Ramblin' with Roger

Songs that have many meanings to you

memories of Scudder Hall

sister sledge.we are family For the prompt “A song that has many meanings to you,” I tried to stay within the sprit.

Hang On to Your Life – Guess Who (#43 in 1971) – A rock song,. the album version of which ends with Psalm 22. Yes, I’ve added it to a Biblical mixed tape.
Harvest Moon – Neil Young (1992). For a previous relationship, I considered this “our song,” complete with dancing. Still makes me slightly misty-eyed.
When Love Comes to Town – U2/B.B. King (#68 in 1989)- the BB elements make it one of my favorite U2 songs.
Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinead O’Connor (#1 for four weeks in 1990) – Prince wrote this and his version is very good. But this take moves me greatly.

Losing My Religion – R.E.M. (#4 in 1991) – As a Christian, I relate to this a LOT, actually.
Celtic Rock – Donovan (1970). This reminds me of gatherings of my friends in the Mid-Hudson of New York State, and specifically of Scudder Hall, my dorm as a freshman in college at New Paltz.
Let My Love Open The Door – Pete Townshend (#9 in 1980). Townshend used to complain that people thought this was a romantic love song when it was supposed to be about a higher power.

King Harvest – The Band (1969) – The last song from one of my favorite albums from high school days. A friend of mine edited the high school yearbook and on the page for the band was a picture of The Band.
Levon – Elton John (#24 in 1972). I’m not sure WHAT this song is about, and I’m OK with that. It’s either named for Levon Helm of The Band or not.

We Are Family – Sister Sledge (#2 for two weeks pop, #1 RB in 1979). Strong affiliation with the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, the team with Dave Parker and Willie “Pops” Stargell. I rooted for them against the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series, and the Pirates came back from a 3-1 deficit to win.
Elvis Is Dead – Living Colour (1990). Some folks said that a black band shouldn’t be doing rock. Living Colour ignored that talk.

Democrats debate: so MANY of them

Clorox the White House

2020 Democratic presidential candidates
Democrats debate. I don’t watch, either in June or July. This is a terrible admission for a political science major to make. As I said six months ago, I’m not ready to commit to a candidate until the list of candidates has been winnowed down.

Some of my friends are grousing, “We’ve got to cut this roster NOW!” I’m thinking, “All in good time, grasshopper.” The Republicans had their 17 candidates – and THAT’S the best they could come up with?

You will remember that LOTS of folks believed, not without cause, that the 2016 democratic party process favored one candidate (Hillary) over another (Bernie), and some of the latter either stayed home or incredibly, voted for the other guy. This tedious process is the result.

Of course, I read ABOUT the debates I’m not thrilled with the format of these things. When NBC wanted a “show of hands” about complex issues, I cringed. CNN sought conflict, even when there was none.

The candidates

I was GOING to write about each of the candidates, but – and this is true -I see a few of them on the screen and say aloud, “Which one is he, again?” And I was going to redo this online poll, which I did in February, but it reflected only about half the candidates. Still, the percentages listed reflect how much I purportedly agreed with each.

Elizabeth Warren (93%) always seems prepared. Her answer about the aspirational nature of running for President resonated. The bluster of Bernie Sanders (92%) has been fodder for the late-night comedians, but I don’t doubt his sincerity.

Kirsten Gillibrand (92%) is my US Senator. I voted for her more than once for that job. But she will not win and is only still in this race because she got money early. But she can come by and, in her words, “Clorox the White House.”

I’m glad Julian Castro (92%) is faring OK. I liked his answer about the economy: “There are a lot of Americans that are hurting. Just go and ask the folks that received notice they’re getting laid off by General Motors, or ask the folks sleeping on the street in big cities and small towns across the United States.” I’d like him for the Cabinet.

I expected the prosecutorial background of Kamala Harris (92%) to come back to bite her, and, apparently, it did. With Beto O’Rourke (91%), I’m STILL not convinced there is substance there. I gather Pete Buttigieg (91%) overhyped his youth, and the last debate-style did not play to his strength. Tulsi Gabbard (90%) scored points at Harris’ expense.

Amy Klobuchar (90%), er… she also wore a red jacket, like Warren? Andrew Yang (89%) may have ideas other than his one-note giveaway. Cory Booker (87%) was trying to be so nice the first time, he almost disappeared; I gather he fared better in round two.

Joe Biden (83%): beyond being the guy with a target on his back, he’s got to figure out how to say, essentially, “We did the best we could, based on what we knew then.” LOTS of people supported the crime bill that led to mass incarceration. Some seemed peeved at his mentions of personal loss and his Obama connection.

Marianne Williamson (83%) had been so portrayed as a dangerous flake, I was shocked about her cogent comments on race. She was correct that the Flint, MI water crisis would not have taken place in well-to-do Grosse Pointe, where she had lived.

“If you think any of this wonkiness is going to deal with this dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred that this president is bringing up in this country, then I’m afraid that the Democrats are going to see some very dark days.” In other words, those MAGA hats won’t go away on January 20, 2021, even if the donkeys win.

John Delaney (69%) -meh. Jay Inslee has made his environmental pitch; someone should pick him to run the EPA. Bill DeBlasio and Tom Steyer: I’m annoyed they’re running.
And there are others.

My friends ARE correct that whatever these candidates say about each other, or Obama, the incumbent (15%) will use against the eventual winner. The process will be sorted out soon, with only seven to ten candidates likely to be on stage in Houston in September.

Movie review: The Farewell (2019)

What is a “good lie”?

The movie The Farewell address the apparently imminent death of a family member. Importantly, it’s about a huge lie designed to keep the news from that matriarch of the family. Why? Because it’s the Chinese way.

Awkafina stars as Billi, who now lives in New York City, as do her parents. But she’s often on the phone with her Nai Nai or grandmother (Shuzhen Zhou) in China, who she loves dearly. Billi is devastated when she hears that Nai Nai is dying of cancer. But she is bewildered when she learns that a mock wedding is being arranged so that Nai Nai’s family can say goodbye to her without Nai Nai realizing it.

The cliché in film/literature is that the more specific the story, the more universal the application. If you’ve ever gone to more than three weddings, you’ve experienced the groanworthy elements of this one, including the music. The brief appearance of the tall, handsome, unmarried doctor who helps maintain the fiction would play just as well if the characters were Jewish or Italian.

A placard early on says “Based On An Actual Lie”. What is a “good lie”? Billi’s uncle, who lives in Japan explains that in America, they’re into personal rights and responsibility. But in the East, it’s more of a collective burden. There is great effort extended in maintaining the façade.

The Farewell features some heavy themes. Yet it is often quite funny. The viewer relates to Billi, as she struggles with what she thinks is right versus what the family has agreed to. It’s also a paean to what one consider “home.” Awkwafina’s performance is quite credible.

The movie also stars Tzi Ma as Billi’s father. He is the quintessential, “Oh, THAT guy.” He’s very good, as is the rest of the cast. I should note, in case you’re allergic to such things, that the film, written and directed by Lulu Wang, features subtitles, not 100% of the time, but often enough.

My wife and I saw The Farewell on July 29 at the Spectrum Theatre in Albany, when I scored two free passes. We were sitting in the middle of the third row from the front. I told the woman on the aisle that there was a 90% chance that someone would come to sit on the two interior seats in the row after the lights went down; I was correct.

Since there were no previews, this meant their disruption was during an early scene. Then one was on her phone, which later went off. Had I been sitting next to her – my wife was – I would have been severely tempted to take the device away from her.

July rambling: 45 es un titere

The Privilege of Being Normal

fake presidential seal Was American politics always this weird?

Lawyers, guns, and money.

The US Gave Slavers Their Land Back. What About Black Folks’ Reparations? and Slavery is also indefensible on economic grounds.

About the Mueller testimony.

Meet the man who created the fake presidential seal; his website.

Data Show Costly Trump Tax Cut Achieved Little

Britain’s New Prime Minister Is Nationalist, Racist and Vain. Sound Familiar?

The Moon Landing Hoax Theory Started as a Joke.

The First Responders, black paramedics in Pittsburgh

The Privilege of Being Normal.

I was a fast-food worker. Let me tell you about burnout.

How to Cancel Amazon Prime.

What is Regenerative Agriculture?

What John Paul Stevens inadvertently taught conservatives about the Supreme Court.

Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, the first black player on the Boston Red Sox, has died. He was 85. Green played parts of four seasons with the Red Sox and one with the New York Mets from 1959-63, batting .246 with 13 homers and 74 RBIs. But his place in history was made when he stepped on the field as a pinch-runner against the Chicago White Sox on July 21, 1959. The Red Sox were the last team in the major leagues to field a black player.

Safe Deposit Boxes Aren’t Safe.

Binghamton, NY: Valley of Creativity.

Ken Levine interview with director Jim Burrows, Part 1 and Part 2.

Can broadcast legend Susan Zirinsky save CBS News?

Basquiat x Warhol at The School in Kinderhook.

Martha My Dear.

Why Americans Just Can’t Quit Their Microwaves.

New Coke Didn’t Fail. It Was Murdered.

Fireworks with film at Saratoga.

Enough With Hamilton, Say Fans of Other Founding Fathers; Success of Broadway show steals limelight from Jefferson, Franklin and others; ‘not a lot of demand for James Madison’

The Evolution of Harley Quinn.

Now I Know: The Elephant With Empathy? and The $91-Per-Square-Foot Very Tiny Estate and The Great Saudi Beauty Pageant Scandal of 2018 and Why Isn’t This Tennis Ball Bouncing? and The Rainbow Grandpa Who Saved His Village and The Incredible Cause of Tasmanian Crop Circles and Why Do Bats Sleep Upside Down? (for AmeriNZ)

MUSIC

I’m Your Puppet – James and Bobby Purify.

Music from the new Lion King movie.

Indra by Gustav Holst.

Blue Bayou – Linda Ronstadt and the Muppets, recipients of the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors.

Coverville: 1269: Cover Stories for Suzanne Vega, Simple Minds and Soft Cell and 1270: The Trevor Horn Cover Story and 1271: The Hard Day’s Night Track-by-Track Album Cover.

Windows XP Waltz

K-Chuck Radio: How to enjoy a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack

District of Columbia: Washington DC

more people than either Vermont or Wyoming

District of Columbia More postal abbreviations, this time starting with the letter D.

DC District of Columbia – first letter of each primary word. Abbreviation was D.C. or occasionally, Wash. D.C.

As you all know, Washington, DC is the seat of the US federal government. Its existence was mandated in the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 17: “The Congress shall have Power to… exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States…

Maryland and Virginia ceded “ten miles square” on their respective sides of the Potomac River, and the government, which had previously been housed in New York City and Philadelphia, finally moved to its permanent seat in 1800.

However, in 1846, the Virginia portion of the original territory of Columbia, encompassing Old Town Alexandria and Arlington County, was “retroceded” by Congress to the Commonwealth. The constitutionality of this act has never been determined.

The District is not a state, so the rights of its people have been contentious for decades. “The 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution specifies that all powers not granted to the federal government are reserved for the states and the people. Although the District of Columbia has its own municipal government, it receives funding from the federal government and relies on directives from Congress to approve its laws and budget.

“DC residents have only had the right to vote for the President since 1964 and for the Mayor and city council members since 1973. Unlike states who can appoint their own local judges, the President appoints judges for the District Court.”

Residents (approximately 700,000 people) of the District of Columbia “pay full federal and local taxes but lack full democratic representation in the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House of Representatives. Representation in Congress is limited to a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives and a shadow Senator. The logo of the DC license plate is end taxation without representation.

In recent years, there have been calls for statehood, since it has more people than either Vermont or Wyoming. The move has been heavily resisted by the Republicans since the district has voted reliably Democratic.

DE Delaware – Abbreviation is first two letters. It was historically Del. It was the first state to have approved the US Constitution.
Capital: Dover; largest city: Wilmington.

For ABC Wednesday