Splitting Branches in the Beginning

 

Someone once asked me if I was surprised that Oliver became a famous musician. I told him that I wasn’t surprised that he became a famous comedian. And now that he’s gone, I can say that I am indeed surprised at the level of superstardom he achieved in his short career.

 Kirsten and Oliver were both twelve years old when they took a trip to NYC with their B40 Jr High School graduating class. I think that’s when their six year saga began. Upon their return from New York, I had the task of picking Kirsten up at the school in the middle of the night. When Kirsten emerged from the bus, she introduced me to a skinny little guy named Oliver. He was shy and the way they glanced back at each other as we departed made it clear to me that “something” was going on. The next morning, Kirsten made her pitch to me and said, “You’re going to love Oliver, he’s exactly like you.” And turns out she was right. I did love Oliver and he was exactly like me. My little protégé lol. 

 For the next few years Oliver was a fixture at our household. The tell tale sign of his skateboard leaned against the house by the front door signaled that he was there. 

I had a vast collection of music and eclectic videos that Oliver was intrigued by, especially Andy Kaufman. I had about a half dozen Kaufman videos that would periodically disappear and show up later on, as if they had never left the shelf. 

Watching the music develop in real time was so fun to watch. They would rehearse and record at O’s house then bring stuff over for me to listen to. Across the six-way intersection, we were only ten doors down so there was lots of transit between the two locations. Some of the material made it onto the final cut of what became the Splitting Branches album. In the beginning, Tree was a trio consisting of Oliver, Kirsten and Christian (Shelf Nunny). They adopted the name “Tree” for their “trio” as a nod to the Simpsons Treehouse of Terror, which is itself a nod to the 70s horror classic, Trilogy of Terror. Plus Tree is Olive’s middle name. Everything Oliver did seemed to be layered with subtle meaning. Onion onion onion…

When Kirsten and Oliver broke up after a six year on/off relationship, (mostly on/off), Oliver and I continued to keep in touch. He always put us on the guest list at his shows and took time to meet up with us whenever he was in town. 

Oliver forced us to feel. 

He made us laugh. 

He made us cringe. He made us doubt. And he made us cry. Oliver forced us to feel life. He didn’t care if you loved him or hated him. Making us feel was his goal.

His time was cut short far too soon and I know there was much more that he wanted to accomplish in life. But what a life it was. I will miss him.

God speed my little protégé 

Playing With My Dictators #1 - Kim goes to California

Kim has been doing his research and determined that late September is the best time to travel to California. The tourists have gone home, and the kids are beginning their school year. That means fewer people on the roads, restaurants etc. 

To get to America, Kim first made his way to China where he mailed himself to a town in Utah, near the world famous Bonneville Salt Flats; a mysterious place that Kim has always wanted to visit. 

Kim loved the Salt Flats and was impressed by the vastness of the salt desert. He claimed that he could see the curvature of the Earth. Kim’s schedule was tight, so he took one last lick of the salty playa and hit the road. Next stop, Lunar Crater in Nevada. 

Located in the middle of Nevada, this ancient volcano has a diameter of 3,600 feet, 430 feet deep and only part of an enormous volcanic field of craters, cinder cones, basalt flows and ancient lava beds that don't appear to be cozy at all. Kim didn't want to sleep in a lava bed, so was off to nearby Tonapah where he knew he would find a cozy bed at the Clown Motel. 

Twas a lovely morning in Tonopah, and Kim had the opportunity to meet up with his old friend, Ronald McDonald who volunteers as a greeter at the Clown Motel Gift Shop. They exchanged contact information and Ronald promised to visit Kim next time he's in North Korea. Friends forever! Although it was sad to say goodbye to RMcD, California was on Kim's mind, and he was anxious to get on the road again.  

First stop in California was the mysterious Mono Lake, a unique body of water located on the eastern edge of the Sierras. Mono is a terminal lake therefore all local watersheds terminate there, building up high levels of minerals that give rise to amazing Turfa formations, "Wish you were here" Kim laughed, (Kim is a big Pink Floyd fan and the only reason he wanted to see Mono Lake is that is the shooting location for Hypgnosis' famous Wish You Were Here postcard included with the classic Pink Floyd LP of the same name).   

Kim loves to ski and is no doubt the best skier in North Korea, but he arrived at Kirkwood in the off-season and didn't have the opportunity to show America how it's done.  

With the mighty Sierras behind him, Kim found himself in the vast farms and town of California's Central valley where he stopped for a soda at Dean's Shoppe. 

When Kim arrived in the extra-Bay Area, he dropped in on his old eyeball buddies, The Residents. It had been decades, and the boys had lots to talk about, so they headed out to Zeni, Randy's favorite Ethopian Restaurant where they dined on Injera, Miser Wot, Kik Alitcha, Gomet Wot, etc. and chatted into the wee hours.  

Next day, Kim found himself at his intended destination, Santa Cruz, CA. Kim's favorite place in the whole world. 

Kim stayed at a little beach house at Twin Lakes Beach and spent the next few days exploring his favorite beaches and eating at his favorite restaurants. 

Kim strolled out to Santa Cruz' newest lighthouse at the mouth of the Santa Cruz Harbor. Walton Lighthouse was dedicated in 2002 making Santa Cruz the only California city with two lighthouses. 

Kim loves skateboarding and stopped by the Ken Wormhoudt Skate Park, which was designed by world premier skate park designer, Ken Wormhoudt. The skatepark marks a significant place in scooter history. This is where the iconic pop star, and scooter legend, Oliver Tree, became the first person to ride a scooter at a skate park. Everyone laughed. Tree a local Santa Cruzan revolutionized scooter culture and pop fashion, had the last laugh, and as Kim says, "He who laughs last is the last laugher" 

 

Kim loves fresh, California grown, produce and attended two farmers markets while in Santa Cruz. Kim was surprised to discover that a vendor at the farmers market was selling magic mushrooms. Knowing that magic mushrooms are illegal, Kim asked the young man behind the counter how they are able to sell them without fear of arrest. The young man said that Santa Cruz has decriminalized their use and consider mushrooms a low priority for the police. Kim was curious but didn't buy any mushrooms from the friendly and informative vendor. Kim knows an undercover FBI agent when he sees one.

Kim's Central California Coast vacation was over, and it was time to head to a secret rendezvous location somewhere in the Nevada desert. Singing, California Uber Alles, Kim boarded his personal saucer and returned home to North Korea, the happiest dictator on Earth.

NATO’s Project Ukraine - From Fervor to Fever Dream

It’s been two years since Russia announced its special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine. Hindsight has revealed that the SMO would have ended in spring of 2022. Negotiations were taking place and  preliminary agreements were reached and initialed. But western puppeteers didn’t want peace and thwarted further discussion with Russia. NATO made a most unfortunate blunder assuming that a proxy-war against Russia would be a slam dunk. Decades of isolating sanctions and maligning propaganda against Russia only served to insulate it and propel its industrial growth and military capabilities. Russia’s economy is better now, even after two years of war, than it was pre-covid 2019. A stark contrast with that of Europe and the US. 

The actions of NATO have backfired in an embarrassing display of perpetual failure. Ukraine is running out of arms and soldiers. NATO’s arms stockpiles have been depleted and have done little more than provide targets on the battlefield, with embarrassing results for the arms manufacturers. It’s difficult to market an inferior product. Western tactics, training and weaponry have proven to be inferior in the current theater of operation. Support for this failed “project” has destroyed an entire nation, about a half million of its troops, crashed Europe’s economy and set America on the slippery slope to recession. The arms dealers are still the only winners, but the US and European manufacturers can never match the industrial output of Russia, or China for that matter. Now, thanks to NATO’s meddling, China and Russia have entered into a new age of economic and military cooperation. The collective west now plays “second fiddle” in the greater global economy.  “The world isn’t going to take our shit anymore and if we continue to meddle in global affairs, then our demise is sure as Ukraine’s”

“What’s Ten-million Dead if It’s Keeping Out The RUSSIANS?” Or But, It’s Worth It… Right?

I’m not obsessed! It’s more like an intrigue or fascination I guess. And I’m surprised how uninformed and uninterested the majority of Americans are concerning the topic that has consumed me for the past couple of years. I’m referring to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. Most days I will spend two to four hours pouring over updates on troop movements, casualties, geolocations of drone  & missile strikes etc. The technology and tactics have evolved so much on the battlefield. Both sides have adopted unprecedented means of warfare, but Russia has maintained dominance throughout its campaign of attrition against the Ukraine military, which at this point, has been completely decimated. NATO has underestimated Russia, and has been continuously outsmarted and outmaneuvered by Putin, both on the battlefield and geopolitically. Now the west is admitting Ukraine’s defeat, but in crafty newspeak manner, is redefining Russia’s success by proclaiming that, NATO/Ukraine actually won because Russia only got 20% of the country… which ironically is and always has been Russia’s goal in their special military operation. So, NATO and apologists for war, was it worth killing a half million Ukrainians and laying much of their country to waste? Was it worth destroying Europe’s economy and sending America spiraling into recession? What’s saddest to me is that a peace deal had been negotiated back in April of 2022 but Boris Johnson immediately flew to Kiev, thwarted the signed agreement, and restored military operations. The rest is tragic history. Billions of taxpayer dollars, tens of thousands dead, abandoned on the battlefield by retreating Ukrainian troops. Thanks for voting!