tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-613401639259628637.post5770097412073605879..comments2022-11-26T20:30:17.548-08:00Comments on Ramblings of A Ragged Clown: Dinosaurs on A Diet - the late, great Phil Ochsraggedclownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11409198158282001526noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-613401639259628637.post-74956951474460293092008-12-19T18:37:00.000-08:002008-12-19T18:37:00.000-08:00R-C I always enjoy and learn from your 'ramblings....R-C I always enjoy and learn from your 'ramblings.though we both know they are more than that.<BR/>However I take issue at this observation:<BR/>Although he flirted with Communism, Ochs was too much of an American patriot to embrace it entirely.<BR/><BR/>It seems to me that this is too weak,too absolutive (by you)and maybe too forgiving of those Americans who well into the 60's hid their left leanings,Joe (Nobodys Uncle) McCarthy left a long shadow.<BR/>America, it seems to me, really did have a chance to embrace real Socialist Principles (The USSR did not) but the National Psyche was more attuned to Fascism.........I urge everyone to read Nixonland by Perlman.<BR/>I think you NEED to write Part 2 of this excellent Essay...but I think you need to look closely at the reasons...inside and outside Phils head for the answers to his terrible decline.<BR/>I refer you to the hunt for 'The Pink Spot'.<BR/>The majority of Psychiatrists diagnose Bi-Polarism and Schizophrenia through a series of observation and 'tests'. The most definitive test would appear to be the 'Pink Spot' in Urine....if you have the Pink Spot you are defined......by whatever definition the particular shrink uses.<BR/>Some emminent Psychiatrists called Anti Psychiatrists believe that social facors create the terrible and unutterably awful conditions that creat,through stress,confusion and anomie, the chemical conditions to create the Pink Spot.<BR/>This is what I believe finally happened to Phil Ochs.<BR/>Johjn Train was as real,to him, and Dylan whom he stalked with a Hammer,as The Sun and the rain.<BR/>Ochs was a highly talented man...........but he was also very ambitious..........had he not been he WOULD have joined The C.P. which was pretty much defunct by then.<BR/>So lets have part two and how Phill Ochs sequed into John Train and why he really didn't have the ticket to get him in The RTR Bus.<BR/>Regards,<BR/>Gilp.Burnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02665554659124714423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-613401639259628637.post-29255125540938119412008-05-26T12:27:00.000-07:002008-05-26T12:27:00.000-07:00DOH! Thank you, anonymous, for pointing out this s...DOH! Thank you, anonymous, for pointing out this silly error, which has now been corrected.raggedclownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11409198158282001526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-613401639259628637.post-54368142032847031562008-05-26T00:00:00.000-07:002008-05-26T00:00:00.000-07:00Interesting article but I'm not nit picking when I...Interesting article but I'm not nit picking when I note that from 1976 to 2006 is thirty NOT forty years...1966 Ochs was alive & active that whole year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-613401639259628637.post-1701377095886307572008-05-22T04:19:00.000-07:002008-05-22T04:19:00.000-07:00Ooh, my first feedback! :DThank you, Meg and Joan....Ooh, my first feedback! :D<BR/><BR/>Thank you, Meg and Joan. This piece was a real labour of love, and I think it stands up better than many of my other ramblings.<BR/><BR/>I did actually start the second part, but I got bogged down in the politics of the period, which are fascinating but caused me to lose focus on Phil. As the anniversary of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which played such an important and tragic role in Phil's life, is nearly upon us, now would be a good time to finish this second part.raggedclownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11409198158282001526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-613401639259628637.post-62684784089236550692008-05-21T16:51:00.000-07:002008-05-21T16:51:00.000-07:00Phil Ochs was a hazy presence I’d heard about in m...Phil Ochs was a hazy presence I’d heard about in my youth. He was connected to a vague memory of an obscure protest song or two. This extraordinary piece of writing has brought him clearly into focus. The commentary provides the social and cultural milieu that surrounds his musical contribution, and illuminates his role in the development of the American folk tradition. The pictures and video clips bring him fully to life for me and cause great regret that I had not paid attention a lot sooner. It would be wonderful to have the second part.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15799012541179627445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-613401639259628637.post-12362907824159775312008-05-21T15:35:00.000-07:002008-05-21T15:35:00.000-07:00Thanks for adding the videos, they're great. I alw...Thanks for adding the videos, they're great. <BR/><BR/>I always wished you'd finished the second part of this one.Meghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09694504731204384103noreply@blogger.com