Hobo Jungle

[webenda]

Video response to Rufus' current avatar.
http://youtu.be/fvPpAPIIZyo

[rogruth]

To me that video was strange.I did not understand it or the song[?].

[MurphOnMillerAve]

...I am reminded of coughing and sneezing after my coronary bypass surgery. It took four weeks for my sternum to fuse back together, during which time every cough or sneeze put me in danger of exploding like a suicide bomber. The pain was like being skewered with a burning sword. ...

This is stunning news. I had wanted to say something yesterday, Wayne, when I first read this, but had no idea what to say - how to let you know how sorry I am that you were so seriously ill. And that I am all the more glad to be able to converse with you and read your always -teresting perspectives here in our little neighborhood.

What I can say, now, is that I hope, most sincerely, that the surgery set you on a path of continuing strength and good health.
Murph

[rogruth]

Murph,

Very true.I need Wayne around to keep me straight.

[webenda]

To me that video was strange.I did not understand it or the song[?].

The opening lyrics remind me of such things as "The Wrong Theory of Flight" we were taught.

We don't need no education.
We don't need no thought control.
No dark sarcasm in the classroom.
Teacher leave them kids alone
Hey! Teacher! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

But, the meaning is far more sinister than that. Pink—a character inspired by Roger Waters' childhood experiences—is speaking out against the cruel teachers of his childhood whom he blames for contributing more bricks to his wall of mental illness.

The crossed hammers, a symbol of fascism, also symbolize tools capable of building a wall, but they are also capable of tearing a wall down.

The teacher is shown cramming children into the school house grinder to come out totally homogenized with no individualism left in them. Not one would even think to challenge "The Wrong Theory of Flight" after being "formed" by the school.

The teacher himself is shown as a puppet, being controlled by a higher authority. Reminds me of what J. Long said, "Nobody deliberately lied to us." Can we blame a puppet for what he teaches?

Does that help "understanding?"

[webenda]

Murph,

It was a long time ago. My grandfather, father and uncles all died around age 55 from heart attacks. I had my first angina attack at age 55. I was expecting it, but unexpectedly did not die. I did not even have a heart attack. Dr.Gulshan Sethi (a Tucson cardiac surgeon) bypassed seven blockages with four grafts and four weeks later I felt like I was eighteen again. I look at the whole thing as one of the grander adventures in my life.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

To me that video was strange.I did not understand it or the song[?].

The opening lyrics remind me of such things as "The Wrong Theory of Flight" we were taught.

We don't need no education.
We don't need no thought control.
No dark sarcasm in the classroom.
Teacher leave them kids alone
Hey! Teacher! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

But, the meaning is far more sinister than that. Pink—a character inspired by Roger Waters' childhood experiences—is speaking out against the cruel teachers of his childhood whom he blames for contributing more bricks to his wall of mental illness.

The crossed hammers, a symbol of fascism, also symbolize tools capable of building a wall, but they are also capable of tearing a wall down.

The teacher is shown cramming children into the school house grinder to come out totally homogenized with no individualism left in them. Not one would even think to challenge "The Wrong Theory of Flight" after being "formed" by the school.

The teacher himself is shown as a puppet, being controlled by a higher authority. Reminds me of what J. Long said, "Nobody deliberately lied to us." Can we blame a puppet for what he teaches?

Does that help "understanding?"

It would help to hear the entire recording of "The Wall", probably several times, to get the entire meaning and understand the full range of those childhood experiences. Watching the movie that was made as well, while challenging at times, is also illuminating.

One of my favorites.......along with Dark Side of the Moon, Wish you where here, Meddle, Animals..........

[rogruth]

Wayne and Rufus,

Yes,those explanations help a lot.One explanation from me,I have difficulty hearing lyrics most of the time.
I don't know who Pink is but understand the cruel teacher thing because I saw a lot of that during my teaching career.
Of course I could be wrong,but I don't think I was treated cruely by teachers,physically or mentally.

Never knew that crossed hammers stood for fascism.

My son will be visiting us Thanksgiving and I will ask him about this.Maybe he can explain some more.
I will also check the internet.

[webenda]

I don't know who Pink is...

Never knew that crossed hammers stood for fascism.

The Pink character was invented for The Wall album. Pink is the one trying to break out of the wall. The wall was his own invention, so only Pink can break out.

The crossed hammers were an invention of Gilmore and Waters to symbolize of the forces of oppression. They used the Faces, Hammer and Sickle and Swastika for inspiration.

Reference: http://www.thewallanalysis.com/main/tom ... rview.html

[rogruth]

Wayne,

That does help.I will need to read it again and listen more.

Myfirst impression on reading is that it tends to be anti-war which just about everything in pop culture at that time seemed to be to me.
I never got into this,too busy trying to make enough to support my family.This will be "out there" but I remember a lot of people that
saw current events considerably different from how I did.I lived in a college town from 1969 until 1975 and then in small southeast Georgia towns.
Quite a difference in the life styles.

[webenda]

It would help to hear the entire recording of "The Wall", probably several times, to get the entire meaning and understand the full range of those childhood experiences. Watching the movie that was made as well, while challenging at times, is also illuminating.

The movie is currently on YouTube, all 1 hour, 36 minuets, 7 seconds of it.

http://youtu.be/PQE3vcwU97g

Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Pink Floyd The Wall
Screenplay by Roger Waters
Pink played by Bob Geldof
Copyright 1982 by MGM/UA Entertainment Co.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Myfirst impression on reading is that it tends to be anti-war which just about everything in pop culture at that time seemed to be to me.

Album came out in Nov 1979.

"The Wall is a concept album and deals largely with themes of abandonment and personal isolation. It was first conceived during their 1977 In the Flesh Tour, when bassist and lyricist Roger Waters's frustration with the spectators' perceived boorishness became so acute that he imagined building a wall between the performers and audience. The album is a rock opera that centres on Pink, a character Waters modelled after himself, with some aspects based on the band's original leader, Syd Barrett. Pink's life experiences begin with the loss of his father during the Second World War, and continue with ridicule and abuse from his schoolteachers, an overprotective mother and finally, the breakdown of his marriage. All contribute to his eventual self-imposed isolation from society, represented by a metaphorical wall."

When the album was released, it was broadcast on the radio and I captured it on reel-to reel.........and listened to it repeatedly. Contains a multitude of musical styles and genres. The live performance in Berlin by Roger Waters is something to watch as well as they slowly build the wall on a huge outdoor stage having it evolve in size as the performances and "characters" come and go. The movie is harder to watch, yet I watched it again recently despite my thinking that I could not. Turned out I could not stop watching it.

[rogruth]

I will delve into this a little further primarily because of the interest shown by Wayne and Rufus.

[webenda]

Happy birthday Mitch.

Congratulations, you have reached an age where you can ask the
government to start paying back those FICA taxes they have been
taking from you since the first day you drew a paycheck.

Reference: http://www.cnbc.com/id/49675320
http://moneyover55.about.com/od/prereti ... slimit.htm
http://moneyover55.about.com/od/prereti ... yage62.htm
http://retireplan.about.com/od/socialse ... orking.htm

[MurphOnMillerAve]

I hope your birthday is marked by the happiness of good healing for yourself and your son. Be healthier every day.
Murph