Ramblin' with Roger

Utica: The Last Refuge

Refugee and Immigration Support Services of Emmaus

On World Refugee Day, June 20, my wife and I, along with dozens of others, went to the Olpalka Gallery at the Sage College in Albany, NY, to see the documentary film Utica: The Last Refuge.

Utica is a Rust Belt city about an hour from Syracuse and an hour and a half from Albany that had seen better days. I remember my family trekking up there when I was growing up because my godparents, the Whitfields, lived there for a time.

So how did Utica, cold, sometimes snowy Utica, become a new home for a refugee family of four from Sudan? “The Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees (MVRCR) is regarded nationally as a model agency for how refugee resettlement is done, for how they guide Utica’s refugees into comfortable jobs and lives.”

However, the process suddenly became more complicated in 2017 by political decisions that would impact the MVRCR budget.

A boon

The film began answering these questions: “Will Utica’s economic turnaround be slowed by a drop in incoming refugees? As refugee resettlement agencies across the country are forced to close their doors, will MVRCR survive? Will the Azein family find a way to support themselves? While much media attention is focused on where refugees first land, on beaches and in camps, Utica: The Last Refuge looks at why the future is so bleak for most refugees: the system is backed up.”

This program has been a success story for the community. “While the population is still only about 62,000 [from a high of over 100,000 in the 1960s], nearly 20% are now refugees and their children. Local politicians, from the Mayor on down, extol the virtues of Utica’s diversity. The refugees, they say, are hardworking and dedicated.”

As for the movie, “The Last Refuge team is a group of issue dedicated vérite filmmakers, many of whom came together as alumni of Hamilton College, which neighbors Utica.”

RISSE

The two showings at Olpaka constituted a fundraiser for RISSE, the Refugee and Immigration Support Services of Emmaus, “a family-based center that supports newcomers in building sustainable lives in the United States,” located in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Albany, not very far from my home.

“RISSE was founded in 2007… The initial goal was to help these refugees find housing, jobs, and resources and to advance their education. An after-school program was established for children; then came English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for adults.

“Volunteers, many of them immigrants… played a key role in the early success of RISSE… An early partnership with The College of Saint Rose and its art education, counseling, literacy, and community service programs provided expertise and volunteers that supported the growth of RISSE services.”

Several other entities offered literature at the reception that took place between the 3 pm and 6 pm showing. One was The USCRI Albany Field Office “Newly arrived refugees receive a comprehensive set of services including housing placement, cultural orientation, school enrollment, coordination of initial health appointments, referrals to ESL classes and employment preparation and placement.”

A short film

Related, I saw mention of the short film Translators. Here, director Rudy Valdez talks about the new film “and the overlooked experiences of child translators within immigrant families. The two-time Emmy Award winning filmmaker talked with AL DÍA ahead of the film’s June premiere at the L.A. Latino International Film Festival and Tribeca.

And here, “Valdez and Virginia Vasquez, a translator for her family featured in the documentary, joined New York Living. PIX 11.”

Watch Translators here.

Jeopardy Masters

Beatrice and Benedict

I received this question last month from my friend Catbird.

What do you think of the Jeopardy Masters?

At the time I was asked this, I had seen ZERO episodes because I was either preparing to go to France or was there or was recovering from being there.

Honestly, I wasn’t all that excited. Seeing these same six people AGAIN was not that interesting to me. But seeing the relationships that developed among the six, especially between Sam Buttrey and Matt Amodio, was fascinating. When Mattea Roach’s father, Phillip, died at the age of 57 from a brain aneurysm, their tribute to dad was touching.

I do NOT want to see where the DDs are, BTW, and I think this is going away, except maybe on an app.

In general, I like it, but sometimes I start wondering if SONY recognizes J as its one sure thing and is squeezing every last bit of revenue out of it.

I think this may be the case. But JEOPARDY Masters had good ratings for ABC. Moreover, extending the brand made sense with the proliferation of social media with Inside Jeopardy.

I also wonder what the story is with Mayim Bialik: After all that fuss about sexual harassment, did she get the host job, or not?

She and Ken Jennings, to the best of my knowledge, will continue to share the hosting duties.

Why does KJ get all the special (and probably higher-ratings) shows?

MB got the Celebrity JEOPARDY shows that did fine in the ratings.

Does “creepy guy” MR still haunt J culture?

The former executive producer and, briefly, host, Michael Richards, is gone, gone, GONE.

Is she too Jewish? Is it her two X chromosomes?

Maybe, and maybe.

KJ is better

But I contend that Ken Jennings is also better at the job because he’s a student of the show. He prepares like Trebek prepared.

The time for the host to acknowledge the correct answer still takes longer with her. She STILL doesn’t tell the contestant with a low or negative score that they can bet up to the maximum value of the clue on the board, $1000 in the first round, and $2000 in Double JEOPARDY.

And she made an egregious error in the game on May 31. in the category of Presidential Doin’s:

“Had a cold, went out to buy veggies anyway; got pneumonia, died before 31st full day on the job.” She accepted Harrison; it was William Henry Harrison, but it could have been Benjamin Harrison.

But a few minutes later:

“Made Henry Clay Secretary of State; 2 years after the White House, settled into a new House (of Representatives).” To their response of Adams, she correctly requested more information. John Adams was wrong; John Quincy Adams was correct.

One ALWAYS asks which president when it’s Adams, Harrison, Johnson, or Roosevelt. It’s JEOPARDY Hosting 101.

Is KJ being greedy?

IDK what this means.

Sometimes I overthink things.

What’s your take on the current incarnation of J?

They’re bringing back all of the Season 39 winners that didn’t make it to the ToC to have some play-in thing so that someone WILL make it to the ToC. It diminishes the product, IMO.

I will always root against the person who’s been on for more than five days. But I still watch, and ASAP because my newsfeed often tells me info first thing the next morning.

Billy Shakes

Kelly took great umbrage regarding a ruling in the Final JEOPARDY of May 23.

“The names of these two lovers are taken from Latin words meaning ‘blessed.’

“Ben… got the right characters: Beatrice and Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing. But wait! He spelled them Beatrice and Benedict, which was enough for the judges to rule him incorrect. His wager was big enough to drop him into second place, and off the show (until he comes back for the Tournament of Champions, so all isn’t lost for Ben).”

I disagreed with him in the comments. Still, he responded that “Maybe that’s how they’ve always done it, but honestly, as a casual viewer, I still think it’s BS.”

So I asked a list of former JEOPARDY contestants, who are not casual viewers, the question. I mean, I know this like I know that in baseball with two outs the run does not count if the batter is put out at first, EVEN if the runner crosses the plate before the batter makes the out. It just IS.

The responses:

Of course, it was decided correctly.

Absolutely correct. It wasn’t that it was a spelling error…he changed the name.

Decided correctly. Changed the name AND the pronunciation.

The ruling was correct. That’s how Shakespeare spelled it, so you can’t allow any variations. If you do, where does it stop?

Agreed – as soon as it showed up, I said out loud, “No, that’s not right.” I can see if he hadn’t spelled it with the ‘k’ at the end, but adding a ‘t’ makes it a different name.

Given that the show has also noted the decision was correct, I stand by my thoughts on this.

Conversely, I KNOW Kelly could have answered this item: Stephen Sondheim composed most of the score of “A Little Night Music” in 3/4 time, also known as this dance “time.”

It was one of 23 clues that were Triple Stumpers on June 7, 2023. No one answered them correctly. It WAS painful.

BTW, “What is waltz time?”

Lydster got a summer job

better than refolding clothes

Yay. Our daughter got a summer job!

When she was home for spring break, her mother suggested to her that she ought to apply for jobs for the summer. This mildly bugged the Daughter because she was already thinking about doing this.

Apparently, a lot of this process is now done online. She may have started the process slightly early, but it’s better than the opposite, when her search last year was too late to secure employment at all.

She was able to get a job at a clothing store in a local mall where she has shopped in the past. This was, as you might imagine, both a benefit and a curse. It was beneficial because she was familiar with the merchandise. The problem is that she had to restrain herself from buying a whole wardrobe with her employee discount.

I understand this tendency. When I worked at FantaCo in the 1980s, I was more likely to pick up more comic book issues and books than I would have if I were buying at retail.

Our daughter likes her job. She gives us the blow-by-blow of her day, both the occasionally annoying customer and her success in selling the product. Because she is the only non-manager employee who is over 18, she was able to pick up additional hours that the high schoolers working there could not.

New attitude

The job has totally changed her perspective. Before, when she and I, or she and her mother, would go into a store and needed to ask a question, she always wanted her parent to ask. Now, at work, she enjoys being the one answering questions, in part because she appreciates the break from refolding clothes that customers tried on but did not purchase.

More interestingly, she’s been nagging her bestie, K to get a job over the summer. I told my daughter I would hire K to work on some projects, but that idea was rejected. “She needs to work with people she doesn’t know!”

She likes ringing in sales, something she had never done before, and learning what to look for regarding potential shoplifters.

Style

My daughter has always had a strong sense of style. I discovered this even more on Father’s Day. The three of us and my MIL were going to Catskill to meet my BIL, his wife and one of their daughters. My daughter overslept and didn’t have to put on makeup.

My daughter and I sat in the back seat while she explained her cosmetic choices. The colors on her face match her daily wardrobe in very subtle ways. She explained the use of concealer and the other items in her packet. It was far more interesting to me than I would have imagined.

Sunday Stealing: Sign Up Genius

Oxydol

This Sunday Stealing is from Sign Up Genius

1. Would you rather ride a bike, ride a horse, or drive a car?

I don’t drive a car. I’ve never had a license, though I’ve had seven (!) driver’s permits, which is why I know the rules of road so well. The last time I rode a horse was June 9, 1976; I had a hangover, which I don’t recommend. I do have a bike, and have ridden it, although not yet this year because I can’t find my bike lock, so we’ll go with that.

2. Who is your favorite author?

It’s been a long time since I wrote more than two books by a single author, and that was when Russell Baker was still writing for the New York Times. I could cheat and say the late Joel Whitburn, who is more of a compiler of pop music citations than an author as such. I’ll pick Art Spiegelman, author of Maus, because I used to know him personally, back when he was

the co-creator of RAW magazine.

3. Would you rather vacation in Hawaii or Alaska, and why?

Either, because they’re both changing rapidly. Alaska is too warm now, and I expect much of Hawaii will be underwater in a few decades.

4. If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?

About a week ago and say no to a couple projects that have become a time suck.

They’re insincere

5. What’s your favorite zoo animal?

The giraffe because they’re so freakishly strange. Incidentally, my post about the song At The Zoo by Simon and Garfunkel.

6. What’s the tallest building you’ve been to the top of?

The 86th floor of the Empire State Building.

7. How often do you buy clothes?

Almost never unless they wear out. My wife buys me clothes because my criterion for “worn out” and hers are not the same.

8. What was the last thing you recorded on TV?

Jeopardy, and I’ve already watched it. On the other hand, the DVR is 52% filled, some of it going back to December 2022.

9. What was the last book you read?

We Return Fighting: World War I and the Shaping of Modern Black Identity, edited by Kinshasha Holman Conwill

10. What’s your favorite type of foreign food?

I answered this before, so I’ll answer it again differently. I had some Jamaican food this weekend which was quite good.

11. What kitchen appliance do you use every day?

The electric can opener, usually to open tuna.

Saint Nick lives!

12. How old were you when you learned Santa wasn’t real? How did you find out?

WHAT? What are you telling me here? Santa’s not real? Why would ever say such a thing?!

13. What was your favorite subject in school?

From 5th to 11th grade, math: algebra, geometry, trigonometry.

14. What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten?

I don’t believe I’ve eaten anything particularly weird. OK, this is a story from my youth. My mother made… something. It was awful. It had green specks in it. At the time, there was a laundry detergent call Oxydol, and it advertised as having “green bleaching crystals.” So we referred to… whatever it was… as tasting as though it had green bleaching crystals.

15. What’s your favorite family recipe?

I recall no family recipes. My maternal grandmother probably had some, but she evidently never passed them down to her daughter, and certainly not to me. My father was actually a better cook than my mom, but his methodology was to find random leftovers in the refrigerator and mix them together, usually quite well. He called the concoction goulygoop, which we didn’t know until some years later was merely his term for goulash.

Most awarded songs #12

to a real hound dog

We’ve hit the TOP 40 of the most awarded songs #12. They’ve been cited by the Grammys and the Oscars, not to mention Rolling Stone magazine, RIAA, ASCAP, CMA, NPR, and so forth.

40. Superstition – Stevie Wonder. The lead single from the Talking Book album, the first of four albums over five years was at the height of Stevie’s creativity. Jeff Beck plays guitar.

39. Piano Man – Billy Joel. I saw Billy Joel at Elting Gym in New Paltz in 1974. This song and Captain Jack were the only songs of his I knew well at the time. Piano Man was based on his experience as a piano-lounge singer for six months in 1972–73 after his commercially disastrous first album, Cold Spring Harbor. It has of course become his signature tune.

38. Tutti-Frutti – Little Richard. “Got a gal, named Daisy, she almost drives me crazy. She knows how to love me, yes indeed. Boy you don’t know what she do to me.” This makes the nonsense lyrics – “A wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom” – even more suggestive. Songfacts notes the chorus was “Tutti Frutti, Good Booty,” until it was changed. This song went to #17 in 1956. The version by Pat Boone went to #12 the same year, proving the public is NOT always right.

37. Behind Closed Doors – Charlie Rich. One of my sisters says, quite often, “You don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.” But it has a very different meaning than the lyrics to this song.

36. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana. Seriously, I thought this was a bit of a joke when I first heard it. “A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido.” What? And now I own four Nirvana albums. Related, Smells Like Nirvana is my favorite Weird Al parody.

I found my thrill

35. Blueberry Hill – Fats Domino. The song was recorded by several artists from the time it was written by Vincent Rose and John L. Rooney in 1940. Sammy Kaye, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, and Louis Armstrong were among those who recorded it before Antoine Dominique Domino Jr.

34. Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys. The title of this expensive and expansive “pocket symphony” derived from Brian Wilson’s “fascination with cosmic vibrations, as his mother would tell him as a child that dogs sometimes bark at people in response to their ‘bad vibrations’.”

33. The Twist– Chubby Checker. I wrote a whole post about this significant song.

32. Killing Me Softly With His Song – Roberta Flack. Lori Lieberman says she co-wrote this song while seeing Don McLean perform. Charles Gimbel and Norman Fox say they wrote it for Lieberman.

31. Hound Dog – Elvis Presley. Elvis had to sing this song to an actual basset hound on “The Steve Allen Show” in July 1956. The song was written by Leiber and Stoller and originally done by Big Mama Thorton in 1952.