A kingdom within a kingdom

Most who have written on the emotions, the manner of human life, seem to have dealt not with natural things which follow the general laws of nature, but with things which are outside the sphere of nature: they seem to have conceived man in nature as a kingdom within a kingdom. For they believe that man disturbs rather than follows the course of nature, and that he has absolute power in his actions, and is not determined in them by anything else than himself. They attribute the cause of human weakness and inconstancy not to the ordinary power of nature, but to some defect or other in human nature, wherefore they deplore, ridicule despise, or, what is most common of all,  abuse it: and he that can carp in the most eloquent or acute manner at the weakness of the human mind is beheld by his fellows as almost divine.

Baruch Spinoza – Ethics (1677)

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Friday Night Is Music Night: Singer-songwriters

JD has some singer songwriters for you:

 During those far off days of the 1960s there emerged the cult of the singer-songwriter. Some became famous while others wrote songs for other people and remained in the background. Not all of them were good but some of them were very good indeed and remain a lasting influence on musicians, even today. Here is some of that exceptional talent singing their own songs-

Harry Nilsson made this song famous, but here is the the man who wrote it - Fred Neil: 



Steve Goodman:



Tim Buckley:



One of the seminal groups of the sixties were The Byrds. Of the three original members, Jim McGuinn with those famous granny glasses and the distinctive sound of his 12 string Rickenbacker seemed to draw most of the attention and Crosby was just a superfluous appendage but Gene Clark was undoubtedly their heart and soul; he wrote most of their songs:



Fred Neil again with one of his most beautiful songs:



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Smart beer

Sounds like an updated way of rediscovering bland. Or it that too cynical?

Could we eventually brew politics this way, or would that be too democratic?

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All original material is copyright of its author. Fair use permitted. Contact via comment. Unless indicated otherwise, all internet links accessed at time of writing. Nothing here should be taken as personal advice, financial or otherwise. No liability is accepted for third-party content, whether incorporated in or linked to this blog; or for unintentional error and inaccuracy. The blog author may have, or intend to change, a personal position in any stock or other kind of investment mentioned.

UK In Chaos Post-EU Referendum

Latest article on TalkMarkets, here:

http://www.talkmarkets.com/content/news/uk-in-chaos-post-eu-referendum?post=99728


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All original material is copyright of its author. Fair use permitted. Contact via comment. Unless indicated otherwise, all internet links accessed at time of writing. Nothing here should be taken as personal advice, financial or otherwise. No liability is accepted for third-party content, whether incorporated in or linked to this blog; or for unintentional error and inaccuracy. The blog author may have, or intend to change, a personal position in any stock or other kind of investment mentioned.

Friday Night Is Music Night: Saxophony

JD on the sax:

Invented by Adolphe Sax in 1840 the saxophone was never really accepted in classical music circles but was taken up enthusiastically by the jazz fraternity as explained here by Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxophone#In_jazz_and_popular_music

Here are a few star performers showing how the versatility of the sax makes it suitable for so many styles of music-

 Stan Getz:



Boots Randolph:



Johnny Almond:



Moon Hooch are a sort of punk/funky version of John Coltrane or even Roland Kirk!



Woody Herman recorded at Canegie Hall Center New York City November20,.1976 ( The 40th Anniversary) featuring his star soloists- Jimmy Giuffre,Stan Getz,Al Cohn and Zoot Sims:




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All original material is copyright of its author. Fair use permitted. Contact via comment. Unless indicated otherwise, all internet links accessed at time of writing. Nothing here should be taken as personal advice, financial or otherwise. No liability is accepted for third-party content, whether incorporated in or linked to this blog; or for unintentional error and inaccuracy. The blog author may have, or intend to change, a personal position in any stock or other kind of investment mentioned.

Exploding Pianos

An interesting story about exploding pianos, flour and the value of those pianos in an age of instant entertainment.

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All original material is copyright of its author. Fair use permitted. Contact via comment. Unless indicated otherwise, all internet links accessed at time of writing. Nothing here should be taken as personal advice, financial or otherwise. No liability is accepted for third-party content, whether incorporated in or linked to this blog; or for unintentional error and inaccuracy. The blog author may have, or intend to change, a personal position in any stock or other kind of investment mentioned.

Brexit: These Are The Times That Try Men’s Souls

New Fourth of July article on the British Constitutional Crisis of 2016, in TalkMarkets:

http://www.talkmarkets.com/content/brexit-these-are-the-times-that-try-mens-souls?post=99141


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All original material is copyright of its author. Fair use permitted. Contact via comment. Unless indicated otherwise, all internet links accessed at time of writing. Nothing here should be taken as personal advice, financial or otherwise. No liability is accepted for third-party content, whether incorporated in or linked to this blog; or for unintentional error and inaccuracy. The blog author may have, or intend to change, a personal position in any stock or other kind of investment mentioned.