JustThinking.us

One of my favorite bands of all time, Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens helped invent the Mbaqanga sound of the Soweto townships in the late 60's through the late 80's and were it's greatest practitioners.

I can't say it, but I sure know it when I hear it.

They were really three distinct outfits in one, as producer Rupert Bopape assembled the Makgona Tsohle Band (the band that can do anything) who at the time were South Africa’s premier studio group, with the Mahotella Queens and Simon “Mahlathini” Nkabinde (The Lion of Soweto) greatest of South Africa’s “groaning style” singers.

This is Marks Mankwane, one of popular music’s all time most innovative guitarists playing lead, Vivian Ngubane (I think) playing rhythm guitar, Joseph Makwela on bass, Lucky Monama on drums.  I don’t have the keyboards figured out yet.  The female vocalists are Hilda Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Mbadu and Mildred Mangxola and of course that’s the late, great Mahlathini groaning away.

Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens.

Stop Crying.

Apologies for the abrupt ending.

There are not a lot of vids out there for this band.

As an aside it was Mahlathini who introduced Ted Nugent to his tailor.

"Be generous with kindly words, especially about those who are absent."

"We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe.”

“If you must tell me your opinions, tell me what you believe in. I have plenty of doubts of my own.”

“We usually lose today, because there has been a yesterday, and tomorrow is coming.”

“Our senses don't deceive us: our judgment does”

“One never goes so far as when one doesn't know where one is going”

“Ignorant men raise questions that wise men answered a thousand years ago”

“Thought expands, but paralyzes; action animates, but narrows.”

“Hatred is something peculiar. You will always find it strongest and most violent where there is the lowest degree of culture.”

 “If a good person does you wrong, act as though you had not noticed it. They will make note of this and not remain in your debt long.”

“When a wife has a good husband it is easily seen in her face.”

“Tell me with whom thou art found, and I will tell thee who thou art”

“Whoever wishes to keep a secret must hide the fact that he possesses one.”

“There is no past that we can bring back by longing for it. There is only an eternally new now that builds and creates itself out of the Best as the past withdraws.”

“For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him, he must regard himself as greater than he is”

“I don't know a greater advantage, than to appreciate the worth of an enemy.”

“He who does not expect a million readers should not write a line.”

 “He who cannot love must learn to flatter”

“Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.”

“I think that I am better than the people who are trying to reform me.”

“Nothing is worth more than this day.”

What a sordid adventure this has been.

A month or so ago I asked myself a question,

"Who owns the Fed?"

Foolishly thinking that having asked that question, at about 8:30 am on a Saturday morning, I'd have a post done by noon at the latest.

Just another example of just how wrong one can be, when one is wrong.

If you ask the above question of your search engine, it goes nuts.

I read a lot of it.

I'm a little mad at myself here because if you follow some of this stuff far enough, you get to part about the escaped, homosexual, occultist Nazis hiding underground (literally) somewhere in Argentina ....... with grey space aliens.

I am not making this up.

Hell, I couldn't make it up.

Anyway, what I'm mad about is that I lost that link.

You can believe me when I tell you I'm lookin' for it.

But I digress.

Evidently lots and lots of people have asked this question, long before I did and have posted/published their answers.

Then a whole other group read the first group's post/publication/book and felt a need to dispute those answers.

Now, wouldn't you think that it should be easy to determine the ownership of something as important as the entity the controls the money supply of the world's largest economy?

This is the information age after all, don't you think that a simple list might be easily obtainable?

It ain't.

Factcheck.org provides the best start here  .

I'll wait.

Click it and read it dagnabit, it'll only take a minute and I'm trying to make a point here.

Thank you.

Now, if you click on their sources, from the Fed itself, you get this , and then this .

DO IT!!!

You don't even have to read anything this time.

See what I mean?

Hmmmmm, is all I have to say about this.

Then there are the vids.

The vids now, are a whole new ballgame.

And while a lot of the vids are very good and entertaining, none of it is as helpful as I would have liked in answering the original question, "Who owns the Fed?" because one needs to have a much better than none at all understanding of the nature of money, before any of the above makes even one lick of sense.

So, here's where I start.

The following comes from a definite Libertarian point of view, and while some may prefer a different viewpoint, it is very clear and easy to grab hold of.

It'll take about 40 minutes but you will most likely be entertained and a hell of a lot smarter about the world around you than you are now.

Go get a beer, a glass of wine, a cup of coffee, maybe a sandwich.

Got all that?

I'll be back on issues having to do with that non existant list in a bit.

David B. saw our post about the Reactable Synth and reminded us of the Theremin.

The only instrument you don't touch to play.

Nearly unlimited sustain.

Being me, I'll usually go for the music.

If you're wired the other way, here's the link that takes you to how it works.

The other Roanboy brought me this one having liked it.

From Reactable.

I was real impressed with this thing until it dawned on me that it's just another synthesizer with a different kind of interface.

Still, it's pretty neat.

This particular one was purchased by Bjork.

Evidently they also have this as an app for your iWhatever.

p>

I'm thinking about that iPhone app so I can Hardstyle at the airport.