My Musical Muse

Posted on April 20, 2017 by admin

I read this interview with Thurston Moore recently on songwriting. If I had to list the ‘best’ rock-era songwriters, Moore would certainly be near the top. It’s always silly to compare when it comes to art, but it is also helpful to know who the best are. Those are the ones you learn from & imitate.

The best songwriters sing their songs and also play an instrument, and usually lead a band or at least a stable core group of musicians. They will find the perfect working partners in musical colleagues & in the production sphere. This requires being able to interact with others and control egos, including your own. That is difficult in an age when anyone with a hit, instantly gets blown up into a superstar by the industry/media hype machine.

For me, having a song title and finding a melody hook are my starting points. The title acts as a reminder of what you are writing about, so your verses can feed seamlessly into the chorus. The melody hook from both the verse & chorus generates a rhythm, from which lyrics flow. I write all my songs on paper, usually on the back of an envelope with a pen. My guitar is out, and used to re-implant the melody as needed. Try to get the lyrics roughed out as quickly as possible. When being creative, keep the ideas fresh & fast– don’t get bogged down in details. Polish those out later.

Experimenting with song structure is a great idea for expanding your repertoire. Many novice songwriters fall into the trap of making every song the same, as far as verse-chorus-(2x)-solo-verse-chorus framework. Try writing songs without choruses. Vary the length of your compositions to break free of boxy concepts. All guitar players & songwriters should (at least) experiment on bass.

The most radical (recent) departure from conventionality for me has been the use of a slide. As a groove player, I noticed my pinky was often doing nothing, so I decided to put it to use. This adds an element of attack that few other singer-songwriters have. My solo performance can swing & rip better than many full bands due to this innovation. This scares most colleagues, along with all club owners & industry types– so I’m blacklisted.

This leads to the point of paying the price to be who you are. Understand what it is, and deal with it. Don’t change who you are, to become ‘successful.’ That’s when you start sucking. This requires patience & endurance. If you are any good, people will start to recognize your talent, as long as you put in the work.

What is the work? It’s reading EVERYTHING and learning as much as you can. The more you know and the more worldly conscious you are, the better your songs will be. You need to get out into the real world, and experience it with real people, in real relationships. This allows you to absorb all perspectives, and please note this includes nature itself. Someone needs to speak for all the animals being devastated, etc…

The more you immerse yourself in reality, the more relatable your songs become. Music fans want to hear music that speaks to them. If all you can write/sing about are your tormented love affairs & sexual conquests, then most of us aren’t going to be interested. It’s selfish and we’ve heard it over & over, endlessly already.

Find some other aspects of your life that listeners can also connect with, and go with it the next time your creative urge strikes. Once again, you need this for versatility, otherwise you’re a one-trick pony. We already have too many of those hacks hosting open mic nights with their tip jars empty. Every one of their ‘originals’ sounds the same, and their performances only generate pity applause. It’s sad & painful to experience. Don’t be like that.

Another creative area is covers. When performing songs from other artists, pick those you are most-influenced by, and learn (what you consider to be) their best songs. Too many avoid the best, because their songs are too difficult to perform well. Yeah– that’s the point in separating the talent from the wannabe’s!

I believe in many ways this is how you discover your songwriting muse. Apply this attitude to covers, and what you’ll notice is that each artist has a distinct style of composition & delivery. Some of your favorites will be naturally easier to play than others, and this becomes a key discovery. It tells you who your deepest influences will be, as you discover yourself in musicianship. For me it became Graham Parker in songwriting & vocal delivery, and Kurt Cobain in guitar style. My friend and working partner TomP, definitively convinced me that my preferred production style is Sonic Youth.

You only learn this through focus & dedication. I do believe there is an element of prodigy too, but with that said this ability is inside all of us. Music is primal. Music is much more basic & essential than film or any other art form. The heartbeat is our most basic rhythm, and it has been mimicked in music since man’s earliest existence. Finding your music muse is the natural expression of our humanity’s desire to creatively express itself. Find it and set it free.

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Fascists & Spies: Reuters Revised

Posted on March 17, 2017 by admin

On Tuesday, Fox News analyst Andrew Napolitano, reported that Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the equivalent of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) which monitors overseas electronic communications, had helped Obama to wire tap Donald Trump after his victory in November.

White House Spokesman Sean Spicer repeated Andrew Napolitano’s statements to the media on Thursday, then after, pledged not to repeat these allegations anymore.

The Daily Telegraph, citing unnamed intelligence sources [always], reported on its website that Spicer and Trump’s national security adviser Lieutenant General Herbert McMaster had made formal apologies to Britain.

GCHQ, based in a futuristic building located in western England, is one of three main British spy agencies alongside the MI6 Secret Intelligence Service and the MI5 Security Service.

GCHQ has a close relationship with the NSA/CIA, as well as with the eavesdropping agencies of Australia, Canada and New Zealand in a consortium called “Five Eyes.”

Trump, who became president in January, tweeted earlier this month that his Democratic predecessor had wiretapped him during the late stages of the 2016 campaign.

On the “Fox & Friends” program, Napolitano said that rather than ordering U.S. agencies to spy on Trump, Obama had obtained transcripts of Trump’s conversations from GCHQ so there were “no American fingerprints” on it. [1]

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CIA ‘Anti-Russian’ Hacking & Wikileaks Vault 7

Posted on March 12, 2017 by admin

On Tuesday, March 7 Wikileaks.org released a “new series of leaks on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Code-named “Vault 7″ by WikiLeaks, it is the largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency.” [1]

The detail provided in these leaks is astounding, as sophisticated cyber attack methods are described in chilling detail. The targets of this massive operation are everyone, but more specifically anyone deemed as a political “threat to US interests.” Keep in mind that a deep state defines these ‘threats’ for us, and ‘national insecurity’ has grown into an enormous apparatus, whose basic structure can barely be traced even in the simplest of organizational diagrams:

This WikiLeaks ‘Vault 7’ data release should be reviewed by everyone with serious political interest. Understand that “anti-Russian” means anti-socialist, anti-leftist and anti-working class in Newspeak. Big Brother has more than just it’s eyes & ears on certain online organizations, as active cyber warfare (funded by taxpayers) is surely attacking Wikileaks, the World Socialist Web Site, and this site.

For Wikileaks it’s self-evident there is a US government campaign to neutralize & dismantle them. Julian Assange has been trapped in an Ecuadorian embassy in London for nearly 4 years, on trumped-up rape charges. Bradley (Chelsea) Manning, who provided Wikileaks with the infamous Iraq War Log, has been locked in a military brigade for years. Edward Snowden, the ex-CIA programmer turned whistle-blower, who told the world about ubiquitous NSA spying, has had to flee to Russia fearing CIA reprisals.

Wikileaks has been attacked online through financial warfare, as ways to donate to this popular site have been restricted and even ‘gone dark’ at times. That only happens when a conscious deep state is focusing its invective on what it considers to be ‘rogue’ organizations. These are the ‘terrorists’ the US government is really fighting, as ISIS (and the rest) are actually CIA creations/assets.

By far the most dangerous online organization to the ruling class is WSWS.org, the World Socialist Web Site. What deep state planners fear more than anything is a revolution from below. That is a decisive force, which they can not control. Therefore, a ruthless & highly-sophisticated misinformation & suppression campaign must be directed against this site, and any sympathizers. As a daily reader for over 15 years, it is easy to spot changes in their organizational line, as well as monitoring the tone of their comments section– which is a more recently-added site feature (<5 years old).

Adding comments has been a great advance for the WSWS, as is their nascent Facebook presence. With this has come a noticeable increase in cyber attacks on the site, which experienced daily readers can notice. The most common tactic is the creating of fake profiles to spam the comments section with nonsense. These posts usually follow the same model: new handle, no profile picture, LONG posts that are perfectly spelled & punctuated, but incomprehensible gibberish.

Trolls are also a common tactic, and targeted at less-sophisticated readers who are still confused and therefore chomp down on well-placed bait. Forum moderators have a difficult time keeping up with all this, as the CIA-intelligence apparatus have endless resources to keeping pounding whomever they please. WSWS readers (working people) have to get better at recognizing these attacks for what they are, and then ruthlessly expose them as part of their growing political activism & education.

As far as RicSize.com goes, I have indisputable mathematical proof that my site has been the target of US intelligence cyber attacks. Analytics don’t lie. The level of growth & influence this site has gained in it’s 3+ years of online activity has amazed even its owner. The power that even one individual [!] can project through the Internet is MUCH more than most people realize. This has been noticed by US intelligence, and at this point I’ll even reveal a hidden strategy; I knew this site would be monitored from the start, and used that as part of my marketing/promotional operations.

The people spying on the other end are employed by the class enemy, but they are also human beings. Therefore they can be influenced to change their minds in certain cases. Since I had no fans to start, but I knew the CIA was listening, I decided to direct some of my propaganda towards them, since they were so interested in what I was doing. I have no idea what effect this has had on these organizations, but the intent was to create Edward Snowdens.

The cyber attacks on RicSize.com were seriously escalated in June of 2016. This coincided with political events, namely Election 2016. The DNC email leaks, and the possibility of a Trump presidency sent the Obama-controlled intelligence apparatus into overdrive against leftist organizations. The published piece that black-flagged this site for increased attack was “Maria Sharapova, PED’s & International Politics,” perhaps the most damning & explosive piece published on this site, which is quite a statement.

This article had been published in March, when women’s tennis star Maria Sharapova was ‘temporarily suspended’ by the US-led World Anti-Doping Association (WADA), as part of their ongoing campaign to exclude Russian athletes from the Rio 2016 Olympics. Sharapova is a Russian citizen, who works globally, and lives in Los Angeles with dual citizenship. This piece was instantly popular, as the US media & the WTA universally lined-up against Sharapova, with their typical righteousness & hypocrisy. This piece was the only English-language source for any facts on the case, and there was to be a hearing in a few weeks to decide the matter.

Months came & went, and this site was steadily growing in daily readership. On June 9, 2016 a 2-year suspension was handed down to Sharapova, and this site instantly exploded. The Sharapova piece was shared globally on an unprecedented scale, and it obviously provoked the wrath of US intelligence, who were ramping up their bogus ‘Anti-Russian’ campaign, which they have continued up to this writing.

The cyber attacks on this site were certainly successful, from a US intelligence standpoint. Daily views of RicSize.com were cut by two-thirds from mid-June 2016 though January 20, 2017. On January 21, 2017 site viewership immediately jumped 50%, and has remained at that level.

There are only two explanations for this sudden up tick, 1) increased popular interest in socialist politics; and 2) a change in deep-state intelligence policy. I believe both to be in play, as consumption of anti-fascist literature has increased since Donald Trump became US president. With that, Trump’s ‘soft’ stance towards Russian president Vladimir Putin has set off a raging internecine deep state power struggle. There now appears to be a window of opportunity for socialists to press their agenda, as the ruling class is divided with infighting. This will not last, as the whole US political system is unstable and in terminal crisis. Socialism must gather momentum and build its ranks, before fascism decides to sweep away the final remains of parliamentary democracy and establish an official police state.

These examples cited above are the leading edge of a cyber warfare campaign, which is designed to eliminate personal privacy, by controlling everyone on this planet through manipulation & blackmail. If you knew everyone’s secrets, you would be powerful too! These are actually elitist cowards, spying behind their computer screens in their hidden bunkers. All their personal ‘lives’ are no doubt similar in theme.

Check out this enlightening tidbit from the Wikileaks dump called ‘Fine Dining,’ which is customized CIA hacking that targets any computer system. The name is a reference to the fact that once this malware is installed, it allows the CIA to feast on its data, without detection. According to Wikileaks, “Notably absent from their target list is any reference to extremists or transnational criminals.” What this proves is the CIA’s sole purpose is to manipulate & control population groups through criminal covert action & spying. [2]

Vault 7 shows that automobile on-board computer systems can be remotely hijacked by the CIA, causing a high-speed wreck that leaves no fingerprints. Essentially this is drone assassination of US citizens, and it is widely speculated to have been the method used to kill Michael Hastings.

“Hastings, who was 33 when he died, was the Rolling Stone reporter who wrote an article in 2010 that led to the removal of General Stanley McChrystal from his post as ranking US commanding officer in Afghanistan. Hastings perished at around 4:30 a.m. after losing control of his car and crashing into a tree while traveling at about 100 mph.” [3]

All this must end. We as a society can no longer allow this level of brazen criminality to go unchecked. The direction this is heading is clear, and it is catastrophic. Anyone reading this needs to become more politically active & militant in their fight against fascism, which has become the final-crisis stage of modern capitalism. The only vehicle to defeat fascism is revolutionary socialism, led by a class-conscious internationally-united working class. Those organizations listed above (this site include) are fighting short-stacked, and therefore must be supported by those who care about the fate of civilization & human culture. United we can win.

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Hard Lessons from the Other Side

Posted on March 2, 2017 by admin

When I published “Undiagnosed Hip Injuries & Stubborn Fat Loss” on 9-8-16, I was in the middle of my program. It was theoretical at the time, although I was sure I was correct. Now that I have achieved my goal of total rehabilitation & nearly all the stubborn fat loss, I can declare everything I outlined in that piece, and “Hip & Back Rehabilitation Protocol” to be valid. I will now add my concluding thoughts. Photo below by TomP on 3-2-17.

Actual full rehabilitation takes nearly a year. I have mentioned the importance of rehabbing at climate already, meaning no heat or A/C use. What I didn’t know is the body needs to go through the full cycle of seasons to completely re-adapt. Bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons & skin behave very differently in summer versus winter, no matter where you live. That means be patient, and adapt your workout regime accordingly. This is about the long haul.

A second discovery is that I had a lot more fat than I thought, which means you probably do too. Many times I thought I was near the end, when more seemed to appear on my belly. I originally estimated ~12 pounds of stubborn fat as typical, now that I’m at the end I can say it’s more like 15-18 pounds of fat loss, and only ~3 pounds of muscle gain. There’s just a lot more fat than you realize, and as it comes off you begin to understand that every pizza, beer, burger, soda, candy bar or other junk food item that you ever consumed, will be accounted for. If you don’t, then it just stays there until you die, perhaps even contributing to the cause-of-death. Your choice.

How much fat do you actually need to lose? The easy test is to put yourself in the plank position, completely extended out. Then look towards your feet and notice everything that’s hanging off. That’s how much fat you need to lose.

The belly is where fat is first stored, and last shed. Every time you think you’re about to lose that gut, more fat flows in from other areas of your body. The fat will melt away around the rest of your body, while a pooch gut remains. This is the REALLY stubborn fat, which requires a series of disciplined fasts to break down. The belly fat contains the major ‘fat plugs’ which are protecting the deepest injuries, and to repeat; this fat will not disappear until the corresponding muscle tears are healed & re-strengthened. This means the injury victim has to work out their deepest injuries while fasting, in order to lose their stubborn fat. There’s no other way.

At most only 2-3 pounds can be permanently cut per fast, as energy depletion finally sets in to the point where there are no more gains to be had, you then have to eat. Note that this will also wipe you out for a day-or-two afterwards, depending on the length & severity of the fast. This means that having the actual time to go through all this, is another major factor considering the realities of our modern world.

My advice is to prepare yourself for these fasts, as they will get to the point where you are delusional & lightheaded. You will actually feel the fat being consumed, in an on-and-off stream of ‘tummy rumbling’ sounds from every part of your body. Burping becomes more frequent (even though you haven’t eaten), as the development and ripping of abdominal & back muscles squeezes the innards. Air is pushed out of the entire digestive tract. Some flatulence will also occur. This is disgusting stuff which overweight people need to get out. The actual fat is metabolized through your lungs.

Fat is full of toxins. As it is being rapidly burned off, these toxins will be released into your system– for you to enjoy one last time. There were points during a particularly cruel fast, where I was dry-heaving due to this, as their release during fat burn-off caused violent reactions in my body. I was very glad I didn’t have any food in my stomach, and I’m even happier those nasty chemicals now are all gone.

Another point to fasting is hydration. As you fast saliva flow becomes a problem, because the body sends signals it wants carbohydrates. This reflexively starts salivation. A spit cup become necessary at a certain point, as you don’t want this goopy fluid in your stomach, especially if you are about to go into the heaves. Spit frequently, and hydrate with sips of water as needed.

Here are a few final workout notes:

1) Always maintain a ‘Flex-T’ shoulder posture. This was discussed in “Pitching Motion Analysis,” but it applies to everyone. The Flex-T position protects the shoulder capsule, safely linking the arms to the torso.

2) Whenever upright, use a phasic knee-bent stance, with the knees always tracking the feet. Keep your core tight.

3) Switch eyes. This is an advanced concept I came up with, that directly relates to ambidexterity. The eyes are controlled by a group of muscles that run from the back and shoulder, up around the head. The eyes themselves are muscles too. This means they can (and should) be strengthened like any other muscle. There are major benefits to this including: A) These muscles are extremities, meaning head-to-toe really means eyes-to-toe. Switching eyes will improve strength & coordination from the head to every extremity. B) Switching eyes improves vision & depth perception. Everyone has a dominant eye. To determine eye dominance, point your finger at a distant object. Close one eye. Open it. Close the other eye. Evaluate when the finger moves, the eye you closed is dominant. The idea is to reduce dependence on the dominant eye, which is best-achieved by strengthening the non-dominant eye. C) Switching eyes improves mental focus. Use this tool for everything [!], and you’ll quickly understand these benefits. Simply close one eye and explore its full singular range-of-vision, then switch to the other. Doing this constantly will also help with your breathing.

That’s it. Now get to work, and see you on the other side!!

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Dialectical Processes

Posted on February 5, 2017 by admin

A website is always evolving– an indisputable fact of the Internet. Even if a site immediately goes stale, forgotten by its creator (like most), it’s even decaying beyond that– at a rate the Internet is advancing. Therefore, any website is either evolving or devolving.

When I began this site (with all technical assistance from friend/webmaster TomP), I had no idea what I was doing or where it was going? What this site has become is a guide-to-better-living, with much of what-you-need-to-know for understanding this crazy world we all inhabit, contained and/or linked here. This site is about taking care of yourself, while always thinking of others. That means a global scope, with respect for everything in it & beyond.

This site is dialectically materialist in philosophy, rejecting any notion of god as a universal creator (as a failed hypothesis), relying instead on actual data & rational science. This has allowed a transformative creativity in some particularly reactionary fields of modern journalism, the best example here being the sports writings. Starting from a sound political & philosophical foundation makes this possible, and it’s the only way to remove the emotional element from sportswriting, which is a major issue, even (especially) in the professional ranks.

Sports bring out the passion (good & bad) in people, which makes them a volatile subject. Most writers can’t separate their fanhood from their responsibility as journalists. These schleps love sports so much, they will say & do anything to maintain their precious access to their heroes. This is the condition of the modern American sportswriter. The amount of hackwork they collectively produce in covering the NFL, NBA & MLB is staggering. What is perhaps even more astounding, is how little of it holds up over time; as it’s mostly speculation, rumor mongering, hidden agendas, etc… with very little research, much less hard analysis.

All these people do is watch sports, so how can they be so obtuse? In the end, it’s always a matter of perspective and class forces. Whether it’s an individual team or league in trouble, notice how it’s problems are always pinned on an individual– usually the head coach or a star player. Scapegoats are useful in all fields, and the business of sports is no different. When rabid sports fans are whipped into a lather regarding a lackluster performance, a scapegoat is singled out and moved in front of the cameras to answer impossible questions for irate fans. No one ever questions the fairness or rationality of this media browbeating, it’s just how business is conducted.

For example, why don’t these writers discuss why the Orlando Magic fail year-after-year? The reason is because if they did, eventually they would come to the root of the problem, which is failed ownership & incompetent management. That makes powerful people look bad, which is not allowed under capitalism. At least not until the Internet and a Marxist (with time & love for the game), actually does the work [1]. The result becomes their franchise history, which still holds up better than anything anyone has ever written (or filmed) on the Orlando Magic, because it speaks the truth from top to bottom.

The point has been reached in these writings where less becomes more, and further commentary becomes redundant. Therefore, the stream of new content will henceforth be less frequent, and mostly confined to pressing world political events and Marxist revolutionary theory. As for the social, cultural & artistic spheres; I believe I’ve already adequately & articulately spoken on music, film, art, sports, health, beauty, fashion, and the rest. I hope these writings will inspire others to take these ideas further.

As for health, fitness & art pieces posted here in the future, it will be mostly my own going forward. At a certain juncture, these fields become more personal in their importance; as surviving and maintaining a healthy body & mind into & through adulthood are more important than becoming a celebrity or professional athlete. I’ve already spoken enough on its power to inspire, as well as the hypocrisy & corruption.

What homo sapiens must do is come together as a species and problem-solve– in the interests of everybody & everything on Earth. If you aren’t acting, thinking, and living the way I’m describing, then you need to connect with this site and re-humanize yourself. Physical & mental health are one, they can’t be separated. If you think rudely, with hostility & ignorance, then you can’t be healthy in body. At some point this bad mind, which is full of short-cuts, justifications and excuses will undermine any attempt at physical health. Whether it’s cancer, senility, arthritis, heart disease or stroke; whatever your greatest risk exposure is, it will become the crux of your undoing if you don’t live correctly with respect for others.

This site will remain online for as long as the Internet is allowed to be globally shared. Today the Internet is a battleground. This site has been jammed, and even hacked a few times over the years. I expect it to get worse, before it gets better for people like us. RS.com is an essential tool in fighting fascism. Today’s revolutionaries need to understand Trotskyist Marxism, as well as being physically healthy, in order to command. Leaders will need this mental & physical fitness, and will be asked to prove themselves in the heat-of-battle over & over, in order to win the support of the masses.

This is what actually impresses & influences people, much more than money or any other trappings of power. Why? Because it’s on an instinctive level that people are trusting. That cuts through the hype, in a way capitalism can never do, due to its worship of money at the expense of everything else. The truth is, the best leaders are not the richest individuals. The wealthiest portfolios are actually the sickest people, and therefore need to be removed from power and any other important decision-making, due to mental illness. This is only possible in a society transformed by revolutionary socialism.

Discover & use the knowledge here to better yourself, while enjoying & sharing the music!!

If I Could Be Reincarnated

As an animal:

As a plant:

As an organism: a virus

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Most Popular Posts & Why?

Posted on December 10, 2016 by admin

These are the most popular blog posts on this site (so far) according to the analytics, and my explanation as to why? They are listed in chronological order.

Girl Model (2011): A Film Interpretation May 27, 2013
This is a beautiful & horrible film, and a true work of art. But it’s so harsh that most people will shun it, so I attempted to summarize its contents in words. This film has many angles & shadows, and I have much admiration for the filmmakers as well as the film’s star Ashley Arbaugh. This heroine is not a nice person, and she’s still doing some pretty horrible stuff, but she made a brutally honest attempt to redeem herself. Also attached to this essay is an early demo of “Anna Rex.”

American Football & Early NFL History & NFL History: The Super Bowl Era August 18, 2014
This piece originally had no images and was over-linked. My goal was to write a complete history of the NFL in ~5000 words, as I was looking for one to read and couldn’t find anything. American author Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book you want to read, and it hasn’t been written, then you must write it.” That’s what I did. This 2-part essay was published during the end of the NFL pre-season, when there is usually nothing happening, and all the football junkies are starving for new content. It initially received a mixed-to-cool response. A few weeks later the Ray Rice elevator assault video was released to the public, and this essay has gained traction & readership ever since.

SI 2015 Swimsuit Issue Pictorial Essay February 13, 2015
For a long time this was the most-viewed post on this site. It was when I started using images, which obviously helped.

Marquette: What’s in a Name? February 23, 2015
MU is a strong academic university, and many alumni I’ve never met have read this piece. It ends with a few comments I received from MU friends on Facebook, and my responses to them.

Taipan! (1982): Gameplay Basics & Tips May 10, 2015
I wrote this piece in an evening and it was one of those few that turned out perfectly, needing no editing after publication. It is the definitive ‘cheat sheet’ and it has been viewed by many competitive personalities in business & politics.

Orlando Tragic Basketball: 1989-Present May 13, 2015
This was another situation (like the NFL) where there was no comprehensive & honest history of this franchise, anywhere. I have lived in central Florida since August 1994, so I know about the Magic. This is a lying, slime-ball, bush-league organization and as long as the DeVos family owns the team, it will never change. The simple truth about this organization is astonishingly hard to get at, precisely because it’s so bizarre & incompetent.

Criticizing the Critics May 28, 2015
Since I am blacklisted for being a Marxist artist, I decided to take a review of the critics. “Turning the camera around,” is a revolutionary concept.

My Life in Corporate Dental June 8, 2015
This piece has been read by only a handful of dentists across America, but it inflames passions on all sides. It is the only accurate description of today’s marketplace, and this piece should be read by all dental students or anyone considering entering the profession.

U.S. Government 2015 Budget Analysis August 5, 2015
When I began blogging for real in late 2013, I didn’t use any images for a long time. As I developed my own style, I became more artistic & experimental– see: mp3/blog format. My goal in this post was concision: to explain a huge concept (U.S. government spending) in as few words & images as possible. Writers at the WSWS have reviewed at this piece, and I believe it has beneficially influenced them.

Modern U.S. Election History November 2, 2015
Again, I went for concision on a broad topic. One of my best political pieces.

Where Were You When…? January 1, 2016
…you learned Kurt Cobain was murdered by Courtney Love and her accomplice Cali Dewitt. I outline all the evidence direct & indirect, and it’s overwhelming. Also embedded is my YouTube video cover version of “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter.”

Maria Sharapova, PEDs & International Politics March 10, 2016
I’d written a few generic pieces on tennis to establish a base of knowledge & understanding for American fans, and wasn’t planning on writing anymore until the news of her doping suspension broke. This is one of the longest piece I’ve written and one my best as it discusses sex, sports & politics with insight, depth & Marxist precision. If all the links are engaged, this piece becomes very powerful in impact & scope. I follow Maria Sharapova on Facebook, and posted the link to this piece on her page, with the comment “You were set up, Maria,” the day it was published. Sharapova moved that post & link to the top of her comments and maintained it there for weeks. This piece has been translated into Russian Cyrillic and other Slavic languages, as the search tags to this post look like a Dostoevsky novel with multiple versions of her name. WADA, the ITF, and the rest of the media kept changing their stories; and Sharapova kept hitting them back with social media, so I kept adding to this piece and it became an updated serial through early April. When her final suspension was announced in early June, this piece exploded (3 months after publication) like nothing I’ve ever posted. This post has been read by 4 times as many people as my second most-read article. There’s some mysterious force making all this happen, and I’d love to meet her someday.

Why Does Danica Patrick Wreck So Often in NASCAR? March 24, 2016
I’ve noticed that when I write about beautiful women, I get results. Everything I write about NASCAR has Danica Patrick in it, because in many ways she’s bigger than NASCAR. That bothers most of the good ol’ boys, so she gets targeted & wrecked a lot. No one ever seemed to know why she was finishing so poorly, as the comments in the media and on her social media pages were filled with haters hating, while clueless ‘fans’ offered nothing helpful in her defense. The final straw for me was seeing her get wrecked & sent airborne at Fontana by Kasey Kahne, in which brazen recklessness went undisciplined (once again) by NASCAR. The only way to prove anything in NASCAR is to provide video links, along with a concise explanation of each event. YouTube has everything NASCAR, including every Danica Patrick DNF. I went to work, and this is one of my most influential posts, as its conception & organization really maximize the blog concept to its fullest potential. Maria Sharapova has been read the most, but this piece gets viewed more consistently than anything else I’ve posted.

Use & Abuse of Personas July 21, 2016
This piece is slippery & elusive by design, and it applies to everyone on the Internet.

O.J. Simpson & Racialism August 25, 2016
ESPN’s five-part series OJ: Made in America prompted me to write this essay, and it has really struck a nerve with people. The Democratic party’s use of identity politics is a conscious strategy to divide the working class. Nowhere has this been more destructive than in racial politics.

Undiagnosed Hip Injuries & Stubborn Fat Loss September 8, 2016
This is a very recent post, but it has quickly gained traction and now has medical terminology search tags, indicating that it’s been reviewed by orthopedic physicians, bariatric & sports injury specialists, etc… I believe this is well-deserved, as it connects many dots.

$pelvic-apophyseal-avulsion-fracture-diagram$

Fascism Wins Election 2016 November 9, 2016
This was published within an hour of Hillary Clinton’s concession call to Donald Trump. Only WSWS writer Patrick Martin matched/surpassed this analysis on that day. In the ensuing days I published pieces on the political death of liberalism & Hillary Clinton, which have already been vindicated.

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Seventh Inning Stretch

Posted on September 1, 2016 by admin

The lyrics to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” were written in 1908 by Vaudevillian songwriter Jack Norworth, in 15 minutes while riding an elevated NYC subway train. Albert Von Tilzer (his publisher), then composed the music.

* a sou is an old French coin of low denomination

“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” has been in the public domain since 1936, and some would argue that a finer song has never been written. The purpose here is to present the original-length version in modern form, hopefully sparking an interest in our national pastime.

The song first became a hit in nickelodeons, which were early movie theaters charging 5 cents admission. It was presented between silent film features– as an illustrated song, using a pictured set of slides.

“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is baseball’s anthem, and it surely beats any national anthem for fun & singabililty. Norworth’s composition has been squeezed out, by the MLB powers-that-be since 9/11, often in favor of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.” Militarism, politics & religion need to be left out of sports as much as possible.

Recorded @ the Last Minute
Production & Video by TomP; some still photos by Ric
RS: vocal
TomP: percussion, piano MIDI patch & chorus vocal along w/ Maya & Brighton

Copyright/Publishing–Infinitelink Records/No Cliché Songs

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Blacklisted in Mount Dora (& Anywhere Else)

Posted on April 3, 2016 by admin

I’ve been told that Mount Dora is a VERY artistic town:

There’s just so much vibrancy, thoughtfulness & creativity here:

Mount Dora has its Art Festival every year (during Super Bowl weekend), and it’s packed with art & aficionados:

And if you’re an artist in town, try their official private affiliate– the Mount Dora Center for the Arts:

They’re very helpful with contacts, to help aspiring artists in the community:

Here’s a screenshot my intro call to the decision-maker:

…their follow up & my response:

Nothing since– this is what Mount Dora typically books…

…all sponsored through he CoC:

Pictured below is Mount Dora’s attempt at art with their ‘Modernism Museum’ which has been open for several years, yet still attracts very few people– even with the ‘audio tour’ included! Puzzling?

I propose this photo (of what was available) is more influential modernist art– in its composition & visual summary:

Artists seem to come & go here…this is what happened to a coffee shop that massively supported a former local American Idol contestant– now a comic book shop:

…located right next to this bookstore…

Conclusion:

Blacklists are unofficial by nature. This artist has lived (& worked) in Mount Dora, FL for 20+ years, and has never been offered a paying venue to perform– while this garbage (shown above) is unlimitedly funded & ceaselessly promoted. Real artists can’t compete against this, and can only expose it for what it is at its bottom– corruption. If people want better, they must start demanding it and making preparations to take charge of it. Until then, the philistines own it and cultural degradation rules the day.

So keep all this (& more) in mind as you walk or drive though quaint & ‘historic’ Mount Dora, while remembering that Segways (instead of pedestrians) ALWAYS have the right-of-way:

This isn’t The Villages, you know? [1]

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Alive Inside: The Power of Music

Posted on December 24, 2015 by admin

Alive Inside (2014) is the stirring account of Dan Cohen, founder of the non-profit organization Music & Memory, struggling against a broken healthcare system. Along with independent documentary film-maker Michael Rossato-Bennett, they demonstrate music’s ability to reverse memory loss– restoring dignity & sense of self. [all pics google]

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is characterized by cognitive impairment. Agitation is a symptom in 70%-90% of those afflicted with advanced stage ADRDs. This interferes with care delivery and social interaction, ultimately destroying their quality of life. It is a huge problem facing human society, and like most other issues facing humanity, it’s growing worse daily– as illustrated by the graph below:

It should come as no surprise that geriatric healthcare providers suffer some of the highest rates of career burnout. Burnout is a multi-factorial phenomenon, involving environmental, personality, and profession-related factors. Research shows risk for burnout in geriatric healthcare to be between 25-75%, depending on the study– with a likely overall average near 50%. [1]

The problem of elderly care is fundamentally capitalist. As explained in the film, “A doctor can write a prescription for a $1000/month anti-psychotic drug, and it’s no problem. But a patient getting reimbursed for a $40 iPod, as medical therapy, is next-to-impossible…nursing homes have become a shotgun marriage of poorhouses & hospitals.”

This is an accurate description and explains their motivation to over-medicate. It pays-off the big pharmaceuticals, while turning those afflicted with ADRDs into vegetated zombies. These sedated ‘living dead’ are easier for staff to manage, and easier for corporations to milk for insurance profits. Half the patients in U.S. nursing homes receive no visitors.

The WebMD tagline is “Better information. Better health.” Their recommended therapies for ADRDs are: anti-psychotics (major tranquilizers), benzodiazepines (psychoactive hypnotics) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (anti-depressants); all of which are highly toxic, with serious side-effects. These drugs were never meant for use on geriatric patients, and yet today they are the standard-of-care for Alzheimer’s and dementia.

WebMD covers its ass with this blurb (& qualifier) at the end of its ringing pharmaceutical endorsement, “The FDA has placed a ‘black box’ warning on these drugs describing these problems. They can be helpful for many people, though.”

Such is the cruel logic of healthcare under capitalism.

Individualized music as an alternative therapy for agitation in ADRD, involves carefully selected music, based on the person’s lifetime preferences. The easiest way to do this with anyone is to determine their years in high-school. The popular music from that era will usually be their favorite, or at least an excellent starting point.

Watch what familiar music does to 94-year old “Henry” in this clip from Alive Inside:

For this therapy to be effective, it needs to be individualized music. Research shows “a significant reduction in agitation during and following individualized music, compared to classical music. This study expands science by testing and supporting a theoretically based intervention for agitation in persons with ADRD.” [2]

Why does individualized music work? Because music evokes emotions that bring back memories. Any time we remember something, we are actually recalling where we were when we learned it. When we hear a favorite song from the past, we are instantly transported back to that time & place in our minds. No other medium has that power, and PET scans prove it scientifically.

The musicality within all of us is innately human, as chimpanzees don’t have this primal need to connect with other chimps through music. Our musicality remains one of the last areas of the brain affected by ADRDs. Music is a portal to reach people who have slipped into vegetative states, who are otherwise unreachable.

Artists & songwriters understand this better than anyone. They create music for people to enjoy, because it connects them with others. Their music IS the culture, and it’s power to communicate & heal will remain as long as human society exists.

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Fully Covered 2

Posted on December 10, 2015 by admin

07 Storm Inside My House– Minutemen
08 Fake Friends– Joan Jett
09 Planet of Sound– Pixies
10 What Goes On– Velvet Underground
11 Good Ol’ Boys– Waylon Jennings
12 Wipe Out– Surfaris
13 It’s So Easy– Guns N’ Roses
14 12XU– Wire
15 Well– Captain Beefheart
16 Clear Head– Graham Parker

Ric Size: guitar, vocals, & photos

Recorded December 03, 2015 @ the Last Minute

Produced by Tomp

These covers were learned (mostly) from pre-Internet music magazines, guitar tablature songbooks & online tabs.

Other songs were transcribed using a revolutionary method called the Think System.

If you think the Pixies in A– then you can play the Pixies in A.

This completes a project, whose purpose was to define influences for fans while highlighting (mostly) under-represented artists. It is obviously also an attempt to tap into their fan bases. This is approximately 20% of my cover-list.

Both of us at Infinitelink & Last Minute Records wish everyone a Happy Holidays!!

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Ric Size

Songwriter, Musician, Artist

Category Archives: RS Content