Ravi Shankar, the Indian sitarist and composer whose collaborations with Western classical musicians as well as rock stars helped foster a worldwide appreciation of India’s traditional music, died Tuesday in a hospital near his home in Southern California. He was 92.
Mr. Shankar had suffered from upper respiratory and heart ailments in the last year and underwent heart-valve replacement surgery last Thursday, his family said in a statement.
Mr. Shankar, a soft-spoken, eloquent man whose performance style embodied a virtuosity that transcended musical languages, was trained in both Eastern and Western musical traditions. Although Western audiences were often mystified by the odd sounds and shapes of the instruments when he began touring in Europe and the United States in the early 1950s, Mr. Shankar and his ensemble gradually built a large following for Indian music.
His instrument, the sitar, has a small rounded body and a long neck with a resonating gourd at the top. It has 6 melody strings and 25 sympathetic strings (which are not played but resonate freely as the other strings are plucked). Sitar performances are partly improvised, but the improvisations are strictly governed by a repertory of ragas (melodic patterns representing specific moods, times of day, seasons of the year or events) and talas (intricate rhythmic patterns) that date back several millenniums.
Mr. Shankar’s quest for a Western audience was helped in 1965 when George Harrison of the Beatles began to study the sitar with him. But Harrison was not the first Western musician to seek Mr. Shankar’s guidance. In 1952 he met and began performing with the violinist Yehudi Menuhin, with whom he made three recordings for EMI: “West Meets East” (1967), “West Meets East, Vol. 2” (1968) and “Improvisations: East Meets West” (1977).
Mr. Shankar loved to mix the music of different cultures. He collaborated with the flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal and the jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane, who had become fascinated with Indian music and philosophy in the early ’60s. Coltrane met with Mr. Shankar several times from 1964 to 1966 to learn the basics of ragas, talas and Indian improvisation techniques. Coltrane named his son Ravi after Mr. Shankar. — New York Times
On a chilly Detroit night like tonight, there’s nothing like a little “slowhand” to warm the soul.
The funny and ironic thing about this song is that, during the verses section of this tune. The drummer is actually playing the wrong beat. Great song, just the drumming was wildly off on the verses part. I know things thing, I am a drummer!
Now, it could be possibly that Clapton wanted it like that; but my gosh was it ever wrong.
Please note: This report is not about racial hatred or bigotry; this is about the realities of living in Detroit and the out of control black hoodlums that control that city and the incompetent and racially biased Police that supposedly protect that god-forsaken city.
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This is a personal story for me, I live in the southern suburbs of Detroit. I grew up on the southwest side of Detroit, Michigan. I remember what southwest Detroit was like when I was a kid in the 1980’s. I also know what southwest Detroit is like now; and believe me, it is not any better. I saw this story over on Joseph Farah’s WorldNetDaily.com, and I thought, “You have got to be kidding me!” But, not they were not, I checked and sure enough this is a ongoing problem. I know right where this station is, believe it or not and yes, that is a very rough part of Detroit and personally would not want to live or work over there at night.
Here is the news video report from WND.com:
Story Quote:
Even the old-timers in Detroit never have seen anything like this: A mob of 40 black people moved into a convenience store and will not leave.
They say they now own it. They eat. Smoke. Cuss.Threaten. Spit. Rob. Sell drugs. All on video.
Police, ministers, neighbors, the store owner and just about everyone else seems powerless to stop them.
“It’s a Bad Crew gas station,” said one of the mob to the local Fox affiliate. “If you don’t know what that is, I can’t even tell you.”
The owner calls police, but nothing happens. The police “come here and then they leave. Two minutes later they (the mob) are back.”
Earlier this month, members of the Perfecting Church, one of Detroit’s largest black congregations, counseled the members of the mob to stop their evil ways
Absolutely disgusting. 😡
Here is a link to an earlier report on the same gas station with Church people pleading with black thugs to pweeeeze stop robbing this story. 🙄 Via Fox 2 Detroit:
DETROIT (WJBK) –
A Detroit man says his business is being held hostage by a group of teenagers who continually loiter inside and out of his gas station.
“There’s a lot of good people around here,” said the station owner, who wished to remain anonymous. But now, those good people aren’t coming as often to the Marathon station along W. 7 Mile Road on the city’s west side.
“This is a Bad Crew gas station,” said one teen loitering out front on Tuesday. When asked what that meant, he said, “If you don’t know, I can’t even tell you.”
Surveillance video obtained by FOX 2 shows as many as a dozen teens hanging out inside the store, smoking cigarettes, sitting on countertops and even spitting into sinks.
The owner says as many as 40 teens can be hanging out in front of the station at any time. “Destroying my store. Destroying my business,” said the owner.
He says his clerks are too frightened to take action against the teens and he’s worried that the loitering could lead to violence.
Detroit police have been called numerous times to the store, but the owner says right after officers disperse the crowd and leave the scene, the teens returns to their normal posts.
Leslie Cunningham, who lives nearby the station, says members from Marvin Winans’ Perfecting Church have recently been to the station to talk to the young people. “It’s out of hand,” said Cunningham. “We try to raise young people around here that they would be concerned and care about their area and this is what we have to contend with.”
The owner, and father of four, says he would walk away from his business if he didn’t owe so much on it.
Okay first of all; the only language that this young black thugs understand is the language of an end of a gun. If that station hired some ARMED guards, with say, a few AR-15’s modded for automatic fire, I tend to believe that these thugs would find somewhere else to hang out and rob. The only mentality that these black thugs understand is “survival of the fittest.” Because of this problem; this business owner is going to have to make some serious adjustments.
Again, this is not about racial bigotry or hatred. It is about reality. The reality is this: the reason why this is not being dealt with is because, when you have a black police force, black youth, who are committing the crimes are not going to be dealt with at all. Because in ghetto culture, “brother don’t cut another brother!” If you know what I mean. This credo dates back to the days of slavery, which when one slave would do something wrong, and another slave saw it; he had two choices, rat his fellow black brother out or keep his mouth closed. Most chose the latter. This is why you have black thugs running wild in the streets of Detroit. Because quite frankly, the Detroit cops do not care. As long as they are not murdering anybody; the police attitude is let them go.
Of course, the standard disclaimers and excuses will be rolled out by the City of Detroit. Ones like, “We do not have enough police.” “We don’t have enough money to have police around at all times.” But we who have lived in the city of Detroit. We know. That the fact is that minorities; black and latino, can do pretty any darned thing that they want to, as long as no one gets killed and the city police will not do anything about it. Now, if you are a white man, and did something like this — oh yes, your butt would be in jail in no time flat! But if you are black or latino, it is just a normal part of living in the city.
Just in case someone happens to read this, from say the city of Detroit or one of residents. I have one thing to say to you
PROVE ME WRONG!
Also too, as I was finishing this story. The irony hit me.. We have police who are so damned eager for a police state. Except, when it comes to stuff like this here. Blacks out of control? No problem! But, you let a white man get a little out of hand and it is the police state army AKA as the swat team — to the rescue!
It seems that in Ohio, there has been a decline in voter registration, especially in Democratic Party strongholds. This is also signaling a national trend. Here is the Story and Video via Fox News Channel:
The Video:
The Story:
“Don’t boo, vote,” President Obama often says in his stump speech whenever crowds boo a Romney plan.
The off-hand call to vote may be by design. It comes amid a precipitous decline in Democratic voter registration in key swing states — nowhere more apparent than in Ohio.
Voter registration in the Buckeye State is down by 490,000 people from four years ago. Of that reduction, 44 percent is in Cleveland and surrounding Cuyahoga County, where Democrats outnumber Republicans more than two to one.
“I think what we’re seeing is a lot of spin and hype on the part of the Obama campaign to try to make it appear that they’re going to cruise to victory in Ohio,” Cuyahoga County Republican Chairman Rob Frost said. “It’s not just Cuyahoga County. Nearly 350,000 of those voters are the decrease in the rolls in the three largest counties, Cuyahoga, Hamilton and Franklin.”
Frost points out that those three counties all contain urban centers, where the largest Democrat vote traditionally has been.
Ohio is not alone. An August study by the left-leaning think tank Third Way showed that the Democratic voter registration decline in eight key swing states outnumbered the Republican decline by a 10-to-one ratio. In Florida, Democratic registration is down 4.9 percent, in Iowa down 9.5 percent. And in New Hampshire, it’s down down 19.7 percent.
“It’s understandable that enthusiasm is going to wane a little bit from that historic moment (in 2008),” says Michelle Diggles, the study co-author and senior policy adviser for Third Way. “You can only elect the first African-American president of this country once.
Of course, there are other reasons why people are just not happy anymore with the Democrats:
One Democratic Party consultant told Fox News that independents in Ohio may be leaning Democratic – an effect that may be tied to the bailout of Chrysler and GM. One of eight people in Ohio work in businesses directly tied to the auto industry. The state has been carpeted with Obama ads that point to his bailout of the industry and it’s managed bankruptcy.
I do not mean to toot my own horn; but in this case, I must. I predicted that stuff like this would happen on my old blog. When the bailouts happened, and when the healthcare bill was pushed through. The truth is Independents are simply running away from Obama. Another thing too that this report did not cover; is that some Democrats are simply not happy with the Obama Administration. This is for a number for reasons: The continuation of Bush’s polices on the war on terror and the war is one. The failure to close the prisons in Gitmo is another. The continuing of the war in Afghanistan is another. Also too, Ohio is also a union State and when Obama’s chief of staff at the time, said “F*** the big three!”, many in Ohio heard about that too. This all makes for a unpopular President.
Also too; the economy in Ohio, here in Michigan; and nationally, just plain sucks. There are many small businesses in Ohio, many of whom are faithful Democrats; and they are just looking at their bottom lines and are looking at this President and wondering, “What on earth are they doing to us?” To be fair, it is not all of Obama’s fault. The Federal Reserve with it’s QE1, QE2 and now QE3 is not helping the situation at all. When the fed prints more money, inflation happens, which drives the prices of everything up and this, in turn, hurts businesses. Which, in turn, hurts the economy. Bill Clinton learned this lesson early on, and made adjustments. Jimmy Carter and this President, did not. For that, they are paying a price at the polls.
I should also mention that this current foreign policy debacle in Libya, and Egypt and the rest of the Arab World is also weighing heavy on the minds of people as well. As it was in 1979, with the Iran hostage crisis. Now, Iran is being a problem again. Which is very ironic.
History has such a strange way of repeating itself.
I have made it no secret on this blog and my old one; that I am, in fact, a die-hard Jimi Hendrix fan. A good part of who and what I am today is because of this man’s music. The biggest thing that I learned from Hendrix and his music was to never accept what is told to you. Always question everything; and believe you me, I do. 🙂
Are you shocked? 😉 😯
This is from 1970. This Jimi live at the Isle of Wight Concert. This is the Movie Presentation of “Wild Blue Angel”.
Please note: If you have a nice sound system or headphones. This would be a good time to put it or them, on and turn it up. 😀
Jimi Hendrix, more than anything else — was the sound of 1960’s America. He set the bar and everyone else tried like heck to sound, look and play like him.
