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This is an audio track featuring an intoductory skit and The Entire Collection of Johnny Cash Hits (from A-Z). It's from my forthcoming CD: Blackout: A Tribute to Johnny Cash and from my forthcoming podcast that will feature songs from that collection. Enjoy, and thanks for visiting my blog in...
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It is much easier to avoid intimacy than it is to enter into its seemingly daunting territory. Don't worry. There are plenty of ways of avoiding intimacy in relationships.
One way is to have plenty of sex without ever making love. Another way is to avoid people altogether. Then there are...
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Have you ever met any celebrities? What were they like? Do you have any pictures with them? Let us know your experiences and upload your pictures to this blog of any celebrities that you may have taken a photo with. Photos may be used in the Entertainment newsletter. I personally have met Dennis...
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Believe it or not, I did not learn these campfire songs at a communist rally. I learned Peace Like a River and Down by the Riverside (which fervently and repeatedly proclaims: "...ain't gonna study war no more)," as a child attending an old fashioned, right-wing Bible camp. The hymn books and...
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I thought that shrinks wore spectacles--had little tiny beards. I thought that shrinks were nuts, and yo, I thought that shrinks were wierd--until the day I met a shrink who forced me to adapt. My biased view of shrinks it seems, was just a bunch of crap. 'Cause the shrink rapped. He danced...
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Karen Carpenter was a legendary singer. When she left us, due to complications of Anorexia Nervosa, she left a huge void that can never be filled. Her premature death opened the window so we could all take a closer look at this life-threatening psychological disorder. It's hard to understand why...
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Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy effects over a million people, yet little is known about it. My daughter Ashley age 15 is trying to get help to hold a Benefit Concert to help others that suffer from this terrible disease.
She has already raised over $1,000 in donations and auction items but needs...
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In existential philosophy and it's offspring, humanistic psychology, there exists the premise that human beings operate in accordance with two pervasive, all-consuming fears: Fear of life, and fear of death. Life and death, in these schools of thought, go well beyond the notion of a physical life...
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Thanks to all who responded via email with myriad German to English translations, varying dramatically in terms of precision. The winning translation comes from Erika who has German friends in high and low places. Here it is:
Ein Song über die Bee Gees von Dr. BLT [A...
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People who drive drunk are playing Chicken: the solitary version. Others on the road who are driving sober don't ask to play the game. We are S.A.D.D.! We are S.A.D.D. for all those innocent victims who lost their lives at the hands of a drunk driver. We are S.A.D.D. that people are still playing...
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My guitar and I have always been partners in rhyme. One early spring day in May, 2003, in front of a nationally-famous establishment that serves coffee on Coffee Road, in Bakersfield, California, my guitar was apparently an alledged accomplice in an alleged crime. I was an alleged witness. I...
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One morning while I was sitting right next to Starbucks at Rosedale Highway, working on a brand new song, underneath the Rubio's umbrella, a young man who worked for Starbucks who had been listening to the song I was struggling to write, politely waited until I stopped playing for a moment, and...
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Most of us experience feelings of rejection from time to time. I did recently, after being banned at the Marketplace for breaking Castle and Cooke's rules against performing as a way of raising money for charity without a permit. Music is against the law in Bakersfield. I'm kidding. I was...
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When I used to play for small change up in Sacramento, it landed me a cameo on an award-nominated MTV hit music video. News crews would stop by every few weeks and have me write a song on the spot to share with early birds on their way to work in the morning. All of this over my decision to opt...
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It happened one morning, on April 19, there he was---old Mick Jagger, in the middle of my dream. I had one back-stage pass to an old antique store. Mick stood there smilin', as he answered the door. He was packin' his clothes, he was slick in his duds---painted felt shoes, and he wiped off the...
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You may find yourself forgetting how to spell his name, but you will find yourself by losing yourself in his books and articles depicting the "optimal human experience." Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has made it his passion to observe common elements in human activities which allow individuals to lose...
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Freud believed that religion was a crutch for people who could not face their problems. Carl Jung, a student of Freud's, on the other hand, considered spiritual factors to be central to the study of the human psyche. He regarded religion and religious symbols to be a core element in the...
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If you ever stop by Starbucks on Rosedale Highway on your way to work in the morning, there's something you can depend on even more than the myriad coffee drinks and pastries that Starbucks has to offer. The group I proudly gave the name "The Starbucks Bible Boys" to will be there, gathering...
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Daniel, I knew you could do it. It's now been officially one month, and nobody has even dared to challenge your title as Kern County's King of Christian pop. The contest never ends, so it's not too late for those of you who feel you are up to the challenge. Simply review the original blog...
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I was wondering if any of you out there could provide a translation of the text linked below. I need to know whether the Germans are making fun of my music, whether I'm on my way to the top of the German top forty charts, or something in between. Once you hit the link, you'll need to scroll down...
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Well, it's been nearly a metal month, and, so far, no Kern county metal band, or any metal band for that matter, has stepped up to the plate to challenge Metal2Metal for the title as Kern County Kings of Heavy Metal. If you're band enough for the challenge, review the simple rules and...
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Can CAUTION and CANDOR co-exist, or does CAUTION kill CANDOR and CANDOR kill CAUTION? When he was recently asked if Muslims go to heaven, Billy Graham said he would leave that decision up to God. Ask his son, Frankin Graham, who has inherited his dad's ministry, the same question and you will...
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T'was christMAS in September, and all through the Nile, all the creatures were dancing, they did it in style. The stockings they wore, were worn out on the floor, as the Santa delivered a dozen or more, Salsa songs flavored with Latin and Rock, and Reggae and Jazz, as we rocked 'round the clock....
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Yesterday as I wrote an article for our newsletter I was listening to an instrumental version of Streets of Bakersfield.
I thought how the music seemed to put me in a "mood" of comfort and, of course reminded me of the Bakersfield 'sound' and the last time I went to the Crystal...
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There are many questions that could be asked concerning a local radio interview with members of the infamous folk duo, Prussian Blue, and their misguided mother. Did local radio host Inga Barks fan the flames of nationalism, racism, and anti-semitism when she hosted twins Lamb and Lynx Gaede in...
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This is the question of the hour, the question of the day, the question of the decade, yes, perhaps even the question of the new millennium: ARE U DOWN WITH O.P. Stylee???!!! Sandwiched between an interview with Pat Boone, and what looks promising in term of a forthcoming interview with John...
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This is the first in a sub-series from the grand series: CRYSTAL PALACE STATUES. It will feature artists present in the collection of bronze statues housed at the Crystal Palace. There's no better way to bring Buck back, and keeping the spirit of Buck Owens and the Buckaroos alive than to pitch...
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Welcome to my first blog in the Crystal Palace Statues Series. The first collection of blog threads in the series will feature Johnny Cash. I'm kicking it off today for reasons that will be obvious to true Cash fans.
I was moving in to my brand new home in Bakersfield, California. It was...
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A few weeks after 9/11, I received a letter from John, a student of a Psychology of Music class I was teaching at the time, who had been absent for a couple of classes. He warned me ahead of time, that he could be deployed at anytime. He wrote me from Afghanistan, where US and allied forces...
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On 9/11, a collosal ground swell of patriotism emerged from ground zero. For most of us, our sense of patriotism has diminished to some degree, only because of the passage of time has made the events of that horrific day seem decidedly more distant from our individual and collective psyches. In...
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The Crocodile Hunter:
words and music by Dr. Bruce L. Thiessen, aka Dr. BLT c 2006
Here come the animals
two by two
the crocodile rocks
and the rattle snake rattles a tune/like a modern-day Noah
you were their good friend
and we're saddened to learn
'bout the way that your...
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Most of us don't suffer from a full-blown clinical case of Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder). But it is rare for an individual growing up in this millennium to avoid the occasional mild identity crisis, marked by a sense that one's sense of self is...
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Well, it's no secret that the DVD, United 93 is out, but perhaps the best-kept secret is the song---the unofficial theme song for the movie. It gets better. It's by a local, unofficial guy---the humble guy who happened to stumble over an invention called Blog n Roll. What's most exciting about...
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re announcement that underground paper the blackboard will cease publishing - from posting to nick belardes on nlbelardes.com (i think):
the blackboard is an infamous name & very bakersfieldian. the name bears historical weight & the badge of the underdog. the paper was named...
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There has not been a better friend to animals since Noah, who shielded them from the flood by filling up his ark with them. On Friday, September 8, 2006, I will be releasing CROCODILE HUNTER (A Tribute to Steve Irwin) worldwide on the web as part of a Donate to Download song to raise money for...
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Well, I was wondering what it would take to make up for dissing Dusty today. It turns out that all it took was a cup of coffee. Too much can make one jumpy and too much can make one jump to conclusions. I stayed at Starbucks too long this morning, and all that caffeine turned out to be my...
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I had just laid down what I believed would be the finishing tracks on "Bakersfield: This Ain't Life as it Should Be," a song that has since become somewhat of a local hit. Then my then 13-month old baby handed me her 99 cent harmonica. I took it from her and blew into it. I had never played a...
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Hello Bakersfield! For those of you who like to subscribe to podcasts, I want to invite you to check out mine. My very first podcast will feature songs from my 9/11 Retrospective CD, One September Mournin'. I wrote these songs, brought the other artists together and recorded them in the weeks and...
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The contest begins today. The rules of this contest are quite simple: MC Shrink presently holds the title as Kern County's Reigning Rap King (by default). Cover my (oops, Freudian slip) his own drug-free tune (or write a drug-free tune of your own), post your original or cover as an mp3 link in...
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On this, the 1st anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I'd like to welcome folks to help the Salvation Army provide ongoing relief and follow-up care to survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Contact local Salvation Army official David Ebel, who posts here if you'd like to know how to make a contribution....
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Bono is making it cool for conservatives to care about social issues other than abortion and immigration reform. Homer James, Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam made it cool to sing the blues if you're walking The Streets of Bakersfield. The Rolling Stones made it cool to ask for help if you need...
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For one B-town rock band, the 90s in Bakersfield meant the 60s revisited. That band was Brian Jones was Murdered. Their name read like an unequivocal news headline, and the name pretty much summarized the band and what they represented. They were a bold back-to-basics retro act with a...
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If you haven't heard of KERN COUNTY CHRISTIAN POP KING, then my question is: Where have you been? It started today, Saturday, August 19, 2006. It never ends. So far, we have one contestant who wins by default until another Kern County Christian Pop King contestant steals his crown....
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No, I'm not ready to impeach him. Besides, how do you impeach a rock star? I'm a big fan and have been for many years. But I did recently challenge him with a song of mine (recently added to the playlist at WFMU in New York City), and at least one critic dared to stand up and take notice. See...
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Martin Luther King had a dream. As an olive-skinned conservative Caucasian male, I embrace his dream. I, too, dream in color. I dream of a Bakersfield where people of every race and skin color get along (or, at least, get a song---one that will instill a sense of harmony, brotherhood, and...
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I respect those who genuinely want to make immigrants legally accountable, but I believe that too much of this sentiment is accounted for by racial prejudice, intolerance and, in some cases, simply hatred. I propose that every day should be immigrant appreciation day. If you want to propose an...
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Local artists: I'm conducting an experiment, and I'm including you! All you have to do is to take an old, happy, light folk tune and give it a heavy metal treatment. The advantage of old, traditional folk tunes is that one rarely has to worry about copyright infringement. Many are considered...
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My birthday gift for Buck Owens was to have been entire collection of songs I wrote and recorded for him included in a CD called Confessions of a Buckaholic. He left this earth before I was able to give it to him. Thanks to Jim Shaw of the Buckaroos, he did hear one song from the CD, and told...
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"The people of Bakersfield are wonderful. They sang very well!" Ritch Sublett, Producer, CMT (Country Music Television). Buck's birthday is Saturday, so, in Buck's honor, I'd like to travel down memory lane (or, more aptly, down the Streets of Bakersfield), to give you a glimpse of the last time...
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Why I had the guitar with me to begin with is a long story, and I don't want to bore you with unnecessary details. It was a hellishly hot August morning at California State Prison, Solano. Not wanting to destroy my guitar in my car-turned-sauna, I sheepishly smuggled it past the prison sally...
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