text:
An ongoing series of articles on songs & performances of the early Grateful Dead.
June 1, 2011
Dark Star 12/6/73 (Guest Post)
Enjoy –
Bob: We're fortunate tonight to have with us tonight a recruiting station for the Venusian Red Cross. It's the gentleman over here with the big red blinking eye. If you'd just like to wander on over there and sign up…
Phil: The who?
Bob: The Venusian Red Cross.
Phil: The Venusian Red Cross... Is that what that means. (12/6/73)
I wrote this initially in response to several postings on a particular GD forum where the consensus among many seemed to be that the 12/6/73 Dark Star was over-long, sleepy, and self-indulgent. That particular Dark Star was (and still is) one of my favorites, so -- fully aware of the irony of composing a mega-review of an over-long sleepy self-indulgent jam -- I crafted this defense:
To start, context is important when talking about this Dark Star. It isn't 11/11/73, and I don't really agree with the deadlists comment that the two are "fraternal twins," which would naturally lead the uninitiated to listen to it in a certain way. Instead, let's first locate where 12/6 stands. The final tour of the year found the boys back on the east coast sans Donna (much to the delight of many folks here). 11/30 is the stuff of legends, and rightfully so, and it's a beautiful display of the late 73 dreamy melodic style of improv: "sleepy" if you're looking for something akin to 71-72 at its rockin'est best, but I say adjust your levels. 2001 isn't exactly the zippiest film ever made, but then again, exploring the outer reaches may not be the time to put the pedal to the metal -- it's all kind of relative in outer space, isn't it? Fall 73 wasn't about burning off both your ears.
Something happened in Boston on 12/2, though. My theory is that a certain recruiter from the Venusian Red Cross landed at that mysterious 11/28/73 Garcia/Hart/Ned(?) show at the Palace of Fine Arts, made some connections, got some phone numbers, rocketed back to the mothership to pick up his toothbrush, and picked up the Dead tour a few shows later. Upon his return, he caused a major disruption to the psychoelectromagnetic forcefield being emitted around the proto-Wall of Sound (somewhat similar to Phil's discovery of the movie camera's feedback potential in the Winterland movie). You doubt this? The famous 12/2 Playin delves deep as all Playins of this vintage did, then delves deeper and deeper and deeper still. This wasn't unheard of, of course: Phil did some major dismantling of his bass and our synapses in the mightily wicked 10/25 Dark Star and certainly on other occasions as well, but on 12/2 they are nearing the source of a deep space vein that ran with them for the better part of the week. It's there again in the next show's Eyes>space (12/4), albeit in less extreme form, and later reappears in the 12/8 Other One, where it's already starting to mellow significantly. I need to listen more closely to 12/10 and 12/12, which I've never given much attention, but these shows don't seem to have jams of similar scope or intensity. The last two shows of the year, however, manage to recapture some of that energy, with a great apocalyptic space in the 12/18 Dark Star and one final laser beam blast of prime deep space mindscrambling in the wonderful meltdown that follows the Other One on 12/19.
So: the 12/6 Dark Star.
note: I wrote this using shnid=4452, though it's now been officially released on a Road Trips bonus disc. The first version of this I got on cd about 10 years ago had the Dark Star cut into 3 tracks, which I actually kind of liked: the tuning, the "prelude", and the Dark Star itself. All subsequent transfers leave it as just one 43 1/2 minute slab of music, which works just as well, of course.
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1973-12-06.sbd.miller.105560.flac16 (an upgrade, but the timings are different)
Our trip starts with Jerry noodling and Phil and Bob tuning up. Jerry's clearly in Dark Star mode from the word go, waiting for the rest of the band to get it together. At around 1:12, Keith stops helping Phil tune and starts drifting towards Jerry's zone… It's important to note that from this point on, Keith is as active a participant in this music as Jerry or Phil is. In fact, I can't think of another stretch of improv as long as this where Keith is so involved and playing his ass off -- there are plenty of wonderful moments in 71-73 where Keith steps up and counters any notions we have of him as the sleepy pianist, but here he does so for the most sustained amount of time. And the fact that he does so almost completely on his Rhodes is heaven for me -- I love love love the sound of this keyboard, and whenever I'm out digging in record store basements for old jazz lp's (another pasttime of mine), I'll usually grab anything from 1970-1976 if I see a Rhodes listed on the back cover. Digression. Back to the business at hand. The boys are getting ready to go.
At 1:45 there's a second's pause and something in the air changes. Listen, you can feel it. Keith continues, but it's clear now that they're done tuning up. Our VRC recruiter peeks his head over the stacks and gives them the thumbs up. Billy falls in with some cymbal splashes. Jerry's ready to go. At 2:10 Keith moves from his Steinway to his Rhodes, where he stays for the remainder of this Dark Star. Just then, Phil lets off some thunder to announce that he's ready to go -- they're revving up. Or maybe it's more like monks scuttling back and forth preparing for a ceremony.
Finally, at 3:22 Billy tosses out a nice, flowing beat and Keith and Jerry dive in. It's Dark Star, but there are none of the obvious signposts announcing that. Every Dark Star begins with some announcement, some statement of purpose ("free turf!" as Jerry calls before launching the one on 3/2/69). Not here. It's amazing to me that they performed this way in front of a large crowd (more on the crowd later). No one thing says "Dark Star!" but no one would mistake it for anything else -- loose, fluid, gentle, Billy dancing away back there, while the four guys upfront talk, nudge, and whisper to each other. I suppose one drawback to this one is that Bob takes his place in the backseat and doesn't say much, and this doesn't change much for the next 40 minutes. Equipment issues? A Bobby-unfriendly mix? Maybe taking a break to man the Venusian Red Cross table while our friendly recruiter climbs up into the PA to work a little magic?
Anyway, as I believe Tom Constanten once said, "Dark Star is going on all the time. It's going on right now. You don't begin it so much as enter it. You don't end it so much as leave it."
So here we go. They groove and float for a few minutes, like five skaters doing slow loops on a pond. By about 6 min in, Phil's starting to get a little more punchy, and the jam begins to focus itself into more of a direction, thickening up, pushing into a sliiiightly more aggressive and "purposeful" Dark Star theme jam. At 10 min or so, this particular approach seems to climax: Jerry moves forward, but the boys pull up short and drop the bottom out from under him for a second, and they turn towards a new direction. I love listening to these momenets when they reach the conclusion of a particular jam, regroup and and decide where to go next, and no one's in any hurry to figure it out. At 11 min, Jerry's got the wah turned on, but it seems like Billy wants to keep it grounded for now; Keith suggests the Dark Star "verse" theme at 11:40? Not yet, pal. Phil's having none of it, and seconds later he starts unleashing some huge feedback waves. Wooosh! He's not fully taking it there yet, but it sounds like he's letting everyone know: no usual Dark Star tonight; tonight we push for the outer regions.
The rest of the boys seem happy to oblige. Or powerless to resist.
And they're off! Or are they? At 13 min, they set off but then fall back into the regular Dark Star terrain and hesitate. Is this where we want to be? Should we go someplace else? Enough indecision: at 15 min, Billy whips up a whirlwind and Jerry and Keith take off, both really pushing and playing hard. They build to another little climax, sparring playfully and getting kinda pissy with each other. At around 16:35 Jerry eases back and plays one of his standard "regrouping" licks, the same repeated arpeggio picked slowly while he finesses his wah pedal. NOW the Dark Star theme? Phil's having none of it. The beast is crawling out of its cage now. Enough playtime.
Phil proceeds to usher in one of my very favorite deep space Dead jams. This is my "primal Dead" -- for some it's 68, for other it's 77, but for me this kind of stuff is the pot which holds the bubbling primal ooze. The mothership has landed, all pretense or facades of human bullshit have been melted away, and the third eye begins to crack itself open. Phil gets prehistoric -- he starts revving up wave after wave of feedback drone, not decimating everything in sight (unlike, say, 10/25/73, where Phil's evil wizard twin appears to pulverize our synapses), but pulsing and writhing like a living thing, like a giant whale rolling in the surf; Jer and Bob keep some semblance of sanity by clinging to those slow, arpeggiated figures they keep playing, while Keith goes for broke and rides the wave that Phil is churning up.
After a few minutes of this sheer perfection, Jerry eventually pokes his head above water and starts working purposefully towards the Dark Star verse theme. Phil subsides gently, and at 21:07 it all comes together and Jerry finally plays the Dark Star theme, much to the crowd's appreciation. Elated, they groove on this for a bit; vocals at 25:10.
It's worth noting two things at this point:
1. The only Dark Stars I can think of that come close to the amount of pre-verse music that this one has are 9/27/72 and 9/10/74, but I think this one edges both of them out. For comparison's sake, 12/6/73 has almost 10 minutes more than 11/11/73.
2. At no point in any of this is Keith MIA in any way -- no vanishing for equipment problems, sneaking a cigarette, catching a nap, having a sandwich, whatever. He's plugged in and up front the entire time.
After the verse, the bottom drops out as usual. Bob strums away quietly, Keith continues to play on, then Phil steps upfront as is his usual practice around about this time. At about 28:30ish he lets off a big feedback chord, which fades away to just Jerry alone scraping a single string. Again, note the crowd response to this. They're feeling it.
Now the real bullfight begins. Phil lets off some squeals, the crowd hollers a few words of encouragement, Billy makes himself known with some little percussion taps as Phil starts to disembowel his bass. The heavy shit starts now. Words won't do this any justice. Everyone (even Keith) sit this one out as Jerry and Phil get all King Kong vs. Godzilla and do some damage. Phil lays down some monster chords while Jerry swoops above like some kind of howling bird of prey, then Phil falls back to let Jerry come from and center to lay some waste, all the while laying down a droning bed of buzzing feedback. You like this stuff or you grit your teeth and wait it out, but music like this forces you to confront it and reckon with it. At this point, I literally cannot hit the skip button -- I'm in too deep to bail out now.
That little VRC recruiter is either rolling on the floor with glee or wondering just what the hell kind of jungle cat he let out of the bag.
Finally, at around 35 min, on the back of final huge Phil feedback bomb, Keith comes creeping back, followed quickly by Bob and Billy. Phil is still in convulsions, but Jerry picks up on the new company and pushes off in a jazzier direction with Keith, the two of them reeling off these fast runs that mirror-image each other. Billy kicks in a propulsive beat and Jer and Keith race off, neck and neck with each other, tilting unsteadily back towards atonality one second, then back in the direction of jazzy melody the next. A nice run back towards the Dark Star verse theme? Hard to say where they're going, but by 40 min, Jer eases off and lets Keith run with it. The energy subsides, but Keith keeps it going, and around 41:30 he plays a little 2 chord vamp that Jerry picks up on and plays with for a second. Though the air is starting to leave the balloon, their playing is still remarkably sharp and focused -- prime 73 Dead jazz jamming, ala many other great ones from the year (3/24, 7/27, 10/29, etc). In the waning moments, it really sounds like they're considering a return to the Dark Star theme -- Keith and Phil practically cue it right up (!), but Jerry's on his own path and turns straight into Eyes of the World. Never a bad call, but jeez, how perfect would it have been if Jerry eased back and let them put the cherry on top of this Dark Star? Ah well. "You don't end it so much as leave it."
Eyes of the World. I could say more, but I've said way more than enough as it is.
The rest of this show is quite lovely as well. I hear the HCSunshine is a good one.
Thanks for sticking with me.
This Dark Star has sparked a variety of opinions, so here is a collage of other reviews:
"A long spacey Dark Star that seems to drift in from somewhere beyond the reach of the Hubble telescope is a highlight, pulsing and beaming like stars being born in an intergalactic dustcloud…. Not much in the way of fireworks, more drifting and dreaming really and sometimes hard to bring into focus, but a bewilderingly lovely thing all the same."
"It is extremely abstract and ethereal. It starts off in space and returns there twice in the twenty-five minutes of down- to mid-tempo open jamming before the first verse. Starting around 11' Phil starts dialing in some serious Seastones UFO tones and takes the second half of the pre-verse jam quite deep in a cubist/impressionist style. Then after the verse is several more minutes of deep Seastones abstraction (no Tiger jam this night) before rolling into a nice little melodic improvisational outro section. This kind of thing isn't for everyone, but I love it."
"This Dark Star has instantly become one of my favorites! I've listened to it before but was never really struck with by its magic. The beginning jam is one of the best examples that I have heard that showcase just how much creativity Keith brought to the band. Around 18 minutes, Phil initiates ignition of the engines and we are pulsated to another dimension. Phil's solo at the 28 minute mark is STUNNING! We dissolve into the ethers and then Jerry takes us home. Wow."
"I think it's fantastic and mellow and spacey for about half the length of its 45 minute running time before it devolves into the usual '73 nonsensical meandering noise."
"This is one of the worst "Dark Stars" I have personally ever heard, and I have heard more than a few. The first 20 minutes are not really the song at all but just some space noodling. Mercifully Jer drops in the first verse without much fanfare, and then it continues to go nowhere for another 20 some minutes w/ Phil intermittently assaulting our ears (and my woofers) w/ bass sustain and feedback. This is generally what musicians do when nothing else is really happening musically."
"This is one of my favorite versions of Dark Star. Although it doesn't start with the signature beginning riffs, it is a great jam with a lot of fine work on the electric piano by Keith. I'm not sure they didn't just start up a jam in "A" that just eventually became Dark Star (same key of A) half way through it. Either way it is a great and unique jam… I can see why some people don't like this Dark Star…but I like it because it is very different. Yes they are just noodling in "A" for most of it but I really like the electric piano and the laid back, sleepy energy."
"Sorry to say the whole thing is over blown hype. This is not even close to Phil at his best. If you like dull sleepy spacy Dark Stars with some cool feedback and a little jamming about 35 minutes into it then it's for you. This thing really never gets off the ground, dull boring attempt. Very slow and sleepy. I like laid back jamming from 73 but this is like falling asleep."
"Rarely do you hear a Dark Star so out-there it sounds like the Dead are trying to split the universe in half. This is not overrated!"
"This Dark Star opens the doors to dimensions that are folded into the three dimensions we know of, whole universes compacted into a space a billion times smaller than a proton. There are jazzy segments, there's deep space, there's Phil assaulting the audience with one barrage after another (post-verse), there's a segment where they seem to be moving towards The Other One, and there are segments of heartrending beauty... [I used to think] this Dark Star meandered for a long time before the verse and then dissolved into a mess during which they were barely playing for minutes at a time. That couldn't be further from the truth. They keep up the intensity for the full 43 min, and in fact they could have gone longer. The one thing I did notice is that Weir either is missing entirely from Dark Star or is mixed so low as to be inaudible. His guitar reappears at the beginning of Eyes, but disappears again."
(From the Taping Compendium.)
"This version is one of those rare Dark Stars from which both Phil and Keith launch the brightest volleys. Put headphones on and listen carefully as Phil alternates between plucking subtle, high percussive notes as a deliberate counterbeat to Phil's drumming, and laying down deeply entrancing harmonic drones that seem to go on and on forever. This is Phil at his very, very best. Keith, for a change, is very loud in the mix. This allows the listener to clearly hear him inventing weblike melodic patterns against which Jerry's picking stands out strongly. At several points Keith is leading the band, something you just don't hear that often. This incredibly well-developed jam goes on for quite some time before Garcia steps forward with strong vocals. Back into space they fly. This evolves into one of the most beautiful explorations of feedback I've ever heard this band play. Neither minimalist like the Dark Star feedbacks of 1970, nor scary like many versions found in 1972, nor electronic-sounding like many played in 1974, this feedback sounds like something you'd expect as background music in a Stanley Kubrick film. After several delicious minutes of group feedback, Keith lays down a more structured riff and boom, the whole band rises up into structured melodic harmony again. Both Phil and Keith eventually find their way into Wharf Rat, but Jerry wants no part of it – he cuts them off, launching into a long, spacey Eyes."
(From reviewer "snow&rain".)
"This one is pretty fantastic. It makes a lot of top fives for its "contemplative" jamming and bizarre structure. It may not be the best Dark Star of the era, but it is certainly must-hear material, as there really isn't anything else like it.
The beginning of the song is never announced. It creeps up behind you, because it really starts from a Keith jam that emerges out of tuning. Usually I'm just typing away, or watering the plants or whatever, not a care in the world, when I realize that I've been listening to Dark Star for the last 10 minutes – and enjoying it! It's the creeper Dark Star.
The band rides this jazzy little groove for over 40 minutes. Keith is a huge factor early, running up and down the scales with virtuoso-like quickness. Keith is clearly influenced by the great jazz pianists of the era, including Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, especially. Then Phil takes over, setting the real theme of this Dark Star – which I find in his deep, booming, feedbacky tones. It's certainly one of the most free-form Dark Stars out there. First verse doesn't come until the 24th minute. After the verse we get more electric space from Phil. Can't help but think of Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman's influence on the band at this point. The band goes almost totally silent, before opening up a spacey jam in the truest sense of the word – echoes of feedback, big booming bass chords…scary stuff. I personally LOVE the scary Dead, so I'm into it, but this part won't be everyone's cup of tea. Space gives way to a more "call of the whales" segment – similar, but less frightening, before it settles back down into a nice Jazz Star kind of groove again. Jerry picks up the pace a bit for the final movement. The drums are back in place, and we're back into a normal song structure again, with Keith again leading the way with his rhythmic, angular chords.
With a proper grip on reality reestablished, the darkness give way to a nice version of Eyes (there's another patch during the first verse, but no biggie). Jerry is as on here as he is the rest of the night, effortlessly slicing and dicing his way through the song's various jam cycles and into truly spacey territory, complete with Slipknot! jams and all those funky little G#min jams you could ask for (is there a name for that?). Jerry absolutely smokes his way through the last 8 minutes of this song. Another major highlight from this amazing show."
33 comments:
- AnonymousJune 1, 2011 at 3:16 PM
Great post but I most point out that we prefer the spelling "Venusian". At least you (and the band in 1973) didn't use the racist "second planet citizens" (my antennae shiver just from typing it).
ReplyDelete - AnonymousJune 3, 2011 at 7:52 AM
this 'dark star' has the most un-'dark star' beginning of any 'dark star' ever. considering that they just played 'big river' before this, launching into 'dark star' is all the more impressive. and i like how garcia leads the band away from 'wharf rat' at the end - he just jumps in to 'eyes of the world'. i had to listen to that transition a few times to be sure of what i was hearing.
I-) ihor I had an exchange with Nick on the Transitive Axis forum about the 12/8/73 Other One, played two days after this.
Due to its similarity, I thought I'd copy that exchange in the comments here. (Have to split between several comments due to the length...)
When Nobody's Fault is clearly over, Phil starts this dramatic ascending build-up that seems to cue Jerry to turn on the faucet of Other One notes. Rather than build up, though, the atmosphere thins out immediately. It sounds like Phil is pondering his jazz theme (that nameless 73 jam with that distinctive bassline he plays) for a second, but after a few seconds everyone drops out and Jerry is left all on his own out in space, noodling away. Okaaaay… so it's gonna be one of those nights, eh? When they all rejoin him, it's not with the expected explosion, but with a slow measured return; Keith gets on the Rhodes, which makes me happy. The five cords braid themselves together and head off. Incredible how tight and how fast that just happened. They twist their way towards the O1, in and out of focus again. Just as they're getting somewhere, at 2:42 Jerry seems to just drop out. This, now, is a spare little jazzy jam, with Bob and Keith in the lead. Very low key, yet this is really exciting for me. Around 4 min it's just Bob and Bill, and this now is starting to feels a little excessive. But Weir gets to showboat for a bit, only to have Jerry come creeping back in 30 seconds later. They skitter back towards the O1, but keep playing cat & mouse with each other, darting this way and that way so playfully.
This may drive you crazy or seem directionless, but to me this is magical stuff -- pardon the cliche, but it really does seems like a conversation between buddies, like they're just shooting the shit and tossing the ball around. It all seems to cohere by 7 min into a single direction, Phil thumping along in some jazzy way. Check out Jerry @7:50! This is starting to get really good. @9 min Jerry decides to pull back towards the Other One, and pull back they all do … but then it all drifts away again, and by 11 min Jerry is drifting out in the open yet again, this time with Bob at his side playing this crazy little Other One variation riff. Billy sneaks back in with some slick jazzcat rimshots and hi-hat -- hey, this is cool! Phil can't keep out of this, and Keith's back in right after. They're sizzling -- only Phil seems oddly ponderous and quiet, while Jerry is gliding about far above. Weird vibe, but very cool. Once again, Jerry veers back to the O1. Everyone's with him -- is it for real this time? No! Another jazzy left turn at 14:50 into a groovy little shuffle, led by Jerry plinking out a funny chord pattern, then dancing his way across it. Where the hell is he coming up with this stuff? Cut/crossfade at 15:53, though it sounds like next-to-nothing is missing, (though it does sound like a source or slight mix change?).
(continued...)Yet again, Jerry leads the charge back to O1 at 17:50. Just when I think that they're coming up on another weird corner, everyone gets all lowdown sounding and Bobby actually gets to sing the verse at 18:36! They groove it down low, but Jerry's already put on the space helmet and there ain't nothing stopping him; by 12:10 he's back out in solo space for the third time this jam! He's playing quiet but getting scratchier; Weir's still fiddling away off to the side there. Just when I was thinking "ok, seriously, what the fuck is going on?", @21:59 these electronic sound just rippled across the front of my brainpan. Phil is somehow transmitting himself directly into my head it seems. Jeez. 22:38 Bob turns on this creepy reverb/echo effect and he and Jerry, who is also now wah'ed, are now off for something with a purpose, however sinister it is becoming. Fuuuck -- this is getting way out there. Trippy. Some gentle feedback from Phil? At 23:50 some dude in the audience right up close to the stage actually has the balls to holler "Hey Bobby, Looks Like Rain!" This is so fucking weird. Just before 25 min, Bob sends off some echoed feedback, and he and Phil start really revving up. Jerry seems mostly MIA, oddly enough. Some very Seastonesish sounds from Phil. Oh shit… giant insects are starting to crawl slowly up and down skyscrapers here. This is some 36th chamber stuff here… some of the most out stuff they did that year? Craziness. Don't panic, though, cuz it's not at all out of control or anything really violent -- not a chainsaw massacre like 12/2 or 10/25, but nevertheless really heavy, deep, and really weird. It sounds kind of heroic, actually, in the last minute, thanks to this funny progression Bob starts playing under all the feedback. This is so goddamn cool. It doesn't boil over or all catch fire, just kind of changes direction smoothly, eases down, and Jerry starts Wharf Rat -- almost abruptly, given how out there there had just been. Still, it's a relatively smooth reentry. Fucking yowza, though.
As rambling and, okay, probably overindulgent as this is, there are some real moments of primo 73 greatness in here. The last five minutes are definitely a major league deep space transmission from the motherbrain that is going into the Dec 73 space megamix that I am putting together in my own private mind garden. All fellow deep space travelers deserve to take the ride here.
(continued...)My reply:
It's notable how much in the lead Jerry is throughout this jam. He's the one who decides where to go and when to go there, and the others mainly just follow. Notice that when he abruptly drops out at the start, the others don't go much of anywhere, but seem to mark time til he returns & sets the pace again. After the verse, again the band drops out waiting for Garcia to take the lead. They seem reluctant to contribute new directions somehow...
It's mostly a very quiet, mellow jam for the Dead, even for '73 - Garcia gets up some wild pickin' near the beginning (after his dropout), but thereafter they stay pretty subdued, especially for an Other One. You've noticed the quiet, muted lead-in to the verse, which is unusual. Even the feedback episode at the end seems very deliberate & restrained...
It's also interesting how intermittent some of the players are. Lesh in particular is not very dominant tonight, kind of fluttering around the jam putting in odd notes, but not really pushing anything until the feedback when he can let loose. (No big bass solo tonight like on 12/19.) Garcia has that one long dropout near the start (broken string, I guess) - there are spots where the others just let him noodle on by himself for a while - after the verse, Keith also seems to sit out for a very long time until it's time to bring out the drone. Weir is the most game about staying in there & keeping things going, especially during Garcia's absence - there's one beautiful spot, a while before the actual verse, where he & Garcia are dueting around the Other One riff by themselves like an '83 Space.
Most of the first half of this is, indeed, more like an extended Other One tease as they just refuse to commit - instead they skitter around it in jazzy fashion, taking the Other One riff for a long waltz, feinting and then pulling away again. Garcia & Lesh are not in attack mode at all, preferring to putter around - neither are there really melodic or memorable jam sections. So this has never been one of my favorite versions...the band's either a bit too mellow or too laid-back on this evening for my taste.
They do bring out the brain-fry at the end, which is kind of a mini-version of the 12/6 Deep Space - things turn threatening, Lesh makes bizarre industrial noises, Weir and Keith drone away madly, Garcia offers up half-snatches of melody, while a dark gloom descends on the stage. Much appreciated, til it gives way to a rather tired Wharf Rat. I remember the 12/19 version being much hairier & more intense....
I may sound a little negative about this Other One, but I think there's a reason why, despite their similarities, the 12/6 Star is legendary while this 12/8 Other One is rarely ever mentioned or reviewed!
By the way - while hunting up a copy I chanced upon the Jerry Moore AUD of this show. "What's this?" I said. "Never heard of this!" And checking it out, I saw why.... It's only an hour of the show, & missing the entire jam, cutting out during Truckin' and coming back in Stella Blue. The notes sadly lament, "Most of tape useless due to cassette machine fuck-up. Tape not saved."
Fortunately our SBD is excellent - still, I think an AUD copy might provide a different perspective of this Other One. Audience cheers, added echo, a more forceful band sound etc. might really alter the tone of the jam...And lastly, Nick's reply:
I agree that there's a good reason why the 12/6 DS is so renowned while this O1 receives considerably less attention, despite both being "cut from the same cloth" as it were. I find this more quiet stuff to have a pretty strong intensity of its own -- I hear the band as being very focused and listening to each other very closely. I don't think this is one of the best Other Ones of the year, but given how many amazing ones there are, I don't mind that Phil takes more of a backseat role in this one, simply to hear what happens when Jerry gets to drive the spaceship for almost a half hour. There are certain kinds of '73 jams, like (off the top of my head) the 3/28/73 Dark Star, that don't soar as high as the best, but almost make up for it in my mind with the little intricacies and wrinkles that the band create. Personally, I find this kind of stuff nearly as rewarding.- AnonymousApril 24, 2013 at 11:49 AM
Nick great piece. 12/6/73 is my favorite Dark Star.
I feel like to alot of Deadheads, their 'favorite' takes of songs are too much about Jerry.
Alot of the common favorite DS's feature epic noodling/jamming, but this 12/6/73 Dark Star goes somewhere else entirely. It's simply a different animal than the others and can't really be compared directly to them.RepliesI admit my Dead listening is very Garcia-centric!
This is certainly one of the great Dark Stars for me, and not like any other. It also seems to be more controversial than other Stars, because so many people find this to be an over-long, dull, sleepy version that goes nowhere.
For instance, one recent reviewer wrote:
"A little more focus, and a little less aimless meandering would have made this one a much stronger candidate for the best of 1973. At one point around 1/4 of the way through, Lesh tries to inject some adrenaline into this otherwise lifeless beast by plucking Phil bombs in the hopes of making something happen. It seems as if the boys begin to follow his lead, but it is only fleeting, and the half-baked jam wanders off again into a sedated directionless fixture of sound. In truth, this version never hits the peaks and valleys of other versions from this year."
Ahem... Some listeners need their jams more action-packed. But no other version hits the same outer-space zone as this one!
- jerlouvisApril 26, 2013 at 3:49 PM
So much emphasis seems to be placed on length and comparison to other versions.I found no "aimless meandering" on this brilliant 41 odd minutes of music.I would very much like it pointed out where sharper focus could have been employed to push this one into contention for the best of 73',whatever the hell that might be.Phil had not yet starting using Phil "bombs" to make up for the lack of creativity and ability to play his instrument,he was simply playing bass.He started dropping Phil "bombs" when he was bombed in the 80's.If this version in it's 41 minutes and change didn't have peaks and valleys what did it have?
I thought Nick's review was wonderful and very much enjoyed his perspective on this incredible performance. Concerning the Dark Star from 12/6/73, I feel obliged to chime in here. Indeed, I'm the culprit who wrote "A little more focus, and a little less aimless meandering…" (Unlike here, my user name on the GD archive is quinn_76!)
That fact that one version of Dark Star, of the 236 played, can garner so much attention and trigger spirited debate is impressive and curious. Clearly this one's important, regardless of praiser's or detractor's of it's musical merit. I'm of the latter camp, likely in the minority, but no less firm in persuasion. I must mention the disclaimer that I enjoy this DS; Indeed, I've conceded that it's unique, and certainly deserving of acknowledgement. However, I don't think it's the Holy Grail that many claim it is. Rather, it's an interesting, exploratory—if not a meandering, longwinded—version that's worth a listen now and again in the right mood and setting.
All Dark Stars are their own beasts—more or less—and the seemingly general consensus is that this one certainly is more so. If such sentiment stopped there, I'd be in full agreement. But many folks go on to claim (or at least allude) that it's the go-to Dark Star—the mother of them all—which I feel is a bit misguided. For one thing, taken as a whole, it's one of the least sounding Dark Stars, taking into account that the first 18 minutes and 48 seconds sounds more like a nameless jam that could be coming into or out of a number of second set tunes. Nothing wrong with that, but the topic at hand is Dark Star! If we're talking about definitive versions of Dark star, I'm not sure we're all drinking from the same well. The oxymoron, for me is that Dark Star lovers often cite this as their favorite, yet besides the verse, there's really not a moment during the 41 plus minutes to suggest that it's a DS, save the familiar chord structure played tersely around the 19-minute mark. But since this version spans over 41 minutes, it seems like a beast to be reckoned with!
End of Part 1, due to length restrictions…Indeed, for 1973 it is in terms of quantity… but not necessarily quality. But this depends on the objective of the listener, of course. As for length it's not very musically economical, especially when measuring the percentage of 'x-factor' moments reached against the span of performance time (compared to other versions). In other words, it doesn't fully carry it's own weight minute per minute; too many tentative moments and to few synergetic jams; a bit too dissonance heavy and consonance light, in musical language and notation of the sounds created during this version. But, indeed this DS can take one where he/she needs to go (it has me); it just simply takes much longer to get there. The version played on 2/15 for example easily achieves the greatness of 12/6, and does so in less than half the time! I call the 12/6 version an interesting, into-the-cosmos version that really sounds more like a jazzy fusion jam than a proper Dark Star.
But of course this is all a matter of taste, how each one takes his/her tea. I take some cream, but too much cream can spoil the brew. More is not always more. For example, the art of good writing lies in thrift. The objective is to say as much as possible, with as little words a possible (it seems as though I've failed at that task, alas!). The same theory could be applied to music, but the Grateful Dead could be viewed as the antithesis to this theory; especially in light of their second set material, of which I (like many) cherish the most.
Us folks who read and contribute to such invaluable blogs as this one, already know that improvisation and experimentation before a live audience captures the true spirit of what Grateful Dead music is all about, and those who took time to read this probably did not learn anything new. But in the final analysis, I must reiterate that I do enjoy this jam… err DS! I just think it's overrated, and has been led up the garden path in exemplifying a quintessential Dark Star. It's still worth every effort to hear I think, but it's sometimes fun to play (friend of the) devil's advocate, folks!
As a rebuttal to my recent review of the 12/6 show on the archive, a reviewer diplomatically exclaims: "That people can differ so remarkably in responding to a piece of Art - whether a painting, a novel, or in this case a song - is a wonderful thing and not to be taken lightly. If our tastes were all the same, think how banal would be this miraculous life! Is the Mona Lisa smiling in delight or smiling in rueful resignation?"
I'll defer to Dylan to speak for me on this one: " Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial/Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues
You can tell by the way she smiles."Thanks for your observations!
You mention that a lot of this is not very Dark Star-like...which to me, is one of its strengths - it's unique in how far outside the norm they go, though there were other occasions in '73/74 when they just drifted into Dark Star from a jam (or never actually arrived at a verse).
But a lot of acclaimed Dark Stars have sections which are also non-Dark Star-like - for instance, the famed 2/15/73, half of which is a bass solo which is just thrown in there and has almost no participation from the band - so strictly speaking, it's only half a great Dark Star. Someone else might take off points for that! The '72 Philo Stomps have nothing to do with Dark Star; some '73 Stars have jazz-fusion romps which are also totally unrelated to the theme.
In short, I don't think it's necessary for a great Dark Star to stay 'on point,' nor to be concise, nor even to be listener-friendly. There are certainly many short & beautiful versions, even just from '73 - others are more notable for their noisy meltdowns (like 10/25/73) - others, for me, never fly (like 10/26/72 or 7/25/74).
But there's no objectivity here! The 12/6/73 version is thrilling for me regardless, though it perhaps relates more to the feedback improvs the Dead were doing in December '73 than to the broader continuum of Dark Stars. The Dead's love of feedback in some periods annoys some listeners, but I think it's one of the best things about the band.RepliesA couple more brief comments -
Though the Dead don't state the theme for a long time on 12/6, they're clearly in Dark Star mode from the start. Much of it is very laid-back, not too distinct from other Dark Stars from the period. (You can make a case for the playing being sharper on 12/18, and the feedback meltdown/Tiger on that night is of course more concise.) It also doesn't have the traditional big peaks in terms of climaxes, melodic themes, or sudden shifts in mood. What it does do is go much deeper into drone mode, a rare thing in Dead music, and also excellent use of counterpointing heavy drones/feedback with Garcia's lighter melodies.
The only objection I could make to this version is that it doesn't have a strong end - after the final big feedback episode, they just putter around for the last few minutes like they're out of gas. Within the Dead's style of improv, this is hardly a complaint, given they were already into "overtime" with this long 40-minute jam - they often did have to meander for a while before striking a new theme. Here, Garcia decides it's time for Eyes.
I can emphasize with your fondness for the often erratic feedback the boys practiced in December of '73. The PITB->MLBJ from the second night in Boston is off the chain! Moreover, the DS of the 18th, and the TOO of the 19th from the last two dates of the month in Tampa are forces to be reckoned with. I mentioned in a short review of the 12/18 show on the archive that it's a pity the Dead didn't milk the final month of that stupendous year with a few more dates, as they were really riding a wave of inspired consistency that they never quite hit the likes of again. It seems to be a solid two-month stint that was unparalleled in their 30-year career, beginning with the Oklahoma City show on the 19th in October, and running until the December 19th show in Tampa.
I lent a keen ear to the DS of 12/6 again this morning, and still feel it gets more love than warranted, but I regret having not mentioned the interesting feedback improvs contained therein that you alluded to. As for the 2/15 version, the Phil solo segment commences right at the 15:00 mark, and lasts for only three and a half minutes before Jerry gently drizzles in melodic notes right near the 18:30 mark. The one-minute lush interplay between Phil & Jerry (perhaps the most blissful piece of music I've still ever heard) ensues for before Phil plucks his 'godfather' with notes signifying the boys to follow his lead into EYES, which debuted just six days earlier. To be nit picky, this segment of the DS really spans just the last fourth of the version, rather than the last half.
You likened this angelic jam (in terms of merit) to the jam of peculiarity during TOO from 7/25/72. I couldn't agree more. This (strangely) under the radar piece of music has become one of my favorite six and a half minutes worth of sound the Dead produced. It's probable I would have passed on this show altogether, had I not luckily stumbled upon your review on the archive singing the praises of this hidden treasure.- jerlouvisMay 2, 2013 at 2:27 PM
I think the band intended Dark Star to be what ever it was on a given night.No time restrictions or dissonance quotient,outside of a skeletal theme and two short verses it was supposed to be an improvised piece.I think a case could be made that 12/6 is just what Dark Star is supposed to be,a free exploration.
I find all the pre-hiatus Dark Star's to be proper versions,some more to my liking than others. I remembered the 2/15/73 bass solo as being longer, perhaps because it's most of the post-verse section - I tend to think of Dark Stars as being in "halves," pre & post-verse. But that brief Phil/Jerry interlude at the end sure carries a lot of weight.
9/11/73 has a very different approach to the post-verse bass solo, which I also love.
I usually recall Dark Stars based on their highlights - if there's one thrilling minute, it'll make up for any amount of meandering.
In any case, 12/6/73 always struck me as being the core of Dark Star-ness, where they turn it inside out, go deep, and stay there; it's long been a treasure for me. And to have that outrageous Sunshine in the same set, is just too much to ask for...
But there are certainly other popular Dark Stars that I wasn't too thrilled with - for instance, I always thought the one on 11/19/72 was pretty poor, with a lame Phil solo & few highlights.
Glad to turn on anyone to the 7/25/72 jam!
If you want under-the-radar and can handle a relatively poor AUD, I'd recommend the 10/23/72 Dark Star, which gets no acclaim due to the sound quality, but the post-verse jam is pretty remarkable, and the last few minutes are one of the most amazing endings to any Dark Star.
This was a good review of the Nov/Dec '73 period, on a sadly defunct blog:
http://moderndeadhead.blogspot.com/2011/07/grateful-dead-november-december-1973.htmlReplies9/11/73 speaks to me too! And I concur with your 11/19/72 sentiments, though I have to say the final three minutes almost redeems the first twenty-two getting there. I hadn't given 10/23/72 much attention, but around the 24:50 mark one can hear Milwaukee respond in kind with melting faces following the melt down of sound. This begs for attention. Such moments remind us how rewarding AUD sources can sometimes be.
I care to mention the 6/24/73 Dark Star, as it has always been an ol' chestnut for me, despite being (seemingly) underappreciated. Phil's almost 'Footprints' sounding groove commencing at the 6:36 mark steers this beast in the right direction in my book.
The featured review concerning the Nov/Dec '73 period was a fun read, though I can't seem to locate any shows from the late 80s/90s were the boys played six (6) shows without repeating a song!?
One deadbase reviewer made a stereo audience tape of this show (which unfortunately has never circulated). He wrote of the Dark Star:
"During one of the more quiet parts, you can hear the woman behind us scolding the people who were yelling for the band to 'play something.' 'Shut up, you babies,' came her terse reply!"
Even while it was being played, this Dark Star was divisive...Your above shared yarn had me laughing out loud! Thanks for sharing. I can empathize with those bitching rascals at that show, however, and it doesn't surprise me to learn that there was already a chasm of opinions regarding this Dark Star as it was being performed. All criticism aside, one can only hope that this tape will one-day miraculously surface. I am of the persuasion that a clean stereo audience source would only benefit the listening experience of this one, as the sonic ambiance of crowd noise and reaction always gives a show a nice shot in the arm when listening on tape. (And for me, this version sure needs one.) Since my scathing review on the archive was published, another reviewer chimed in with (in caps): "IGNORE ANY AND ALL EVEN REMOTELY NEGATIVE REVIEWS, THEY COME FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE YET TO BREAK THROUGH." Gotta love it, as this is what these GD literary round tables are all about. I hope folks continue to add logs to this fire! Still, I feel obliged to say that this DS is overrated. For this era, versions played on 11/13/72, 2/15/73, 2/26/73, 6/10/73, 8/1/73, 10/19/73, 11/11/73, 12/18/73 & 2/24/74 all trump it IMHO….
ReplyDeleteRepliesOoops... failed to mention 11/26/72! The playing during the 'feelin' groovy jam' segment commencing around the 20:15 mark [db entry 9248] is pure inspiration fully realized. But while on DS, I listened to 11/13/72 this morning after a long hiatus. While I love the AUD source, hopefully a clean SBD will one-day show its face. For me, the 11/13/72 DS could be the beasts of all beasts. Perhaps someone can tackle an essay on that one!?
I also wish a good AUD of 12/6/73 would come out. (An AUD was used for a couple small patches in the circulating SBD, however from the samples it sounds terrible. It could still be illuminating in the Dark Star, though.)
Another copy of 11/26/72 came out (db 123022) which does not have the bad cut in the Feelin' Groovy jam, but it is hissier. In any case, I'm glad other people also find this Feelin' Groovy jam really special; Garcia's tone is unbelievable!
The 11/13/72 Dark Star is one of the greatest. No essay in the works, but I did do a short writeup of that one:
"They're very tight & focused here - this Star's a great example of 'Dead telepathy.' There are certainly brighter, happier, prettier, or spacier Stars from the year - but few are darker than this one.
The ABB were to have been with the Dead on this tour, but canceled - Berry Oakley had died a couple days earlier. That may be reflected in the jam here... On the other hand, the Dead's jams had a dark & surly vibe for the whole next month as well - could be just the zone they were in.
Bear knew how to record a good AUD: the levels are just right. There is a 90-second cut in the Dark Star, though; Hanno 10089 patches the cut in Bear's tape with the other inferior AUD.
Garcia's in interstellar 'searchlight casting' mode from the start (check out the audience cheering a tasty note @ :50 - someone groans after a deep Garcia passage @ 2:13).
Keith is in Weir's sonic range at the start, so he's harder to hear - after a few minutes he starts standing out more. The band is in full-on jazzy mode in this intro jam (aided by Bill's light drumming).
It gradually gets more intense - there's a great moment after 6:30 where they simultaneously drop into quiet arpeggios, to the crowd's delight. From here it gets spacier - Garcia brings out the volume swells @ 8m for a lovely passage, the band playing gentle chimes with him.
By 9:30 Keith has turned on his wah, adding a new texture. The jam is rapid & loose but unhurried - they're staying in the zone of pure improv.
The patch is from 11:20-12:55, during which they transition back to the Dark Star theme, a fine segue which thrills the crowd.
The post-verse space starts @ 15m, and here is where this Star breaks loose from the pack. It's very atmospheric & foreboding - wispy trails of feedback, Bill rattles & splashes, Phil plays unresolved notes, Keith makes abstract wah-swirls. They take their time with this, slowly turning up the tension, not starting the spiral into a Tiger til 20m.
The Tiger noisily crashes & clatters, and unwinds in atonal randomness after a couple minutes - but the tenseness continues, and the mood stays ugly. They wander atonally for a couple minutes - Keith really standing out here. The playing gets brutish (Phil distorts @24m), and then Garcia descends into ANOTHER Tiger, even louder & wilder than the last, finally settling in a beautiful climax of Phil & Keith chords which segues perfectly into a satisfying Philo Stomp - one of the most amazing moments in a '72 Dark Star (and there was no shortage of amazing moments in those). The crowd is blown away.
After a couple rounds the Philo Stomp dissolves into a loose, frisky jam - the guitarists hint at turning it into a countryish direction (a la 9/21/72), but things come to a pause.
There's no thought of segueing into another song; they just keep the improv going. Garcia whips out some fast lines & they start an uptempo jam that quickly heats up, like a Cumberland gone awry. Phil starts a fast-paced Feelin' Groovy line, soon joined by the others (this could be the fastest version, or maybe 4/14/72 is?). It's funny to hear Garcia playing this in fast-motion; they really stomp on it here - but it comes to an end.
Garcia slows down & signals Morning Dew with a repeated D chord, so the band settles down to prepare the segue."RepliesA fine critique you offer, LIA. For all of Bear's quirky idiosyncrasies (his meat, cheese & butter only diet, notwithstanding), he sure could captain a ship of sonic bliss. It is curious how the Dead's sound adopted a foreboding, even sinister timbre in the autumn of '72—a stark contrast to the sound they unleashed during the Corn Belt tour of early '73. For me, that's one of charms of mythical creature that comprises the Grateful Dead. I think part of the dark ambiance of late '72 is explained by the boomy, murky quality of the recordings themselves, rather than the actual performances. Still, that period exhibits a unique sound that curiously defies the recording quality explanation. I read somewhere that some mishap occurred (stolen equipment?) at the 10/21Vanderbilt show that helps explain why the sonic quality of the shows were hindered after that date. Again, another wrinkle of mystical fate that makes for a chapter of the Dead's sprawling catalogue all the more engrossing.
- AnonymousJune 30, 2015 at 11:47 AM
I stumbled onto this Dark Star last night by accident after a friend burned me a copy of the Dec 73 road trips bonus disc. I am floored, what an experience that was. Can't believe I got through it intact. I felt like I was on a trip with no directions but somehow safely made it home. This essay is fantastic & describes a lot of what I truly loved from this epic performance.
ReplyDelete Another good review from "ginosega" on the Archive:
"The Dead in late 1973 were as hot as they ever got - every show from this tour is strong, and they played each set and song with focus and polish. They had perfected their skills as musicians and performers, and could switch at will from hard-driving, tight rock & roll to that sweet '73 "honey" sound to deep space exploration. Phil in particular was super-energetic on this tour, often playing "lead bass" and extended jams with mega bombs and feedback. What's so great about this Dark Star is that you get the band at the peak of their powers completely abandoning all reason, logic, and control, letting themselves get taken as far into the void as they ever went.
A funny thing about this Dark Star is it doesn't really start; the tuning after Big River simply dissolves into a series of spacey jams and soon you realize that this is in fact the plan. About 12 minutes in Phil fires the engines and turns the ship out of orbit, until at 17 minutes we have arrived in the deepest, darkest part of the galaxy, a place inhabited by giant, planet-sized beings made of multi-color translucent goo. We wander here for a while, the engines shut down, the ship's sails filled by the cosmic winds. Only at 21 minutes into the song do they actually start *playing* the song, and the melody and first verse is delivered soft and relaxed to fit the mood. We then return to our journey through time, and there follows ten solid minutes of far-out space, ranging from the quietest moments to full-on feedback from all cylinders. At about 36 minutes we start the return trip, passing through more familiar systems on our way back home. This is truly a masterwork of the Grateful Dead's darkest muse.
The Eyes that follows is a cool, refreshing breeze after such a long trip. It's plenty Dark Starred too - listen as the chaos creeps into the jam at the 9 minute mark and the Dead pull the song back from the brink - must have been fun.
This is truly an epic show with a Dark Star for the ages. I hope that hundreds of years from now people are still listening to this as reverently as we are now."
And "doug the dude" writes: "The Dark Star (or, rather, Jam > Space > Dark Star) is extraordinary. If you like Phil, seek no further - this is mind-melt music for those real astral-nauts, heavy beam-ax-split-the-timber bass drone. I think the two movements, pre-and-post verse, are absolutely sublime examples of the Dead at their most fearlessly experimental. The band never very often utilized 'drone' tones ala Floyd; here, they give in to that temptation and ride the wave out way, waaaaaay beyond ordinary boundaries."Listening again to this show, I noticed that Weir all but disappears in the mix, starting in Dark Star until the end of the show. His levels are fine up until 19 minutes into Dark Star - then Phil begins his prolonged burst of feedback, and poof, Weir vanishes in the mix, reduced to faint background noise for the rest of the show. (It's painfully obvious in Sugar Magnolia.) Evidently Phil's feedback caused electronic chaos!
Weir's still playing throughout, he can just barely be heard on tape in this section. This is one reason I hope a good audience tape surfaces for this show - what we're hearing in the last hour of the show is a reduced band, not what was heard onstage.RepliesThe older copies of this show had a patch from a (poor) audience tape for about 30 seconds during a reel change in Eyes of the World, from about 1:35-2:00, in which you can tell Weir's guitar was still present in the PA.
Charlie Miller's newest copy of 12/6/73 replaced this with an sbd patch, which had a slightly different mix. At first I got my hopes up that there might be an alternate board mix of this show, but it turns out the patch was actually taken from the 12/12/73 Eyes.
(The end of Here Comes Sunshine cut off on older copies, but the sbd ending on Miller's newer copy is the genuine 12/6/73, it matches the aud.)
The full audience tape remains elusive & out of reach.The full audience tape has surfaced recently!
Very nice aud quality, I think. Weir is loud & clear from Dark Star onwards (where he's zapped from the SBD tape) - actually Garcia's the quietest of the players on this tape, so it's an interesting alternate way to hear the show.
- AnonymousMay 5, 2022 at 7:02 AM
I wonder if the source he refers to with the Dark Star split into tuning, prelude, and the song its self ever made it into digital circulation, I would really like to find a copy of that
ReplyDelete - Harry L. FunkJune 4, 2024 at 6:56 AM
I read this post and the comments first thing this morning, and I had to refresh my memory. Wow! The guitar-keyboard interplay leading up to the "Dark Star" theme (about 21:00) is delicate and quite interesting, and as a big fan of '68-69-era "Feedback," I enjoy the succeeding section. Yes, I can understand some of the observations about "meandering" and the like, but that's the Dead.
Also, I enjoy Keith playing electric piano here. Reminds me of some Miles Davis shows from a few years earlier, with Keith Jarrett making a departure from his usual acoustic. Tremendous stuff!
This blog and Lost Live Dead are tremendous resources, even though I discovered them relatively recently. Thank you, fellows!!!


text:
East Lansing, MI. Mark Mitchell's brief essay on Sarah Palin reminded me of a Treasonous Clerk installment I wrote back in November, contemplating the significance of Palin's persona for American politics and culture. Though an instinctive admirer of Palin's populist attributes, much as Mitchell does, I then was troubled by the nomination of a married mother of five to the nominally second-highest office in the land insofar as she was nominated thus specifically as an avatar of the conservative defense of the family. At first glance, it appeared that her candidacy for a public office was intended to protect or, rather, to re-establish appropriate reverence to the private-realm roles of women as wives and mothers. The situational irony was greater than in those television advertisements that instruct us to do something other than watch television, such as talk to our children.
Upon reflection, of course, it became clear that Palin did symbolize an American conception of the family but not a truly conservative or traditional one. She represented adequately a rightly insecure, inexorably conflicted, and definitively American, vision of womanhood widespread today: the woman who can be wife, mother, and wage slave, who can "balance" maternal and job-market authority without apparent sacrifice. I observed then,
Palin represents very closely the kind of life a broad swath of Americans live or would like to live. Her attractive smile, husband and five children, dual-income household, indefatigable community service that emerged from her role as a mother (PTA, Mayor, and then, not quite seamlessly, Governor), mirror what a great number of American women want. Her expressed femininity, instinctive pro-life stance, no less instinctive opposition to homosexual "marriage," and blithe belief that almost anyone could enter the upper reaches of the middle class if government got out of the way, all comports well with the core convictions of most suburban and rural Americans.
The word "core" I use advisedly, for Palin symbolizes a contradiction at the core of contemporary American life. Many of us want to believe that dual-income families are not a necessity brought on by an unstable service-and-finance economy (one which, in turn, contributes to that instability), but the advent of greater individual freedom; that a mother can work long hours outside the home without compromising the bonds of love and dependency in the home; that marital and sexual choices are mostly private, but that social stability can best be maintained if we minimize the challenges to the nuclear family as the privileged economic (rather than political) unit. Above all, many of us want to believe that, so long as that privileging of the nuclear family remains in fact, all kinds of behavior are legitimate personal choices, by which we really mean they are equally legitimate and morally indifferent consumer choices. We want the home of the nuclear family preserved as a site for consumption but not as a good whose preservation requires routine sacrifice. We want to be able to "have it all," as the phrase goes, to make choices between various consumer items all of which eventually can be had. "I'll have a quick lunch today so I can go browse at The Gap" is, in this scheme, little different from "I'll have my two kids without delaying (much) my career."
What we do notwant to be reminded of is that most choices are not consumer choices: they are not between various commensurable goods that we may elect in succession and without sacrifice. On that score, it matters little that those hard-working journalists uncovered photographs of a young Palin as a Beauty-Queen-also-ran; it matters much that she remains attractive after having had five children. She demonstrates that one can have children and not look as if one had five children; one can reap all the benefits of the body without compromising the body's fitness to consume and consume again, to reap and reap, to choose and choose without having to make irrevocable decisions. Nothing determines you, Baby! So feel free to refashion yourself according to your latest desires.
I tried to diagnose this curious chapter of contemporary American political history as an expression of that classic liberal disease Jacques Maritain described as "angelism" or "the suicide of the angels." In his Frontiers of Poetry, Maritain condemned those modern artists whose works sought to defy the very conditions intrinsic to their existence; that is, modern art seemed to aspire to a condition of pure spirit and thus expressed a contempt for material beings, for matter itself, even though by definition a work of art is a material thing. In an earlier essay, Art and Scholasticism, Maritain emphasized that
art does not reside in an angelic mind; it resides in a soul which animates a living body, and which, by the natural necessity in which it finds itself of learning, and progressing little by little and with the assistance of others, makes the rational animal a naturally social animal. Art is therefore basically dependant upon everything which the human community, spiritual tradition and history transmit to the body and mind of man. By its human subject and its human roots, art belongs to a time and a country.
What can be said of human artworks can be said with greater emphasis regarding the human person. Maritain would extend this Thomist critique of modern art to modern thought in general, drawing out from the shadows of the marketplace, the Third Republic, and the Sorbonne alike the Cartesian idealism that infected them — and which even more dangerously infects us today. Modern persons feel a tension between their mind and their body; their mind seems infinite and would be truly infinite if only the inconvenient impositions of the body would cease to limit its progress to total self-domination and self-determination. If the mind can think of anything possible — as surely it can — then it ought to be free to impose all possible thoughts on the mute, innert material world. Angels do not commit suicide; they are pure spirits by their very nature and so are not subject to the limitations an individuated bodily exsistence implies. When the human person seeks to become pure spirit — not by asceticism, which is an acceptance of the body's dominion and an attempt to allay and endure it, but by the reconception of his body as a possession of the mind, separate from it as a suitcase is from its owner — he risks "suicide." That is, he risks killing himself, by thinking himself something other than he is: an angel rather than a man, a pure intellect rather than an embodied one, an unbounded infinite spirit rather than a conditioned rational animal. When we pursue this course, we become fallen angels, the arrogance of our aspirations plunging us into that rare sort of unhappiness, where we hate most that which makes our earthly lives possible: our individual bodies. And we show our hatred, most often, by treating what we disdain as a worthless but greedily hoarded tool of our pleasure.
Like most modern Thomists, Maritain rightly saw in Thomas Aquinas's conceptual realism a series of principles upon which human flourishing depended and against which modern philosophy, politics, and culture uniformly reacted with contempt. Human beings are compounds of form and matter. Our rational souls are analogous to the Intellect of God, and thus inform us that the human person is more than a material individual; he may rise to the divine in contemplation, and his soul may ultimately, in some eschatological sense, triumph over the material conditions of the body to which it is ordered (a triumph that the Christian knows will not leave the body behind but rather will super-fulfill it in a divinized form). While this is so, even our kind of intellect — our native discurive reasoning — shows the imprint of the body. We think our thoughts in parts and sequences, because our intellect is divided in consequence of its dependence upon the organs of the body to function. If we were non-material, our intellects would not be so subject to temporal sequence, but we are and so they are. Contra Descartes, there is no "mind/body" problem, because form and matter, body and soul, constitute a single human being; they interfuse one another. The reason knows nothing that it does not learn originally by means of the body, and so we may say it transcends the knowledge of the body only if we can entertain the expression that a house "transcends" the ground on which it is built.
The mind is ordered to the body, but distinct from it; this has proven a hard doctrine for the unbalanced modern mind to accept. As Maritain many times insisted, even if there is in fact no mind/body problem, bad philosophy can make it appear thus. And so, we moderns are often Cartesians without knowing it (and not only because, as Tocqueville said of Americans, we have not read Descartes). We devalue and try to dominate that which we should accept and to which we should submit ourselves. As Jason Peters and Patrick Deneen frequently remind us, our culture is characterized primarily by this angelism or "gnosticism." We try to dominate the body of our life with the reason of our spirit, just as we would dominate the body of this world of which our very selves are small parts — Nature, or Creation. Rather than recognize that the God of Nature intends the soul and body to constitute one being, we seek to live better and better, bigger and bigger, more ravenous and more lustful lives by embracing the relatively infinite series of desires the mind may conceive even as we seek to overcome or set aside the finitude our bodies would impose. That our "infinite" desires are almost invariably just bodily desires says nothing against this hypothesis; for it is the essence of angelism, or gnosticism, that one can do what one wants with a body that is unimportant. No amount of whoring robs the Cartesian man of his dignity, for he pretends that his mind dwells high above, independent and sealed off from, the hand that drops the trousers.
Back in November, I saw Palin as just the latest expression of this liberal gnosticism, this fundamentally anti-humanist angelism. And I do think I was correct to view her thus: or rather, to view her selection as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate as a repetition of the false conservatism of Ronald Reagan, which pretended to acknowledge and accept the inherent limits and fragile dignity of human nature even as it ultimately advocated a remaking of the world (after the fashion of Thomas Paine) in the image of our disembodied, and so ungrounded, intellectual aspirations.
Did Palin put on knowledge with her power, and suffer the sudden blows of both? Did she resign for the sake of her children and her family? Or even out of recognition of her own individual human limits, which surely must have been taxed by the onslaught of ugly media attention and continuous, slimey insinuations in the electro-angelistic precincts of the internet? The attempt to reconcile the image of a private-realm wife and mother with the public authority of the executive was so intellectually incoherent that the press clearly could not figure out how to treat her. Could they ignore her family life, her private identity, when that was what her candidacy for public office symbolized in the first place? I doubt the press gave the question much thought, actually, though it exposed the incoherence even as it showed forth its own vile conception of the worth of politics and human dignity. I know that I could not bear the kind of attention to which Palin was subjected through this rank confusion — but, I observe, I would also never have sought it in the first place.
While I confess to suspecting her resignation was precisely what all the talking-heads are spouting: a risky political punt intended to play field position for a future run at national office, let us for the moment think otherwise. Let us hold open the possibility that this was the last chapter for Palin in the age of spectacular politics, and that the conclusion is happy: having sought to violate the limits that natural life imposed upon her as a wife, mother, business partner, and — happily for her — provincial American, Palin concluded that one may not have everything. One cannot be everything to everyone, one cannot float disembodied through the cosmos like a Cartesian angel, but must live in a particular place, with a particular community, in a particular body. If that was her discovery, she is far wiser than most Americans; she will not simply return to private life, but may in an exceptional way recover a life that embodies what it means to be human (which, of course, in part means to be embodied), a sign of contradiction in an age saturated with the surgically or digitally altered monsters of monitor and screen. Most of us would do well to learn from her experience rather than to rationalize our own limitless concupiscent desires by means of her public image. For, while young meritocrats are in their dorm rooms, swallowing pills to study for success; while women with hearts full of desires for celebrity are having their breasts stuffed with silicon; while the passive vegetation of Middle America tunes in to find out what Vanna is wearing and what new obscenity it must find funny; while soldiers and children drop dead in Kabul so that we may raise ourselves up on the altar of consumption; perhaps the Palins will be sitting down to dinner, dreaming no longer of becoming principalities of this world, but talking instead of the God of Our Fathers. As the poet Brian Coffey once wrote,
All the passions meet at the dinner table,
all men's history ever was or will be
uncoils its features while we serve the food
In the acceptance of human limits, we find human freedom. In the refusal to have everything, we discover those few things worth having. In the domestic church of the family, the highest hopes of earthly life are to be found. On frank confessions of weakness do we found the life of virtue. If only all the murderous urges and angels of our age were brought to earth once more, they might at last find a condign happiness.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Noble Mount
Men's Premium 100% Cotton Flannel Pajama Sleepwear Set - Burgundy/Grey Plaid
Here's why you will absolutely love our Noble Mount Flannels PJs -
- 100% Cotton brushed flannel for warmth and soft hand feel
- Button down long sleeve shirt with a notch collar, chest pocket and contrast trims
- Pants feature elastic waistband with drawstring for adjustable sizing
- Fly front
- Two side seam pockets make this pajama both comfortable and functional
- Classic plaid patterns to choose from
Note: This product is sized and designed to allow 5% shrinkage. Standard American Sizing.
Just try it and we know you will love it.


text:
"Something is rotten in the state," says Marcellus in Hamlet. Well, it certainly is in the state of Illinois.
Yet, on hearing U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald describe a plot by his governor to sell his Senate seat—"conduct (that) would make Lincoln roll over in his grave"—how did reform President Barack Obama respond? "I had no contact with the governor or his office, and so I was not aware of what was happening. … And as I said, it is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that, I don't think it's appropriate to comment."
"A sad day for Illinois"—that was it.
But FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant could not contain his revulsion: "If (Illinois) isn't the most corrupt state in the United States, it's certainly one hell of a competitor. I think even the most cynical agents in our office were shocked."
Yet Barack stayed cool. Not for 24 hours did he join the clamor for Gov. Rod Blagojevich to stand down.
The stink of this is not going away, and it may adhere to the new presidency that seemed about to begin in a new era of good feeling.
For, consider. While Obama said he had never spoken with the governor about the Senate seat—understandable, given how toxic the scandal-plagued Blagojevich was—he did not say his staff had not done so.
Which raises several questions:
Did Obama direct or ask any staffer to speak to Blagojevich? Did Rahm Emanuel or David Axelrod, both of Chicago, never speak to the governor about the Senate appointment? Did Barack's aides all treat Blagojevich as a political leper and not communicate to him any interest in or concern about whom he might appoint to succeed Obama?
This defies credulity.
On the other hand, if Obama's staffers did talk to Blagojevich or his staff, did the governor or his men suggest a big-time pay-off might purchase a Senate seat?
For Blagojevich is overheard on the wiretaps complaining that all that Obama, whom he slurs nastily, was offering was gratitude.
How did Blagojevich know that?
Who told him Barack would not pony up and play ball? And if any Obama aide was solicited for a bribe, did they relate that to Obama? Did they report it to the FBI or the U.S. attorney's office?
Forty-eight hours into Senategate and already the cancer has metastasized. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been dragged in. He is "Senate Candidate 5″ on the wiretaps. From the FBI transcripts, it appears a Jackson "emissary," with access to the governor, offered to raise half a million for Blagojevich's re-election, in return for naming Jackson to the Senate. With perhaps a million more to follow.
Jackson says he met for 90 minutes with the governor Monday and made his case for the Senate appointment—on his record alone. Jackson emphasized that he was not solicited by the governor for a bribe, nor was any emissary ever authorized to offer the governor anything.
Jackson's lawyer backs him up, but says that some supporter, without Jackson's knowledge, might have freelanced on his own.
There are other puzzling questions.
Why, if Fitzgerald was listening to the wiretaps and laying his trap for the governor and corrupt politicians interested in buying a U.S. Senate seat, did he abort the operation with his 6 a.m. arrests of Blagojevich and his chief of staff? Why spring the trap when the mouse is just outside, mulling over whether to go for the cheese?
Why not let the plot unfold? Why not let the corrupt bidder for a Senate seat make a solid offer and bring in his or her down payment? Why not wait for the felony to be committed instead of acting while it was still being considered and discussed?
This one is not going away soon.
Forty-eight hours into the scandal, we have a governor and chief of staff arrested in their homes for attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat of the 44th president of the United States. And one of the most famous names in politics, Jesse Jackson Jr., has hired a lawyer and been placed under a cloud of suspicion that some benefactor tried to buy him the Senate seat he coveted.
No one is yet convicted of anything. But if this scandal touches any member of Obama's White House staff, who may have spoken with Blagojevich and listened to his solicitation of a bribe without reporting it, we are going to have a new special prosecutor in Washington, D.C.
Indeed, the U.S. Senate should probably make the confirmation of Eric Holder as attorney general, the Clintonite who midwifed the pardons of Marc Rich and the Puerto Rican terrorists, contingent on his naming an independent counsel in the Senategate scandal.
As for the Bush-to-Barack transition, which Americans have applauded as graceful and uplifting, it is now mired in mud.
Yes, indeed, it is—a sad day for America.


text:
There is a common body of knowledge among real estate professionals that indicates that the longer a home is on the market, the lower the price will be. Many sellers discount this belief in the beginning because they feel confident their home will sell quickly.incentives – article.png
Lowering the price is the most obvious thing that can be done to encourage buyers but it might be good to look at what builders do. Builders offer a variety of incentives such as upgrades, seller-paid closing costs, interest rate buy downs, washers, dryers, refrigerators or big screen TVs.
Interestingly, much of the resale market doesn't employ these techniques. According to the latest NAR Home Buyers and Sellers Profile, 64% of sellers did not offer any incentives at all.
21% of sellers offer a home warranty. 16% of sellers offered assistance with closing costs and 6% offered credit toward remodeling or repairs.
The attached chart indicates that while 80% of sellers were not willing to offer incentives in the beginning of their marketing period, as weeks passes and their home hasn't sold, closer to half did add incentives.
The ideal outcome is to maximize proceeds in the shortest time possible with the fewest unexpected issues. This involves having a firm understanding of current, local market conditions and crafting a marketing plan that will insure results.
There is so much at stake, the value of a trusted real estate professional is essential.


text:
By Jeff Mason and Andreas Rinke
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The first face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel started awkwardly on Friday and ended even more oddly, with a quip by Trump about wiretapping that left the German leader visibly bewildered.
The two leaders share different views on trade, Russia and immigration, leading to some uncomfortable moments at a joint news conference on Friday in which they took pains to downplay differences that were hard to mask.
Friday's meeting was the first between the new U.S. president and the long-serving stateswoman, who leads Europe's largest economy. It was seen as one that could help determine the future of the transatlantic alliance and shape their working relationship.
Though Merkel appeared relaxed, the body language between them was not especially warm.
Trump and Merkel shook hands when she arrived at the White House but did not do so in the Oval Office where she frequently leaned towards him while he stared straight ahead, sitting with his legs apart and hands together. In the Oval Office both leaders described their meeting in brief remarks to reporters as having been very good.
She began her remarks at the news conference by saying it was better to speak to each other than about each other.
"We held a conversation where we were trying to address also those areas where we disagree, but we tried to bring people together … (and) tried to find a compromise that is good for both sides," Merkel said.
They shook hands again at the end of the press conference and then exited the East Room together.
Near the start of the news conference, Trump pressed Merkel for Germany to meet NATO's military spending target, and Merkel reiterated her country's commitment to the 2 percent military spending goal.
"I reiterated to Chancellor Merkel my strong support for NATO as well as the need for our NATO allies to pay their fair share for the cost of defense. Many nations owe vast sums of money from past years, and it is very unfair to the United States. These nations must pay what they owe."
Trump also stood by unproven claims that the Obama administration tapped his phones, and expressed solidarity with a surprised Merkel, whose government charged Washington in 2013 may have been spying on her.
"As far as wiretapping, I guess, by this past administration, at least we have something in common perhaps," Trump said to Merkel, who looked bewildered as she stared back at him from her podium.
In 2013 the German government said it had information that the United States may have monitored Merkel's mobile phone, prompting her to call Obama to demand immediate clarification.
The Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee issued a statement on Thursday rejecting Trump's assertion that the Obama administration conducted surveillance on him.
Trump, who as a presidential candidate had criticized Merkel for allowing hundreds of thousands of refugees into Germany, said immigration was a privilege, not a right.
Merkel hinted at differences, saying: "This is obviously something we had an exchange of views about."
The new U.S. president has sought through executive orders to ban people from six Muslim-majority countries temporarily from entering the United States, causing an uproar domestically and internationally among critics.
Aside from business and foreign policy goals, relationship building was an important if less overt agenda item.
Merkel had close relations with Trump's Democratic and Republican predecessors, Obama and George W. Bush, and she is likely to seek a strong working relationship with Trump despite major policy differences and wariness in Germany about the former New York businessman.
"Those who know the chancellor know that she has a knack for winning over people in personal discussions. I am sure that Donald Trump will not be immune," said Juergen Hardt, a conservative lawmaker who helps coordinate transatlantic relations for the German government.
The two also discussed Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Trump said he expected the United States to do "fantastically well" in trade with Germany, while Merkel said she hoped the United States and the European Union could resume discussions on a trade agreement. Trump said he did not believe in isolationism but that trade policy should be fairer.
Before the news conference, Trump and Merkel held a meeting with business leaders from the United States and Germany at the White House.
(Additional reporting by Noah Barkin in Berlin, and Emily Stephenson and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and James Dalgleish)


text:
Residents are urged to develop a disaster preparedness plan before an emergency strikes. Plan in advance where you will stay, how you will get there, and what supplies you will take. As part of your plan, you should have an emergency supply kit ready. When you return to the city, you may not have electricity or water for weeks. Consider the needs of elderly and infant family members and pets.
- Make prior arrangements with friends or relatives living in a non-evacuation area or check into a hotel located inland; or, as a last resort, use a public shelter.
- Send a list of friends' and neighbors' telephone numbers and copies of important papers to family members in another city.
- Tell family, neighbors, and service agencies where you would go to stay in an emergency.
- Have a transportation plan for emergencies.
- Have a plan to secure your boat or take it elsewhere.
- Review your insurance policies to ensure that you are fully covered. Insurers cease issuing policies when tropical systems are within the quadrant.
- Inventory and take photos of your property and valuables, and store these photos and other important documents in a waterproof container and take with you when evacuating.
- Practice your Disaster Plan.
Check out the NC Hurricane Preparedness Plan here.
- Inspect your roof
- Trim trees
- Update insurance coverage
- Check your shutters (practice installing especially if you bought a new home or new shutters)
- Test your generator and chainsaw for proper operation.
- Before Evacuating Secure Your Home/Condo/Apartment/Business
- Take down and bring in any signs, tables, garbage cans, plants, furniture, umbrellas, and other loose and/or unsecured structures from outdoors, including all balconies.
- Board up windows and glass doors. (Do NOT tape windows and do not leave any windows or doors ajar).
- If you live in an apartment or condo, securing your windows and doors will minimize damage to your unit; however, unsecured windows and doors of neighboring units can cause damage to your unit too. Please keep this in mind when preparing your home before evacuating.
- Fill prescriptions.
- Fill propane gas and car gas tank.
- Secure boats and relocate according to predetermined boat plan.
- Unplug TV/computer and bring antenna and satellite dish inside.
- Add extra chlorine to your pool.
- Turn off electricity to pool equipment and cover pump.
- Move furniture and electronics away from windows and cover with plastic.
- Pull curtains, blinds and shutters.
- Turn off gas appliances at shut-off valve inside the house as well as water and electricity.
- Secure pets in temporary shelter.
- Turn your refrigerator to its coldest setting.
- Place valuables in waterproof containers and store in high place.
- Two-week supply of food/drink
Maintain a two-week supply of food and drink for when you return to the city after a storm. Keep it as a part of your survival kit. Include the following items:
- Water and ice
- Special dietary needs items
- Small containers of canned meats, fruits, soups, etc.
- Dry Cereal and crackers
- Granola/cereal/protein bars, nuts, peanut butter
- Bread
- Canned or bottled juices
- Dry or non-refrigerated milk and baby food or formula (if applicable)
Survival Kit
Keep a kit at your home with the following items in it. Some of these items will be needed to secure your home, some you will take with you when you evaucate, and others will be needed once the storm has passed and you are allowed to re-occupy your home.
- Radio/TV/Fan (battery-powered)
- Flashlight(s)
- Batteries
- Can opener
- Matches or lighter
- Two-week food-drink supply
- Prescription medicines (a month's supply)
- Babydiapersandincontinentpads (if applicable)
- First-aid kit
- Spare keys to home and vehicles
- Tools (hammer, screw driver, pliers, andnails)
- Map of the area
- Toiletries
- Plastic garbage bags
- Zip lock bags
- Paper plates
- Napkins or paper towels
- Plastic Eating Utensils
- Toilet Paper
- Emergency cooking facilities
- Sternos
- Propane for gas BBQ grills
- Lantern
- Fuel(stored in an approved containeroutside)
- Fire extinguisher
- Bleach (without lemon or any other additives)
- Water purification tablets
- Rain gear (clothing and shoes)
- Seasonal clothing for a few days
- Blanket and pillows
- Mosquito/insect repellant and killer
- Sunscreen
- rope
- an inflatable raft
- life preservers
- a tarp
- sleeping bags and blankets
- duct tape
- mosquito netting
Keep an emergency suitcase ready at all times in the event of an evacuation or for any natural disaster that you can take with you to a shelter. Keep important documents sealed in an airtight bag. Shelters do not provide food. Be sure to take your own supply of non-perishable food.
- Waterproof bag or box for all important documents
- Proof of residency/business
- Driver's license
- Insurance policy
- Utility bill
- Birth/marriage certificates
- Bank accounts
- Mortgages
- Copies of prescriptions
- Phone numbers of family, friends, physician, pharmacy,
- Caregiver and business contacts
- Property photos
- Blankets and pillows
- Essential personal items such as prescription drugs, toiletries, dentures, hearing aids, eye glasses
- Change of clothing
- Battery-powered radio/TV
- Extra batteries
- Cooler with ice/water supplies
- Non-perishable food
- Toys/books/activities for kids
Hurricane Watch
Prepare for a hurricane as early as possible. Once a storm's path is forecasted, begin to monitor the storm and prepare for an evacuation. Fill up your vehicle with gasoline before evacuating and be sure to have extra cash in the event of power outage.
It's very important that you take your pets with you when you evacuate. It's the only way to gaurentee that your pet will be safe. If you leave your dog or cat in a home, they can escape if your house is damaged during the storm.
When it's not safe for you, it's not safe for your pet. Evacuate early and don't wait for a mandatory evacuation order.
Find a pet friendly hotel here.
Prepare an evacuation kit for your pets before hurricane season begins.
- Pet(s) should have proper ID (microchip, collar with tag, tattoo) including name, address and phone number
- Up-to-date veterinarian records (vaccinations, medical history, any existing medical conditions with prescriptions, proof of ownership, current photos) Updating your pets' vaccines during an emergency could prove challenging, so plan ahead.
- One-month supply of medications
- Flea & tick prevention/treatments
- Two-week supply of food and water; can opener if necessary
- Toys, treats and blankets to comfort animal
- Proper leash & collar per pet
- Appropriate pet carrier per pet
- One-month of litter with pan & scoop
- Phone Notifications
Prepare to move your boat when a hurricane is likely, even before a Hurricane Watch is issued. If you wait too long to relocate the boat, bridges may be locked down and you may not be able to get your boat and yourself to safety. Be advised that high-rise storage racks can be toppled by a storm's high winds. If possible, put your boat on a trailer and take it further inland. If you must leave your boat in water, make sure it is securely anchored, secure extra lines and add chafe protection. Check with your local marina for more advice.


text:
The FBI is dissolving before our eyes into a rogue security service akin to those in Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
Take the FBI's deliberately asymmetrical application of the law. This week the bureau surprise-raided the home of former President Donald Trump — an historical first.
A massive phalanx of FBI agents swooped into the Trump residence while he was not home to confiscate his personal property, safe and records. All of this was over an archival dispute of presidential papers common to many former presidents. Agents swarmed the entire house, including the wardrobe closet of the former first lady.
Note we are less than 90 days out from a midterm election, and this was not just a raid but a political act.
The Democratic Party is anticipated to suffer historical losses. Trump was on the verge of announcing his 2024 presidential candidacy. In many polls, he remains the Republican front-runner for the nomination — and well ahead of President Joe Biden in a putative 2024 rematch.
In 2016 then-FBI Director James Comey announced that candidate Hillary Clinton was guilty of destroying subpoenaed emails — a likely felony pertaining to her tenure as secretary of state. Yet he all but pledged that she would not be prosecuted given her status as a presidential candidate.
As far as targeting presidential candidates, Trump was impeached in 2020 ostensibly for delaying military aid to Ukraine by asking Ukrainian officials to investigate more fully the clearly corrupt Biden family — given Joe Biden at the time was a likely possible presidential opponent in 2020.
The FBI has devolved into a personal retrieval service for the incorrigible Biden family. It suppressed, for political purposes, information surrounding Hunter Biden's missing laptop on the eve of the 2020 election. Previously, the FBI never pursued Hunter's fraudulently registered firearm, his mysterious foreign income, his felonious crack cocaine use or his regular employment of foreign prostitutes.
Yet in a pre-dawn raid just before the 2020 election, the FBI targeted the home of journalist James O'Keefe on grounds that someone had passed to him the lost and lurid diary of Ashley Biden, Biden's wayward daughter.
At various times, in Stasi-style, the FBI has publicly shackled Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro, swarmed the office of Trump's legal counsel Rudy Giuliani and sent a SWAT team to surround the house of Trump ally Roger Stone. Meanwhile, terrorists and cartels walk with impunity across an open border.
FBI Director Christopher Wray last week cut short his evasive testimony before Congress. He claimed he had to leave for a critical appointment — only to use his FBI Gulfstream luxury jet to fly to his favorite vacation spot in the Adirondacks. Wray took over from disgraced interim FBI Director Andrew McCabe. The latter admitted lying repeatedly to federal investigators and signed off on a fraudulent FBI application to a secret federal court. He faced zero legal consequences.
McCabe, remember, was also the point man in the softball Hillary Clinton email investigation — while his wife was a political candidate and recipient of thousands of dollars from a political action committee with close ties to the Clinton family.
McCabe took over from the disgraced Comey. On 245 occasions, Comey claimed under oath before the House Intelligence Committee that he had no memory or knowledge of key questions concerning his tenure. With impunity, he leaked confidential FBI memos to the media.
Comey took over from Robert Mueller. Implausibly, Mueller swore under oath that he had no knowledge, either of the Steele dossier or of Fusion GPS, the firm that commissioned Christopher Steele to compile the dossier. But those were the very twin catalysts that had prompted his entire special investigation into the Russian collusion hoax.
FBI legal counsel Kevin Clinesmith was convicted of a felony for altering an FBI warrant request to spy on an innocent Carter Page.
The FBI, by Comey's own public boasts, bragged how it caught National Security Adviser-designate Gen. Michael Flynn in its Crossfire Hurricane Russian collusion hoax.
As special counsel, Mueller then fired two of his top investigators — Lisa Page and Peter Strzok — for improper personal and professional behavior. He then staggered their releases to mask their collaborative wrongdoing.
Mueller's team deleted critical cellphone evidence under subpoena that might well have revealed systemic FBI-related bias.
The FBI interferes with and warps national elections. It hires complete frauds as informants who are far worse than its targets. It humiliates or exempts government and elected officials based on their politics. It violates the civil liberties of individual American citizens.
The FBI's highest officials now routinely mislead Congress. They have erased or altered court and subpoenaed evidence. They illegally leak confidential material to the media. And they have lied under oath to federal investigators.
The agency has become dangerous to Americans and an existential threat to their democracy and rule of law. The FBI should be dispersing its investigatory responsibilities to other government investigative agencies that have not yet lost the public's trust.
Victor Davis Hanson is a distinguished fellow of the Center for American Greatness and a classicist and historian at Stanford's Hoover Institution. Contact at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Benefits of In-Home Care for Seniors with Alzheimer's Disease
Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease can be stressful, especially as the disease progresses. It can be tough to manage their changing needs along with balancing your own personal, family, and professional commitments. Getting your loved one in-home care can ease some of the stress and allow them to live a higher quality life. For instance, Always Best Care provides highly trained caregivers who understand how to work with and support individuals with Alzheimer's to create a more positive experience for all.
Here are just a few of the benefits of finding a home care program that offers Alzheimer's care:
Personalized Care. The services and level of care provided are tailored to your senior's current needs. As their needs change, so does their care. Individuals with Alzheimer's often don't do well with a lot of change, and putting them in an assisted living facility or nursing home can greatly disrupt their lives, especially if they don't need that much assistance yet. With in-home care, they can remain in the comfort and familiarity of their own home and receive the services and support they need to be safe while maintaining as much independence as possible.
Calming Interactions. The caregivers at Always Best Care understand how Alzheimer's progresses and how it can affect seniors' moods and behavior. They know how to interact in a positive and effective manner to keep your loved one as calm and comfortable as possible. They get to know your loved one, their likes and dislikes, what upsets them, what comforts them, and many other preferences to better support them at home.
Scaffolded Assistance. An in-home caregiver can provide the exact level of support your loved one needs. Do they just need help with buttons when getting dressed? Do they need reminders about upcoming appointments or how much detergent to put in the washing machine? Can they prepare and cook their whole meal so long as someone checks to make sure it's cooked through? From activities to daily living to basic hygiene to light housekeeping, a caregiver can adjust their interactions based on what your senior needs at any given time. As their Alzheimer's progresses, the level and frequency of care may increase.
Respite for Family. Having someone else assisting and checking in on your aging parent can be a huge weight lifted of off your shoulders. You don't have to take care of everything yourself. An in-home caregiver can provide you with a much-needed break to take care of your own needs while knowing your loved one is in good hands with someone who understands how to navigate Alzheimer's disease.
Transitional Care. As your loved one's Alzheimer's progresses and they need more intensive care, an in-home caregiver can work with you to get them into assisted living and can continue providing support in that setting to maintain a sense of normalcy and familiarity. This can make changes easier on everyone.
If your aging parent has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or dementia, contact Always Best Care today at (855) 470-2273 to schedule a free in-home care evaluation and learn more about how we can help. Get your loved one the assistance they need to continue safely aging in place with Alzheimer's.