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And last night we lost a gem of the American Novel, with the death of Toni Morrison.

And recently lost two great musicians and performers. Art Neville, a New Orleans “Wild Tchoupitoula”, founding member of The Meters, and for over two decades with his musical family The Neville Brothers. And Johnny Clegg, South African rock musician who broke the laws of Apartheid to try and bring social justice and freedom to his country. He was for some years an expatriate because the white government threatened him with prison for performing with black musicians and dancers.

How times change. They vilified Paul Simon for working with South African musicians yet he did an enormous amount in doing so to break down barriers. Music is what it is and colour, race should not be a part of the equation.

Sinned wrote:Music is what it is and colour, race should not be a part of the equation.

Agreed, and not just about music!

Unfortunately, some people seem to want to perpetuate all this race crap. Most places are doing better these days, but I hear South Africa is getting ugly fast.

Dust wrote:

Sinned wrote:Music is what it is and colour, race should not be a part of the equation.

Agreed, and not just about music!

Unfortunately, some people seem to want to perpetuate all this race crap. Most places are doing better these days, but I hear South Africa is getting ugly fast.

South Africa is getting ugly, but mainly in the big city`s and by a minority. I live on the Kwa Zulu Natal South coast and we have a very few racial incidents. I still feel safe when I walk on the beach or into town. We have certain area`s that we stay away from, but that's the same in all country`s. I find that if you treat all people with respect it is returned.

South Africa is a beautiful country but it has been out of apartheid for only 35 years. They won’t solve the poverty of millions still relegated to the “townships” (segregated slums) in one generation. If that was possible, the “country ghettos” of the rural US South wouldn’t still exist. The threat to South Africa is that the patience of the poor is wearing thin. Mandela was relatively moderate in social and economic policy compared to the current threat of land reform. It seems to follow a pattern. Land is taken from white farmers with negligible compensation; it’s divided into uselessly small parcels which are given to impoverished blacks, who lack both the skills and capital access to feed their families from farming the redistributed land. The land is sold back to white farmers at market value. Rinse. Repeat. I’m sure there’s a better way but it won’t evolve from populist demagoguery. After watching the US for the last two and a half years, it should be obvious that NOTHING productive or intelligent evolves from populist demagoguery. Yet we see too many countries duplicating our debacle. Austria to Australia, India to the UK, Poland to Italy to Turkey. Those who do not learn the lessons of history...

dillon wrote:South Africa is a beautiful country but it has been out of apartheid for only 35 years. They won’t solve the poverty of millions still relegated to the “townships” (segregated slums) in one generation. If that was possible, the “country ghettos” of the rural US South wouldn’t still exist. The threat to South Africa is that the patience of the poor is wearing thin. Mandela was relatively moderate in social and economic policy compared to the current threat of land reform. It seems to follow a pattern. Land is taken from white farmers with negligible compensation; it’s divided into uselessly small parcels which are given to impoverished blacks, who lack both the skills and capital access to feed their families from farming the redistributed land. The land is sold back to white farmers at market value. Rinse. Repeat. I’m sure there’s a better way but it won’t evolve from populist demagoguery. After watching the US for the last two and a half years, it should be obvious that NOTHING productive or intelligent evolves from populist demagoguery. Yet we see too many countries duplicating our debacle. Austria to Australia, India to the UK, Poland to Italy to Turkey. Those who do not learn the lessons of history...

My take, FWIW.

Populist demagogues are ALWAYS the failure of the existing political order to respond to the people. They are like the people flipping over the game table when it's obvious that there is no way to win a game that seems rigged. The people don't really have a clue what's wrong with the game, but they know it reeks and are willing to try something radical to change it.

Those who don't like any particular demagogue blithely dismiss the phenomenon until it's too late, explaining it away with words like "it just proves how many racists there are" or "it's just a fad" or "he really knew how to manipulate people". When it's over, the political order has changed.

I just hope that whatever phenomenon in your own country that inspired to your post resolves itself as peacefully as possible.

One is reminded of the passage of time-and of one's own aging-when the entertainers of one's youth pass away, or are now quite elderly.

To some extent when other famous people pass away.

Of course, this is much more poignant when family members pass away. A few years ago I realized that my family was losing a generation, as elderly parents, aunts and uncles began to pass away. My parents are now gone, as are a number of their siblings. I have sensed a void, because there had always been at least one family generation older than mine.

Grok wrote:I have sensed a void, because there had always been at least one family generation older than mine.

This is the natural progression of things. We are now that "last generation", and we, too, will pass on with the passage of time.

Make the most of what time you have!

My father is one of 10 children and they were born over a period of about 20 year. That makes the range of a generation quite wide. It also makes the range of the next generation even wider. I'm born in 1944 and the oldest person of my generation was born in 1930. The youngest was born in 1954. That last person was my favorite niece and she died almost 2 year ago.

It is a sad indication of getting older when your family members are passing away but also your favorite filmstars or musicians. It is a good thing they developed a brain with a memory. That memory should be filled with the good things of the past. Together with films, TV and sound carriers you can have your flash backs if you need them and relive happy times. But don't forget to stay in contact with living generation so you will not have regrets when they expire.

After 67 years, we are losing MAD magazine. No new material will be printed, though I understand that old material might be reprinted.

We are losing something I enjoyed as a kid.

One comment I read said that the old creative cadre of MAD has retired or passed away. The magazine had a long run, but nothing lasts forever.

Grok wrote:After 67 years, we are losing MAD magazine. No new material will be printed, though I understand that old material might be reprinted.
We are losing something I enjoyed as a kid.
One comment I read said that the old creative cadre of MAD has retired or passed away. The magazine had a long run, but nothing lasts forever.

I always enjoyed MAD magazine. In fact I still do. The humor expressed was always so far out that a lot of the older generation did not always understand it. One of the features I really enjoyed was SPY Vs SPY it seemed to hit the then current situation of the world dead on the head.

I enjoyed Spy vs. Spy. I enjoyed those folding covers, and the various other cartoons.

Actor Kirk Douglas. At 103 years of age, he was definitely an old timer.