Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto.

The MLK Assassination


Apparently, I am cliche, for it was the well-documented year 1968 that radically changed my perspective on life. And no single event had such a profound effect on me that year as the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968, forty years ago. I remember it as though it were far more recent, in the way I remember the JFK and John Lennon assassinations and the Challenger disaster.

I’m pretty sure I heard the word of Martin’s death from my father, who was involved in the civil rights movement in Binghamton, NY, my hometown. He went downtown to try to, as he put it, “keep it cool”, and there was no notable violence in Binghamton that night.

The real effect on me came when I got hold of his speeches about why he opposed the war in Vietnam. If you had asked me in December 1967 how I felt about Vietnam, I probably would have blindly stated that I supported the war, based on the fact that it was an American war and I was an American, without much thought beyond that. Reading his April 1967 address – I’m not sure which version, for he gave similar addresses at least thrice that month – was profound in utterly changing my whole perception of not only the war, but government and my relationship to it. You can love your country yet opposed its policies. I had done that, going on civil rights marches, but that was, to some large degree, self-interest. This was something beyond my immediate surroundings.

Now, I had HEARD ABOUT the speech, and the backlash it caused, Comments such as: “Why are you talking about something other than civil rights? How can you betray Lyndon Johnson, who’s been good on domestic civil rights? You’re out of your element and are hurting the civil rights movement.” And this came from black civil rights leaders, among others.

It wasn’t until after his death, though, that I READ the speech. It was as though weights had been lifted from my eyes. Among other things, Martin HAD made the disproportionate number of drafted young black men a civil rights issue.

Read the April 4 address. Better still, listen to the April 30 address:

One sentence just jumped out at me – I think it was from the April 4 address: “The truth must be told, and I say that those who are seeking to make it appear that anyone who opposes the war in Vietnam is a fool or a traitor or an enemy of our soldiers is a person that has taken a stand against the best in our tradition.” I can’t help but wonder what Martin would have made of more recent wars…

Conversely, I think MLK, Jr has been largely misunderstood, perhaps intentionally so. Nonviolence did not, and does not, mean passivity. And economic justice matters; remember, King died helping sanitation workers in Memphis get a living wage. What has long bothered me about the August 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech has its misrepresentation and misapplication by certain groups. We’re not going to create a level playing field for the fiscally disadvantaged because we want to be “fair”; how is it that the wealthy getting wealthier is “fair”? I have no doubt that Martin would be as concerned about the economic disparity in this country as any issue based on ethnicity.
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Several articles in the past week about Rod Serling’s twice-censored script about Emmett Till being read at a conference at Ithaca College. Read about it here. I’ve mentioned before the profound effect that Emmett Till’s death had on me; in fact, along with Brown v. Board of Education and the Montgomery bus boycott, I think it began of the modern civil rights movement.

ROG

ROG

Buying New Music

It’s been a while since I went out and bought new music, but the Barnes & Noble had sent me a coupon worth 40% off on all CDs, after whatever sale prices applied. Sunday, I took the bus to the ever-expanding Colonie Center. B&N used to be in a free-standing building on Wolf Road in Colonie across from the mall. But at some point in the past few months, it has moved to its new location across the street.

I went in figuring I’d buy some new music, the new k.d. lang, the new Herbie Hancock that won a Grammy for best album(!) or maybe its predecessor which featured Paul Simon and Sting. I was also looking for the soundtrack of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, either the Julie Andrews or the Lesley Ann Warren version. NONE of them were there. O.K., now what?

So, I just systematically started looking through the albums. I was trying not to buy on CD the exact same albums I already own on vinyl, because a friend of mine told me about her recent experience converting vinyl to CD. That eliminated greatest hits by Bob Dylan, Queen, the Guess Who, Hall & Oates (yes, shut up), The Association (YES, shut up), and a couple others.

First album picked, much to my surprise: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John. I have all of the other “classic” period EJ albums on vinyl, save for the early Empty Sky, but never got this one. At some level, the garish cover, and the fact that the album went to #1 in its first week, turned me off at the time. But it was Elton’s 61st birthday recently, and the only CDs I had to play were various greatest hits collections, plus the later Made in England. I’m sure I was affected also by Johnny B.’s recent discussions of all things early Elton. What sealed the deal was one of the additional tracks. Along with Lucy in the Sky and Philly Freedom was One Day at a Time, which I assumed was not the theme song of the Bonnie Franklin TV show that debuted in 1975, but rather the John Lennon cut, and it was.

Second album: The Ramones Greatest Hits. I have a couple LPs, but have massive holes in the collection. Probably influenced by Gordon.

The third album: The Very Best of Todd Rundgren. I have various Nazz, Utopia and solo LPs, but still wanted this.

The fourth album: OK, no recent Herbie Hancock? How about some classic Herbie Hancock, Head Hunters, featuring the classic cut Watermelon Man? All right then.

These were all $12.99 each list price, so $7.80 after the coupon, and I might have quit there, but I discovered The Millennium rack. If you’ve been in a record store lately, you’d recognize these. Black and white picture, gray top. And there were several to choose from: the Platters, Tom Jones, the Allman Brothers were all considered. The cool thing about these is that they were $9.99 each, but three for $20 if I used my MasterCard. I ended up picking Joan Baez, who my father admired as far back as 1959, when he brought home the oddly-named The Best of Joan Baez; and John Mellencamp, probably in part because of the love Tosy had given him after his recent induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The final album was also on the Millennium rack, but was not a Millennium album. It was Lucinda Williams’ 2003 album World Without Tears. $16.99 list, but still with the 3 for $20 sticker. I might have gotten this one anyway, but Lefty Brown’s affection for her did not hurt. Also the fact that, because I had the 40% off coupon, 3 for $20 became 3 for $12, or $4 apiece. (BTW, there’s a second version of World Without Tears with three extra songs available out there. Oh, and the three for $20 continues through May 5.)

Total price, less than $47, under my $50 mental budget. So thanks, guys, for going shopping with me.
***
Elton Joe Performs “Dogs in the Kitchen” , the never-completed song, the lyrics of which appear in Captain Fantastic.

ROG

ROG

March Ramblin’

As in March 33rd:
From here:
A Toronto university student will not be expelled for running a Facebook study group that his school had argued constituted cheating. Ryerson University’s Faculty Appeals Committee announced the decision to spare Chris Avenir on Tuesday afternoon, a week after his expulsion hearing.

The 18-year-old will be required to take a course on academic misconduct and will have a note on his transcript saying he was disciplined, said Nora Loreto, president of the Ryerson Students Union. Avenir will also get a zero on one of his assignments, worth 10 per cent of his course grade, Loreto said.”

Avenir’s lawyer said Tuesday that Avenir has not yet decided if he will appeal the decision. “It’s a finding he’s not at all comfortable with. He doesn’t believe that it’s fair or appropriate,” lawyer John Adair said.
I don’t think it’s fair or appropriate, either.
***
31 Days to Building a Better Blog. At one point I started doing this, but it fell apart.
***
An old friend is starting a grassroots effort to get Andrew Jackson off the twenty dollar bill. This is due to his heinous and illegal actions in the Indian Removal. I have found that most people I talk to about it really have no idea just what he did. They start off being amused at this nutty notion of mine and get serious very fast when hearing the facts. I believe that the time is ripe to get this mass murderer off the twenty. We need to stop offending and disrespecting our American Indian citizens by making them look at his face every time they see a twenty dollar bill. To that end, I am drawing Hitler moustaches on every twenty that passes through my hands, and also putting the address of my website, http://getjacksonoffthe20.net on the bills also. If people who feel as I do started doing the same, and started spreading the idea by word of mouth, I believe we can bring awareness to large numbers of people, and begin to move towards the process of actually getting him removed. It’s a small thing in comparison to all the other injustices, and something I have been called to do.
Please visit my site, and consider joining me in my efforts. Also, pass this on to whomever you think might be interested.

I happen to think drawing Hitler mustaches on $20 bills is silly; using a rubber stamp would be far more effective.

ROG

ROG

Here Now the News

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 08 Election

Al Jaffee’s fold-ins for Mad magazine, from the 1960s to the present, in interactive form, from the Noo Yawk Times.

China Celebrates Status As Number One Polluter

Pat Paulsen for President. “Resurrect and Elect!” “Think Inside the Box.”

‘Gays Too Precious To Risk In Combat’

We Are The World redux.

More news here.

And, of course, the big news story of last year: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash

Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash

Don’t know if any of this is ha-ha funny, but it’s certainly peculiar/funny. Rather like the date itself.

ROG

ROG

Forgotten Foods

ADD wrote a forgotten foods piece about foods that were common at his family’s dinner table when he was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s that he no longer eats; I thought I’d do the same though I’m more than a decade older.

But before making my list, which will be relatively short, I’d comment on HIS list.

Rack of Lamb with Mint Jelly – had this on Easter Sunday for the first time in years. I’d forgotten how much I liked it.

Harvey Wallbanger Cake – don’t know if I ever had this. Certainly my mother didn’t make it.

Liver and Onions – when I was a bit anemic earlier this year, I went out and had liver with onions. Onions have to be sauteed. A half pound of liver and a whole package of frozen spinach. I liked it. Neither my wife or daughter were around, but my wife came home and could smell it, and I don’t mean the onions.

Chipped Beef on Toast – I’d forgotten about this. I did have this. Whether it was at my house, my grandmother’s, or at a restaurant, I don’t remember, but I do recall liking it.

Codfish – Yes, Alan, I do recall frozen cod, though in a paper box. Another one I haven’t had in decades.

Turkey Soup after Thanksgiving – Still happens at my in-laws’ house, and, on the rare time that Thanksgiving’s been at my house, at mine.

Spam – I know I bought this even in my twenties, but not for as long time.

Vienna Sausages – I know I ate them at some point in my distant past, but I can’t remember what they tasted like.

Beets – Specifically, can beets in my childhood. HATED them. HATED them. Had to eat them. Put mustard on them to kill the taste, which was only marginally successful. Beets to me are as broccoli was to GHWB; I’m a grown-up, don’t have to eat them. Did I mention I HATED them?

Mincemeat Pie – like ADD, served at Thanksgiving. Like ADD, I passed, though always took a bite to see if my taste buds had developed. After all, everyone said it was “good”, and it was pie. Usually, I like pie; not this time.

Filet Mignon – did NOT have in my childhood. Probably last had on my birthday two or three years ago.

Raw Oysters and Frogs Legs – Nope.

So, what else do I remember from my childhood? Canned everything.
Canned juice, mostly DelMonte; do they make that any more? You took a can opener made a hole in one side, a slightly smaller hole on the other and pour it right out of the can. Later, when we feared contamination from the “tin” can, poured it into a pitcher.
Canned waxed beans. Vile, unappetizing yellow beans. Tasted like, lessee – wax.
Also, canned carrots, peas, beans, spinach – canned spinach, despite Popeye’s claims, wasn’t very good.
Canned sweet potatoes.
The only thing we still have in cans are fruits and soups.

Suddenly, I’m not all that hungry.
ROG

ROG
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