Skin

Posted on January 17, 2017 by admin

Our skin speaks as to who we are. Much discussion occurs over skin pigmentation and what it’s supposed to mean, while very few understand what skin actually is. Scientifically speaking, skin is an organ– like the heart, liver and kidneys. Skin is the main part of the integumentary system, which regulates our temperature, while resisting heat, cold & moisture, so other organs & their systems can function.

Skin is also our first impression, and anyone interested in beauty understands the value of its care. It doesn’t matter whether the ancestry is European, Asian, African, Native American or Aborigine; without proper skin management, the sun and other elements will damage and wear it out, making it’s owner look older. They key for beautiful & youthful skin is to retain the body’s essential oils, while removing as much dirt, grime & other toxins as possible.

The face is most vulnerable, as the skin there is more oily and most-exposed to harmful UV-rays. Sunblock before outdoor sports and a broad-rimmed hat for strolls are essential. Women’s soccer star Mia Hamm (pictured below) has now revealed she has significant retinal damage from years of intense outdoor-light exposure. Sunglasses are now an essential eye-health tool.

Our skin is actually more than just us, it contains a microbiome of mites, bacteria, viruses, and other organic matter as it’s outer-most layer. The germaphobic response to this science (like everything else) was to create hysteria about it, then attack it. This has led to a rash of diseases, which are the result of the skin being dried out and stripped of its natural, protective microbiome layer. Many of these psoriasis, eczema, itchy/allergic skin conditions occur because of too much air conditioning & showering; especially in climates like Florida where the outdoor heat is extreme, and people haven’t properly adjusted themselves.

Climatizing yourself was discussed briefly in an earlier piece [1]. It is critical for good health, wherever you are, to climatize yourself to the outdoor temperature. Obviously, stay indoors when temperatures get too extreme, which is below 0 and above 100 degrees Fahrenheit; but with that said there is no way for skin (or any other bodily organ) to function properly, if it’s a shock for the body to step outside. This is now a common mistake, as many Americans are addicted to this lifestyle, and it’s a huge part of the current obesity epidemic.

By constantly and artificially moderating the indoor living temperature, an individual has no true sense of the outdoor environment. If you see someone dressed too warmly in public, you can bet they are addicted to heat-A/C. They typically are in poor health and have a weight/mobility problem, which is often self-inflicted through neglect. As excessive fat is retained, the oils & odors emanating from the skin become unpleasant, to put it nicely. To be real, it’s a sick joke on ignorant people, by greedy elitists. Note that this is now a problem affecting ALL generations of modern affluence, while much of the world is still starving.

Antibiotic resistance is another issue that starts to come into play with the excessive use of anti-microbial soaps. Pretty soon this unnatural selection leads to super-bugs we can’t control. Medicine and genetic engineering have their limits, and humans aren’t even close to understanding what & where they are. Any introduction of new products whether it’s GMO’s or new drugs & consumer goods, need to be weighed scientifically in all spheres; and that remains impossible under capitalism.

Being OCD about touching one’s face, picking at scabs, chewing fingernails, etc… is poor personal hygiene practice. Piercing & tattooing are by medical definition self-mutilation; obviously this is a personal choice that can be justified as self-expression, but note that it often comes across as a clichéd cry for attention. Know that line beforehand.

While we’re on skin, we must discuss hair which is simply an extension of our skin. Covering it from sun damage, and minimizing washings to prevent essential oils from being stripped away are the same themes. Becoming your own barber/stylist will also help your hair look better all the time. Scissor, clippers and a mirror with adequate light are all that is needed.

Skin and hair-care products should be plant-based. Petroleum-based products are toxic, so use organic for your skin & hair. Personally– I prefer cocoa butter for skin, and tea tree for shampoo. I shampoo once/week on average. Mostly I just rinse my hair in the shower, and use cocoa butter as conditioner.

On non-shower days (days I’m not working, nor very physically active), I use a soapy wash-cloth & sink. This allows me to hit the necessary spots: faces & hair, armpits, etc… with minimal time, energy, and water use. I live in Florida, where it’s summer from mid-January to mid-November– with global warming now. I spend much of this time indoors at home without a shirt on for clean cooling, as wearing too much clothing leads to excessive sweating & grime build-up. I use a towel between my skin and any furniture, and rarely use the A/C when home alone.

Any situation in which you are overheated and need rapid core cooling, COLD showers are a great skin management tool. Heat stroke is defined as the shut-down of the skin organ system. Perspiration, which is the body’s cooling mechanism, has ceased and the core temperature is beginning to rise. This can lead to coma and brain damage, if not reversed in time.

A more routine skin management tool is the dry rub, which means working the grime & excess skin off with a soft towel. This can and should be done throughout the day, as skin & hair begin to feel itchy and uncomfortable.

Speaking of uncomfortable, avoid the weave. I don’t know who precisely came up with this awful idea, but it needs to end. It’s 1) completely unnatural, 2) doesn’t work outdoors or when wet, 3) can’t be touched– just decoration, 4) costs a fortune to maintain, 5) leads to further scalp erosion and hairline loss due to the tension, and 6) MEN PREFER REAL HAIR.

Don’t be ‘relaxing’ it either, all those harsh chemicals kill those delicate hair follicles- making you bald, girlfriend. Go with the ‘fro; and if you can’t braid it– fade it.

Anti-perspirant/deodorant is a necessary evil in modern Western culture, as you just can’t afford to stink in public or around friends. Anti-perspirants prevent sweating; deodorants neutralize odor-causing bacteria. More-effective deodorants, means stronger chemicals. Antiperspirants are based on ingredients such as aluminum chloride, aluminum chlorohydrate and aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrate. These aluminum salts (which have been established as a neurotoxins), form a temporary blockage in the sweat ducts– stopping the flow of sweat to the skin’s surface. Apply judiciously, knowing it’s a low-level toxicity, is my only advice.

Obviously there are huge & powerful interests (cosmetics, fashion/modeling, etc…) which don’t want people to live & think the way I’ve described. Enacting what I have outlined above on a mass scale would end those industries as we know them, and it would be a giant step forward for humanity. The amount of toxic waste these industries produce is not doing our planet or species any good. One of the biggest issues we as homo sapiens are facing is the inability to look at our own skin, and the skins of others, honestly.

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Timeline of DNC Email Leaks

Posted on January 7, 2017 by admin

Disclosures of dirty official secrets & war crimes have repeatedly rocked the established order since WikiLeaks emerged in 2010. This video currently has over 15 million views:

Julian Assange is the founder & brains behind Wikileaks, a whistle-blowing online organization which publishes classified state secrets for the world to read & discover. Assange has currently been held-up in the Ecuadoran embassy in London for four years, due to trumped-up (politically motivated) rape charges– which are being pressed by Swedish authorities at U.S. government behest. With whistle-blowers Edward Snowden in exile in Russia and Bradley (Chelsea) Manning locked away in a U.S. military prison, Assange too is a political prisoner. This serves as a chilling reminder of the cost one may have to pay for opposing elite interests.

July 10, 2016: Seth Rich a 27-year-old staffer for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was shot twice twice in the back of the head on his way home in Washington, D.C. around 4 a.m. He died later in the hospital and the circumstances remain murky, as D.C. police insist the murder was the result of a botched armed robbery– but have no leads. Rich’s wallet, cell phone & watch were still with him when his body was found. Seth Rich was in charge of DNC voter expansion data and had access to a wide range of information about the inner workings of the Democratic party.

The content of these emails remains mostly undiscussed in official media, as the emails were from Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta. The major revelations (among the many) were that the DNC was illegally funnelling money away from Bernie Sanders and towards Hillary Clinton, in order to help her gain the Democratic nomination. Any mention of this email content today is tantamount to treason, and implies being an “agent of Putin” by the media, but back then this was still an issue Hillary Clinton and the Democrats were trying to contain.

July 24, 2016: Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (pictured above w/ VP Joe Biden) resigned, as she was heavily implicated in the email scandal which revealed her improprieties in favor of Clinton.

August 9, 2016: WikiLeaks announces a $20,000 reward for information leading to the killer of Seth Rich. A few days later Julian Assange gave this extraordinary interview with Dutch television station Nieuwsurr via Skype, in which he openly questioned the official narrative: [1]

Assange: Whistle-blowers go to significant efforts to get us material and often significant risks. There was a 27-year old that works for the DNC who was shot in the back … murdered … for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington.

Host: That was just a robbery wasn’t it?

Assange: No. There’s no finding.

Host: What are you suggesting?

Assange: I am suggesting that our sources take risks and they become concerned to see things occurring like that.

Host: But was he one of your sources, then?

Assange: We don’t comment on who our sources are.

Host: But why make the suggestion?

Assange: Because we have to understand how high the stakes are in the United States and that our sources face serious risks … that’s why they come to us so we can protect their anonymity.

July 2016: Begins a sharp escalation of the anti-Russian (pro-war) campaign, that was (and still is) supported in bourgeois circles. Under the academic influence of structuralism, positivism and postmodernism; the NY Times, Washington Post, the Nation, Newsweek & Time now churn out their virulent pseudo-left red-baiting, in all its irrationalist & idealist forms– on an unprecedented scale. Gays, feminists, dissidents, ex-radicals and other ‘nonconformists’ who complain about everything (yet can’t be bothered with facts) populate their rank-and-file, and the purpose of this campaign is to keep this ‘middle class’ layer as self-satisfied & politically inactive as possible. As evidence to its effectiveness, the left-wing 2016 post-election protests quickly met a cold & lonely death. [2]

October 7, 2016: WikiLeaks publishes thousands of emails retrieved from John Podesta’s private Gmail account. Reading Podesta discuss Hillary’s “public” and “private” political positions, as well as her grovelling to the financial aristocracy of Goldman Sachs, only reinforced the popular notion that she’s a fraud.

As a final footnote on ‘Russian hacking,’ evidentially John Podesta’s password was ‘password,’ and he gave it out freely to other staffers. Julian Assange is now famously quoted as saying, “A 14-year-old kid could have hacked Podesta.” [3]

These are the incompetent and sociopathic zombies who make up Washington’s elite. It’s impossible for the ruling class to frame any of this logically, so we the people are again subjected to a propaganda blitz where official lies, hysterical red-baiting, and implausible denials never end.

October 25, 2016: Huge Obamacare premium increases announced for 2017. This, more than anything else, cost Hillary Clinton and the Democrats on Election Day.

October 28, 2016: A letter from FBI Director James Comey to Congress announcing new “investigative steps” in the probe of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, exposes raging conflicts within the national security apparatus. It still rages on, with no public input.

November 8-9, 2016: After being written off and given no chance by nearly every political expert, Donald Trump wins the Electoral College and the US presidency, despite losing the popular count by ~2.8 million votes. President Barack Obama immediately declares everything over, as the entire 18-month election process (a completely degraded spectacle) was just “an intramural scrimmage.” Mass media and the entire political intelligentsia immediately shift to the right, going into overdrive on the ‘Russian hacking’ narrative as the reason for Donald Trump’s victory.

January 6, 2017: The 50-page US intelligence report (purported to contain ‘bombshells’) provides no evidence that Russia was responsible for hacking into the email of the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. The report consists of unsupported conclusions by the CIA, FBI and NSA, using the phrase “we assess” 19 times, without a single fact to demonstrate Russian involvement. [4]

This is capitalism 2017, and its masters have evil designs on humanity’s future. These fascist philistines only care about themselves, so if working & young people want better, they are going to have to unite among themselves and fight for it. As Trotsky once pointed out, “No devil has ever cut off his own claws.” We the workers & youth must unite internationally across all industries under the banner of revolutionary socialism to win true freedom, peace & equality.

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Women Who Rock

Posted on January 2, 2017 by admin

I’m not strict when it comes to genres. You can rock any form, including classical music. There are plenty of women playing & conducting Mozart, the greatest rock-star ever. These are the women I (mostly) respect in the various popular music forms which have evolved from the 1920’s (birth of audio recording), up through the year 2000 or so. This review hits the highlights, and is by no means exhaustive.

Bessie Smith (1894 – 1937) was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s & 1930s, and a major influence on jazz singers:

The Carter Family were traditional folk music, the first vocal group to become country music stars. They originally recorded from 1927 to 1956, and still exert a profound impact on bluegrass, country, gospel, pop & rock:

Mahalia Jackson (1911 – 1972) was the ‘Queen of Gospel.’ She explained, “I sing God’s music because it makes me feel free. It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues.”

Ella Fitzgerald (1917 – 1996) is still the ‘First Lady of Song’ & the ‘Queen of Jazz.’ No one sings the Gershwins’ or Cole Porter’s songbooks better:

Billie Holiday (1915 – 1959) had a profound influence on jazz music, as no one sang with more feeling:

Patsy Cline (1932 – 1963) was country music’s biggest star. Her hits began in 1957, and continued until her tragic death. She was killed in a multiple-fatality crash of the private plane of her manager, under murky circumstances:

Shirley Scott (1934 – 2002) was a hard bop & soul-jazz organist. Known as ‘Queen of the Organ.’

Early-’60s New York girl groups totally rock:

So do mid-’60s New York girl groups:

As did the Phil Spector girl groups:

Joan Baez was the original female folk-rock artist:

The folk genre eventually became ‘singer/songwriter’ with artists like Joni Mitchell:

Nina Simone (1933 – 2003) was a true artist. She was a first-rate singer, songwriter, pianist & arranger who was able to work with (and earn the respect of) elite jazz artists such as Miles Davis. Simone was a civil rights activist when it mattered, and could work in virtually any musical style from R&B to classical:

Motown was the hit machine record label of the mid-late 1960’s, and the Supremes were label owner Berry Gordy’s top act:

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas recorded some of the most gritty & danceable R&B of the Motown hit-making era:

Tammi Terrell (1945-1970) & Marvin Gaye (1939-1984) is my selection for top duet couple. Terrell was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1967, and had eight surgeries before succumbing to her illness at age 24:

Maureen Tucker was the drummer for the Velvet Underground. Nico was the original bad girl, who became an artist no one understood. This is where they fit in chronologically, but really they’re ~20 years ahead of their time:

Shocking Blue was a late 1960’s Dutch psychedelic rock band, which has famously been covered by Bananarama & Nirvana:

Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane were okay, I guess:

Janis Joplin (1943 – 1970) was a raw & uninhibited blues singer. Excess led to her accidental drug overdose, after only four albums including the posthumous Pearl (1970):

In 1968, singer/songwriter/dancer Gal Costa became a part of the Tropicalismo movement, which was a Brazilian artistic movement whose anti-authoritarian & revolutionary expressions made them a target of censorship & repression by the military junta that ruled Brazil from 1964-1985:

Cuban singer Celia Cruz (1925 – 2003) was the ‘Queen of Salsa’, the most popular Latin artist of the 20th century:

Googoosh is an Iranian singer/actress of Azerbaijani origin, and the most iconic pop diva in the Middle East. She is famously known for remaining in Tehran following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and not performing again until 2000 due to the ban on female singers:

Country music traditionally paired its upcoming female stars with moldy oldie males, in order to give them the boost they often needed. Dolly Parton was no exception:

Aretha Franklin is the Queen of R&B/Gospel, with the perfect blend of attitude and vocal power:

Tina Turner’s version of CCR’s “Proud Mary” is possibly the most-covered karaoke song in pop-cultural history:

As for Hollywood, Bob Fosse’s Cabaret (1972) is the likely greatest musical ever filmed, and Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles was a performance of a lifetime:

Same with the unstoppable & incomparable Barbra Streisand in Peter Bogdanovich’s What’s Up, Doc? (1972):

Bette Midler was a Broadway performer who made her film debut in 1979 with The Rose, a hard-hitting fictionalized account of the life & death of Janis Joplin– one of the most stunning debut performances in Hollywood history:

It’s a mystery why so many people hate on Yoko Ono, she was good enough for John Lennon (1940-1980), who always considered her an artist:

Jessi Colter was one of the few female country artists to emerge from the mid-1970s “outlaw” movement, which also featured Waylon Jennings whom she married:

The Swedish act ABBA helped bring disco to America, for better or worse:

Disco (1974-80) began as a street vibe, with DJ’s as artists & genre leaders. Disco was influenced by soul, funk, glam, reggae/dub & punk. It spawned new-wave, rap & electronica:

Disco was a genre dominated by women, and Donna Summer & Gloria Gaynor became its greatest artists:

Disco was an explosion of minority street culture, gay pride, and feminism. Acts like Sister Sledge, Chic & a host of one-hit wonders including: Shirley (& Company), Vicki Sue Robinson, Rose Royce, Lipps Inc, Anita Ward, (and too many others to list here) made some of the most enduring dance music ever created.

These and other cultural institutions birthed in the 1970’s, were controlled by corporate machinery through record labels & radio monopolization. This revolution in popular culture was quickly over-saturated and shamelessly exploited until its impact finally subsided. By 1980, disco was history and newly-arrived MTV was channelling kids into new wave (Eurythmics, pictured below) and pop metal:

For some, punk is what really rocks and Patti Smith was the original poet:

One of the greatest forgotten punk singers is Poly Styrene (Marion Elliot) of X-Ray Spex, accompanied by saxophonist Lora Logic (Susan Whitby):

The Raincoats were formed in 1977 by UK art students Gina Birch and Ane de Silva, inspired by the “anyone can do it” spirit of punk:

Blondie was Debbie Harry (singer/songwriter), with good help from (guitarist/songwriter/lover) Chris Stein– when he behaved himself. Blondie began as NYC punk, and quickly became the biggest crossover artists of their era. “Heart of Glass” is punk/disco crossover; “Rapture” is THE original rap crossover; and “The Tide is High” is rock/reggae crossover:

Anyone who ever tried to start a band knows that good bass players are hard to find. Punk/alternative has a long tradition of women on bass, starting with Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads):

Exene Cervenka was a lead singer for X, the legendary Los Angeles-based punk band:

The Slits (formed in 1976) in the words of band leader Ari Up:
“We felt naturally feminist without saying so. At the time you were expected to comb your hair perfectly neat and be glamorous, like the magazines tell you to be. You couldn’t be naturally sexy. I felt we were very sexy by nature. If we wanted to be sexy we were, but not to please men. We just did our own thing. In this way, we threatened society. The witch hunt was on. I was stabbed in the street, just for looking the way I did, by a guy who looked like John Travolta.”

Post-punk feminism exploded with Pat Benatar, Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders), B-52’s, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joan Jett, the Go-Go’s, Cyndi Lauper, etc…

The biggest MTV star, and icon of the 1980’s (and into the 1990’s) would be Madonna, who today is the indisputable ‘Queen of Pop’:

Cuban emigrant Gloria Estefan became the 1980’s biggest Latin crossover artist, sparking a global interest in Spanish dance rhythms & beats:

Country singer/songwriter Reba McEntire became the genre’s biggest female star, and eventually crossed over into Hollywood television:

Pop music always rules the charts & drives the industry. Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey became the next generation of divas that followed in the wake of Madonna:

Female bassists in alternative rock included Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth, pictured below), Kim Deal (Pixies), and D’arcy Wretzky (Smashing Pumpkins):

The Carpenters had a pop sound all their own in the 1970’s, up until Karen’s death due to anorexia in 1983, and (believe it or not) she is still cited by alternative artists as an influence:

Iceland’s Bjork debuted in 1988 with the Sugarcubes, and has since become a pioneer in electronica:

More conventional female singer-songwriters of this era included Suzanne Vega, 10,000 Maniacs, and the Indigo Girls. Among this genre is Tracy Chapman, a shy but gifted storyteller who never fit into the industry mold– talkin’ about a revolution:

With hip-hop exploding in the late 1980’s, Queen Latifah became the first female rapper to gain notoriety, and since has become a global icon:

Sinead O’Connor became a superstar when she released I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1989), which is a gorgeous album of beauty, love & pain:

Perhaps the most enduring female artist of the alternative/underground era is PJ Harvey, a bona-fide, multi-dimensional punk diva:

Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville (1993) is one of the most stunning & sublime debut albums [a double!] ever released:

Belly’s Star (1993) had already been reviewed on this site: [1]

Babes in Toyland from Minneapolis were the hardest-rocking feminine trio ever, a total ‘no compromise– no brakes’ act:

Bikini Kill was the quintessential riot grrrl band, led by songwriter/vocalist Kathleen Hannah, and anchored by guitarist Billy Karen:

Where Women Are Today in Music:

The point of this exercise is to illustrate that women have always had a powerful voice in popular music. Feminists who scream that a woman’s perspective is still being suppressed, simply don’t acknowledge any of this musical history and therefore render themselves foolish in this discussion.

With that said, there are serious challenges facing women with a musical message today. Since the liquidation of grunge in the mid-1990’s, it’s been a constant corporate & political assault on musical freedom, leading to the homogenization & commodification of popular music:

What began as Sheryl Crow and Lauren Hill (both above), became Brittany Spears– as banality became institutionalized:

Soon after came American Idol & Hanna Montana, as the role for women in music became increasingly being channelled into cookie-cutter pop divas:

The industry model of making an album, followed by marketing & promoting it for 2-3 years is now dead in the age of the Internet & social media. Kids today move to new artists and fresher musical trends in the time it takes a superstar act to make their next record. A good example of this is Adele, who conquered the world with 21, but has stiffed with her recent follow-up 25. By the time 29 (?) comes out, her fans will have grown up and moved on:

What Adele (and others like her) need to do is re-evaluate their performing schedule, and make time to get back to writing songs, but the industry they work for won’t allow them that luxury. Why this isn’t possible, no one ever explains, because everyone is so focused on making money. The best new artists (male & female) will come from outside of this milieu, and smash this ossified bureaucracy with independent music & a new delivery model.

And music fans can’t wait.

HONORABLE MENTION
Sarah Vaughan
Linda Ronstadt
Carole King
Fleetwood Mac
Dionne Warwick
Loretta Lynn
Tammy Wynette
Emmylou Harris
Bonnie Raitt
The Roches
Heart
Gillian Gilbert (New Order)
kd Lang
The Vaselines
The Primitives,
Cowboy Junkies
Hole
Kate Bush
Alanis Morrisette
Sarah McLachlan
ETC…

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Andy Warhol is Everywhere

Posted on December 29, 2016 by admin

“They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” — Andy Warhol

Truly one of the artistic giants of the 20th century was Andy Warhol (1928-87), whose influence on art, music, film & mass media was revolutionary in the 1960’s and remains with us today. Indeed, humanity needs to face this genius honestly and deal with the depth of his work– in order to understand the obstacles capitalism places in our paths towards emancipation.

Warhol was dangerous & subversive. He was (and still is) viewed as an enemy by the ruling elite, which explains why his films have been ignored & trivialized, and remain largely unseen by the public. Most can only be viewed at his Carnegie museum in Pittsburgh.

The Andy Warhol Museum is the largest museum in the country dedicated to a single artist, and its collection includes: 900 paintings; approximately 100 sculptures; nearly 2,000 works on paper; more than 1,000 published and unique prints; and 4,000 photographs. The film & video collection includes 60 feature films, 200 of Warhol’s Screen Tests, and more than 4,000 videos. [1]

Any exposure to Warhol is welcome these days, and the Portland Art Museum is holding a print exhibition through January 1, 2017, which attempts to make sense of an immense body of creativity– and largely succeeds.

Briefly, Pittsburgh-born Andek Warhola was a sickly child with a deep attachment to his mother. He acquired the name Warhol when he was mis-credited in one of his early advertisement pieces– and assumed it from then on. Warhol was gay, in an era when being gay was unacceptable to elite taste. He was also extremely insecure about his body, and enjoyed making other uncomfortable in their own skin.

A great example of this in his art are his films, which are awkward to watch, and unlike anything film makers had ever attempted. The point was making the viewer feel self-conscious, and thus becoming part of the film. This powerful & revolutionary concept changed film & mass-media production forever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejr9KBQzQPM

Warhol first exploded into mass consciousness with his Campbell’s Soup Can paintings in 1962. Even his prints in a series (pictured below) make a powerful statement on nutrition, marketing & food distribution. The original ‘Soup Can’ series is in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

Andy Warhol was famous for making other people famous. Nowhere was this more apparent than in his Factory of ‘Superstars’ and in his collaboration with the Velvet Underground. The Exploding Plastic Inevitable was a multimedia production by Warhol, featuring his films, performing dancers, and the music of the Velvets– who were Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker. Everything is meticulously detailed in this must-read rock biography:

Andy Warhol’s best biography is also written by Victor Bockris, with whom he collaborated in television projects, as well as Interview magazine.

In summary, Andy Warhol & Pablo Picasso are rightly considered to be the two greatest artistic geniuses of the 20th century. Picasso finally made his peace with the art world, and became the wealthiest painter in human history. Warhol was murdered in a hospital bed in Manhattan, by a philistine ruling clique that cares only about maintaining their privilege, and nothing for art and human culture. The capitalists may have killed Andy Warhol in person, but they will never extinguish the power of his art.

Update July 5, 2108:

Originally posted as a comment to this well-written WSWS article. At issue are the ISO, and right-ring identity politics.

On June 3, 1968, Valerie Solanas went to The Factory, where she found Andy Warhol, and shot at him three times, the first two shots missing and the third wounding Warhol. She also shot art critic Mario Amaya and attempted to shoot Warhol’s manager, Fred Hughes, point blank, but the gun jammed. Solanas then turned herself in to the police. She was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and pleaded guilty to “reckless assault with intent to harm”, serving a three-year prison sentence, including treatment in a psychiatric hospital. After her release, she continued to promote the SCUM Manifesto, and died in San Francisco in 1988 of pneumonia at age 52.

Andy Warhol was murdered in 1987 by the New York Hospital, after having emergency gall bladder surgery. Billy Name (Linich) was a photographer, filmmaker, lighting designer, and archivist for The Factory from 1964 to 1970. The Velvet Underground’s album art (White Light/White Heat & The Velvet Underground) are his shots. Billy Linich recounted the above story of Warhol’s murder in every interview he ever gave, up until his death in 2016.

The Factory was Andy Warhol’s creation after his astonishing Soup Cans & Mass Media Sculptures– which changed everything. The Factory was a collection of talent, junkies & queers that Warhol used for film, photography and music. Their collaboration with the Velvets was the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (EPI), a ground-breaking multi-media phenomenon– featuring the VU & Nico, with Andy Warhol’s films being projected over them playing live. It blew everyone’s mind, and was shut down by the authorities as quickly as possible. The famous banana cover from their debut album is Andy’s painting.

Elite NYC figures like Bob Dylan were jealous, and wanted in. Warhol’s direction was the most revolutionary of any artist of his era, with the only possible exception being John Lennon. Warhol understood the media better than Lennon. Warhol was also a deviant due to his homosexuality, which wasn’t allowed to be mainstream back then. The bottom line is the Velvet Underground’s powerful music & Andy’s genius made everything go, as far as revolutionary art and creative energy! As far as sales and commercial impact; the Velvets were blacklisted from the start. Songs like “Heroin” & “Venus in Furs” are unforgivable to the moralists who control the industry machinery.

By 1970, the Factory & the Velvet Underground were no more. Other notable Factory members included: Edie Sedgwick, Ingrid Superstar, Gerard Malanga, Ronnie Cutrone, Candy Darling, Eric Emerson, Danny Fields, Paul Morrissey, Mary Woronov, and many others. Andy Warhol was famous for making other people famous, which proves real genius.

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Pitching Motion Analysis

Posted on December 17, 2016 by admin

Pitchers get injured. That is no news flash as throwing a baseball at 90-100 MPH is an unnatural act which stresses the body to its physical limits and sometimes its breaking point. With that understood, there are ways to prevent injuries to pitchers, and it all comes down to physics & bio-mechanics.

A MLB pitcher must have correct mechanics to maintain a healthy and sustained career. This is true for relievers as well as starters. In this article, the proper motion for pitching a baseball will be illustrated & described. Anyone with an interest can learn and apply these correct techniques to their own motion. Pitching coaches must know everything described below, or else their efforts with kids are of no value, or even worse– destructive.

Let’s start with proper mechanics. The most critical position for a pitcher to maintain throughout the loading part of his wind-up is the “Flex-T” position. Both shoulders need to be locked into this straight-line posture, in order to avoid excessive strain on the shoulder capsule and the elbow. From there both forearms are flexed, which minimizes strain throughout the kinetic chain. Below is Nolan Ryan, one of the greatest & most durable power pitchers of all-time (late in his career), locked into the Flex-T:

Fatigue is the enemy that cripples pitchers with correct mechanics. The photo below is an illustration of the most common mechanical flaw in pitching, which is over-rotation of the upper arm/shoulder. This is the proverbial, “reaching back for something extra” doesn’t really help, in fact it’s damaging. If the shoulders are not held into a straight-line posture, the excessive strain will lead to shoulder/elbow breakdown, unless immediately corrected with a strong Flex-T posture:

Analyzing a pitching motion can be difficult, as many things are happening in the <2 seconds it takes a hurler to deliver the ball to home plate. While reviewing video, it is helpful to pause and scroll it forward manually– frame by frame. Using this method, we will evaluate some of the best pitching motions in the game, as well as some problematic ones.

The hardest thrower in MLB is Aroldis Chapman, who just signed a 5-year/$86M deal with the NY Yankees. Focus your attention at 21-22 seconds into the video, which is the best view of his motion in this clip:

Aroldis Chapman has fluid & flawless mechanics, which is what creates all his power. He over-rotates his hip turn, but still holds everything together throughout his motion because he’s such a great athlete. This reduces his injury risk considerably (although not absolutely), which is what Yankee GM Brian Cashman needs on a 5-year deal for a power pitcher. The key to longevity will be for Chapman to remain strong & flexible in the hips & core. Here’s more science on what make Chapman so extraordinary:

Chapman disagrees with how Cubs used him in postseason 12-16-16 [1]
If I was Aroldis Chapman, I’d be upset with Joe Maddon too, as he was abused– by any rational definition of pitcher handling. No one appreciates being abused. Yes, it won the Cubs a WS, and yes he’s well-paid, and that’s why they play em’, and flags fly forever, etc…, but Chapman (at least) should have been informed by his manager that he was planning on using him extensively in both games 6 & 7– and clearly he’s saying he wasn’t. It’s his career (and a lot of $$) at risk, pitching fatigued, so he had a few parting words out the door. Anyone who can’t understand that is a hypocrite and/or has never competed. I would love to hear Joe Maddon’s thoughts on all this.
BTW, Yankee fans should be ecstatic, as Brian Cashman has done the impossible which is to replace Mariano Rivera.

One of the most durable and effective starting pitchers of this era is Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers. Not surprisingly his motion is extremely compact & efficient. Note the beautiful balance throughout his delivery:

Not heeding the principles of sound mechanics & thermodynamics has catastrophic consequences for pitchers, as well as teams trying to build & maintain a staff. Here’s Tyson Ross, whom the San Diego Padres just released, despite being one of the best pitchers in the NL from 2013-15. Ross over-rotates his shoulders, and doesn’t use enough hips in his delivery, which has led to his shoulder problems:

Below is Steven Strasburg, the celebrated #1 overall pick by the Nationals in 2009, whose MLB career has been one injury issue after another. It’s not hard to see why, as the right shoulder severely flies out, creating all kinds of stress on the rotator cuff & ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). This is the game which he was taken out of last season, before being shut down. Note that Strasburg has pitched 200+ innings only once in his 7-season career:

Below is a really poor motion, that deserves scrutiny. RHP Zach Lee is from Texas, listed as 6’4″, 227 lbs– age 25. Scouts would project this kid to be sitting at 95-96 MPH and touching 98 with his fastball, with a 92-93 MPH wipe-out slider. The slider in the video rolls in at 88 MPH, and is a “hanger.” The Seattle Mariners just released him for fear of what Mike Trout does to pitches like that. Everything describes hereafter happens at 3-4 seconds:

Look for Lee’s forearm being nearly vertical as he starts his rotation towards home plate. This leads to the eventual “forearm fly-out,” seen clearly at mid-rotation. This severely stress the UCL, causing velocity/control loss and eventually leads to TJ surgery. Lee also doesn’t pronate at the finish, another major mechanical flaw which leads to velocity loss and eventually soft-tissue breakdown of the elbow and/or shoulder. Lastly, his drive-line ends up towards the lefty batter’s box, instead of straight home. His push-off the rubber could also be improved, and his hips are sluggish– which is really the root of all his problems.

The most likely reason Zack Lee stinks is because he’s hurt– due to faulty mechanics. The Padres just claimed Lee off waivers, and if he is ever going to pitch effectively for them, he needs an immediate MRI of the right elbow & shoulder along with both hips– as there is major damage in there.

Injuries must be evaluated & diagnosed first, followed by a treatment plan for full recovery & rehabilitation. Next, the pitching mechanics must be corrected. It needs to be a total commitment by everyone from the player, to the coaching & medical staff, or else it fails. It’s a lot of science, but it’s also that simple.

Addendum 1-4-17: The San Diego Padres are considering a 6-man rotation in 2017. The traditional & sabermetric argument against 5-man rotations (vs. 4-man rotations) is that the ace gets less starts. The Padres don’t really have that problem, as they don’t have a true ace. Luis Perdomo is probably their opening day starter, and the Padres have high hopes for him, but no one claims he can match up consistently with Clayton Kershaw or Madison Bumgarner– who are true aces. The issue the Padres have is keeping their arms healthy, which means limiting their innings. A 5-man rotation asks for 32.4 starts per pitcher, meaning #1 & #2 get 33 starts over 162 games. A 6-man rotation asks for 27 starts per pitcher. Since the drop-off in quality isn’t as much of an issue as limiting fatigue and preventing elbow & shoulder blowouts, the benefits are clear in this case. Even with an injury, the fall-back is #7 starter, or a 5-man rotation until the pitcher has healed. This is a good year for the Padres to experiment, as they have nothing to lose on the field.

One last point on a 6-man rotation is that it doesn’t limit innings on a pitcher who is effective and can handle the workload. If a starter averages 7 IP in 27 starts, then he will pitch 189 innings. 7.1 IP/start is 198 innings, etc… It’s about economizing and going deeper into games, when they’re ready. A 6-man set-up will allow teams the flexibility to stretch some guys out, while protecting others.

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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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MLB ‘Steroid Commissioner’ Gets HoF Nod

Posted on December 5, 2016 by admin

MLB’s 16-member Today’s Game Era Committee is an offshoot of the old Veterans Committee. It nominates non-playing personnel and players who were passed over during Baseball Writers Association of America election period.

Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Mark McGwire, Lou Piniella, John Schuerholz, Bud Selig and George Steinbrenner were the candidates considered by this committee for the 2017 Hall of Fame class.

These are the 16 people who make up that committee, which voted Bud Selig into the MLB HoF, against the expressed will of baseball fans everywhere. At least 12 of them voted for him:

Hall of Famers: Johnny Bench, Whitey Herzog, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, Tony Pérez, Frank Robinson, Ryne Sandberg, Ozzie Smith

Executives: Bill Giles, David Glass, Andy MacPhail, Jerry Reinsdorf

Media: Bob Elliott, Tim Kurkjian, Ross Newhan, Tom Verducci

Bud Selig will be inducted, along with Atlanta Braves GM John Schuerholz and any players elected by the BBWAA (announced January 18) at Cooperstown, N.Y. on July 30– which also will be Selig’s 83rd birthday.

One can only see this for what it is– political horse-trading & backroom deal making. A straw poll on Bud Selig’s popularity among baseball fans would run 90+% negative. This is well-deserved for:

1.) Being the Steroid Commissioner
2.) Cancelling a season & World Series in 1994
3.) Attempting to contract the Montreal Expos & Minnesota Twins
4.) Bankrupting the Montreal Expos, then MLB’s subsequent gutting of the franchise from 2003-05 [1]
5.) The 2002 All-Star game hosted in Milwaukee, which was to be his triumphant farewell to a Brewers franchise he owned & mismanaged for over 20 years, which turned into a fiasco by going extra innings [!] with both managers running out of pitchers. Selig intervened by stopping the game, which ended in a tie & a hail of boos for the commissioner from the hometown crowd
6.) Refusing to be at the game when Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s career HR record, proving more his own gutlessness & lack of leadership than anything else

That’s just off the top of my head.

Selling MLB to Fox hasn’t helped the game in any way either; outside of enriching owners, management, and star veteran players. More exploding graphics, late starts, soaring prices and Joe Buck in our faces isn’t good for baseball. This is why many fans have turned to free advanced media to get around as much of the hype & commercialization as possible. It isn’t easy.

What Selig did best was make money for the owners, and the owners are the ones who control the game– including the HoF committees. That’s how Selig breezes in on his 1st ballot, when an entire generation of all-time great players are shut out. [2]

This hypocrisy is simply class struggle, as this is a labor/ownership issue, with management & the media co-opted as tools to control & scapegoat the players. The message sent in the Selig (& Schuerholz) HoF selection is, ownership & management take no responsibility for the PED era– it’s all on the players. That position is irrational, contrary to the facts, and insulting to the intelligence of baseball fans everywhere. When bootlicks like Richard Justice apologize for this garbage, they need to be shouted down. [3]

Baseball fans everywhere are disgusted by this selection, and the only way towards improvement is for fans to start speaking their minds, and more importantly with the wallets. These institutions need to be ruthlessly exposed for their corruption, no longer deserving of fan support. That is the only message the people running the game will understand. It is the only path towards the betterment of the game.

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Padres Clean House & Amputate

Posted on December 3, 2016 by admin

Norris returns to Nats in deal with Padres 12-2-16 5:47 PM ET
Derek Norris had about as tough a season as any catcher could have in 2016. The entire Padres rotation was disabled and/or traded. Their All-Star closer (Fernando Rodney) was also traded. Due to service time issues and a hand injury to top catching prospect Austin Hedges, Norris was forced to carry too much of the load, as backup Christian Bethancourt is still a liability behind the plate. Teams can’t have poor defense from the most valuable defensive position, which directly affects the entire pitching staff. Norris is a bounce-back candidate because he’s going to a much better team with competitive depth. This is another nifty move by Padres GM AJ Preller to clear roster room & salary, while adding value.

AJP waited as long as he could and found a situation in Washington to maximize his return with a high-upside young Latin American arm. Preller is essentially continuing his summer selling spree. and will now seriously shop Ryan Buchter & Brad Hand, two of the most valuable commodities on the market: effective & cost-controlled lefty relievers. AJP will be looking for big prospect hauls, or no deal. The alternative is big $$$ free-agent closers, which is a volatile and costly market, so there should be plenty of interest.

The Derek Norris trade also ends any irrational speculation of AJP being unable to make deals after his MLB suspension. Everyone who paid attention now knows it was an old-school vendetta from East-coast teams whom he had made look foolish on a scouting level. The fallout from the MLB suspension was Padres team president Mike Dee being fired, which has strengthened AJ Preller’s position in the organization. Dee’s replacement has yet to be announced.

SD’s Ross non-tendered, now a free agent. Righty had October surgery; Pirela, Amarista, Sanchez, Edwards and Johnson let go 12-2-16 ~9:00 PM ET

Shoulder injuries are high risk, and the thoracic outlet surgery to correct Tyson Ross’ problem is still healing. In addition, there’s rehabilitation & strengthening of the shoulder capsule, which will take him into the summer (at least) before he’s possibly able to pitch. That’s not worth the money (~$10M) as he was going to be in his walk year. AJ Preller had a chance to trade Tyson Ross in 2015, but held out.

What really cost the Padres with Ross was not getting an early diagnosis. If they had figured it out early, then the surgery could have taken place in time for him to be ready for 2017. Tyson Ross was hurt on Opening Day, and the Padres medical staff didn’t even get a diagnosis until September. That incompetence stung the Padres organization– big time.

I am not around Tyson Ross & the Padres, but I recall reading for months in their MLB forum about “shoulder tightness” and “fatigue issues” which are conditions & symptoms. The Padres were rehabilitating without knowing the cause of the problem. By early summer the Padres had Ross throwing again, even featuring his slider against medical orders according to manager Andy Green.

Part of this debacle was hard-headedness on Tyson Ross. He also set himself back by injuring his ankle in a hotel room, so there are red-flags about his head and what he’s thinking, but the major issue was the Padres medical staff not diagnosing the condition sooner. That is their job, and it took far too long to figure out a problem which has affected others, and has precedence in sports-medicine. All this cost the Padres $9.625M in 2016, and leaves them without the front-line starter they were expecting to have through 2017.

Final Notes: A new MLB CBA was ratified on the eve of its expiration, and will run through 2021. The major takeaway from a business standpoint is the change in the International draft system, where each team now gets $5-6M/year, with a hard spending cap. The Padres are penalized for the 2017-18 period, and can’t spend over $300,000 on any player they sign, but with the hard cap now in place, that hurts much less than it would under the previous system. Padres CEO Ron Fowler was leading the negotiations for the owners. A.J Preller played it perfectly knowing the system would be scrapped and revised under the new CBA, grabbing the lion’s share of the most-talented prospect crop under the old rules.

This was the most contentious of the labor issues, as several Latin American players voiced their opinions at the bargaining table concerning the exploitative nature of this annual third world talent grab by MLB.

Jon Jay signed with the Chicago Cubs for 1yr/$8M. The Federalist is a winning player, who is undervalued. The San Diego outfield youth movement now has room to sort itself out. If Jay hadn’t been beaned in the wrist by Gnats RHP Gio Gonzalez, he probably would have been flipped at the deadline. Jon Jay was leading the league in doubles with an excellent OBP when he got hurt. Many Cardinals fans this past season talked about how they still root for the Federalist, and I imagine many Padres will now do the same. The Cubs grabbed the perfect guy (at a bargain) to fill CF, and that makes them the team to beat again– already.

Compared to Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Trumbo, etc… (albatross contracts waiting to happen, due to their age and defensive liabilities), Jon Jay is a steal and proves the brains running the Cubs will keep them in front for the foreseeable future. Staying away from most of the remaining free agent market, is required for GM’s serious about winning. Smart GM’s save their budget and deal from strength at the 7/31 deadline, for what their team needs most.

MLB article “Non-tendered players hit free-agent market” is a good early list of low-level free agents, of which pitchers will draw the most interest. AJP now has an extra $20M or so to spend in a very thin market. This will be another interesting Padres off-season, where trades will be the primary vehicle for competitive teams improving, as the free agent market is mostly barren & very costly. AJ Preller also has Padres fans guessing who he is going to take in the Rule 5 draft, with the 3rd pick on December 8. Preview at “10 intriguing names for the Rule 5 Draft.” Remember, AJP made a record four selections last year and two are still on their 40-man roster– RHP Luis Perdomo & OF Jabari Blash.

Padres reveal lineup of 2017 uniforms 11-22-16

Padres need brown in their uniforms for continuity with their nickname. The Milwaukee Brewers are another organization that had an awesome look (ingenious 70’s/80’s logo design with the glove & ball being the ‘M’ & ‘B’), and threw it away for a generic one. You have to have brown in the Padres uniforms, otherwise it doesn’t make sense. The debate is between yellow or orange as its compliment. More money than brains making these decisions. Who, specifically designed & approved this? This is supposed to be the easy part of franchise building.

Rule 5 Draft Results 12-8-16:

3. Padres: Allen Cordoba, SS, Cardinals is their major Rule 5 pick of 2016.
AAA phase: Padres had the 2nd pick and took Trevor Frank, RHP, Indians
Linked is a brief bio on Allen Cordoba, who just turned 21 and hasn’t played above rookie ball. [1]

This is an intriguing selection, and it would be a bigger jump than RHP Luis Perdomo made last year. Cardinals fans and personnel are probably not loving AJP, after looting them again. Cordoba provides depth behind Luis Sardinas.

AJ Preller also traded for the top 2 Rule 5 picks, right-hander Miguel Diaz from the Brewers, catcher Luis Torrens from the Yankees. AJP got the top 3 picks in the Rule 5 Draft, which is unprecedented. The cost of a Rule 5 pick increased from $50,000 to $100,000, and from $25,000 to $50,000 for returning a player, in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Total cost for the Padres claiming the top three Rule 5 picks (& a AAA selection) is $324,000, plus the cash to Minnesota & Cincinnati– who also get a PTBNL.

Round 1
1. Twins: Miguel Diaz, RHP, Brewers No. 21 prospect
2. Reds: Luis Torrens, C, Yankees No. 17 prospect
3. Padres: Allen Cordoba, SS, Cardinals No. 19 prospect

The Padres didn’t lose anybody, so Preller did a great job managing & protecting his roster. He’ll probably let the market settle a bit more before he moves in on free agent pitching. AJP filled his 3rd catcher & backup infielder slots with these selections, obtaining the top available starting pitcher as well. Tell me that isn’t impressive work?

Padres complete trade for Rule 5 pick Torrens
Friars send VanMeter, cash to Reds for catcher 12-9-16
Josh VanMeter is now listed as a 3B, and hit .198/.248/.274 in just over 100 PA’s at AA San Antonio in 2016. He’ll be 22 next spring and is way behind for his age– likely destined to be a career minor-leaguer. This and $500-$700k (best guess) is what it cost the Padres for the top 3 picks in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft, all of whom were top-30 prospects from organizations with deep farm systems: MIL, NYY & STL.

With the Winter Meetings over, the Mariners, Twins & Pirates will be competing with the Padres for FA pitching bargains. For the 2017 Padres, only 1B Wil Myers & 3B Yangervis Solarte (thanks NYY) are proven. Fans are hopeful on long-time prospects C Austin Hedges & RF Hunter Renfroe, as well as newbie CF Manny Margot (Kimbrel trade). They are going with Luis Sardinas and a Rule 5 utility guy at SS. Christian Bethancourt and Rule 5 pick Luis Torrens make 3 catchers, with some interesting flexibility for Andy Green. LF needs a bat, with Alex Dickerson being the best internal option at this point, and Travis Jankowski as a 4th outfielder– until he learns to hit lefties. Second base is still a bit of a mystery as Ryan Schimpf was incredibly productive at the plate for half a season, but his defense was fair-to-poor. Cory Spangenberg will be ready, but who knows what to expect from him at this point? Fans only hope he stays healthy, which leads to off-season priority 1A (after acquiring starting pitching), which is cleaning up & improving the medical staff. The Padres invested ~$75M in the J2 draft, with many of these young prospects being pitchers. The Amateur & Rule 5 drafts have also yielded high-upside pitchers for the Padres under AJP. These arms are potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars, if they can be kept attached. The point is, with these investments in talent it’s critical to their development to keep them healthy. If that fails, then all this planning & hard work has been for naught.

The most veteran player on the current Padres roster is Carter Capps, with 4+ years of MLB service who is Arb2 in 2017. Every other player is Arb1 or less, giving this team payroll flexibility, especially as the dead money moves off the books. Every Padres fan needs to know this schedule: 2017 $31M, 2018 $20M, 2019 $10.5M, 2020 $8.5M. That’s the cost of foolish handouts (Byrnes/Gyorko) and FA splurging (Fowler group/AJP for Kemp & Shields).

Final Padres off-season thoughts: Four teams have dealt with AJP since his suspension: Nats, Twins/Angels & Reds. New Twins GM Thad Levine even went so far as to say, “Working with San Diego in this regard was extremely beneficial because they’re very creative.” See: Twins trade for RHP Haley in Rule 5 Draft 12-8-16. It was a very creative deal as the Twins got the pitcher they wanted (for free, paid for by SD), the Angels got some cash, and the Padres got the pitcher they wanted for a few extra hundred thousand dollars. Win-win-win. The only wariness other GM’s need to have in dealing with Preller is that he is a shark.

There are only 3 teams in which relationships between organizations were damaged by AJ Preller’s various dealings: the Red Sox, White Sox & Marlins.

I believe GM Dave Dombrowski would make another deal with Preller, if they needed say (ace lefty relievers) Brad Hand or Ryan Buchter, because Boston is always in it to win it and will do whatever they feel is necessary, putting hurt feelings aside.
The White Sox would be tougher to deal with, because they really feel burned on the James Shields deal, which they were. It was just a bad trade, no medical issues there, but owner Jerry Reinsdorf won’t forget it. That’s a family organization and the front office will have its orders, so any attempts to deal with them will likely be fruitless, as their price will always be too high for AJP.
The Marlins I believe will refuse to ever deal with AJP again. Preller made their front office look foolish three times in 2016, once in the Fernando Rodney deal and twice in a few days with the Cash Out & then the Colin Rea trade-back. This is a petty & narrow-minded organization, owned by a complete scoundrel. It’s too bad because they had a nice team in 2016, until bad trades (then the Jose Fernandez tragedy) ruined it.

Jose Fernandez 1992-2016

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The Ambidextrous Athlete

Posted on November 26, 2016 by admin

Ambidextrous athleticism & functional strength go hand in hand. It is impossible to achieve maximum body strength without ambidexterity.

If the hips & back are a mess, then nothing significant can be done in athletics. Pain sources must be diagnosed, then released for any muscular rebuilding to occur. The epidemic problem of hip injuries has been discussed at length in earlier articles [1], as well as its rehabilitation protocol [2]. Applying ambidextrous sports training can help in this discovery and rehabilitation process, as the athlete is now opening up their entire body by using both sides repetitively & vigorously.

This article will speak in terms of right-handed being the ‘dominant & preferred’ side, and the left as being the ‘weak & off’ side, in order to maintain continuity. Lefties– reverse it.

Long-term statistical analysis of MLB records which go back over 100 years, prove conclusively that athletic peak is age 27. By the time a human has reached 30, he/she is well past that prime. Therefore any individual’s focus should shift from peak athletic achievement, towards maintaining health for life.

Most recreational athletes cease competitive activity by age 30, and have fallen apart by age 50. This is mostly because they never learned to be great athletes, and therefore have poor mechanics, even when it comes to their favorite sports. This leads to injuries which get progressively worse, then the breakdown of the dominant side of their body. Meanwhile, there is an unused left side which is neglecting into atrophy, yet in much healthier condition.

Games that can (and should) be used to develop ambidexterity include basketball, soccer & tennis. Any competent youth basketball or soccer coach will tell their kids they must be right & left-handed/footed, otherwise they are only half a player. Actually without these skills, you are less than half a player, as it is impossible to be fluid & powerful with an overdeveloped right side and an underdeveloped left side.

For a tennis player with tennis elbow or a right shoulder injury, putting a racket in their left hand and starting over is more than most macho maniacs can take, but it’s actually how to recover without surgery. Rotator cuff surgery is a sports-career wrecker, so it’s best to do everything possible to avoid it.

Ambidexterity starts with correct form and mechanics, which means taking it slowly to start, and using each training session as purposeful rehabilitation. This leads to steady improvements on BOTH sides of the body. The injured right side is being rested, while the once-atrophied left side is now being strengthened & honed. This develops better overall coordination with rapid improvements in mechanics, muscle gain & fat loss. Peak efficiency can now be approached, as previously-unused muscle groups now provide real work & stabilization. With a healthy & balanced body, much of the ‘thinking’ and ‘negative self-talk’ during competition goes away, and many of the previous performance problems are now solved.

Note: One of the biggest deterrents to ambidexterity for most athletes is their pride. Most male athletes have a HUGE fear of looking bad in front of others. When they stink in front of others, they shrivel up. This cuts them to the quick, which leads to the trash talking & carrying on you see everywhere today, all to deflect inadequacies. This type of ‘athlete’ will never attempt anything as serious as what I’m proposing. The point for these posers is to always look good on the field/court, at any cost, then cover up the rest with bullshit. As their saying goes, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you place the blame.”

The truth is, wherever there are sports injuries there are reasons. It’s usually either 1) traumatic injury, and/or 2) improper repetitive mechanics. The serious athlete needs to look at this left side as an unused canvas. This is their chance to start over (with experience & knowledge!), on a clean slate. As the athlete progresses with sustained focus, inefficiencies will inevitably show up and left-side muscular breakdowns will occur. These breakdowns need to be scrutinized as likely the same mistakes were made on the right side. This allows healing to flow back and forth, through the body. Every athlete should become a student of anatomy. There are so many muscles in the human body, with most of the focus on chest and extremities, to the point that the major core muscles (which really matter for functional strength), are often ignored– even by top athletes.

Sports are most enjoyed by its participants when they are a pain-free experience, or at least as much as possible. This means avoiding the chemical route and its nasty side-effects, many of which are unknown to the user until long after usage has ceased.

Today it is basically a consensus of elite athletes and their sports organizations which prefers surgeries & pharmacology as their primary injury-management tool. While there have been revolutionary advances in these scientific fields, their real-world application can be most-accurately defined as abusive over-prescription. The sheer number of surgeries for sports injuries, weight loss and other ‘cosmetic’ procedures is a complete disaster for consumers, who continue to be unhealthy at record-setting rates. Globally we now have a whole subgroup of people who are addicted to this culture, and this is presented as normal– even desirable, when in fact it is deeply pathological.

All surgeries contains inherent risk, including the most common risk-outcome of making the situation worse for the patient. Too often this is the result, as the cutting of bone, ligaments and cartilage (with its resultant scarring) is a common pathway to future disability. Eventually the surgeons say there’s nothing they can do, and it’s chronic pain as a daily reality.

The only way to avoid this and maintain any semblance of youth into middle age & beyond, is to follow these outlined recommendations, which are based on science. Nutrition, work/stress management, and exercise must all be balanced. As you become more ambidextrous, you will become more balanced in everything. This is the true path towards health & wisdom.

This ‘Fountain of Youth’ is inside of all of us, but it is only something one can achieve thorough due diligence & hard work. It means remaining pure of heart and being open to new ideas. It takes steady purpose and focused intelligence to push through the pain & ridicule one must endure to achieve ambidexterity, but once this status has been achieved, it outshines everything else.

Eventually we all give way into the eternal cosmic ash, but knowing that one was the best they could be is an existence to admire. As we age we are supposed to get wiser, but this only happens when we learn life’s most valuable lessons. Ambidexterity is a life skill, which means that it helps the individual in all things. Working towards this ideal balance & synergy brings out the best in our humanity.

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Pictures of Mosul

Posted on November 20, 2016 by admin

All photographs from Reuters, “Closing in on Mosul.” [1]

Most captions read something like: Shi’ite fighters fire artillery towards Islamic State militants during a battle with Islamic State militants on the outskirt of Tal Afar west of Mosul, Iraq. REUTERS/Photographer

Since titles & captions frame an image, here are a few of my own:

Business as Usual. Iraqi 'freedom fighters' clown the Western media during their 'battle with ISIS. REUTERS/Stringer

Business as usual, Iraqi ‘freedom fighters’ clown for the Western media during their ‘battle’ with ISIS REUTERS/Stringer

Iraqi special forces stupidity REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

War trenches as refugee encampments REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

The Road Warrior: Part 2016 REUTERS/Stringer

The ‘good guys’ fire their payload REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

No more parents REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

Inhumanity REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

Civilians targeted REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

Tigris ‘River Raid’ (Activision 1982/Pentagon 2016), courtesy of Stratfor/Airbus/Handout via REUTERS

Post ‘Election 2016’ notes: The Democratic party is a dead letter, now chloroforming the masses while handing the reins of power to fascism. Bernie Sanders as party head proves the complete bankruptcy of liberalism. Protests will continue to spread and their militancy will increase. Revolutionary activism needs to focus on bringing as many of these energized (yet demoralized) elements from the collapsed left into the politics of socialism.

On the right, the ruling class is divided on Donald Trump due to his egocentricity & unpredictable temperament. There are powerful deep-state figures who highly disprove of him, and predictably Trump doesn’t respect them either. That’s the focal point for a split on the right. Trotsky would define the incoming Trump administration as Bonapartist, due to its instability. That needs to be the Marxist theoretical basis for all revolutionary strategy in preparation for a permanent socialist revolution.

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Ric Size

Songwriter, Musician, Artist