Monday, December 16, 2024

Monday's video: Trump news conference plus other stories

The strangers among us

The strangers among us: My friend Allan Wall brought this my attention. I'm not surprised that Mexicans don't like strangers in their cities who speak various languages. Check this out from Lauren Villagran at USA Today: Marta Castillo is angry…..
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My friend Allan Wall brought this my attention. I'm not surprised that Mexicans don't like strangers in their cities who speak various languages. Check this out from Lauren Villagran at USA Today:

Marta Castillo is angry about immigration. There are too many migrants in her town, she said, and they don't speak the language.

“We’ve been invaded,” she said, standing outside a restaurant where she works. “I changed my opinion (about them), because I live in a place where we didn’t see any of this. But now everywhere there are people who aren’t from here.”

Castillo is Mexican. She lives in Mexico. Like a growing number of her fellow citizens, she has become increasingly negative about the migrants who have poured into her community -- despite living in a country where millions of people have ties to someone who migrated to the United States.

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, he is demanding Mexico do more to crack down on the tens of thousands of migrants in Mexico who are headed for the U.S. border. He may find support in an unlikely corner -- among Mexicans themselves.

It wasn't long ago that most Mexicans could say they had family or a friend who had gone to "El Norte" to work or escape violence and insecurity. But the changing demographics of migration -- first the rise in the number of Central Americans, then Haitians, then Venezuelans, then people from all over the globe -- has hardened some Mexicans' views.

Seven in 10 Mexicans believe migrant flows into their country are "excessive," according to a survey by the nonprofit Oxfam Mexico published in 2023. More than half of respondents said they believe migration has a negative or no positive impact on the economy or culture, and 40% say migration in Mexico should be limited or prohibited.

 People from all over the globe -- that's the difference.

My conversations with Mexican friends confirm that this article is correct. They sympathize with people looking for a better life but resent the chaotic caravans bringing hundreds of people. It gets more confusing when they speak a different language or come from different cultures such as Haiti.

I guess that it proves that Mexicans are no different than we are. They want order not chaos.

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My guess is that "birthday boy Beethoven" would love Chuck Berry as much as we do!

Related image
We salute Ludwig Van Beethoven born in Vienna on this day in 1770.   

What would Beethoven think of Chuck Berry?   My guess is that he'd love him as much as we do.

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"Roll Over Beethoven"

Well gonna write a little letter
Gonna mail it to my local D.J.
It's a rocking little record
I want my jockey to play
Roll over Beethoven
Gotta hear it again today

You know my temperature's rising
And the jukebox blows a fuse
My heart beating rhythm
While my soul keeps singing the blues
Roll over Beethoven
And tell Tchaikovsky the news

I got a rocking pneumonia
I need a shot of rhythm and blues
I think I caught it off the writer
Sittin' down by the rhythm reviews
Roll over Beethoven
We're rockin' in two by two

Well if you feel it and like it
Well get your lover and reel and rock it
Roll it over and move on up
Just triffle further and reel and rock it
Roll it over
Roll over Beethoven
A rocking in two by two - Ooo

Well early in the morning
I'm a giving you the warning
Don't you step on my blue suede shoes
Hey diddle diddle
I'll play my fiddle
Ain't got nothing to lose
Roll over Beethoven
And tell Tchaikovsky the news

You know she wiggles like a glow worm
Dance like a spinning top
She's got a crazy partner
Oughta see them reel an rock
Long as she's got a dime
The music will never stop
Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven
Dig to these rhythm and blues


"Gone with the wind" and American history

(My  new American Thinker post)

A few days ago, someone wrote a column suggesting that the movie Gone with the Wind should go away like the Confederate flag. 

Is the movie racist because it tells the story of the Civil War from a Southern perspective?  

Or because it shows scenes with the Confederate flag?

I don't think so, but calling everyone and everything racist goes on just a bit too much in our country today.

Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind was published this week in 1936.  It is the story of a Southern woman caught up in the Civil War, from the days of plantations and chivalry to the bloody war and its aftermath.

I read the book and have seen the movie often.  I never felt that it was racist or pretended to be. 

It is the story of a family living in the South.  

How can you tell the story of a plantation owner (and family) without bringing up slavery?  

Gone with the Wind
 brought the U.S. Civil War to millions around the world who read the various translations of the book.


The story also confirms that many Southerners were very passionate about states' rights.  (I should add that the Founding Fathers were also very passionate about states' rights, a fact that gets overlooked in the way that we teach U.S. history today.)

My introduction to the story was hearing about it from my grandmother, who read the Spanish version in Cuba – i.e. Lo que el viento se llevó.  

She told me about the plantations and all of those things that made the South different.  She also told me how Cuba also had slaves to work in the sugar plantations.

Before we go PC crazy and start deleting books and symbols, let's remember that novels often teach a lot of history.

For example. Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls introduced many English-speaking readers to the Spanish Civil War of the late 1930s.  It presented the brutal nature of a civil war, where families fight each other and armies bomb their own people.

Gone with the Wind is part of the American story.  Let's count to ten before we start erasing symbols and burning books.  

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A little early stuff from The Brothers Gibb


The Bee Gees celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2010.

Back in 1960, Barry (14) and his brothers (11 yr old twins) started singing around clubs in Australia. They eventually found their way to radio, TV and a recording studio.

Today, we recall some of those tunes.

Some of these songs were written and recorded when the brothers were teenagers.

These songs were early signs of big things to come.....specially the songwriting and tight harmonies.

Success came in the spring of '67.....they exploded with "New York Mining Disaster", their first international hit! It was followed by "To love somebody", "Holiday" and a Top 10 LP.

Today, we remember some of that early repertoire available in a couple of CD's released as LP's in 1968 and 1969.

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Music from the very young Gibb brothers!

In early 1967, Barry (20 years old), Maurice and Robin (17 year old twins) walked around London looking for a recording contract.

They brought with them a collection of songs recorded in Australia.

The Gibb brothers finally aligned with Robert Stigwood.

By the end of 1967, The Bee Gees had 3 big international hits ("NY Mining Disaster", "To love somebody" and "Holiday") and a best selling album.

What caught Robert Stigwood's fancy about the singing brothers?

It had to be those songs that the guys recorded in Australia.

A few years ago, a CD of early Bee Gees' tunes was released. It was the CD version of a couple of LPs released years before.

What's significant about these tunes? The answer is that you can hear the wonderful Gibb harmonies and songwriting skills.




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