A Song Without Lyrics for 40 Years

"All in the Game" was a tune without lyrics for 40 years: composed apparently absent-mindedly by a bank president and amateur pianist relaxing at the piano. He would become Vice President and then receive the Nobel Prize. Anyhow, for days I'd been trying to find a certain version by an artist I discovered in the 90's although apparently she performed and recorded as far back as the 1950s. 

        I did several general searches for Black Female Vocalists, but didn't find her. This was after I'd already tried Spotify searches for female vocalists but got mostly male. So tonight I programmed myself to remember and within hours, her name came back: first name Esther. And Spotify had it after all, which makes me wonder. Now I'm ecstatic. IMO, no one can sing this song like she could. Listen. You won't regret it. Her voice is amazing.

"It's All in the Game" - Esther Phillips

 

Juneteenth, which marks the end of slavery, is now a federal holiday. There are parades and festivals. But businesses, as well as public services like the postal service and libraries which are often closed on federal holidays, are open. Now while DEI is being terminated and bases are being returned to confederate names that were replaced after the George Floyd protests, I wonder how long June 19th will continue to be a federal holiday. In this State, which did not permit slavery, there is still extreme segregation, and divisions can be palpable. Many (in fact - most) of us do better in an equal, pluralistic society, but will that ever happen, given the past as well as human nature?

Some Musicians Live On, Having Transformed Music

When I saw them in a crowded outdoor stadium, I didn't realize that of all the bands that day, they were already influencing other musicians. I thought they were just a pop surfer group. 
    The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds influenced British Rock, including The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Punk, New Wave, Wilco, and some say - even "Kanye West and Beyonce." 
    Just hearing dog barking on "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is an experience. And it is said even Paul McCartney admits crying whenever he hears "God Only Knows."
    Love and Mercy is a fascinating movie about Brian Wilson's personal, creative and familial struggles. He is played by two very different actors to show his creative young self and later the vulnerable older self - John Cusack. 

RIP - Sly

"From the moment his music reached me in the early 1970s, it became a part of my soul. Sly was a giant — not just for his groundbreaking work with the Family Sly but for the radical inclusivity and deep human truths he poured into every note. He lived long enough to outlast many of his disciples, to feel the ripples of his genius return through hip-hop samples.... Still, none of that replaces the raw beauty of his original work. “Everyday People”: “We got to live together!” Once idealistic, now I hear it as a command. Thankyoufaliftingushigher, Sly."                                                                           per Questlove                                                                

Also, extensive tribute, including influence on Hip Hop - Washington Post

Cory Booker - Explained

What Cory has been saying and said again in the last post was that the current gargantuan service cuts were proposed on a smaller scale during Trump's first presidency. The only thing that stopped it then was three outlier Republicans: Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and always upstanding, honorable John McCain - and a populace, including disabled people, that protested vehemently. Now, we no longer have incredible John McCain, and we are not demonstrating or protesting to the extent that happened at that time. Too much has been taken away, or is about to be taken away, including HeadStart (which I became involved with in Texas at its beginnings), Climate Control (fossil fuels starting up again), EPA protections, including from nuclear fallout - to name a few. But people voted for Trump instead of trying a new direction with a savvy woman. Anyhow, this is in essence what Cory said in the video.

Cory Booker - What's Going On (5/28/25)

 

"There are tens of millions of people in this country right now who would prefer Joe Biden at 100 years old to Donald Trump," Alex Thompson,ORIGINAL SIN co-author

Memorial Day is a day of mourning: to remember and reflect on those who died serving in the U.S. Military. But I can't help but consider that as I write this, Trump is building a resort in Vietnam where 58,000 U.S. military died and countless soldiers returned demoralized with Agent Orange illnesses, Ptsd and addictions they didn't have before they were drafted.

            Meanwhile, Gaza continues to be decimated by Israel with nothing done by the current administration to prevent the eventual resort Trump has announced he will build there. I know too many good people who voted for Trump without realizing what they were doing and/or who said they were hoping to bring on "the end times." It breaks my heart to consider how horrified my own relatives and friends would be if they were alive to see the destruction of everything they fought and died for.

Biden Book "Original Sin" Cruel Criticism

Stress kills, and Ageism (one of our last pernicious isms, according to scholars like Shankar Vedantam) is as stressful as being in the public eye, which is often cruel. But instead of going into hiding, Joe Biden made one final run for office and won. As President he made a positive impact for those concerned about climate change and poverty, but few seem to acknowledge this. He has been the perpetual scapegoat for years. Now as ridicule, criticism, and blaming him continue to increase with a forthcoming book, he has been diagnosed with metastatic, probably terminal cancer. Does the majority really think Trump, The Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025" and other hard line associates are "saving" the United States?

As Always, Officers Found "Not Guilty" on Count After Count of Killing a Black Man

 "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" 

                                                Martin Luther King, Jr

 

                            Tyre Nichols

                                        Father, Son

                                            Photographer minutes from home 

 

“Photography helps me look at the world in a more creative way. It expresses me in ways I cannot write down for people,” he wrote on his website. He preferred landscapes and loved the glow of sunsets most.

                “My vision is to bring my viewers deep into what I am seeing through my eye and out through my lens,” Nichols wrote. “People have a story to tell, why not capture it.” 

                                                Tyre Nichols   

                                                            29 years old