…..It seems like I started something when I listed Tower of Power as one of my all-time favorite bands….because a few people thought I forgot to mention other great bands….NO…I didn’t forget them….I only said “TOP” is “STILL” my favorite band….so, to set the record straight…here are a few of my “OTHER” favorite bands…..Led Zeppelin, Mandrill….Ohio Players….The Doors….Jimi….The Allman Brothers..…Grand Funk Railroad…Santana…Sly & The Family Stone….Three Dog Night….Earth, Wind & Fire….Deep Purple….The Clash….Dead Kennedys….Bread….Kansas….Frank Zappa…James Brown…Parliament/Funkadelic….Isaac Hayes….O’ Jays….Steely Dan…AC/DC….Curtis Mayfield…Stevie Wonder..…Marvin…Meters….Brass Construction…..Rick James….Isley Brothers…..Average White Band..…Kool & The Gang..…Commodores….Malo….Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band..…B.T. Express..…Rufus & Chaka Khan..…Jimmy Castor Bunch…..The Temps…Four Tops….Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers….Return To Forever….Brothers Johnson…Lakeside…..Instant Funk….Graham Central Station…..Midnight Star..…Bar-Kays..…Billy Preston…..Trouble Funk….Cold Blood…L.T.D….War….The Jackson 5…Con Funk Shun….Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echos….Blackbyrds…Headhunters…..Roy Ayers….Fatback..…Weather Report…New Birth..…Maze….Ronnie Laws and his brother..…Herbie..…Johnny Guitar Watson….George Duke..…Betty Davis…..The Animals….The Byrds….Rare Earth….John Mayall’s Bluesband….Jefferson Airplane..…Cream….Mountain..…Pink Floyd…..Queen..…David Bowie…..Chuck Berry…..Ike & Tina….Gladys Knight….Aretha….Nina….Yes….Janis….Traffic…..Iron Butterfly..…Steppenwolf….Blood, Sweat & Tears…..and yes I could go on and on and on… “BUT” I only said that TOP was “STILL” my all-time favorite band….pop in your East Bay Grease CD and listen to that raw sound….and the band is still around….and NO I didn’t include the Beatles….because I always thought they were overrated…..and NO I didn’t include Chicago….because they’re the Osmond’s to Tower of Power…..just like the Osmond’s were to the Jackson 5….and the majority of the bands listed above….are on my phone!
HERE’S WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF MODERN MARINES BATTLES THE ROMAN EMPIRE….I have to say….I missed the “Stupid Study People”….one guy said….the Marines would annihilate the first ranks of the Romans…..killing 49 men and 50 horses in the first volley….another one said the lack of re-supply would make tanks, helicopters and modern weapons useless within days….because the unit doesn’t carry enough ammo and fuel to fight the 330,000 men of the Roman legions in 23 B.C….and the Romans would be able to recruit and train new infantrymen by the thousands….now, I don’t know about you…..but if I was part of that legion..…and I saw..…submachine guns, missile launchers, 50 caliber guns, MK 19 grenade launchers, M224 60 mm mortars, SMAW and AT4 unguided rockets, Predator SRAW, FGM-148 Javelins, snipers, BGM-71 TOW and anti-tank guided missiles…..M67, AN-M14, Mk 141 grenades….blowing the hell out of my comrades….I’m hopping on the first horse back to Rome.
NEW YORK MAN BUILDS OWN COUNTRY IN UTAH, HAS PASSPORT AND BORDER CONTROL….Hey, I don’t blame the guy….any of you looked for an apartment in NYC lately?…..right, the rents are crazy….anyway,….Zaq Landsberg..…is calling his new country Zaqistan..…and it’s on a remote piece of land in Utah..…he created a yellow-red flag, official looking passports and a border patrol gate guarded by a giant robot sentry….he says,.… “The conceptual goal is I want to become a real country. I mean, that goal is not going to happen. It’s impossible, but going through the motions, I’m trying to make that happen.”…..his new motto..… “Something for nothing”..…he bought the land a decade ago..…it’s 60 miles from the nearest town..…and 15 miles away from a paved road.
HUNDREDS OF WOMEN PROSECUTED FOR EXTRAMARITAL SEX IN THE UAE….And most of them are pregnant domestic servants who have been raped by their employer’s and then thrown in prison….they were led into courtrooms shackled in chains….laws prohibiting “Zina”..…or sex outside of marriage..…could mean two years in prison and a flogging..…in theory, both men and women could be imprisoned even though the UAE authorities have not clarified what they mean by indecency….the judges can use their culture and customs of Sharia….ultimately to broaden out that definition and convict people of illicit sexual relations or even acts of public affection….this is how weird it gets….2010..…a British woman made a rape complaint against a waiter in Dubai….and was arrested for having illegal sex with her fiancé..…a Norwegian woman reported being raped by her colleague..…and was imprisoned for extra marital sex….pregnancy is often used as proof of the crime with domestic female migrant workers..…numbering about 150,000 in the UAE….and most are raped by the men they work for..…and most rape allegations themselves have been left uninvestigated.
TEACHING A CHILD TO READ AT AN EARLY AGE…..Is a good thing to do….the sad part is most parents leave it up to the educational system….I didn’t….by the time my sons were four..…they could read, speak, write and count in two languages….the downfall was…when they attended the first class of school…..they were bored.