My Little Cleaver

I’d like to suggest that the business of government is far less crucial than they would have us believe. In Britain, where the ‘Mother of all Parlaiments’ holds sway, you can now watch on TV the honourable members in the great chamber, slouching on their benches, shouting and jeering at each other like schoolboys, while they jostle and manoeuvre for position in their struggle to get re-elected.

Much of the real work is nothing but housekeeping on a grand scale. Providing, cleaning, adapting, improving and struggling to balance the books. Every family does this in their own domain outside working hours. If they are smart, they get it done as efficiently as possible to leave time for more creative or enjoyable pursuits.

Might not artists be the most natural people to run things? Often blessed with abundant energy, they would be inclined to swiftly perform their duties, and solve the problems of the day, so they could turn their attention to something more interesting. Read more »

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Large numbers of people in our western democracies habitually drink alcohol and/or smoke cigarettes. Although governments pay lip service to campaigns to stop smoking and drink in moderation, it is hardly in their interests that we do so. The lions share of the money we hand over for our preferred poisons goes to the taxman. Even the weakest math students can grasp that this adds up to a very significant sum of money.

It occurs to me that apart from the obvious health benefits, a very compelling reason for millions of us to stop spending our money this way is to hold our governments to ransom. For those of us who are less than happy about the way our taxes are spent, this might finally provide some bargaining power. If enough of us quit drinking for say, one month, our feckless leaders might be obliged to listen to our concerns a little more carefully than they currently do. During which time, we would all sleep more soundly and be better off!

In Britain at the moment, where the drinking classes are an overwhelming majority, it is not inconceivable that the money earned from all this partying is paying for the health service that must then treat the consequences of all this abuse. That is a very discomforting equation.

So, if you need more reason than just personal integrity to control and reduce your bad habits, think about exerting your democratic muscles. The less you drink and smoke, the less taxes you pay.

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last night caught the final numbers of a fabulous quartet…http://lejazzetal.com/web/content/artist.php?artist_id=17

heavenly Django style music with a clarinette instead of a violin….in a big hall set up with mikes and amps, they had forsaken the stage and were playing acoustically up close and personal to an ecstatically grateful audience…..

at 3.30am as we were rushing down the quay to catch a ride back to our crib, we came across them again with a trombone player playing to the stars, a gaggle of beautiful girls, and passers-by like us…swirling around in the night air, their sound was more transcendental even than before…we couldnt stop or we would have been stranded some 25 kilometres from our beds…sure hated having to go…

thank you fellas, and God bless you all

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in Haugesund, Norway, for the Silda Jazz Festival…pouring with rain for our big outdoor gig this afternoon…run out of ground coffee and the kettle wont work…..I got holes in my shoes and no raincoat….BUT!…I got bananas and a song in my heart….

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