Ramblin' with Roger

Go Where You Wanna Go

I had to work REALLY hard NOT to change the lyrics to ‘with whomever’.

Roger.Leslie — Roger and Leslie, Corning Glass Works

For her 12th birthday, my sister Leslie received her own guitar. With some assistance from my father, a largely self-taught player, she became quite competent with it in about a month. And that really became the birth of the Green Family Singers, when the three of us used to sing around Binghamton, NY together from 1966 to 1971. The program initially was a variation of what my father had been singing by himself. We would sing harmony on some choruses or responses, for instance, though there were a number of pieces that were three-part harmony throughout.

Leslie and I pretty much stole Hole in the Bucket from my father’s repertoire, though. It was much more dramatic with the two of us than him doing both voices. Leslie always sang the Beatles ‘ song Yesterday. And Leslie and I, in our only other nod to then-contemporary music, sang Go Where You Wanna Go. We first heard it on a Mamas and Papas album and listened to it a lot. Here’s their version, which was a 1996 album cut. This is the version by The 5th Dimension, their first hit single, getting up to #16 on the Billboard charts in 1967.

You gotta go where you wanna go,
Do what you wanna do
With whoever you wanna do it with.
You gotta go where you wanna go,
And do what you wanna do
With whoever you wanna do it with.

I had to work REALLY hard NOT to change the lyrics to ‘with whomever’.

Leslie was in Albany for my 50th birthday party, and at some point near the end of the evening, we sang “Go Where You Wanna Go.” In re: some conversation we had earlier this year, my advice to my dear sister is for her to go where she wants to go.

Happy birthday, Leslie. Love you.

B is for the Bermans

The photo portrait of Rosa Parks that hangs in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery was taken by IdaBerman BEFORE Rosa refused to yield her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in December 1955.

Charlotte.Gert.Trudy.Roger.13Maple — Charlotte (Berman) Yates, Gertrude (Yates) Williams, Trudy (Williams) Green, Roger Green- 13 Maple St, Binghamton, NY

When Charlotte Berman married Ernest Yates in 1937, it was a pretty radical event at the time. Charlotte was from a family of Jews from eastern Europe, and Ernie was black.

But let’s back up a bit. “Pinches Barosin, a teacher in the small town of Warklian, Latvia, and his wife, Slatte” had five children, the youngest of which, Isaac, was born in 1886. In the US, Barosin became Berman; Isaac married Sara Schmuelowitsch in 1910. They had eight children: Ida, Benjamin, Charlotte, Frances, Jacob, Mary, Samuel, and Arnold, most of whom I got to know to various degrees. Isaac, a trucking company executive, died before I was born, but Sara lived until 1971 and died in my hometown of Binghamton, so I did meet her.

Of the children, I’ll take Charlotte (1914-2003), the third child, out of order, because she’s the link to me. Ernie Yates, who she married, was the brother of my maternal grandmother, Gert. Ernie and Charlotte’s kids were my mother’s first cousins. And until Ernie died, shortly after I was born, they lived in Binghamton. Even after they moved to St. Albans, Queens in New York City, we saw Charlotte, her kids, and eventually her grandkids all the time. The photo is of Charlotte (I think Ernie is just out of the frame), my grandmother, my mother and me, at my grandmother’s house.

Ida (1911-2009) was the Berman, other than Charlotte, I was closest to. She was an accomplished photographer. The photo portrait of Rosa Parks that hangs in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery was taken by Ida BEFORE Rosa refused to yield her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in December 1955. Never married, she seemed to have adopted me and would take me to art galleries whenever I saw her in NYC.

Ben (1912-1989) I knew not well, but like his siblings, I would see at him at the weddings of Charlotte’s children and other events.

Fran (1916-2011) married Professor Irwin Corey, the comedian, c 1940, and it was exciting to see him on Ed Sullivan or some other TV variety show. For some reason, Charlotte once took us to Fran and Irwin’s house when they weren’t there. I saw Fran and Irwin at a couple of birthday parties for Charlotte in 1994 (her 80th) and 2002 (her 88th, and last).

The kids of Jack (1918-2001) and Berta, known as Chicha, grew up in Binghamton; they were born between 1948 and 1957, around my time. Didn’t know them well, and was unclear to me at the time of their relationship to me.

Mary (1922-2006), who married Sam Rosen, I don’t really recall; she wasn’t living in New York State, though she probably showed up at some family events too. But her youngest son, Jonny Rosen, is one of the leaders of the Albany area band Annie & the Hedonists, “an eclectic mix of acoustic blues, vintage jazz and swing, and folk roots Americana.” They are, BTW, really good. (n.b., Sharp Little Pencil – I think you’d like them). I just saw them play this past Mother’s Day.

Charlotte always referred to her two younger brothers collectively as “the boys,” even when they were adults. Sam (b. 1923), who is still alive, and married to Vivian, was a folk singer. I wonder if he influenced my father somehow?

Arnold (b. 1924), a widower (Miriam), is not only alive; he put together this extensive website on the Barosin/Berman family. He also recalls a trip Charlotte and my sister Leslie took to Mexico in the summer of 1972: “[His wife] Miriam and I visited while [Charlotte] was there. I know that Ida was there at the time. My most striking memory in that visit was Leslie, that beautiful, tall Black girl who attracted so much attention from the local short Mexicans as we traveled by bus through the small villages.” Leslie got a kick out of THAT.

There are some gaps on the website – Charlotte’s youngest, Robert isn’t represented, e,g. – but it is filled with fascinating stuff. There are photos, many taken by Ida, and videos. I highly recommend that you check it out.

ABC Wednesday – Round 13

Beauty: skin deep

The New York Times used exactly the same photo on the cover of their May 5 issue as Rolling Stone did more than two months later.

It’s well established in the literature that attractive people generally fare better. In many cases, humans attribute positive characteristics, such as intelligence and honesty, to physically attractive people without consciously realizing it.

I think that’s why the story of the dental assistant in Iowa who was fired for being too attractive – Cheri noted it recently – got so much attention.

At some level, I think the issue of the recent cover of the magazine Rolling Stone was upsetting to some people because Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is not homely.

In TIME magazine, Alexandra Sifferlin quotes psychologist Ellen Berscheid: “While seeing an attractive picture of a villainous person isn’t likely to change our opinion of that individual’s egregious acts, as the uproar over the image indicates, it could lead us to feel some emotions that we may not think are appropriate. That includes sadness, and perhaps even a douse of empathy over why an attractive person would commit a terrible crime.”

William Rivers Pitt in Truthout opined: “The outrage over Tsarnaev’s face on the cover has everything to do with the fact that there is a puppy-dog cuteness about him which is jarring in the context of his alleged crimes… As for glorifying Tsarnaev or potentially upsetting the bombing victims, his face has been on the front page of every newspaper in the Western hemisphere more than once…” In fact, as Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi noted: “They used an existing photo, one already used by other organizations. The New York Times, in fact, used exactly the same photo on the cover of their May 5 issue.”

nyt-may 5.2013 — **The same picture that Rolling Stone used was on the front page of the New York Times a couple of months earlier.**

Pitt said: “Putting newsmakers on the cover [of the magazine] is not out of line. Hell, they had Charlie Manson on the cover once upon a time, as well as George W. Bush in 2009.” It’s not as though Rolling Stone dubbed him the sexiest terrorist or something.

Ty Burr of the Boston Globe complained the picture was a selfie in a bit of psychobabble I don’t quite follow.

I was reminded that, back in 1994, TIME magazine darkened a cover picture of O.J. Simpson. It was supposed to be some artistic decision, but many people thought it was designed to make him seem more sinister. And TIME has had as Man of the Year Adolf Hitler (1939) and Ayatollah Khomeini (1979), but they weren’t endorsing them, merely noting their significance.

I’m not unsympathetic to those who might find the photo unsettling, and I understand why some stores took it off the shelves. But I don’t think the cover choice is outlandish.

EW’s 100 All-Time Greatest Movies

Annie Hall (1977) – this film was my talisman. I’ve seen it four times in the theater, and a few times on video thereafter.

There’s a list of Entertainment Weekly’s 100 all-time movies, TV shows, books, et al. It was printed in the magazine’s July 5/12, 2013 double-issue.

What I found interesting is how radically different than the film list EW put out in 1999 the 2013 movie roster is, once you get past the top three. (The number in parentheses represents the rank in 1999.) Given the fact that there are only three 21st century films included, this is not a function of new films, but rather a reassessment of existing ones.

1 (2). Citizen Kane (1941) – As I’ve noted, I tried to watch this on video a number of years ago, but fell asleep. Obviously, I need to try again.
2 (1). The Godfather (1972) – I was living in Binghamton, but the Okie and I, along with another couple, saw it in Syracuse. great film, of course, but I won’t see it again.
3 (3). Casablanca (1942) – I LOVE this film. Saw in outdoors near Rochester in the late 1970s, with my friend Debi. Did I mention I adore this film? I need to watch it again.
4 (48). Bonnie And Clyde (1967) – Never saw it, and don’t feel compelled to.
5 (11). Psycho (1960) – #1 on the list of greatest horror flicks, and I probably will see it at some point.
6 (56). It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) – My future wife Carol nagged me into seeing this on PBS in the late 1990s, after I had dismissed it, sight unseen, as too sentimental; it is not. Liked this far more than I could have imagined.
7 (64). Mean Streets (1973) – didn’t see; may not.
8 (15). The Gold Rush (1925) – #1 comedy, and I don’t know if I saw it or not. That’s my basic problem with movies on broadcast TV. I might have flipped through the channels and started watching something. But was it enough to give the film a fair shake?
9 (38). Nashville (1975) – I started watching this on DVD a few years ago, and simply could not get into it. I like a lot of Altman, but I just didn’t connect with this film. May try again.
10 (8). Gone With The Wind (1939) – haven’t seen, except snippets. Not motivated to do so.

11 (47). King Kong (1933) – #2 horror flick; I’ve seen scenes, but maybe not in toto.
12 (13). The Searchers (1956) – now this John Wayne film I feel I OUGHT to see, and probably will.
13 (60). Annie Hall (1977) – the #2 comedy, this film was my talisman. I’ve seen it four times in the theater, and a few times on video thereafter.
14. Bambi (1942) – #1 on the list of favorite family movies, and the higher of only two animated films. But it’s dark, and sad, at least the parts I’ve seen.
15 (37). Blue Velvet (1986) – didn’t see, feel I probably should.
16 (10). Singin’ In The Rain (1952) – seen bits and pieces, should watch from the beginning.
17 (12). Seven Samurai (1954, Jp.) #1 action flick, never seen. Probably should, since so many other films are beholden to it.
18 (52). Jaws (1975) – never saw. Someday.
19 (29). Pulp Fiction (1994) – did see this in the theater, and even though it’s rather violent for my taste, it was also oddly funny. Liked it.
20. The Sorrow and the Pity (1969, Fr.) #1 on the greatest documentaries, yet I don’t know it.

21 (9). Some Like It Hot (1959) – the #3 comedy I’ve seen big chunks of it; very funny stuff.
22. Toy Story (1995) – the other animated film, 2nd greatest family movie. Saw it in the theater, and bought it on videotape. Great Randy Newman score.
23 (66). Notorious (1946) – a Hitchcock film I want to see in full.
24. The Sound of Music (1965) – #3 family film. I’ve seen good chunks, but have I ever seen it in full?
25 (26). 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – saw in the theater in the early 1970s. Didn’t “get” it, but it intrigued me.
26 (22). Bicycle Thieves (1948, It.) – #1 foreign film, saw this in the late 1960s at a theater in Binghamton. Great film.
27 (31). The Maltese Falcon (1941) – don’t think I saw this in full.
28 (32). The Wizard of Oz (1939) – #4 family film, I saw it several times on TV or video, so that like most people, I can quote big chunks by heart.
29 (44). North By Northwest (1959) – #2 action film, seen only clips.
30 (92). Sunrise (1927) – don’t know it.

31 (4). Chinatown (1974) – well crafted, yet it always felt at arm’s length. I don’t love it.
32 (43). Duck Soup (1933) – #5 comedy. This Marx Brothers film, I love.
33 (55). The Graduate (1967) – saw this only recently, in the past five years, on DVD. Probably would have liked it even more had I seen it when it came out.
34. Adam’s Rib (1949) – #4 comedy,. saw it on TV years ago; don’t remember it well.
35. Apocalypse Now (1979) – didn’t see.
36. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) – #3 horror flick, it was the first date with the Okie in 1971, so I remember the film less well.
37. Manhattan (1979) – the #6 comedy, I liked it at the time, but have only seen it twice.
38 (19). Vertigo (1958) – saw parts on TV, should watch from the beginning
39 (58). The Rules of the Game (1939, Fr.) -# 2 foreign film, don’t know it.
40 (50). Double Indemnity (1944) – I should see this! I hear Fred MacMurray is great.

41 (93). The Road Warrior (1981, Australia) (aka Mad Max 2) – #3 action film – didn’t see; didn’t actively avoid.
42 (41). Taxi Driver (1976) – one of those 1970s movies I didn’t see. I might, but it’s not high on the list.
43. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) – didn’t see. Saw the first movie and that was enough for me.
44 (17). On The Waterfront (1954) – great film, which I caught on TV one afternoon in the 1990s; why did this fall so far?
45 (30). Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) – saw this on TV. Should watch again.
46 (61). The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) – #4 action flick, and I know it not at all.
47. A Clockwork Orange (1971) – saw this in the theater. Disturbing, to say the least. Well done, if you like that sort of thing.
48. It Happened One Night (1934) – #7 comedy, I’ve only seen parts of it.
49. Goldfinger (1964) – #5 action film. Like most of the Connery Bond films, I’d see bits on TV, but I’ve never sat through the whole thing.
50 (25). Intolerance (1916) – The earliest film in the top 100; don’t know it at all, except that it was directed by D.W. Griffith.

51. A Hard Day’s Night (1964) -I didn’t see this until after the Beatles broke up, and I saw it in a marathon including Help!, Yellow Submarine and the depressing Let It Be. Wish I had seen the boys and their madcap antics before the band was dead.
52. Titanic (1997) – the romance is so-so, but the detail of the tragic event is quite remarkable.
53. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – yes, it’s the better movie, I suppose, but my heart belongs to the original.
54 (63). Breathless (1960, Fr.) – #3 foreign film – don’t know it
55. Frankenstein (1931) – #4 horror film, not familiar with which iteration this is.
56 (40). Schindler’s List (1993) – I saw this with two other people, then we spent longer than the movie’s running time, which was considerable, decompressing. Excellent, but won’t see it again.
57. Midnight Cowboy (1969) – managed to see this 4 times in a fairly short time. I went with one set of friends, then another. Bleak. But it does inform how I cross the street.
58 (45). The Seventh Seal (1957, Swe.) – #4 foreign film. I’m sure I say this when I was in high school, and am not sure I got it.
59. All the President’s Men (1976) – I thought the story was magnificent telling of the American body politic. But the movie dragged in places.
60. Top Hat (1935) – did not see, probably should.

61 (98). The Silence of the Lambs (1991) – #5 horror film. I was at my parents’ house and it was on HBO. At some point, I bailed on it.
62 (20). E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – #5 family film. Saw in a theater. I liked or loved most of this, but I found the ending treacly, and it all but ruined it for me.
63. Network (1976) – Saw it at the time, not since yet it still resonates with me. One of those films that is more true now than it was at the time.
64 (83). The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) – saw this on TV (PBS?) My this is a powerful film with its ironic title.
65. Last Tango in Paris (1973) – never saw, never particularly wanted to.
66. The Shining (1980) – #6 horror flick. After seeing a few violent films in short order, such as The Godfather, Clockwork Orange, and Catch-22 (one and a half times; long story), I swore them off for most of the 1970s. Finally, saw this and hated it, not because it was scary, but because it was laughable. Nicholson’s character is supposed to be altered by the building, but he’s already looking nuts in the first scene with Barry Nelson. I’m comforted by the fact that Stephen King also hates this iteration, suggesting that Shelley Duvall’s character is too weak for the story.
67 (86). Rebel Without a Cause (1955) – I’ve seen parts, but have I seen it all the way through?
68. GoodFellas (1990) – seen parts, but not compelled to see the whole thing.
69 (14). Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying about the Bomb (1964) – #8 comedy. The movie I MOST need to see on this list.
70. L’Avventura (1960, It.) – #5 foreign film. Don’t know it.

71. American Graffiti (1973) – I like it, and great use of period music, though I’m not convinced it belongs on this list.
72. The 400 Blows (1959, Fr.) – #6 foreign film. I saw this so long ago, more than 40 years ago, and I’ve mostly forgotten it. (Strange how some films I see once stick and others don’t.)
73. Cabaret (1972) – I saw this in the theater at the time and thought it was excellent, especially Liza Minelli and Joel Grey.
74. The Hurt Locker (2009) – the most recent film on the list. I actually had it on a Netflix disc for over four months and never had the block of time to actually watch it.
75 (54). Touch Of Evil (1958) – don’t know it.
76 (18). Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – saw it on TV 40 years ago, was bored by it. I probably need to see it on DVD in one dedicated sitting.
77. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – one of those 1970s films i passed on. MAYBE I’ll see it some day.
78. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – #6 action film. Good popcorn film, but not sure it belongs on the list.
79. Night of the Living Dead (1968) – #7 horror flick. Never saw. Probably should.
80. Dazed and Confused (1993) – never saw, for no particular reason. Would, if I thought to borrow it from the library.

81. Blade Runner (1982) – feel that I REALLY ought to see this, because of its significance.
82. Scenes From a Marriage (1973, Swe.) – #7 foreign film. Saw it at the time. Was depressed afterward.
83 (57). The Wild Bunch (1969) – Saw the graphic slo-mo ending, but not the rest. Probably won’t.
84. Olympia (1938, Ger.) – #2 documentary. Ah, the Leni Riefenstahl film. I’ve seen bits of it, but definitely should see the whole thing.
85. Dirty Harry (1971) – #7 action flick. I’ve seen bits and pieces of two or three Dirty Harry films, not enough to count it, punk.
86 (21). All About Eve (1950) – saw this one Saturday afternoon 45 years ago. It was great but haven’t seen it since.
87 (6). La Dolce Vita (1960, It.) – #8 foreign film. Also saw this more than 40 years ago, when I was in high school.
88. The Dark Knight (2008) – did not see. I think I’ve wearied of dystopia.
89. Woodstock (1970) – #3 documentary. This film, which I watched twice in a row, had a great impact on my musical development. The soundtrack was in the top ten of my favorite albums of 1961-1970. That said, not sure the FILM belongs on the list, given what it has displaced.
90. The French Connection (1971) – #8 action flick. Just read an interview with William Friedkin who expressed shock that this film did so well with the Academy Awards, and that The Exorcist did not. I enjoyed it a lot at the time. Still remember the dialogue from the movie; it helped that Poughkeepsie was not far from New Paltz, where I went to college.

91 (81). Do The Right Thing (1989) – I thought this was a tremendous film, Spike Lee’s best, and the best film that came out that year. SamuraiFrog wrote about his recent reevaluation of the movie, and he’s now where I was from the beginning.
92 (97). The Piano (1993, NZ) – I thought it was well crafted, yet at arm’s length. Can’t explain without seeing it again.
93. A Face in the Crowd (1957) – I saw this one afternoon in the past 10 years or so. 1) Andy Griffith is TREMENDOUS, 2) it speaks to today better than I could believe, and 3) it is the one film on this list that, if you haven’t seen, I most highly recommend that you see.
94. Brokeback Mountain (2005) – I’m not sure this belongs here either. It was socially significant, and once it got going, it could be quite moving. But for the longest time in the set-up, I was rather bored. The actors were great; the story could have been trimmed by 12 minutes without great loss.
95. Rushmore (1998) – the #8 comedy I’ve never seen this one. Probably will.
96. Sullivan’s Travels (1941) – not remembering this, the #10 comedy.
97. Diner (1982) – enjoyed this at the time, but wonder if it’s a bit overrated here.
98. All About My Mother (1999, Sp.) – #9 foreign film. I enjoyed this Almodovar film, but usually do like that director.
99. There Will Be Blood (2007) – did not see it, except the last 10 minutes on YouTube.
100 (49). Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – not recalling this one.

Next outing, which will be soon, I’m going to list the genre films that didn’t make the top 100. Plus, the MASSIVE list that were dropped from the 1999 iteration. Some of your favorites, I’m willing to bet.

That “lender or borrow be” thing

I ALWAYS remember that I have other people’s stuff. Other people aren’t nearly as locked in about these things as I am.

I was sitting in our home office the other day, trying to figure out what I might write about, when I saw it: a paperback copy of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. Someone – I remember who – lent it to me three or four or five years ago. She figured since I used to work at a comic book store, and used to read comic books, I would enjoy it. She gave me the book to read, and I got to about page 59, but never got any further, and never got back to it.

Now I have this book that I haven’t read and have had in my possession way too long. I feel that I OUGHT to read it before I return it.

There is this coffee table version of a book called Baseball by Ken Burns that came with 10 VCR tapes. A guy I knew at the YMCA, Lou, offered to lend them all to me, and I had them for a couple of years. The big problems here were these: 1) My VCR player ceased working, and in fact started eating tapes, so I didn’t want to ruin HIS tapes. I got a NEW VCR/DVD combo player, but for some reason, I couldn’t get the VCR part to work correctly. 2) My local Y closed, and I didn’t know how to get hold of Lou. Fortunately, he joined another Y, in north Albany, I tracked him down and returned the videos, unwatched. But he told me I could KEEP the book, so I did. Haven’t read it, but have picked out sections to peruse, now and then.

My friend Norman lent me tools to knock down the old shed. Hey, buddy, you can get them anytime you want! I’m done with them.

I ALWAYS remember that I have other people’s stuff. Other people aren’t nearly as locked in about these things as I am.

My position about lending things, whether it be money or objects, is this: I don’t expect to EVER get it back. I’m quite OK with this. I’d much rather lend cash than something with emotional value. That way, I’m not so bummed out if it’s lost to me forever.