Proof that things could be better...
...or, "I read the news today, oh boy..."

That's what I get for trying to stay current. I just had to go out today and read the newspaper, and when things get so unrelievedly gloomy that even I (kinda) can begin to understand it, you know that Things indeed Could Be Better. One headline of note went something like this: "CANDIDATES LACK MESSAGE IN FACE OF ECONOMIC CRISIS". It's been said that this year's economic picture is the worst since the great depression of long, long ago. So, we turn to our leaders for inspiration. Right? We all know George W. Bush has nothing positive to offer; the man can barely complete a sentence. So what about those running for Prezzident?

According to an Associated Press Analysis-type article I spotted today, "...in a dizzying day of speeches and statements, neither (Senator John McCain or Senator Barack Obama) offered any fresh ideas for turning things around. Instead, each relied on the same vague, though vastly different, pitches sounded over the past few months for fixing what ails the country." One of these guys is gonna be LEADING our country come January. I've long thought that no matter who's President, what happens is gonna happen, anyway, because, well, face it, it's bigger than any of us. A monolithic bureaucracy in a representative democracy such as ours gets swallowed up by numerous financial blunders and widespread greed and corruption, and, who's gonna stop it? 'Cos if it could be stopped, it WOULDA been stopped by now. Conclusion: The two guys running for Prezzident don't have a CLUE. They just want your vote.


Truly a Sign Of The Times...

Meanwhile, an adjacent news article informed me that Sarah Palin, political demagoguess rescued from obscurity, Who Could Be The Next Vice Prezzident after being mayor of a village and then serving as Alaska Governor for a coupla years, is "UNLIKELY TO COOPERATE WITH PROBE". She doesn't wanna speak with an Independent Council about her firing of a public safety commissioner, which, evidently she had her Own Personal Reasons for doing. This after she previously said she would welcome the chance to set the record straight. Alaska Senator Hollis French said the McCain campaign would most likely get an "October Surprise", resulting from the investigation being conducted by the Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee. Way to go, Sarah! You're now enveloped in scandal before you've had a chance to bask in the afterglow of attaining dizzying political heights. I'll conclude this paragraph by saying that I couldn't find anything in the paper today about the Other Vice Prezzidential candidate, Joe Biden, so I'll just assume he's off plagiarizing someone somewhere, and I just haven't read about it yet.

Ah, but I saw a headline that made me feel all warm-and-fuzzy until I got to the VERY END of the article. Turns out that "CRUDE OIL CLOSED BELOW $100 (per Barrel) FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SIX MONTHS" (another headline)...wow, cool...I had visions of pulling up to a Gas Pump where I'd only have to pay, say, $2.50 a gallon (?)...because, you see, due to 'dramatic sell-offs' of oil due to various financial collapses (can you say 'Lehman Brothers'?), plus, the recent Hurricane Ike didn't cause as much damage to the Oil industry as expected, were (supposedly) good signs that oil prices would go down. HOLD ON, THAR...WHOA, NELLIE!!!...the last paragraph said, quote, "prices jumped above $4.00 a gallon in parts of the country as a 'precautionary shutdown' of Gulf Refineries caused gasoline shortages." So, Gas prices have gone Up! No, they're coming Down! OOPS! They're gonna go up a little bit! Then they're gonna go up MORE! This is just NUTS!

Good Grief, STOP, already! That's enough to make me wish I hadn't opened up the paper to begin with. Ah, but there's always the comics and other stuff (such as an article in today's paper about a guy who tried to hike from the California Border to the Columbia river), things which, you know, appeal to the lighter side. And of course, there's always the news and gossip about singers, musicians, what's on TV, etc., you know, stuff that has nothing to do with War or Politics. And then I read that RICK WRIGHT, a founding member of PINK FLOYD, a group I hold near and dear, passed away yesterday due to Cancer at the tender age of 65.

Richard Wright was Floyd's keyboardist; he provided much of the ultra-spaciness that created moody aural canvases upon which the Band Wove Its Otherworldly Spell. Wright also provided vocals for a few of Pink Floyd's songs; indeed, a lot of the time, his vocals sound almost like those of David Gilmour, Floyd's guitarist, which was truly a thing to behold when they sang harmony. (Roger Waters, the band's main songwriter, didn't really 'sing'; he kinda croaked and yelled a lot). Wright was more or less in the 'Background' of Pink Floyd's overall sound, but without him, things wouldn't have sounded the same. In the mid-1970's, during the 3-year gap between Pink Floyd albums "Animals" and "The Wall", Rick Wright came out with his one and only solo record...and its careful melodicism and hushed vocals display the qualities he brought to the band...

Here it is, Richard Wright's 1977 solo album, "Wet Dream", which I imagine is fairly hard to find these days; it didn't sell a lot when it first came out, didn't chart, and came and went without a trace...ah, but us dedicated Pink Floyd fans remember, don't we? That's 'cos we went out and got all the albums. We read Rolling Stone and other music magazines, and kept up on our favorite Bands. And hearing solo projects by group members is always interesting; it certainly was for me. Anyway, I'm sad that another musician's gone, but that's life...and death...I guess.

BLOG UPDATE: I found out that Richard Wright recorded another album in 1995; I've never heard it; I've never even SEEN it. I'm gonna have to check it out...

In preparation for writing this post (I actually prepared?) I took out the VHS of Pink Floyd's "Reunion" at the "Live 8" concerts back in 2005. The band split apart very acrimoniously in the early '80s, and the wounds cut deep; hearing and seeing them all back onstage was something Quite Historic. That, I believe, was Rick Wright's last performance. And the band sounded absolutely GREAT.