What do you void listening?

I understand your point, and I have no problem with it. I was just saying, that public / world opinion on American intervention, is viewed as good, or bad, depending upon whose ox is being gored.

Back to regular programming.

Cheers

04-24-14: Schubert
One day coming in from a hard patrol in Vietnam I heard the great Swedish tenor Jussi Borling sing the "Un bel Di" aria from Madam Butterfly on short-wave from Australia, it froze me like a deer in the headlights.

Schubert, are you sure you have that correct? I've never heard of "Un Bel Di Vedremo" from "Madama Butterfly" being sung by a male. Might you have been referring to "Come Un Bel Di Di Maggio" from "Andrea Chenier"?

Best regards,
-- Al

Sorry I said anything, now.

Of course you are right Al, I had just listened to Bjorling's great Butterfly with Victoria De Los Angles and had a brain freeze.
The aria I should have said was "Nessun Dorma " .
Anyone who thinks that Pavarotti was the last word on this needs to listen to the aria sung by Bjorling, on You Tube if nothing else.
Meaning NO disrespect to the great Luciano, who I love, you will receive a master class on the difference between singing loud and singing good.

Czarivey, I'll take you at you word but you did say "I don't even care how they treat their own women and children" which is a bit callous.

Map, I had a hard time watching Gump, not a big fan of Hanks or satire either , if that's what it was ?
To me it just said ignorance is more honored in the USA than
anywhere else, sort of like that most American of sayings. "If you're so smart why aren't you rich" .

Ghosthouse, what are you sorry about? A bit of disagreement is good for the soul.

Thanks, Schubert. Re "Nessun Dorma," considered by many to be Pavarotti's signature aria, I have performances by both gentlemen in various compilation CDs. And while to me both performances are thrilling, it's remarkable how different they are. And like you I would have to say that Björling's is the more special.

What a shame that Björling died at 49, and that Luciano is no longer with us either.

Best regards,
-- Al

This year Kiss was nominated at R&R Hall of Fame. I wish there could be R&R Hall of Shame.

Synthfreek,
Compare to your record store, sales of rock CDs and vinyls in my record store growing day by day and so is young white and black crowds visiting it. In my store Hip-Hop is dying and catching dust while rock records and CDs sell very well to all age and color groups. Besides that, Each rock, new wave CD or record brings more money at retail location than via internet by 25% in average.

"To me it just said ignorance is more honored in the USA than
anywhere else"

Ignorance might be tolerated here more perhaps but surely is not "honored" by most. Two different things.

Gump was not "intelligent" apparently, but seemed to have a nebulous quality, "common sense" perhaps for lack of a better term that still seemed to work for him in a way that probably only could occur in a movie to the extent indicated, but might get some individuals pretty far still in real life.

Being smart and having common sense are two different things.

The latter seemed to more than make up for the former in Gump's case.

One may not be "smart" in measurable terms, but common sense alone might rule out true ignorance.

I read that Gump is a polarizing movie. That alone says a lot....

"Hey! Don't call him stupid!" He turned out to be smarter than average by all means:).

I'd pick Platoon over Forest Gump about war in Vietnam, otherwise Gump is classic and legendary movie.

Common sense is about as common as 6-legged, 3-horned Unicorns.
I don't think I have EVER see anyone extolling its virtues who wasn't just praising their own ignorance . Of course, I've never met Mapman who no doubt is the exception that proves the rule.

Re ignorance, any student who knows squat about US history
known the 2 greatest, most long lasting major threads in our history are anti-intellectualism and racism, the Alleghany and the Monongahela so to speak.

Caarivey there were plans for a R&R Hall of Shame but Feds would not give permission for only space large enough to hold one , the Grand Canyon .

I relate to the Gump character in many ways.

I was not athletic and bullied somewhat for it as a youth.

I lived in Alabama for a few years.

I have been known to run a lot for no good reason.

Jenny reminds me of an old girlfriend in many ways.

I am a good ping pong player (not as good as Gump.

The historical events depicted in the movie had a big impact on my life as they did many.

My parents died while I was a young adult.

I have kids that are like me in many ways.

I tend to think like the character did and understand his actions.

Not a vet, never shrimped or played college football or owned APple stock though (Microsoft, yes).

Full Metal Jacket is my favorite Vietnam War movie.

Platoon is the most accurate one, by 1968 the US Army was in reality just an armed mob.
By 1970 so was the USMC.

***** by 1968 the US Army was in reality just an armed mob.
By 1970 so was the USMC.****

In order to make this statement, You must have had quite a perspective. What was your rank / job in Nam?

Cheers

That's irrelevant , the important thing is that I was there and I've always had
the habit of paying attention.
For that matter there are hundreds , if not thousands, of credible books that will tell you same thing.

One think is fact certain , a high-ranking officer will have
the least idea of what happened, the tremendous amount of kool-aid consumed will have caused severe memory loss.

Common sense + guts do not necessary require rank.
Knowing how to compare before and after hardly require any education and even animals and birds can have natural ability to do that.
Knowing basic arithmetics to count the death toll after USMC and US Army glorious crusades also does not require any rocket science.
Combine above described 2 basic primitive skills and you'll have very clear picture and idea such as During Saddam regime/After Saddam regime... During Gaddafi/After Gaddafi...
Schubert isn't alone even among vets who will share his thoughts. Now there's another generation of vets from Iraq and Afgan who can tell same.
Not sure myself about "armed mob", because even for me it's kinda "too loud", but definitely agree that it's a HUGE group of hired professional killers that I'm not willing to hire for foreign countries invasions EVER.

Armed mom is a tame phrase that sounds better that what it really was. Movie Platoon was not half as bad as many units were.