Wikipedia Watch

[Myra Bronstein]

Wow Peter, you write my anthem. Thank you.

Thanks Myra. - my emergence from 'the concensus trance' you might say. I'm just peed off that it took me so long.

As for Frank Zappa. The quote just caught my attention somewhere; haven't researched it though. Yep, fond 60's memories and all that but - BIG but - there's a dark side involving his father's military background and his upbringing. This from Dave McGowan's 'Inside the Laurel Canyon':

Given that Zappa was, by numerous accounts, a rigidly authoritarian control-freak and a supporter of U.S. military actions in Southeast Asia, it is perhaps not surprising that he would not feel a kinship with the youth movement that he helped nurture. And it is probably safe to say that Frank’s dad also had little regard for the youth culture of the 1960s, given that Francis Zappa was, in case you were wondering, a chemical warfare specialist assigned to – where else? – the Edgewood Arsenal. Edgewood is, of course, the longtime home of America’s chemical warfare program, as well as a facility frequently cited as being deeply enmeshed in MK-ULTRA operations. Curiously enough, Frank Zappa literally grew up at the Edgewood Arsenal, having lived the first seven years of his life in military housing on the grounds of the facility. The family later moved to Lancaster, California, near Edwards Air Force Base, where Francis Zappa continued to busy himself with doing classified work for the military/intelligence complex. His son, meanwhile, prepped himself to become an icon of the peace & love crowd. Again, nothing unusual about that, I suppose.

Plus lots more. Hmmm.

I read that piece Peter, in it's immense entirety in fact. And I have to say that I found it to be disturbingly vague. After pages and pages of insinuations it never produces any concrete, or even coherent, claims against Zappa. Basically it talks about his dad's career and the family's locale and then never goes anywhere with the info. It bothers me because I think highly of Zappa and believe he deserves better.

I'm open to reevaluating anyone in light of additional info. But the additional info has to be substantial and I see nothing of substance in McGowan's Laurel Canyon series.

[url=http://www.whale.to/b/inside_the_lc.html][/url]