bill berry

Here’s a series of screenshots from tonight’s Rachel Maddow Show that shine a bright light on what Republicans are up to all across the country:

If you hadn’t noticed, a full-fledge civil war is raging, and democracy is ragtime on the corner (to quote the very great Gil Scott-Heron). Not just now. It’s been like that since the beginning.

“Winter In America”

From the Indians who welcomed the pilgrims
And to the buffalo who once ruled the plains
Like the vultures circling beneath the dark clouds
Looking for the rain
Looking for the rain

Just like the cities staggered on the coastline
Living in a nation that just can’t stand much more
Like the forest buried beneath the highway
Never had a chance to grow
Never had a chance to grow

And now it’s winter
Winter in America
Yes and all of the healers have been killed
Or sent away, yeah
But the people know, the people know
It’s winter
Winter in America
And ain’t nobody fighting
’Cause nobody knows what to save
Save your soul, Lord knows
From Winter in America

The Constitution
A noble piece of paper
With free society
Struggled but it died in vain
And now Democracy is ragtime on the corner
Hoping for some rain
Looks like it’s hoping
Hoping for some rain

And I see the robins
Perched in barren treetops
Watching last-ditch racists marching across the floor
But just like the peace sign that vanished in our dreams
Never had a chance to grow
Never had a chance to grow

And now it’s winter
It’s winter in America
And all of the healers have been killed
Or been betrayed
Yeah, but the people know, people know
It’s winter, Lord knows
It’s winter in America
And ain’t nobody fighting
Cause nobody knows what to save
Save your souls
From Winter in America

And now it’s winter
Winter in America
And all of the healers done been killed or sent away
Yeah, and the people know, people know
It’s winter
Winter in America
And ain’t nobody fighting
Cause nobody knows what to save
And ain’t nobody fighting
Cause nobody knows, nobody knows
And ain’t nobody fighting
Cause nobody knows what to save

“You’ve stumped me!” Not the best way to respond to a question, perhaps, but certainly truthful and human! #cantpossiblyknowitall!!

On the other hand, we received approval for debt-related transactions that saved our customers over $140 million since 2015.

“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The next best time is right now!”
– Chinese Proverb
– as told by Victor Wooten

Bill E. Bob’s very first #EveryDayPhoto, taken March 24, 2011, #10YearsAgoToday!

“yes! nerds don’t love everything. nerds love what they love! to the extent I’m a nerd, I’m loving different stuff than I thought I would’ve loved a long time ago. and I’m okay with that!”
– Bill E. Bob, 3/24/2013

“Love is always the goal,
but pain is what connects all of us.”
– Woody Shaw

Photo: Tom Marcello, 1978

Traveling on the Road to Hana-lytics!

It’s a long story… 🧐

Once upon a time, 27 years ago, this guy I know accidentally created an internet magazine called Meanderings, beginning with this article:

The Female Touch:

Before I begin, I should tell you a little story. I was born of the Colored/Negro/Afro American/Black/African-American persuasion (although I’m still, 42 years later, trying to figure out exactly what that means!). However, in 1984 while attending a finance seminar at the University of Michigan, I, along with my seminar mates, filled out a “lifestyles survey,” designed to tell us the risk of various aspects in our lifestyle, like smoking and drinking, killing us before the age of 50. Being only 32 at the time, I was really interested. When I got the survey results back, I was shocked. I didn’t smoke, rarely drank, was an avid runner and tennis player, so I was in excellent shape. Nevertheless, it seems I had a very high risk of dying young. The reason: I was black! We’ve all heard the statistics about young black men having a high risk of violent death at a young age. Well, there you go.

Most of the others attending the class had no such risk, but they were all white. When I asked aloud about the results, the surveyor explained that the sample upon which the survey’s predictions were based contained very few blacks. He also said not to worry: given my occupation, income, lifestyle, excellent health, etc., the survey results really didn’t apply to me. For purposes of reading the results and determining my risk of early death, I was “white.” So, in the future, if I write something you don’t like, please don’t call me an uncle tom, because, I’m really white!

There’s more to the story, so read on.

I chatted with the author recently. He told me he wishes he had better editing back then. Go figure!

some of my best ideas started out as miss-takes…

I’m totally in love with this most beautiful duo version of Clifford Brown’s Joy Spring by Cesar Camargo Mariano and Romero Lubambo:

Joy Spring! It’s the #song4today!

#OutwardImprovisation!!!

“The best thing about facilitating is not what you prepared for. It’s what is called (or pulled) out of you by the need in the room at the time.”
– Jim Ferrell

“This is not meant to be ‘clever.’ It is fact. Politics is the first 90% of getting anything transformational done. PERIOD.”
– Tom Peters

Joyspring is Here (and Can Really Hang You Up the Most)!!

#jazzchurch 47 – Sunday, March 21, 2021 – featured music by Ben Wendel, Houston Person & Ron Carter, Charlie Haden & Kenny Barron, Walter Norris & George Mraz, Cesar Camargo Mariano & Romero Lubambo, The 5th Dimension, Tony Williams, and Earth, Wind & Fire, among others shown below:

1. Impromptu (The Rodriguez Brothers)
2. March (Ben Wendel)
3. Joy Spring (Houston Person & Ron Carter)
4. Spring Is Here (Charlie Haden & Kenny Barron)
5. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most (Walter Norris & George Mraz)
6. It Might As Well Be Spring (Sonny Stitt)
7. Joy Spring (Cesar Camargo Mariano & Romero Lubambo)
8. ny 2000 (Donald Harrison)
9. I’m Gonna Be Happy (Freddie Redd)
10. Blues In Motian (Charlie Haden, Paul Motian & Geri Allen)
11. Strivers’ Jewels (Buster Williams)
12. Rise and Shine (Robert Glasper)
13. Geo Rose (Tony Williams)
14. Turnaround (Charlie Haden feat. Hampton Hawes)
15. Inner Urge (The Blue Note 7)
16. Deeds, Not Words (Max Roach)
17. When We Were Free (Pat Metheny)
18. For Duke P. (Bobby Hutcherson)
19. Stoned Soul Picnic (The 5th Dimension)
20. Funkin’ for Jamaica (Tom Browne)
21. Mr. Spock (Tony Williams Lifetime)
22. Be Ever Wonderful (Earth, Wind & Fire)

Apple Music Playlist

Here’s an Apple Music Playlist containing songs from this episode of #JazzChurch:

Next week’s #jazzchurch livestream can be found at postbop.com/jazzchurch Streaming live from 1-4ish PM PDT. Past episodes are available here as well.

Where else can I find #JazzChurch?

• Postbop.com: Livestream plus audio archives and information for all past shows
• Twitch Livestream: 1-3pm-ish PDT on Sundays plus audio/video of recent shows
• Soundcloud: Listen to past shows and subscribe to receive notifications and listen to future shows

Things are getting better…

3/20/2020: So this is what being a (self-proclaimed) Chief High-Five Officer has come to!

#StaySafe!
#TakeCareOfYourself!
#ideasfor2020!

I’m thinking about maybe doing a podcast. What on earth would I talk about? Who would be good guests? Any ideas?

Black newspaper delivery driver detained after Pierce County sheriff claims, then recants, threat to life | The Seattle Times

I hadn’t seen this before today:

Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer sparked a massive police response in late January after confronting a Black man driving near his home, telling a 911 dispatcher the man “threatened to kill me” — an allegation he retracted upon questioning by Tacoma police.

…

Troyer, who is white, said he did not racially profile Altheimer. He said he began following the carrier because he saw a driver he believed was behaving suspiciously in his neighborhood in Tacoma’s West End. “There is nothing to do with him being Black,” Troyer told The Seattle Times.

The newly elected sheriff expressed surprise Tacoma police had written an incident report about the encounter, noting Altheimer was not arrested. “I thought they solved it that night,” he said.

Yeah, right!

It’s a paradox. #TheMountainIsOut and the sky is at its most colorful best during early winter mornings. That’s also when the Mountain and colorful sky are visible the least. I’m always looking, frequently disappointed, yet always appreciative.

I’m up early and can see the outline of Mount Rainier. I think, “Today’s the day! It’s gonna happen!”

Then the fog rolls in. 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾

#ThatsLife!

“In the last 50 years, out of almost 3 billion votes cast, there have been about 1,500 proven instances of voter fraud in the U.S. 1.5 million people have died from guns in the same 50 year period. Republicans are more interested in putting restrictions on voters than they are on guns.”
– Matthew Dowd

Black and brown voters. Young voters. Democratic voters.

”If you cannot explain something in simple terms, you don’t understand it.“
– Prof. Richard Feynman

I came across this article with great public speaking advice – Why Introverts Can Be the Best Public Speakers:

“It turns out that a public speaker’s most important asset isn’t their theatricality, their story, or how extroverted and boisterous they are.

“It’s their capacity to help their audience to believe that change is possible.”

Not that I’m an expert or anything, but I believe better public speaking comes down to thinking about the audience and what they need. That’s hard to do if I’m nervously thinking about myself, what I need to get from this presentation, or even how I’m doing right now delivering this talk.

How do I stop worrying about myself and how I’m doing? Take a deep breath, ahhhh, and think about the audience!

Nice article!

Big news. #HappyStPatricksDay
– Sandy Boynton

Sign of the Times, 3/16/2020.

Honoring Women in Jazz

#jazzchurch 46 – Sunday, March 14, 2021 – featured music by Betty Carter, Terri Lyne Carrington, Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, Geri Allen, Tineke Postma, ARTEMIS, Joni Mitchell, Emily Remler, Kate McGarry, SFJAZZ Collective, and Nubya Garcia:

1. Dull Day (In Chicago) (Betty Carter)
2. Fleurette Africain (Terri Lyne Carrington)
3. Four Women (Nina Simone)
4. Transformation (Terri Lyne Carrington)
5. Love Notes (Betty Carter)
6. Up Jumped Spring (Abbey Lincoln)
7. That Girl (Geri Allen)
8. The Gathering (Geri Allen)
9. Lover Man (Betty Carter)
10. Freya (Tineke Postma)
11. Down Here Below (Abbey Lincoln)
12. Voyage (Tineke Postma)
13. Nocturno (ARTEMIS)
14. Joy and Wonder (Geri Allen)
15. Throw It Away (Abbey Lincoln)
16. Goddess Of The Hunt (ARTEMIS)
17. Goodbye Porkpie Hat (Joni Mitchell)
18. Daahoud (Emily Remler)
19. The Meaning of The Blues (Kate McGarry)
20. Sisters On The Rise (A Transformation) (Terri Lyne Carrington)
21. Pray the Gay Away (Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science, feat. Raydar Ellis & Nicholas Payton)
22. It Might As Well Be Spring (Kate McGarry)
23. I Got Lost In His Arms (Terri Lyne Carrington)
24. March Madness (Sfjazz Collective)
25. Source (Nubya Garcia feat. Ms Maurice, Cassie Kinoshi & Richie Seivwright)

Apple Music Playlist

Here’s an Apple Music Playlist containing songs from this episode of #JazzChurch:

Next week’s #jazzchurch livestream can be found at postbop.com/jazzchurch Streaming live from 1-4ish PM PDT. Past episodes are available here as well.

Where else can I find #JazzChurch?

• Postbop.com: Livestream plus audio archives and information for all past shows
• Twitch Livestream: 1-3pm-ish PST on Sundays plus audio/video of recent shows
• Soundcloud: Listen to past shows and subscribe to receive notifications and listen to future shows

”Absolutely! I had a great time! I got to be nosey! That always works for me!“

Happy Birthday, Ms. Bill E. Bob!