ChrisWeigant.com

It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times

[ Posted Friday, August 28th, 2020 – 17:52 UTC ]

Is it over yet?

No, really, this has to be it... it's gotta be over now... right?

Not unlike experiencing the end of The Lord Of The Rings for the first time, last night I watched President Donald Trump give the longest convention acceptance speech in modern history (with the only possible other contender being Trump's 2016 speech) while continually wondering (from about ten past the hour onwards) when he would begin to wrap it up. Several times I was convinced he had done so... but then he just kept on talking. I mean, Frodo's safely back in the Shire, so it's got to be the end, right?

To put it another way, at the end of the marathon two-week stretch of watching political conventions, we had to experience one final marathon of a speech. No wonder I find myself so exhausted today.

Trump's speech continued the schizophrenic theme that had been on display all week long. I think I've finally latched onto the correct literary reference to describe the Republican National Convention, after four days of disjointed contradictions. At first, I thought the Orwellian term "doublethink" was the way to go, but upon further reflection I decided to go full Dickensian: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." That was the GOP message in full, over the course of four days. The whole opening sentence (complete with some Trumpian capitalization) is worth repeating, in fact:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

Alexandra Petri, the resident satirist at the Washington Post, channelled her own inner Dickens to expound upon the theme of Trump's speech at length (her whole article is downright hilarious and well worth a read):

To make America great again, again, you must vote for Donald Trump!

If you think things are bad now under Donald Trump, vote for Donald Trump, who will fix things. The chaos will continue unless you vote for Donald Trump, who will bring needed change by serving another term as president.

Any bad things happening now were sent by Joe Biden, from the future. Do not be fooled by the fact that they are happening in the present, when Donald Trump is president. They are not happening now; they are a preview of what will happen when Joe Biden is president.

. . .

Most of all, Joe Biden wants to destroy America's greatness. (Greatness is what we have right now, under Donald Trump, but also don't have yet, but will definitely have in the future.) Joe Biden will never create jobs, the way Donald Trump has, by first presiding over the loss of millions of them.

Under Donald Trump, America has never been safer. It has also never been more dangerous. We must elect Donald Trump to make us safe again, which he has already made us, never more than we are now, although we also aren't, and won't be, unless we elect him! If you see.

I liked that: "Any bad things happening now were sent by Joe Biden, from the future" line best, personally. My entire convention wrap-up article yesterday tried to make this very point, but she nailed it better than I managed, in a single sentence.

At the 2016 Republican National Convention, Donald Trump confidently told the nation: "I alone can fix it." Didn't matter what "it" was -- The Donald was the one who was going to make everything great again. Which might lead one to ask, four years later, why hasn't Trump fixed it all already? Why have things been getting so noticeably worse?

Ah, but now Trump's go-to line has been replaced with: "I don't take responsibility at all." This mental whiplash has been at the core of his entire presidency -- take all the credit for anything positive that happens anywhere (whether you had anything to do with it or not), and shove all the blame for anything negative off onto others (any others will do, as long as they are not named "Donald Trump"). The buck stops anywhere Donald Trump says it stops, in other word. This was on glaring display last night, as it had been all week.

In Trump's 70-minute speech, the Post fact-checkers took issue with 25 of his claims -- and those were just the major lies he told. This works out to roughly one Big Lie every three minutes or so. Many of these lies were told about the caricature of Joe Biden that Trump has built up in his own mind, in the hopes that millions of suburban women will buy into his nightmarish misrepresentation of a man who is actually a pretty run-of-the-mill centrist Democrat, ideologically speaking.

Joe Biden, we were told, has done nothing in his 47 years in politics. Except that Joe Biden was personally responsible for everything Democrats did over that period, because he was the puppetmaster behind the scenes pulling the strings of every other Democrat (up to and including Barack Obama), in order to achieve all the nefarious policy goals Biden had set out. Except that Joe Biden is now the puppet, whose strings are being pulled by the radical left. Joe Biden is responsible for mass incarceration of Black people, at the same time that Joe Biden wants to abolish the police and let all the criminals roam free (and move in next to you, in suburbia). Joe Biden is a sleepy and doddering old man who will absolutely and completely dominate all aspects of every American's life if he gets elected. Joe Biden will force everyone to hide in their basement and accept government checks (whether they want them or not), but Joe Biden will also destroy the suburbs. Joe Biden hasn't passed much legislation in his 47 years, but once he's president, the Green New Deal and open borders (and all sorts of other scary things) will become law on Day One. Joe Biden is against science when it comes to fighting the coronavirus, at the same time that Joe Biden will shut America down because the scientists told him to do so. Joe Biden will recklessly take America into any number of new foreign wars, but Joe Biden was too chicken to go after Osama Bin Laden and refused to take on ISIS. Biden will cheer on the American carnage in the streets -- the very same carnage Trump explicitly promised in his own inauguration speech would simply never exist on Trump's watch. Oh, and Joe Biden will ban hamburgers. Can't forget that one.

In other words, it was the best of Joe Biden, it was the worst of Joe Biden. All in one. A Tale Of Two Bidens, as it were.

But the worst aspect of Trump's speech wasn't actually all the doublethink and mental whiplash, it was that the whole thing was so downright boring. Trump got his live audience (although much smaller than he had wished), he got the majestic background of the White House, and he had more flags than have ever been seen on a single stage before -- and he simply could not rise to the occasion.

He used his usual "hostage video" speech cadence throughout. In four years' time, Trump has utterly failed to learn how to effectively speak off a TelePrompTer script. There were no wild forays into ad-libbing (or not many of them, at any rate), which is what usually gets his rally crowds whipped up. There was no freewheeling rants about anything that hadn't been in the prepared remarks. And to Trump, those lively bits are what usually makes his speeches so high-energy and crowd-pleasing. But they were almost entirely absent last night.

Trump read every line like a fifth-grader struggling to recite a poem. Worse, in fact, because Trump would fade away and bring his voice down in register at the end of every single sentence. This is the exact opposite of what an orator is supposed to do to build excitement in the crowd. Some obvious intended applause lines fell flatter than a pancake, due to Trump's somnolent delivery. Even Fox News commenters noticed, and proclaimed the speech long and boring afterwards, in fact, so this isn't just my own biased opinion.

Trump only got animated during one ten-minute segment towards the end, one of the ones where he was attacking Biden for all sorts of perceived evils. But then he went right back to sleep. There was a whole portion at the very end (I could have sworn Frodo was already back in the Shire!) that was obviously intended to be a rousing reminder of the greatness of America throughout history (I simply wrote: "Westward ho!" in my notes for this segment), but Trump destroyed any of the soaring nature the authors had quite obviously intended, by falling back into a droning monotone and fading off at the end of every sentence.

The crowd itself was pretty disappointing, too. The applause was strained, and at times nonexistent. Chants ("Four more years!", "U-S-A!") were attempted, but only one of them really got off the ground at all. There was no high energy from the crowd at all for Trump to feed off of. No wonder he really wanted a crowd of tens of thousands -- the difference was notable. But it wasn't even as lively as one of his airport-tarmac mini-rallies, so perhaps it wasn't just the small size of the audience as the fact that it just wasn't that energetic at all.

We'll have to see what the public at large thought about it, though. Halfway through the proceedings last night, the ratings for the second and third days were released, and they notably lagged the Democrats' high-water marks. Day Two: 18 million viewers watched Melania Trump, while 18.6 million watched Jill Biden speak. Day Three was even worse: 16.2 million watched Kamala Harris give her speech, while only a paltry 10.5 million tuned in to see Mike Pence. If the fourth night's viewership is down, too, then the Democrats will have swept all four nights of the conventions' ratings -- which is, of course, the one measurement that Donald Trump cares about the most. How embarrassing!

There was some comic relief from last night's performance. After four nights of Black people insisting the same thing over and over again ("Donald Trump is not a racist!"), I found myself reacting in Shakespearean fashion: "The president doth protest too much, methinks."

On a similar subject, Trump repeated a real knee-slapper that he's been using for a while last night, that he's "done more for Black people than any president since Abraham Lincoln." Hoo boy -- I think the ghosts of Lyndon Johnson and Harry Truman might have something to say about that one, personally. At least he used the formulation "since Abraham Lincoln" last night -- at times, Trump has even claimed he's done more for Blacks than even Honest Abe (who freed them from slavery). You can tell that, in his own mind, Trump puts himself at the absolute top of this presidential heap, but also that he's realized that claiming this to be true causes riotous laughter among Black people, so he'll have to settle (in public) for taking a back seat to Lincoln.

The late-night comedians (the ones I watched, at least) didn't pick up on it last night, but Trump had at least one verbal stumble reading off the TelePrompTer. He was making some point or another about all the scary Black people rioting in the suburbs or something (my notes don't fully indicate), towards the end of his marathon speech, when he said people would be moving into "Waldorf compounds." Um... the Waldorf-Astoria is building mini-mansions now? Or maybe they're communes for people who only eat a particular kind of salad? Who knew? I think Trump was trying for "walled-off compounds," but to my ears, he distinctly missed that mark.

But the biggest whopper of the night came from Sleepy Ben Carson, who (I have to laugh even as I type this) tried to get us all to believe that: "President Trump does not dabble in identity politics." To which I say: "BWAH hah hah! That was a good one, Ben!" Much like Trump's wife being against online bullying, I would direct Secretary Carson to pretty much any one day's Twitter output from Trump. Pick a day, any day, and there will be multiple examples of Trump doing one heck of a lot more than "dabbling" in identity politics. To say nothing of trying to "cancel" people whose opinion's he doesn't like.

OK, I have to admit that I'm now tired of writing about Trump, Trump's speech, and the Tale of Two Bidens, so I'll just quickly wrap this up (and then go take a shower). Did I find anything about last night impressive? Yes... yes I did. That fireworks display at the end had some astonishing displays. Being an aficionado of fireworks, I've been incredibly impressed at the advances made over the past decade or so, but I've never seen anything as impressive as "TRUMP" and then "2020" being written in fire across the sky. That was pretty good, I have to admit. But just on a technical appreciation of fireworks level, mind you.

Now that the conventions are over the campaign has truly begun. The 2020 election is going to be one unlike any we've ever seen before, on many levels. So I'll just end where I began, by quoting Charles Dickens once again:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

Is it November 3rd yet? Can't get here fast enough, as far as I'm concerned....

-- Chris Weigant

 

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant

 

94 Comments on “It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times”

  1. [1] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    but now Trump's go-to line has been replaced with: "I don't take responsibility at all."

    In all fairness, Fat Donny also said "I take responsibility always for everything".

    He forgot to look before leaping both times.

  2. [2] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    Trump has utterly failed to learn how to effectively speak off a TelePrompTer script.

    He's a geezer. He needs to wear his glasses, but that would make him look weak (unlike thee world's worst comb-over and 100 pounds of fast food blubber).

  3. [3] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    I have to say that my favorite moment from the RNC came last night when Rudy Ghouliani wiped his sweaty forehead with a hanky and then wiped his hand
    on some woman’s arm. I don’t know who she was, but she was seated right next to him, so she was willingly flirting with disaster. Maybe she was an escort or his cousin. Maybe vampire sweat turns her on. She didn’t seem to be grossed out about sitting next to him.

    Coronavirus? What coronavirus?

  4. [4] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    I mean, Frodo's safely back in the Shire, so it's got to be the end, right?

    Nope, Frodo ain't safe back in the Shire, cuz anarchist/BLM/antifa folk are invading a suburb near you! Aaaand...a suburb near Frodo for that matter

  5. [5] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    And I just found out today that George Soros is not only paying for these agitators to mess with Portland, but he's putting them up in FIRST CLASS hotels all the while

  6. [6] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    Goddamn Socialist Venezuela (whoops...I meant George Soros) shouldn't be allowed to mess with us! And stuff

  7. [7] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    I can't find Big Money Joe's plan for abolishing the suburbs. I don't know if I'm on board for that. What's he gonna do with the refugees? Does anybody have a link?

  8. [8] 
    MyVoice wrote:

    [7] John From Censornati

    Don't be silly, JFC. Those who reeeally need to maintain social distancing from lesser peoples will just decamp to another of their homes. Sleepy Joe can't ruin every suburb on Day 1.

  9. [9] 
    goode trickle wrote:

    CW-

    Have to disagree on the "sky trash" (as friend in the biz calls less than stellar fireworks) from last night.

    You must have missed the KFOG Skyconcert ( before they were sued and had to change to Kaboom) where we did the golden gate bridge and 3 dimensional dice as well as playing cards.

    Any yahoo can do fountains, ellipse, ellipse, jubilee, fountain, trump, fountains, jubiliee, trump, ect. ect.

    In all fairness Biden's were not any better, so...

  10. [10] 
    goode trickle wrote:

    Is it too soon to remember the famous press conference where trump said :

    "if you're running for president you shouldn't be allowed to use teleprompters."

    Just asking for a friend.

  11. [11] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    UTC ]
    [10]

    goode trickle wrote:


    Is it too soon to remember the famous press conference where trump said :

    "if you're running for president you shouldn't be allowed to use teleprompters."

    Just asking for a friend

    Well I, um, asked a friend and s/he said, "It's too early. November is two plus months away."

  12. [12] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Chris,

    You deserve a medal ... or, something.

    :-)

  13. [13] 
    John M from Ct. wrote:

    "I have to admit that I'm now tired of writing about Trump, Trump's speech, and the Tale of Two Bidens..."

    And I'm tired of reading about them.

    Again, thanks for the effort, you're a pundit's pundit for putting in the time. But what is the point of minutely-detailed coverage of the party conventions, when (1) this year, they're not even live events, so that there is no intra-party schmoozing going on behind the scenes, no smoke-filled rooms that change history, and no consequent opportunity for astute journalists to cover real stories about the changing future of the party, etc., etc.; and (2) no one is watching them expect party loyalists who are not going to change their minds about their respective nominees?

  14. [14] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    And I'm tired of reading about them.,/i>

    Heh.

  15. [15] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Sigh.

  16. [16] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    i still want the family feud buzzer complete with a big... well, for lack of a better term, "x-box"

  17. [17] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    This just in...

    Trump’s speech brought in 19.85 million total viewers, the ratings firm announced Friday, compared with 21.8 million for Biden.

    A sweep! Four nights of beating the GOP in the one category Trump actually cares about: ratings.

    As Colbert said on his show last night, "the Germans have a word for what I'm experiencing right now: shaden-gasm."

    Heh.

    -CW

  18. [18] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    shaden-gasm?

    Nice of you come join me here on the Dark Side.

  19. [19] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    John From Censornati [3] -

    Missed that. I'm ready for SNL to start up again...

    I thought about adding a line in the above article, something along the lines of: "And then Rudy Giuliani gave a weather report from Mordor, or something..." but thought the LOTR references were already enough.

    Heh.

    MtnCaddy [4] -

    "Sauron will invade the Shire soon, under a Biden administration!"

    Heh.

    JFC [7] -

    Yeah, but just think of all the bulldozer jobs Biden would create!

    goode trickle [9] -

    I've seen stars, happy faces, and even a US flag, but never seen 3D dice or playing cards, must admit.

    Hey, what the HECK did happen to KFOG? I mean, seriously! I loved them for like 25 years, and a few years back drove up to SF and instead of "10 at 10," and The Toys ("I Smoke Two Joints") kicking off every weekend at 5:00 PM every Friday, I got some sort of aural trash coming out of my radio.

    Is nothing sacred? I mean, really...

    LizM [12] -

    I believe that should read: "...deserve a good stiff drink..."

    That's what I got, at any rate, after it was all over. That, and a shower.

    :-)

    John M from Ct. [13] -

    Here's my stock answer: "I watch them so you don't have to."

    Seriously, though, what was I supposed to do, ignore them? The novelty of the format was enough to draw me in, personally.

    nypoet22 [16] -

    I had a friend at college who used to interrupt with a very loud: "BZZZZT!!! Thanks for playing..." which, to me, was the aural equivalent of the FF "X-box" (nice word coinage, there, by the way...). He got us all saying it, and I still use it to this day, in fact.

    :-)

    OK, that's all I'm doing tonight, but I promise to try to dig through all the last two weeks worth of comments in the next few days -- I've been so exhausted by the marathon that I haven't had the energy, sorry.

    -CW

  20. [20] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    MtnCaddy [18] -

    Maybe that should be "schadengasm"? I'd have to check the spelling...

    Heh.

    -CW

  21. [21] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    Sorry, that should have been "The Toyes."

    For those who weren't lucky enough to have turned on the radio in San Francisco on Fridays for the past 30-35 years or so, here's a link:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUsv4Lb7EQs

    :-)

    "I knew you were going to say that!"

    Heh.

    -CW

  22. [22] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Chris, I trust you made it a double ... double ,,,

  23. [23] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    LizM -

    Have no fear, as Dean Wormer recommended, it was a double-secret double.

    Trump (especially when pondering his remarks on what an important part Ft. McHenry played in the American Revolution) often reminds me of Bluto's immortal words:

    Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!

    Heh.

    -CW

  24. [24] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    I hope everyone comes to the CW Sunday Night Music Festival and Dance Party this Sunday evening ...

    ... there will be music from the Black Panther, in loving memory of Chadwick Boseman and some new STYX and some fun Mick Jagger!

  25. [25] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Needed that laugh! Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehe

  26. [26] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    OK, one last comment, just to put the cat among the pigeons, as it were...

    From an article I'm reading right now, on Trump's misstep by demonizing USPS:

    Our mail system has a 91 percent approval rating, according to a Pew Research Center poll released in April. In these fractious times, nothing has a 91 percent approval rating. Trump might as well have attacked kittens or pie.

    [Beavis and Butthead voice]: "Heh heh heh... he said pie... heh heh."

    You're welcome...

    :-)

    -CW

  27. [27] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Thanks for that!

  28. [28] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    And, let's have some more Bob Marley Sunday evening, too!

  29. [29] 
    Kick wrote:

    Chris Weigant

    He was making some point or another about all the scary Black people rioting in the suburbs or something (my notes don't fully indicate), towards the end of his marathon speech, when he said people would be moving into "Waldorf compounds." Um... the Waldorf-Astoria is building mini-mansions now? Or maybe they're communes for people who only eat a particular kind of salad? Who knew? I think Trump was trying for "walled-off compounds," but to my ears, he distinctly missed that mark.

    Oh, I caught that myself... too funny! And who just built a nice new wall all around the White House? Bunker Boy Don.

    These con artists crack me up. Did you catch the part in Ivanka's speech where she said: "My father isn't deterred..." Except the way Ivanka speaks/reads, it sounds like she says: My father isn't a turd...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5F3GNco7DM&feature=youtu.be&t=525

    I completely lost it, spewed my rum and Coke everywhere and took several minutes to stop laughing. :)

  30. [30] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    @kick[29]

    wow, someone should really crop that clip and post it by itself.

    JL

  31. [31] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Quote of the day ...

    "We must love each other or we must die."

  32. [32] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Heh.

  33. [33] 
    John M from Ct. wrote:

    Chris W. [19] on covering the conventions just because the technicalities of doing them remotely are so interesting.

    Yes, good point. There's no doubt that political reporting in our times is, in so many ways, simply cultural criticism of media.

    But instead of the conventions and the president's latest cry of "squirrel!" and 0.5% slips and jumps in the polls, isn't there more important news gathering to be done?

    Has anyone been reporting on just what Biden's team is doing right now about a possible victory and transition? There are a number of challenges:

    1) The whole stinker about a disputed election and the president's expected refusal to accept a loss, whether squeaker or blow-out. How is Biden's team preparing right now for Court challenges, constitutional arguments both state-level and federal, and ultimately the battle for control of public opinion and federal law enforcement. But assume they finally get him out,

    2) Who will staff the administration, from the cabinet on down? How are the incoming appointees preparing right now for the likelihood that Trump's troops in the bureaus and offices of DC will, to the best of their abilities, refuse to cooperate in a peaceful and public-spirited way, because of (1) above and just general assholery?

    3) What legislation and administrative actions are in preparation right now, assuming a victory in the Senate, (a) to move the country forward on matters that Trump did nothing on or moved backwards on: climate change, systemic economic inequality, international cooperation, regulation of big business, etc. and (b) to investigate and if necessary prosecute the host of shady deals, corruption, self-serving, and administrative law-breaking that seems to have been the mission statement of the entire Trump administration from the president down to the meanest "acting" supervisor of the bureau of administration of procedure?

    Bearing in mind that all of (3), like all of (2), will be obstructed in the most vicious, persistent, and mean-spirited way by the remnants of the Trump base and media enablers and corporate sponsors, following on (1).

  34. [34] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    I believe Biden has all of that and more under control. :)

  35. [35] 
    John M from Ct. wrote:

    Elizabeth [36], that sounds comforting of course.

    Do you have a basis for your belief beyond a general faith in Biden and the arc of the moral universe?

    I guess we're all a little more cynical, but I remember my strong belief that Clinton's team had an unbeatable 'ground game' that would secure the industrial Midwest for her in the 2016 election. Because how could she not? so I thought.

    Or, more correctly, so I believed, because no reporters had done anything but repeat the campaign's hot-air assurances of competence and planning.

  36. [36] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    Instead of the "Wuhan Plague" could we call it the "Stable Genius Plague" instead? Huhn, could we could we?

  37. [37] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    It's Sunday, somewhere. In the cynical, dystopian spirit of these perilous times I offer Dogs from Pink Floyd.

  38. [38] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    Don't all thank me at once

  39. [39] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    John,

    Do you have a basis for your belief beyond a general faith in Biden and the arc of the moral universe?

    Not really. Been following Biden pretty closely for the better part of thirty years, so ...

    I guess we're all a little more cynical, but I remember my strong belief that Clinton's team had an unbeatable 'ground game' that would secure the industrial Midwest for her in the 2016 election. Because how could she not? so I thought.

    I had no such unfounded faith in Clinton or her team. She has always rubbed me the wrong way. And, I believe she has no one but herself and her campaign-sabotaging husband to blame for her loss to Trump, of all people.

    Or, more correctly, so I believed, because no reporters had done anything but repeat the campaign's hot-air assurances of competence and planning.

    That was also an ill-founded belief as political reportage has been devolving steadily downwards for a very long time.

    Please don't mistake my comment here for cynicism. It is based on long experience and world-weary realism. :)

    Which is why I so look forward to Sunday nights around here. Heh.

  40. [40] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    John,

    I believe I owe you an apology for misreading, misinterpreting and just making a fool of myself, in general, as I am so wont to do around here.

    Cheers?

  41. [41] 
    Kick wrote:

    Chris Weigant
    26

    [Beavis and Butthead voice]: "Heh heh heh... he said pie... heh heh."

    And kittens!

    You're welcome...

    Let's hear more about pie and weed. :)

  42. [42] 
    Kick wrote:

    Elizabeth Miller
    33

    Quote of the day ...

    "We must love each other or we must die."

    And lest anyone think that has no political relevance:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riDypP1KfOU

  43. [43] 
    John M from Ct. wrote:

    Elizabeth, on [41-42], no worries. I think we all value your participation and point of view on this forum. I know I do.

    Cheers. And hoping Biden plays his hand better than Clinton.

  44. [44] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    the breeze does seem to be blowing trump's way this week...

    https://youtu.be/Ex05XUddWMk

  45. [45] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    Here's one for the orange woman-cherishing pussy-grabber.

    Don't Touch Me There

  46. [46] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    John,

    That was very kind, thank-you ... :) And, I'll try better next time.

  47. [47] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    And, JOshua gets the party rolling!

    Well, this is bound to be a "stunningly sad" CW Sunday Night Music Festival and Dance Party as we honour the life and work of Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther, who died this week after a difficult battle with cancer.

    Here is the moment that Black Panther won the Oscar for Best Original Score ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvIYkV8EK3U

  48. [48] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgASaCn8XXs

    Another lovely moment from the Oscars before we get to the phenomenal Black Panther score ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgASaCn8XXs

  49. [49] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    I don't believe it.

  50. [50] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    don't believe what

  51. [51] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    My comment is awaiting moderation.

  52. [52] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    So, I'll try again ...

    Enjoy some of the original score from BlackPanther ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6txUB4JPw8

  53. [53] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    And, here is a short but moving tribute to Chadwick Boseman's King T'Challa,

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUxPcxK6tvI

    It's still so hard to believe ...

  54. [54] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, a great actor and man ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIEZQY2ZlGo

  55. [55] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Black Panther Full Ablum Soundtrack, inspiring Oscar winner!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am4PB9sNdU0

  56. [56] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:
  57. [57] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    JFC[47],

    Well, if you're gonna share THAT song, I expected a much better video coming from you ... don't beat around the bush, in other words. :)

  58. [58] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Okay, I tried to resist but, alas, I could not ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyQnIUq5xzQ

  59. [59] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    So, Captain America remains my all-time favourite MCU film and, Black Panther ties for the top spot. :)

  60. [60] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    "Is there anybody alive out there!?"

  61. [61] 
    Kick wrote:

    Keep going. I was listening.

  62. [62] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Okey dokey, then ... here's a fun one from Mick and David ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HasaQvHCv4w

  63. [63] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    The first time I saw STYX in Kitchener, some 40 odd years ago, Dennis DeYoung was there,

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBi61pgDUP8&list=RDRlTIXed_DP8&index=7

  64. [64] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    When Dennis left the band, STYX was very fortunate to have Gowan join them in 1999 ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2x293iVaXU

  65. [65] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    And, a Gowan classic gets a second life as a STYX song,

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__coJMIqSno

  66. [66] 
    Kick wrote:

    Elizabeth Miller
    63

    Okey dokey, then ... here's a fun one from Mick and David ...

    Not bad. Two old men trying to do Martha & the Vandellas! ;)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDT88KFANjs

  67. [67] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Hey, guess who took the stage before Styx when I saw them those forty odd years ago?

    Here's a big honkin' clue ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxgZcUcIfPw

  68. [68] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    I gotta get a drink ... anyone tending bar tonight?

  69. [69] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Kick[68],

    And, that would be the best version!

  70. [70] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Well, I guess I'll just have to pour myself another glass of wine, that would be Shiraz-Malbec, Corazon de la Comuna #3 de Buenos Aires, home of the Tango, with a couple doing the sexy dance right there on the label!

  71. [71] 
    Kick wrote:

    Elizabeth Miller
    68

    Hey, guess who took the stage before Styx when I saw them those forty odd years ago?

    Here's a big honkin' clue ...

    Don't even need a big honking clue... I would wager without hesitation that it was PRiSM.

  72. [72] 
    Kick wrote:

    Yep!

  73. [73] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    But, it looks like I'm in a Gowan state of mind this evening ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERgQ4KjSahg

  74. [74] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    apropos to nothing in particular, richard shindell described this as his first socialist song, "because you can't live too long in south america without becoming a socialist..."

    https://youtu.be/19DigHsZJx8

  75. [75] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    ... all the lovers in the world,

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_rYzxGNjK0

  76. [76] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    i became a richard shindell fan in the early aughts when he opened for joan baez and performed the ballad of mary magdalene, along with a couple other great tunes. his music ended up being one of the interests my wife and i shared when we met, which drew us together.

  77. [77] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    and then there's the song my toddler keeps demanding i play...

    https://youtu.be/hdcTmpvDO0I

  78. [78] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    I shall check Richard out tonight.

    But, if I'm in a Gowan state of mind, there must be a strange animal roaming about ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6fUA4_hHII

  79. [79] 
    Kick wrote:

    Elizabeth Miller
    74

    That hair. Heh. :)

  80. [80] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Moonlight desires and Gowan in a kilt ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svjm7qj5hLk

  81. [81] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Yeah, I know ... the hair ... well, it was the eighties, after all. :)

  82. [82] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    pass the carrots, please.

    https://youtu.be/V9AbeALNVkk

  83. [83] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Now, that right there is a fightin' attitude, Joshua ... and, I love love love it!

  84. [84] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    In fact, you're the life of the party tonight!!!

    This should be a theme song ...

  85. [85] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    You know, when Biden makes a speech or whatever and he talks about how bad Trump is, he should cue this TS song ... it would be a real hoot!

  86. [86] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    My frame of mind is changing ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxgMGk9JPVA

  87. [87] 
    Kick wrote:

    nypoet22
    78

    and then there's the song my toddler keeps demanding i play...

    That's what I'm talking about! The boy's got taste.

    Here's another take on that song:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9osbpEHvQVE

  88. [88] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Hey, it must be party time on the left coast by now!??

  89. [89] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Yeah! Let's all move it, move it!!!

  90. [90] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    [87].

    Oops.

  91. [91] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    There I go, breakin' my own rules ...

  92. [92] 
    Kick wrote:

    nypoet22
    83

    pass the carrots, please.

    Heh... carrots. That hair!

  93. [93] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    joshua,

    i could very easily listen to Richard Shindell all evening long ... as I mellow out ... if you can share music, you can share anything!

  94. [94] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    That'll do it for me. Another fun night, take care and stay safe everyone!

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