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.
71 responses Add your response
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. |
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. |
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). |
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. |
"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.... |
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. |
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 |
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. |
04-24-14: SchubertSchubert, 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 |
...indeed not -- it really hurts me when these military actions leave people with no roof, table and bread on it. Didn't you realize that we do little to no help to those who left with no government and having civil wars to decide who's going to be in charge? I care for everyone no matter religion or color. WW2 had an intention to protect and liberate civilians from fascism. Not only WW2 would piss me off indeed! Wars post and including Vietnam had a completely opposite direction. Who did we liberate?? Divided Yugoslavia? Civil wars in the Mid-East? Messed-up Iraq? Livia? Yea I don't want to use my tax dollar to get someone I don't want to get killed or robbed and that's my point. |
Schubert, if you're not proud for your service in 'nam, I share with you your thoughts and absolutely not proud what we do now in the Mid East since WTC collapse. My hippie spirit is with the rest of protesters. An army is to defend us civilian dwellers against hostile invasions and not at all mechanizm to invade for private interests hiding behind the mask of humanity and democracy. I really do not care what kind of government is in Iraq, Iran, Afgan, Syria, Cuba. I don't even care how they treat their own children or women, because it's their country and it's their government and not really willing to invest my tax dollar onto bringing 'democracy' using US Armed Forces. |
Schubert, If there are any Hollywood producer's reading, for what its worth I would go see a movie based on your life story and how classical music affected it. Imagine the royalties!!!! If done well, it would register strongly with many folk out there, similar to Forrest Gump but in a fundamentally different way I suspect and might help develop new interests in good music. Forest Gump is one of my absolute favorite movies. It registers on a fundamental level with many, especially those who lived through the times depicted, but is so much more than a mere nod to pop culture and politics of the time. |
Schubert, with that moniker I think I may be just wasting my time, but just in case..... I recently picked up "Schubert for Two", arrangements of some of Schuberts chamber music, including one piece that was actually composed for the Guitar. Very relaxing (as opposed to 'formal') stuff. Nice evening music. The musicians were Gil Shaham and Goran Sollscher. Recorded in 2002 by DG. Still in print. |
Schubert - Thanks for sharing and thanks for serving over there. Not exactly sure how your subject line was intended but it seems to me you make Billbartuska's point very well, "What music one chooses to listen to is, in great part, dependent on your life experiences....". Obviously you are relating a life experience and moment in time that left an indelible mark. |
Really Billbartuska? I grew up in abject poverty, never heard a piece of Classical Music in my life, or even knew it existed for that matter. 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. Classical Music was THE reason , a high-school drop-out who joined the Army at 16 had a BA and MA from elite colleges 5 years after leaving the Army. It showed me what humans can do, while rock etc show you how low than can go. That was in 1966, from that day to this, Classical Music is 90% of all my listening and I listen at least 5-6 hours a day ,every day. |
Hip hop and rap are dying styles now. Not as many young black Americans nowdays listen to it as it used to be 5...6 years ago. Substantially less other young folks from other ethnic groups listen to that either. It's fading away in most of the US AMEN. I can see these statistics as I sell music. HipHop and rap records or CDs are dead investment and hardest to sell |
What music one chooses to listen to is, in great part, dependent on your life experiences. When you took that first ride in a red convertible on a warm summer night with a stunning blond sitting next to you, you're pretty much going to like whatever you remember was playing on the radio. If your father was a concert violinist, you're going to like classical music. If all your friends in high school shunned a particular band, likely you will too. Is an acquaintance was a fan of fusion jazz and took the time to explain it to you, you're at least going to consider listening to it. If you attend a liver performance, whatever is played is going to move up on your preference list. So this thread really has nothing to do with music |
Frogman, It was boring. That's how I normally listen to Bach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xng_QbhHGY |
Well, some 60 odd years ago during summer vacation I was sitting on the back porch with my grandmother. I said to her, no doubt like every kid has ,that I was bored. Now granny was a product of the toughest slum in Europe, the notorious Gorbals of Glasgow, Scotland and though she was a loving woman, it was strickly of the "tough love" variety. One tough cookie , who could curdle milk at a hundred yards with one glance. And did ! She fixed those blue eyes that could bore a hole through you skull and said one sentence that has stayed with me all my days, more so than any advice I've ever received from anyone. She said, , "If you're bored its because you are boring". She only completed 3rd grade but Gran was no dummy. |
