Sanity Sunday- Four by Shirley Ellis

by Nomad

This Sanity Sunday throws the spotlight on the songs of Shirley Ellis.

Even though it is not reflected in her music, Ellis was of West Indian origin with her father was a native of Montserrat and her mother was born in the Bahamas.
She recorded only three albums in her career (with two later compilation albums).

• 1964: In Action
• 1965: The Name Game
• 1967: Sugar, Let's Shing a Ling

In 1968, for unknown reasons, Ellis retired from the music industry. Before she passed at the age of 76 in 2005, her music had experienced something of a revival, (or perhaps better put, an appreciation) with lots and lots of cover versions made by diverse artists.

Let's get to the music.

Prepare yourself for one wild dance number with the song "The Nitty Gritty."  Along with "The Clapping Song" and of course, "The Name Game," this 1963 song was one of her many novelty hits.

Want to Create Jobs in the Energy Sector? Just Stop Listening to Mr.Trump

by Nomad

Elimination of the Rules

Back in January, when Trump was fresh and full of spunk, he told Americans that he would be the "greatest job producer God has ever created." 
A couple of months later, when Trump was no longer so fresh and cared more about his golf time, he signed an executive decree calling on every federal agency to loosen the regulatory reins on fossil fuel industries.

Trump directed all departments to identify and target for elimination any rules that restrict U.S. production of energy, and he set guidance to make it more difficult to put future regulations in place on the coal, oil and natural gas industries.

Surrounded by burly coal miners, President Trump said.

"This is the start of a new era in American energy production and job creation. We will eliminate federal overreach, restore economic freedom and allow workers and companies to play on a level playing field for the first time in a long time, a long time."

In the name of making America great again, Trump has pulled out all stops domestically to handicap the growth of alternative energy and promoted the continuation of a carbon-dominated economy.

Trivia Quiz- The Last Week in July in History

by Nomad

As you all know, last week, I posted a quiz involving questions from the US naturalization application. I was happy- though not surprised- to hear about your high scores.

This week, I've decided to offer you something a bit more challenging- but certainly not impossible. The rules are simple. Make your best guess using your logic and intelligence, using the process of elimination, or using your memory.
Good luck!

Why One Veteran Journalist Warns about Comparing Watergate to Trump's Scandal

by Nomad

As we all grope blindly in the slimy darkness of the Trump scandal, it is perhaps natural that we attempt to make comparisons to the past, for some sort of precedent. And when the topic of a president in trouble arises, the first name that comes to mind is, of course, Nixon in the Watergate debacle.

However, one journalist who witnessed first-hand the presidential contortions and the political chess game back in the 1970s warns that comparisons are misleading for a variety of critical reasons.

Witness to Watergate

Politico's Susan Glasser interviewed veteran journalist Elizabeth Drew, a Washington correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly from 1967 to 1973. Drew was at ground zero when President Nixon's met his Waterloo and kept a real time record of the event. In 1975, she published her account of the Watergate scandal in her book, Washington Journal: The Events of 1973-74.

Her book was reprinted back in 2014 before Trump appeared as a serious presidential candidate. That book, for obvious reasons, is now selling like hotcakes.

Film Friday- "Made in Iowa"

by Nomad

When the main employer of Webster City, Iowa, (pop.8,070) closed down on March 31, 2011, nobody had much hope that the town would survive.

The Swedish appliance maker, Electrolux, like so many companies, had decided to shut its washer-dryer plant and move its production plant to Mexico.
By 2013, with the two-year the government-supported retraining program coming to an end, the news from Webster City was bleak, the future uncertain.

Can You Pass the US Naturalization Test?

by Nomad

Now for a quick diversion from the news.

As part of the process of naturalization for all foreign applicants, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers are obliged to ask at least ten questions from 100 questions. The questions cover basic government civics and the fundamental outlines of US history.

One would think that these questions ought to be a breeze for all American citizens. Want to give it a shot?

Even though I expect perfect scores from my nomadic brigade, I admit that there were a couple I didn't know and a couple I got the answer to only by elimination. 

Sanity Sunday - Four by Jim Croce

by Nomad

Even though they may not have ever realized it at that time, on 20 September 1973, music lovers lost a rising star. Upon takeoff from an airport in Natchitoches, La, the single-engine plane in which singer/songwriter Jim Croce and five others were riding failed to gain altitude and crashed.
All aboard died.

At the time, Croce was well on his way to fame and fortune.
Tragically, his career was abruptly cut short.

Born in South Philly on 10 January 1943, Croce learned music at an early age. For most of his short life, he struggled to earn a living and music was not a dependable profession. In an interview he once said:

"I've had to get in and out of music a couple of times, because music didn't always mean a living. You don't make that much in bars; I still have memories of those nights, playing for $25 a night, with nobody listening."

The Dangers of Living in an Arrogant Age

 by Nomad

The artist David Hockney once said:

We seem to live in an arrogant age; in fact, the idea that there's not much to learn from the past is rather disturbing. In some ways, we might say we do know more but we seem to have forgotten some things they knew in the past.   

It's an excellent observation, I think. I have no idea what the context of that remark actually was - most likely art- but it got me a bit nostalgic.

Dog Eat Dog: A Nomadic Film Review of "The Founder"

by Nomad

Sometimes it is nice to be outsmarted- at least, in the theater.
In real life, it's not so much fun.

Outsmarted is how I felt after watching the film "The Founder." Initially, the 2016 film appeared to be a 2-hour long advertisement (in story form) for the fast-food giant, McDonald's. I presumed it was a kind of publicity campaign to counter the highly critical "Super Size Me."

Sanity Sunday- Five by The Seekers

by Nomad

Formed in Melbourne in 1962, the Australian pop/folk group, The Seekers were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Cartoonists Take Aim at Trump and the G20 Summit

by Nomad

Good News Round-up for Week 1- July 2017

by Nomad

Starting this month, as a regular feature, I would like to offer a round-up of some recent  good news. For the sake of our sanity, it is important that we do not too bogged down in the mire and muck of the Trump age. It's easy to forget that the gloom is not global.
Here are five positive diversions.

Sanity Sunday- Five by 2Cellos

by Nomad

In my opinion, there's something incredibly seductive and expressive about the sound of the cello. So. what could be better than two cellos with two extremely gifted musicians playing them?

If you've never heard of the dual 2Cellos, allow me to introduce you. Both accomplished musicians independently, Croatian cellists Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, have become something of phenomena by pushing the cello to new levels and attracting new audiences.

Extortion of the Sick: How For-Profit Health Care Has Destroyed US Medical Care

by Nomad

In the past, an armed mugger would offer his victims a stark choice: "Your money or your life!"

That bleak option, in our times, has literally become the business model for the US health care system.

An Inescapable American Burden

Physician-turned-journalist Elisabeth Rosenthal, opens her new book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back, with these lines:

In the past quarter century, the American medical system has stopped focusing on health or even science. Instead, it attends more or less single-mindedly to its own profits.
Everyone knows the healthcare system is in disarray. We’ve grown numb to huge bills. We regard high prices as an inescapable American burden.