For centuries opera was dominated by larger-than-life characters: legendary gods and goddesses, mythical figures from ancient Greece and Rome, kings and queens. But as opera became an ever more popular form of entertainment, that model began to change. The operatic form continued to evolve during the post-Romantic period. Composers began turning to stories about simpler, […]
Tearing down and setting up. That’s the worst thing about playing drums in a classic rock band. Especially at my age. Tearing them down, packing them in the van; taking them out of the van; setting them up; tearing them down again, cramming them in the van and hauling them back again. Doing all of […]
I’m having politics fatigue. I haven’t exactly run out of evidence to support my position, but there is a particular stumbling block I keep running into when I try to reach across the proverbial aisle to have one of those “difficult conversations” with Trumpanzees such as my asshole brother. I don’t understand why I have […]
Fascism is an easy enough tag to apply to current political trends; but it is not a fully appropriate label. America has been slowly morphing into something else over the past fifty-plus years. The super-rich now own the vast majority of wealth, income, and most of the shares in publicly traded companies, including the 6 […]
America’s public school system has been a failure because of a successful 30-year GOP effort to de-fund the system in favor of private and charter schools. The purpose of this policy was always to destroy the learning environment of the students, and extinguish the average child’s innate desire to explore and learn. This indoctrination – […]
No matter how many times I return to Los Angeles, I always make a point of visiting Venice Beach. The nearly two-mile beachfront walk is the quintessential L.A. experience, and it‘s usually the highlight of my trip. If you’ve never been there I will take you. Venice Beach is the biggest open-air freak-show on the […]
The city of Los Angeles looms large in Beatles folklore. Outside of London and Liverpool, no other place has influenced the Beatles more than the sprawling metropolis of L.A. Ringo Starr still lives there with his movie-star wife Barbara Bach. They own two residences: one in Silver Lake, and another in Malibu. John Lennon spent most […]
Feudalism is arguably the most important and recognizable characteristic of Medieval life. Feudalism was a form of political and social organization which evolved from the dissolution of Charlemagne’s empire and the rise of absolute monarchies. Feudalism remains the common model of European society in the Middle Ages. Urban life for most citizens declined significantly after […]
When you first went away it was only for awhileBut I lost all self-control and I almost ruined the houseBy the time that you came back and saw the disaster I madeI was in tears and afraid and I ran to you and said: Never Leave Again! All I have to offer you is my […]
Obedience to authority is one of the hallmarks of the Trump cult. Dozens of recent studies have shown how the “conservative” mind is different from normal human brains. People with fascistic views are ruled (fittingly enough) by the ‘reptilian’ part of the brain – the most primitive and un-evolved region of the brain stem. Because […]
Jason Darensburg's Blog-o-rama 