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If M'Catters ruled the world
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Subject: If M'Catters ruled the world From: katlaughing Date: 03 Mar 99 - 11:40 PM Dear B'loved Mudcatters: With my mother's recent passing and reading some of the threads on here, I've been a bit reflective. I've decided this world would be a lot better off if we all ran it, instead of those who seem to be in charge. I was especially impressed with the Vietman Songs thread, esp. Mick's posting and the general tolerance and courtesy that everyone showed towards one another, both of which seem to be sorely lacking in the general populace. There was also another raw and controversial thread about the RUC, which, although there were definitely differing opinions, everyone, again, handled very well. Another thing that got me to thinking was the fact that the TV show 20/20 with Barbara Walters is airing Monica Lewinsky for two solid hours, tonight. On NPR, they reported that ABC network charged $800,000 per commerical aired during that time! This outraged me and I composed a new editorial in my mind about asking people to boycott any of the advertisers and telling them why. That lead to thoughts on capitalism, free enterprise, and how gullible and atavistic the general public can be, ala O.J. Simpson's trial. Thus, through all of these seemingly random, but to me perfectly logical ways, I decided that we all should be running the world! I would love to hear your thoughts on this, too, gentlefolk. I would also like to share something I wrote, which I think sums up the way a lot of us may feel about our actions, etc. If you like it, please feel free to share it, but do mind the copyright. Thanks very much: THE WEB If this is the web of life I weave, let me gather the strands more closely, take a refresher course...maybe, start over. Do we spin many webs and do they all intertwine? Baby webs all scattered, unsure, great loose loops spinning into the webs of the aged crone, taut and sure, unless dis-ease has caused the threads to thin or snap. Do I weave separate webs from each finger on my hand? Or do all the strands come only through my mind, heart, and soul? I think it is the strongest that come from my soul, with the weakest from my mind, which can be too wrapped up in the daily consciousness to weave a very lasting web. So, how many webs does one life weave and, if we have children, are they woven into our webs or do they start alone? I think they must be sheltered in our webs to grow up strong. At the right moment, they lift off into the wind, aloft with their spinning, creating their own webs of life. Is the Universe then, one great web of connecting webs with some stronger and brighter than others because of the lives which wove them? And, do the webs of the entire Universe of beings twine with those of each other regardless of species? I can easily envision my own webs plaited and woven together with those of family, friends, and dear animal friends. I think I can point to specific threads that make up my perception of and relation to each person or four-legged, feathered, water, earth friend I've known. And, what of the millions of sunsets, flowers, rainbows, sunrises, raindrops, starshine, rays of stonepeople, mountain, desert, plains, ocean scenes that have lighted on my eyes and on my very soul? Surely they shine with a special intensity within each web they've touched. Though each web be touched, in the end, we must spin our own webs, alone with the Creator. So, if the strands are weak or strong, thick or thin, rambling or straight, intricate or simple is up to us, and us alone. If we allow the Great Spirit direction in our lives and look not to lay responsibility on anyone but ourselves, then, be we expert spinners or no, the Creator, invited in, will take care with our web, treat it with tenderness and imbue it with those hues of Cosmic light which mortal eyes rarely perceive. The presence of the Great Spirit in one web alone speaks of the connectedness of all weavings of life; different strands, colours, textures and styles, all leading into, out of, and through the greatness of the Creator, in a circle of the Web of timelessness. Copyright 1989 by Kathleen L. LaFrance All Rights Reserved |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Lonesome EJ Date: 05 Mar 99 - 01:24 AM The web metaphor is quite beautiful, Kat! Let's see ,the top 10 changes if Mudcatter's ruled the world #10 License and registration required in order to carry a concealed copy of Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Bert Date: 05 Mar 99 - 08:30 AM If Mudcateers ruled the world we'd never get any bloody work done. We'd all be too busy reading the threads. Bert. |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Wolfgang Date: 05 Mar 99 - 09:46 AM since I know me by now I'm sure I'd stop loving folk music in that case. Wolfgang |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Teresa Date: 05 Mar 99 - 02:32 PM Kat, that piece is beautiful! ... From the sublime to the ridiculous. ... I gotta think about what Wolfgang said--it applies to me more than I'm willing to admit. (sheepish grin) If 'catters ruled the world, we'd be arguing so much about what folk music really is that we wouldn't be listening to any. *grin* There'd certainly be a lot more folk music from the record companies. A lot more kids would be learning it. ... A local organization where I live is called "The Society for the Preservation of Traditional Music", but affectionately refers to itself as: "The Society For the Prevention of Traditional Music" Teresa |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: SteveF (inactive) Date: 05 Mar 99 - 03:15 PM Sorry, Kat. We are who we are because we don't rule, we don't have power, money, or influence, and we don't understand those that do. We are the Critics, the know-it-alls who think we have all the right answers to everything. Wouldn't the world be so wonderful, we say, if everyone did as we did? Since we are never given the chance to find out, we are smug and secure in our self-righteousness. If Mudcatter's ruled, we'd make a helluva mess of things; power is just not for kindly, thoughtful folks like us. And, once we tried our collective hand at ruling, we could not be -- ever again -- the lovable, folksy fellows we are now. Leave the power to Hilary, I say; I'd rather keep my Mudcat friends. -- SteveF |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: katlaughing Date: 05 Mar 99 - 06:26 PM Thanks to everyone for your comments. I really appreciate the feedback. Teresa and Steve F.: if, as Teresa says, a lot more kids would be learning folk music, and, if, as another thread explores, folk music has changed the social structure, outlook, etc., then perhaps there would be hope of a different kind of power sans the usual BS of today's world? Steve F: I suppose we may feel secure and somewhat self-righteous/smug in pointing fingers and saying how much better we would do it, but, feminist that I am, I would point out that women haven't had near the chance for the pervasiveness of rule, as men have for 2,000 yrs. or more. As you say, leave it to Hillary, so...maybe the solution is if women Mudcatters ruled the world?! Women do bring a different way of doing things to the table and a different perspective; while we can be murderous and aggressive, women quite often are better listeners in that they are usually more empathetic and have an easier time with their emotional natures,(present company excepted, of course, you guys are great cyber listeners), and women tend to rule more by consensus than by might. Or at least that's the general hypothesis. What I was pointing out before, though, was that in this Forum, I've noticed everyone seems to be pretty good at putting in their "two cents worth", not taking offense, generally, and still, at times, able to agree to disagree, or reach a consensus. Elizabeth Scarborough wrote some great, quick-read books about the Devil and his cohorts trying to erase folk music from the face of the earth. In them, the folkies are the heros, one step ahead and working hard to preserve the traditional music. They are, in order, Phantom Banjo, Picking the Ballad's Bones, & Strum Again?. The implications of a world without music, esp. traditional music, are brought out really well, if memory serves me right. In relation to another thread, she was also a nurse in Vietnam and wrote a book about it called The Healer's War A quick check told me the Songkiller Saga books are out of print, but might be found in used bookstores. It looks as though she may have written some other good ones involving music which I've not read, so I'll have to check them out. Back to the rest of what you said: I've haven't noticed a lot of critics on here, eccentrics, sometimes cads, humourists, sober-sides, feyfolk, and many others, yes, but not necessarily critics per se; in fact, I've seen many different ways expressed, for instance, on how to sing a certain song, which guitars are best, what version of lyrics is closest to the original, etc., without anyone once saying their way is the best and it'd be a lot better if everyone did it that way. So...maybe you're being a little hard on yourself, eh?***smile*** You, too, Wolfgang? We are good people, and as such we send out positive ripples of energy which can have a profound effect on those whose lives we touch, and, in turn, the world around us. So, here's to the Power of Music and the Mudcateers who spread it! I hadn't really meant this as that serious of a thread, but all of you posted some very thought-provoking and thoughtFULL comments, so I let the "autopilot" of inspiration take over and serious, mostly, is whacha got! ***big grin***It's all about balance, eh?Thanks a bunch! kat |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: JB3 Date: 06 Mar 99 - 07:29 AM Dear Kat, I love Elizabeth Scarborough! I just found "The Healer's War" at Half Price Books last week. I started with her "Godmother" series and am thrilled that she has written about folk music. Now if I can just find the books. As far as ruling the world, those that want to, probably shouldn't and those that probably should, don't want to. I have to admit that I vote a very feminist ticket. I first vote for the ones I know, then for women, then for Democrats. I don't know if women would do such a better job than men, but it would be worth a try. Thanks! June B. |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: catspaw49 Date: 06 Mar 99 - 08:37 AM Kat my friend ... I believe we start by re-taking control of our own lives and re-claiming the freedoms we have given up as trade-offs for a "better life." A "neighbor" of yours, the infamous Gerry Spence, has become a bit of the spokesman for that cause. But even more, we keep trapping ourselves by failure to act on our beliefs. It is easy to negate the power of an indivdual, but that is the power we have. Failure to act at some point will simply constrict the chains we acquire. As a participant in the VietNam thread (where you touched me deeply), you will recall that toward the end our friend Mick made the astute obsevation that he and I were two sides to the same coin of our generation. The only thing I would add is that we both made decisions in shades of gray, not black and white. And more importantly, in the final analysis, we were both freer people, not trapped by failure to reclaim our lives and our freedoms. I'm often struck by how often a juxtaposition occurs here at the Mudcat. In another, thread, the wonderful Sandy Paton just posted a few lines written by Ralph Chaplin:
Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie,
Mourn not your captive comrades who must dwell,
But rather mourn the apathetic throng, Let's all keep singin'. catspaw |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Pete M Date: 07 Mar 99 - 04:17 PM An interesting thought Kat. I suspect Bert is correct, not that that would necessarily be a bad thing. I do think Steve has the emphasis slightly askew though, I agree that .."We are who we are because we don't rule,..", but I think as Kat has pointed out it's those that do "rule", not us who are the know-it-alls who think they have all the right answers to everything. We generally speaking are willing to not only listen to another point of view but to be swayed by it, and I can't think of anything that I have read here that makes me think 'Caters are self-righteousness. If Mudcatter's ruled, things would certainly be different, and those who are used to the current style would consider it a "helluva mess" but that is because they would be applying their criteria for success not ours. I've so often seen and heard of situations in business where an unconventional approach has been adopted, and the results condemned as a failure by the "Establishment" because their criteria for success are the very things that the experiment sought to remove. That the experiment met and frequently exceeded its own, pre determined success criteria is completely overlooked. Even where an unconventional approach meets the Establishments own criteria; such as so called "ethical investment", it is largely ignored. As to whether women would do better, I don't know, they could hardly do worse, but from my own experience in the UK and NZ, the women who aspire to power have all the undesirable characteristics of thier male counterparts. Personally I don't want to rule so I'll move the soapbox back to the corner, and get back to chipping away at the foundations. As an aside and just out of interest, we have had a case in the last two weeks of an MP caught with his trousers down (figuatively I hasten to add) and from the interviews he gave I would say that he is a prefect example of the theory that politicians are afraid to stop talking in case their brains start working! Pete M |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Bert Date: 10 Mar 99 - 02:06 PM OK. Let's get real serious about this. (tee, hee) 1. There'd have to be a NEW national anthem every month. 2. For every new song they played on the radio (or anywhere public) they'd have to play an old one. 3. For every old song they played on the radio (or anywhere public) they'd have to play an new one. 4. Music would make up abour 30% of the school curriculum. 5. Street musicians would be legal EVERYWHERE, and would be paid a stipend by the local authority. 6. The definition of 'Folk Music' would have to change every month. 7. They would have to sing at least one song at every session of the senate and congress, and everyone present would have to sing along. 8. The President would have to sing at least one song each time that he wanted to address the people. 9. Local authorities would have to hold 'open mikes' every week in their communities. 10. Every state would have to sponsor an annual music festival. Bert. (again) |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: katlaughing Date: 10 Mar 99 - 07:11 PM Thanks, Bert, finally someone who takes me seriously!NOI! Sounds like an excellent plan to me. kat |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Marlor, Canada Date: 10 Mar 99 - 09:12 PM Hmm, if Midcatters world the world...We'd hear more real music on the radio,none of this electrified, fony, plastic stuff. Real music by real singers, like Lorena McKennitt.. |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: ddw in windsor Date: 10 Mar 99 - 10:47 PM Far be it from me to want to tell anybody what to do, but I did give some thought to what I'd like to see of Mudcatters ruled the world. Just suggestions, remember.... 1) The practise of law would be banned and lawyers would be forced to do something useful. 2) Doctors would be required to LISTEN to their patients. 3) Electric-guitar players would be allowed out of their homes only on alternate Wednesdays. 4) Bob Dole would be prohibited from making commercials. 5) It would be a civic duty to lob a grenade into every boom car (after giving the occupants a chance to run, of course). 6) Banjo players would be restrained until the urge passes. 7) Ovation guitars would be melted and reformed as search-and-rescue helicopters. 8) All Frank Sinatra CDs would be recycled with Ewan MacColl tunes. 9) Kenneth Starr would have to marry Monica Lewinsky. 10) Nation states would be dissolved and replaced by shared-music areas. 11) Sylvester Stallone and Jean-Claude van Dame would have to repair all the damage they've done. 12) Anyone who wanted to rule the world << or even one other person << would be restrained until the urge passes. pax and good music.... ddw |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Steve Parkes Date: 11 Mar 99 - 03:59 AM Well, I know Sinatra recorded at least one McColl song. Do you know what it was? (I'm not telling!) Steve |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: marlor Date: 11 Mar 99 - 02:32 PM Hello June B. I think women would do a fantistic job of ruling the world. You know what they say about the hand that rocks the cradle. We have certain organizational qualities that men just don't ahv.,e |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Lonesome EJ Date: 11 Mar 99 - 03:19 PM As a man with a wife and a ten year old daughter, I would suggest that women are doing an admirable job of running our household. I'm confident they could do as well with the rest of the world. As long as there is a little space set aside in the bathroom, and call-waiting, we guys will find a way to get by. |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: katlaughing Date: 15 Dec 99 - 04:31 PM refresh |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Sam Pirt Date: 15 Dec 99 - 04:54 PM It would be COOL!!!!!!!
sam |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Rick Fielding Date: 15 Dec 99 - 05:00 PM If I ruled the world....I wouldn't have to earn a living. I'd just tax the hell out of everyone...except you dear Kat! Rick |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Little Neophyte Date: 15 Dec 99 - 05:48 PM If I ruled the world....... I would give everyone a big green garbage bag and put us all to work cleaning it up. BB
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: Little Neophyte Date: 15 Dec 99 - 05:52 PM Rick, I thought you were God. God doesn't tax his children. BB |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: katlaughing Date: 15 Dec 99 - 06:32 PM BUT, he can BE very taxing to them, Bonnie!**BG** Glad you left me outta that, Rickdarlin', I'd hate to hafta come up there and heat things up, skillet and all, ya know? Now, if you want some help with that taxing problem, well I've had Dun and Bradstreet training in credit and collections and I ALWAYS get the money, so.....just holler*. *If you have already hollered, please excuse this reminder, and to avoid further notices, please be sure to check the "Due By" date on your original statement. You have 5 (five) days, from the date stamped above, to reply to this demand. OBL...collecting for Gawd & others for over a millennium.>/i> |
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Subject: RE: If M'Catters ruled the world From: katlaughing Date: 15 Dec 99 - 06:40 PM Should've turned off the italics. I put it in here, not knowing if it would cause the next posting to be all in italics. Sorry. |
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