#Uncle Sam Blues

[jt1674]

[rastronomicals]

9:31 AM EST December 14, 2024:

Hot Tuna - "Uncle Sam Blues" From the album Hot Tuna (May 1970)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Well, I want to kill somebody, won't have to break no kind of law

[thegoodmorningman]

If you're in the United SA today, treat your vote like the level 8 spell Sunburst and cast that shit against some Nazis this Morning. Good Morning.

[thatblueengineer]

"Jump on it!" I cannot believe this is my first Tumblr post bro...anyways, Uncle Samsonite ftw?!?!??!?!?! What the hell is off-brand soda?!?!?!?!?

[aunti-christ-ine]

[onlylonelylatino]

Where's Stripesy? by Fred Hembeck

[holdingup-fallingsky]

Sam wants you! To go out and vote!

[dmytro-oreo]

The only one turning Uncle Sam into Uncle Sucker is Donald Trump and his fashy gang of traitors.

[doctorslippery]

[nocternalrandomness]

[fancoloredglasses]

[RERUN] Crisis on Infinite Earths, Issue 7: “Beyond the Silent Night” (Excuse me, I have a bit of heroic sacrifice in my eye)

[All images are owned by DC Comics, please don’t sue me]

OK, obvious spoiler on the cover!

PREVIOUSLY ON…

A being known as the Anti-Monitor has destroyed all but 5 of the universes in existence) with a single survivor on Earth-6 (Lady Quark) along for the ride. Those 5 are being held in limbo (and are merging into a single reality) away from the Anti-Monitor thanks to a being known as Harbinger (AKA Lyla), assisted by a being known as Pariah and the sole survivor of Earth-3 (Alexander Luthor, who is made of matter and anti-matter), who sacrificed her cosmic powers to do so. Unfortunately, the process was unstable, meaning that time has merged (meaning mammoths and futuristic aliens are among modern skyscrapers) and the barriers between universes are unstable, which will result in all 5 universes being destroyed unless a way is found to stabilize the merger.

The Anti-Monitor has also kidnapped Psycho Pirate (whose powers he was using before the final universes were protected from his) and Earth-1’s Flash (who could pierce the barrier between universes to enter his Anti-Matter universe)

Meanwhile, the villains of all 5 Earths start disappearing. That can’t be good.

Now, on with our story! If you would like to read this issue, it (along with the rest of the series) has been collected in graphic novel form and is available (or can be ordered) at your favorite comic shop, bookstore, or online retailer…or on Read Comic Online.

Lyla announces she sacrificed her powers to save the final three universes, and asks that representatives from each Earth join her, Pariah, and Alexander in deciding their next move.

Lyla explains that an Oan scientist named Krona dared to look back to the dawn of time and saw…

…a hand. Somehow this hand gave the universe the finger and split it into the multiverse, which in turn gave birth to the Monitor and Anti-Monitor.

Pariah then explains that he did the same several years ago, which somehow gave the Anti-Monitor the power to start destroying the various universes.

This sends Lady Quark into a near-homicidal rage as she now blames Pariah for the death of her universe.

It seems the Anti-Monitor has a machine that is causing the interference on the merging of the universes (that will destroy them once they do merge) The group formulates a plan to take the fight to the Anti-Monitor and destroy the machine with some of the remaining universes’ most powerful heroes.

Seeing as we’re at issue 7 of a 12 issue series, I’m sure you can guess how that will turn out.

Upon breaching into the Anti-matter universe, Pariah leads the lambs assembled heroes to the slaughter the Anti-Monitor’s stronghold. (apparently Pariah’s power is to know where the Anti-Monitor is…? I swear, his power is deus ex supershit)

Upon arrival, the stronghold itself attacks the heroes. (I guess being supreme ruler of an entire universe has its perks) The walls and floors form into stone automatons powerful enough to make even Kal-L bleed… and if they are destroyed, they simply reform.

Meanwhile, Dr. Light and Superman break off and reach the machine while the rest of the heroes clear a path and hold off the stone constructs, but before Superman can destroy the machine…

…he is hit by the Anti-Monitor with a blast powerful enough for his cry of pain to be heard by the other heroes. Supergirl then breaks from the creatures in a rush to defend her cousin. Obviously, she didn’t see the cover of the issue.

Supergirl reaches the machine before the Anti-Monitor can land the killing blow. She then hits him relentlessly, but is taking at least as good as she’s giving. In the end, the Anti-Monitor’s body is destroyed and he is forced to retreat, his machine destroyed...

…but Kara Zor-El has paid the ultimate price for her heroic stand.

The universes are no longer merging toward destruction, but they are not merging at all, they’re stuck in time and reality, all time and each reality co-existing at once.

WHAT will happen to the five remaining universes?

WHAT is the Anti-Monitor’s next move?

WHAT will happen to all of those Supergirl action figures?

These questions and more will be answered next issue!

[rastronomicals]

10:49 PM EDT August 30, 2024:

Hot Tuna - "Uncle Sam Blues" From the album Hot Tuna (May 1970)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

File under:    Music to shatter a single drinking glass to

[tracyorama]

[lilhawkeye3]

A Crash Course to Kendrick's Super Bowl Performance, from a Black Woman

Note: this does NOT go in depth into all of the song's lyrics. I don't have time to recount two decades of his discography. This is just a summary of the performance itself.

Let's start with the first visual we get:

UNCLE SAM - most notably recognized from WWII American wartime propaganda, Uncle Sam is the personification of American patriotism and freedom. The term "uncle" is also evocative of Uncle Tom from Uncle Tom's Cabin, an abolitionist book that aided in inciting the Civil War. Uncle is also a very common term (both endearment and derogatory) towards Black men (eg. "unc"). Samuel L Jackson was fantastic. (Edit: and please look up his history of civil rights activism, he was on the FBI watchlist and even a pallbearer at MLKJr’s funeral.)

Uncle Sam also resembles a circus ringleader, notable for my next point:

THE GREAT AMERICAN GAME - no, not Super Bowl. The GAG is us the people being pitted against each other: through late-stage capitalism, through the culture war, through class warfare, through being built of the backs of slaves. We are all players in the GAG because none of us on this site were the oligarchs seated at the inauguration.

This is also seen as Kendrick's stage was a Play Station controller. Not only did it remind of circus rings visually, but it was a game battle stage. The Great American Game is a battle royale of the commoners for the amusement of the rich whites.

Remember the foods / Them color was tin and brown / But now they 100 and blue - For this I'll just say, look what the last election said about lowering the price of eggs... and look at the prices now.

The revolution about to be televised / You picked the right time / But the wrong guy - Election 2024 once more. *Edit to add, the first part of this lyric is in reference to the Black Liberation Song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Heron. Thanks to everyone who mentioned that.

THE FLAG DANCERS - yes, the dancers formed the US flag... off of the backs of Black people. Not a single white person in sight, and that's true of the cotton pickers in the fields. Plantations are part of how the US came to economic prominence after being a "backwater" colony. Remember tobacco? Cotton? Our bloodlines do. *Edit to add: they also all piled out of a clown car. The US flag in a clown car? Brilliant.

The red and blue dancers are also notable for representing the Crips and Bloods, two infamous street gangs. The dance in Not Like Us is the Crip Walk. I recommend researching more on your own time about them, but just know they are a large part of the stereotype of Black people being "ghetto."

TOO LOUD, TOO RECKLESS, TOO GHETTO. Do you really know how to play the game? - This is exactly what Black people, especially Black men, get told all the time. It's why we change our names on resumes if they sound "too Black." It's why we codeswitch in non-Black company. This is especially rich considering how non-Black people love our culture and love to make money off of us, as the latter part of the quote points to. And it's even more profound during the Super Bowl-- the NFL is majority Black players.

STREET LIGHT A CAPELLA -- "thug" stereotype dancers to counteract the a capella connotations, with Uncle Sam then saying that Kendrick figured out "bringing other street guys around being a culture cheat code." Yes, this is a direct hit at Drake (listen to "Not Like Us") but also politically. Look up "model minority". Notably I would point to Candace Owens, or the Miami Venezuelan political group that's been in the news recently, especially as this directly led to Kendrick being surrounded by...

DANCERS IN WHITE -- it's white America. That's... that's the allegory.

NOT LIKE US TEASER -- Kendrick says "Not Like Us" is "their favorite song." -> he means white people specifically here. It comes after he's surrounded by all white dancers, the women around him who are his call and response are also in white (my opinion, they represent the industry). He's saying "Not Like Us" is the favorite of yts because it is about BLACK MEN FIGHTING. This again is reflected in the video game stage and ringleader Uncle Sam.

SZA -- instead of giving what they want, we see SZA. She's one of Drake's exes and Kendrick has always supported her.

ALL THE STARS -- This was in the first Black Panther movie, which I recommend you watch. Rest in Power Chadwick. Notably, this movie was incredibly mainstream as a major Marvel movie, and then we have Uncle Sam say...

"THAT'S WHAT AMERICA WANTS: NICE AND CALM. DON'T MESS THIS UP" -- translation: Marvel (the industry, America, etc.) wanted a safe, semi-pop song because white American likes safe pop songs, not Kendrick's usual heavy rap style about his life as a Black man! Don't mess up what you've got going mainstream for having this "Black rap feud" with Drake, who is an R&B model minority to white people because he's safe.

So what does Kendrick say?

IT'S A CULTURAL DIVIDE / IMMA GET IT ON THE FLOOR -- He was warned not to be political or apologetically Black for this Super Bowl performance, but he is using this big stage opportunity to speak out.

40 ACRES AND A MULE / THIS IS BIGGER THAN THE MUSIC -- 40 acres and a mule are what the freed slaves were promised. Instead, this land went to white sharecroppers. Research Jim Crow laws.

THEY TRIED TO RIG THE GAME / BUT YOU CAN'T FAKE INFLUENCE -- rig the election, rig the industry like with model minority Drake, rig the Great American Game with culture war to distract from active class warfare.

NOT LIKE US -- the only thing I'll mention because it made me holler is Serena Williams crip walking on Drake's metaphorical grave. She's another one of his exes (read: Drake harassed the hell out of her). *Edit: she was also fined at the 2012 Olympics for crip walking in celebration at Wimbledon.

TURN THE TV OFF -- exactly like he said! The TV is a distraction, the Super Bowl is a distraction, the mainstream news is often a distraction. Turn it off and get with your people!

GAME OVER — could not see this on my stream but at the end of the performance, the lights in the stadium spelled this out. The world is watching, America…

In conclusion, Kendrick Lamar is a visionary and thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[kkeval]

Celebrate Presidents Day in style with this patriotic design featuring an iconic Uncle Sam hat! Perfect for t-shirts, mugs, posters, and more. Show your American pride! 🇺🇸

[painandmovies]

Kendrick Lamar performing in front of his back-up dancers dressed in the American Flag colors of red, white and blue after Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam says rap is "too ghetto" for the Superbowl. That is all.