April 27, 2020 (In The Year of the Trump Virus)

April 27, 2020 (In the Year of the Trump Virus)

The one thing about Americans as a culture or society is that they are predictable.  Their Achilles Heel is that they must feel independent from others.  It's a culture that is based on the importance of "Me" than anything else.  If you tell them not to go to the beach, for example, they will feel like a matter of pride, and human right, that they must crowd the coastline as a sign of their importance to themselves.  Also, they are merely bored.  Which I totally understand.  They may live in a small compact structure, and also, there are the issues of them having children, dogs, all screaming to go outside somewhere, anywhere that is not in their restricted living area.  Viruses are a mystery force.  One cannot see it; therefore, one must suspect that it even exists.  If it was space aliens hovering over Los Angeles, that is one thing, but can one be in fear of something that is not obvious to them?  If the day is sunny and warm, it's very American to go out and play among fellow citizens.  For me, I hate social gatherings.  I prefer staying at home and working on writing and watching "Wanted: Dead or Alive" (starring Steve McQueen) on streaming services.

Twice a month, Kimley and I do a podcast "BOOK MUSIK," where we focus on one book on music per episode.  We just finished reading Nik Cohn's "Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The Golden Age of Rock."   The book, written in 1968 by a then 22-year old pop music geek, is a masterful form of youth reflecting on the pop culture of the 1950s and 1960s.  Cohn had the knack of praising an artist at the beginning of the paragraph, and by the end of that paragraph, he says they're shit.  Every sentence he writes is argumentive but superbly written.  Cohn and Ian Penman, I think, are my favorite prose stylists who write on music.   Of course, I will probably change my mind next week.

My hobbies at home are watching early 1960s TV shows on streaming services, hating President Virus (that takes a great deal of time, a real time-waster), reading music books, memoirs, and playing records.   What I find horrific is reading the daily death counts on the popular media and social platforms.  It seems my entire generation, the baby boomers, are quickly dying off.  That's a total drag.  The Trump Virus has killed many, and also the aging of the bones and body are working hand-in-hand in eliminating the people I love or respect.

On the other hand, Lun*na and I put up a canvas covering to protect us from the direct sunlight when we sit out and have our wine around 6 in the evening.   We're fortunate that we can spend the time to reflect on the world around us, and in such a manner of reasonable comfort.  Have a great day. -Tosh Berman.