The Big Man - “King of the Entire Known Universe, including Hoboken."
I was 12 when " Born To Run" .and as Springsteen and his group were about to head into the stratosphere of musical popularity. Rock and roll was undergoing yet another sea-change as it fended off the challenges of it's ugly sister disco.
The E-Street Band kept music real,meaningful,and fun, -and in no small part kept rock alive. Bruce and Clarence represented the thing that many of us felt without putting much thought into it ,that a buddy was a buddy, a friend a friend, and whatever differences there were really had very little to do with skin pigmentation.
The integrated E-Street Band ( African-american David Sancious was also an early member) mirrored our society back then, and like the music it worked because it was effortless.
I was lucky enough to see him and the band perform in person 7 times,and I will cherish those times for as long as I live.This sad week is an end of an era for literally millions of us,and I want to thank Clarence .for his music, his demeanor,and that great big joyful smile.
In 1975 a 6 foot 5 inch black man that graced so many t-shirts and album covers wasn't a menacing figure to be feared by the ignorant ,but rather someone to emulate and admire.
I never got to meet Mr. Clemons, but little did I know at the time that I had made a life-long friend.RIP Big Man,I'm going to miss ya.
Read the artilce HUFFINGTON POST/Why Clarence Clemons Matters to Race Relations
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I love this post for many reasons, but mainly because Bruce and Clarence were amazing collaborators and race never entered the picture. In a way, I'm hesitant to commend them because their friendship is as it should be ... a shared love of music that transcended anything else.
That's what bonded them and kept them together. As it should be, race was a non-issue. I'm in my mid 40's and my sister, 12 years older, is a huuuuuuuge Bruce fan. Her musical choices shaped a lot of my early music choices and the E Street Band has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and the example of Bruce and Clarence together made an impression on me as well.
For as much as I'm going to miss the E Street Band and Mr. Clemons, Bruce is going to miss him so much more.
Read the artilce HUFFINGTON POST/Why Clarence Clemons Matters to Race Relations
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The music world and humanity has lost a true giant in every sense of the word. I
will never forget the first time I was lucky enough to see Bruce and the E
Street Band during a blistering hot Toronto day back in the spring of 1984. The
entire concert blew my mind and I will never forget the image of Clarence, all
decked out in a magnificent pink tuxedo, playing one mind blowing sax solo after
the other.
Springsteen's music has been the soundtrack of my life and his band,
the best who ever lived in my humble opinion, has left an indelible imprint on
my life. Clarence was an amazing and brilliant musician and showman and you
could always tell he was having the time of his life up on stage. His smile was
infectious and playing sublime and he made going to a Springsteen concert
unforgettable.
God bless you and now heaven has one wicked sax player to join
the band.
Read the artilce ROLLING STONE/E Street Band's Clarence Clemons Dies at 69
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I'm slowly seeing the lights burn out on E-Street, and it is BREAKING MY HEART! I know that the E-Street Band will live on forever, but first Danny gone and now Clarence, and I cant help but mourn this huge loss :(... Ive been fortunate in my young life to see Bruce and the Big Man perform about 6 times but thats nearly not enough!...
Everytime I saw them was the best night of my life, an experience that I think only other Springsteen & E-Street fans can understand... and like a drug I wanted more... knowimg that I will never see that big man and that saxophone walk into the spotlight of the stage again is like a stab in the heart...
And when I used to listen to that sax solo on Jungleland I would just close my eyes and I would get chills, but now I cry... RIP Clarence"Big Man" Clemons, the biggest man I have ever seen. We're thankful for the time we had with you and your wonderful music...
My thoughts are with Bruce, the band, his family & friends
Read the artilce STAR-LEDGER/Fans gather at the Stone Pony for a tribute to Clarence Clemons
The Death of Dr.Jack Kevorkian
He was a hero. He removed the "emotional supposition" of "everyone must want to live, regardless of their condition." As a woman with Muscular Dystrophy - unable to walk - and confined to a wheelchair - I have always cringed at the "Not Dead Yet" woman. Her premise that we should be finding ways to live is statement made by someone who is not dying but living with a disability. Those of us who are impacted by diseases that rob our bodies of function and dignity, movement and thought, should be able to say, "I have lived my life to the fullest, and now I'm tired."
I have a wonderful life and am not ready to make that statement myself, but I champion the work of Dr. Kevorkian so that hopefully some day, if I am too tired or ready, I will be able to do so with grace and dignity.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Dr. Jack Kevorkian Dies at 83; Backed Assisted Suicide
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Jack was a hero. He was one of many people who realized the hold that primitive thinking has upon our understanding of Life and Death. The forces of organized religion and the medical industry have condemned millions of people to unremitting pain and agony before dying. We treat animals with more mercy in ending their lives when their condition is terminal. But religion and medicine insist that human beings suffer until every possible dollar has been extracted from their pockets while keeping them 'alive' as human vegetables. Jack saw the ridiculous absurdity and cruelty of this and devoted much of his life to helping those who were determined to be the captains of their individual ships of Life.
NEW YORK TIMES/Dr. Jack Kevorkian Dies at 83; Backed Assisted Suicide
I need to learn more about this man, before I can call him a hero. But I have, and most people, been around the terminally ill. If they are competent, society must allow them to choose their fates and assist them humanely.
What strikes me as absurd and always did was a person who is ill may beg for death, to help him achieve that goal is to commit a serious crime. However, a person may be sentenced for death and cry and beg to live, but the law demands he be murdered.
It is always good to think about context. As for Dr. Kevorkian, there are parts of his history that are abhorrent, but taken as a whole, his life was ultimately devoted to protecting our freedom.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Dr. Jack Kevorkian Dies at 83; Backed Assisted Suicide
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Ever since he killed his first victim, I've had very mixed feelings about Jack Kevorkian, a sick, death-obsessed individual who, none the less, served an important role in advancing the discussion about end-of-life care. Note that I do not say "physician assisted suicide, because Kevorkian never served his "patients" as a caring physician; he used them as fodder to advance his cause and his obsession with death - an obsession that apparently began as a resident physician many decades ago, when, he has told us, he would spend time with dying patients so that he could look into their eyes at the moment of death.
But like John Brown, Kevorkian did serve a valuable purpose - he brought a time-honored, but hidden practice, out of the social closet and forced the nation to confront it. But we should never forget that while Kevorkian was roaming the countryside in his "suicide machine" rigged VW bus, numerous physicians, all over the country, were and today are providing caring, supportive, aid to their truly terminally ill patients - most of Kevorkian's victims were not terminally ill, but rather were terminally depressed. As one of these physicians said to me when I interviewed and wrote about him - and seven other physicians providing assisted suicide - in my role as a medical writer for Newsday - he had to really like a patient to provide this kind of treatment, the provision of which involves risk of license loss and prison time.
Fascinatingly, all eight of the physicians to whom I spoke opposed legalizing physician assisted suicide. Better, they argued, to provide it knowing the risks they were taking, looking over their shoulders as they provided it. Then, they said, they were less likely to provide it too easily, and they were less likely to become Jack Kevorkian's.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Dr. Jack Kevorkian Dies at 83; Backed Assisted Suicide
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I really wish he had spent more time fighting the laws he was breaking. He
deserved the punishment he got, but I don't think that euthanization should be
illegal.
Last summer I watched my mother-in-law go from a vibrant 63 year
old woman to a skeletal shell in a matter of months. I lived with her/helped
care for her during this time and was there when she took her last breath. She
had skin cancer that spread to her bones and liver and lost 50lbs in the last
month she was alive. Her condition wasn't a matter of if, but when, and the last
thing she wanted for her children was to have to see her like that. She was also
an incredibly proud woman and it absolutely devastated her to lose her
independence -- I will never forget the day that we told her she would have to
start wearing diapers.
In any case, I had several discussions with her
over this time and she mentioned wishing should could choose a painless death
several times to me. I really hope that when it comes my time, I'll be able to
make a decision that wasn't available to her.
Read the article DAILY BEAST/Jack Kevorkian dies
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Let me ask you – what field do you work in? Or have you had a loved one die from a terminal disease? If you answered yes to either of these questions, I think you would be able to better understand. I've been treating terminally ill patients for 10 years. Their drive for life and determination to live is completely extinguished after they fought a long, hard battle, and it's nearing the end of their disease process. Why should they not have the option to make their own decisions, assuming their deemed sane and cognitive.
Could you imagine how it would feel to completely be mentally and emotionally intact, but physically destroyed? Why should they have to worry about not being able to (ever again) properly eat, drink, swallow, walk, shower...the simple things in life. These simple things are the things that (eventually) many terminally ill patients are not able to accomplish. They loose their feeling of self-worth, especially if they were once independent, highly motivated, and career driven.
These people get to the point they they are relying on someone to turn them every hour or two to prevent bed sores, placement of feeding tubes and medications through IVs. This kind of life is not fair to anyone. Selfishly, society wants their loved ones to live forever since we will miss them when they're gone. As understanding and compassionate as I am towards that idea, it's not realistic. But, NOT having to experience long term, UNTREATABLE 'pain' is one of the best things. That's why during my 'Death and Dying' class I debated and stood up for Dr. Kevorkian.
Read the article CNN/Dr. Jack Kevorkian dead at 83
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The argument in favor of assisted suicide has serious flaws. Almost unanimously, those in favor of assisted suicide are against legalizing suicide for patients who have only "mental" health disorders and they only want it legalized for "physical" disorders. But there is a mountain of evidence proving that many "mental" disorders are actually physical, biological, and chemical in nature. Severe depression is the result of deficient serotonin levels in the brain, and this is very often genetically inherited. Depression, then, can be very much a physical disorder.
Depressed patients often attempt unsuccessfully to find a cure for decades, and their depression severely decreases their quality of life. Schizophrenia (excess dopamine in the brain) has, in recent years, been proven to be genetically inherited with physical alterations to specific chromosomes.
Why, then, should the pro-euthanasia people be allowed to "discriminate" against depressed & schizophrenic patients by saying that they should not be allowed to commit assisted suicide to escape the intractable suffering of their disorders? The fact that this type of assisted suicide provokes our consciences to react against it is strong evidence that the arguments in favor of euthanasia are seriously flawed.
Read the article CNN/Dr. Jack Kevorkian dead at 83
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Dr. Kevorkian was a man of courage, honesty, and integrity/ Two qualities in very short supply in the United States Post 9/11. Because of his efforts to abide by his interpretation of his oath as a physician by giving humans the same courtesy with dignity as is given to dogs and horses, there are assisted suicide laws in most states.
All states have assisted suicide, or assisted homicide, but we do it as a half-measure, and we do it with hypocrisy. They call it the "Morphine Drip" that little constant drip of Morpheme given top dying patients to alleviate pain which also suppresses lung and heart function, thus giving the dying a little bit of a push out of this world.
Dr. Kevorkian believed that when the patient is in unbearable pain, that he ought to be given the choice of a big "push" or a little push. A few days or weeks means little when you are hooked up to tubes, have said your good buys and are ready to begin your journey into Samsara, or to meet Jesus, or to get on to that room with forty beds, each loaded with seven women, or simply to cease to exist at all.
Read the article CNN/Dr. Jack Kevorkian dead at 83
O, Rapture Unseen - Radio Man Sends Wrong Signal
I like the photo of the lady holding the placard saying "The Bible guarantees it". That seems to be the same silly, non-questioning mentality that a lot of religious folks cling to. Questioning long-held notions is not an attack on one's faith, it's merely a rational, sensible thing to do.
If the Bible says or implies something, it doesn't mean it's true. Really. It doesn't. It's just a book. I don't believe that Maximus Decimus Meridius killed Commodus or that Superman can fly just because I saw it in the movies. It's really not that difficult to tell the difference between reality and fiction.
Read the article DAILY TELEGRAPH/The end was not nigh after all
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Jesus did say that if anyone said he was here or there don't even go out to look.
But he did say we should keep an eye on the signs of the times as mentioned in the Bible.
For example:
1. The Jews being hunted out and returning to Israel and the restoration of the Hebrew language.
2. The world ganging up against Israel.
3. The Gospel of Jesus being spread throughout the whole world.
4. One world government.
5. Buying and selling only with a number.
And many more.
You can make up your own mind.
Read the article DAILY TELEGRAPH/The end was not nigh after all
Hopefully this will wake up some people, and help them realize that the time to
live is now, while we are alive, in this life. That this may very well be the
only existence we really have, and that a god and a heaven may not be any more
real than the doomsday prophecy of a few days ago. But some people just can't
accept the possibility that once they die, that's it. Some children don't want
to stop believing in Santa either.
Read the article NPR/'Rapture'
Prophet Harold Camping Says He Had 'A Really Tough Weekend'
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As an agnostic by faith, there is only one group of people I hate worse than
fundamentalist Christians. Militant atheists. You smug jerks really ought to
cultivate some compassion. So they were wrong. That means they know about as
much as you do. Idiots.
Read the article NPR/'Rapture'
Prophet Harold Camping Says He Had 'A Really Tough Weekend'
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Most of the "atheists" have expressed sadness about the poor people who lost all
of there money and for those that have kids. They have asked if Camping would
return the money, etc. All from a place of compassion, the Christians have
called Camping a nut and said that those he bilked got what they deserved
because they didn't heed the word of the Bible.
Then there is the militant
agnostic, who thinks that just because he/she sits on the fence unable to search
within and come up with an answer for hoe he/she feels that he/she gets to sit
in judgment of all. How convenient.
Read the article NPR/'Rapture'
Prophet Harold Camping Says He Had 'A Really Tough Weekend'
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My father was a great salesman; I mean world class.
He used to tell me that
if he had it to do over he would become a preacher.
No warehouse, no
shipping, no product, no guarantee ... just collect the money.
What are the
rubes going to do? Sue you after they are dead?
"Your honor I died and when I
did I found out that my existence had ceased; no rapture, no pearly gates, no
little naked babies with wings... nothing."
Read the article NPR/'Rapture'
Prophet Harold Camping Says He Had 'A Really Tough Weekend'
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As a believer in Messiah,I see two potential outcomes, one probable and the
other speculative. This nonevent will probably reinforce the notion "those
Christians are nuts" and Camping will have the opposite effect intended of the
great commission inherent in the term Christian. I would hope this grounding of
Camping will provide the humility to reexamine his timeline in an actual
biblical terms of measuring time.
By any literal reckoning of Genesis,
the flood could not have happened 4990 B.C. This ignores the genealogies which
give us a very accurate duration for the antediluvian world. The other methods
for reckoning time extant in the Scriptures, Sabbath rests (of days and years),
Jubilees, Hebraic idiom and metaphor, day for a year, all must be evaluated in
context of an ancient Semitic culture. Sometimes we need to hit rock bottom
before the creator can get through to us. Shalom
Read the article NPR/'Rapture'
Prophet Harold Camping Says He Had 'A Really Tough Weekend'
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