Spirit of the Road

Posted on November 10, 2014 by admin

Spirit of the Road

RS: guitar, bass, and vocal; TomP: percussion & production

Floridians are crazy about football (HS & NCAA), NASCAR, and golf. The Daytona 500 is the Great American Race; the annual Super Bowl of racing held every February– officially opening racing season. NASCAR is second, only to the NFL, among professional sports franchises in US television ratings.

People native to central Florida, know & love NASCAR.

I am nowhere near being the greatest driver ever; but I can handle a stick. Many of my former patients were/are huge racing fans, and knowing their sport helped me get them to relax. It often started a discussion, which allowed them to build a relationship of trust with a Yankee doctor.

As a general rule, southerners take racing & driving much more seriously than northerners. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is head-quartered in Daytona, FL; which dominates North American racing; asphalt & off-road. Founded in 1947/48 by Bill France, Sr. (and still majority owned & controlled by the France family), NASCAR controls the lion’s share of the $3.1 billion annual revenue the sport generates.

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is in Talladega, Alabama. This institution, built by Big Bill France in 1982, claims to be “dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to the sport of auto racing either as a driver, owner, developer or engineer.”

The vast majority (around 90%) of inductees are white American, predominantly NASCAR drivers; which mars this institution’s validity. Indy Car & Formula One racing have always been dominated by European & South American drivers, yet just two non-Americans have been enshrined into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame since 2003.

NASCAR’s modern era began in 1972, when it secured its first title sponsor, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. When big tobacco & distilleries were banned from television advertising; they quickly turned to NASCAR as a new promotional outlet for their target demographic.

–Yellow Flag! CAUTION!

In the midwest, there is low visibility with snow & sleet; along with icy roads in the winter.
Drivers learn to be cautious, because you can’t drive fast on ice; if you try, you end up in a snow-filled ditch. The good news: it’s a soft landing. The bad news: it’s an expensive tow bill, plus it sucks being the idiot everyone remembers as they slowly glide past you. When the trucks are all out, it can be quite a wait, so always have a warm blanket in the trunk.

–Green Flag! GO!

Different climates mean different rules. Down here it [usually] rains a lot in the summer; but that’s it, so people drive fast because they can. In Florida the unwritten driving rules were laid down by Dale Earnhardt #3– the “Intimidator.” His style was aggressive, as he would wreck other drivers just to win a race, then bullshit his way through the post-race interview; victimized drivers never bought it. Racing fans either loved him or hated him, as he was the Ty Cobb of racing.

The end came quickly & tragically for #3 at Daytona, on February 18, 2001; when he crashed into a wall and was killed instantly on impact, on the final lap of the Daytona 500. He had been continuously blocking faster cars during the final laps, in order to ensure a 1-2 finish for team members Michael Waltrip & Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Here’s the video with over 2 million views: pay attention to the replay at around 3:30, and decide for yourself.

–Black Flag! DISQUALIFICATION!

NASCAR is a serious sport, with a thin margin for error. For decades, NASCAR ignored & dismissed improvements in safety, citing them as “unnecessarily expensive.” The list of NASCAR drivers killed on the track includes: Earnhardt, Adam Petty, and Kenny Irwin– the latter both died just two months apart during practice, when their throttles stuck wide open, causing them to crash full speed into the wall of a turn. Driving 180-200 MPH can be a terrifying (and deadly) experience, unless the driver is in complete control of the vehicle.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series– October 13, 2000: Tony Roper’s Ford pick-up is pushed into a sudden hard-right turn, causing his truck to impact into a concrete wall at full speed. Tony Roper died the next day from his sustained injuries. Very few have the nerve, reflexes, and driving skill to safely compete at this level.

In the mid-2000s, NASCAR redesigned the racing vehicle with safety improvements; a higher roof, wider cockpit, and the driver seat located more towards the center of the vehicle. Earnhardt’s death in 2001 prompted NASCAR to require all drivers to use the “HANS” (Head And Neck Support) Device. This device keeps a driver’s head & neck from whip-lashing forward, in a wreck. Basilar skull fracture is the common cause of death in head-on car crashes.

–Pit Stop! REFUEL & CHECK CAR!

At race speeds, Sprint Cup cars average 5 MPG. NASCAR vehicles are unregulated by the EPA, and have no mufflers, catalytic converters, or other emission-control devices. Leaded fuel was banned in the US in the 1970’s, but not completely discontinued from the Sprint Cup series until 2008.

Many Florida drivers try to emulate their NASCAR heroes, on public streets & highways, everyday. Florida has the highest pedestrian casualty rate in the US. A popular local bumper-sticker reads “Watch for Motorcycles”, often found on 2-ton trucks that roar through neighborhoods creating pollution & roadkill. Check their fenders.

The predominant attitude on-the-road in Florida is: Me first! Tailgating, cutting-off other drivers, and angry driving are the leading causes of pedestrian deaths; along with texting and cell phone use while driving. It’s the distraction of attention that counts, so get your head out of your apps!

–Red Flag! STOP!

Streets, roads & highways only work right, if everyone cooperates and follows the rules– which we were all taught in Driver’s Ed:

1. Signals– every time; other drivers aren’t mind readers.
2. Lights– when raining, snowing, and at dusk until daybreak.
3. Seatbelts & helmets for motorcyclists.
4. Obey the speed limit, especially in city & residential areas; conversely, if you are holding up traffic– pull over and be considerate to let others through, while you take a minute to figure it out.
5. Don’t tailgate– it just makes slow drivers slower, and creates dangerous situations.

There are far too many drivers on the road, who have no idea where they are going or why? This confusion creates congestion & frustration for everyone. Figure out problems, before going into the real world. In the meantime, consider & use mass-transit or alternative options; as indecision is hazardous on the road– to the driver & others.

What is a car? Answers are in order of importance:

A car is a tool (as well as a symbol) for freedom of movement.
A car is the primary cause of global warming.
If money is owed on it, or insurance & maintenance need to be paid, etc.; a car is a liability.
A car is a status symbol; in what you drive, as well as HOW you drive.

–Pink Flag! GO DADDY GIRL!

I’m 10-10 on the side

Danica Patrick is the best thing that ever happened to NASCAR popularity, assuring her a spot in the field for as long as she feels competitive, to the derision of ‘purists.’ No other driver has autograph sessions that look like this:

Hardcore racing fans have been slow to come around to her, but she is a respectable driver. [1]

In NASCAR she’s a lower-tier driver with an A-team and fast car, who gets middling results, due to her age & lack of experience in this racing style. Any other NASCAR driver got a video this good?

Danica Patrick comes from Indy & Formula One open-wheel racing, where banging other cars isn’t allowed because of the narrow cockpit inside the wheels. The rule in open-wheel racing is to avoid contact as much as possible, because as soon as wheels touch at 220 MPH, there’s high risk of an accident. The number of drivers in an Indy car field is half of NASCAR’s, meaning more room for drivers. Open-wheel has more road race courses, which emphasize manoeuvrability, as compared to the all-out speed of the left-turn oval super speedways of NASCAR.

Patrick competed for years on the open-wheel circuit, and increased it’s popularity while changing its demographics. She is now past her athletic prime, learning a new, more reckless style of competitive racing– where cars have protective armor, and some ‘swapping paint’ is allowed at 200 MPH. Keeping the greasy side down & not wrecking others is enough for her fans, at this point.

Danica Patrick proves herself racing smart, by teaming up with Tony Stewart. “Smoke” is one of the best drivers ever, winning the Indy Series (1997), NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (2002, 05, & 11), and USAC National Midget Series championships. Stewart is one of two drivers (also J.J. Yeley in 2003) to ever win NASCAR’s “triple crown” [Silver Crown, Sprint Car, and Midget Car], which he did in the 1995 season. He has never won the Daytona 500, which is the only blemish on his ‘all-time greatest driver’ resume.

Dale Earnhardt, Sr. won 7 NASCAR series championships– most all-time [tied with Richard Petty]; and one Daytona 500 [to Petty’s seven]; with 76 career wins. Both hail from North Carolina. Petty’s 200 career wins is an unbreakable record, earning him the title– the “King.”

He & David Pearson dominated stock car racing in its early era.

David Pearson from South Carolina, won 3 stock car series championships (the only 3 years he ran a full schedule in his career), and one Daytona 500. The “Fox” won 105 races, second all-time to Petty’s 200; running in less than half of Petty’s total starts. Old-timers often consider David Pearson the best driver ever, and Richard Petty doesn’t seem to disagree anymore.

A. J. Foyt #14, like Stewart, was versatile; the only driver to ever win the Daytona 500 & the Indianapolis 500– which he won 4 times. “Super Tex” also won midget and other NASCAR dirt-track series. He is most fortunate to have survived at least three death-defying crashes.

Jimmie Johnson #48, is a 6-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, and 2-time Daytona 500 winner. Johnson is nearing the end of his incredible run, and currently has 69 career wins– the second-best active total, as of this writing.

Jeff Gordon #24, is a 4-time Sprint Cup champion, winning 3 Daytona 500’s.
He currently has 92 career wins, third all-time; and by far the most in the modern era (1972-present). Gordon is also the active iron-man leader for consecutive races, consecutive seasons winning a pole (22), and is NASCAR’s career-earnings leader.

Johnson & Gordon are from California, which is a problem for some NASCAR ‘purists,’ who prefer good ‘ol boy over pretty boy drivers. The Confederate flag is ubiquitous & synonymous with NASCAR, a symbolic barrier that separates traditional race fans from most newbies.

–White Flag! FINAL LAP!

Tony Stewart is from Indiana, and his total of 48 wins places him 3rd on the active career list. This accident was NOT his fault.

This is what happens when a hotheaded youngster runs into the middle of a live racetrack, instead of waiting until after the race to express his frustrations. Tony Stewart’s view was blocked by the #45 car that whizzes past Kevin Ward, Jr, just before Stewart comes sliding around the corner– with no chance to swerve around him.

Tony Stewart has publicly raised awareness among racing fans, concerning manipulative use by NASCAR officials, of suspiciously-timed caution flags. As Stewart has pointed out repeatedly: a race can be controlled in the tower, by the people who decide when to drop a yellow flag for “debris on the track,” etc…

Respect for Tony Stewart among all NASCAR drivers, helps protect teammate Danica Patrick (and ensure her fans), that no one will intentionally wreck her. That definitely wasn’t the case, when Patrick first started on the pole, at her first Daytona 500 in 2012.

This is precisely what NASCAR needed; as declining ticket sales due to the lack of good jobs, has hit their traditional fan-base the hardest. Danica Patrick (Beloit, Wisconsin) moves NASCAR into an entirely new demographic, that will challenge this sport in a way it has never been before. NASCAR needs the dollar$ too much to ignore her popularity. They also won’t be able to ignore the message of her more educated, more northern fan-base: safety first for everybody, fair racing– no wrecking, reducing noise pollution & emissions, eventually solar/renewable, etc…

To those who say, “Ban NASCAR and racing,” the answer is: “Get real!” NASCAR fans say, “Fuck you!”; then run you down on the road. Racing will NEVER be banned, because so many people EVERYWHERE passionately love it.

The strongest brand endorsement comes in NASCAR. These numbers tell you much of what you need to know about this sport; and the stat that jumps out is 66% of NASCAR fans are willing to PAY MORE for the product their favorite driver is sponsoring. This means a typical Jimmie Johnson fan will drive past a more convenient Home Depot, to spend his/her money across town at Lowe’s– even when it costs more to shop there.

–Checkered Flag! RACE OVER!

–Victory Lane! FINAL DISCUSSION!

Tim Richmond is the ultimate shooting star in modern NASCAR history, coming onto the scene as the 1980 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Richmond had only 13 victories during eight NASCAR seasons; but 7 came in 1986– best on the circuit, while finishing 3rd in points. Richmond was from Ohio, but his nickname was “Hollywood,” for his partying lifestyle; which led to him to contract HIV in 1986. He eventually became weakened by AIDS, and missed the Daytona 500 in February 1987. He competed in only eight races in 1987, and (incredibly) won twice before his final race in August.

In 1988, NASCAR banned Richmond’s comeback attempt; allegedly for testing positive for a banned substance. After NASCAR insisted on violating Richmond’s right to medical privacy, he withdrew from racing. Tim Richmond died of complications due to AIDS, in 1989. NASCAR later stated their original test was false.

NASCAR is often compared to the NBA, because the Daytona 500 & NBA All-Star game compete head-to-head for mid-February TV ratings. Every year, twice as many people tune into the Daytona 500, as compared to the NBA All-Star game. Racing & basketball are also contrasted as a ‘white’ sport versus a ‘black’ sport. This leads to parallels drawn between Tim “Hollywood” Richmond & Earvin “Magic” Johnson of the “Showtime” L.A. Lakers. Earvin Johnson acknowledged his problem, educated himself, and took corrective action.

NASCAR fans, that is how Magic survived. Let it be a lesson.

Re-edited w/ photo additions on 2-26-16

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Why I (We) Don’t Vote

Posted on November 4, 2014 by admin

The last time I voted was Bush v. Gore 2000.
For the record, I lived in Mount Dora, FL, and I cast my vote for Ralph Nader.
Who knows how it was counted?

Votes are now counted electronically.
It has been proven (over & over) that anyone can easily manipulate the software in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM’s), to intentionally miscount votes.
Both Democrats & Republicans do it in the districts they control, as much as they are allowed by the other party.
Three companies control 90+% of the EVM market– Sequoia, Diebold, ES&S.

Please Recycle

The 435 congressional seats up for grabs (the lower house of the legislature), represent a net-worth of $2 billion this time around.
Their money goes straight to Madison Avenue, which exclusively serves the interests of Wall Street.

Political advertising is void of serious content.
Attack campaigns are the Madison Avenue norm; reflecting their ideology of violence & hate, combined with ignorance & fear.

In this election cycle, there has been zero serious discussion of: US militarism & torture, domestic spying, police brutality, 20+% real unemployment, social inequality, global warming; or any other significant issue.

Over 60% of eligible U.S. voters will abstain on November 4; out of apathy, protest, or disgust.

Those are your early returns on the only numbers that matter in this election.

Zombieland Redux

Posted on October 31, 2014 by admin

Moneybug — Ric Size

RS: How’s the practice of dentistry going in Zombieland?

DDS: Not pretty. It’s always been difficult enough just doing the dentistry, but on top of everything else now, we’re dealing with the plague of the 21st century: a fast-acting virus that swells your brain; and makes you feverish, hateful & violent.

RS: It’s amazing how quickly things can go from bad– to total shit-storm. Tell us what happened?

DDS: Check out the photo…

Eustis, Zombieland

RS: Whoa, looks like zombie wasteland.

DDS: Actually, that’s just Eustis. I remember just minding my own business, practicing out of a 3-chair dental office, late in the summer of 2013. It had been the severest economic drought my local-area colleagues & I could ever recall, when an 18-year old black female emergency patient walked-in; needing an extraction of an abscessed upper molar. She was given an emergency treatment plan with complete fees, which were agreed upon by her & her partner; a 30-year old black male. Both had clusters of red-flag indicators for crack-cocaine use, which was spotted by my receptionist & myself. After the tooth was successfully & painlessly extracted, her partner (whom had left) returned to the office even more agitated– refusing to pay the bill my receptionist presented. I was forced to nut-up-or-shut-up, to an out-of-control individual who possibly/likely had a weapon in his vehicle. He finally relented and paid for services, but his anger continued & escalated as he left the parking lot. It shook everyone up, quite a bit. After that, I realized I couldn’t expose my staff and/or my patients to that, anymore.

RS: When friendly & affluent people are driven away by an economic apocalypse; and what’s left are mostly fucked-up monsters, then maybe it’s time to close the practice?

DDS: Exactly. Cutting emotional ties with my staff & the patients I cared for was a difficult decision. I LOVE my staff & auxiliary team. We had treated and gotten to know MANY real patients over the years, who made our lives infinitely richer for the experience; but I can’t expose them to the threats of ravenous zombies, just to make a living. Many of my long-time patients were shocked & saddened when I made the announcement, but my staff & I knew it was the right decision. It just didn’t make good fiscal sense for me to re-invest in a office in Zombieland. I’m a practicing locum tenens dentist now, and my headaches are much fewer. I still maintain the website for my practice at EustisFamilyDentist.com— totally zombie-free.

RS: That means you travel light, right?

DDS: Nothing but my duffel bag, and the new backpack I bought for carrying my dental tools; I’m pretty good about wearing seatbelts.

RS: It’s been 6+ years since those fuckin’ zombies who run Wall Street, flushed all the decent-paying jobs down the crapper– and there ain’t no gettin’ them back; how is dentistry different today?

DDS: At ground zero [September 15, 2008], most dentists still had steady-to-thriving practices, with plenty of patients who had good-enough paying jobs to afford regular treatment; including occasional restorative upgrades like crowns, bridges, and dental implants. After the financial crash, zombies began to outnumber people; and corporate dental chains undercut traditional solo family practices with their low-end retail approach. Many real people couldn’t afford actual dental care anymore, and the zombies couldn’t tell the difference. Many practitioners had already turned to meat, so a mass extinction of solo practices ensued. As you can see by the illustration above, I was caught up in the wash.

RS: Bummer. In my experience, any practice with more than two locations is a clinic, whose business model is low-cost/ high-volume production; are these the only jobs new dentists can expect to find in the market?

DDS: Yes. Debt for recent graduates is absurdly high; $250,000-$500,000 in many instances now. This puts young dentists on the corporate treadmill, just to make their monthly student loan payments; which can be $5-10+K/ month. Very few high-calibre private practices will hire recent graduates, as they don’t have the necessary skills or experience. Corporate dental chains offer around $150,000-$200,000 per year–depending on production. Getting paid that, isn’t even really guaranteed. Do the math: after repayment of student loan debt, there’s not much left for a fledgling dentist to live on. Today, corporate dentistry is wracked with over-capacity, poor morale, and an upside-down office model that will cause these corporate chains [Aspen, Christie, Coast, Heartland, etc…], to collapse like a house of cards when their day comes. Still, it’s amazing to see how far you can get with costume dentistry & a cut-throat attitude.

RS: Better fasten your seatbelts folks, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. How can young dentists be expected to learn their profession under such scorched-earth conditions?

DDS: They can’t, for the most part; even though evidence-based dentistry & the Internet have made these graduates smarter & more-prepared than ever for real-world practice. By today’s professional standards, dentists are physicians of the oral cavity & its surrounding structures; diagnosing and appropriately treating: tooth decay, gum disease, TMJ & occlusal diseases, oral cancer, etc. The erosion of the standard-of-care through the economic warfare policies of lenders, insurance giants, pharmaceutical/supply companies, etc.; has lowered the quality-of-care for most people, despite all the gains in science & technology. The only practices that are thriving now are the elite, boutique-style offices in the 90210-type districts. That represents about 1% of all the practices.

RS: So, how are you surviving in Zombieland?

DDS: I play it smart and follow the rules– My Rules. Rule # 1: Look yourself in the mirror, every day. Rule #2: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, everybody makes them– that’s why it’s called a practice– it’s how you manage them that counts. Rule #3: Flexibility & Core Strength. Rule #4: Enjoy the little things 🙂

RS: What are your thoughts on organized dentistry?

DDS: The American Dental Association (ADA) is an ossified bureaucracy, just like every other union. The ADA blocks information flow & open discussion on water fluoridation & amalgam safety— just to name two high-profile examples. Capitation insurance (HMO/DMO) has been allowed to eat away at working dentist’s bottom lines while lowering the quality-of-care to patients; as ADA careerists are wined-and-dined & perked by the insurance industry. Today most wet-gloved dentists are toiling longer & harder, for less. Most of these practitioners (80% ADA members) have no idea who the ADA president is? The ADA HQ is in Chicago, Zombieland. Its presidents are installed, and not constituency elected.

RS: I’ve heard there’s a place untouched by all of this…

DDS: Out west?

RS: Yeah. You heard that too?

DDS: Out mid-west (where I’m from), that say it’s better back east; back east they say it’s better out west–it’s all nonsense. You’re like the ‘patient’ who needs a root canal/crown vs. an extraction; arguing with me over Tylenol #3 vs. Oxycontin. I tell real patients after extractions that Tylenol #3 is what you use if Ibuprofen 800mg alone isn’t cutting the pain; most just take Ibuprofen. Those who take a few Tylenol # 3 as needed; often tell me they had to cut it in half, because it’s so strong it made them vomit. Narcotic-addicted zombies react with disappointment in their corpse-language when I hand them a script for twelve (12) Tylenol #3, which is the maximum number I prescribe. Their protests to my staff & myself always include: not strong enough, not enough, allergy to Ibuprofen & Tylenol #3 — but NKDA to every other strong synthetic opiate known to man, etc…

RS: Wow. People lying & getting in my face like that, would provoke me to make them feel how hard I could punch– even if it was just using words.

DDS: That’s a line that doctors are pulled towards by manipulators & other socio-paths– but can never be crossed. It’s one of the things that really sucks about being a professional in Zombieland.

RS: You seem to have a sick sense of humor when it comes to zombies; do you really hate them?

DDS: I’m beyond hate. This has become a war for survival– real people vs. zombies. We can’t co-exist, because zombies are completely selfish & irrational. If allowed, they will continue to munch on & defecate all over this Earth, until everything decays into a sea of pus. Once those of us who still think & feel understand that we are ALL orphans in Zombieland, and we come to realize it never really was OUR country to begin with; then we can achieve a permanent socialist revolution, because we truly have nothing to lose.

RS: Time to nut up or shut up; how do you get around & keep in shape?

DDS: I try to blend in– suits my style. I’m active and like to get out and do stuff. Zombies generally don’t mess with their own, so a goofy hat & sunglasses keeps me mostly under their radar. Occasionally, I can bike out to the courts to hit up against the wall; just enjoying the serenity of being the ball…

RS: You expressed that last thought very poetically.

DDS: That’s because I am you, pleased to meet me — LOVE our Music!!

RS: That’s why we do it. Thank you 🙂

DDS: So, have you considered a collaboration with Eddie Van Halen; any upcoming live shows?

RS: I would have loved to with Eddie, but he’s a zombie; as far as playing live goes– the promoters & venue owners are ALL hardcore zombies, who have it locked up to themselves pretty tight.

DDS: That totally blows…

RS: …my mind is wondering if you have any final, good-for-the-whole-family Pearls of Wisdom?

DDS: Just this: In those moments of doubt after you’ve eaten, when you can still feel the food in-between your teeth; don’t get all stingy with your floss. Just think, if those edentulous zombies had simply flossed, brushed, improvised with a toothpick, or even rinsed after meals; they could have avoided becoming dental cripples with plastic teeth that don’t work.

RS: Woulda/Coulda/Shoulda

This is Central Florida, signing off from Zombieland

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Moneybug– Ric Size

TomP: percussion, backing vocals & production
Craig Roy: bass
Jessica Lynn Martens: violin & backing vocals
RS: vocals & guitar

Hand claps by TomP, BeccaP & RS

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Derek Jeter & Respect

Posted on September 27, 2014 by admin

Derek Jeter: career .310/.377/.440 post-season: .308/.374/.465
Alex Rodriguez: career .299/.384/.558 post-season: .263/.369/.464

Alex Rodriguez was a much better SS, so the Captain should have moved to CF when A-Rod arrived.
This created friction, and egos clashed in NY.
In their time as teammates, they would only win one World Series– and that was on the shoulders of Alex Rodriguez in 2009.

These two great players have nearly identical career post-season batting value in the stats that matter most, which are OBP & SLG.
Jeter had the good fortune of being part of the nucleus of a Yankee dynasty, which accounts for their difference in championships.

All non-Yankee, true baseball fans respect Derek Jeter.
He respects the game, and apparently never used PEDs.
This is why he is loved by the fans, and A-Rod is not.
Let that be a lesson.

Music & the Medium

Posted on September 15, 2014 by admin

The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison in 1877.

The earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound were phonograph cylinders, made of wax and later– hard plastic.
They were replaced by disc records during the 1910’s.

A vinyl record is an analog sound storage medium, inscribed with a modulated spiral groove.
The groove starts near the periphery and ends near the center of the disc.
Phonograph records are generally described by:

1) Their diameter in inches: 12″, 10″, and 7″
2) Their rotational speed in Revolutions Per Minute (RPM): 33 1⁄3, 45, 78

The earliest rotational speeds varied widely.
Most records made from 1900–1925 were recorded at 74–82 RPM.

In 1925, 78.26 RPM was chosen as the industry standard.
After the 33 1/3’s & 45’s were introduced, these records became retroactively known as 78’s.

The 33 1⁄3 RPM LP (Long Play) format was developed and released by Columbia Records in 1948.
It was 12″ in diameter, and could hold 20-25 minutes of music on each side.

In response, RCA Victor introduced the 45 RPM format in 1949.
The 45 was 7″ in diameter, and could hold 5 minutes of music on each side, making it ideal as a singles format.

Post-war innovations in science & technology, along with industry cooperation on projects like RIAA equalization, cleared the way for major improvements in the quality of recorded music.

When rock & roll arrived in 1955, the 45 was the dominant medium.
This lasted until the mid-1960’s, when Album Oriented Rock (AOR) radio started to emerge.
All singles in the golden era of early rock & roll, were 2-3 minutes in length.
This was prescribed by commercial radio, which was (and still is) ruled by payola.

Elvis Presley had the most hit singles, making him the King of Rock & Roll.
A 45 had a ‘hit side’ and a ‘flip side’, offering an economical cross-section of the artist.
Any performer that could consistently rip up both sides, was considered a star.
Upstart independent record labels like Sun & Motown, built their empires on the 45 single.

The 33 1/3 LP of this age was used as a round-up of current singles, with the rest of the record usually padded with filler.
The modern LP album began in the early 1960’s, when artists such as Bob Dylan & the Beatles made records without filler.
The LP medium defined rock & popular music from the mid 1960’s until 1990, when it was replaced by the compact disc.

The 8-track tape was widely marketed in the US in the 1970’s, as a portable format, usable in an automobile tape deck.
8-Tracks had 4 programs/tape, and often would cut off songs to change programs.
Other major problems with the 8-track format included: severe wow & flutter, tape hiss, and the ribbon getting eaten by the deck; and was eliminated by the early 1980’s.

8-Track Cartridge

The cassette tape was brought to market in the early 1970s, and quickly became one of the dominant formats for prerecorded music, alongside the LP.
Additionally, when blank cassettes became widely available, fans finally had convenient means to record and share music with others.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), from the early 1970’s onward, consistently fought against the availability of high-quality blank cassette tapes; claiming piracy & lost artist revenues.

Automobile tape decks, boomboxes, and the Sony Walkman (1979) were all huge booms for cassette tape popularity.
From an audiophile perspective, limitations of the cassette tape format were similar to the 8-track; but their portability, along with the ability to home record, outweighed the inferior sound quality in comparison to LP records.
From a popularity standpoint, cassette tapes ruled the 1980’s.
Smart consumers with a good stereo system would buy the LP, which had superior fidelity and artwork; and then record it onto a blank cassette tape for portability.

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On August 1, 1981, incipient cable-television giant Viacom launched MTV.
It was part of a massive cultural revolution, in which cable would conquer television audiences with 24-hour-a-day programming in news (CNN), sports (ESPN), movies (HBO), and popular music (MTV), etc…

MTV was initially AOR-based, featuring only major-label artists.
During MTV’s early years, very few black artists outside of Michael Jackson & Prince were in their rotation.
When hip-hop & rap conquered white kids in the suburbs, black artists started appearing on MTV.

MTV was at its best when it played videos regularly, and had a formatted series for different music genres such as:

Yo! MTV Raps (rap/hip-hop: 1988-95)
Headbangers Ball (metal: 1987-95)
120 Minutes (alternative/college/indie: 1986-2000)

Teen-targeted series, The Real World debuted in 1992; and is commonly credited with launching the reality-TV genre.
Real World became a seismic cultural hit with kids, and began MTV’s evolution away from playing music videos.
From 1995 to 2000, MTV played 36.5% fewer music videos; and basically eliminated its video rotation by the mid-2000s.

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Advances in optical technology, and cooperation between industry leaders Phillips (Germany) & Sony (Japan); led to the introduction of the compact disc (CD) in 1982.
CD’s, for the first time, provided the consumer with a copy that was equivalent to the master recording.
Its 44khz sampling rate, 90db signal/noise ratio, and complete channels separation was a revolutionary improvement in sound quality for newly recorded music.
Unfortunately back catalogue CD re-issues tended to be of poor quality, as often master tapes weren’t located, in the industry rush to cash in on the CD boom.
Consumers were hyped into replacing their entire music collections on CD, and many did.
Hardcore vinyl supporters fought a losing battle against the record industry in the 1980’s, protesting poor-sounding CD’s with skimpy/shoddy packaging.
In the mid-to-late 1980’s, a record that cost $6, retailed for $12 on CD.

By 1990, vinyl was pulled from the shelves, and new releases had to be purchased in CD format.
Mega-chains then drove most of the neighborhood record shops out of business.
The mega-stores would follow them into bankruptcy in the 2000’s, when Amazon.com became the world’s largest Internet retailer.

By the end of the 1990’s, the record labels had merged into 4 major giants (Sony-BMG, Universal, EMI, & Warner), all of whom stuck it to the consumer for $20+ a CD for a new release.
CD singles were priced around $5.
Many, many back catalogue artists still hadn’t been revived on CD, meaning they were publicly inaccessible– since vinyl & cassettes had been deleted.

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Napster (1999-2002) was a pioneering peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing program, created by 19-year old Shawn Fanning & his young colleagues; they released it as freeware in 1999.
Running Napster on a computer allowed mp3-formatted music to be freely shared on the Internet.
Everything in music was suddenly available!
Napster was a lightning-fast program, and since music is emotionally-charged, it quickly revolutionized the Internet.

The RIAA acted as puppet masters, in recruiting superstar artists around Metallica & Dr. Dre to kill Napster over copyright infringement.
Napster was finally shut down by the courts in 2002.
This can be seen historically as the RIAA’s attempt to stop the Internet.
Today 95+% of copyrighted music online is shared & downloaded ‘illegally’, by Napster-like sites.

By 2010, industry revenues were half of their 2000 level.

Dominant industry models for the 5% of paid-for downloaded music, since the destruction of Napster have been:
YouTube— video streaming paid for by advertising
iTunes— pay per download
Internet Radio (Pandora, Last.fm, etc.)— advertising/fee-based subscription service, for automated-recommendation streaming
Spotify— advertising/fee-based subscription for catalogue streaming

YouTube is one of the most useful distribution channels for emerging artists, as videos are a powerful medium. YouTube & Google are useful resources for fans, as much of the history of recorded music can be found through their search engines.

Some superstar artists still choose to ban free content on these engines– and the kids just go to Pirate Bay, etc. It’s time these old-school dinosaurs & their labels realize: they’ve been paid. Classic rock has become so ubiquitous, it’s now devalued. Kids rightfully refuse to pay for it.

iTunes, Pandora, and Spotify are notorious for stiffing non-superstar artists. These services are strictly superstar promotional channels, and the latest format for re-selling old music to new consumers.

American Idol (AI) on FOX, largely defines mainstream popular music since 9/11.
Piloting on June 11, 2002, this live talent audition quickly became the most successful show in American television.
From 2003–11, AI was the #1 TV show in the US.

The model of AI was to create the illusion that fans actually had a say in the selection of superstar performers.
In 13 seasons, with billions of dollars in hype, this show has launched the idol careers of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, etc.; all of whom sing beautifully, but have little to say.

American Idol fits in well with the propaganda model of the post-9/11 world; by homogenizing culture, encouraging conformity, and de-valuing art.

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The upshot of all this is the record industry always opposes creative control for artists, as well as public freedom for fans to access and share music.
The CD is dead, so the future of music is FREE– therefore artists must change their relationship with fans.
For emerging artists, this means connecting with new fans directly; through a website with killer content, social media for fan interaction, and YouTube for video promotion, etc…

DIY artists seeking mainstream breakthrough should read Donald Passman’s classic All You Need to Know about the Music Business, in which this top entertainment lawyer describes the maze of pitfalls aspiring musicians are facing. Major labels now demand 360 deals, which make every aspect of an artist’s life industry property. In dealing with people in & around the music industry, lie spotting is an essential skill.

All of this means that musical artists, beyond creating new music, will have to become their own managers, publishers, webmasters, videographers, bloggers, and whatever else is necessary to connect with the world.

The technology is in place, ready to connect revolutionary artists with music lovers around the world– just plug yourself in.

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9/11: Connecting the Dots

Posted on September 11, 2014 by admin

[download label="Download 9-11"]http://ricsize.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/RicSize_911.mp3[/download]

Preface: The current US military re-entry into the second Iraq War (2003-11), should give us all pause to re-examine the events of 9/11 which have led to this crisis. The official US enemy is now the Islamic State in Iraq & Syria (ISIS). Just months earlier, ISIS was a US proxy in its joint effort to overthrow Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and before that Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. Such is the Orwellian logic of US imperialism, in which there are no permanent allies or enemies—only permanent interests.

The best available evidence overwhelmingly supports the 9-11 Truth position, which is: the events of 9/11 were a massive conspiracy against the American people by US deep state figures.
The list begins with Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Richard Perle, Richard Armitage, Paul Wolfowitz, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, John Ashcroft, etc…
It was a joint financial-elite/military operation, and its cover-up a bi-partisan political affair, from the top ranks down; with complete compliance from a corporatized media.

Dust samples from ground zero reveal traces of nanothermite, a military-grade pyrotechnic composition, which was likely used to facilitate a controlled demolition of the twin towers.
WTC Building 7 also collapsed later in the day, in the same manner, at near free-fall speed; even though it wasn’t struck by a plane.
Eyewitness testimonies from firefighters & survivors consistently refute the US government’s official conspiracy theory, which is:

Nineteen fanatical Arabs hijacked four US commercial flights, none of which ever emitted a distress signal, then disappeared from radar and flew unchallenged into the WTC twin towers and the Pentagon.
The most sophisticated and well-funded intelligence & security apparatus in human history had no inkling that any of this was about to happen, due to a failure to connect the dots.
Therefore, no US official is accountable for the events of 9/11.

Bush administration officials immediately blamed Al Qaeda & Saddam Hussein for the September 11th attacks, calling for an invasion.
Phony Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) claims were floated to the American public & the UN, as a pretext for war.
On March 19, 2003, despite the largest global anti-war protest in history a month earlier; shock & awe was unleashed on the people of Iraq.

By 2004, the Bush administration admitted there were never WMDs in Iraq, but the wars still continued…
Fallujah
Abu Ghraib
1,000,000 Iraqi’s dead
4,500+ US soldiers dead & forgotten.
Millions maimed and psychologically scarred in this dirty imperialist adventure.

Oil is the most important commodity in the modern world.
It surpassed cotton in the late 19th century, when the internal combustion engine became widespread throughout the industrialized world.
The US ruling-class interest in Iraq (and more generally, the Middle East) is simple: monopolize the most important resource in the world.

The true targets of the Middle East wars are China & Russia, who are considered strategic competitors.
The ruling class ‘thinking’ is to keep these competitors from getting the oil they need to help their economies grow.
The US has lost its position as the undisputed world’s economic superpower, and thus uses its military supremacy to maintain global dominance.

The same methods are now used to maintain rule at home.

Of course, the world can not be conquered militarily, so this ‘plan’ is complete madness.
It ends with either a permanent international workers’ revolution or mutually assured destruction, via nuclear weapons.

The events of 9/11 must be understood in this context for there to be any progress towards truth and ending the destructive capitalist policies of the ruling elite.
The deep state figures who led us into these conflicts, must be held accountable for their war crimes.
This is not merely an empty gesture, but rather a necessary step towards ensuring humanity’s survival.

Brothers [Official Video]

Posted on September 9, 2014 by admin

Another Chance: Hope and Health for the Alcoholic Family (1989) written by Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse, is a classic text on recovery for alcoholic families
Alcoholism is a family disease, in which everyone plays a role
Educate & recover yourself

TomP: percussion & production
Craig Roy: bass
RS: guitars & vocals
Video production by TomP; photo by RS
Copyright/Publishing– No Cliche Songs/Infinitelink Records 2014

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Modelling as Art

Posted on September 2, 2014 by admin

Anna Rex mp3
RS: gtr & vocal
TomP: percussion & production
Craig Roy: bass
Jessica Lynn Martens: violin

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What is art? A conscious creation of beauty.

What is modelling? A display of human beauty.

Modelling is never about perfection; it is about how flaws & imperfections are tastefully concealed and/or overcome.

The qualities of character & beauty are inseparable.

Men & women are beautiful when their appearances, words, and actions consciously point towards: intelligence, health, character, poise, strength, flexibility, youthfulness, happiness & love.
This requires the application of intellect & hard work.

Shortcuts that Don’t Work

Diets & pills: rebound & side effects
Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs): serious side effects
Cosmetic Surgery: morbidity
Throwing money at it: symptom of laziness & mental disorders

Beauty is Not

Airbrushed
Anorexic/bulimic
PED enhanced
Weaved hair
Heavy makeup
Loud fashion

Fashion

Create your own style and be 100% confident in it, otherwise people will know.
It should compliment your age, sex, body-type, skin color, and any other orientation…

A model represents their own personal version of human beauty– approaching, but never reaching perfection.
The human face & body have inspired the artist in all of us, throughout the millenia. Its interpretation is always subjective.

Golden Proportion Symmetry is a modern mathematical science of beauty, which has fundamental proportions in nature.
For instance in the human smile, the upper front teeth are ideally displayed in a width ratio of 1:1.618–called ‘phi’ in the language of math.
Leaves & petals exhibit these same mathematical ratios.

Leaves in Nature are in Golden Proportion

Human attractiveness is measured in overall proportion & symmetry, mostly importantly in the eyes & smile.
The teeth are the more controllable variable through preventive care, orthodontic/orthognathic correction, and cosmetic restorations.
A natural, healthy smile is always the most attractive– natural teeth (size, shape & color) compliment body type.
Gingival (gum) & osseous (bone) surgery can also improve health & appearance.
Home bleaching is safe & effective, when done correctly.
Patient compliance is always critical in any health–seek a competent & caring professional, and heal thyself!

Physical beauty is sustained by core strength & inner health.
We all have it in us to be beautiful.
If we don’t take care of ourselves, our health erodes quickly.
Beautiful people age well when they understand it as a process, working from the inside out.

Sleep is essential.
Not getting enough REM sleep, is a common problem in this modern industrialized world.

Diet is crucial– an epidemic U.S. health crisis.
Rate your Plate, means filling half your plate with fresh vegetables, with one quarter each, for lean proteins and carbohydrates.
Adjust your need for fats according to your body, any variance for indulgence (okay in moderation) is recognized as poor diet, requiring compensation.

Your choice of protein is a thoughtful personal decision, with its privacy respected by all.

Whole Food Diet

Avoid “dead food”, which is anything packaged in a can or box.
You can’t “stock up” on fresh fruits & vegetables for more than a few days.
Switch to organic dairy & local free-range from a real butcher, if meat is your preference.
Buy local: truck farming yields unripe GMO fruits & vegetables, lacking the natural sugars needed for energy boost & nutrients for health.

If you aren’t eating 5-7 servings of vegetables/day, then you must juice the difference to make it up.

Nutrient-dense food costs more, but its nutritional value is priceless; Americans on a budget, bombarded by mass-media hype are still struggling with that concept.
Knowing how to prepare & cook food, is always an essential skill for health & good living.
The unnaturalness of GMO corn subsidies for agri-business, along with the owning of copyrights to nature’s seeds, is fundamentally anti-democratic & nefarious.
The agri-business policy of ‘GMO-improved’ food, floods our grocery stores with a surplus of cheap, unhealthy food.
Seek alternatives for your benefit.

Health & Fitness Summary

1.) Diet: local, organic, fresh, whole foods
2.) Exercise: enough to meet your body-type needs, without over-training
3.) Sleep: get the REMs you need
4.) Recreational drugs & alcohol: okay in moderation–for adults only
5.) Sex: be active & safe

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Why Marxism?

Posted on August 25, 2014 by admin

Just Because mp3

RS: gtr & vocals
Tom Pearce: percussion & production
Bill Pelick: lead gtr & bass
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The economic level of all societies in human history is the foundation for its political & social culture.
Marxism is a scientific method for measuring & understanding capitalism.
Capitalism is the ever-evolving economic system we all live in.
Capitalism is about money & power, which are emotionally-charged interests for everyone.
Marxism provides an objective measurement of capitalism, by boiling everything down to its atomic root–the commodity.

All commodities can be thought of as a congealed amount of human labor.
Human labor creates all commodity value, which is measured in money.
A commodity is worth the money-amount of human labor it contains.

Human labor itself is a commodity; it is in fact the most unique & valuable of all commodities.
It is from the theft of worker labor-value, that the capitalist becomes rich & powerful.

All modern philosophical, political and social ideologies reject Marxism’s fundamental adherence to rational Enlightenment principles.
Marxism is also unique in embracing dialectics, which all bourgeois ideologies virulently oppose.
Dialectics is the study of motion & transformation, recognizing the significance of changes in quantity/quality, possibility/inevitability, etc…

For example: when a sufficient quantity of heat is added to water, it qualitatively changes form– turning into steam.
Revolutions are achieved in the same manner.

Marxist philosophy is dialectical materialism.
It recognizes matter [1] as primary, rejecting all variants of idealism; all of which inevitably introduce ‘god’ into their equation.
Marxists think dialectically, correctly interpreting deep-going economic, political, and social processes.

The greatest classical Marxist of the 20th century was Leon Trotsky.
Trotsky ranks second only to Karl Marx, in terms of socialism’s historical importance.
Trotsky collaborated with V.I. Lenin to achieve the first [and only] successful worker’s revolution in human history.
This revolution was strangled by a combination of imperialist encirclement after WW1, Russia’s historical backwardness, and critically by the lack of an industrialized ally in the west– namely Germany.

After WW1, reaction spread across the globe and revolutionary party leaders were exterminated by fascist death squads in Europe & China, or jailed in liberal democracies such as the US.
After Lenin’s incapacitation by stroke in 1923, Trotsky was isolated by a growing bureaucracy which was conservative & reactionary in nature.
The bureaucracy was ultimately embodied in Joseph Stalin, whose secret police murdered millions of old Bolsheviks & revolutionary fighters in the 1930’s, devouring the revolution from the inside.
It is still a testament to the power of socialist property relations & centralized state-planning, that a backwards & defeated Russia in 1917 would survive imperialism’s attempts to strangle their revolution; and still catapult itself to world superpower status under Stalinism– until the USSR’s final collapse in 1991.

As an alternative to Stalin’s ‘Socialism in One Country’, Trotsky posed his Theory of Permanent Revolution.
In essence it states, a revolution that achieves socialism will be permanent in nature.
This implies its international character; its permanence will prevent the growth of bureaucracies.
The workers of the world must own this revolution and be its caretaker.

Trotsky is the great unmentionable in official 20th-century history & political discourse.
His contributions include: planning & carrying out the Bolshevik revolution with Lenin’s Bolshevik party; forming & commanding the Red Army during the civil war (1918-22); and establishing the Left Opposition line in opposition to Stalin’s “Socialism in One Country.” Trotsky’s contributions were expunged and his character distorted in all the history textbooks composed by Stalin’s censors.
This exiled revolutionary found no asylum in the US or Europe, and was forced to flee to the third world as WW2 broke out.

One of Trotsky’s most far-sighted achievements was to build a 4th International.
Stalinism’s Communist Party [3rd International] had capitulated to fascism, allowing Adolph Hitler to take power in 1933, without firing a shot.
The 4th International was founded in Paris in 1938, two years before Trotsky was assassinated by an agent of Stalin– in Coyoacan, Mexico.

Trotsky’s life & writings still remain a target of gutter journalism, especially among the intelligentsia.
Their mainstream filth is easily exposed & refuted by Marxists, as the 4th International is still in existence.
Its daily organ is the World Socialist Web Site.

Dialectic Art

A boy wanted to be a rock star, so he learned music
To create new music, she had to become an artist
In becoming an artist, they became a revolution

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What are the Police?

Posted on August 22, 2014 by admin

There is much popular anger over the police atrocities against the people of Ferguson, Missouri.
What’s happening there is what goes on everyday in NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and any other large US metropolitan area.

Tactical officers fire tear gas into the crowd Ferguson MO 8-11-14

The #myNYPD hashtag campaign fiasco, only proved how out-of-touch the cops are with the population they claim to serve & protect.

The still-unexplained events of 9-11 and the reaction in its wake, allowed the ruling establishment to build a police state.
US military & CIA techniques of urban warfare, drones, death squads, and torture are all now in place at home.
Tanks, police in riot gear using tear gas, SWAT teams, and ‘black hole’ prison sites are now a living US reality.
Their use against its working people is a conscious class policy of the ruling elite, fronted today by president Barack Obama.

The political establishment in its entirety represents the largest stakeholders & CEO’s of Bank of America (CEO- Brian Moynihan), Walt Disney (CEO- Bob Iger), Microsoft (CEO- Satya Nadella), Exxon (CEO- Rex W. Tillerson), etc.; who are determined to maintain their inequality at any cost.
The philanthropy of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, etc., is a thin veneer to cover up their selfishness & ruthlessness.

The Boston Marathon lockdown of April, 2013 represented a watershed moment in American history; the first time one of its cities was placed under martial law.
Warrentless, mandatory house-to-house searches were conducted– in seeking a lone fugitive.
For an entire week, citizens of Boston were not allowed to freely move or assemble; as the FBI, police and the military controlled the city.

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While the police are a tool of the ruling class, it doesn’t take much insight to realize that most cops are themselves working class.
This is the revolutionary potential that must be harnessed by the working people.
Like the US military which has its conscious objectors, the police must also have those within its ranks who are disgusted with its state of affairs.
Police families have some of the highest incidences of alcoholism, domestic violence, and murder/suicides.
From this diseased institution, any healthy wheat must be separated from its rotten chaff, in order to seed a revolutionary people’s militia.

The working people must consciously fight to gain control of the police, wherever possible.
In places where police corruption is thorough, preparations must be made for resistance.
In these cases the population’s overwhelming numbers will be decisive in removing guns from the hands of these killers-with-badges, and putting them in jail where they belong.

Finally, the power behind the police needs to be disarmed.
These puppet masters are the real criminals, and they must be exposed.
Remember–the masters of capitalism will never voluntarily give up this fight, and they must be completely rooted out, arrested & tried before a jury of peers for their crimes against humanity.

Only then, will the police brutality cease.

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