Neil Peart - by Moses

  Neil Peart has just died this January 7th, 2020 at the age of 67 from brain cancer.  

  Born in Hamilton, Ontario (growing up in Oakville, Ontario) Neil Peart is known for his massive contributions in the rock and roll band RUSH.  Joining Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson's band in 1974, RUSH (with Peart) released 'Fly By Night' (their second album).  Peart was now the lyricist and drummer of the Band (replacing John Rutsey on drums).  In 1975 RUSH released 'Caress of Steel' and Terry Brown, the producer and audio engineer, showcased many recording techniques to soon be implemented in the recording industry.  At this point in 1976 RUSH released their breakout album '2112' which went platinum across North America.  In 1977 RUSH released their fifth album 'A Farewell to Kings'; 

Other RUSH Albums

1977 - All the World's a Stage
1978 - Hemispheres
1979 - Permanent Waves
1980 - Moving Pictures
1981 - Exit Stage Left
1982 - Signals
1984 - Grace Under Pressure
1985 - Power Windows 
1987 - Hold Your Fire
1988 - A Show of Hands 
1989 - Presto
1991 - Roll the Bones
1993 - Counterparts
1996 - Test For Echo
1998 - Different Stages

      After the conclusion of the Test for Echo tour in 1997, the band entered a five-year hiatus primarily due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. Peart's daughter Selena died in a car accident in August 1997, followed by the death of his wife Jacqueline from cancer in June 1998. Peart took a hiatus to mourn and reflect, during which he traveled extensively throughout North America on his BMW motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 mi). At some point in his journey, Peart decided to return to the band.  Peart's book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road is a chronicle of his journey.  In the book, he writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired."  On November 10, 1998, a three-disc live album entitled Different Stages was released, dedicated to the memory of Selena and Jacqueline. Mixed by producer Paul Northfield and engineered by Terry Brown, it features recorded performances from the band's Counterparts, Test For Echo, and A Farewell to Kings tours, marking the band's fourth live album.

  After a time of grief and recovery, and while visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, Peart was introduced to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall.  Peart married Nuttall on September 9, 2000.  In early 2001, he announced to his bandmates he was ready to once again enter the studio and get back into the business of making music.

  From this point on RUSH was as committed to making music as they ever were and released 'Vapor Trails' in 2002.  In 2004 they released 'Feedback' a cover album in which RUSH performed Cream, The Yardbirds, and Led Zeppelin tracks, among others.  'Snakes and Arrows' was released in 2007.  

2009–2013: Time Machine Tour and Clockwork Angels

  On February 16, 2009, Lifeson remarked the band may begin working on a new album in the Fall of 2009 with American producer Nick Raskulinecz.  In November 2009, Lee, Lifeson and Peart were awarded the International Achievement Award at the annual SOCAN Awards in Toronto.  On March 19, 2010, the CBC posted a video interview with Lee and Lifeson where they discussed Rush's induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on March 28, 2010, at the Toronto Centre for the Arts' George Weston Recital Hall. The band was recognized for the songs 'Limelight', 'Closer to the Heart', 'The Spirit of Radio', 'Tom Sawyer' and 'Subdivisions'.  In addition to discussing their induction, Lee and Lifeson touched on future material, and Lee said, "Just about a month and a half ago we had no songs, and now we've been writing and now we've got about 6 songs that we just love ..." On March 26, 2010, in an interview with The Globe and Mail, Lifeson reconfirmed the band had already written a half-dozen songs and there was the potential for two supporting tours, one planned for Summer 2010 and a more extensive tour planned for Summer 2011. While still uncertain of exactly how and when the new material would be released, at the time he projected a tentative Spring 2011 release date.  Soon after, Peart confirmed Nick Raskulinecz had returned as co-producer.

  In April 2010, Rush entered Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Tennessee with Raskulinecz to record 'Caravan' and 'BU2B', two new songs to be featured on the band's studio album Clockwork Angels. Mixing was done by record engineer Richard Chycki at the Sound Kitchen in Franklin, Tennessee. 'Caravan' was released on June 1, 2010 to radio stations and made available for digital download at this time along with 'BU2B'.  Lifeson's predictions from March were confirmed, and the Time Machine Tour's first leg began on June 29 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and finished on October 17 in Santiago, Chile, at the National Stadium.  It featured the album Moving Pictures played in its entirety, as well as 'Caravan' and 'BU2B'.  It was suggested Rush would return to the studio after the completion of the Time Machine Tour with plans to release Clockwork Angels in 2011.  Nonetheless, Rush announced on November 19, 2010, they would extend the Time Machine Tour. The second leg began on March 30, 2011, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and came to an end on July 2, 2011, in George, Washington.  On November 8, 2011, the band released Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland, a concert DVD, Blu-ray and double CD documenting the April 15, 2011, concert at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. After the tour's second leg was finished, Rush entered Revolution Recording studios in Toronto, Ontario, to finalize the recording of Clockwork Angels.  The second single, "Headlong Flight", was released on April 19, 2012. Peart and author Kevin J. Anderson collaborated on a novelization of Clockwork Angels that was released in September 2012.

  Clockwork Angels was released in the United States and Canada on June 12, 2012, and its' supporting Clockwork Angels Tour began on September 7, 2012. As of August 31, 2011, Rush switched their American distribution from Atlantic Records over to the Warner Brothers majority-owned metal label, Roadrunner Records. Roadrunner handled American distribution of Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland and Clockwork Angels.  Anthem/Universal Music would continue to release their music in Canada.  On April 18, 2013, Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

  During Rush's European leg of the Clockwork Angels Tour, the June 8, 2013, show at the Sweden Rock Festival was the group's first festival appearance in 30 years.  The band's performances on November 25, 2012, in Phoenix, Arizona and November 28, 2012, in Dallas, Texas were recorded to make a live CD/DVD/Blu-ray that was released on November 19, 2013.

  On November 18, 2013, Lifeson said the band was committed to taking a year off, following the completion of the world tour in support of Clockwork Angels. "We've committed to taking about a year off", Lifeson said. "We all agreed when we finished this (Clockwork Angels) tour (in early August) we were going to take this time off and we weren't going to talk about band stuff or make any plans. We committed to a year, so that's going to take us through to the end of next summer, for sure. That's the minimum. We haven't stopped or quit. Right now we're just relaxing. We're taking it easy and just enjoying our current employment." - this was essentially the end of RUSH.

  Neil Peart has been voted the greatest rock drummer by music fans, critics and fellow musicians, according to Drummerworld.  He was also regarded as one of the finest practitioners of the in-concert drum solo.  Initially inspired by Buddy Rich,  Peart then absorbed the influence of rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice, and John Bonham.  Incorporation of unusual instruments (for rock drummers of the time) such as the wind chimes, wood teak, xylophone, cow bell,  glockenspiel and tubular bells, along with several standard kit elements, helped create a highly varied setup. Continually modified, Peart's drum-kit offered an enormous array of percussion instruments for sonic diversity.  Whether a tom-roll off two kicks, or wind chimes to pronounce a track (like Xanadu), Peart was a master of his craft as a percussionist.  For four decades Peart honed his technique as a member of RUSH; each new Rush album introduced an expanded percussive vocabulary. In the 1990s, he reinvented his style with the help of drum coach Freddie Gruber, and Peart grew as a drummer for fifty years.  He will forever be remembered as the one of the greatest drummers of all-time.  Rest in Peace Neil.

Construction Unions in Toronto, Ontario, Canada - by Moses

  In 1945 my Cousin Henry Kay was freed by the allied forces from the Concentration Camp Dachau.  He lost his entire nuclear family in the Holocaust.  My Grandfather (Henry's Uncle) in Toronto took him in, and he lived with my Mom and Uncle for a couple of years (taking up work in construction soon after arriving).  He started out a bricklayers helper and worked for 45 years in the field.  In the years' Henry Kay spent in construction with the Union he observed that there were ZERO Indigenous Peoples, ZERO 'Blacks'. ZERO Asians, ZERO Muslims, ZERO Hindu, ZERO Russian Canadians, and very few Jewish people (with several others minorities being discriminated against likewise).  By 1990 we saw the breakdown of construction unions being majority Italian-Canadian and Portuguese Canadian (making up around 75% of the labor force).  It's a disgusting practice really;  Segregating a workforce to always make sure their ethnicity are always employed, and conveniently excusing themselves to hiring outside their heritage, saying 'there is no work' to any Asian Canadian, or 'Black' Canadian (or any of the aforementioned ethnic minorities for that matter).  The problem is that when a locale in Toronto wants a bricklayer helper today, many will hire illegal immigrants for the simple reason of them being Italian or Portuguese.  When an Asian or 'Black' tries to break into the Union many locales will stereotype and cite 'we're not hiring' - for the simple reason that they are Asian or 'Black'. 

  Why can't Toronto impose affirmative action within construction unions to ensure income earners within the Indigenous Peoples, 'Black', and Asian communities (among other minorities)?  Why can't Toronto have a breakdown of 15% Italian Canadian, 15% Portuguese Canadian, 15% Indigenous Peoples, 15% 'Black', 15% Asian, and 25% other ethnic minorities.  This breakdown is still biased, but at least it would be a good start.  When Branch Rickey was asked in 1947 why it was important to employ the services of one 'Black' Jackie Robinson he replied 'What would I tell my Maker if I didn't?'  It is now 2020 and we're still playing this twisted game of segregation.

The Gestapo Part 8 - by Moses

      Have you ever gone on your computer to look up a statistic in print, only to discover it's false information.  Our internet service provider assures the public that their servers have fail safe firewalls.  The problem is when you look at the number of hackers that use spyware to gather information and miscue the server in its' process.  This could be the downfall of ground hubs and satellites essentially the next Y2K (Y2020) in this context of corrupting and rendering a server/ground hub to satellite, useless.  In the movie 'The Matrix' the scene in which Neo's computer starts talking to him (visually) with someone penetrating the servers firewalls and dictating 'follow the white rabbit' on the monitor followed by a knock on the door and a woman with a tatoo of a white rabbit on her arm.  Is this far-fetched or could this actually become reality.  

  All information corrupted by the best hackers in the world vs Joe Q Public (those that use the service).  What is actually happening here?  Could a hacker manipulate the viewer of their internet service into believing that ALL information is 100% accurate by using brainwashing techniques to provide constantly toxic information, leading a person to a form of psychological warfare.  Could a neighborhood exist in North America where the hacker's team preys upon and tortures an assumed victim in this context of literally knowing ALL of a person and using techniques to break this man down.

  There are four contexts of which I discuss in the aforementioned paragraph; 1) hacking into someone's computer 2) falsifying data 3) corrupting the server and 4) destroying the server (in this context the server is parable to man).  The problem we're having today is deciding when to believe what is on the internet and when to discriminate toxic information from the mix.  This head game just leads to bureaucratic red tape where there is ZERO accountable and warehouses full of number company files where information becomes dead and FORGOTTEN.

Proposed Blue Jays Trade and the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays - by Moses

Proposed Trade

From the Toronto Blue Jays;  Andy Burns (1B/3B) and 2020 4rth Round Draft Pick to the Chicago White Sox for Ryan Goins (2B/SS/3B)


Pitching Staff

1.  Hyun-Jin Ryu (LHP)
2.  Tanner Roark (RHP)
3.  Matt Shoemaker (RHP) @
4.  Anthony Kay (LHP)
5.  Trent Thornton (RHP)
6.  Chase Anderson (RHP)
7.  Thomas Pannnone (LHP)
8.  Buddy Boshers (LHP)
9.  Sam Gaviglio (RHP)
10.Wilmer Font (RHP)
11.Shun Yamaguchi (RHP) ^
12.Ken Giles (RHP)

      The 2020 Toronto Blue Jays pitching staff will be strong with the additions we've made this off-season.  Ryu is a true number one starter as evidenced by his 2.32 E.R.A in winning the E.R.A title in the National League last year with the Dodgers.  He'll be good for 17-20 wins this year.  Roark is an intriguing acquisition.  He had some real good years with the Nationals a few years back and got his game back last year.  Pencil him in for anywhere between 12-16 wins this year.  Matt Shoemaker is my number three man, and although he was out for most of last season, his ACL is healthy again to start 2020.  If he's healthy throughout the year I like him for 15 wins.  Our four and five men in the rotation, Kay and Thornton respectively, may not sustain through the year, but keep in mind the Jays still have Chase Anderson, Ryan Borucki, and Nate Pearson ready to put in the rotation if the need arises.

 In the bullpen I placed lefties Thomas Pannone and Buddy Boshers (as having two lefties in the bullpen is the way most successful Major League Franchises operate).  Having Gaviglio and Font as my middle relief righties should be strong enough to compete in the A.L East.  Being an unknown quantity, Shun Yamaguchi has the upper hand in coming to the Majors.  He's accomplished in Japan as being a top notch closer, and showed last year his abilities as a starter.  I'd place Yamaguchi as my set-up man to Ken Giles.  With Giles we have one of the top five closer's in the game today.

  Keep in mind that the Jays have four or five starters in the Minors that may end up pleasantly surprising the fan base of Toronto if brought up to the Majors.  Ryan Borucki was injured all last year but will probably be sent to Triple A Buffalo to state his case for promotion.  We also have Nate Pearson, Joey Murray, T.J. Zeuch, and Yennsy Diaz who round out the starting five in Buffalo (in all likelihood).

Batting Order vs Righties

1.  Bo Bichette (SS) bats right
2.  Cavan Biggio (2B) bats left
3.  Travis Shaw (DH/1B) bats left
4.  Vlad Guerrero Jr. (3B/DH) bats right
5.  Rowdy Tellez Jr. (1B) bats left
6.  Teoscar Hernandez (CF) bats right
7.  Randal Grichuk (RF) bats right
8.  Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF) bats right
9.  Reese McGuire (C) bats left

Batting Order vs Lefties

1.  Bo Bichette (SS) bats right
2.  Cavan Biggio (2B) bats left
3.  Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF) bats right
4.  Vlad Guerrero Jr. (3B/DH) bats right
5.  Teoscar Hernandez (CF) bats right
6.  Randal Grichuk (RF) bats right
7.  Rowdy Tellez (1B) bats left
8.  Patrick Kivlehan (DH/3B) bats right *
9.  Danny Jansen (C) bats right

Bench

1.  Ryan Goins (2B/SS/3B) bats left
2.  Joe Panik (2B/3B) bats left  
2.  Billy McKinney (OF) bats left 
3.  Anthony Alford (OF) bats right *

@ -on injured reserve in 2019
* - in Minors last year
^ - played in Japan 

  Our offence will depend on our young guns.  Toronto is a show or go home market.  When we're winning the Jays draw 35,000+/game and in a losing season we'll draw about 20,000/game.  This year Bichette, Biggio, Guerrero Jr., Gurriel Jr., Hernandez, Tellez, McGuire, and Jansen will be scrutinized by the Media.  If five or six of the aforementioned eight have good years I firmly believe the Jays will have enough firepower to compete with A.L East rivals New York, Boston, and Tampa Bay.  

  It will also be interesting to see how our defense plays this year coming.  Bichette, Biggio, Jansen (or McGuire), and Hernandez in Center would be my opening day up the middle defense.  If Jansen and McGuire handle the pitching staff efficiently this year we may see a dynasty in the making. 


  As is; Bichette, Biggio, Guerrero Jr., Gurriel Jr., Hernandez, and Tellez look primed to put up illustrious numbers as each have pedigree from their Minor League days and have some level of accomplishment so far in their careers in the Majors.  I wouldn't be surprised to see three of these players having good enough numbers to make the All-Star Game in July.