The Elites by Dave Jaffe
The elites
They don't sleep in the streets.
They run the world
They weren't hurled
Into the harsh universe of to-day
To struggle from pay cheque to pay cheque.
Their eyes rest calmly
On the huge landscapes they own.
They want to cut
Social programs to the bone.
And they do.
They run the world.
Men and women
Armed with endless bank accounts
And countless stocks and shares
They proudly climb society's stairs
That lead to the top
Of the block.
They're the elites.
They love to meet
At Davos Bohemian Grove
And other retreats.
Here these few thousand few
Plan how to subdue
And rule the world forever
They usually do
They're the elites..
Tuesday 26 February 2019
Thursday 21 February 2019
They Are The Young; A Poem by Dave Jaffe
They Are The Young.
They are the young,
I am the old
An irritable aging scold.
They are the young
Their hopes aren't hung
From dying branches
Or wrapped in brown leaves
That scuttle in the wind on the cold cold ground
Their energetic noise
Pushes against playground walls,
Flies through upscale malls.
Delights itself
Worries teachers, tense sales staff
And preachers.
They don't moan or cry
Over the crimes of Stalin or Hitler
Or the deaths at My Lai.
They know nothing about these things.
Or anything thank God
About the sod beneath the grass in Vietnam.
Where unexploded bombs,
Some made in Canada
Still lie and wait to explode
In innocent human hands.
They clutch cell phones
Text messages of joy and sometimes hate.
See pornography on the web
Have names like Seb
Melissa, Ariana Caleb and Eden.
They don't worry
About shrinking social programs in Sweden
Or elsewhere.
They are the young
Immersed ion fun
In sports, noise
And toys
And other girls and boys.
They are the young
Forever moving.
.
They are the young,
I am the old
An irritable aging scold.
They are the young
Their hopes aren't hung
From dying branches
Or wrapped in brown leaves
That scuttle in the wind on the cold cold ground
Their energetic noise
Pushes against playground walls,
Flies through upscale malls.
Delights itself
Worries teachers, tense sales staff
And preachers.
They don't moan or cry
Over the crimes of Stalin or Hitler
Or the deaths at My Lai.
They know nothing about these things.
Or anything thank God
About the sod beneath the grass in Vietnam.
Where unexploded bombs,
Some made in Canada
Still lie and wait to explode
In innocent human hands.
They clutch cell phones
Text messages of joy and sometimes hate.
See pornography on the web
Have names like Seb
Melissa, Ariana Caleb and Eden.
They don't worry
About shrinking social programs in Sweden
Or elsewhere.
They are the young
Immersed ion fun
In sports, noise
And toys
And other girls and boys.
They are the young
Forever moving.
.
Saturday 2 February 2019
Ends and Odds: The Ravings Of An Old Man by Dave Jaffe. Review Of An Old Movie
Review Of An Old Film "Goodfellas': "Crime Doesn't Pay'
'Goodfellas' by now is an ancient film. It came out in 1990, nearly thirty years ago. Yet I bought a DVD version of the film from a video store about a week ago.( I am lucky. This video store called 'Black Dog Video' is one of only two or three video stores left in Vancouver.)
What is 'Goodfellas' about? Mostly crime. It's full of violence murder and bloodshed done by gangsters. Some of these men are Italian-Americans: some aren't. They live in New York City from the 1950's to the 1970's. What the film proves simply is that crime doesn't pay. "Any new criminal starting out on a life of crime," writes the American sociologist Randall Collins, "has a lot to,learn and many connections to make."
In this sense the young Henry Hill (Ray Liotto) is lucky. Growing up in Brooklyn in the early 1950's, he learns a lot and makes connections as a young adolescent. He runs messages for criminals, survives beatings by his father, and by his early 20's is a full fledged criminal. Now he has made friends with Tommy De Vito(Joe Pesci) and Jimmy "The Gent" Conway (Robert De Niro). These three and others do horrible things. They extort money, sell stolen goods, brutalize other people and in the case of Conway and De Vito kill quite a few people.
As a very young man Hill admires the Mafia don played by Paul Sorvino. Near the film's end he denounces him and Conway to the police. Tommy De Vito is by now dead, killed by another gangster.
The film directed by Martin Scorsese and scripted by Scorsese and Nicolas Pileggi is based on Pileggi's book called "Wiseguy: Life In A Mafia Family'.The movie is told in a semi-documentary style by Hill and his wife Karen (Lorraine Bracio). 'Goodfellas' is full of scenes of meals which serve up delicious food, visits to night clubs and robberies and murder. Yet the old adage "Crime doesn't pay" comes true. Nearly all the criminals end up killed or behind bars. Hill survives but only be turning state's evidence. "Never rat on your friends," Conway tells Hill near the film's beginning. Hill breaks this rule and survives.
Scorsese's film is one of the finest gangster films I've seen. Yet it's not for the faint of heart. These 'Goodfellas' are anything but good. They're mostly killers who end up dead or in prison. And its's in prison where they belong.
'Goodfellas' by now is an ancient film. It came out in 1990, nearly thirty years ago. Yet I bought a DVD version of the film from a video store about a week ago.( I am lucky. This video store called 'Black Dog Video' is one of only two or three video stores left in Vancouver.)
What is 'Goodfellas' about? Mostly crime. It's full of violence murder and bloodshed done by gangsters. Some of these men are Italian-Americans: some aren't. They live in New York City from the 1950's to the 1970's. What the film proves simply is that crime doesn't pay. "Any new criminal starting out on a life of crime," writes the American sociologist Randall Collins, "has a lot to,learn and many connections to make."
In this sense the young Henry Hill (Ray Liotto) is lucky. Growing up in Brooklyn in the early 1950's, he learns a lot and makes connections as a young adolescent. He runs messages for criminals, survives beatings by his father, and by his early 20's is a full fledged criminal. Now he has made friends with Tommy De Vito(Joe Pesci) and Jimmy "The Gent" Conway (Robert De Niro). These three and others do horrible things. They extort money, sell stolen goods, brutalize other people and in the case of Conway and De Vito kill quite a few people.
As a very young man Hill admires the Mafia don played by Paul Sorvino. Near the film's end he denounces him and Conway to the police. Tommy De Vito is by now dead, killed by another gangster.
The film directed by Martin Scorsese and scripted by Scorsese and Nicolas Pileggi is based on Pileggi's book called "Wiseguy: Life In A Mafia Family'.The movie is told in a semi-documentary style by Hill and his wife Karen (Lorraine Bracio). 'Goodfellas' is full of scenes of meals which serve up delicious food, visits to night clubs and robberies and murder. Yet the old adage "Crime doesn't pay" comes true. Nearly all the criminals end up killed or behind bars. Hill survives but only be turning state's evidence. "Never rat on your friends," Conway tells Hill near the film's beginning. Hill breaks this rule and survives.
Scorsese's film is one of the finest gangster films I've seen. Yet it's not for the faint of heart. These 'Goodfellas' are anything but good. They're mostly killers who end up dead or in prison. And its's in prison where they belong.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)