Der Furor!

 "They're poisoning the blood of our country...... They're coming into our country, from Africa, from Asia, all over the world". 

"All great cultures of the past perished only because the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning."

The frontrunner in the nominating process for a major political party in the United States said one of these things over the weekend up in New Hampshire/ The other was written in a book called Mein Kampf. Don't really see the difference?

In Iowa, home of the white rural Christo fascist, the frontrunner of a political party called his opponents "radical leftist thugs who live among us like vermin". A recent poll in the Des Moines Register confirmed that supporters of Trump love him even more because of these statements. Scary shit? Well maybe that America Firsters and so called "patriots" don't actually believe in America has been a pet peeve of mine for all of my life. Too many people have stated authoritarian bullshit in my lifetime that it concerned me even as a teen. Many in America has a strongman fantasy of crushing their opponents as long as its their side. This covers both sides of the spectrum by the way. I've seen leftists screaming at speakers they don't like, shouting them down, calling for their imprisonment, acting like assholes. I've seen right wingers doing the same. But leftists never have had a political candidate who leads the pack and says crazy shit to the delight of a majority of voters. 

Meanwhile though Trump is literally quoting Hitler, giving his primary opponents more than enough ammunition to hit back, I mean for crissakes its fucking Hitler, none of them have the courage to even slightly criticize Der Furor for his Nazi rhetoric. 

Ronda Santis said something like I dont talk like that (yeah ok) but its all the media's fault for reporting it...Nikki Haley, the school marm voiced "moderate" that former Republicans (yeah right, former) try to portray as normal, wouldn't say shit about it other than well shoot, he says some crazy stuff. Lindsey Graham, the noodle spined closet case, doesn't give a damn as long as Trumps concentration camps and police state get done. Vivek Ramaswamy, the motor mouthed maniac, just keeps talking and ignores any question cuz ya know he's Vivek Ramaswamy, genius. Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakas , an Elise Stefanik wannabe from New York, simply denied he said it and even if he did, he meant "poisoning" the country with Democratic policies, not people from Africa or Asia. Oh no he didn't mean anything like that. he just likes the white countries better.

Republicans are cowards when it comes to Trump. He has a base of mouth breathing fascists who crawled out from under the rock they had hidden out in before 2015 or so. Those people ARE the Republican party 2023, because the sane people left and only the cowards stayed. The cowards who treasure power more than good. Treasure money more than what is right. Treasure ego over the common good. The Elise Stefaniks, the Nancy Maces, the Ted Cruzs, the Lindsey Grahams (who knows what they have on him wink wink) all will fall in line to get that base vote. It's so fucking easy to get that vote and they know it. Next thing you know it's a dictatorship owning the libs. And the ignorant will be run over just like the rest of us.

But it can't happen here, right? Hitler used to be a deal breaker, not any longer.

Arbeit Macht Frei.

Right Lindsey Graham?

Andre Braugher!

 Man, this hit me hard. Andre Braugher, an actor and a man who commanded whatever screen you saw him on, passed away at age 61. I was stunned. How is this man no longer here? 

First saw him as this bespectacled upper class educated black man in Glory, the movie that also starred an up-and-coming Denzel Washington and a legend named Morgan Freeman as men of the Massachusetts 54th fighting the Confederacy that had enslaved them. Though Washington won the Oscar, deservedly so, it was Braugher who left the wow who's that guy impression on me. I searched him out before the days of streaming. The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson for one. What a force.

Homicide: Life on the Street is still one of the greatest ensemble casts of all time. But who knew that it was Frank Pembleton who would be such a lasting character. Braughers scenes in "the box" interrogating people he thought were guilty, his awkward interaction with his coworkers, and his unabashed Catholicism (played so perfectly) made Pembleton a character that will never fail to impress.

We would watch virtually anything if he was in it because he made everything better for having been in it. Get on the Bus, Hack, Thief, Men of a Certain Age, even Last Resort, the wayward submarine drama that didn't last. The arch nemesis of Olivia Benson, a defense lawyer on Law and Order SVU, the therapist of the fucked-up Dr Gregory House, the showboat lawyer on the Good Fight, man there are so many. 

But in 2013, a show called Brooklyn 99 was about to debut. Maxs Mom and I both wondered what in the hell was Andre Braugher doing being in a show with a clown like Andy Samberg. But we watched it and goddam, we were totally off base about both of them. Captain Holt, a gay black cop with a husband named Kevin and a corgi named Cheddar. dominated the screen. And he was hilarious playing the intellectual stuck up by the book in life as well as policing Captain Holt. He hated the word Bone , he thought nothing of dentists , his prediction expertise , eating marshmallows, or Holt and Cheddar.

He was a such a joy. I will miss him.

Jayskers!

 Allow me to be provincial here. There's a creature here in Nebraska called a Jaysker. What's a Jaysker you may ask? Well, a Jaysker is generally a fan who in the fall supports Nebraska football with a fervor and once that is over, generally on Black Friday, they turn their attention to basketball. Nebraska basketball? Oh hell no. It's all Creighton basketball. Why? Well to a certain degree it's because Nebrasketball is a lifelong frustration of mediocrity at best and Creighton is a national power and Jays fans are the type of people who think paying $40K a year for a private Catholic college somehow makes it better than a state school you can attend for half that. Jays fans tend to be wealthier (lots of doctors and lawyers) than us unclean state school grads who weren't egotistical enough to bankrupt our parents because we are so special. I don't like Jayskers at all. They are disloyal and without any sports fan ethics. They are the type of fans who state they are Lakers fans, Yankees fans, Cowboys fans and Manchester United fans. In other words, they admire money, religion and phoniness. I would bet most Jays fans are MAGA, not because they are stupid like most MAGA but because they, as white wealthy people, they know whatever happens, they will be just fine. Its selfishness. It's being a Jaysker.

I first encountered Creighton basketball when my Dad had season tickets in the late 60's and early 70's and would take me to games at the old Civic Auditorium. Sitting in the seats that now would cost hundreds of dollars right behind the bench, I witnessed a Creighton student section that was in a constant frenzy. Not supporting their team but hating the other team, the referees and anybody else that that didn't act like an asshole. The sight of an entire section of young people constantly swearing and flipping the bird at refs and other teams (keep in mind this is a Catholic University) was appalling to me. This continued year after year until my Dad gave up his tickets somewhat due to the craziness and somewhat due to the fact money became tight in the 70's. He used to say how lawyers he knew acting like nutjobs was kind of embarrassing and he really didn't want to think of his acquaintances that way.

Nebrasketball never played Creighton when I was a kid for some reason but resumed the rivalry in the mid 1970's. The first game was in 1977 and it came in Lincoln, Creighton was better than Nebraska at the time. Friends of mine from Creighton came down to see the game. They trashed my apartment, got drunk and we went to the game. Nebraska won that game somehow and many of those Creighton fans were in tears. I never felt better. The arrogance was kicked in the nuts.

Then came 1978 and the 2nd game in Omaha. Creighton students dressed in overalls, chewed on straw, and danced around like the assholes they are. Again, the arrogance. Creighton won that game because the officiating decided that Nebraska was unworthy, threw out the Husker Coach, a Nebraska player and sent the Jays to the free throw line constantly. Yeah, they may have been better but at least give us a chance.

Throughout the years, the Nebraska-Creighton series became kind of mundane because Creighton sucked and lost year after year. The "crowds" at Creighton games dwindled to the hundreds because after all, bandwagon jumpers jump off as often as on. Nebraska was actually better for 15 years and then like all Nebrasketball mojo, it ended because of a firing of a coach. Then Creighton got a brand-new arena, and the Jaysker fan felt important again. Creighton got better, Nebraska got worse and the Jaysker fan sat in their luxury boxes feeling like the big shots they perceive themselves to be.

Yesterday the annual battle occurred in Lincoln and was supposed to be competitive. It wasn't. As a long-time Husker season ticket holder (loyalty, man), we were there surrounded by Jayskers in blue. The asshole-ness was still in full force. As Creighton continued to kick our ass, like KC Chiefs fan, they became even nastier. The very people who sat in the freezing cold the prior week watching Nebraska football, now became Nebraska haters. Taunting us about lack of football success, the perceived better education they received, the long hairs and foreigners who play for Nebraska, and the arrogance of yelling at the end of the national anthem "home of the FUCKIN JAYS". Infuriating to the point when we left the blowout and a Jaysker sarcastically yelled at me where I was headed, he got two birds from me. I despise them. They make me lose my mind. Like the time at a St Johns-Creighton game, we were in the top row of the upper deck. Being a St Johns fan since the heyday of the 1980's Big East, clad in a St Johns t shirt, after the Johhnies lost after missing a last second shot, an old Creighton fan, stuck in the nosebleeds same as me, growled in a not nice way, "enjoy the flight back to Newwwwwww York" like it was beyond his comprehension anyone from Omaha could hate Creighton, to which I replied "see ya next fall in Lincoln, Jaysker". Baffled.

It's just a game, right? Nope, it's a war against disloyalty and arrogance. Fuck Creighton1

Bush!

 Damn I still love "grunge". The style of hard rocking music from the 90's that put the hair metal bands out of business and thank gawd for that. Bush appeared at the new venue in Omaha called the Steelhouse last night and they still have it going on.

Opening act was something called Bad Wolves, a generic screeching metal band that was fine if you're into that cookie monster growling style of rock. I am not thus it was me looking at their setlist hoping for the end. 

And now a pet peeve of mine. Lead singers who call the crowd "motherfuckers" constantly. I know its schtick and its part of the identity, but I really don't like being called that from a stage because the crowd isn't making enough noise for the singer's taste. I first heard a lead singer calling us that during a Rob Zombie concert and it made me hate the guy forever. The lead singer of Bad Wolves even apologized for his constant motherfucker talk but then he kept going. LOL..I'm "offended" by stupid shit, indeed, and what does he care what a geriatric grunge fan thinks, but hey dude there was only one "motherfucker" in that venue, and it wasn't the crowd.

Bush took the stage and launched right into Everything's Zen sending the crowd into an immediate frenzy, Machine Head was the 2nd song and quite frankly they had gotten the songs I definitely wanted to hear out there immediately and for that I was happy. Newer songs then began to dominate the show as they were obviously saving the Sixteen Stone songs for the end. Their new stuff was good, much like the 90's grungy stuff but they lost the crowd as most people were not familiar with it. Lots of us olds were leaving early. It picked back up and the crowd came back. 

Gavin Rossdale is 58 years old, looks like he's in his 30's, and still has it going on. In fact, after he told the audience "Omaha you look great" a guy in his 50's next to me exclaimed "you look great too, Gavin, you son of a bitch". Classic old guy envy. Rossdales's voice is deeper, growlier,  and seasoned to the point he sounds better than ever. His stage demeanor is very English and very subdued. It was a great show.

I first saw Bush in 1995 with Toadies (how's that for grunge) at the old Omaha Music Hall, an old dump with horrid sound mercifully torn down in the 2000's. The new venue, the Steelhouse in downtown is rather new (opened in July of 2023) and it is wonderful. The sound is crisp, you can understand the performers, the "motherfuckers" were crisp and clear and the lyrics of the songs were understandable. It's the best arena for rock I've been to maybe anywhere. I plan to return.

My Fair Lady and Bush all in two days. Yes, I am very diverse.