The Roots of Country Music - Appalachia to Nashville

Most people probably have little understanding of the roots of country music in America because it has always been taken for granted that country is one of the core genres we have always had around. It is known as the heartbeat and soul of America and been around about as long as the Europeans have been here.

Over the years we may have heard country music we liked, some even crossed over to pop and rock charts, and many stars in other genres either started as country music singers or became famous and then cut a country song or album. But do we really know from whence it came?

When English speaking America was first being colonized in the 1600's the coastal areas were settled first, Virginia, Massachusetts and Maryland, all by 1634 and it did not take long for the European immigrants to make their way to the Appalachian Mountains, the Southern Appalachians that is, which included the Blue Ridge Mountain range and Cumberland Plateau. Western Virginia and Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee territories along with pieces of the Carolinas and Georgia made up the region which served as a barrier to westward expansion.

Immigrants came to the area because the coastal regions were already populated and with them came the Old World musical instruments were brought together in barn dances and celebrations by these hardy people settling the region. This was in the days before electricity, before electric guitars and synthesizers

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The Irish fiddle, German dulcimer, Italian mandolin, Spanish guitar and African banjo were brought to these celebrations and played together in hillbilly jam sessions far from the operas and symphonies of the cities on the east coast. This came to be known as "Old Time" music.

In the 19th century some immigrant groups moved to the Texas area to settle and further integrated the hillbilly sound with Spanish, Mexican and Native American music and large dancehalls were built where the locals could gather and dance to the sounds. This was the final step in the evolution of the roots of Country Music.

Then came the 20th century with cars and roads and radio which brought down the barriers of communication and people from throughout the nation could hear this unique American creation. The first country recording was in 1921 and throughout the 1920's as radio expanded so did the country music.

Country musicians were great innovators ever since mixing the instruments from five counties up in the Appalachians and electricity, recording and touring gave them more and more opportunities to do this. Hillbilly music grew in popularity driven by the Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers and in 1925 WSM-AM radio in Nashville started the first country music broadcast, on November 28, 1925, when the WSM Barn Dance was first broadcast. In time it would become the Grand Ole Opry under the guidance of people like Roy Acuff.

By the 1930's and Great Depression people were poor and the radio became the primary source of news and entertainment. Soon a fledgling movie industry introduced the Singing cowboys while radio was expanding the barn dances with legendary country shows being broadcast from Chicago to Texas to California. In the 1940's these shows introduced singers like Roy Acuff, Bill Haley, Eddie Arnold and singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.

Bob Wills and his legendary Texas Playboys was among the innovators of country music when in 1935 he introduced drums to the band, a first, then became the first group with the electric guitar in 1938. Yet it was not until the early 1960's that the steel guitar and drums were fixtures in country bands.

Hillbilly music spawned Hillbilly Boogie by 1939 and a new country genre called Bluegrass emerged with the sound of Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs at the end World War II. By this time country music included Hillbilly, Boogie, Blues, Honky Tonk, Gospel and Rockabilly.

To the rest of the world country music was called Hillbilly until 1944 when the name was changed to Folk and Blues music. By 1949 it was labeled Country or Country Western, the latter referring to the singing cowboys of movies and then television. Honky Tonk saw the rise of Ernest Tubb, Floyd Tillman, the Maddox Brothers and Rose, Lefty Frizell and Hank Williams.

Along came the 1950's and country music changed again as Rockabilly dominated with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins leading the way. From 1955-1960 ABC-TV became the first network with a nationwide country show called the Ozark Jubilee that showcased country stars to the nation. Elvis helped drive the cross-over between Rockabilly and Rock 'n Roll.

Late in the '50's came the Lubbock Sound of Buddy Holly and then there was a country backlash as the industry felt rock 'n roll was to dominate. Ray Price, Marty Robbins and Johnny Horton began to shift the music back to traditional country.

In the early 1960's the Nashville sound became dominant with producers like Chet Atkins, Owen Bradley and Billy Sherrill reviving the genre with legendary singers Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves and Eddy Arnold. Ray Charles introduced Country Soul in 1962 with his release of I Can't Stop Loving You. A new sound in Nashville called Countrypolitan was created featuring the sounds of Tammy Wynette and Charlie Rich. But soon the Nashville sound became stale.

Out west Honky Tonk and Western Swing were merged by Bob Wills and Lefty Frizell to form the Bakersfield Sound. It would encompass the diversity of different styles from Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Tommy Collins and Wynn Stewart.

In other places like Lubbock, Tulsa and Austin the disappointment with the Nashville Sound and control of the record labels was causing an Outlaw movement. Inspired by the success of The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Rolling Stones in demanding creative control of their music and control of their songs, the Outlaws gravitated to Austin where Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson became the leaders.

Not only did their music change but their image as well. Gone were the clean cut, clean shaven cowboys of old and in were the long haired radical Outlaws of the future. Jessie Colter, wife of Waylon, was one of the female pioneers while Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard soon joined forces.

With The Beatles astounding success blending rock and pop music Nashville was hungry to tap into the crossover sound needed to reach the mainstream markets. Others, seeking a return to the "old values" of rock 'n roll, created a new genre called Country Rock.

The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, Poco, Buffalo Springfield and Eagles exploded onto the music scene as Southern Rock and Heartland became new subgenre spin offs. Ever since there has been a tug of war between traditional country and country rock or country pop as stars like Dolly Parton, Rosanne Cash, Linda Ronstadt, Juice Newton, Alabama, Hank Williams, Jr., Brooks and Dunn, Garth Brooks, Dwight Yoakum, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, and Keith Urban helped move country towards rock over the years.

By the mid 1970's Olivia Newton John and John Denver captured the Country Pop crossover market and powered their way to CMA and Grammy Awards with multi million selling hits. Soon a whole new group of country performers would take up the mantle.

George Straight, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Toby Keith, Reba McEntire, Kenny Chesney, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill and Tim McGraw among others perform the Classic Country style today while the pop crossover comes from new artists like Carrie Underwood from American Idol fame and newest sensation Taylor Swift who have breathed new life into the country music industry.

What is next? Who knows. Still, those who understand that country music is an ever-changing genre that morphs into a variety of styles depending on the needs of the people and the innovation of the artists, must feel good as a broad range of artists currently dominate the radio airwaves and rule the concert circuit.

As the major record labels collapse, the radio stations strangle on their own automated programming and the formula music once again becomes stale we know it is the time when country music always rediscovers itself. Nashville will be a lot better as a result, all country artists will benefit, the public will reap the rewards of new and innovative country music and history will once again record that the American country sound once again became relevant in a time of need and a time of truth.

Take Me Now God! Excerpt #3

TERMINATOR COMET

My mom called me again the other night just before midnight. She does a couple of times a week. And that’s another reason I’m getting out of here. No wonder I lived at the far end of the country for the last 35 years. New Jersey no less. How many people flee to New Jersey to get away from their mother?

She lived in Iowa so l first ran to Arizona. Then she moved to Arizona and I moved to Nebraska. She moved to Texas and I went to California. She went to Kentucky and I went to New Jersey. Cause and effect. If she got closer than 500 miles I was out of there. Then I wound up in Kentucky too.

Around midnight she called again to tell me who was on the Art Bell Show on radio that night. I never should have answered the phone. As I understand it, her being an old Democrat and all, there is a certain hierarchy in the universe consisting of John Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, God and Art Bell. Whatever is said on the Art Bell show is gospel truth.

Every 20th call from her I turn on the radio in case someone other than a nut case is on. So she calls the other night and says someone Art really trusts is on and I have to listen. Sure mom, I got nothing better to do. Seems Art has some guy on talking about the dreaded Terminator Comet.

Now I follow comet sighting. Hell, I follow all kinds of potential disasters. Hurricanes, floods, monsoons, tornadoes, earthquakes. You name it I track it. Where would I have been without the internet. Been attracted to disasters since I chased fire engines as a kid. Come to think of it, I needed the preparation. My life was a disaster ever since.

There were tornadoes. Three homes where I lived in three different states were hit by them. Could that happen to anyone but a disaster? Even stood in a parking lot watching as a tornado roared over my head and smashed into downtown Nashville. Worked the sandbag lines during flooding on the Mississippi River. Caught in floods and earthquakes in California. Blizzards in Nebraska. Hurricanes in New Jersey. You name it, it found me.

I was an expert, a Disaster Master. And I’d never heard of the Terminator Comet. So I listened to Art that night. Seems his guest was my kind of person. Nuts. The guy said the Terminator Comet was headed right toward Earth and the government didn’t tell us. It was supposed to hit November 7. Today is November 20.

Then he posed the ultimate dilemma. He said it actually did hit Earth nearly two weeks ago. Since no one but the military knew, there was no warning. And when it hit, it was a giant comet remember, everyone was killed instantly. It happened so suddenly the entire human race died simultaneously. Imagine that.

If I believe him. I’m dead already. Ending it now would be redundant. And if we all died instantly, no one had a chance to think about their life after death. So whatever their thoughts were prior to death, and whatever their life was at the time of the comet, that’s where they remained after death. Everyone dies and nothing changes.

What the hell kind of a deal is that? You remember being killed by the Terminator Comet last November 7? Take my word for it, you wouldn’t. So we either solved the mystery of death and now know nothing changes when you die, or the guy is full of shit. I lean toward the latter. Beamish would have told me if I was dead.

Don’t think I’ll be answering the phone at night anymore.

LOOKING GLASSES

Look through someone’s glasses at this world we call our home
Put yourself in their head and then let your mind just roam
You see a view you could not share where you were once before
The window now will take the place of where you saw a door

THE PHONE CALL

Got trapped into answering the phone tonight. Circumstances beyond my control. Had pretty much given up answering the phone. No one calls, at least not for me. Get several calls a day for the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association. Phone company gave their old number to me.

So I get calls all times of the day and night asking about breeding horses. Was fascinated at first. Then it started to get to me. People plotting which mares to breed with which stallion. Bad as an arranged marriage. Guess the horses didn’t care though.

So I quit answering the damn phone. Let the machine take a message. But I got trapped. My brother-in-law, we dubbed him the Rasta Man, was getting ready to leave for a trip to the Bahamas to help rebuild a home after the hurricanes hit. I had made my first trip to the Bahamas earlier this year for my sister’s wedding. Then the islands get hit by the first hurricane in a century after I leave. Karma.

Even though he was just going to help out a friend, foreign countries don’t take kindly to foreigners coming in and taking work away from the locals. But there aren’t any skilled carpenters and master builders like the Rasta Man in the Bahamas. So he gets a call from a friend on the islands warning him the Bahaman Immigration people were not going to allow him back in the country to work.

Now that scared the holy shit out of him. He was there a few weeks earlier and the rebuilding supplies didn’t arrive so he loafed on the beach for 2 weeks. No one saw him working. Yet they report him just when the supplies arrive and he is returning. Guess some local had told the authorities he was coming back to work. Finally his friend convinced him to go, that he wouldn’t be arrested and deported or jailed.

I told him if he was arrested he’d spend the end of the millennium in the Bermuda Triangle. He was scheduled to return one week before New Years. Knowing his luck he’d be locked in jail as an 18 foot tidal surge came boring down on the place. That just happened a few weeks earlier. But I told him he also might just be there for the raising of Atlantis. He ignored me and asked me to answer the phone for the next few days, in case he needed to get out of jail.

That’s how I got trapped into answering the phone, and getting THE PHONE CALL. It was my mother again. Complaining at first how I never answered my phone. Of course not. Then the conversation took a decided sinister mood. She blasted me for not taking her to the store shopping. Hell, I don’t even go shopping.

And then, she told me about the airplane contrails in the sky, crisscross patterns like trails of billowing cotton stretched as far as you could see to the east of town. Next thing I knew she told me about the black stuff that was all over her apartment. She said it was like a shredded, black, plastic, garbage bag. Little pieces were all over everything.

Then a stupid question came out of my mouth. I asked her where it came from. She said they were dropping it from the planes. It was a chemical concealed in the harmless looking puff balls they left across the sky. Seems the government was poisoning us. Art Bell told her.

I asked if it might be normal air pollution. With Indiana and Ohio to the north of Kentucky, there were plenty of sources of industrial waste. But she insisted they were big chunks. Too big for air pollution. So Art Bell said the government was bombarding us with poisonous chemicals from airplanes.

I told her I usually found evidence of pollution on my car, because it was white. She found hers inside the apartment. Imagine that, the government bombarding the inside of my mother’s apartment with shredded, black, plastic, garbage bags covered with deadly chemicals. She didn’t know if it was on her car too, she hadn’t been outside.

Finally I pointed out that the winds were blowing to the east. If she saw the contrails were east of town, the chemicals would have blown the other direction. How did they manage to blow straight into the wind? Why was the poisoning our problem and not West Virginia’s? Stumped her on that one. So she ignored the question.

NOTHING VENTURED NOTHING GAINED

The time it is today
we can’t wait until tomorrow
the things we have to say
may get lost in time we’ve borrowed

So live today like it’s your last
forget tomorrow and the past
don’t hang on to what is not
or think of what you haven’t got

Don’t say it might have been

THE SECOND PHONE CALL

But even THE PHONE CALL paled in comparison to THE SECOND PHONE CALL. From the Ex. First time I’d heard from her since weeks earlier when I was declared Satan. Seems she had e-mailed me and felt it necessary to explain things. That was the second mistake that night, answering the phone again.

First she gave me a thumbnail overview of how I destroyed her life, her family’s life, her ex-husband’s life, a couple of psychics, boyfriends, and on and on and on. I was accused of many, many other things as well. And then I was accused of driving her into the arms of her new boyfriend, which she had just dumped.

I was confused. She was dating him before our last encounter weeks ago. So she gave me a detailed explanation that she was vulnerable, and he moved in to protect her. She really liked someone saying he loved her and wanting to do everything for her. But he wouldn’t leave her alone, for the next couple of weeks. Finally he was literally camped out in her driveway, I guess waiting to get me when I came after her.

He was now getting pushy with her. Demanding she go with him to Atlanta for Christmas to meet his parents, then on to Florida with him for a cozy New Years. That’s not even the best part of it. After she had to drive him out of her driveway, she said she felt real sorry for him because she hurt him. She couldn’t love him back. It was my fault, I had ruined her attitude about men.

Who the hell am I? Dear Abby? I told her I didn’t think it was appropriate for her to discuss her boyfriend problems with me, after all I am Satan. Maybe she should call her psychic hotline for help. They worked wonders with our relationship. Maybe she will.

So then she said her brother-in-law, a cop, told her to get out of town because I was the unabomber. No transition in the conversation. From hurting her boyfriend to the mad bomber. Here I thought the unabomber was in jail. Guess that’s how versatile Satan can be.

And the next morning she was moving back to Illinois. Selling her house and moving. Oh yes, moving back to her old house with her ex-husband and kids. I told her there was a good chance the move might also hurt her new boyfriend, not to mention how odd the entire concept of moving back in with her recently divorced ex-husband might appear. But I was sure she was doing the right thing.

I still had difficulty finding out what I had to do with all this. Then found out I had traumatized her daughter, she couldn’t even go to school, so they had to leave town. It had been weeks since I had seen or talked to her daughter and the last time we were together I had taken them out for a nice dinner. She didn’t seem too threatened then.

So she explained how I did it. It was the psychic that cleared things up. She and her daughter were talking to the psychic about her revelations of how much a part of the dark side I was. At least that was the psychic consensus after several hours of discussion. No one even bothered to talk to me about it. And I couldn’t very well go over and argue my defense. The sniper in the driveway would have picked me off. The one she just threw out.

The psychic got the daughter terrified with her descriptions of the danger they were in, so much that the poor kid couldn’t go to school anymore. Of course, she had already been warned by the school about too many absences, and the new threat did result in unlimited time for e-mail and television. It was great. The kid gets constant TV and the internet with no homework, the Ex gets her horseman parked outside protecting her, and I get trashed and blamed for everything,

There was more, lots more. But it only deteriorated from there. Made me wonder what the purpose of the call was in the first place. Hell, I was no threat. She was never alone long enough for me to get close to her. Guys were even camped out in her driveway to take care of her every need. Not to mention a visit by her ex-husband.

That’s it for answering the damn phone. I’m done. So what if my brother-in-law sits in jail in the Bahamas. Answering the phone only gets me into bigger problems.

DREAMS THAT CANNOT BE

Shadows on the wall are chasing dreams that cannot be
trying to bring them home again so that my eyes might see
happiness has come so close but slipped right through my grasp
when love was handed out it seems I passed

So now I’m taking memories I’ve borrowed from my dreams
some memories that cannot be and ones I’ve never seen
believing that I’ll find myself when after I’ve been there
when it’s too late to capture whatever’s out somewhere

So I will go on searching for those dreams that cannot be
living in my memory of times I did not see
wondering if this journey that I’m on will reach an end
hoping that before I’m gone my broken heart will mend


THE SUICIDE

Yet another chapter in the mother story. My mother is old, like 80 something. Long ago I gave up training her. But she still insists on tormenting me to my or her grave, whichever comes first. A few years back when she was having a rough time she used to threaten suicide. I would send her tips on how to do it right. Even sent her a Dr. Kervokian gift certificate one Christmas. It shut her up for a while.

So yesterday she has a friend call me to tell me they just set fire to mom’s kitchen. Seems a plastic lid was stuck to the bottom of a pizza pan they were cooking and the damn thing went up in flames. Of course they didn’t know the lid was stuck there. They both checked the oven before cooking since my mom stored all kids of shit in there. She put three pans under the pizza. Not one, but three. And the lid was stuck between the bottom two. I discovered what was left of the lid later when I inspected the scene.

They felt the fire was some kind of mystical experience. Perhaps a sign of the end times I guess. Didn’t remember reading anything about mom’s pizza fire in Nostradamus, or Revelations, or even from the Hopi Indians. When they called they said the toxic smell of plastic was a bit overpowering so I told them I would meet them for coffee while the smoke cleared, then go check it out. They wanted to come over to my place but that wasn’t going to happen.

At a coffee shop they told me how it was like being in the twilight zone. (Here I thought their every minute was like living in the Twilight Zone). Mom whispered to me that perhaps some evil force was trying to stop them from getting out the word about Mary. Now that threw me. My sister was named Mary, but it couldn’t be her. So I asked which Mary they were promoting this week.

The friend rather haughtily says, “well Mary Magdalene of course,” as if I should know that. “You mean the hooker from the Bible?” I asked. She didn’t like my attitude. “And what was it”, I asked, “that the Devil would object to in you discussing Biblical hookers with people? If anything I would think the old boy would be pleased.”

Ignoring me, the friend related a vision she had in California when this Mary came to her. I asked what Mary did or told her and she said nothing, just appeared. I asked how that constituted spiritual insight. She didn’t know. But she had seen this particular Mary and it may or may not have changed her life. I said perhaps there was another reason a hooker came to you in your visions. Again she didn’t like the attitude.

After explaining to her that I preferred to focus on the other Biblical Mary, the Virgin one, we changed the subject. So mom tells me, in front of her friend, how her friend is contemplating suicide. I noted that she certainly came to an authority. Hell, mom has been threatening suicide for the past couple of decades.

Her friend was going to use the stove. She was going to lay down with her dog and cat, turn on the gas, and just end it all. I thought that was reasonable, if the animals had agreed to share her plight. Problem was her gas had been turned off. Same with the electric and phone. I gave her a better idea. Just get in her old smoke belching Mercedes in the garage and take the final ride. The way that car spit out fumes it would be over in no time. Didn’t even need a hose. Less mess.

She said life was hopeless. After raising a family she had no idea why she was here, what purpose she was meant to serve. I asked what made her think she had any purpose. Why do people always think everyone has a purpose? Do we really think we are that special? Seems she didn’t like that advice either. No wonder I don’t have a radio show offering personal counseling, Dr. Laurel Hardy.

In the end I told them I didn’t think the Devil was responsible for the plastic lid melting and catching fire in the oven. I mean I would have known. And I could see no good reason for Satan to want to harm that pizza. And I didn’t think a kitchen fire was necessarily a sign of the End Times from God. As to what any of this had to do with that Mary, I hadn’t a clue. Besides, if mom’s friend was going to commit suicide the fire might just have been a welcome home card.

I went back home to my sanctuary. It’s not safe anywhere anymore. I’m returning to my old ways. From now on I’m just sending out Dr. Kervorkian gift certificates. No more crisis intervention.



BRIEFCASE BLUES

Sitting in the airport waiting
while the world is dissipating
endless hopes and endless dreams
times that I have never seen

And reaching back to where I was
can’t hang on got no cause
a mind with nothing left to think
eyes that stare, and never blink

So please let me off this journey leading to no end
when I get to where I want I start it all again
I’ve been down before and I know just where I’ll be
please let me off, all I’m asking’s to be free

Cause nothing’s all that’s left of me
a broken shell of what would be
as I travel to no where
shades of darkness fill the air

and reaching back to where I was
can’t hang on I got no cause
a mind with nothing left to think
eyes that stare, and never blink

So please let me off this journey leading to no end
when I get to where I want I start it all again
I’ve been down before and I know just where I’ll be
please let me off, all I’m asking’s to be free

The Final Leg of The Triple Crown

It is the final leg of the Triple Crown and this year for the first time a jockey, not the horse may be the winner. Calvin Borel won the Kentucky Derby on Mine That Bird (pictured above) and the Preakness on Rachel Alexandra and returns to Mine That Bird for the Belmont, the favorite horse. Borel is trying to be the firrst jockey in history to win the Triple Crown on different horses.


Certain to challenge for the win is Charitable Man who did not run in either of the previous races but has won 3 of 4 races at Bemont Park.

The most current odds are as follows:

Mine That Bird 2/3

Dunkirk 9/2

Charitable Man 7/2

Chocolate Candy 13/1

Flying Private 16/1

Mr. Hot Stuff 20/1

Brave Victory 25/1

Miners Escape 30/1

Summer Bird 25/1

Luv Gov 40/1

The following stories appeared in the credited sources and pretty much sum up the difficulty of winning this race.

By Bobby Smith

New York Racing Examiner

The race known as the Belmont Stakes is one of the biggest jokes in American sports. Like the two-party system, labor unions, Major League Baseball and print newspapers, it outlived its usefulness a while ago, yet still exists out of habit, coming up once again this Saturday, June 6.

The gross national product of a small country was suctioned out of 100,000 pockets when Big Brown was eased in it last year – while shooting for a sweep of the Triple Crown, no less. Why was he eased? No real answer was ever given. The horse that won last year’s Belmont Stakes – Da’ Tara -- hasn’t won since, which isn’t a surprise.

The mile-and-a-half distance grows more uncommon with every passing year that Thoroughbreds are mated, so uncommon horses tend to win the Belmont Stakes. Winners of the Belmont Stakes tend to disappear from the scene within weeks or months of their big moment. The general rule of thumb is, the better the winner, the sooner it will exit from competition. Under those rules, people need better reasons for showing up here (they do, however, exist. Read on.)

The 1984 winner, Swale, died mysteriously behind his shedrow two weeks after winning the race. In 1988, Risen Star never raced again after winning the Belmont Stakes by 15 lengths. Ever hear of Go and Go, the 1990 winner? Or Editor’s Note, the 1996 winner? How about Commendable, from 2000? Point Given and Empire Maker were retired with injuries within months after winning the race in 2001 and 2003. Afleet Alex, the 2005 winner, never raced again. Where is Jazil, the 2006 winner? Retired, and 0-for-3 after winning the race. The filly Rags to Riches ran one more time, finishing second three months later, after winning the 2007 Belmont Stakes.

The sport of Thoroughbred racing has over-promoted the Tiple Crown and “star power horses” in its many futile attempts to cultivate new fans. Fans are not necessary, and the New York Racing Association provides excellent proof of that as they exist despite Belmont Park attendances of only 3,500 during the week, and 7,000 on weekends. More proof that fans are not necessary was given when NYRA raised the price of admission and parking for Belmont Stakes Day by 500% a few years ago.

When there is no pending Triple Crown sweep – like this year – the 50% reduction in Belmont Stakes Day attendance is more than offset by the price the smaller crowd is willing to pay for the right to attend. Exactly what is that crowd getting that they couldn’t get on a regular day at the races? Nothing, really, but the people aren’t necessarily aware of that.The best thing about the Belmont Stakes is that it is one of many fine manifestations of the old Chicago song, “Saturday in the Park.”

The race itself isn’t a must-see as much as being there – regardless of the historical significance of the race itself -- is a tradition for the people on hand who can look past the hype, enjoy the moment with friends and family, and understand that the currency the track pays out for winning a bet on any of the other 10 races on the card is the same as it would be for picking the winning horse, exacta or trifecta in the Belmont Stakes. The Belmont Stakes itself is merely the big distraction. It means more to the many shady participants than it ever will to the viewers. What it’s all about is “People dancing, people laughing. A man selling ice cream. Singing Italian songs …Can you dig it ? (yes, I can). And I’ve been waiting such a long time. For Saturday.”


The following analysis is from the BoDogLife web page and provides further details about this year's Belmont.


Belmont Stakes Betting Tips‏ and Odds: The Belmont Stakes will be run for the 141st time Saturday, June 6th at spacious Belmont Park and the bettors are looking for any and all clues in trying to find the winner of the mile and a half classic. Longshots have dominated this race for the past 10 years, with the average winner's odds Belmont Stakes Odds at 20 to 1.

So, it goes without saying, it pays not to dismiss any one in this last leg of the Triple Crown. A few other trends should be noted when handicapping the Belmont Stakes, such as post position, where the inside posts were golden years ago, they are now a disadvantage since the last 4 winners have started from posts 7 or higher, and only one of the last 8 winners has been inside of the 7 hole, and that was Birdstone, who broke from stall # 4.

As mentioned, in previous years the inside post were considered the best because in a cleanly run race, with relatively small fields, the shortest distance to the wire at the end of a mile and a half, is on the rail. Recently, however, the fields for the Belmont Stakes have had more starters, so the outside is convenient because there is no traffic, and horses turning for home in full flight don't get impeded.

Another clue to picking the Belmont Stakes winner is that horses that have run in both of the Triple Crown races prior to the Belmont Stakes, have not performed too well at all, and conversely, the ones who skipped them , have made it into the winners circle. Only Afleet Alex, who ran in the Derby and Preakness, has done it in the last 7 years.That being said, horses that only ran in one Triple Crown race, have done very well as evidenced by 12 winner in the last 15 years. Of the three Triple Crown races, it seems the Derby and Preakness take jockey experience as a prerequisite for success, while the Belmont Stakes seem to embrace first time jockeys because 3 of the last 4 Belmont Stakes winners were piloted by rookie jocks.

Finally, breeding is one of the most important factors to utilize, especially because the Belmont Stakes distance is such a test of stamina, and in genetics, stamina usually begets stamina. A few examples, four of the last eight Belmont Stakes winners were sired by classic winners, two more were sired by Breeders Cup Classic winners, and just going through the Belmont winners list, there is a preponderance of Belmont winners sired by Belmont winners or out of dams sired by Belmont winners.

Make Way for the New GMC, the Government Motor Company

Any moment now GM is going to file for bankruptcy following in the footsteps of Chrysler and America is going to go from three major auto companies to one, Ford. Maybe it is only fair that the first car company in America is the last one standing but what does that say about America?

GM Headquarters in Detroit

Well, call it what you want we have temporarily nationalized the car companies because all of their money is coming from our government and the Obama boys are calling all the shots from who will manage the companies, what debtors will get the most money back, what cars will be made in the future and about everything else about the business of management.

It is already clear that the unions will be the big winners of the debtor pool as they have received better terms than any other bond and debt holder. The unions could own 24% of General Motors and the government could own 51% and since the unions helped get Obama elected it looks like the unions will be running the GM of the future.

I've got nothing against unions being management but it somehow seems like a conflict of interest for the workers and management to be the same people, especially since it was the legacy costs of union pension and health insurance for retired auto workers that got the companies in trouble in the first place.

Chrysler will be run by Fiat so there is no American Pie left in that company. GM must shed all of its foreign holdings which were the only part of GM that made a profit recently. Rumor has it Obama will give GM $30 billion more to get through bankruptcy.

Forcing GM to change to energy and environmental cars of the future is great for the future but pretty radical in America where it often seems cars were guaranteed in our Constitution just like guns. Here we like powerful and efficient cars but I cannot imagine the little, very little cars designed for European cities where traffic is always jammed, selling in America. Give me a Thunderbird or Corvette before you try and stick me in one of those mini-death traps.

And speaking of the alternative energy cars being required by the Obama gang, and especially the electric cars, if they do not improve the batteries the cars will never really sell. Right now if the battery breaks down, and none have been tested over a period of many years, the battery replacement cost could easily exceed $10,000. Some car efficiency. Why don't we just make more efficient internal combustion cars until we have mastered the new batteries required for massive market penetration by the alternative vehicles?

In spite of the ranting and raving of global warming advocates, it is power plants, not cars, that are contributing the most to the problem. You might want to add our nation's capitol as the second biggest cause because of all the hot air expended in DC. So cars are not the main problem. So we have right now sufficient oil and natural gas reserves to supply our current needs for about 300 years. New technologies and new techniques to improve auto efficiency have constantly improved auto performance, even the autos running on gas.

Oil prices have reached new highs in a stable market as oil reached about $66.00 a barrel this week when demand has collapsed and inventories are at all time highs. All the nonsense and predictions from our government about how bad things have gotten seem to be falling on deaf ears. And did you hear Al Gore or any other global warming advocate answer why we are in a period of advanced global warming yet the average temperature of the Earth has fallen the last couple of years?

I suspect if you checked to see who owns stock in the new energy efficient companies and solar efforts you might find a lot of names of environmentalists, thus putting them in yet another conflict of interest which seems all too common in Washington.

Now before any tree huggers blast away at me I will put my environmental record up against any of them as back when many of them were in diapers I was involved in environmental initiatives from waste recovery to mandatory recycling, active and passive solar systems to hydrogen cars, restricted land use management to wetlands and forest recovery, and I was even involved in the creation of the Federal Energy Administration and US Department of Energy.

Oil and natural gas are critical to our transition to a more energy efficient future. The Obama gang chose to slam the door on what works and bet the future on what hasn't work yet. I say increase oil and gas reserves while we create the new alternative energy economy, a manufacturing base that does not even exist yet. Don't bet our future on speculation.

Deflation - An Economist's Illusion or the Real Deal?

Okay, so the Obama administration says we are in a period of deflation as opposed to the typical inflation we normally see. Deflation, a rather pathetic word that reminds me of a flat tire. But deflation should be great because it means prices are going down, not up. But there is one problem, some major price categories seem to be going up to me.

To understand what people are talking about let us take a look at the Ask.com definition of the term "deflation" and what it really means.

Question: What Is Deflation?

Answer: The definition of deflation is when asset and consumer prices continue to fall. This may seem like a great thing to consumers, except that the cause for deflation is a long-term drop in demand.

Unfortunately, a drop in demand means that a recession is already underway, with job losses, declining wages, and an ongoing decline in the value of your home and your stock portfolio. Deflation is a result of businesses dropping prices in a desperate attempt to get people to buy their products.

Officially, deflation is measured by a decrease in the Consumer Price Index. However, the CPI does not measure stock prices, which retirees use to fund purchases, and businesses use to fund growth. It also does not measure housing prices, instead using rental equivalent. This often lags home price declines, and underestimates deflation in the CPI.

To combat deflation, the Federal Reserve executes an expansionary monetary policy. It reduces interest rates, and increases the money supply in an attempt to jump-start economic growth. In addition, the government can offset deflation with expansionary fiscal policy. It can put more money into circulation by lowering taxes, increasing government spending, and incurring a temporary deficit to do so. Of course, if the deficit is already at record levels, that tool may no longer be available.

Like inflation, deflation is very difficult to combat once it is entrenched. As businesses and people feel less wealthy, they spend less, reducing demand further. Prices drop in response, giving businesses less profit.

I don't know about you but it seems to me gas has started rising again. In fact the price per barrel of crude oil, which impacts on many supplemental products from transportation to fertilizer, has increased 90% since the beginning of this year alone and now stands at about $62.00 a barrel. No wonder OPEC did not reduce the amount of oil produced this week when the price now is above the 2007 prices in place before the outrageous price spiral.

Taxes are certainly up, especially state and local taxes, and you can bet the aftermath of the incredible federal spending will be substantial future price increases. Obama has already set a new record for the annual federal deficit and the stimulus and bailout programs are just starting to spend money with multi-billion dollar bailouts waiting in the wings for a bankrupt Chrysler and General Motors and a teetering AIG insurance giant.

A lot of food prices are up or they have cleverly repackaged items so we are paying the same for less goods, thus really increasing the price. Organic foods are not dropping either even though there has been a push to be healthy and sales are up.

Certainly restaurant prices do not seem to be falling. In fact with the addition of designer coffee in McDonald's some prices are actually going up as well. When there are "specials" it usually means you get a silver dollar sized hamburger instead of the meat eaters delight we've grown to love.

Medical and health insurance rates continue to spiral in spite of the Obama efforts to overhaul the health care industry. After a decade of double digit annual price increases this year prices are expected to drop down to just a 7% increase. Only in our nation's capitol could a 7% increase be treated as a drop in prices.

As the definition said, two of the most important cost factors missing from the deflation figure are stock prices and housing prices. No one will question that these two have dropped with stocks, and your retirement funds, still about 40% less in value than a year ago.

Housing prices have also gone down, a lot in some areas. But the national market tends to be local market driven so one area may have no loss in value over the recent years (2006 - 2009) while a neighboring area could have substantial loss of value.

Take, for example, the case of Coltons Point. The Washington, DC metro area including Northern Virginia and Maryland has suffered an overall loss of value of about 24% the past year. However, a Washington Post survey of all home sales in the metro area the past year shows there are a few locations where prices have actually increased. One of these unique areas is the riverside resort of Coltons Point where values have increased by over 3% the past year.

Still nationwide stock and housing prices have dropped but neither is even factored into the deflation model which makes me wonder just what value is the economic news on deflation? It is distorted since it missed two of the biggest cost factors. The Consumer Price Index which is the basis for determining inflation or deflation is often a lagging indicator of economic performance much like unemployment figures. Conversely the stock market is a forward indicator of economic growth having already factored in jobs reports before they are even released.

The Labor Department figures on new unemployment claims this week dropped well below analysts expectations for the 2nd time in three weeks yet the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9% and the lagging figure could reach 10% later this year even if the economy is in a full recovery cycle as the Coltons Point Times and more recently other financial news services are beginning to predict.

In light of all this conflicting information and simultaneous upward and downward economic pressure my advice is for you to ignore deflation and inflation reports and the endless speculation about them as it is something the Federal Reserve must manage and we the people have no role in what the Federal Reserve does with our money anyway.

The New Country Kid - Taylor Swift - Savior or Destroyer of the Country Music Genre?

Believe it or not the first country music recording session in history took place just 88 years ago although the musical genre had much deeper roots. In 2007 country music hit a peak in album sales which fell off the chart in 2008 when sales dropped 24%. Did this signal a death knell for the industry? Hardly.

But it did signal that once again it is time for country music to rediscover itself so it can be discovered again by the people of America. As sales were plummeting in 2008 there was a glimmer of hope with Taylor Swift, the new kid on the block, selling four million albums.

There are a lot of complications facing the country industry just like many other industries. Greed has been a dominant force. As people get more sophisticated and the Internet more accessible and more powerful our world has changed. Newspapers are rapidly becoming a dinosaur of the past as the publishers forgot about journalistic integrity and became servants to the advertisers.

Television and radio stations and networks face the same dilemma as Internet choices for news, entertainment and movies caused traditional stations to increase ad rates and frequency to the point the public got fed up. Formula TV shows and radio music came to dominate the airways and quite frankly, people know better and expect more from the industries.

Just a couple of years ago the major record labels paid over $35 million in fines for the newest form of payola to radio stations and 600 stations have been under investigation for taking the bribes. Does that sound like a formula for a healthy industry?

But worst of all the massive mergers and acquisitions in the radio industry have left us with a vast number of people-less radio stations as computers send pre-recorded play lists to their automated network affiliates meaning there is no chance for relating to a local audience which is what made radio popular in the first place. When greed dominates destruction is not far behind.

Radio managers are under pressure from advertisers to play certain types of songs because holding the audience is all about big bucks. Thus the top forty have little relationship to consumer desires nor to the quality of the music but simply to the latest fad on the air. When people have no choice they find a new way to get control and that way is the Internet.

So far the Internet has provided the creative and experimental pool of talent shunned by the record labels and radio stations and the Internet set in motion the practice of giving away music to get people to buy music. The Internet also did what the labels refused to do which is price single records so people could afford them like in the 1960's and thus the iPod generation and music downloads was launched.

Think about it. The albums being released by labels contained maybe one or two hits and a bunch of junk yet were priced in the $12.99 to $15.99 range, an equivalent to selling singles for $1.29 TO $1.59 except you had to buy every single, good, bad or otherwise on the album to get the one song you wanted. The record labels gave away the market to Apple and their iPod who priced a single song at .99 cents and you only paid for what you wanted. Even more, the Internet allowed you to sample the songs and see videos.

Duh...

So what does this have to do with our country kid, Taylor Swift? Right now she is the dominant new face in the music world and Taylor has become a superstar in the world of pop as well as country. I mentioned she sold more albums last year than any artist in any genre. Taylor fought her way up through the country music industry to make it unlike stars such as Carrie Underwood who was the product of the TV sensation American Idol demonstrating that in spite of the collapse of the broadcast industry there are still ways to become known overnight. Most significant, neither was a product of the controlling force in music and radio, the major record labels.




Taylor Swift belies her age, beauty and perceived vulnerability with a wisdom and sense of adventure not seen in decades in the industry. She took the hard route from a small town in Pennsylvania to the studios of Nashville thanks to her own determination and the dedication of her mother. She spent two years working with song writers in Nashville after being the youngest writer ever signed by Sony at just 14 years of age. She peddled demos to major and independent labels constantly on her own.

When she was performing at a writers showcase at the legendary Bluebird Cafe she was spotted by Scott Borchetta who was considering forming a new record label, Big Machine Records. She became the first and most successful artist of the label after turning down an offer from a major label that refused to let her sing her own songs.

Now, that brings up one of the many flaws in the Nashville scene. Greed has become such a dominant force that there is a practice that made a mockery of what used to be a good Nashville thing. Once upon a time there was really a style of collective song writing where several people would contribute to the development of a new song. This collaboration technique brought many great minds and talents together.

But somewhere along the way the industry got lazy and greedy and the publishing rights and song writing rights that used to go to the writer were taken away if they wanted their record to be used. Co-writing and publishing credits and royalties were demanded as a price for being on the record and still are being demanded to this day whether the co-writer makes any significant contribution to the creative work or not. It is a form of legal corruption that has left many a talent the victim.



Another corrupt practice that flourished was hiring A&R people as consultants when submitting demos to the major labels including their own. This conflict of interest was no less disgusting than the payola being undertaken by the labels and stations.

Taylor did not wait for things to happen as at age 15 she launched her career by becoming the most successful country artist to use the Internet and MySpace to introduce herself to the world. She now has over 230 million plays on her web site and that was critical to her success. Apparently young Taylor Swift was not seduced or caught up in the world of Nashville and major label practices and she joined forces with Scott at Big Machine Records to put them on the map.

Every step of the way she defied the odds, stayed free of the traps and preserved her own integrity as she exploded to the top of the charts. By all standards this curly haired country chick should be classified as one of the modern country outlaws for breaking the mold like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Jesse Colter did nearly 50 years earlier. Fed up with the Nashville establishment, they did their own thing.

If Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire have been the innovators and early rebels of contemporary country music then young Taylor Swift is their new standard bearer and should be the poster girl of the country music industry. All three have refused to give up to the temptations of formula music, the conventions of major labels and the control over artistic creativity by the labels and producers.

To survive country music always has to change when it becomes stagnate. From the old time music at the beginning of the 20th century hillbilly became hillbilly boogie then bluegrass. Boogie, honky tonk, blues, singing cowboys and gospel all became elements of country music as it evolved. Once it was called folk then country and country western.

Elvis ushered in rockabilly which spawned Buddy Holly's Lubbock Sound. Ray Charles introduced country soul while out west Bob Wills and Lefty Frizell merged honky tonk and western swing and brought us the Bakersfield Sound. After the British invasion the Nashville Sound merged with rock 'n roll to give us another new genre called Country Rock with The Byrds, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Allman Brothers and The Eagles.

The Country Outlaws kept it growing as Country Rock and Country Pop traded leading roles as stars like Dolly Parton, Rosanne Cash, Linda Ronstadt, Juice Newton, Alabama, Hank Williams, Jr., Brooks and Dunn, Garth Brooks, Dwight Yoakum, Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Keith Urban kept expanding the genre by bringing it back to rock. At the same time Olivia Newton John and John Denver were folding Country Pop into the cross over arena for country stars.

Today exceptional stars remain extremely powerful. Last year six of the top ten artists on radio were diverse country stars. With Rascal Flatts 2nd, Toby Keith 3rd, George Straight 5th, Tim McGraw 6th, Taylor Swift 8th and Alan Jackson 9th country music dominated the radio airways. Add to them Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Sugarland, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood and Faith Hill with their concert success and you find an industry with potential to make the changes necessary to survive.

You see, country music remains strong when it is vital, when it is creative, when it pioneers new sounds and when it is relevant. Taylor Swift now stands as a young but seasoned survivor who can once again breathe new life into the industry and help lead the natural change in the genre as worn out record labels and radio give way to the new technologies and techniques of the future. Four years ago a 15 year old kid created a web site on MySpace that has now produced over 230 million plays of her music. At just 19 she is a pioneer of the future of country music.

Whose Next To Be President?

Okay, we have now settled in to Obama being our president so whose next should something happen to keep him from performing in office? Well the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 plus amendments addresses that issue and the line of succession is established.

Of course everyone knows Joe Biden is 1st in line but what about after him? Well next is our Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to ever be second in line for president. Of the 18 established successors five are women which is probably a new record.

After Biden and Pelosi comes Robert Byrd, President pro tempore of the Senate and the oldest living member of the Senate at 92 years old.

Then comes Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meaning two of the top four are women with one nonagenarian (Byrd) between them. I think two of the top four being women is also a first.

The fifth in line is our troubled Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The rest of the list is as follows. As you can see, nothing better happen to President Obama.

Constitutional Order of Presidential Succession

1. Vice President & Speaker of the Senate Joe Biden
2. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi
3. President pro tempore of the Senate Robert Byrd
4. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
5. Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner
6. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
7. Attorney General Eric Holder
8. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar
9. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
10. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke
11. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis
12. Secretary of Health & Human Services Kathleen Sebelius
13. Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Shaun Donovan
14. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood
15. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu
16. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki

18. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano

Take Me Now God! - Excerpt #2

Epilogue

She’s right you know. I’m not compatible with humans. Hell, half the time my damn dog even loses it’s loyalty. Every time I try to relate to anyone, I just seem to blow it. Guess the only thing compatible with me is my cactus, and lately some of them have even taken to dying.

She once asked me if I ever considered suicide. Who wouldn’t after what I’d seen. But I said no. So she rephrased the question. Maybe I should consider suicide. That’s why I decided to end it. Seems the only way to protect the human race from further contamination by me. What did she call me? Oh yeah, the Devil Incarnate. Better known as the evil Prince of Darkness.

Once wrote a book that talked about the Prince. Guess she finally figured anyone that knew as much about the Prince as I wrote about must be speaking from first hand experience. She might be right I reckon. Stands to reason that the Prince would know all the details of Jesus’ life. He was there tempting him in the desert, trying to seduce him with riches, power and women. And finally, when he gave up on Jesus, he was there nailing him to the cross.

That could explain what I saw. All the time I thought I was the reincarnation of Joshua, the friend and scribe of Jesus. Never crossed my mind I might just be the Prince of Darkness. Took the Ex to wake me up. Her insights take all the fun out of the end of the world.

So this must serve as my final will and testament. My great escape. This world has hit such a subterranean level of degradation, that anywhere can only be better. The final plane ticket to Neverland. More like a subway death ride in NYC. Yes, final ticket out. They might call it a “Living Will” or something like that, but how could a living will be serving the dead? Never did figure that one out.

That might have been my problem, always trying to figure things out. Got me in more trouble than I could ever imagine. That and telling stories. When I was a kid, my grandfather and a bunch of other old men used to tell me stories, for hours.

They made me laugh. They made me cry. They even scared the shit out of me. But they always made me feel. Nothing else ever did I guess, except those old stories. It was a gift. Made people feel good. Made some like me feel for about the only time.

So there I was, just a kid, and already burdened by twin curses. Curses, by the way, that would haunt me the rest of my life. Figuring things out and telling stories. Yes, maybe she was right, maybe I was the son of Satan.

DON’T SEEM RIGHT TO ME

I don’t want the world to know
that I’m tired and feeling low
after all the miles I’ve seen along the way

For I’m not proud of the role
that I played as I did go
and I can’t imagine this is how it’s supposed to be
somehow this don’t seem right to me

But then I’m just a fool and fools
don’t really know what they’ve got
seems like they’re blinded by the moment
it don’t matter what they’ve sought

When they finally take the time
to stop and see just where they are
seems they never really
got so very far

Here's Susan Boyle Again!

Susan performing in the semi-finals of the Britain Idol program. She made it to the finals with this performance. Go Scotland...

Summer Comes to Coltons Point

As the last lingering effects of the long cold winter and spring fade away it is the beginning of summer here at Coltons Point and we are well on our way to enjoying one of the most beautiful transitions to summer in years. For the past week it could not have been more beautiful as you can see from the photos shot around Coltons Point this Memorial Day weekend.

It is a time to remember our veterans, those who fought to give us freedom, and that fight began right here in Coltons Point when the two ships arrived from England 375 years ago and set in motion events that would result in a war of independence from England.

Just 125 years ago Coltons Point and St. Clement's Island were being hailed as one of the best resorts on the East Coast as the steam boats brought holiday seekers from Baltimore and Washington, DC. Now they drive in cars to transform this ancient old fishing village into a summer resort that at times seems to be like the Long Island shore of the Hamptons.

Nearly four centuries have passed since the ships arrived yet life here at the Point is as vibrant, hopeful and protected as when it began. Sir George Calvert, Captain John Smith and Father Andrew White all shared the same dream to build the New World of America into the best nation in the world and the basis for being best was the freedoms guaranteed to our citizens.

No freedom was more important than the freedom of religion which was the foundation of the St. Clement's and Coltons Point landings. No where in the world offered such guarantees to all citizens and to all religions.

This freedom was incorporated in the grant given to the Calvert family to settle Maryland. It was first tested in George Calvert's first colony at Avalon in Newfoundland which he acquired in 1621. It was refined in 1634 when the Calvert ships, the Ark and the Dove, brought the English colonists to America. The dream continues to this day.

We hope you join us in honoring those brave men and women who offered and often gave their lives so that we could enjoy the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness we now take for granted.

Rapping with VP Biden - Next in Line for Presidency

In order to protect the Vice President from making one of his legendary blunders we are going to conduct our interview by asking him questions but only allowing him to respond with facial expressions, no words can be used. The White House should be much more at ease with this technique as no international incidents should result.

Mr. Vice President, what do you have to say about your connections to the credit card industry?

No comment huh. Well how about the fact your son is on their payroll and was when you were championing the bill to strip consumers of their rights on behalf of the credit card giants?

Well excuse me. So how is it being in the shadow of the much younger Barack Obama?

Do you feel the same way about most other Obama appointees?

Could you pelase help us understand how you are communicating with the President when you two always seem to be passing in the night?

What do you think about your predecessor Dick Cheney?

Do you have the ear of the president when it comes to our nation's business?

How do you get along with Hillary now that she travels the world grabbing headlines and you seem to have vanished?

Since you no longer have to commute from Delaware how long is your commute to your office now?

What do you think of that French President's wife?