With thanks to Grant who writes: profound short video from 1984
https://www.bitchute.com/video/GZH7Swm57SbK
Sandra speaking: I added an arbitrary sampling of info:
Zappa was not a drug user. He died at age 53 from prostate cancer. As a child he was exposed to a heavy load of toxic chemicals.
Excerpts From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zappa
While some lyrics still raised controversy among critics, some of whom found them sexist,[11]: 284 the political and sociological satire in songs like the title track and “The Blue Light” have been described as a “hilarious critique of the willingness of the American people to believe anything”.
“I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a ‘temporary license to exist’—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn’t own you.“[1]: 315–316, 323–324, 329–330
Zappa categorized himself as a “practical conservative.”[nb 13] He favored limited government and low taxes; he also stated that he approved of national defense, social security, and other federal programs, but only if recipients of such programs are willing and able to pay for them.[1]: 315–316, 323–324, 329–330 He opposed military drafts, saying that military service should be voluntary.[141] He favored capitalism, entrepreneurship, and independent business, stating that musicians could make more from owning their own businesses than from collecting royalties.[142] He opposed communism, stating, “A system that doesn’t allow ownership… has—to put it mildly—a fatal design flaw.”[1]: 315–316, 323–324, 329–330 He had used his album covers to encourage his fans to register to vote, and throughout 1988, he had registration booths at his concerts.[11]: 348
In early 1990, Zappa visited Czechoslovakia at the request of President Václav Havel. The meeting had been arranged by keyboardist Michael Kocáb. A longtime admirer of Zappa’s commitment to individualism, Havel designated him as Czechoslovakia’s “Special Ambassador to the West on Trade, Culture and Tourism.”[149] Havel was a lifelong fan of Zappa, who had great influence in the avant-garde and underground scene in Central Europe in the 1970s and 1980s. The Plastic People of the Universe, a Czechoslovakian jazz rock group associated with Prague underground culture, took its name from Zappa’s 1967 song “Plastic People“.[150] Under pressure from Secretary of State, James Baker, Zappa’s posting (as Czech ‘Special Ambassador’) was withdrawn.[151] Havel made Zappa an unofficial cultural attaché instead.[11]: 357–361 Zappa planned to develop an international consulting enterprise to facilitate trade between the former Eastern Bloc and Western businesses.[107]
- “Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”
- “If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.”
- “If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library.”
- “Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.”
- “The most important thing to do in your life is to not interfere with somebody else’s life.”
- “The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.”
- “Government is the Entertainment division of the military-industrial complex.”
- “I’m vile and perverted. I’m obsessed and deranged.
I’ve existed for years but very little has changed.
I’m the tool of the government and industry too.
For I’m destined to rule and regulate you.
You may think I’m pernicious, but you can’t look away.
I’ll make you think I’m delicious with the stuff that I say.
I’m the best you can get… have you guessed me yet?
I’m the slime oozing out of your TV set….”
9. “A true Zen saying: “Nothing is what I want.”
10. Schools train you to be ignorant with style […] they prepare you to be a usable victim for a military industrial complex that needs manpower. As long as you’re just smart enough to do a job and just dumb enough to swallow what they feed you, you’re going to be alright […] So I believe that schools mechanically and very specifically try and breed out any hint of creative thought in the kids that are coming up.”
11. “Stupidity has a certain charm – ignorance does not
12. “lf you’re going to deal with reality, you’re going to have to make one big discovery: Reality is something that belongs to you as an individual. If you wanna grow up, which most people don’t, the thing to do is take responsibility for your own reality and deal with it on your own terms. Don’t expect that because you pay some money to somebody else or take a pledge or join a club or run down the street or wear a special bunch of clothes or play a certain sport or even drink Perrier water, it’s going to take care of everything for you.”
13. One size does not fit all.”