|
|
|
A Poem for James Kenneth Samuel,
victim of 9/11
by Bruce L. Thiessen
We lost you
One September morn
I don't know
much about your life
I heard New Jersey cried that morn
Hoboken lost a shining light
now we remember you this day
we're sad you had to go away
James...
|
Comments [0] - Views [182]
|
|
|
|
On 9/10 as I was sitting out in my backyard with my guitar, I reflected on the events of 9/11 as I experienced them in the city of Sacramento, where I lived on that date. Then I wondered how somebody else with a completely different life, living in a completely different part of the world...
|
Comments [0] - Views [147]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [4] - Views [202]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [7] - Views [232]
|
|
|
|
Was Jesse Jackson justified in breaking with liberals by remonstrantly standing in opposition to the decision to snuff out the life of Teri Shiavo? Researchers warn against generalizing recent findings to individual cases such as the Teri Schiavo case. But will new findings (involving brain...
|
Comments [8] - Views [223]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [8] - Views [447]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [3] - Views [245]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [0] - Views [147]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [3] - Views [279]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [2] - Views [234]
|
|
|
|
A big-time blunder by a right-wing Bakersfield blogger who goes by his initials, Dr. BLT, and who is the self-proclaimed King of Blog and Roll, is now being compared to Dan Rather's fall from grace (listen to one-song sound-track to this blog thread now). Dr. BLT, (who recently alledgedly jumped...
|
Comments [4] - Views [250]
|
|
|
|
Perhaps my memory is failing me. Perhaps I'm beginning to experience the type of hallucinations that involve things disappearing before my very eyes. Would a person virulently attacking the Bush administration for a style supposedly redolent of "fascism" actually be...
|
Comments [17] - Views [324]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [1] - Views [201]
|
|
|
|
Back in 1994, Linda Ronstadt was shown the back door of a Las Vegas casino after uttering words of praise for Michael Moore and his movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, the movie was later parodied in this song:FahrenHYPE 9/11words and music by Dr. BLT (c)2006http://www.drblt.net/music/... and then...
|
Comments [20] - Views [351]
|
|
|
|
One of the first hypotheses I was exposed to as an undergraduate psychology student was Dollard and Miller's Frustration-Aggression hypothesis. It suggests that when individuals and groups encounter frustration, they are inclined to act out in an aggressive manner. This is, of course, of...
|
Comments [0] - Views [237]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [0] - Views [161]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [0] - Views [168]
|
|
|
|
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....
|
Comments [0] - Views [281]
|
|
|
|
Are you sick of all the reminders of Hurricane Katrina flashing on your TV screen as we approach the one-year anniversary of this horrific event? Just wait until the 5th anniversary of 9/11, waiting just around the corner. Have you grown numb to human suffering? Do you utter the empty words of...
|
Comments [9] - Views [449]
|
|
|
|
When the war in Iraq began, there was no shortage of support for our troops. Now that the war has dragged on, thousands have been killed, and public and political support for the war has dwindled, it's easy to forget that the troops still need our support. This need remains, regardless of...
|
Comments [0] - Views [141]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [25] - Views [381]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [0] - Views [187]
|
|
|
|
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....
|
Comments [1] - Views [230]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [22] - Views [292]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [33] - Views [401]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [12] - Views [254]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [9] - Views [261]
|
|
|
|
The Adventures of Oildale Olie: Chapter One: Olie Gets a Lesson in Sophistocation
by Bruce L. Thiessen, Ph.D., aka Dr. BLT (White Trash with an Eduction)
Oildale Olie’s 70s-style retro refrigerator was bereft of Bud, so he headed off to Trout's Bar to pound back a...
|
Comments [1] - Views [172]
|
|
|
|
Hey Bakersfield: It's nearly time to put the forthcoming new Cake in the oven and "bake" it. Here's the latest on the new Cake CD. It looks like you can add ingredients to the Cake recipe for Cake Live at the Crystal Palace by participating in the final song selection. And if you didn't catch my...
|
Comments [0] - Views [267]
|
|
|
|
Well, the Crystal Palace is alive and well, but how often do we stop to reflect upon and appreciate the man that breathed life back into the place after Buck passed away? That man was Clint Black. I hope the following article and the original photo I was lucky enough to shoot that rainy April...
|
Comments [0] - Views [175]
|
|
|
|
Truthfully, Buck was one of a kind, and, sadly, there will never be another Buck. But there is somebody who seems to be standing in front of the line to follow in his footsteps. That "somebody" seems to be John McCrae, of the band, Cake. Where's the evidence? Well, it can be found here:...
|
Comments [7] - Views [242]
|
|
|
|
Hello, Bakersfield. I call it New Nashville West or the New Bakersfield Sound. They call it Progressive Country. In any case, if any of you would like to catch my debut on this Brave New Frontiers radio show, you find by clicking the link below. Just before you get to the half-way point in...
|
Comments [0] - Views [122]
|
|
|
|
Hello citizens of Korn Kounty! As a local shrink, I'm conducting a survey on the effect of Korn's music on Korn Kounty "Metal" Health. If I am able to formulate some "sound" insights after gathering feedback from you, I plan to incorporate the results in an article that will appear in Phantom...
|
Comments [3] - Views [193]
|
|
|
|
First came the song, Right-wingers Need Love Too. Then came the CD of the same title. When Ralph Bailey became the first local radio talk show host to spin this little number, he took quite a bit of heat. When Rusty Humphries added it to his nationally syndicated playlist, he added fuel to the...
|
Comments [3] - Views [244]
|
|
|
|
I’ll be honest, I’ve never considered Bakersfield the ideal city in which to reside. The plan was to make it a temporary pit stop, but I fell in love here (not with the town, but with a beautiful, talented woman who grew up here), and its a long story, but I ended up here for pragmatic...
|
Comments [1] - Views [237]
|
|
|
|
Hello everybody! I heard the CD, Cash V: A Hundred Highways while cruising down Rosedale Highway after picking up a copy at Wal-Mart. It inspired a brand new song that is scheduled to be aired on Randall Cousins' Brave New Frontiers progressive country radio show this weekend. Bakersfield fans...
|
Comments [2] - Views [157]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [0] - Views [190]
|
|
|
|
I think Alyssa Kaess is the Joni Mitchell of modern folk/Americana music. I first heard her sing at a now-defunct coffee house, and her voice created a lasting impression on me. I'm going to try and secure permission from her to post some of her own original material, but in the meantime, here...
|
Comments [0] - Views [133]
|
|
|
|
"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...
|
Comments [2] - Views [252]
|
|
|
|
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...
|
Comments [1] - Views [220]
|
|
|
|
I come to the garden alone/ while the dew is still on the roses/ and the voice I hear, falling on my ear/The Son of God discloses/and he walks with me, and he talks with me/ and He tells me I am His own/ and the voice we share/ as we tarry there/ none other has ever known/It's deeply precious,...
|
Comments [0] - Views [204]
|
|
|
|
How did I end up appearing on an MTV-award-nominated hit music video? I've always been a little reticent when it comes to sharing this, because I hate to be perceived as a shameless, self-promoting idiot bragging about my 15 minutes of fame. Then I realized that I was not shameless, so the...
|
Comments [0] - Views [217]
|
|
|
