Once-Upon-A-Time-1969-Bob Davis Podcast 856

Once-Upon-A-Time-1969-Bob Davis Podcast 856

A Hot August Night In 1969

I’ll be honest. This podcast is a bit of a departure for me. What’s especially relevant? Seems like everything changed on a hot August night in 1969, in Los Angeles. True crime and social commentary come together in Once-Upon-A-Time-1969-Bob Davis Podcast 856.

Brutal Murders and A Turning Point Once-Upon-A-Time-1969

Back in the day, several brutal murders over a weekend in August in Los Angeles formed some kind of turning point.

A Dream Called Life

Sometimes you get in a groove and it seems like things will never change. Life is funny that way. Almost like a dream.

Then, suddenly everything changes.

Fifty Years

It’s been fifty years since the Tate-Labianca murders. We’re just now finally getting a handle on the changes forced in that time period.

Moreover ‘The Summer of Love’ started with Woodstock and ended with Altamont and Charles Manson.

Recreating That Summer In Once-Upon-A-Time-1969

A new film by Quentin Tarantino explores that fateful time period. This podcast is inspired to a degree by the meticulous recreation of 1969 LA in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

More Music

I don’t say much in this podcast. That fact might surprise listeners. Truth is, music does a lot of the talking in Once-Upon-A-Time-1969-Bob Davis Podcast 856.

Music did a lot of the talking then too.

All About The Radio

First of all, there was no social media. For the huge younger generation it was all about the radio. Everyone was on the move. Every car had a radio. Somehow it felt like everyone was connected through the music and the radio stations of the time.

Lyrical and Musical Prophecy

One of the great things about the movie is the depiction of the musical subtext. The music and the lyrics told the story, before the story went down.

Summer of Love Ends In Horror

That summer began started with a pristine moment.

It ended with horror and death.

A time when Innocence lived next door to a deep, dark corruption.

(Editor’s Note: Technically the ‘Summer of Love’ was the summer of 1967 in San Francisco. However, in my experience, it generally referred to the whole time period up to Woodstock and the end of the summer of 1969.)

Sponsored by Reliafund Payment Processors and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Once-Upon-A-Time-1969-Bob Davis Podcast 856

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:02 — 50.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Farewell Boy Scouts America-Podcast 724

Farewell Boy Scouts America-Podcast 724

The Boy Scouts of America recently changed its name. The reason? Scouts USA will admit girls. These days a decision like that can kick off a firestorm of criticism. There’s even a new Christian alternative to the Boy Scouts. For my best friends and I, BSA was all about camping. We’ll talk about it in Farewell Boy Scouts America-Podcast 724.

Best Friends Like None Other

I had two best friends growing up. Both of them invited me into the Boy Scouts. The other day one of them texted me, concerned that the Boy Scouts would not admit girls. “Are you gonna do a podcast about that?”, he wondered. I said I didn’t think so. The idea of a podcast about changes in our social institutions though, stuck with me.

Summer Memories

Especially relevant is how summer brings back memories. It’s warm already in Minnesota and that makes me think about my best friends, camp outs, summer camp and fun. For us, that’s what the Boy Scouts were. So I’ll share some stories about our campouts in Farewell Boy Scouts America-Podcast 724.

Nonconformist Scoutmaster

What’s more, as I researched and thought about this podcast I realized how important our scoutmaster was to all of us. It’s not what you’d expect. Our scoutmaster and the men who watched over us were anything but conformists.

No Patience For Rules and Regulations in 1970’s America

As world war two vets, our scoutmasters weren’t about to take crap from anyone. Moreover, they didn’t have much patience for bureaucracy, rules and regulations. What they did was make sure we were safe, had a good time, and took care of each other. They also stood up for us, celebrated us and had our back. In Farewell Boy Scouts America-Podcast 724.

Changing Institutions

Most noteworthy to this podcast is the idea that institutions like the Boy Scouts are changing. Crumbling even. There’s no shortage of criticism for ‘Scouts USA’ from commentators who make sure to tell the reader they were Eagle Scouts and went on to Explorers. We didn’t. In fact we thought ‘Super Scouts’ were kind of weird.

Friends For Life

For us it was all about camping and the kind of friendship none of us will have again. I think it was that way with our scoutmasters and the fathers of the kids who came to the campouts too. For me, I don’t mind leaving it all behind and keeping those times as memories. As Stephen King once wrote, “I never had friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus. Does anyone?”

My sentiments exactly.

Was it the Boy Scouts? Or was it us?

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating Of Saint Paul

Farewell Boy Scouts America-Podcast 724

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:45 — 84.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS


 

Podcast 581-Disruption

Podcast 581-Disruption. The 1950’s and 60’s Are Never Coming Back. Disruption is Radical Change with profound effects, usually Permanent.   I’ve tried to determine the root of the feeling we all seem to have that something is wrong. It comes down to a major disruption of our business, industrial, governmental and cultural processes.Podcast 581-Disruption started out to be a podcast about the industrial revolution and the 1950’s in the United States. It’s a theme I return to regularly, especially when I talk about technology.

The Industrial Revolution caused disruptions from the time it began until it peaked in the 1950’s through the 1970’s. We’re in the early stages of a technology revolution on a scale the world has never experienced. I call it the second industrial revolution. It is a technology revolution and will cause profound disruptions.

Some call what we’re living through the fourth industrial revolution. I use the term second industrial revolution because I think breaking the Industrial Revolution into parts minimizes its impact. We’re in the early stages of a disruption as significant as the Industrial Revolution has been overall. What I call the Second Industrial Revolution will have more impact on humans and the planet than the first. The effect of both concepts should not be underestimated.

One of the cultural effects of the ‘turbo’ into the future is longing and nostalgia for the past. The Post World War II period in American History appears to be one of those times when the world could be easily explained, people understood their roles, people of different races didn’t mingle and The United States was number one with a bullet. The problem with this idea is, the late 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s only exist in perfection in dreamy memories and pictures of Marilyn Monroe. Pretty pictures, faded with time. A time when ‘everyone’ was working. When small towns were strong, and big cities were booming. Yet even then, the beginning of the decline of one age and the dawn of a new were in the making.

Not all the gifts of the technology revolution are good. The gifts of technology can be used for dark purposes as well. Religions that spread like viruses. ‘Conventional’ war on an unprecedented scale. Surveillance and mind control of populations that are supposed to be free, to the point where they ask for laws to control speech. What seems like a dream to some, will be a nightmare to others.

This revolution will not be stopped though. It will flow around any obstacles put in its path. Much of the texture of the sense some have that ‘something’ is wrong can be expressed in fear and hate. ‘Fixing’ whatever is wrong, means going back to a world 60 or 70 years ago? A world that no longer exists. Much of the industrial revolution is based on centralization. Today centralization is being disrupted to the point of destruction by decentralizing technologies. What do we need to prevail, given these challenges?

Dealing with this change is a question of how we conduct our own lives and ensure our own happiness and freedom.  We’re living through the beginning of the greatest disruption in human history. It might be the greatest age of human beings and this country yet. Saying things change isn’t descriptive enough. Disruption means radical change. In Podcast 581-Disruption-The 1950’s aren’t coming back, when are we going to stop complaining about what is being done to us, and start taking charge of our lives and our world. When are we going to start looking forward and not backward.

Sponsored by Hydrus Performance and X Government Cars.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:01 — 71.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS