstein deets/videos of Prez Pedo if he does bomb them.

Mike Luckovich

What’s a sexual predator gonna do? Are we going to war with Iran because Netanyahu wants a war and has enough heinous dirt on Donnie to make that happen?

THIS IS WHY WE SHOULDN'T ALLOW CRIMINALS TO HOLD OFFICE!!!

Meanwhile, JDouche and his startlingly offensive excuse for a personality strikes again! He’s making damn sure the U.S. doesn’t have an ally left on the planet.

"The problem that we have with Europe is not that we don’t like Europe, even though you hear that from the European press. It’s not that we don’t respect our allies. It’s that they are doing a lot of things to sabotage themselves", Vance said. (source) 

Hey Captain Oblivious, ya wanna try rephrasing that stunningly inept, failed go at statesmanship? Instead of a quadruple negative, how about something positive along the lines of “The United States wants to assist Europe in attaining its goals and dreams in…” 

Obviously VP CouchFuck’s diplomacy skills are about as advanced as those of a third grade playground bully. No…I take that back. JDouche is a failed third grade playground bully. He aspires to such lofty goals but they elude him. He remains, forever, a humiliated failure on the world stage.

Off topic – I don’t think ol’ JDouche is wearing eyeliner anymore. I wonder what’s up with that. Maybe his puppet master, Thiel, told him it’s unflattering? Plus, Douchey looks tired to me. You? Being a clueless jerk must be exhausting, eh?

Perjury Pam, Prez Pedo’s personal lawyer and the unholy protector of rich pedophiles everywhere, is an accomplice to crimes against humanity. 

• She’s lied under oath that the client list didn’t exist even though she’d previously said the list was "on her desk.” 
• While Florida's Attorney General she didn’t step into the 2008 non-prosecution agreement that let Epstein dodge heavy federal charges. 
• Her and her DoJ team of pedo protectors refused to meet with any of Epstein/Trump’s victims.
• The utterly haphazard, chaotic, firehose releases of files were done to overwhelm us, throw us all off balance, and destroy blowback. It’s not working. Hah Hah!
• The incredibly incompetent redaction process where abuse survivors were exposed but perps were hidden. On purpose, of course.

Yeah, PP’s an Epstein/Trump co-conspirator. Gee, DUH! It’s not just me saying this either. A panel of independent experts appointed by the United Nations human rights council weighs in:

The experts said crimes outlined in documents released by the US justice department were committed against a backdrop of supremacist beliefs, racism, corruption and extreme misogyny. The crimes, they said, showed a commodification and dehumanisation of women and girls.

“So grave is the scale, nature, systematic character, and transnational reach of these atrocities against women and girls, that a number of them may reasonably meet the legal threshold of crimes against humanity,” they said in a statement.
~~~
The UN experts also raised concerns about “serious compliance failures and botched redactions” that exposed sensitive victim information. More than 1,200 victims were identified in the documents that have been released so far.

“The reluctance to fully disclose information or broaden investigations, has left many survivors feeling retraumatised and subjected to what they describe as ‘institutional gaslighting’,” the experts said. (source)  

Unsurprisingly, our so-called justice department has not responded to The Guardian’s request for comment.

Speaking of entitled fucking predator twats, the pedo formerly known as Prince Andrew has been busted in the UK on “suspicion of misconduct in public office.” On top of raping minors, looks like Andy was giving away UK biz secrets.

Thames Valley Police previously said it was “assessing” reports that Mountbatten-Windsor sent confidential trade reports to Epstein in 2010, when the former prince was Britain’s special envoy for international trade. (source) 

I wonder if he’ll toss out any useful, damaging. tasty morsels about Epstein's Disaster in Chief bestie? Ya know, Andy’s got nothing left to lose. He could help the world by taking out an evil dictator with what he knows. 

He probably won't but…wouldn’t it be nice?

Steppin' Stones

Woke up with Micky Dolenz singing (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone in my head. Christ on a melting clock, I loved the Monkees and was so disappointed to find out that they weren’t a real band. Mike Nesmith was a real musician and songwriter. So was Peter Tork (bass, guitar, banjo, keyboards, and French horn). Micky Dolenz was an actor who learned to play the drums for his part on the show. Davy Jones? He was a jockey who could sing. Behind the scenes, other songwriters wrote their tunes and session musicians covered everything except the vocals.

I was a kid when I found this out but it bugged the hell out of me. I wanted them to be a real band, songwriters, genuine wacky creative talents.

Similarly, when I found out that Art Garfunkel was getting songwriting credits on all of Paul Simons tunes in the ‘60s but was just contributing vocals, I was pissed. Yes, dude had a lovely choirboy voice. He provided a sweet voice BUT he didn’t co-write those poetic songs. I hated that my girlfriend Jean went all swoony over him – acting like he was more than a singer.

Mind you, being a talented performer is grand – Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Frank Sinatra, Joe Cocker anyone? Just don’t try to put yourself out there as an original artist. Fer gawd’s sake.

Maybe it’s like it’s Patrick Stewart playing Oberon in a A Midsummer Night's Dream. I’m certain he was absolutely brilliant but he didn’t write the play – Shakespeare did. Stewart would NEVER in a zillion years claim or imply that he’d had anything to do with the writing of the play though.

The songwriting team of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart wrote a lot of the Monkees’ songs. Neil Diamond, Carole Bayer Sager, Neil Sedaka, Harry Nilsson, Carole King and her husband Gerry Goffin also wrote for them.

The teevee show was cancelled after two short seasons. Frank Zappa supposedly asked Dolenz (who, remember, had only just learned to play for the show) to be his drummer but I can’t believe this was a serious invitation. Either that or Frank was tripping his auditory cortex clean off. I mean, Zappa wrote compositions with time signatures like 7/4, 11/8, and 19/16. Yeah Micky, that invitation wasn’t meant to be taken so earnestly. 

An aside: One of Zappa’s drummer was Terry Bozzio who I had the unbelievable luck to see at a drum festival in Amsterdam. This was probably three million years ago when early hominids were first sparking doobies along the Leidseplein. Bozzio was massively BRILLIANT. His playing was fucking transportational. My soul soared into the stratosphere. Swear ta Bast!

This interview with Micky Dolenz at The Guardian’s  website reminded me of their movie Head. I saw that way back in 1980 or ’81 at some odd little backstreet cafe/movie house in Cambridge’s Central Square. Back then, Central Square was still gritty with The Red Bookstore (located near the Massachusetts chapter of the Communist Party), the Orson Welles Cinema (picketed by nuns for showing a movie portraying the Virgin Mary as a pregnant basketball player), and Mary Chung’s – the small, dark Chinese restaurant in which I regularly dined.

In any case, Head, I dimly recall, was a real trip and I’d love to see it again. It was written by Jack Nicholson. Apparently I can watch the whole thing on YouTube. Huh. Waddyaknow.

Mike Nesmith died from heart failure in 2021. He was 78.
Peter Tork died in 2019 from a rare cancer – adenoid cystic carcinoma – at the age of 77.
Davy Jones died in 2012 of a heart attack. He was just 66 years old.

In the dream previous to the (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone one, I was designing business cards for my company’s rebranding. We were no longer going to be an offset print and copy house. Nope. We were going to specialize in assassinations and demolitions of mega-corporations.

I was kind of stuck on the logo. The old one (a cartoonish English Bobby) just didn’t seem to fit the new biz identity. Huh.