Roger O Green

To Award, or Not To Award; That is the question.

I’ve totally changed my sense of my personal history and time, especially since I began blogging.

I recently read this great article by Patio Patch (Laura from London, UK) about how to be an awards-free blog without seeming ungracious. She noted: “As an ingenue exploring the blogosphere I was surprised to see prominently placed ‘award free blog’ buttons. At the time I considered these to be rude presumptions of a confetti of accolades but hindsight has shown that this is a politely circumspect way of side-stepping the issue.”

I hadn’t, in fact, gotten any awards in a while, so I was thinking that, in my existence, it had become a moot point.

So naturally, at that point, I get an award from Dustbury, one Charles G. Hill, who, as the person who nominated him put it,”might cover social media, automobile tires, basketball, My Little Pony, print magazines, transportation in Oklahoma, women’s shoes, and Zooey Deschanel — all with enviable literary skill and brio.” I came across him initially because he knows more about Warner Brothers Loss Leader LPs than any sane person should.

The rules:
In a post on your blog, nominate 15 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award. (Now this has become increasingly difficult, if only because of the aforementioned no awards policy. But I have a workaround.)
In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award. (Check)
In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog. (Thank you, CG.)
In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself. (See below)
In the same post, include this set of rules. (Check)
Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs. (Or tweeting.) (Well, we’ll get to that.)

The seven random things aren’t all that difficult for me; they are usually strands of blogposts I could never finish.

1. I’ve totally changed my sense of my personal history and time, especially since I began blogging. I used to believe that I would go from one chapter to another in life. But now I see it as one long continuum, with things from my past often playing more significant roles in my present than I ever would have guessed.

2. On two different occasions, I dated for a time a woman who was at least a decade older than I was. Indeed, for the majority of my dating life, I’ve gone out with women in their 40s. That includes my wife, who’s younger than I.

3. The only trophy I ever won was for racquetball. The racquet broke off the trophy, but I’m still keeping it, in the office I’m writing this, actually.

4. The ONLY time I’ve EVER done the chicken dance was in Galveston, TX in 1995. It was at a work conference

5. My Twitter name, Ersie, is based on a stuffed monkey I no longer own.

6. We have drawers of random electronic and computer junk I should probably throw out, but haven’t, because I have the bizarre notion I might need them, in most cases because I never knew what they really did in the first place.

7. I can probably name more New York Giants (football) and New York Yankees (baseball) players from the 1960s than the 21st century.

And now for my designees for the award. Ready? (Drum roll, please.)

YOU. That is, if you don’t mind getting awards, if you like giving awards to others, by all means, consider yourself so dubbed by me. And if you WANT me to specifically call on you, then let me know, and I will. But if you’re award-free, don’t let me ruin the streak.

Transformative Presidency?

Did the election of this President, with a mixed record, no matter your political viewpoint, matter merely because he was black?

I’m watching this television program called JEOPARDY! On the episode airing way back on February 25, 2009, which I almost certainly watched at least a week later, there was a category called THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, with all of the clues given by black historian Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The $200 clue: “In a recent essay, I cited the election of Barack Obama as one of the 4 ‘transformative moments’ in African-American history; this 1863 event was the first.” The question, of course, was “What is The Emancipation Proclamation?” (The other two moments, which Gates revealed in a video clip leading to a commercial break, were Joe Louis’ victory over Max Schmeling in 1938 and the 1963 march on Washington that featured Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.)

Around the same time, I had come across a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center: Fueled by non-white immigration, the economy and the rise to power of a black president, the number of hate groups rose to 926, a record, in 2008.

Let me admit my resistance to Obama’s election as “transformative.”

Did the election of this President, with a mixed record, no matter your political viewpoint, matter merely because he was black? Surely a historical moment, but “transformative”?

Think of Jackie Robinson – whose entry into Major League Baseball, BTW, I would have put as one of Gates’ “transformative” moments, rather than Joe Louis. If he had failed as a player, would it have mattered as much that he was the first black player in a long while? I think he’d be a footnote in history. I still wonder if the added racial responsibility weighs on Obama, as surely it did on Robinson?

I’m reminded, oddly I suppose, of Vanessa Williams, the first black Miss America, back when Miss America still mattered in the United States. Know that there was some controversy in some black circles because she was so light-skinned, not dissimilar to conversations about Obama’s mixed-race heritage. Then Ms. Williams was booted as Miss America; her great strength is that she did not allow that incident to define her, but at the time, I thought it was a blow to some black people who said: “We make the breakthrough, then THAT has to happen?”

Also, with the increased number of nut jobs out there, I can’t help but continue to worry for Obama’s well-being. Not the least of which is the White Nationalist CPAC panel warning that America’s greatest threat is its diversity.

So I’m still mulling over how “transformative” the 2008 election turned out to be, in terms of justice, social/economic/racial/environmental, but it is not apparent in many aspects.

I’ve long stated that “the first” is important, but it’s not until it’s no longer an issue at all that real progress is made. And if you read some of the right-wing stuff I do, you know we are not there yet.
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My friend Dan lays out, not in a racial context but just as in a political one, how Barack Obama has NOT had a transformative presidency in far too many ways. While he tends towards harsher language than I, I’d be hard-pressed to negate his overriding premise.

Roberta Flack is 75

More than almost any other song, this reminds me of love lost, and it still has the capacity of making me quite sad.

I’m fairly sure Roberta Flack’s turning 75; while some sources have her listed as being born in 1939, her Facebook page and Wikipedia have her born in 1937. It’s likely it was my sister Leslie who turned me on to Roberta’s music. She owned the second album, Chapter Two, which she played rather constantly. I almost felt bad that Roberta achieved a modicum of commercial success; we thought Roberta was our little secret, known by the cognoscenti.

I had the pleasure of seeing her perform at First Night in Albany about a dozen years ago. She has been living in the Dakota building in NYC for a number of years, a neighbor of Yoko Ono.

Here’s a bunch of her songs that I like. Unfortunately, I didn’t always find them on YouTube or elsewhere, so you might only hear a snippet; it will be labeled as such:

11. Why Don’t You Move In With Me – my favorite part, the introductory piano, you don’t hear in this SNIPPET from the first song on the Blue Lights in the Basement album.

10. You’ve Got a Friend – featuring the great, lamented Donny Hathaway. Her first pop hit (#29 in 1971).

9. Compared to What – from the jazzy first album, First Take.

8. Killing Me Softly with His Song – hit single (#1 for 5 weeks in 1973).

7. Where Is the Love – another hit (#5 in 1972) with Donny Hathaway

6. Business Goes On As Usual – a great song from Chapter Two about war and money; a SNIPPET.

5. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – though released on First Take back in 1969, popularized because of its inclusion in the movie Play Misty for Me. #1 for 6 weeks in 1972.

4. Go Up Moses – a great variation on the old spiritual Go Down Moses from her third album, Quiet Fire. A SNIPPET.

3. To Love Somebody – a soulful cover of the Bee Gees’ song, from Quiet Fire. A SNIPPET; a favorite song of my late friend Donna.

2. Reverend Lee – the word about this song from Chapter Two is venerous.

1. Gone Away – more than almost any other song, this reminds me of love lost, and it still has the capacity of making me quite sad.

Carole King is 70

Carole King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a composer of a slew of hit songs, many with her then-husband, Gerry Goffin. King, who inspired Neil Sedaka’s Oh, Carol, also put out an album, 1971’s Tapestry, that was in virtually every dorm room when I went to college. It held the “No.1 spot for 15 consecutive weeks, remained on the charts for nearly six years, sold 10 million copies in the United States, and 25 million worldwide. The album garnered four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year…”

Carole King made “three appearances as guest star on the TV series Gilmore Girls as Sophie, the owner of the Stars Hollow music store. King’s song ‘Where You Lead (I Will Follow)’ was also the theme song of the series, in a version sung with her daughter Louise” Goffin.

Thought I’d pick a dozen of her songs, my favorite interpretations thereof, with links to each.

12. Jazzman – Lisa Simpson with Bleeding Gums Murphy. Yes, it’s from the cartoon The Simpsons, early on.
11. Every Breath I Take – Gene Pitney. I think it was Fred Hembeck who turned me on to Pitney. Only got to #42 in 1961.
10. Chains – The Beatles. Covering a girl group called The Cookies, from their first album.
9. The Loco-motion – Little Eva. Goffin and King’s babysitter, who was, unfortunately, the inspiration for my LEAST favorite Goffin-King song, He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss). Loco-Motion would go US Top 3 twice more, by Grand Funk Railroad (1974, #1) and Kylie Minogue (1988, #3)
8. One Fine Day – The Chiffons. #5 in 1963.
7. I’m Into Something Good – Herman’s Hermits. If I believed in guilty pleasures, one would be Herman’s Hermits. I got their first greatest hits album when I failed to return the response card from the Capitol Record Club. And I’m glad I did. #13 in 1964.
6. Up On The Roof – The Drifters. Also covered by Laura Nyro (1970), James Taylor (1979, #28), and a number of others, but I love the 1962 model, which went to #5.
5. You’ve Got A Friend – James Taylor, a post-Goffin tune, with King on backing vocals and piano, went to #1 in 1971. Taylor and King have toured a great deal together in recent years.
4. Pleasant Valley Sunday – The Monkees. How could I not love this song? “Mr. Green, he’s so serene, he’s got a TV in every room.” #3 in 1967.
3. Don’t Bring Me Down – The Animals. Great raw sound one doesn’t associate with a King song. Got to #12 in 1965.
2. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman – Aretha Franklin. Hmm, this went only to #8 in 1967. It’s such an anthem, co-written by Jerry Wexler.
1. Will You Love Me Tomorrow – Carole King, with the Mitchell-Taylor Boy and Girl Chorus. This was a number #1 hit for the Shirelles in 1960, King’s first big hit as a songwriter, but I’ve always been partial to King’s version on Tapestry.

Happy birthday, Carole!

The No Grapefruit Diet?

I did have my nutritional needs to be met, and I switched to grapefruit juice exclusively. And when the boycott was over, I found OJ less exciting, less tangy than grapefruit.

One of my favorite things to eat is grapefruit. I prefer pink to white, but either is fine. I love to drink grapefruit juice as well.

When I was a child, there were these cans of DelMonte blended juices, which were just OK. But it wasn’t until I was in college, and got to consume fresh or frozen juice and fresh fruit that I really became a convert. And, in large part, I have Anita Bryant to thank.

Anita Bryant was a former Miss Oklahoma who became a singer with middling success. “In 1969 she became a spokeswoman for the Florida Citrus Commission, and nationally televised commercials featured her singing ‘Come to the Florida Sunshine Tree’ and stating the commercials’ tagline: ‘Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.’

“In 1977, Bryant’s campaign led to a repeal of the anti-discrimination ordinance [in Dade County (Miami), Florida]… However, the success of Bryant’s campaign galvanized her opponents and the gay community retaliated against her by organizing a boycott of orange juice.” I joined in the boycott until she was dropped by Florida Citrus Commission “in 1979 because of the controversy and the negative publicity generated by her political campaigns and the resulting boycott of Florida orange juice,” which was, as I recall, fairly successful.

Meanwhile, I did have my nutritional needs to be met, and I switched to grapefruit juice exclusively. And when the boycott was over, I found OJ less exciting, less tangy than grapefruit. Moreover, the flavor of orange juice too long in the refrigerator used to turn yucky, a problem I almost never experienced with grapefruit juice.

Every year, we order from my in-laws a case of citrus as a fundraiser. It can be all oranges, all grapefruit, or a mixed box. We were about to put in the order when my wife asked whether I should be eating grapefruit because it mixes badly with statins, which I started taking to keep my cholesterol level down. I said, “What?”

As it turns out: “When grapefruit juice is consumed at or around the time you take your statin, the components in grapefruit prevent these enzyme systems from breaking down the drug, causing the drug to accumulate in high amounts in the body. This can be very dangerous and can cause a variety of health problems, such as liver damage or a rare condition called rhabdomyolysis (severe muscle and kidney damage).”

So it’ll be grapefruit in the morning, statin at night, and never the twain shall meet.