Friday Notes on Passing Time

Another week in the books, almost another month in the books - and getting close to putting another year in the books. Yikes. Time passes. Yikes. Tomorrow is halloween, and I find my reaction against all the horror movie posts in recent years might have become an overreaction - nothing about horror films whatsoever on this blog! in three years! sad. Well - that will not last! As noted - there's another quiz to answer, and that should be forthcoming.

Meanwhile. Politics? Another Republican debate, another desperate scramble to find someone other than Trump or Ben Carson for the "Party" to get behind. It's Marco Rubio this time, I guess. With Jeb! Bush the designted whipping boy. And the Liberal Media! Maybe they should nominate the Liberal Media. This might be something like an argument for waiting until some actual voters cast some actual ballots before getting too worked up about elections... someone will get the nomination, probably neither Trump nor Carson, both of whom are pretty obviously in it to sell books. Whoever wins is going to lose in the general, assuming voters get out of bed on a Tuesday - presidential elections tend to draw good crowds - the voter suppression tacts are usually forced into the open and become an incentive to vote and so on. 60% turnout probably elects Hilary Clinton in a landslide. 50% or less is a more terrifying proposition. Possibly to the Republicans - it's hard to see exactly why they would want to win the presidency. They control the House, they can stagnate government without shutting it down (though they can raise money on making noise about shutting it down). They don't have to govern. Money will continue to be redistributed upward with a Democrat in the white house. If they can get Clinton elected, they will have perfect material for fundraising. They have to talk like that hate Hilary and Obama and liberals and such, and want to win every election - but not winning seems to give them a lot more. Nothing changes; the money flows - they are happy. It is all a grift. And even if it isn't, if they really believe it - what difference does it make? They still lose, and the money still comes in...

Okay: politics is a sad topic to hang a post on. Sports! The World Series is underway - I got the last round completely wrong, but those were cheering interests as much as predictions, and neither predictions or rooting were all that strong. Mets and Royals are both deserving teams, and I don't mind either. Now - Royals have jumped out 2-0, winning twice at home - 2-0 isn't insurmountable, but the Royals aren't known for giving up leads - they should carry it through. It's been noted this is the first time 2 expansion teams have met in a World Series - a bit shocking, when you think about it - the first time one of the original 16 hasn't made it to the Series? It is odd - it's still the old franchises that tend to boss the series. Since 1969, the Mets, Jays and Marlins have won it twice - the only expansion clubs to win that many. Since 2000, the Red Sox and Giants have won 3 each, Cards 2, Yankees 2; since 1969 - Yanks have won 7, A's 4; Reds 3, along with the Sox and Giants - granting that a lot of the expansion happened in the 90s, but still - a good chunk of those teams have been around 45 years or more, and not won a thing - Astros, Rangers, Nats, Padres, Brewers - not to mention the newer teams that haven't won... Interesting.

All right - music time:

1. Pylon - Crazy
2. Robert Johnson - Stop Breakin' Down Blues
3. Public enemy - Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos
4. Mudhoney - Dead Love
5. Jane's Addiction - Ocean Sized
6. Rush - The Camera Eye
7. Nation of Ulysses - Spectra Sonic Sound
8. Tom Waits - 9th and Hennepin
9. Frank Sinatra - Old Man River
10. REM - Shiny Happy People

All right - a couple videos to keep us going: Here's Pylon:



And maybe REM, rehearsing for SNL:



And as it is almost Halloween - Roky Erickson, with I Walked With a Zombie: