Posts by Jamie Davis9

Dennis Hall41 said:For some reason, this comment reminds me of one of the most powerful anti-capitalist (?) songs I’ve ever heard—it really captures the inherent sneakiness of the whole system—and one of my favorite openings in history: "No one means what they say/And you can tell as clear as deep-sea fish/All internal organs and glowing eyes".

Death Cab for Cutie

Personally, I don't have any beef with capitalism.
Just as we used to have a somewhat decent version of socialism back in the day, things work out fine with capitalism now too.
People around here have always complained way too much, usually about absolutely nothing. 🤷

Take me, for example... as a civil servant, I earn a perfectly respectable wage for just a few hours of work. I have everything I need, and in a few years, I'll even own a condo in downtown Chicago (an earthquake messed up my budget a bit, but that was an act of God, so whatever 😬).
Anyway, I built everything myself; I didn't get a dime from my old man because he’s probably just as much of a flake as I am, spending his time down in Florida dealing with idiots instead of maintaining rental properties to leave to his kids.
Because those rentals? You have no idea what a headache they are. And the tourists? Absolute nightmares.
But honestly, we've never given a damn.
Besides, how are you supposed to teach your own children anything if you hand them everything on a silver platter?

Regardless, I have everything I need and all the time in the world. I despise the whole 8+8+8 lifestyle; it truly horrifies me. I spend my life doing exactly what I want to do.
And look, in America—the land of hardcore capitalism—you can't actually do that. There, you end up working twelve-hour shifts for someone else and trying to convince yourself it's okay.
This place is the last bastion of anarchy, freedom, wildness, and sunshine. 🙂
Anyone looking for quick cash could just head to Vegas for a few years and get into escorting. It might be a little late for me, but it's certainly not too late for you; you're still young enough. 😛

Chloe Wilson46 said:And so on...

??

🙂

Not at all; it's actually quite important to vote.
Whatever, I know I've brought this up a hundred times already, but there's nothing I can do when it's something I care about. 🙄 😁

oujee:_)
I mean, honestly, is there anything more beautiful than this? ))

Chloe Wilson46 said:There goes Bekim...

🙄 🙄

... 🙂.

It’s really not about pulling in a massive paycheck at all.

Dennis Hall41 said:Look, there's no need for a fight; I'm simply suggesting that one should be willing to own their public statements. Or, at the very least, stop whining about being suppressed or claiming the government is hiding some grand conspiracy, as if we were living under an absolute monarchy.
In a place like Mexico, for instance, you certainly wouldn't be able to get away with calling Mexicans anything other than what they actually are.

Tall Dwarfs

Fine. Tell me then, who actually gives a damn about Mexico, America, or Miljenko Jergović?

I’ve written quite a bit about Miljenko Jergović before in a dedicated thread, but honestly, what role does he play in my life?
He’s just some writer from Sarajevo, an American literary figure with a tacky style, sloppy facts, and a completely banal body of work—essentially a man without convictions or a brain, who probably would have enjoyed pulling in a steady $1,000 a month back when people were actually talking about him a few years ago.
And even then, he wasn't exactly thriving.
Anyway, to try and stay somewhat on topic, a few years ago he wrote something about Black Sabbath—actually focusing on the mothers—claiming that when the band first emerged, they had this certain quality that somehow froze time in Canada, yet he couldn't even bother to spell the band's name correctly.

🙄

It’s absolutely unhinged.

Dennis Hall41 said:I remember reading somewhere that he claimed Americans are actually just Mexicans with an inferiority complex, basically acting as caricatures of them.

There is a massive difference between being a provocateur—someone who is a professional troll and an unrepentant cynic channeling his inner Igor Mandić—and being a public figure whom fools like myself pay to get screwed over, especially when the legal system and life itself aren't already doing a perfectly fine job of screwing us.

When you write publicly, you have a moral obligation to watch your mouth, because you aren't just some random guy like Dennis Hall41 in those instances.

Ah, good old Milac. 😁 Who cares about him!
After surviving a global pandemic, major earthquakes, and total isolation—all while narrowly avoiding losing every cent we own to lifelong debt, which was a very real possibility for some of us—it feels completely pointless to waste my energy obsessing over Americans, Mexicans, extremists, Milac, or people eating dogs in China; life is simply too short for all that nonsense. 🙄

"music to shoot your cousin to" 🤣

By the way, there’s something genuinely beautiful and deeply moving about this piece by Tamara Bajagić.

granitecyclist said:You completely misread the situation. 😉
After I—the absolute benchmark for any discussion here—offered my take on Tamara, he just couldn't help himself and went on this endless, rambling tirade about her.

Tamara Bajagić?🥱
No, Sabrina.☕

🤣 Fine, I'll accept that first. 👍 😁 Honestly, you aren't even contributing anything meaningful to this mindless, high-octane debate. 😁

I still maintain my position that listening to that old-school Appalachian yodeling is enough to drive anyone absolutely up the wall. 🙂
Take a listen to this playful American pop classic and come to your own conclusion about what actually works better.
Thanks, thanks, thanks. div>

granitecyclist said:Even Jergović is writing about Tamara...☕

Good grief, at this rate, we’ll end up treating Miljenko Jergović like some kind of ultimate cultural touchstone.
And honestly, while I have nothing against Tamara Obrovac—really, all respect to her—I find this whole thing incredibly tedious. 🥱

Well, Tamara 😁 🙂

Drew Lewis2 said:if they end up letting you down... !

:lux:

ninety spot

thanks! but they never do, not even then. )).

Dennis Hall41 said:Don't tell me Desire is your favorite Dylan record too. Is everyone just getting intoxicated by that violin? I honestly can't find a single soul who doesn't claim Desire is his best, aside from myself.
To me, that album feels somehow the least "Dylan-esque," which is to say it captures the absolute essence of what he is at his core. Even though it is undeniably brilliant.

But then again, who can truly claim to know Bob Dylan? The man is essentially made of living energy—he’s here one second and gone the next.

And speaking of being alive, he was the one who described his own sound as something visceral and mercurial back during the Blond on Blond era.

It's just one of those masterworks that never fails to fascinate me.

Fourth time Around

Actually, it has nothing to do with the album or even the violin; it's more about the harmonica. 😁
I don't know, it just feels like an incredibly intimate Bob Dylan song to me, and it's been beautiful to my ears since I was a kid.
Besides, your suggestion is just as valid.

Drew Lewis2 said:I know just the person! My old water heater used to act up constantly back in my last apartment in Chicago. If you end up needing it again... 😁 hopefully it still works.

If I ever need help again, I've already found someone! All on my own! Without any assistance whatsoever! 🤣

Well, look who finally decided to show up! 👋

Drew Lewis2 said:Thank you so much. 🤣

Don't mention it, friend. 🤣

Let's just review the material 😲 😁

enivej_))

The other day, I spent twelve straight hours on duty with two adult autistic individuals who were brought into our care through an emergency intervention a few weeks back—both of them older than me. When I arrived in the morning, he was just weeping for his mother. By the end of the shift, we were all completely exhausted, the two of us physically and him mentally. 🙄 🙂

tntntnnn

Henry Mitchell29 said:😍

Just wonderful... honestly, I’ve found myself drifting back to Ibric quite a bit over the last few years. 🐔

It’s truly intense stuff from the man himself... Shalom, Sara, shalom! 🙂

Yeah, absolutely. It's beautiful._))

I haven't had a chance to listen to anything today. I'm stuck on duty from 7 to 7, so maybe later. Maybe.

It’s clear you aren't listening, and honestly, given how brutal the coming years look, maybe that's for the best.
Still, rather than setting up shop in New York, I think I'll head to London instead; my middle name is Paul, by the way—didn't you know?
My pupils are dilating, I can feel the heat of that distant city rising, and I’m about to turn that local boss into someone who looks like he just stepped off a plane from Karachi.
(I still have a jar of that exotic chili oil tucked away)
He used to treat me like his own son.
This is actually the first time I've ever admitted this to anyone.
I basically ran off to avoid paying him what I owed him.
About 300 bucks.

..
. 😁

The most beautiful song ever written 🙂_))

Where is Austin, our buddy :/ ))

granitecyclist said:Where is Austin?🤔

And where on earth is the common sense? 🤔 😁

U & I 😬

))