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The Republican and Democratic Conventions are over. It was an example of a couple of Off Broadway productions. Romney – Ryan was upstaged by Hurricane Issac….rolling into Tampa…just in time to shut down Opening Night. When the production finally opened, most folks didn’t even bother to turn on the television to see who or what was speaking. If they did watch….the mute button was left on even without the commercial interruptions. The various Cable Channels were as pathetic as they come. The various reports redundant beyond belief. Years from now, it will be easier to remember the winner of the Superbowl 2010 – three years back, than to remember anything about the Republican Convention in Tampa. The highlight film will be that of Clint Eastwood talking to an empty chair telling Mitt Romney to do strange sex acts to himself. Luckily, we can review this performance on You Tube without having to watch anything else of the Republican Convention. CNN did an abbreviated C-SPAN….not that creative either!
Then came the Democratic Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. The assembled delegates which packed the house seemed listless, disconnected and uninspired until they got a little warmed up by Michelle Obama, Gennifer Granholm and then the big hammer of Bill Clinton on night three. Bill Clinton reminds us of an Emperor with clothes….that keeps saying ….”I have no clothes!”. Giving the Devil his due….Bill Clinton “Climbed the mountain”……and everyone saw him do it.” Undoubtedly, it was the best speech of Bill Clinton’s career – bar none! It may in fact obliterate his famous “I did not have sex with that woman – Ms. Lewinski.” The best similarity we can draw to Clinton knocking the Republicans out of the box…….was the famous Bob Dylan tune – Subterranean Homesick Blues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5iGmFJmZpk
So, what happens now? Some debates we suppose. Candy Crowley and Wolf Blitzer and Bob Scheffer maybe? What will Charlie Rose say about all this? Don’t forget, if you actually want to know what the news really is – either watch the Bob Dylan song….over and over…..or stayed tuned to Charlie Rose late night and in the mornings on CBS – Channel 2.
Perhaps, President Obama can challenge Mitt Romney to a Basketball game of HORSE! That would be interesting to watch. How about a slam dunk contest? Does anyone really think Mitt can dunk? Maybe we do a NFL Quarterback camp…..and have the President and Mitt go head to head throwing to the best NFL Wide Outs! OK, maybe we do a Hockey Shoot out…..with the best National Hockey League Goalies. Whoever scores three goals first – wins!
The realities are that the Republicans have no plan and the Democrats have a plan – that the Republicans don’t want. Sounds a great deal like “Irreconcilable Differences”. Sounds like we need an election. Sounds like billion and billions and billions of dollars are going to be wasted on nasty televison commercials, printed hand outs, campaign buttons, caps and T-Shirts. That one Black Cap with the white letters OBAMA and the signature of the President in script was cool. We are still waiting for the Mitt Romney Oven Gloves to come out with a picture of the wife’s horse on them. Collectibles, pins, signed photos, news paper advertisements..what more can they produce to waste the American taxpayers money. The cool thing this year…is that Corporations are people too! Maybe those guys will come out with “Dupont & Monsanto Supports Mitt Romey” T-shirts. Or mabe “GM supports Obama -2012!” Hey, we don’t doubt the various possiblities. Maybe: “Flip Flop or Hip Hop?” for the three undecided voters left. Or: “Outsourced workers for Romney!” Or “I’m a Black Person and I want to vote too!” Or: “I want to privatize YOUR healthcare – not mine!”
One thing is certain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5iGmFJmZpk Bob Dylan is not going out of style. His social commentary is alive and well in 2012, just as it was in 1964! Subterranean Homesick Blues! Heck, it’s just another election ya know!
The pump don’t work ’cause the vandals broke the legislature.
I aint gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more.
I am gonna sit home and collect unemployment and welfare.
You totally ruined the scansion there.
scansion:
tThe analysis and visual representation of a poem’s metrical pattern. Adapted from the classical method of analyzing ancient Greek and Roman quantitative verse, scansion in English prosody employs a system of symbols to reveal the mechanics of a poem-i.e., the predominant type of foot (the smallest metrical unit of stressed and unstressed syllables); the number of feet per line; and the rhyme scheme. The purpose of scansion is to enhance the reader’s sensitivity to the ways in which rhythmic elements in a poem convey meaning. Deviations in a poem’s metrical pattern are often significant to its meaning.
I still don’t get it.
What don’t you get? You know what “metrical pattern” is, right?
“i AIN’T gawn-[x]-na WORK on maggie’s FARM [x] no MORE.” ([x] is an extra beat)
(note: starts in 4/4, last phrase is 3/4)
“i AIN’Tgawn-[x]-na WORK for maggie’s BRUTHer no MORE.” (as above, note second empty beat is filled)
“i AM [x] gonna SIT home and collect unemPLOYment and WEL[fare]”
(Your version. You broke Music.)
“i AM gonna VOLunteer for DEM [x] oCRATS” (retains scansion)
(Admittedly, in music one might better talk of “meter” than “scansion,” but Dylan’s usually works as poetry.)
yeah … all of that is really effen interesting – but what meaning was Dylan conveying in those words?
It was about Joan Baez and his desire to break away from the acoustic folk scene and play electronic music. Seriously.