Alone Inside My Shadow

Tonight my thoughts lead me to a place where I am wondering within my shadow.  In a way, I might describe it more as having two central nervous systems inside one mind.  There is the one nervous system that celebrates an ordinary schedule and is happily capable of performing it all.

Then there is this underlying electricity of the immediacy and urgency of everything, as if  one has just bumped the trashcan off the end of the world.  It’s this staring mortality in the face which is in a very real way the only time we are really alive.

Although I think that times when I’m mindlessly walking around holding my baby to keep her from crying, might be more the thing I’ll think about on my death bed.  I think I will remember the experiences givin by the first nervous sysem in my mind which happily and quite by rote, has me doing the glorious task of living, raising a baby and a prescooler, making videos, albums, teaching people how to play guitar…I only accomplish these things by the Under Control nervous system, not the Face Of Death one.

The problem is The Face of Death makes the muscles twitter while the happily In Control nervous system moves me, so I never qiute know where it’s at, man. It’s like two separate realities taking place in one mind at the same time.

Can anyone out there relate?

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Our Health Care System Is Broken

Our health care system is broken and the “for profit” people are in charge.  Health insurance providers and pharmaceutical companies have all been digging deeply into our pockets to the point where tens of millions of us can’t get medical attention.

I am on several medications and I have to buy insurance to even dream of being able to afford them. Not only are the premiums and co-pays high, but the coverage only goes up to a certain amount that they will pay each year.  Unfortunately for me and many people like me, that means my insurance coverage caps out in August.  That means that I cannot afford the $600 every 30 days  for only one of the prescriptions I take, not to mention the cost of the others.

Honestly, even if I said I’ll bite the bullet and go into credit card debt to get my medications, I would be in bad credit card debt at the end of the year. So I go without my meds for 4 months of the year which creates health risks for me.

Why does my insurance policy crap out in August of each year? Well, as my doctor told me, “the drug companies insist on charging these outrageous prices so the insurance companies pass the outrageous costs on to me, the average working, tax-paying American.

Drug makers are putting out all their propaganda to keep Americans from having our own health care system because they want to rile up a bunch of ignorant people to go to city hall meetings and bitch about how wrong it would be for the government to step in and regulate them. 

Of course!  They don’t want to lose their profits.  However, they aren’t concerned in the least about  free enterprise when it comes to my right to purchase my drugs from Canada.  They have Washington all wrapped around their dirty little fingers. Its the law, I am not free to buy my drugs from their competitors.

Not only do I have to put up with getting my meds just part of the year, but I could get arrested if I buy the same drugs cheaper from a foreign drug company.  THAT’S NOT FREEDOM!!

If the “for profit” system is going to work, then what are the insurance providers and drug companies willing to give back in order to prolong their profit system?  The people who want to protect corporate profits don’t seem to have any real solutions for a  profit system that is feasible. At least not that I’ve heard.

If there is a “for profit” solution to our medical crisis, I’d love to hear it. And what other options are there besides Obama’s plan, anyone?…anyone?

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No One Should Profit off Others’ Illness

I’ve been reading a bit about Obama’s plans to overhaul health care in this country.  Now for those of you who are checking out our site for the first time and are reading this post, no, I am NOT a member of any liberal group.  I am an independent thinker who likes to look at numerous sides of every issue. 

I am not aligned with any particular wing of politics be it left or right.  I believe in freedom and upholding our constitution. I am a free writer who is writing my thoughts separate from the Big Media Dogs who are constantly throwing propaganda at us to tell us how to think and celeb gossip to anesthetize us with  glitter.

I was reading an article on Obamas health care plan and I don’t know that he has done any kind of brilliant job designing it, but here in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a staggering number of people do not have access to doctors.  That is unacceptable.

If the private health care providers were charging reasonable rates and covering the claims that come in, then maybe America wouldn’t be having this discussion about an overhaul.

But a corporation can’t be expected to have morals. All any corporation has is its bottom line. That is why they charge outrageous premiums that most families can’t afford and they don’t pay their claims justly.

I’m not against free enterprise in and of itself, but the profit system doesn’t work for all American institutions.  America has never been 100% privatized.  We’ve always had a government-run military, public schools, state and federal law enforcement, a postal system, etc.

Even though government systems are often less efficient than private companies, that doesn’t not mean that the for- profit system is always the best application.

I was reading some dumb comments  someone wrote on AOL last night.  This person said, “Most Americans don’t want health coverage.” WHAT?  I don’t know where some of these radical right-wingers get their notions but unless you have some kind of evidence that shows U.S. citizens would rather die from thier ailments that accept health care, than don’t make a dumb statement like that.

In reality, health care reform was part of Obama’s election platform and he won both the electoral and the popular vote. Obviously a lot of Americans want health care.

I have a close friend, Mark, who just died of prostate cancer.  He didn’t have health insurance because he couldn’t afford it and was trying to hold out until he was 62 to get Medicare.  He didn’t make it. My sympathies to Mark’s family. I have no sympathies for insurance companies.

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Sky Sunlight Saxon Memorial in L. A.

Dear Friends, Hippies, Advocates:

I recieved this comment yesterday on my post about my memories of Sky Sunlight Saxon.  It is a press release I thought everyone should have the chance to read. 

I’d also like to thank Sabrina Saxon for her kind words that she took the time to add to our humble little free-zone here.

Here’s the press release. You may be especially interested if you’re going to be in Los Angeles on the 24th:

ROCKNROLL LEGEND SKY SAXON’S L.A. MEMORIAL WITH THE SEEDS’ DARYL HOOPER & JAN SAVAGE, THE ELECTRIC PRUNES, STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK, BILLY CORGAN, NELS CLINE 07/24/09 ECHOPLEX OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

– For Immediate Release –

- Los Angeles, California -

Richard Marsh, otherwise known to the rocknroll world as SKY SUNLIGHT SAXON, will find tribute & love visualized at a memorial in his honour to be held Friday, July 24th 2009 at the Echoplex in Los Angeles, California. At 8pm the service gathering will commence with performances by friends THE SEEDS’ DARYL HOOPER & JAN SAVAGE with other members of SEEDS line-ups with Sky, THE ELECTRIC PRUNES, STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK’s GEORGE BUNNEL – RANDY SEOL – MARK WEITZ – GENE GUNNELS, BILLY CORGAN of THE SMASHING PUMPKINS & MARK TULIN of THE ELECTRIC PRUNES one-night-only as SPIRITS IN THE SKY, NELS CLINE of WILCO, solo set by Djin Aquarian of YaHoWha 13, solo set by MIKE RANDLE of BABY LEMONADE (ARTHUR LEE’S LOVE back-up band), the Simon Stokes Band, Sofizel, & very special guests. Attendees are encouraged to dress in flower children ware & bring flowers for the stage.

The Echoplex is located at:
1154 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 413-8200
http://www.attheecho.com/
The venue is 18 yrs & over
Advanced tickets available at Ticket Web

SKY SUNLIGHT SAXON of the psychedelic garage rock legends THE SEEDS passed away at 9:10am Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at St David’s South Austin Hospital in Austin, Texas. Sky died of heart & kidney failure, due to an undiagnosed infection of his internal organs. He passed peacefully with his wife Sabrina Smith Saxon & his spiritual brother in YaHoWha Joshua Aquarian by his side. He died, in his words, at the age of “eternal”.

SKY SUNLIGHT SAXON, fell ill as early as Thursday, June 18th in his new home in Austin. Despite feeling under the weather Saturday, he performed a short set of SEEDS classics at the local night club Antone’s with his local collective WORLD SPIRITS, his favourite local Austin band SHAPES HAVE FANGS. After continuing illness, he was rushed to St David’s South Austin Hospital Monday morning & was immediately placed in ICU. He remained in critical condition in ICU until his passing several days later. Sky & his wife Sabrina recently moved to Austin, following his exciting headlining performance at the Austin Psych Fest #2 in March. Several tours were scheduled, including the East Coast/Mid-West tour in August with the California Revue, with members of LOVE & THE ELECTRIC PRUNES. The tour will still continue despite his absence.

Sky had many projects in the works that will undoubtedly still be completed & released in the coming months if not years due to his wealth of creative material left behind. One of which is a documentary about his legendary band THE SEEDS to be released next year in 2010. The documentary chronicles the band’s activities with exclusive interviews with all original members, & rare never-before-seen footage of the band live & in session. The project is spear-headed by Alec Palao of Ace Records U.K. (The Zombies’ box set “Zombie Heaven”) -

“Part of the impetus for the SEEDS documentary is to correct a lot of the misperceptions about the band,” explains documentary-maker ALEC PALAO, “and to properly state their role and achievements, and celebrate their music for what it is. The band were way ahead of their time, which I realize more and more as I go thru the nuts and bolts of their recordings. Due to various circumstances beyond the band’s control, the original integrity of what the band was doing got lumped in with the worst commercial hype of the psychedelic scene as it expanded. Ultimately it means that the hipsters and tastemakers got turned off by the hype, and those prejudices have remained with all the commentators and writers ever since. So THE DOORS remain hip and leaders and THE SEEDS are seen as commercial hippies, followers, or not even an authentic part of the initial movement, which of course is dead wrong. I’m doing my part to correct that!”

Learn more about SKY SUNLIGHT SAXON by visiting these official sites:

http://www.skysaxon.com
http://www.myspace.com/theseeds

For inquiries, please contact:

Jennifer Marchand
Publicist :: Sky Sunlight Saxon
“Pushin’ Too Hard” by THE SEEDS – Top 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Bleu French Laundry Rocknroll Promotions
Austin, Texas 

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July 12 As It Has Gone Down In The Past

Well, here in Los Angeles, California, the the date is Sunday, July 12, 2009.  It is 12:22 a.m. 

On Saturday, July 12, 1969, Led Zeppelin was the top bill for the Philadelphia Summer Music Festival. Also on stage that night were, Johnny Winter, Al Kooper, Jethro Tull and Buddy Guy’s Blues Band.

But this concert wasn’t free. No, my friends. Far from it.  In order to see these wild, long haired bands, one would have to raise $3.75 in cold, hard cash!  That’s right, fellow hippies, beatniks, advocates-for-the-greater-cause, but that was only general admission.  A really awesome seat would set you back a whopping $6.75.  The main bills for nights one and two were James Brown and Sly and The Family Stone, respectively. Same prices.

Call me a big spender or call me foolish, but I’m going all three nights in the $6.75 seats. Can you imagine seeing all those acts for a three night total of $20.25? You pay for gas and I’ll drive.

In pop news, Time magazine released an issue on this date in 1967.  The cover was a psychedelic collage of arms and legs popping out of a TV screen along with various products of the day. The headline offered the best and worst of commercials. From reading the article it appears as though dealing with endless television ads was the new annoyance that people had to deal with.

I remember it too. When I was a kid, the cigarette commercials…This article didn’t publish an itemized list of the actual best and worst commercials.  In some cases, it seemed to quote only part of a jingle  or did not seem to want to name the product being advertised.

I wonder if corporate lawsuits might have made Time a bit reluctant to be more bold in its praise and criticism of particular commercials.  Maybe the U.S. was sue-crazy back then too. Does anyone know?

This article  seemed to be more just an essay on the good and bad points of mass commercialism itself. I would love to see some of those ads they talked about especially Salem and Benson & Hedges cigarettes,  just because it was so weird how they tried to sell all of us that crap.

Another article in the same issue mentions a huge hippie love-in  at the Boston Commons which the writer hails as “…the flagging flower-world’s last great love-in.”

I’ve been to the Boston Commons and it is a beautiful place. I can see why the hippies would want to have a love-in there.  Although the city had to deal with all the usual problems of large crowds.

In not so cool news of the past, the Newark, N. J. race riots were touched off on this day in 1967. The spark that set it off was an incident in which a cab driver named John W. Smith was pulled over by police officers simply for passing them on 15th street. The two officers apparently went way too far off the deep end and brutalized Smith. In the ensueing riots, 49 were killed on this day in history, 1500 injured, over a 1000 arrested.

That was one of the worst parts about the 1960′s: the civil rights  and racial injustices that were utterly unspeakable.  We still have a long, long way to go even now, 42 years later.  Hey, hippies, beatniks, advocates, everybody try to love one another.

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