An alternative to bad news. Take a moment to Celebrate the Wonderful Music of Country Joe McDonald. He died this week of Parkinson's disease... But while alive, He wrote some great songs!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRl6-bHlz-4

Feel Like I'm Fixing to Die Rag - Woodstock '69

and I HAD to learn to play that song and record it and post it on my YouTube channel... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLpHivc8iIA

Satire! The Acid Commercial...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tGfzRbTMcw

Country Joe & The Fish-Janis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaRppv4fgjo

Country Joe was a "red diaper" baby... His parents were communists and they nicknamed him Country Joe just like Country Joe Stalin... He became famous for playing at anti-war protest marches in Berkeley...

And then at the Ram Dass funeral Wavy Gravy modified The Cheer to say: "give me an F, give me a U, give me an N... What's that spell? FUN!

The origin of the "Fish" part of Country Joe and the Fish... Mao Zedong’s famous analogy, often quoted as "The guerrilla must move amongst the people as a fish swims in the sea", comes from his 1937 work On Guerrilla Warfare. It signifies that revolutionary troops depend on the support of the populace (the water) to survive, hide, and thrive.

I've had a lot of joy dating smart and powerful women... I married two of them... And we always figured out what to do with our lives by having long detailed honest conversations and then taking action.... Like the time we decided to leave Santa Clara, California and move to Columbia, Maryland so she could take a fancy pants government job.. And I went to college for a year studying computer programming... But then the money got tight so I went to work as a civilian designer/draftsman making equipment for the Air Force.... That was a decision that worked out great...

Another time we were living in Chico, California and it was just hotter than hell in the summer and we didn't have air conditioning so she said: "If you're so goddamn smart, why don't you figure out some way to get us out of here?" so another lady at the AA meeting taught me how to get a FAFSA student loan and we moved to Eureka California and I went to college at Humboldt State University for 4 years and then graduated with a BS in computer information systems. Then I got job at the county of Humboldt... Working at the DHHS interviewing people applying for food stamps, medical assistance and general relief... I Worked there for 7 years and then my dad died... My brother and I inherited a house in San Jose... Sold it for 1.6 million dollars... We split the money... And I've never worked since... Because once you get some money, you can hire a guy to invest it for you and it'll make endless profit... 

Gimme an 'F'- and the Crowd Shouts 'F' - Gimme a 'U' - and they Shout 'U' - Gimme an 'N' - and they Shout 'N' --- What's That Spell? 'FUN' - What's That Spell? 'FUN' - What's That Spell? 'FUN' - Quotation of Wavy Gravy at the Ram Dass Funeral...

Of Course, To Understand This Chant It Would Be Handy To Know Who Ram Dass Was and To Have Seen the Country Joe and the Fish Performance of Fixing to Die Rag at Woodstock...

LINK: Poster for Sale at Zazzle Gregvan

All Royalties Donated to Charity

and THIS is What Wavy Gravy is Doing NOW...
https://www.campwinnarainbow.org/

Camp Winnarainbow is a socially minded, justice focused organization founded by Hippy Icon, Flower Geezer, Poet, Activist Wavy Gravy in 1975. Wavy was later joined by his wife Jahanara, who has been a very important part of creating who we are as a Camp Winnarainbow community.  Utilizing all the ideals and teachings they learned through traveling the world, being a part of their Hog Farm community, and their devotion to “do something good for a change”, the philosophies and values of Camp Winnarainbow were created. Through the years our culture and traditions have been created from the inspiration and ingenuity of the staff and campers who have become the Winnarainbow community. Our motto is Toward the Fun!

Winnarainbow is fortunate to rent our facility in Laytonville from the Black Oak Ranch every summer. The land, with it’s sacred Black Oak trees, beautiful Streeter Creek, wide open field and surrounding mountains are very much a part of the Camp experience. We at Camp acknowledge that we are on Cahto Wylaki Tribal Lands. We also pay respect to the Yuki, Concow Maidu, Little Lake and other Pomo, Nomlaki, and Pit River People’s and extend this respect to all Tribal communities of our region. To read about why our camper’s sleep in tipi’s, which are traditional lodging for the Native People’s of the Plains, please read our We Stand In Responsibility to Be Change page.

A 2nd generation of leaders have been mentored by Wavy and Jah to step into their roles at Camp. This new leadership brings with them the wisdom from Wavy and Jah and a fierce dedication to continue to grow Camp Winnarainbow’s vision to meet the complex world of today and the future. Together we CAN create a peaceful, sustainable, harmonious World!

a meme that fits the FaceBorg 

"My Story" - READ RAM DASS

I just found this poem,

written by Ram Dass after Jerry died.

Jerry's Gone

Jerry's dead

An era has ended

And here we are...still.

All these years,

The Dead concerts have been spirit

Made manifest,

Deep connections into...

Living Vibrant Love

Now The high priest has split.

The Tao Te Ching speaks of the best leader as one who leaves

The people thinking they did it all themselves.

Jerry was that kind of a leader.

He turned the power back to the people.

He, and the band...they have never really bought into

****SUPERSTARDOM****

They have seen themselves

more as catalysts

In the magical mix of the moment

That allowed each person at the gathering to feel safe enough to

Become self-luminous.

So now Jerry has dropped his body...

And here we are... still.

Through him and his mythic playmates came the sound that Connected us to our deeper selves...

This was our spiritual practice... our doorway...

Genuinely ours... and it worked...

Now Jerry isn't

And we are...still.

So... has all that free form ecstasy

That we garnered from an otherwise shadow world

Transformed us? Or made us more free?

Or Has it just left us a group of

Sad Grateful Dead addicts

In withdrawal?

For sure we will grieve the monumental loss of our friend...Jerry

For a long...long...long...time.

Most likely we will go through some powerful depression

And despair...

We may even court cynicism...

After all...it's not easy to lose your connection.

But Jerry's legacy to us is more profound than all of that.

He is in us...

Just as we have been in him.

We have all been not a tribe... or a family,

But a bubble of awareness

Riding upon the ocean of sound

That is in and beyond the sounds we ear hear.

Now it's up to us to co-create other safe spaces

Where we can listen to hear what Jerry heard

And to allow our love-light to Shine.

Jerry is gone in one form, But...like the magician that he is,

He has explosively been transformed into

A million Jerrys... One...improvising in each of our hearts. Jerry...We express our gratefulness...

By becoming the memory of you.

-Ram Dass