Story of Johnny Ringo ( Tombstone AZ fame)

This was on YouTube. What caught my eye was that Johnny Ringo was in this area in the 1870's. Maybe that should not be a big surprise. This was Commanche territory for the longest time. By the 1870's, the Commanches weren't nearly the terror they once were, but this area wasn't exactly civilized yet.

Epic of Gilgamesh

For some reason, YouTube had it on my screen as I was watching Starship videos.

A new colony on other planets is an epic as well. What a time to be alive.

Question:

I was watching a video about the epic of Gilgamesh last night. It was a long story, and I turned in before it finished. Would you write me an essay about that epic, please? I am curious about how it ended...

Answer 

I have written a comprehensive, analytical essay on the Epic of Gilgamesh, tracing the hero's journey from a tyrannical king to a wiser mortal who accepts the limits of human existence and discovers enduring legacy in community and civilization. The essay has been packaged into a professional Word document and exported for you as the-epic-of-gilgamesh-essay.docx.

Follow up:

Can you summarize the ending in a few bullet points?

Answer: 

 Here is a summary of how the Epic of Gilgamesh ends:

Failing the Tests of Immortality:

Gilgamesh travels to the ends of the earth to meet Utnapishtim (the Mesopotamian survivor of the great flood) to learn how to escape death. Utnapishtim challenges him to stay awake for seven days and nights;

Gilgamesh immediately falls asleep, proving he cannot even conquer basic human fatigue, let alone mortality.

Loss of the Plant of Rejuvenation:

Utnapishtim's wife persuades her husband to give Gilgamesh a parting gift—a thorny plant at the bottom of the ocean that restores youth. Gilgamesh retrieves it, but while he is bathing on the journey home, a serpent steals and eats the plant, instantly shedding its skin to renew itself while leaving Gilgamesh empty-handed.

Acceptance and Legacy:

Returning defeated to his city of Uruk, Gilgamesh finally steps back and looks upon its magnificent walls, gates, and foundations. He realizes that physical immortality is denied to mortals, but true enduring legacy is found in the civilization he built, the community he serves, and the stories that will live on after him.

Final Comment:

A vastly simplified version is given in the Star Trek episode, which is on Youtube below: (Note: This is the part I saw last nite, the ending is summarized above)

Won't jip today

The entirety of the Bongino Show..

It's a really big "shoe". That's an old joke about Ed Sullivan. Ed Sullivan, who's he! He was a TV personality way back when the cave men populated the Earth. Impersonators used to mispronounce the word "show" as "shoe" in order to poke fun at Mr. Sullivan. Yep, I'm that old. This was like 50 or more years ago when Sullivan aired his last show.



Ed sullivan introducing the Beatles in 1964. I remember watching that show. Now, I did JIP this video. Way too much irrelevancy on this vid.

Review of the Movie "The Arroyo"

9/15/26:

There is one HUGE difference between this movie and No Country For Old Men. The latter was deeply pessimistic. However, The Arroyo was optimistic. That's the big difference.

You are left with a feeling of helplessness in No Country For Old Men. The Arroyo was intended to be an anti-dote to that helplessness.

In short, WE CAN WIN. WE OUGHT TO WIN BECAUSE WE ARE RIGHT AND THEY ARE WRONG. You gotta believe that, or what's the damned point????????????????????????????????????????????????????

The other movie says the opposite. Which to you prefer? You have a choice, you know.

12/26/25:

Here's another video to add to the database. The video embed itself is at the bottom of the post.

Author: Bill Whittle

Description: It's about The Arroyo Trailer video

8/17/25:

I don't think I've ever posted anything about the "obvious" connection between "The Arroyo" and "No Country for Old Men".

Next thing that is "obvious", is the question of why would they pattern it upon another movie? Perhaps Declaration Entertainment missed the boat. The reason for the movie being made was a sort of protest against the kind of movies being made in Hollywood.

Of course, it has all gotten worse. Hollywood is worse than ever.

Declaration Entertainment was going to do another movie that might have been a knock against Star Wars and Star Trek.

If Declaration Entertainment missed the boat, what might they have done differently? Maybe having a sense of humor. They took themselves a bit too seriously. Like we all do. That's our problem.

Note: I used scare quotes around the word obvious. If it was so obvious, then why didn't I notice this sooner? No answer except that it seems dumb in retrospect.

Update, 9/23/23:

Just spent a bit of time perusing some reviews of the "documentary" about Cleopatra. I won't link to it. Just mentioning it here in the context of what Bill Whittle tried to accomplish a decade ago. It is also worth mentioning there was a movie that re-did Barbie. Yep, it was not well-received.

So there it is again. Just a whole lot of belly-aching, but doing absolutely NOTHING about it.

I tried. I contributed to the movie "Arroyo". Modestly contributed to it. If people would just get off their asses and DO something, good things MIGHT happen. But noooooooo. You've got all the belly-aching and nothing done about it. Indeed! We've got "conservatives" who would prefer to fight US than to fight Democrats!

the original post of 10/5/22 is directly below:

Hollywood Stasi, an old story

It appears that those Americans who oppose the powers-that-be cannot sustain a movement long enough for it to reach fruition. That is a fault that should be remembered first BEFORE you start bellyaching about the political left. We've been down this road many times before, yet the results seem to be the same. It is the continual drift to socialism, societal decay, and failure. The fault dear Brutus, may lie within us.

Nothing will change until there is a sustained movement that cannot be denied. This is what Paul Krugman and his ilk are so afraid of. Krugman called it "movement conservatism". There's a clue about the left that Krugman may not have wanted to be emphasized. He called it "movement" conservatism. The only kind of conservatism that the left likes is the kind that doesn't move. In other words, it is dead, or might as well be.

Hollywood can make movies that cast conservatives as villains, but why can't "conservatives" do anything about that? Oh, but there's a lot of bellyaching. You're not going to change the left, but you can certainly beat them at their own game---provided that there's still the opportunity to do so.

Declaration Entertainment attempted to do that. But the "conservatives" failed to rally behind it. Perhaps because there wasn't the perceived need. Has that changed? So you get this post on Instapundit, which is a link to somebody who wrote a post about the "Hollywood Stasi". It just seems to be in the mold of talking but not doing anything about it.

What to do? Conservatives need to get the "fire in the belly". Also, to see alternatives being brought to the market, while we still have one. As Dan Bongino says all the time, we need an alternative economy. We have to be able to impose real financial pain on the left, or there won't be alternatives to the left anymore. One way is to compete with Hollywood. Hollywood is anti-conservative. Companies like Declaration Entertainment could have provided that alternative in that economic space of making movies.

There's more to it. It is a comprehensive plan and movement that is needed. That's what the left seems to have had so much success with. They've had that success because nobody has had that fire in the belly to see it to completion.

All talk and no action is no longer permissible. Time to get moving.

Update coming:



Originally posted Mar 8, 2014



This will be a short review.  First of all, a background.  The movie was a Bill Whittle project.  It was made by an outfit called Declaration Entertainment, which I helped fund as a "citizen-producer".  As a consequence of my support, they now just got around to sending me a copy.  It is also true that I dropped out after a short term, so I didn't fund it all the way to its completion.  Okay, so the criticism can go both ways.

I went in thinking that this may have been a "jerk-off" fantasy, as so many things are in our society these days.  To my surprise, it didn't not confirm that.  However, there was an element of unreality to it that I must call out.

The good guy is injured in a manner that probably made him incapable of doing what he did in the climax.  That's the unreality.  But the unreality was necessary for the film to reach its climax.

It is true that, in the movies, the "good guy" wins.  Even today, in Hollywood movies that Whittle objects to, the "good guy" wins.  But, what is "good" and what is "bad"?  That's the rub.  It all depends upon where you're standing as to the identity of that personage.

In this movie, the good guy wins.  After all, he's just defending what's his.  Even in Hollywood, the guy here can be a hero.  Nothing out of the usual here.

I think what Whittle wants to do is to motivate people into not being sheep, and start acting like free men.  I applaud that.  The main character is a man in that mold.  Someone we used to look up to.  Today's Hollywood would make this guy into a villain because he's just too macho for today's tastes.  There's the difference, perhaps.

Today's men are driven into passivity.  Today's men are told that it's okay for them to literally be like girls.  So, it shouldn't be a surprise that that is the way some of them behave.

Yet, in this movie, the women are bad ass too.  It doesn't necessarily follow the old sex type mold.

It's an okay movie.  But it may shift a bit into the unreal mode in order to keep the hero heroic.  That's a small fault to find.  Otherwise, a movie can't be a movie without some artistic license.  People have to have their fairy tales.

More information about Declaration Entertainment

9/15/26:

I'm proud to have participated in this for a time. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have caught fire. Maybe the post-modernist, wokist horde is going to take over. Maybe the zombified left have eaten your brains after all.

We've got some real push-overs out there who are going to be our saviors. Lovely. They are so weak that they can be overthrown with the greatest of ease. They can be so easily confused that they will betray everything that they claim to believe in.

What a world.

But I'm crazy enough to believe that we can still win. It may not be easy, but it isn't impossible. Just don't give up. Whatever you do, don't give up.

If you do that, then it will really be over.



8/3/11: The original post is below:

...and a new film being produced, which is called "The Arroyo".

SYNOPSIS: 40 miles north of America’s southern border, nightfall marks the beginning of a mass migration of men and drugs the likes of which the world has never seen. For the ranchers whose acreage is in the path of this exodus, the horror of finding the dead bodies, raped women, and destroyed property is second only to the feeling of betrayal by a government that is happy to take their money, but not to guard their rights and land. Jim Weatherford has taken horror and betrayal alike in stride, but there are some things a man simply cannot abide, and some lines that must be defended.

Update:

Here's another film they are making, which is a scifi movie called Aurora.

By: Bill Whittle

Synopsis:

The Time: the Near Future. Life in America grows ever more regimented, regulated and controlled. But far out in the Mojave Desert, a small band of renegade entrepreneurs and engineers are building a vehicle capable of opening the entire Solar System to colonization and free enterprise, beyond the reach of bureaucracy.

After a catastrophic failure of their nuclear engine and the loss of their primary crew, this small but dedicated team races to re-design and re-crew Aurora, reaching back into NASA’s best days to move forward into the future – a future that depends on protecting and preserving the quintessential American frontier values: courage, optimism, ingenuity and daring.

Backed by oil money, running on nuclear power, Aurora and her crew set a course for the worst place there is: mighty Jupiter - a miniature solar system and a cyclotron of radiation; a place of unparalleled danger and grandeur. En route they will face death and disaster, and nothing but raw courage and sacrifice will bring them back alive.

You can join this organization for about 10 bucks a month as a citizen producer. You get a download of each movie that they make. Hmmmmmm.

Latest Ann Barnhardt interview

9/2/26:

Looks like I've hit something, but hard to say what it IS. Anyway, I wrote a little about religion on this blog. Here's a little more.

For the last several months, or perhaps longer, I've watched a few religious oriented movies on Tubi. There is also something that I discovered on Amazon Prime, called blank-out (forgot it , drat it). Discovering the Apostle Paul, I think it was.

Firstly, about the Video series:

Link to the Discovering Apostle Paul documentary series:

Now, here's an AI generated post on the Apostle Paul:



The Apostle Paul

There was a 1986 TeeVee series on the Apostle Paul shown on Amazon Prime video. So, once again, I get the idea of asking AI. This time, I used the Brave AI, which is Free, as opposed to the GAB AI, which I pay a small monthly fee to access.

Question for Brave AI:

Discuss for me please, the historical and religious figure of the Apostle Paul, originally known as Saul of Tarsus

Answer

Paul the Apostle, originally known as **Saul of Tarsus**, was a pivotal first-century Christian missionary and theologian who transformed Christianity from a Jewish sect into a global faith. Born around **5–10 CE** in **Tarsus, Cilicia** (modern-day Turkey), he was a **Roman citizen** and a devout **Pharisee** trained under the rabbi **Gamaliel** in Jerusalem. Initially a fierce **persecutor** of early Christians, believing the new movement threatened Jewish law, his life changed radically during a visionary encounter with the risen **Jesus** on the road to **Damascus**. This conversion led to his blindness, healing by **Ananias**, and his commissioning as the **Apostle to the Gentiles**.

Paul’s missionary journeys across the **Roman Empire** established key Christian communities in cities such as **Philippi**, **Corinth**, and **Ephesus**. He argued that **Gentile** converts did not need to adhere to strict **Jewish law** (such as circumcision), a stance solidified at the **Jerusalem Council**. This theological shift helped separate Christianity from Judaism and emphasized salvation by **grace through faith**. His **13 epistles** in the New Testament form a significant portion of Christian scripture, addressing core doctrines like justification, the resurrection, and the nature of the **Church** as the body of Christ.

Paul’s legacy extends beyond theology; he is often regarded as the most influential figure in Christianity after **Jesus** himself. His strategic use of **Roman citizenship** to appeal to **Caesar** allowed him to spread the gospel widely and protect his mission. Blending **Greco-Roman rhetoric** with **Jewish scriptural exegesis**, Paul’s writings laid the intellectual foundations for Christian doctrine and influenced Western philosophy and human rights concepts. He is traditionally believed to have been martyred in **Rome** around **64–67 CE**.



Question: Elaborate

Answer: ## The Man Before the Road



Saul of Tarsus was born into a privileged, bilingual world. Tarsus, in modern-day southern Turkey, was a major Greco-Roman intellectual center — a fact Paul himself references in Acts 21:39, where he reminds a Roman tribune that he is "a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed strictly according to our father's law." This dual identity — Roman citizen, Hellenistic-educated, and rigorously trained in Jewish Torah — would define his entire ministry. He was also a Pharisee of the sect of the Pharisees (Acts 26:5), meaning he belonged to the most law-observant and politically influential Jewish group of the era.

His occupation was tent-making (Acts 18:3), a modest trade that likely provided financial independence for his later travels. He was present at the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, "keeping the garments of those who killed him" (Acts 7:58) — a detail that underscores how deeply embedded he was in the apparatus of persecution.

## The Conversion in Detail

The conversion narrative appears three times in Acts (chapters 9, 22, and 26), each with a different audience and emphasis. The core sequence:

- **The encounter:** As Saul traveled to Damascus (roughly 130 miles / 210 km northeast of Jerusalem, a six-day journey) with letters from the Sanhedrin authorizing him to arrest Christians, "a light from heaven flashed around him." He fell to the ground and heard the voice: *"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"* When he asked who was speaking, the reply was: *"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting"* (Acts 9:4–5).

- **The blindness:** Saul was struck blind. His companions, who heard the voice but saw no one, led him by the hand into Damascus.

- **The three days:** In Damascus, on a street called Straight, at the house of a man named Judas, Saul remained blind and fasted for three days — a period of profound spiritual crisis and reorientation.

- **Ananias:** A disciple named Ananias received a vision from Jesus instructing him to go to Saul. Ananias was initially terrified, knowing Saul's reputation. He laid hands on Saul, Saul's sight was restored, he was baptized, and he received the Holy Spirit.

- **The commission:** Jesus told Saul he was chosen "as a witness of what you have seen of me, and I will send you far away to the Gentiles" (Acts 22:15). This commissioning as the **Apostle to the Gentiles** was the single most consequential theological decision in early Christianity.

A scholarly nuance worth noting: some commentators (notably R.C. Lenski) argue that the *conversion* proper — the internal acceptance of the gospel — was completed in Damascus through Ananias's ministry, not on the road itself. The road was the moment of *conviction*; Damascus was the moment of *faith*.

## The Four Missionary Journeys

Paul traveled an estimated **10,000 miles** (16,000 km) by land and sea over roughly 14 years, moving through what is now Turkey, Greece, Syria, and Israel. His journeys are recorded in Acts chapters 13–28.

| Journey | Approx. Dates | Route | Key Events | |---|---|---|---|

| **First** | c. 46–48 CE | Antioch → Cyprus → Pamphylia → Galatia (Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe) | Confrontation with the sorcerer Elymas in Paphos; conversion of the proconsul Sergius Paulus; Paul stoned and left for dead in Lystra |

| **Second** | c. 51–54 CE | Antioch → Galatia → Troas → Macedonia → Achaia (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth) | The "Macedonian Call" vision at Troas; the first European convert, Lydia, in Philippi; Paul and Silas imprisoned and freed by earthquake; the famous **Areopagus sermon** in Athens; 18 months in Corinth |

| **Third** | c. 53–57 CE | Antioch → Galatia → Phrygia → Ephesus (3 years) → Macedonia → Achaia → Jerusalem | Three years of teaching at the school of Tyrannus in Ephesus; the riot of the silversmiths; final visit to Jerusalem |

| **Fourth** (implied) | c. 60–62 CE | Rome → Spain? | Alluded to in Philemon 22 and 2 Timothy 4:21; the destination "Spain" is speculative |

The **Jerusalem Council** (Acts 15, c. 49 CE) was a watershed: Paul and Barnabas presented the case that Gentile converts did not need to be circumcised or keep the Mosaic law. The council agreed, issuing a decree requiring only abstinence from food polluted by idols, sexual immorality, and blood — a decision that effectively separated the Christian mission from Jewish legal obligation.

## Theology: The Architecture of Paul's Thought

Paul's 13 epistles (the earliest surviving Christian texts, written before any of the Gospels) develop a theological system of extraordinary density. The major pillars:

**Justification by Faith.** This is the backbone of Pauline theology, especially in Romans and Galatians. Paul argues that no one — Jew or Gentile — can be declared righteous before God by keeping the Mosaic law. "A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:16). His proof text is Genesis 15:6: "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Abraham was justified by faith *four centuries before* the law was given at Sinai, so the law cannot be the basis of salvation. This doctrine would later become the central slogan of the Protestant Reformation (*sola fide*), though Paul's own context was a dispute with "Judaizers" who insisted Gentile converts must also be circumcised.

**Grace.** Closely tied to justification: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8–9). Grace (*charis*) is unmerited divine favor — the radical claim that God's acceptance of sinners is not earned but freely given.

**The Church as the Body of Christ.** In 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, Paul develops the metaphor of the Church as a single body with many members, each with different functions but united in one Spirit. This was a revolutionary social vision in a world rigidly stratified by class, gender, and ethnicity: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

**The Resurrection.** In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul gives the most extensive early treatment of the resurrection, calling it "the firstfruits" of a general resurrection to come. He even lists the order of appearances of the risen Jesus, making his letter a key historical source for the post-crucifixion events.

**The Law and the Spirit.** Paul does not simply discard the Torah. Rather, he argues the law served as a "tutor" or "guardian" (*paidagōgos*) leading people to Christ (Galatians 3:24). The Spirit fulfills what the law could only point toward: the internal transformation of the heart.

## The Epistles: A Literary and Historical Corpus

The thirteen letters attributed to Paul (Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1–2 Thessalonians, 1–2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon) were written between roughly 48 and 67 CE, making them the **oldest Christian documents in existence** — predating the earliest Gospels by at least a decade or two. Scholars generally agree that seven of these (Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon) are authentically Pauline; the remaining six (Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1–2 Timothy, Titus) are debated, with many modern scholars classifying them as "Deutero-Pauline" — written by later followers in his name and style.

The letters were not originally composed as theology textbooks. They were **pastoral correspondence** — responses to specific crises in specific churches. The Galatians were being pressured to adopt circumcision; the Corinthians had factional disputes, sexual immorality, and confusion about resurrection; the Romans were a church Paul had not yet visited but wanted to prepare for his planned mission to Spain. This situational character gives the letters an immediacy and urgency that pure systematic theology rarely achieves.

## Suffering, Imprisonment, and Death

Paul's ministry was marked by relentless hardship. In 2 Corinthians 11:23–27, he gives a staggering résumé: "In labors more abundant, in beatings no less, in deaths often. Five times I received from the Jews the thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have been adrift. On the road often, in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own people, in danger from the Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the wilderness, in danger at sea, in danger from false brothers."

He was imprisoned in Philippi (where the earthquake freed him and Silas), in Caesarea (where he was held for two years under Governor Festus), and in Rome (where he was under house arrest for two years, writing what are called the "Prison Epistles"). Tradition holds that he was executed by beheading in Rome under Nero, around 64–67 CE, likely during the persecution following the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE. His Roman citizenship would have spared him the crucifixion reserved for non-citizens, making beheading the method of execution.

## Legacy

Paul the Apostle is, by most scholarly and confessional accounts, the single most influential figure in Christianity after Jesus himself. His letters constitute roughly a third of the New Testament. His theological framework — justification by faith, grace, the universality of the gospel, the Church as a trans-ethnic body — shaped every subsequent Christian tradition, from the early Church Fathers through the Reformation to modern evangelicalism. His method of using Roman infrastructure (roads, ports, legal rights) to spread a religious message across the Mediterranean was, in a sense, the first act of global religious communication. And his personal trajectory — from the church's most zealous enemy to its most zealous apostle — remains the paradigmatic narrative of conversion in Western culture, so much so that a "Damascus moment" is now a common idiom for any sudden, transformative change of mind.



9/1/26:

This is one of the most sympathetic posts that I've think I've ever written about anyone. However, I don't believe Barnhardt is any "Paula" Revere. This is absurd. She knocks the American Founding. She's no patriot. I definitely recall that she wrote that the American system has sunk to the bottom like the Titanic. Well, to me that is a bit premature.

She seems to be about one thing, the Catholic Church. I don't find any fault with that, although I'm no Catholic. Nor Jewish. Nor any organized religious denomination.

I DO believe that Jesus is Lord. I think the Lord is badly served.

This blog isn't about religion. I believe the Lord helps those who help themselves. That's a concept that seems alien to all too many people these days. There's way too many who'd rather listen to people who want to destroy us, as opposed to listening to people who want to help. Knowing who is true and who is false is an important thing to know. My "pearl of great price" is the truth. Take that as you will.

12/24/14: The original post follows:

Some of this is very chilling.  She fills in some blanks that I didn't know about.

For instance, she says she wasn't audited until she did her Koran burning video.  In other words, it was a politically motivated audit that occurred before she declared a tax strike.

Another chilling disclosure is that her books were clean, yet they still kept coming after her.  She does say that they came after her after she declared a tax strike.  Even so, what's chilling about it is where is the basis for the IRS to continue to come after her if she has been financially ruined already?  Is it not also politically motivated?  How much money can she owe the IRS if she's already been ruined by their previous audit that found no tax liabilities were due?

She presents herself in such a way, if you find her credible enough, as a modern "Paula" Revere, who is warning us about the advancing oppression of a regime that will crush all opposition and all dissent.  She is, again if you find her credible enough, as someone that the Rush Limbaughs out there pretend to be.  She's taking it on the chin for you so that you can be forewarned, and can do all that you can to defend yourself against what's coming soon for YOU.

Personally, I think her tax strike was a mistake.  Otherwise, she is quite credible to me.  Even a tragic figure.

Think the Rush Limbaughs out there will take her story and push it to the front row and center?  Not a chance.  Rush pretends to be Paul Revere, but Paul Revere risked his neck for the cause of freedom.  Rush won't risk his show, nor his millions for the sake of Ann Barnhardt, who is really doing the job that he pretends to do.

Note on update of 9/2/26:  This video isn't available.  Why not?  I have no idea. 

What is truth?

9/1/26:

There is a post coming soon, which will expand on these ideas. Stay tuned.

1/26/13: The original post is below:

When I was in junior high school, called a "middle school" these days, the science teacher gave the definition of scientist.  A scientist is a seeker of truth, he said.

The truth is a slippery thing, I've written.  I accept that definition for myself.  A seeker of truth.  Since truth is slippery, maybe I have it, maybe I don't.  Maybe I'm like Pilate who asked Jesus, "what is truth?"

The Guess Who: "American Woman"

What's with the Canucks?

Evidently, there has always been something going on. Listen carefully to this song. It is full of hatred. Hatred??? Yes. Even in the tone, there is this tone that my mind searches for a word to describe, but it evades me.

Incidentally, this song came out when I was a teenager. When the song came on, Dad would say to turn it off. He banned the playing of that song in the house.

As kids, I don't think we got it. Well, after reading that post linking to a CTH story about what the Canadians just did, you have to be somewhat thick-headed NOT to see it.

NOTE: This song was recorded in the late sixties. My dad died in the early seventies. It's over 50 years old.

Jambalaya

Sometimes a song just pops up into my head. Just now, Jambalaya did. Then I remembered this little boy singing it with Hank Williams Jr. Amazing! Wonder what young Hunter Hayes is doing these days. This video is 17 years old, so he's a young man about now.

What's wrong with the street?

How many of youse peoples remember the scene from the movie "Falling Down", in which the main character "D-FENS" blows up the construction site? Well, that came to mind with the boondoggle discussion that I've posted recently.

Blues Brothers "She caught the Katy"

After all of that about the Katy Freeway in Houston, the following song came to mind. It was from the Blue Brothers movie.

Don't hold on to the poo

8/17/26:

This reminds me of the Batman movie line in which the Joker says: "This town needs an enema!".

8/3/11: The original post follows:

Oh, yeah!



Update:

As you can see the video was taken down. Let's replace it with the actual commercial that they were creating at that time.

His story is very similar to mine

...but mine did not result in anything that could be considered as a success. The difference is that he picked up the guitar again, and I really did not.

Is there a moral to that story? Maybe... Some may wonder if I would take up the guitar again, but I dunno.... (lol).

There are so many resources now available on Youtube and perhaps elsewhere, which did not exist for me in the '70's. That may sound like an excuse, and perhaps it is.
Anyway, he has an explanation for why he became more successful with his guitar growth, and that is what the video is about.

Shy/Forget/Naive & Invincible by Caryl Archer aka CarylCake

8/13/26:

Ah, a name from the past! I got curious, what happened with her? Well, I clicked on the video, and it returned a new name. OK. So, it isn't CarylCake anymore? It's something else?  ( after a pause to check it out... Same person!)

Here's a video I found with a catchy tune. To my recollection, she once had another tune that thought was catchy back then. Then one has a bit of that, too.

7/6/11: The original post is below:

This is a live performance. She has an equipment malfunction several minutes into the video. No interruption of the performance at all, while she continues singing, she fixes the microphone. I guess you could say that was professional.

Jon Matonis on Bitcoin and crypto-currencies

8/12/26:

Here is an AI discussion of crypto-currency:

Discuss the history of "crypto" currency. Also describe what it actually is, please.

Cryptocurrency: What It Actually Is

At its core, cryptocurrency is digital money that operates without a central authority like a bank or government. Instead of relying on an institution to verify transactions, it uses cryptography and a blockchain — a decentralized, distributed public ledger.

Here's the breakdown of the key pieces:

- Blockchain: A continuously growing list of records ("blocks") linked and secured by cryptography. Each block contains transaction data, a timestamp, and a cryptographic hash of the previous block. This chain of hashes makes tampering practically impossible — alter one block and every subsequent block's hash breaks, alerting the entire network.

- Decentralization: Copies of the entire ledger are distributed across a network of computers ("nodes"). No single entity controls it or can censor transactions.

- Consensus mechanisms: The network agrees on the valid state of the ledger without a middleman. Two dominant models:

- Proof of Work (PoW) — Miners compete to solve computational puzzles to add blocks, consuming significant energy. This is what secures Bitcoin. It's slower but battle-tested.

- Proof of Stake (PoS) — Validators lock up ("stake") coins as collateral to propose and validate blocks. Much more energy-efficient, used by Ethereum and many newer networks.

- Supply control: The issuance of new coins is governed by protocol rules, not central banks. Bitcoin, for instance, is capped at 21 million coins — a feature designed to mimic digital scarcity.

- Currency properties: Cryptocurrencies are fungible (each unit is interchangeable), stored in digital wallets using public/private key cryptography, and can be transferred peer-to-peer nearly instantly and cheaply across borders.

Critically, cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value — it isn't backed by gold or government decree. Its price is determined purely by supply and demand, the quality of the underlying technology, and investor sentiment. As Schwab notes, it's a non-fiat medium of exchange that functions independently of government.

A Brief History

The idea of "digital cash" predates Bitcoin by decades. The key milestones:

1. The Precursors (1980s–1990s): In 1983, American cryptographer David Chaum conceived of ecash, an early cryptographic electronic money. Over the following years, various attempts emerged (e-gold, b-money, bit gold), but all were centralized or flawed. The unsolved problem was the double-spend issue — how to stop someone from spending the same digital coin twice without a central authority.

2. Bitcoin and Satoshi Nakamoto (2008–2009): In October 2008, an anonymous individual or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin whitepaper. In January 2009, the Bitcoin network launched with its genesis block. This was the first successful solution to double-spending via a decentralized consensus mechanism (PoW). Nakamoto vanished from public view shortly after, leaving the network to run itself.

3. Altcoins and Early Exchanges (2011–2013): Rival coins (altcoins) like Litecoin emerged. Exchanges like Mt. Gox (which later collapsed due to theft) made trading possible. Bitcoin's price history became increasingly volatile.

4. Ethereum and Smart Contracts (2014–2015): Vitalik Buterin proposed Ethereum, which launched in 2015. It introduced smart contracts — self-executing code on the blockchain — and decentralized applications (dApps), massively expanding what blockchains could do beyond simple payments.

5. The ICO Boom and Bust (2017–2018): Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) let startups raise money by issuing tokens, driving a speculative frenzy and subsequent crash. This cycle established crypto's reputation for extreme volatility and scams.

6. DeFi and NFTs (2020–2021): Decentralized Finance (DeFi) applications — lending, borrowing, trading without intermediaries — exploded. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) brought blockchain to digital art and collectibles. Institutional interest grew, and El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021.

7. Crypto Winter and Mainstream Validation (2022–2024): 2022 saw the FTX collapse, wiping out billions and exposing rampant fraud. Markets crashed. However, 2024 marked a turning point — spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved in the US, giving mainstream investors a regulated, easy way to gain exposure. This was followed by ETH ETFs and increasing institutional adoption.

8. The Present (2025–2026): Crypto has moved firmly from fringe to mainstream finance. Regulatory frameworks are being built globally (including US state- level initiatives like Bitcoin reserve legislation in some states), and the technology itself — blockchain — is finding applications in supply chains, healthcare records, identity verification, and even voting systems.

The bottom line: Cryptocurrency is a genuinely new form of programmable, decentralized value transfer, born from a failure to trust central institutions. It's revolutionary in its architecture but carries real risks — extreme volatility, regulatory uncertainty, scams, and energy concerns (for PoW). It's not a get-rich-quick scheme, nor is it "fake money." It's a technology with a 15-year track record, evolving rapidly, and its ultimate role in the global financial system is still being written.

5/31/26:

Bitcoin didn't seem like a durable thing. A small investment back then may have appreciated a lot, so I may have missed an opportunity. What problem does Bitcoin (crypto) solve? Maybe the same ones that paper currency does. But it has the same problems that paper currency has. Perhaps even more problems. Security would seem to be a problem with crypto. I don't trust it.

4/4/13:

GoldMoneyNews


Quote:

Published on Mar 29, 2013

Subscribe to our newsletter at http://www.goldmoney.com/goldresearch. Episode 118: GoldMoney's Andy Duncan talks to Jon Matonis of the Bitcoin Foundation who is also a contributor to Forbes Magazine. They discuss Bitcoin's latest price spike and whether crypto-currencies are a credible alternative as a medium of exchange.

Comment:

GoldMoney is a gold vault operation, for want of a better term.  This is their communication, which is amongst the ways in which they communicate with the world.

You can buy and sell gold there, with what they call gold grams, which represent 1 gram of gold.  In comparison to an ounce, it takes about 30 grams to equal an ounce.  GoldMoney's vault is located in the Channel Island of Jersey, near England, if memory serves.  I traded with them there, on the internet, in 2007.  I stopped fairly quickly that year when the US government started interfering, to my displeasure.

My contribution to the thoughts on this matter on the video is that since BitCoin is peer-to-peer, and a value is needed to establish what a BitCoin is actually is worth, then all is needed is some agreement amongst the BitCoin community as what that value of a BitCoin actually is.  Now, if BitCoin is pegged amongst the community that it is worth so many gold grams, then you have achieved an objective value of a BitCoin, in my opinion.

Real currencies are set up by governments.  A government is a group of people who exert authority and operate according to some kind of mutual agreement amongst them.  In comparison, you would need to have a way to police a system, amongst the participants in that system.   Now, a group of people can set this up and run it according to a charter they agreed upon.  It can govern the system.

The video doesn't cover this, by the way.  It is my own thought on the matter.

Anyway, here's the video

Welding the Starship together, the concept matures over time

TechMap channel

Nerd alert! A technical deep dive or sorts in these next two videos.

The video above abruptly changes topic in the middle of the video. If it whets your appetite for more, the following video may be of interest to you. A nerd's delight...

Another technical deep dive into Starship manufacturing

Starship recovery in the Indian Ocean

Update to the update, 8/9/26: :



8/5/26 Update:



There's some doubt that this will work... It will be quite a salvage job if it does indeed work...

8/2/26: The original post below:

It's been over a week since the launch of Flight 13, and the Starship has not sunk. Evidently, there will be an attempt to tow it back to Australia. Here's a fellow that I've embedded a video on previously with respect to the Iran situation in the Strait of Hormuz awhile back. He's discussing what it may take to get it back to land in one piece. Not necessarily a piece of cake, I take it.

Collective Soul --- Shine ( repost )

8/4/26:

Last words of song: "Come on and Shine!". Amen.

12/31/25:

Author: Florence M-P

In the Database!

Update:

last posted on 12.29.16 :

This song popped into my head. I knew I had posted it before...if memory serves, I was feeling poorly at that time..

Felt a lot better today.   Got out a bit and heard this one on the radio as before.  Why not repost it?  I like it...

original post follows immediately...


Just heard this on the radio while in my Nissan.  The hubcaps arrived this morning, or should I say last night, but the delivery guy didn't knock or anything.   I didn't know that they were there.  So, the hubcaps are on the car, and it should be good enough for the inspection sticker I couldn't get last week.  My permanent license should be there tomorrow, but if not, no problema.  I'll just have to make another trip.

Anyway, that song was familiar from the nineties, but I didn't know the name of it, nor the artists.

I found the lyrics and notice how clean they are.  That was rare even 20 years ago.

The Pearl of Great Price

Thus came to mind this morning because of a dream. The dream involved a danger. This video mentions a danger as well. But it wasn't the same thing as my dream. The video says you must use the power in the right way. In that sense, yes, it was the same as my dream.

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Yours truly saw this film at the Yale Theater in Houston Texas back in the day.

I saw a number of films in that theater. It was said that the theater was torn down and replaced by a bank. Actually, there was a Height Savings there next to it back in the sixties. The Google map has it on the wrong side of the street. There is actually a Chick-Fil-A in that spot, not a bank. The bank is across the street. It was definitely on the north side of the street, which would have an even number address. The address given was an odd number. That is wrong.

A closer look at the map indicates where the old savings and loan bank building IS. Correction: WAS. It's not there, as it was torn down after 2024 and before 2026.  (It's still there. I remember when it was built, so I remember what it looked like.) There's an apartment building next to that bank, which would be where the old theater was. Not a bank, not a Chick-Fil-A. A residence? YES, there is a residence at where the theater was.  Hopefully, this is now correct.  7/29/26

The skeleton fight was scarier then than it is now. It looks comical now. Special effects back then were quite primitive by today's standards.